by Toni Aleo
He smiles up at me and says, “I wanted to make sure you never forget this moment.”
“How could I? This is the most romantic thing anyone has ever done for me,” I admit. “I kinda feel like I’m dreaming.”
He shakes his head, cupping my face in his hand before dropping his mouth to mine. He doesn’t kiss me though, instead he smiles, his lips lightly touching mine and then he says, “I know what you mean.”
Then he kisses me, pressing our bodies together and smashing the roses between us, but I can’t seem to muster up any energy to care. I’m so engrossed in him. I’m too much his to care about anything but kissing him with all the love and desire in my heart. As his mouth moves with mine, I want to ask if he loves me, but then I feel so selfish and wrong for hoping he does. In a way, I’m giving him a false claim of who I am. I mean, I’m not saying that burlesque is who I am, because I’m more than that, but it is a big part of me. If this works out with the investors, then it will be my career, and I’m not sure how he will feel about that.
He pulls back slowly, looking into my eyes, and I know it’s time. “I have to tell you something,” I whisper and he smiles, his finger moving along my jaw to my lips.
“What’s that, baby?”
I get lost in his eyes as my heart pounds so loud I can hear it in my ears. I love the way he’s looking at me. As if I’m it. I’m his, and I know in my heart that’s true. He may have not said it, but his actions mean way more to me than words. This couldn’t have been a quick setup. It takes time to line the pucks up perfectly, and he got me flowers and cleaned up, looking so damn hot it’s mind-blowing. This took time. Time he could have used on anyone or anything else, but instead he used it on me. I mean something to him, and I know that I can’t fuck that up for both of us.
“You make me so happy,” I say and I close my eyes, leaning into him.
His arms come around me, holding me tightly as he whispers, “I feel the same way, baby.”
If he’s happy with me, he won’t leave me, right? He’d stay; he would accept the job I love to do. But for some reason, I don’t believe that. I think he’ll run the other way, and I can’t risk that. I can’t. Melting against him, tears sting my eyes as we slowly sway back and forth to the music. Dusting kisses up my jaw and cheek, he pulls back, looking deep in my eyes as he says, “Wanna get out of here?”
I give him a cheeky grin. “For what?”
Eyeing me, he smiles as he says, “Anything you want.”
“So, just hypothetically speaking, if I wanted to go back to your house and play chess, we could do that?”
He nods, his face straight as he says, “Hypothetically, we could do that.”
“Or? I feel an or there,” I say, a grin pulling at my lips.
“Or…” he says, dragging out the word. “I can take you back to my house and bend you and fuck you in every way possible,” he says, stealing my breath and making it hard to breathe. “But that’s hypothetical. It’s whatever you want.”
Leaning into him, I move my hands up his hard chest and around his neck, looking deep in his eyes. “I think I like the way you think. Being bent in every way possible is way more fun than chess.”
“True,” he agrees. “And way more challenging.”
“Agreed.”
“So…”
My face hurts from smiling so hard. “So I think you should get me home, Jude.”
He doesn’t nod or say anything; he just takes my hand and basically pulls me off the ice. Once our feet hit a hard surface, not a slippery one, we’re hightailing it out of the place.
“Shit, I forgot my bag,” I remember.
“Jayden will get it,” is all he says as he pushes through the door. But instead of going out the front door, he goes to a side door and pulls me through, pushing me against it to slam it shut before pressing his mouth to mine. He sloppily kisses my mouth, knocking my world off its axis as he kisses the living hell out of me. Melting against him, I moan out as he nibbles at my neck, biting and sucking as his hands come up to grab my breasts.
Pulling away, he looks in my eyes and all I see is red-hot lust. He’s going to take me against this door, and I have no damn problem with that at all.
“You can’t wait,” I say, reading his face. “You’re going to fuck me right here.”
Cupping my face, he slowly shakes his head, and I’m surprised that I misread him. Bringing his mouth close to mine, his eyes lock with mine as he says, “Yes, I can’t wait. But no, I’m not going to fuck you, Claire. I’m going to make love to you. Probably superfast, but I promise when we get back to the house, I’ll take my time.”
