by Rye Hart
“Of course, Jude,” I said. “Anything for you.”
I turned in the tub and took the loofah from him, filling it with soap. I slowly ran it along his chest, letting the suds drip down his skin before moving lower. I washed his six pack abs and moved even lower. Cupping his balls gently in my hands, I washed all around his hardening cock, watching his face as I did so. He took in a deep breath, his body stiffening as I rubbed my hands up and down his shaft with my soapy hands.
“You're going to be the death of me, Ember,” he groaned.
“Just trying to give you something to think about,” I teased. “While you're stuck in your office, listening to people talk at those boring meetings, you can imagine my hands wrapped around your dick.”
He arched his back and let out a groan as I stroked his cock. The tip of him stood out above the water, and I simply had to have a taste. Lowering my head, I licked at the head, tasting the salty pre-cum. Jude's hands wrapped in my hair and I took even more of inside of my mouth. The water was too high to go all the way down, so I used my hand to make up the difference, licking and sucking as I moved up and down. I swirled my tongue over the tip and he let out a groan.
“Ember, oh God...”
I gripped his balls with my free hand, feeling them tighten in my grip. Jude's eyes fluttered as his brow furrowed, his head resting against the back of the tub. I knew he had to be at work, but I wanted to make him come again so badly. I wanted to send him to the office with a smile on his face.
Jude lifted my head, cupping my face in his chin as he stared at me with dreamy eyes.
“I want nothing more to continue this, but if you keep it up, I'm going to bend you over and fuck you again.”
“I wouldn't mind,” I said, flicking my tongue at his cock, watching for a response.
“Let's give you a rest,” he said.
He pulled me up the length of his body and kissed me long and hard, running his hands along the back of my head.
“But tonight, Ember,” he said, his voice low and throaty. “I'm going to kiss you down there and make it all better. I promise.”
“Mmm, I'm looking forward to that,” I said.
Kissing the tip of my nose, he said, “Me too, but in the meantime, enjoy your shopping trip and please, let me know if you need anything at all.”
“You're too good to me,” I whispered.
“Never. If anything, you're too good to me,” he said.
He held me in his arms for a bit longer, trailing his lips along my face. I got the feeling that I wasn't the only one falling hard here, and I loved every minute of it.
***
I may have been used to a life of luxury, some may even call me spoiled. However, I was not about to go crazy on Jude's dime, just because he'd told me I could. Since he insisted though, and because Antoine was waiting for me, after I had a quick breakfast made by Jude's chef, Veronica, I went out as requested.
When I got back, it was after noon and I was exhausted. There was, of course, a fresh lunch waiting for me. Antoine had called ahead to let Veronica know we were coming. I sat down to a fresh, crisp salad with a bowl of lobster bisque soup and a sandwich that looked too fancy to eat, piled up high and held together by a toothpick.
I wasn't sure I could eat that much, especially with dinner out with Jude later.
As I was eating, there was a knock on the door. I waited, and today, the housekeeper answered it. Maria greeted someone, the voice didn't sound familiar, so I went back to eating.
“Ember?” the voice said. I turned to see Zane in the doorway. “May we talk, please?”
“Uh sure,” I said, standing up to shake his hand. “You're Zane, correct? I don't think we've been introduced.”
“Yes, I am. Good memory,” he said.
Zane was the tallest of Jude's friends. He was almost unreasonably tall. He was the type of man who likely had to bend down as he entered doorways. His dark brown hair and green eyes were an exotic and beautiful combination and the forest green shirt he was wearing only enhanced his tawny skin. He was tall, dark and handsome, a total cliché, but always with a serious face. He was a lot like Jude in that regard.
“Jude is at the office,” I said.
“I know, I'm here to talk to you, actually,” he said. He stood tall and straight. “May I sit?”
“Of course,” I said, motioning for him to sit down at the dining room table.
Zane took the seat next to me and looked at my plate. “I hope I'm not interrupting your meal?”
