by Kira Blakely
I didn’t care that we had a plane to catch in the next few hours. I just wanted to stay wrapped up in Ava’s arms and legs. I wanted to savor the peace and quiet that came with having Ava in my personal space.
I nearly slipped back into dreams when I felt Ava’s hips squirm suddenly. Her ass cheeks rubbed against me suggestively. I forced my eyes open to stare at the back of her head. Her dark hair was pillowed out around us. It still smelled of shampoo from the night before. I waited to see if she would do it again.
“Jude.”
The whispered plea, followed by writhing, forced all my blood to pool between my legs. I pressed a kiss against Ava’s bare shoulder as I leaned over to see that her eyes were closed but pleasure was sketched out across her face. Another sex dream. She was having another sex dream about me.
It filled me with smugness when I realized that I was the center of her dreams. I smoothed a hand across her ass cheek while guiding her leg back to hook over my hip. Reaching down, I shuddered when my fingers brushed up against the heat of her core that was already wet and ready for me. I nibbled on the side of her neck while she continued to writhe against me while I rubbed her. Soft moans were escaping her lips as her hips rocked against my hand.
Shudders wracked her body when an orgasm came over her. I didn’t waste any time by sliding myself into that wetness with my own groan of relief. Ava’s eyes opened immediately as she twisted around to look at me. Her cheeks were flushed from coming.
“What are you doing?” she whimpered when I thrusted into her deeply. “Oh, God. I was having a dream that we were doing this.”
“I know, baby,” I murmured, pulling her leg back even more. “You said my name, and I gave you what you wanted.”
Her head sank back into the pillow with a shaky sigh. “I don’t know how you manage to do this to me but it’s insane how you make me feel like this every single time.”
“It’s only going to get better from here on out.”
I rolled her over onto her stomach. Without breaking contact, I ignored the ache in my wrist as I pulled her back into me. Her hands gripped the sheets while she looked back over her shoulder at me in a mixture of desperation and embarrassment. I smacked her ass cheek before sitting up on my knees to let go of myself. She’d had her own orgasm. It was time for mine.
The headboard pounded against the wall but I didn’t care as I watched our skin smack against one another’s in a rippling effect. Ava’s pants were growing louder, bordering on screams at times. The sheets ripped off the corners of the bed while Ava bucked up again in another earth-shattering release. Those muscles clenched down on my cock hard. Grinding my teeth, I rammed into her harder and harder until I finally spilled into her with my own cry of relief.
We both collapsed against the bed, panting heavily. I reached for Ava’s hand, and we laid there for a long minute, catching our breath. The tips of my fingers and toes were tingling, a sign of an amazing release. I couldn’t even remember the last time it had felt this good back to back. It had been a long time. A really long time.
Ava rolled onto her back to stare up at the ceiling. Her nipples were hard, and goosebumps covered her skin. I’d never seen anything more beautiful and erotic as she laid there next to me, completely sated.
“How does this keep getting better as times goes on?” she asked, breathless. “You would think that it would get old eventually.”
I furrowed my eyebrows at her in confusion. “Who says sex has to be boring after a while? What rock have you been living under?”
“A small one.” She hesitated and added, “I never did it again after you.”
“You haven’t?” I propped myself up on an elbow to look down at her in surprise. Her cheeks reddened visibly. “You really haven’t been with any guy since me? In high school?”
She pulled the sheets up to cover her chest. “Well, I’ve been a bit busy trying to get through college and build my career.”
“Not even a one-night stand?” I pushed, still shocked. “I mean, no going out for drinks with friends to meet some dude in a bar?”
“Nothing like that. I really didn’t have any friends in college who liked to drink. I stayed in the library during frat parties. I just never got around to finding a guy that I was even semi-attracted to. I’ve been busy,” she repeated.
I couldn’t help the smug grin tugging at my lips. It was thrilling to know that Ava hadn’t slept with any other guy after me. She was still my first while I was her only. That thrilled me beyond anything else.
