by Aly Martinez
She had a point, and as I opened the door and his dark-green gaze landed on me, I had a feeling that was exactly what he wanted to do. And there was no question I was going to say yes.
He’d changed out the suit he usually wore when he was working and into the most amazing pair of faded jeans and a plain, black T-shirt. It was what I’d learned from the guys to be the tough-guy, off-duty uniform.
But on Jude? Sweet baby Jesus in a manger.
My mouth dried as I raked my eyes over the hard planes of his chest displayed through the tight cotton. My nipples peaked, and it had not one thing to do with the rush of cold air that wafted in around him.
“Brianna, I have to go,” I said before hanging up without tearing my gaze off Jude—or his incredible chest.
“You got the necklace,” he said, stepping inside.
My hand immediately went to the chain as I stared up at him. “Thank you so much. It was really sweet of you to get it fixed for me,” I all but panted.
“You are very welcome. Now, stop looking at me like that.”
“Like what?”
He chuckled and slipped a hand around my back at the same time he touched his lips to my forehead. “Like I’m gonna need a hell of a lot more time to kiss you than I’ve got.”
My stomach dipped. Twice.
First in anticipation of that kiss.
Second in disappointment that it didn’t sound like he had much time.
The latter must have shown on my face, because he laughed and tucked my hair behind my ear.
“Wow. Don’t look at me like I just told you there was no Santa Claus, either.”
“I thought we were hanging out tonight?”
He grinned and traced the tips of his fingers down one of my arms. “We are. But you need to grab a coat. Change of plans. Due to the snow being predicted for tomorrow, the furniture store is working overtime to get all the scheduled deliveries out tonight or they can’t get me rescheduled until Monday. Trust me when I tell you I need a bed. My back is not going to make it another night on an air mattress.
Panic blasted through my system. “But we agreed to stay in tonight.”
He cocked his head to the side and drawled, “Yeah. But things changed. And I gotta be home in thirty minutes and it’s a twenty-minute drive. So we gotta get a move on. Grab whatever the hell smells so good and let’s take it to my place.”
The tingles started in my hands, and from experience, I knew, if they made it to my legs, I’d crumble.
Breathe, Rhion.
Jude’s beautiful face contorted with concern. “Jesus Christ, Rhion,” he said, folding his arms around me. “What the hell?”
Sawing my teeth over my bottom lip, I allowed his warmth to beat back the ice coursing through my veins. “I…I thought you were going to hang out here.”
“I was. But then the furniture store called. Now, tell me what this is really about.”
I couldn’t though. Not without explaining it all.
Thankfully, he offered me my out.
“Is this about your stepmom?”
“Yes,” I lied into his chest.
“You scared she’s still in town?”
“Yes.” Another lie.
He sighed and kissed the top of my head. “I talked to Johnson yesterday, babe. She’s gone. Leo tracked her until her plane landed at JFK.”
Shit. “I…would feel more comfortable…if…”
“Look at me,” he ordered.
But the last thing I wanted to do was to give him my eyes. He’d see the truth. And, worse, if I had to lie to his face, I feared the truth would come tumbling out…in chapters.
When I didn’t look up, he gave me no choice. He caught my chin with two fingers and tilted my head back.
“I know you’ve had a rough few weeks,” he said gently. “First with me coming here and stirring up shit from the past. And then with Margaret showing her ass by bringing up your brother. But you’re safe with me, Rhion. That is one thing I can swear to you.”
And, deep down, I knew that too. After all, he’d saved my life once. I had no doubt he’d do it again. But, sometimes, my mind was my worst enemy.
Jude continued. “My job is to protect people. Those people expect me to put my own life in the line of danger in order to keep them safe. And I absolutely would. Those are people who pay me. People I don’t give a damn about.” His fingers swept down my neck and traced over my collarbone before traveling to the subtle line of exposed cleavage, sending a shiver down my spine and a spark to my core. “And, Butterfly, I don’t think I have to point out that those people are not you. There are no limitations to the lengths I will go to make sure you are safe. I lost you to the flames once. It won’t happen again. Not a man, a woman, or a natural disaster could get past me when it comes to you.”
