“Jude, can I ask you a question?”
“Sure.”
“Do you still feel like you’re in hell?”
His response was immediate. “Not in the least.”
I smiled even though he couldn’t see it. “Goodnight, Jude.”
He kissed the back of my head before replying, “Goodnight, Sparky.”
To most, living day after day in a tiny cottage on the beach with absolutely nothing to do would get old quick. And if we hadn’t turned the corner in our relationship five days ago, I may have been one of those people. But truth be told, I was enjoying our time together. His incessant teasing no longer bothered me. I wasn’t as uptight over his sexual innuendos, and I often gave back my own dose of clever comebacks.
With barely any outside human contact this past week, we could have gotten on each other’s nerves, yet that hasn’t happened.
When a new feisty housekeeper came by for the weekly cleaning of the cottage, her grumbling over the fact that there was nothing to clean caused Jude to laugh at my expense. The others before her were much more polite than Muriel. She pulled the knife from under the mattress, and in her heavy Caribbean accent, asked, “What is this?”
“Security,” I said with a shrug. She rolled her eyes and mumbled something that sounded suspiciously like “wacko.” Hearing him cracking up caused my own fit of giggles. The more she glared at us, the more we lost it.
When the groceries for the week were delivered, Jude told me to stay where I was lying in the sun and he’d go put them away, only to come back with a can of whipped cream behind his back and stage an attack of epic proportions. He chased me around our beach, spraying me the entire time as I screamed and giggled. By the time the can went dry, we were both covered in a white sandy stickiness, which we washed off in the ocean.
And when he took us out for a ride in the little dinghy, he surprised me with a packed lunch of peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. As we floated on the turquoise sea, he serenaded me with the Swedish national anthem, claiming he really didn’t know all the words to any other songs except the one by the Divinyls. The man could have been saying the crudest things to me, and I wouldn’t know it. Every so often, he grinned, and I wondered if he was indeed changing the words to his benefit. Either way, hearing his native tongue in any form was sexy as hell.
Today was our sand castle competition. Walking hand in hand up the beach to our destination, he smirked down at my drawstring bag and shook his head. “What’s in your backpack, Sparky?”
“Nothing.”
He narrowed his eyes with suspicion. “Tell me what could you possibly need when we’re only twenty feet from the house.”
“No, you’ll make fun of me.”
“You are too much.” He laughed at me and shook his head. “Ready to make a kick ass castle with me?”
I nodded enthusiastically. Wow, have I been abducted by aliens? Not once did I think about the sand I would be digging into with my bare hands in just a few minutes. Not once did I consider all the places sand would end up. All I thought about was his hot body in that tiny European cut bathing suit while he used muscles sure to put on a spectacular show.
The visual made me giddy, and he noticed. “What’s so funny?”
“Nothing.”
“I can always tickle it out of you,” he threatened just as an older man, who really shouldn’t have been wearing a Speedo, clapped his hands and hooted.
“Heelloo, lovebirds. How are we on this fine, fine day?” He bounced up and down on his little legs, causing things to jiggle. I immediately averted my eyes as Jude snorted. His jovial demeanor and Humpty Dumpty physique had Jude and I fighting to hold in our laughter.
Our babysitter for the day then said, “I’m Felix, and I’ll be judging your work today. Ready to get nice and sann-deee?” he asked, stretching the word out to six syllables. Without breaking eye contact, Jude squeezed my hand, which caused a giggle to erupt.
To cover for my silliness, Jude cleared his throat, and said, “We’re ready.”
“Okay, let’s get started,” Felix whooped. “You will have one hour to create your masterpiece. You’ll be judged on teamwork, communication, and creativity. But there’s one catch.” He walked to a small table containing the variety of tools available to us. A small handheld shovel and things that looked better suited to be in a child’s sandbox were scattered across the surface. From the clutter, Felix lifted a pair of handcuffs. “You must complete your castle while being handcuffed—together.”
“Hell yes,” Jude said, just as I said, “Seriously?”