“Try not to look too satisfied with that information,” she said. “Maybe I should go out there and sleep with some other guy to see if I’m settling on your skills in bed.”
“That’s an insult,” I said and climbed over to pin her playfully to the bed. “I don’t think I could let you go anyway. I’d have to kick the guy’s ass for touching you.”
Ava waggled her eyebrows at me with a giggle. “Well, you won’t have to worry about it. I’m pretty much stuck.”
“Damn straight you are, baby.”
I leaned down to press a heated kiss to her lips but the sharp trill of the hotel phone ringing interrupted us. I drew back with an annoyed sigh.
“It’s probably Chuck,” I said, releasing her wrists. “Checking to make sure we check out on time to get to Vegas.”
Ava’s face clouded over as I rolled off her to grab the phone next to the bed. I felt the mattress shift as she got up to pad into the bathroom, shutting the door behind her.
“Hello?”
“Oh, good. I’m glad you’re awake, sunshine.”
I rolled my eyes at Chuck’s voice. “Yeah. I’m awake. We’re getting ready to get up for the day.”
“Good,” he said shortly. “I need you here tonight for press and interviews. Don’t be fucking late. Got it?”
“Got it.”
The pleasurable haze from the night before and the morning faded away to the chaos of traffic on the highways. Cameras flashed in our direction as we walked through airport security. I scowled in irritation at the paparazzi that followed us. I didn’t mind the fans who came up to me for autographs. It was the damn paps who came up with bullshit stories that I was growing tired of.
I didn’t relax until we were on my private plane an hour later, high above Texas. I let my head sink back against the seat cushion to enjoy the whir of the plane’s engines. Ava’s hand was twined in mine the entire time but she pulled back after a little bit.
“What’s going to happen now?”
I opened my eyes to look at her in confusion. “What do you mean?”
“Why are we going to Vegas?” Ava looked equally confused. “I mean, with everything that had happened yesterday, I assumed…”
She trailed off when I shot her a skeptical look. Not caring that she had pulled away, I placed a soothing hand on her bouncing knee. Anxiety was taking over her again.
“My wrist is going to heal just fine,” I said. “It’s not the first time that I’ve gotten hurt, Ava. Bones heal. Muscles get repaired. Everything is going to be fine.”
“So, you’re still going to continue this tour around the country?”
“Why wouldn’t I?” I asked, thoroughly confused. “I have to. My contracts need to be fulfilled. My fans would be disappointed if I stopped over a small sprain.”
“It doesn’t seem like a small sprain,” Ava remarked, shaking her head. “I don’t know what it is but I can’t shake this feeling that something is going to happen.”
“It’s just nerves, Ava, from last night. This is my life. I know how to handle a bike, believe it or not.”
“You crashed,” she pointed out, looking at me then. “I don’t think I can sit through another show if you’re going to crash again. It’s too traumatic for me.”
Resentment flared in me when I realized the answer that she was seeking from me. I focused on the window then as her knee shifted away from my hand. I didn’t even bother trying to reach out and touch her again.
This was my life. I couldn’t count how many times I had broken bones, sprained limbs, or even had a concussion. It was just a part of it all. Crashes happened more than Ava realized but she was stuck on a minor one because of what happened with Andy.
“Believe it or not,” I started, turning to look at her, “I am a trained professional. I know how to get out there and handle stunts. I’ve been doing this for quite some time, Ava. This isn’t like when we were fifteen years old, trying to be cool. This is my job. And I’m going to keep doing it.”
A shadow flickered over Ava’s face. She shifted uncomfortably in the seat next to me as she crossed her lean legs.
“Right,” she said, a bit flatly. “I completely understand. You are a professional at this. I just can’t watch anymore, okay? I’ll do the article from what you tell me, but I can’t sit through these shows any longer.”