My breath hitched, but it was no longer because of the panic. It was because, as I held his gaze, I knew he meant those words with every fiber of his being, right down to the marrow in his bones.
I also knew something else. “You didn’t lose me to the flames.”
“I did.” His fingers stopped tracing my cleavage and moved to one of the larger scars that ran over my left breast. “And I’ll never be able to make that right. All I can do is make you understand that it won’t happen again. You’re safe with me, Rhion. It’s a truth. A fact. And a promise.”
A flutter hit my stomach.
His hand shifted up to cup my jaw, his thumb stroking the curve. “If you don’t feel comfortable with leaving, I’ll understand. You can stay here. I’ll go wait for my furniture and come back later, or maybe we can reschedule for tomorrow night.”
The disappointment settled heavily on my shoulders. I didn’t want to reschedule. I’d been waiting a lot of years for a night with Jude. And over a week for another night with this different, real version of him.
Technically, he was a trained bodyguard. Leo never would have hired him if he wasn’t one of the best in the business. But…
No.
I refused to allow the “buts” to rule my life when it came to him. And not because he was Jude. Rather because he was a man I liked, he made me laugh, and I felt comfortable with him.
We shared the same scars.
I wanted to get to know him and see if our connection could evolve into something bigger. And, in order to find that out, I needed to pull a coat on, go to his house, and eat a freaking delicious homemade chicken pot pie.
“It’s okay,” he murmured. “I’ll come back—”
“No,” I blurted. “I’ll just…grab my coat.”
His smile grew wide. “I like that decision, babe.”
I did too. Even if it terrified me.
As we moved around my apartment, preparing to go, my mind checked out.
Panic scrambled my thoughts, leaving me unable to focus on more than one moment at a time.
Bile burned my throat as I armed my security system with shaky hands.
Jude’s strong hand reassuringly rested on my back while he pretended not to notice.
My eyes watered as I stepped onto the elevator, clutching my purse to my chest like a shield.
With one hand balancing a pan of pot pies, Jude used his other to hook me into his side—where his lips found the top of my head and he mumbled, “I’ve got you.”
It was only the sound of his voice that kept me from losing it as the elevator door slid open to the parking garage.
Blood thundered in my ears and my chest felt like it was going to explode as he escorted me to his Jeep.
When the jarring sound of someone shutting a car door attacked me, a cry tore from my throat. His only reaction was to step around me, his tall body folding down over me, cocooning me from any potential danger—even the imaginary kind.
The embarrassment of it all soured in my stomach as he guided me into the passenger seat and shut the door behind me.
He didn’t ask questions as we drove the twenty minutes to his house. He did, however, keep one hand
planted on my thigh and watch me out of the corner of his eye as I fought to breathe.
When he turned into a small apartment complex and then parked in front of a two-story, brick quad-unit building, the process started all over again, only in reverse.
I held my breath to keep the panic from showing. Though, judging by how tightly Jude kept me pressed into his side, I had a sneaking suspicion I was failing.
The moment I stepped over the threshold and into his apartment, a blast of fresh air filled my burning lungs and my whole body sagged. Jude stepped in behind me, his hand moving around my middle as he placed a kiss to my temple.
“See? Safe and sound,” he murmured.
I closed my eyes and smiled, swaying back against him, mentally celebrating the enormous victory.
“Thanks, Jude,” I whispered.
“No need to thank me. It wasn’t hard to dodge the Chinese throwing stars from the little old lady closing her car door in the parking garage,” he replied, flipping the lights on to reveal a virtually empty apartment.
There was a large dining room table, which was entirely too big for the modest space, and a chocolate leather sofa that had seen its fair share of wear and tear. But they were his, so they felt comfortable.