“Oh,” is all I can say before he takes my mouth with his.
Pressing me against the door, he holds me still by pressing his pelvis into mine and slowly removes my shirt, my bra following quickly behind it. Looking my chest over like a starved man would, he molds my breasts together before dropping his mouth to them, sucking and nibbling on my nipples, sending heat straight between my thighs. Tweaking my nipples, he devours me as I cry out, squeezing his shoulders. Letting go of my breasts, he nibbles up the middle of my chest, kissing my throat and then coming back to my mouth as he undoes his pants. I push my sweats down along with my panties, kicking them to the side as he breaks the kiss to do the same, pressing his long, raging hard-on against my stomach.
I know he thinks he’s about to make love to me, but I have other plans.
Dropping to my knees, I take his dick in my hands and slowly move my hands up and down him, his eyelids falling in a hooded way, watching me intently. Pressing my back against the wall, I guide him into my mouth and to the back of my throat. He moves my hair out of my face before very slowly moving his dick in and out of my mouth. His hands move along my shoulders, my throat, and jaw as I suck him hard and take him as far as I can down my throat, which isn’t as far as I’d like since he’s so big. He seems to like it though, his breathing picking up as he whispers my name.
“That’s perfect, baby,” he moans, tangling his fingers in my hair. “Fuck, you are so hot. Yeah…Claire…mmm.”
Picking up speed, I rake my teeth along his shaft as I cup his balls, molding them slowly as he quickly thrusts in my mouth. I know he’s about to come, I mean, he’s basically screaming my name, and I feel his dick seizing up. Like I suspected he would, his legs buckle and he’s coming hard, my name falling off his lips as he squeezes my shoulders in his hand. I suck him dry, milking him until he can’t take it anymore. Moving his limp dick out of my mouth, he picks me up and presses me into the wall. Closing the space between us, he takes my mouth with his, kissing me long and hard, curling my toes and making it hard to breathe. He then takes my legs, hooking them over his arms before pressing his hands into the wall, opening me wide for him.
I feel completely exposed and I want to be a little shy, but that look in his eyes tells me I have nothing to be shy about. Pressing his hands into the back of my knees, he holds me up before dropping to his knees and burying his face between my wet folds. I cry out, my nails digging into his shoulders as he makes love to me with his mouth. I tremble with need, my heart pounding, my legs shaking from my impending orgasm, and I’m not sure how much more I can take. I’ve been craving this for days, been dreaming about it, and now it’s happening. In a hot, sexy way against a wall where anyone could find us. The thrill of that has me crying out louder, my hands squeezing his shoulders as he slowly moves his tongue in and out of me, his nose pressing against my clit. Moving up, he holds nothing back, flicking his tongue ruthlessly against my clit, and I come, my whole body coming undone beneath his talented mouth.
Standing, he presses my legs back, opening me back up, and enters me with one swift thrust. I moan as he fills me completely, and then I remember that he did not put a condom on.
“Whoa, whoa, condom.”
“You’re not on the pill?”
“Oh, I am. As you were, fingers crossed no babies are in our future,” I mutter against his jaw. I
trust him completely. He’s clean. He’s mine.
“At least not for now,” he says.
And for some dumb reason that makes me really happy, but then I’m frowning because there could be no future for us if I don’t grow some balls and be honest. Deciding to think about that later, I wrap my arms around his neck as he pounds into me, his dick completely filling me and making it hard to breathe.
“God, you feel so good,” he mutters against my neck.
“Oh, Jude,” I whisper as my body seizes up again, squeezing him tightly with another orgasm. He pushes through though, making my legs shake as he takes what he wants, and he can have it. His fingers bite into my thighs as he continues to move into me, taking my breath with each thrust. Sweat drips down my back, my heart is racing, and I’ve never felt this damn amazing in my life. When I feel the muscles in his shoulders tense up, I squeeze him and he stills inside me, his head leaning against mine. He then thrusts slowly once, then twice before stilling once more, gasping for breath.