A headache pounded in my head again. I didn’t even bother responding because I could sense where this conversation would go. A fight. I didn’t want to risk another fight when the last one had me hitting the bottle and then crashing the next night. I didn’t even want to point out that Andy’s accident years ago had happened for an entirely different reason. I knew that Andy’s name would send Ava over the edge that we were teetering on together for what like the millionth time.
Chapter 20
Ava
“JJ! Can I have your autograph?”
“How is your wrist?”
I trailed behind Jude, past the stream of media and fans waiting for us outside of the hotel in Vegas later that afternoon. I watched as Jude stopped to talk to a few younger fans in the crowd. Their faces lit up as he talked to them candidly while signing their photographs of him.
It made everything that much harder. It had occurred to me on the plane that injuries and the possibility of death weren’t even a deal breaker for someone like Jude. The entire accident yesterday had gathered more attention on him, but it was those young faces in the crowd who looked up to him that made my stomach twist into a million knots. Those young faces had no idea what those type of stunts could to do someone.
I walked past Jude to enter the hotel lobby where Chuck was watching the chaos unfold outside of the hotel as well. Our eyes clashed together as he gave me a long hard look.
“Try not to fuck with him tonight if you can,” he said darkly. “I’d rather not have a repeat of the other night.”
Cold anger skittered through me. I knew how Chuck looked at Jude—the young and vibrant man who could earn millions of dollars by just showing up to an event. That didn’t include anything else that Jude had planned.
“You mean, don’t mess with your money maker over there?” I asked coldly. “You realize that Jude is a human being beneath this blanket of fame he is currently under?”
“I’m aware of it,” Chuck responded smoothly. “Are you accusing me of something, Ms. James?”
The sliding glass doors opened before I could offer a reply to that. Jude walked into the hotel lobby in confident strides, flicking his sunglasses up to reveal icy blue eyes. He held out a hand for hotel keys.
“Much better this morning,” Chuck said, handing them to him. “You look clean cut and sober. Which is good, because we have some Las Vegas officials near the Starbucks in the lobby who want to speak with you about yesterday.”
“I figured that was going to happen,” Jude replied, handing a spare key to Chuck. “Take this one back to the desk. Ava is staying in my suite.”
My eyes widened along with Chuck’s, and he shot me a nasty glance. I opened my mouth to protest, but Jude didn’t give me a chance. He pressed a kiss against my lips before handing off his bags to the bellhop.
“I’ll be up in a little bit,” he said and handed me the key to his hotel suite. “Let’s get this over with, Chuck. I want to get some decent fucking sleep before tomorrow.”
“Maybe separate rooms would be a good idea,” Chuck suggested but he retreated at the dark glance Jude shot him. “Fine, fine. Let’s get this meeting over with. You have three interviews to get to after this.”
Cameras flashed in our direction. I glanced over to find a swarm of media outside of the windows, so I quickly took my bags up to Jude’s hotel suite with the bell hop. This suite was even bigger than the one back in Austin. The entire fourth floor was dedicated to its sprawling living room, master bedroom and bath, and a large kitchen with a dining room table.
I sat down at the dining room table and pulled out my computer to check through emails, while Jude and Chuck went through their day of interviews. Damage control was what I sensed from Chuck’s bad mood. Separate rooms did sound like a good idea, but I didn’t dare bring that up to Jude when he returned later that afternoon, visibly exhausted from all the camera attention.
“How about you and I hit the strip tonight?” he suggested, loosening the buttons of his shirt at his neck. “I could use some gambling to get relaxed for tomorrow night.”
He leaned in to press a quick kiss to my lips before retreating to the master bedroom. I closed my computer with a sigh. The draft I had sent off to Andrew had already been approved. They were going to edit a clip of it to do as a teaser in tomorrow’s paper. This was the last exhibition of the circuit before the Games, and I couldn’t be more relieved by it.
“I don’t think so,” I said, tucking my computer back into its carrying case. “I need some downtime from all this traveling. You can go if you want to, though. It’s your money.”