I tilted my head back against his chest and shot him a smile. He was oblivious to how big of a deal this was for me. And I decided right then and there I liked it that way. He wasn’t coddling me. Or staring at me like I was a mental case. Or pressuring me to spill my soul. He simply returned my smile.
It was the most liberating smile of my life.
Something inside me snapped—in the best possible way.
Jude freed me.
“Are we alone?” I asked, taking the pot pie dish from his hand and walking to the laminate countertop of his bar.
“Until the furniture guys get here,” he chuckled.
He stopped chuckling when I set the dish down and tore my shirt over my head.
“Jesus, fuck, Rhion,” he cursed, his gaze jumping to my breasts and staying there as I sauntered toward him.
“Let’s hope they’re late,” I purred. I caught him by the back of the neck and then dragged him down to my mouth.
His hands landed on my hips at the same time his lips met mine. Our tongues tangled as our moans and growls collided. I folded my arms around his neck and took him deeper. I wanted more. More of the freedom I felt in his embrace. More of his mouth. More of his hands at my breasts. More of the way his talented fingers could draw me to the edge. And that had been when he was drunk.
From the way he kissed me, I knew that sober Jude would be better.
He continued to work my mouth as I reached back to undo my bra.
“Wait,” he ordered against my lips, catching my hands to still them.
“I’m done waiting,” I replied, giving up on the bra and going for his shirt.
He palmed either side of my head and held my gaze. “Rhion. Wait.”
After tugging up on the hem of his shirt, I slid my hands underneath and raked my nails up his stomach. His abs flexed, rippling under my touch.
Dropping his forehead to mine, he groaned, “Woman, what are you doing?”
I pushed up onto my toes and brushed my lips against his. “I’m simply finishing what we started that first night at my place.”
His hand moved down to my ass. “Maybe that’s our problem. I don’t remember what exactly we started.”
“Then I’ll show you.” I rolled my hips against his, finding him long and hard behind the denim. Electricity shot between my legs and up to my nipples, igniting every nerve ending in its path.
“Fuck,” he mumbled before taking my mouth in a punishing kiss. It was the most beautiful pain I had ever experienced.
Then it was my turn to curse as he used my ass to grind me against him again.
With our lips—and our tongues—still connected, he backed me into the room. I shuffled my heels across the carpeted floor in step with him as he continued to kiss me, deep and demanding.
Jude’s arms wrapped around my waist, and then the ground disappeared beneath my feet.
Seconds later, I found myself horizontal, teetering on the edge of his dining room table.
“Scoot back and get comfortable, baby,” he said with a dangerous grin.
I obeyed—eagerly.
“Mmm. Good girl,” he purred, grazing the tip of his finger down the swell of my breasts.
I groaned, fisting my hands at my sides as he placed a kiss at the top of my breast. “Lower,” I begged.
He spoke between kisses against my chest. “I’ve got two men on their way to deliver my bed.” Kiss. “They are going to be here any minute.” Kiss. “But.” He lifted his head and his blazing, green gaze locked with mine. “If you want to show me what happened on Friday night, I’ll have them leave the damn thing on the front porch.”
A chill shook my shoulders as he teased a finger over my bra. And then my head fell back and a moan flew from my mouth as he dipped inside, brushing my sensitive nipple.
“Is that a yes, Rhion? You finally gonna let me in on your little secret?” he asked as he gave the fabric a tug, popping my entire breast free.
My body made the decision for me when he rolled my nipple between two fingers and overloaded my system as a million sparks traveled straight to my clit.
“Yes!” I cried, arching off the table.
Chapter Nineteen
Jude
I silently cursed all forms of alcohol and their mind-erasing effects. I’d gone an entire week without the memory of Rhion Park in the throes of ecstasy, her mouth open as she gasped for air, a round breast pushed up by her black lace bra, and my fingers plucking and rolling her perfect, pink nipple.