“Oh no, it's fine,” I said. “I'm just curious what this is about?”
Zane sighed and ran a hand through his thick, brown hair. His face serious, not even a hint of a smile or emotion in his eyes.
“I'm just worried about my friend,” he said. “He seems very – smitten – with you. And to be perfectly honest, Jude has always been a bit of a romantic. Blindly romantic. To his own detriment sometimes. After what happened with your mother, I want to be sure your motives are pure. That you're not just looking to screw him over.”
I stared at him for a second, my jaw on the floor. Although I wanted to be outraged, I supposed I couldn't really blame him for being worried. My mom had pulled some shady shit, but I never expected to have my motives questioned. I was not my mother and she was not me.
“Well, to be fair, I never expected anything to come from it when I told him about my mother,” I said, my voice tight with anger. “I didn't know Jude was attracted to me when I showed up, nor do I expect anything from him.”
“Uh huh,” Zane said, his voice skeptical as he studied my face.
His eyes were narrowed, zoned in on me like a hawk staring down its prey. He glared at me as if he was waiting for me to break under the pressure. To confess that everything I'd done is to trap Jude into giving me what I want. That I was using him for my own benefit. When I said nothing, when I did not rise to his bait, he let out a long breath.
“So, you just decided to knock on his door and hope for the best, then?” he asked, the disbelief in his voice clear.
“I – don't have to explain myself to you,” I said, shaking my head. “I know you're close to Jude, but I care about him too. You're just going to have to trust that I would never hurt or use him. I'm not like that. I stopped my mother from doing it because it's wrong, and I'm not going to follow in her footsteps. And if you can't believe me, then I don't know what to tell you.”
So maybe I did explain myself. A little bit. Not that I explained what I was thinking, or how I showed up on the doorstep, without a stitch of clothing or so much as a penny to my name. I was sure from Zane's perspective, it looked beyond suspect. In his place, maybe I would have questions too.
Everything I told him though, Jude could explain better – if Zane insisted on knowing the details, or even had the right to ask. But, ultimately, it didn't matter. Zane's opinion of me didn't matter. He had no right to make me feel bad.
Zane just continued to stare at me through eyes filled with nothing but harsh judgment, and perhaps even a side of contempt. The way he glared sent chill through my body. Of all Jude's friends, Zane was the most intense. Of course, being the CFO of the company, I'm assuming it was his job to be that intense. To scrutinize every decision the CEO – Jude – made. This, however, went too far. It crossed a line, and I didn't think Jude knew his friend had stopped by to give me the third degree. Nor did I think he would have approved of it.
“We're all just worried about him,” Zane said, finally averting his gaze. “Jude is well – he's different. He's a romantic at heart, and dreams of finding a wife and settling down. Dreams that were shattered by your mother, by the way. I don't want him jumping into another relationship, especially one that has potential for drama. It's the last thing he needs.”
“Understood. And I don't anticipate causing him any drama,” I said. “So you don't have to worry about that.”
“I do worry, though. He has a good heart, and that means sometimes, people can take advanta
ge of him. People like your mom.”
“Are you forgetting that I'm the one who told him the truth about my mom in the first place?” I said, my tone as harsh as his gaze. “I despise what my mom did to him, and I really don't have to explain myself any more than that. Least of all, to you.”
“No, you don't,” he said, his gaze softening a tiny bit. “But I appreciate your time, Ember. You're a beautiful woman. Downright intoxicating, actually. I just don't want Jude drowning if I can save him.”
Zane stood and walked toward the doorway. I resisted the urge to turn and glare at him. His footsteps stopped and forced me to glance over my shoulder to see why he'd stopped walking to the door.
“Just be good to him, Ember,” he said. “That's all I ask of you.”
The front door opened, and heavy footsteps walked into the house. Zane and I looked at each other. Since the person hadn't knocked, I had an idea who it might be. Jude peeked into the dining room, smiling when he saw me. Then he turned to Zane, a surprised and confused look on his face.