Jude appeared shirtless in the bedroom doorway then. I swallowed thickly at the sight of his muscular chest, covered in tattoos. His casual pants hung at his hips teasingly as he walked toward me with a frown.
“What is it?” he asked. “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing,” I said quickly. “Nothing is wrong. I’m just tired.”
He twisted my chair around effortlessly to grab me, trapping me against my chair as he leaned down to look me straight in the eye. My heart pounded in my chest as his eyes narrowed at me in disbelief.
“Something isn’t right,” he commented. “You are a horrible liar, Ava. You can’t keep a straight face worth anything.”
Just tell him the truth, Ava. Tell him that you’re fucking terrified of losing him out there in the arena the way you lost Andy.
I reached up to cradle Jude’s shaven face in my hands. It didn’t feel right to ask him to give up the one thing that he’d worked his entire life for. He had poured everything into his career to get away from his family and to get as far away as possible from his past. I couldn’t ask him to give any of that up because I was afraid of losing him.
But I was afraid to watch it happen all over again.
Instead, I knew what I had to do. I had to leave after tonight. I had to publish what I wrote earlier, after flicking through articles about Jude all over the Internet to fulfill what I promised him. I didn’t want any of Jude’s money. I just wanted him, but his success would always keep a void between us. I didn’t want the two of us starting a relationship off with him giving up his successful career.
“Ava?” Jude’s hand was trailing down my cheek as he gazed down at me in concern. “What’s going on inside that pretty little head of yours?”
“Nothing,” I whispered. “Just kiss me.”
He didn’t hesitate to press his lips up against mine. A part of me rationalized that this was not a good idea. Walking away after this would make me the shitty asshole in the situation but I pushed those thoughts away to concentrate on the feeling of Jude’s lips gliding along mine in a deep kiss that sent shockwaves through me.
He tugged me out of the chair to wrap his arms around my waist. We walked backward blindly into the privacy of the bedroom, even though we had the entire suite to ourselves. I poured every ounce of my tumultuous emotions into those kisses while I pushed his pants and boxers down past his muscular thighs. I smoothed a hand up his thighs, relishing in the hard muscle that flexed against my touch.
I concentrated on
the feeling of Jude’s hands brushing through my hair tenderly, before undressing me quickly as well. I shimmied out of my leggings and underwear while backing up to the large bed in the center of the room. His body brushed up against mine, and I gladly tangled myself around him as our kisses picked up with passion. I ran my hands down every square inch of Jude’s back to feel those hard muscles beneath his hot skin. I let my eyes close at the sensation of his erection sliding into me, deep and hard. I listened intently to every breath and moan that escaped Jude’s mouth as he bucked against me.
I didn’t want to forget it. I didn’t want to forget this incredible feeling of being so close to a man that every single female in the world wanted to be close to. I knew him, though. I knew how he enjoyed rough sex but also the foreplay. I stored all these intimate details in the back of my mind while I hooked my arms around Jude’s shoulders to pull him closer, to pull him deeper into me.
The new depth stoked something in me that I’d never felt before. It sent fiery sparks through my entire system. Jude adjusted his arms around me to cradle my head with his hand. His other hand slid beneath my right ass cheek to grip me there. He pulled all the way back to slam into me hard again. He ground his hips against mine before pulling back to do it again. He repeated it, over and over, until I was thrashing underneath him from the tumult of sensations going through me.
Tears filled my eyes. Not from pain. From the pleasure of it. Because I wanted him to stop before my heart burst open. Because I didn’t want him to stop as he took me higher and higher into a dark oblivion that I never wanted to come down from. This would be the last time we were together. I had to memorize everything that I could before tomorrow night, because I would be on a plane, flying back to Gypsum.
I only prayed that Jude would understand that I couldn’t sit idle in the arena for the rest of my life, watching him risk his life for a few more minutes of fame. Not after watching him crash to the ground. Not after what happened to Andy.