My cock swelled impossibly hard at the sight.
I’d been a rock since she’d brazenly stripped her shirt off, that fiery butterfly tattoo taunting me as half of it hid beneath her bra.
Fuck the deliverymen. I would have slept on a damn air mattress for the rest of my life in exchange for my current view.
“Yes!” she cried again.
“Start talking, Butterfly.”
Her blue eyes fluttered open, and she swept her tongue over her bottom lip before taunting, “I said I’d show you. No telling.” She teased a finger back and forth under the hem of my shirt. “Take this off.”
I tore the shirt over my head, and no sooner than it was on the floor had she sat up and begun working my neck with her skilled mouth.
I bent and balanced myself on a hand as she ravenously bit and sucked. “Fuck, baby,” I groaned, shoving a hand into the back of her hair. “Did you do this on Friday night?”
“Yes. You lifted me up to sit on the washing machine because you were too tall,” she replied against my neck.
Answers.
“What were we talking about?” I asked, using her hair to tilt her head back.
She shook her head and reclined, propping herself up onto her elbows. “This is the part where you became acquainted with my tattoo. You remember that part, right? Maybe, if you repeated the process, it would jog your memories.”
I smiled wolfishly. I could so fucking do that.
As I followed her down, her back formed an elegant curve, thrusting her breasts toward my mouth. I slid a hand beneath her and popped the clasp on her bra open.
“Did I do this?” I asked.
“No.”
With one hand, I pulled the lace down her arms and then sucked her nipple into my mouth, twirling my tongue around the peaked nub, relishing in her breathy mews.
“This?” I asked, gently pinching it between my teeth.
“Oh God.” She bowed up, her hands flying into the top of my hair.
“Is that a yes?”
“No,” she breathed, her fingers inching down toward the scars at the back of my neck.
I caught her at the wrist and pinned her hand beside her head.
“Jude,” she complained when I released her breast to fin
d her other hand.
I guided it up above her head and clamped both of her wrists together. “Now, I’m sure I didn’t let you do that.” I nipped at her bottom lip and then ordered, “Don’t move your arms.”
She swallowed hard but nodded.
Straightening myself, I allowed my hungry stare to rake over her small body. She was mostly on the table, only her legs dangling off the end. Fuck, she was beautiful—sprawled out, watching me with pink cheeks, her bright tattoos contrasting with the pale-white skin on her stomach. But it was the waistband of her jeans that I honed in on. I had memories of my hand traveling through her wetness. I wasn’t sure what else I had done. But I knew, by the time she got off that table, I’d have claimed her completely.
With my Hands. Mouth. Cock.
With a growl, I shoved the surrounding chairs away. When one of them fell, her eyes flashed wide and her breathing sped, her round breasts rising and falling, taunting me, but she didn’t move her hands. I stopped at the corner of the table nearest her hip and palmed her breast, my cock twitching as she pressed up into my hand.
“I touched you like this, didn’t I, Rhion?”
“God, yes.”
I trailed a single finger down to her stomach and tapped below her navel. “Did I kiss you here?”
She swiveled her hips. “No.”
I smiled darkly. “We should probably remedy that, then.”
Her mouth fell open as I bent, allowing my breath to whisper across her skin. I kissed her all too briefly. A soft moan breezed from between her lips as I popped the button on her denim open.
“I remember touching you here. You were so fucking tight and wet.”
“Jude, please,” she pleaded when I didn’t press into her pants.
Instead, I strolled around to the other side of the table, allowing my finger to trace a path over her body.
“Damn it, Jude,” she groaned.
A bolt of lightning shot through me, straight to my balls, as she cupped my hard cock through my jeans.
“Touch me,” she demanded in frustration.
I pretended that my cock wasn’t about to fight its way out of my zipper to get to her and arched a chastising eyebrow. “I thought I said not to move your hands?”
Stroking my shaft, she said, “I won’t as long as you’re moving yours. Inside me.”