“What are you doing here?”
Chapter Nine
Jude
“I just saw you at the office,” I said.
“I know. I didn't come here to speak to you though,” Zane said, his eyes flickering over to Ember. “I wanted to meet your new roommate.”
“Ember is not my roommate,” I said.
I tensed up, my fists balled at my sides. Zane was a skeptic. A cynic. He didn't trust anyone. Not that I could blame him, given his past. But, he tended to see everything and everybody through that negative lens that colored his own vision. He never gave anybody the benefit of the doubt and made sure to ask you anything that entered his mind – no matter how intrusive the question might be.
It was a trait that served him well in his role at the company, but less well in his role as my friend.
Zane flinched at the tone in my voice. “If not your roommate, then what is she, exactly?”
“She's my –”
I stopped and shared a look with Ember. What was she, exactly? She was no longer my stepdaughter. She was more than a friend, though not technically a girlfriend. Did they have words for the type of thing wewere involved in, and I simply wasn't able to think of them? Or was my life really that complicated?
“It doesn't matter what I am to him, Zane,” Ember finally snapped. “It's none of your business.”
She stood and faced him, and even though she was much shorter than my friend, she stared at him with an intimidating look on her face, danger flashing through her eyes. It was almost like she was saying, “Come at me. I dare you” knowing she'd win.
Zane clenched his jaw but held his head high. Giving a curt nod, he said, “Very well. I guess I should be going now.”
I followed him to the door, right on his heels. Once we were far enough away, I spat out, “What is this all about, Zane? Seriously?”
“I don't trust her,” he said at last, cutting his eyes toward the dining room. “She's young, gorgeous, and the daughter of the woman who tried to screw you over. Can you blame me for being wary?”
“I can take care of myself, Zane. I don't need you policing my – my –” I stumbled at the words again. What was she to me? I settled on finishing with, “my love life.”
“Maybe if I'd said something sooner with Lydia –” he said.
“I know you had your doubts, but Zane,” I said. “And, don't take this the wrong way – but, you don't trust anyone.”
He snorted, tried to scoff at the comment, but a tight smile appeared on his face. “I know. Naomi really left an indelible mark on me, didn't she?”
“I'd say so.”
The evil witch had pulled a Lydia on him. Except, of course, she was so good at it, no one saw it coming until she'd saddled him with divorce papers and took off with her new boyfriend, bound for some exotic locale – on Zane's dime, of course.
“Women love us for our money, Jude,” he said. “It's a sad fact of life. Trust no one – especially gorgeous, too-good-to-be-true younger women who just show up on your doorstep looking for a handout.”
“That's not –”
I cut myself off before finishing that statement. Yeah, it was what it was like, but I trusted Ember. It was more than the fact that she was honest with me – and that her honesty had cost her everything. I didn't allow her to stay purely out of guilt. I allowed her to stay because I liked her. I cared about her.
“You wear your heart on your sleeve, Jude,” he said. “Just be careful. We all see it, you're falling hard. And who can blame you? She's a knockout.”
“She's more than just a pretty face,” I said sternly.
He sighed and ran a hand over his short-cropped hair. “I know. And that's why I fear for you, Jude,” he said. “I really hope I'm wrong about her, but –”
“You are wrong about her,” I said.
I held the door open and Zane knew what to do. He stepped outside and didn't even bother to say goodbye.
“You'll see, Zane,” I said. “She's special. She really is.”
“For your sake, I hope so, man,” he called over his shoulder to me.
I closed the door a little too hard. Knots were tight in my back in shoulders, and I could really use a massage. I'd promised Ember dinner tonight, however, and I was always a man of my word. Besides, a date night would be appreciated. Might do us both some good. We'd been intimate, sure, but as far as getting to know each other outside of the bedroom, well, that had been limited. Very limited. I mostly knew what her mother had said about her, and as I was learning, not all of that was factual.