Opening my eyes, I meet his and I smile. My heart is going insane in my chest, my stomach feels like it’s dropped to the ground, and as I look into his beautiful green eyes, I know that everything inside me is his. There is no other way. I’m his.
“I love you,” I whisper without really thinking it through. While I know I mean the words, I can’t help but feel a little dumb for admitting them. I mean, for shit’s sake! It’s only been two damn weeks! As we stare into each other eyes, I’m internally freaking out, and he isn’t saying anything. He’s just staring at me, his eyes soft and locked on mine.
Dropping my legs, he cups my face in such a fierce way that it takes my breath away. Moving stray hairs out of my face, he says, “I love you a whole hell of a lot more.”
It’s like firecrackers and glitter fly in the air as my heart just sings for him. Shaking my head, I say, “If you say so, buddy.”
“I know so,” he says in such a way that tells me he does. Smiling, he takes my lips with his, and I know I can’t tell him. I can’t risk the way he makes me feel. I can’t lose him. He loves me, but I don’t know if he loves me enough to love my job. I’ll quit. No biggie and I’ll stay here and own a studio. Or wherever he goes, I’ll go and we will be fine. I don’t need Vegas; I don’t need bright lights and stages with sexy burlesques dancers dancing to my stuff.
I just need Jude.
Chapter 28
Jude
Rolling over, I wrap my arms around Claire’s waist and pull her in tight against my chest, but before I can settle into her, she turns, cuddling into my chest, and I coil around her as if I’m shielding her from the world. I want to stay like this, never let her go, but I know she has to get up soon. I wasn’t expecting her last night, but she texted me early in the morning saying she couldn’t sleep, so I offered for her to come here and I’m glad I did.
Moving my lips along her temple, I inhale deeply, memorizing her scent as a smile settles on my face. “I love you,” I say, and each time I utter those three simple words, my heart constricts because I know what she’s going to say back.
“I love you more,” she says, placing a kiss right on the tattoo on my chest. “Shh, I have at least an hour.”
I smile, kissing her, and say, “Twenty minutes actually.”
She groans as she nuzzles closer, draping her leg across my hip. If she didn’t need the sleep, I would slowly slip it in her, but since I know she has to go to the studio soon to teach little girls, I leave her be. One would think that would annoy her, but when she talks about the girls, she gets a dreamy look in her eyes. It’s sweet and I like that about her. She loves her job; she has such a passion for dance. It’s beautiful and I enjoy watching her do something she believes in. I can’t wait to see where we will be in a year’s time. I wonder if she’ll follow me wherever I go, and I wonder if it is selfish of me to expect her to. What if she wants to finish school? Or stay here? What will we do then?
I’m not sure, and even though it worries me, I know we’ll make it. She’s mine.
Closing my eyes, I’m about to fall asleep when her alarm sounds. Sitting up, she grabs her phone and turns it off before running her hands through her hair and then looking back at me. “Good morning.”
I smile. “Morning.”
Lying down on me, she frames my face with her hands, dusting my jaw and lips with hers. Looking down in my eyes, she smiles as she says, “Thanks again for letting me come over. I just couldn’t sleep.”
“Anytime, babe, you know that.”
“I feel bad,” she says with a sheepish grin. “Kicking Jayden out and all… Maybe next time I can drag you out of bed to come to my dorm?”
“But we can’t kick Skylar out,” I point out. “Jayden doesn’t mind.”
“The hell I don’t,” he says suddenly and Claire covers her mouth, holding in her laughter as I smile.
“Of course he doesn’t ’cause he sneaks back in once we’re asleep,” I say and Jayden agrees.
“Yup, I need my bed.”
“Sorry, Jayden,” she says over her shoulder and I reach up, placing my lips to her bare neck. She giggles, leaning into me and then falling on top of me. Liking her position, I grin as I run my hands down her bare back to her sweet ass.
“You have to leave, huh?”