He leaned down and whispered into my ear, “I may swipe those for later.”
I was sure he was kidding, but the idea both terrified me and thrilled me regardless.
“Are you two ready?”
“One question. What is the reward?” Jude asked with a grin.
“Sorry, it’s a surprise.” Felix shook his head. “But I will tell you it will be quite delicious. Any other questions?” We shook our heads simultaneously. “Excellent.” Motioning us closer, he asked for our wrists. Jude repositioned himself to my right, offering his left wrist.
I wrinkled my brows. “What are you doing? I’m a righty.”
“So am I, and it’s more important for me to use my right hand than it is for you.”
I put my hand on my hip. “Is that so?”
“Yes, Sparky. It is. I predict I’ll be doing most of the work, therefore I need my good hand. Am I wrong?”
I huffed. “No.”
“Good.” Taking the cuffs from Felix, Jude snapped one side onto my right wrist and the other to his left. The cold metal sat heavy on my skin. That combined with the warmth of his arm pressing up along mine caused goosebumps to riddle my flesh.
Felix then clapped his hands once, and said, “Okay. Go!”
Without warning, Jude lunged to the table, dragging me behind. He grabbed two buckets and then marched down the beach toward the ocean without breaking stride.
“Ow,” I whined, practically jogging to keep up. “I’m going to bruise.”
“Sorry, but you need to move your ass faster, Sparky. We only have an hour. I’ll rub it better later.” He looked down at me and his heated gaze caused my bikini bottoms to dampen.
Jude was the only man who could annoy me and turn me on in the same breath. He was also the only one I’d want to.
Chapter 16
Jude
Who could have predicted rolling around in the hot sand with a bikini clad brunette beauty would have been absolute torment—in a salacious way? Every time her smooth thigh pressed against my leg, or my left hand brushed her boob, it was pure torture.
Hiding the effect she had on my cock wasn’t easy while wearing nothing but a small swimsuit. Bending forward while working on our masterpiece turned out to be a huge blessing in disguise. It wasn’t for fear that she’d see my cock hardened to painful proportions, but more so that if she did and unintentionally gave me a welcoming response, I couldn’t guarantee I’d be able to ignore it.
On the one hand, taking her right there on the beach beside our medieval castle may have won us this stupid game. On the other, when the day came that I took her, it wouldn’t be in the sweltering heat on a sandy beach with a rotund man looking on.
Felix came over with a tiny silver key and unlocked our cuffs. Brae began rubbing her wrist while moaning in relief. Taking her hand, I resumed rubbing the red welt marring her skin. Her eyes looked up into mine just as she bit her bottom lip.
“Congratulations,” Felix said while our eyes remained locked in some sort of a trance. “I was most impressed with your teamwork, communication skills, and final results. You have achieved a very high score in all categories. Your reward will be delivered tonight to your cottage.” When we still hadn’t looked his way, he cleared his throat, and added, “I’ll give you some privacy.”
His last comment caught Brae’s attention. “What did he say?”
“He said he�
��d give us some privacy.”
Her head twisted from side to side. A few people were scattered way up on the beach to the left, sunbathing and swimming in the ocean. No one was nearby, nor were they paying attention to us. It would have been very easy to act on my urges.
“So, we won?”
I nodded while staring at her lips. “Yes, Sparky. We won.”
In an abrupt move, she stepped away, pulling her wrist from my grip. “It feels better now, thanks,” she said, avoiding my gaze. With the distance between us, there was no hiding my hard-on any longer. When she looked back into my eyes, she appeared nervous.
“What’s wrong, Sparky?”
“Nothing.” Turning her head, she focused on our castle, but the rosy tinge on her cheeks gave her away. She was just as turned on, just as wired as I was. “I did a great job,” she quipped, tilting her head slightly to give me a sideways glance.
“You did a great job?”
“Yes.” She pointed to the tiny flag she stuck in the highest tower. “That was my idea. And that moat, it’s perfect. But what I think won it for us was the detail I put into the brick façade. You’re welcome.”