Ember's soft voice came from the hallway. “Jude? Everything okay?”
As soon as she stepped into the foyer, wearing a gorgeous green sundress with a bow at the waist, my heart stopped. My body relaxed as I took her in. Every inch of her was perfection. From her ballet flats to the top of her auburn head, she was my dream girl. Zane had a point, this did feel like it was too good to be true at times, but I wasn't about to throw it away just because Zane had been fucked over hard and it had left him a cynic. Had it been anyone but Ember, maybe I would have stopped twice to think about it, but I owed her so much for her honesty.
“Everything is fine,” I said. “Zane is just, well – Zane. I'm sorry if he upset you.”
I chuckled, and she smiled at me, but there was something in her eyes. Something was wrong. I pushed away from the door and walked over to her. I stood before her, looking down, and our eyes locked on one another.
“Did he upset you?” I asked.
I reached out and stroked her cheek, and she leaned into my touch. Her eyes closed, and she looked content. Truly content.
“A little,” she said, her eyes popping open and meeting mine. “But only because I fear that deep down, you think the same thing. I know our situation is unique, Jude. But, I hope you know I didn't come here with an ulterior motive. I hope you believe that.”
“I know,” I said. “Of course, I believe it.”
“You do?” she asked, her voice sounding uncertain. “Because everything happened so fast. I mean, I was literally sleeping with you moments after you let me inside, and I wouldn't blame you if you thought –”
I kissed the tip of her perfect little nose. “What happened between us happened because we're attracted to each other, Ember. Nothing more. Nothing less,” I said. “I don't think you slept with me because I was giving you a place to stay or because you want my money – and I didn't pursue you because I thought you owed me anything. You do know that, right?”
“That you're not using me for sex?” An amused grin spread across her face. “Yeah, I know, Jude. I know you're a good man. It's why I couldn't let my mom use you like that, you deserve better.”
“And I got better,” I whispered, pressing my lips against her forehead.
Her breath caught in her throat as she stared up at me.
“I'm yours, Jude Calloway,” she said, relaxing into me. “If you'll have me.”
“As in going steady?” she laughed. “Sounds like we're back in high school.”
He shrugged. “Whatever you want to call it, I just want to make sure we're on the same page here.”
She nodded, without hesitation, and stood on her tip-toes to press those lips to mine.
“It's official,” she said. “Good,” I said. “Now how about we finish what we started earlier?”
“In the bath tub, you mean?” Her eyes sparkled.
“A nice, warm bath does sound nice,” I said – the knots in my neck agreed with me. “Then we can grab some dinner.”
“Sounds like a plan,” she said, patting my ass playfully as she turned toward the stairs, and shot me a glance over her shoulder. “You coming with me?”
Hell yeah. No way in the world would I miss that. Her tight little ass shimmied as she walked up the stairs in front of me. I couldn't keep my eyes off the curve of her hips, and that tiny little waist. I knew she was sore from yesterday, but damn, what I wouldn't give to fuck her again.
Tonight, however, I was going to try something completely different. I was going to ignore my urges, not bend her over and fuck her madly like I wanted to. No, I was going to get to know her.
She shot me a devious look over her shoulder as we reached the stop of the stairs, and I swallowed – hard. It was clear she had other plans in mind. Sore or not, she was going to make it nearly impossible for me to resist my urges. Ember pulled on my tie, yanking me closer to her and pressed those ruby red lips to mine. Her hands were on my chest, working their way down through the buttons of my shirt.
“I've been thinking about you all day,” she whispered. “And how I need you in my mouth.”
Fuck, me. So much for getting to know her tonight. At least, if she had her way. Her hands moved down the buttons easily, and she pushed it off my shoulders, letting my shirt slip to the floor. My tie still remained around my neck though, and she used it to pull me into the master bedroom like a dog on a leash. My heart felt like it might pound right out of my chest.