“Yeah,” she says, letting her legs drop to either side of my hips, pressing her sweet center against my hard one.
“So no time to, you know?” I say, waggling my brows at her as I thrust up against her.
She laughs as she says, “No time to kick Jayden out of the room? Nope, no time.”
“So disappointing,” I say as she kisses my nose and then rolls off me.
“Agreed,” she says with a wink. “Roll over and close your eyes, Jayden.”
“Roger that,” he says and then she goes down the ladder to get her clothes. I lean on the railing and watch as she gets dressed.
Once she’s dressed in some Assassins sweats, she looks up at me expectantly. “Are you going to drive me to the studio?”
“Oh yeah,” I say, getting up and out of bed. “I forgot, sorry, babe.”
“You don’t have to. I can drive, but you’re the one who offered.”
I shake my head, grabbing my jeans and then a tee. “You’re right, I did ’cause I want to.”
“Are you sure?” she asks, putting her bag on her shoulder. “You can go back to sleep.”
“No, I’m good, come on.”
Taking her hand in mine, I grab our helmets and then say bye to Jayden before heading out and up the stairs.
Once outside, the sun shining brightly on me, I bring her in closer to me. “Told ya it was going to be a perfect morning to ride.”
Grinning up at me, she leans up, kissing my jaw before we reach my bike. Getting our helmets on and securing her bag, I’m about to start the bike when she says, “Can we stop at a gas station before we get there? I need some water and something to eat.”
“Sure,” I say before bringing the bike to life, and it roars beneath us.
Leaning forward, she wraps her arms around me and then we’re off. It’s a quiet morning, which is surprising since it’s a Saturday. Usually it’s nuts out and I’m thankful it’s not. I don’t want to concentrate on what I’m doing; I just want to enjoy it. I want to enjoy the feeling of her holding me, knowing that she loves me. It’s only been two days since she uttered the words to me, and I’ve never felt so complete in my life. It’s like I was waiting for that moment my whole existence, as if I was waiting for Claire. And now that I have her, I don’t ever want to let her go.
Since that moment, making love to her against the wall in the arena, I’ve been that lovesick boyfriend, texting and calling and wanting to be near her every second of the day. And that’s not an easy feat. We both have so much with schoolwork, dance, hockey, and life, it gets in the way. But somehow we’re surviving it all, and I couldn’t be more thankful for that. It’s about to get worse though, I feel. My first game
is Friday and then starts the morning and night practices, which means I’ll see her even less than I do now. It worries me, but I believe in this.
In us.
When we’re almost to the studio, I find a gas station and pull in, parking the bike before getting off and helping her. Setting our helmets down, she grabs her wallet and we head inside.
“I need to take a leak,” I say, and she rolls her eyes at me.
“Good to know. I’ll be ready once you are,” she says, a little grin on her face before she heads off. Before she can get far though, I pinch her butt, giving her a grin before heading to the bathroom. After doing my business, I go out to find her and when I do, I don’t like what I find. She’s pulling out of a hug with some guy, a grin on her face as she greets him cheerfully. It doesn’t take long for me to recognize him; it’s Patrick Franklin from the Nashville Assassins. I used to like him, thought he was a great player, but the look in his eyes as he basically eye-fucks my girl has me wanting to rip him to shreds.
“Damn, Claire, I think you’ve gotten hotter,” he says and she laughs.
“Oh please,” she says, waving him off.
“How old are you now? Tell me the truth this time.”
Still laughing, she says, “I’m nineteen now.”
“Legal and ready to mingle,” he sings, waggling his eyebrows. “What are you about to do? Let’s go get some breakfast, catch up.”
Instantly I want to rush out there and push the guy away, but only a psycho would do that. Claire can handle herself. She wouldn’t cheat on me. She loves me. So as I act as if I’m trying to decide on some M&Ms, I listen as Claire says, “Sorry, can’t. I have dance to get to.”
And you have a boyfriend, I say in my head.
“Still at Reese’s?”
Why didn’t she say she has a boyfriend?!