The look on my face and my hands on my hips caused her to break out into a fit of giggles. The sound of it, the look of pure unguarded happiness on her face, and the way her hot body looked in that damn royal blue bikini was what had me propelling toward her. She froze for a moment before she took off running down the beach. I caught up quickly, lifting her and dropping to the sand with her in my arms.
Pinning her arms above her head, I said, “Admit I won us this contest.” She shook her head in defiance. “Sparky, last chance,” I warned, a gleam no doubt in my eyes.
“No,” she retorted, her lips twitching.
I switched my grip into one hand and used my free one to tickle her relentlessly. “Stop, Jude!”
“Say it, Sparky!”
“No. I won.” She squirmed beneath me, giggling while twisting and turning, trying to break loose. The more she wiggled, the more our bodies lined up perfectly. The moment my cock pressed against the nylon fabric of her bikini bottom, she immediately halted her movements, her eyes darting to mine.
We were completely covered in sand, and that fact confirmed she was as preoccupied as I was. Because instead of insisting I let her up so she could brush it off, she lifted her head and kissed my lips.
That one move caused a chain of events that started with us writhing in the sand while making out and ended with her on my back as I sprinted us back to the cottage.
“Wait, I forgot my bag.”
“Fuck your bag.”
On a mission, I bounded up the few steps to the cottage. “Wait! We’re all sandy.”
I halted my steps and turned to look at her. “Seriously, Brae?”
She tightened her grip around my neck. “Let’s go for a swim. Please?”
The woman was a fucking tease—intentional or not. The way she said that against my ear and the way her pussy pressed into my lower back as her thighs tightened around my waist was fucking me up. With a sigh, I turned and bolted for the ocean. When I got to the water, I twisted her around my body until she straddled my front. Pausing with my hands holding her up by her ass, we came nose to nose. The look in her eyes made me want to fuck her right then, right there.
Salty waves splashed up at us, but the coolness of the water was not helping my disposition in the least. The nylon fabric of her top now looked as if it was molded to her body. My thumbs grazed the sides of her tits, coming very close to her pebbled nipples. I focused on her lips and moved in closer, surprised to see her tilting her head back. Our eyes met again before hers darted around the beach. Even though I knew no one but the two of us were present, it didn’t prevent me from looking as well.
“Jude, we can’t.” All the playfulness that had been in her voice vanished. From the time we were rolling around in the sand to then, she must have snapped back to her senses. The lust that had been visible a few minutes earlier was now replaced with apprehension and fear. It wasn’t the right time… she wasn’t ready.
Reluctantly, I set her down, the water now resting just below the top of her bikini. All I could do was stare at her. Maybe I’d been reading the signals wrong, or maybe it was my dick doing the thinking lately.
“Are you okay?” She worried her bottom lip.
No, I’m not. I need to fuck you. I need to feel you, was what I wanted to say. But we still had a few weeks left together. If I spewed my thoughts, she might be turned off completely and I could be left sleeping on the hammock.
“I think I’m going to stay out here for a bit. I won’t be long.”
Brae’s eyes searched mine as she nodded her head. “Okay. I’m going to go take a shower. I have sand in places it shouldn’t be,” she said with a forced laugh. “I’ll leave a towel for you on the porch.”
“Thank you.”
I watched her hot body walk away and adjusted myself under the water. I needed to reel in my shit and figure out what was going on in her head. Taking advantage of the water, I dove in under a gentle wave and realized I needed to figure out what was going on in my own head first.
As the water supported my back, I looked up at the sky. This would all be so much easier if I’d met her at a club, picked her up—because I definitely would have—and had a one-night stand. But here, neither of us could leave after we had sex. The problem was, if she felt awkward afterward and shut down on me again, I now knew one time with her would never be enough.
My feet hit the ocean floor, and I looked at the home we were currently sharing. Fuck, I was so confused. What I did know for sure, Sparky was different than other women. Now I needed to figure out what to do about it.
