No call to say, “Hey, Callie. I fucking loved what we did other night. Want to do it again?”

Just… nothing.

And I. Am. Pissed.

I am totally being blown off, and I’m actually really, really pissed.

He knows.

That fucker knows that I’ve crushed on him almost my entire life. I offered him my virginity. I let him finger me twice and then leave me. I let him fuck me in public while someone watched. He has got to know that I’ve got some feelings brewing up inside of me that might just need discussed.

He knows alright, and that’s why he’s cut out of here. So he doesn’t have to deal with little Callie Hayes’ tender sensibilities.

Asshole!

“You look like you want to castrate someone right now,” Bridger comments casually as he takes the toothpick from his mouth.

I school my features, try to hide my feelings, and shrug my shoulders. The last person I would talk to about my feelings regarding Woolf is his best friend. I’m not in the mood to listen to him defend his buddy.

“Well, it was nice seeing you,” I tell him as I step around my desk and head toward the front door. “If you want to hang around, be my guest. No telling if he’ll show up.”

“Actually, he’ll be here in about an hour. Texted me a bit ago,” Bridger says with a smirk.

I glare at him. “Then what was with the dumb act when you walked in?”

He shrugs, but his eyes are filled with mischief. “Just wanted to see if you knew where he was.”

I narrow my eyes at him and reach out toward the door. “You knew when you walked in here I didn’t know where he was, and I don’t appreciate you trying to rub my nose in it.”

“Whoa, wait a minute,” he says with raised eyebrows and holding his hands up defensively, the toothpick still gripped between a thumb and forefinger. “I was just trying to get a read on things so I could offer up my expert advice to you.”

My hand drops from the doorknob. He’s put the bait out there, and I’m thinking about taking it. “What are you? A relationship expert or something.”

Bridger snorts and looks at me like I’m the dumbest person on the face of the earth. “Fuck no. I don’t do relationships.”

And he actually shudders in what I think might be revulsion when he says the word “relationships”.

“Then why would I want your advice?” I ask caustically.

“Because I am a Woolf Jennings expert,” he says with a wink. “I know him better than anyone on this planet, and it’s your lucky day that I feel like sharing.”

Turning to face Bridger, I cross my arms over my chest. I look at him skeptically, but he has me hooked.

He knows it too, so there’s no sense in dancing around. I take the bait. “Okay, oh wise one. Lay it on me.”

Bridger walks over to the secretarial chair I just vacated, considers sitting in it but then reconsiders because there’s no way his frame would fit into that thing, so instead, he chooses to lean back against the wall.

“Let me make sure I have the entire story.” He pauses and gives me a confident wink before he says, “You crushed on Woolf your entire life. You wanted him to take your virginity. He refused but did give you your first orgasm. He also broke your heart, but you still retained a part of it for him. Now you’re back and Woolf doesn’t know what to do with you. You’re not the same girl he knew. You’re different. You want more in your life, and the type of “more” you want is exactly the type of “more” that Woolf can give you. The only problem is that now that he’s fucked you… felt that sweet pussy… he’s hooked dangerously on a woman he wants but doesn’t really think he deserves. You, on the flip side, felt that amazing cock inside of you and realized it was the best feeling in the world, but you’re also a woman with feelings and emotions. You want more from Woolf. You want his cock and his heart. And today… well, you’re just pissed he hasn’t called you and reassured you that when he fucked you the other night at The Silo with Cain watching, that was something a bit more intimate than just casual sex.”

He finally shuts up.

My head is spinning.

I blink hard at him.

“How in the fuck do you know all that?” I ask in amazement, not even mortified he knows intimate details like that and is throwing around ‘cock’ and ‘pussy’ like it’s nothing. “I mean… okay, clearly, Woolf tells you everything, which is a testament to your friendship. But how do you know me? I mean… how could you possibly know that was my first orgasm? It’s like you read my mind.”

Bridger gives a soft snort of amusement but his eyes are serious. “It’s just something I do. Read people, that is. As to that being your first orgasm, Woolf suspected it and now you just confirmed it for me. Now, do you want my advice?”

“Let me guess,” I say lightly. “You’re going to tell me to leave your buddy alone. He doesn’t need the crazy that comes with trying to form a relationship. Or wait… actually, you’ll tell me that Woolf doesn’t do relationships. He’s too closed off. It’s not his thing. He likes fucking around. He thinks monogamy is for fools.”

Bridger pushes off from the wall, straightening up his massive frame. In two long strides, he’s in front of me… staring down with an impassive face. I feel like I’ve angered him, and there’s a definite menacing vibe around him, yet his face is a blank slate.

I resist the urge to back away. My voice is raspy though when I say, “Isn’t that what you’re going to tell me? To stay away from Woolf?”

He stares at me for what seems like forever, but then he says, “No. That’s not what I was going to say.”

Bridger then puts the toothpick back in his mouth, turns toward the door and opens it up, steps out onto the wooden porch, and then shuts the door softly behind him. I’m frozen in place for just a moment, and then I’m scrambling out the door right behind him. I hastily lock up and then run down the steps, catching him before he opens the door to his Corvette.

“Wait,” I practically shriek at him. He turns to face me with a knowing smile on his face, and I have the grace to blush over my assumptions. “I’m sorry I jumped to conclusions. Will you give me your advice?”

He considers my request, making me wait for it. He’s doing that to torture me, but he finally shuts the car door, takes the toothpick back out of his mouth and throws it to the ground, and then places his other hand on the hood of the car to rest. “My advice is simple. Stick with Woolf. He needs what you have more than you can ever imagine.”

“I don’t understand,” I say, even though what he told me was indeed simple. “What makes you say that about him?”

“Let’s just say that Woolf sort of got sucked into this lifestyle because of me. He followed me in and has had a ball fucking his way through a bevy of beautiful women. He’s never had a serious relationship in his life, and he’ll tell you that’s the way he likes it. But he’s wrong. He’s the type of man built for monogamy, but he’s gotten too sidetracked by me. He sees me and feels a bond toward me, and so he thinks this is the life for him. But it’s not. He may want those things that The Silo offers, but he doesn’t need it. Not like me. The sooner he realizes it and let’s it go, the happier he’ll be. And you, Miss Hayes, are just the woman to do that.”

Wow. Just wow.

Bridger keeps his gaze on me, giving me an opportunity to digest what he’s said. He wants to make sure I understand, and I do. I give him a nod of my head and a smile, and he gives me a tentative smile back as he opens the Corvette door. Just as he’s lowering himself in, I think of something else.

“Wait,” I call out, and he pauses. “Why do you need it?”

Bridger’s lips flatten out, and there is no trace of the smile left on his face. “That, Callie Hayes, is none of your business.”

He then drops down into the bucket seat of his car and shuts the door. I watch as he fires the engine and pulls away, leaving me with all kinds of confusion even though I clearly understood what he said.