Just as she promised, a nice clean towel was waiting for me on the railing. I dried off and washed the sand from my feet, chuckling to myself as I did. Boy, did she have me whipped.
When I walked into the house, there was a note sitting on the table addressed to both of us. Since the envelope was opened, I read it. We were being awarded a gourmet dinner for winning the sandcastle challenge. Our instructions were to dress for a fancy dinner, which would be held on the beach behind the cottage, at seven p.m.
Brae’s hairdryer turned off just as I was looking through the clothes hanging in the closet. Thankfully, I had appropriate attire for this evening. The bathroom door swung open and my mouth went dry at the sight of her. She looked gorgeous. Her skin had taken on a golden color, which glowed against the pale pink strapless dress she had on. The soft fabric hugged every one of her curves, making me jealous of a dress.
“Oh. I didn’t hear you come in.” Her fingers clenched and unclenched at her sides. She glanced at the clothes I’d laid out on the bed. “I gather you saw the note?”
“Yes.” I took a step toward her. “You look stunning.”
“Thank you.” A blush crept up her cheeks and a shy smile spread over her lips.
“Are you done in there?” She nodded as her eyes focused on my chest for a moment. An awkward silence passed between us, one I didn’t particularly care for. “Okay, then, I’m going to take a shower.”
“Okay,” she said as I walked past her. Before entering the bathroom, I looked back at where she still stood with her back to me. She hung her head before her shoulders visibly relaxed. Feeling dejected, I closed the door behind me and prepared for yet another cold shower.
The sun had begun to set, making the ambiance as romantic as they’d intended. Candles were on the white linen covered table set with crystal glasses and dishes that looked like fine china.
“Wow, they outdid themselves.” Brae’s voice was a hair above a whisper.
“Yes, they did.” I pulled out her chair, and when she sat in it, her dress rose higher on her thighs.
A bottle of champagne sat in a chilled bucket to the right of the table. After I sat, I pulled it out and poured us each a glass. Her eyes studied the bubbles dancing to the top of the flute. Right as I was g
oing to raise my glass to toast, a deep voice bellowed.
“Welcome.” An older man approached us wearing black pants and a white suit jacket. “I’m Allesandro. It will be my pleasure to serve you this evening. Tonight, you will be enjoying a lovely five-course meal, which has been prepared with you in mind. I see you already found the champagne, so now take a moment to revel in this wonderful view.” He motioned toward the horizon as the sun was setting. “A beautiful evening for a beautiful couple. I will be back shortly with your first course.” With a bow of his head, he left us.
When I looked at Brae, her eyes were fixed on where the sun just set. Something needed to relieve the tension I knew I created, so I broke the ice. With my glass in the air, I cleared my throat. “I’d like to make a toast.”
Her eyes cut to mine. She lifted her glass, but not before shifting in her seat a bit.
“To getting to know one another, for making it through our first few weeks, and to handcuffs.” I wasn’t going to say the last part, but her face was so stoic, it made me edgy.
With a weak smile, she said, “Cheers.”
Normally, I wasn’t a big champagne drinker, but this went down in one smooth sip. “Brae, can I say something?”
With a nod, she set her glass down. “Of course.”
“I’m sorry for what happened earlier. I didn’t mean to push you. It’s just… this is all weird for me.”
“What is? Being with a woman for more than a day?”
Pouring myself another glass and topping hers off, I shrugged. “No. Wanting to be with a woman for more than a day. You intrigue me, and sometimes I feel like I really don’t even know you. We share a bed, share a home, and I’ve collectively spent more hours with you than I have with any woman I wasn’t related to.” I reached across the table and placed my hand on hers, which was fiddling with the salad fork.
“Believe me, this isn’t how I planned on spending my time. But I need to be here. It’s important that I see this through to the end, and I know I’ve been acting on edge… it’s just that you scare me.”
The Mr. Wrong Series Page 14