by Rie Warren
“Just sayin’.”
“You don’t know what you’re talkin’ about.” I paced to the fireplace. “Cady’s an incredible woman. An amazing mom.”
He sniffed like he was the king of fucking England.
“She is.” My jaw hardened. “She’s worked hard to get where she is, and she’s got a huge heart. She just doesn’t wanna let anyone else in. And she’s cute when she doesn’t even know it . . . like when she misses a button on her dress or she hops around on one shoe because she can’t find the other one . . . Besides, any man would be a fucking fool to walk away from her.”
When I glanced back at Dad, he’d slouched all the way back in the recliner, folded his hands together to try to stop the shaking, and had shut his eyes.
“Are you even listening to me?”
One blue eye peeped open. “Are you listenin’ to yourself?”
I stood stock still, digesting what I’d just admitted.
I loved her.
I’d given up.
She was still worth the fight.
“I’m just glad you didn’t saddle me with that Cady Dalton as a daughter-in-law.” Dad’s jaw popped with a giant yawn, probably a fake one.
“I don’t like you very much right now.” I glared down at him.
He shrugged. “I’m all the family you got, so I guess that’s tough shit.”
Then he glanced at his watch in an exaggerated way. “Tick tock. Gettin’ late. Bet ya don’t wanna spend another Thursday night hangin’ around here with an old pain in the ass like me when there’s a good woman like Cady out there somewhere.”
****
And so, an hour later—like a complete dumbass or a man on a mission—I stepped into the Wentworth Inn.
“Room 27, please.”
“I’m sorry, sir. But someone’s already checked into that room.”
I recognized the receptionist from my many visits.
“Who?” I waited, so tense my teeth grinded together.
“I really shouldn’t say, but a Miss . . . Dalton.”
On the way to Room 27, I tempered my strides. Schooled my face. I’d been down this road with Cady before, and I’d been back every single week since—bar the last one. I’d sat in this room alone more Thursday nights than I cared to count.
When I reached the room, I noted the security latch keeping the door from closing completely.
My hand shook when I touched the handle.
I opened the door.
And smelled her perfume instantly.
She was waiting.
A glut of emotion robbed my voice when I saw her perched on the sofa, hands clenched between her thighs.
I wanted to kiss her. Run my hands all over her. Take her home and tie her to the bed until she admitted we were made for one another.
I closed the door and leaned against it.
I didn’t move.
Didn’t say one single word.
Cady looked less than impeccable. Good, maybe she’d been as miserable as me. Except, as usual, I felt sucker-punched by the mere sight of her. And I’d never seen her like this. Only one dim lamp illuminated her, and her auburn hair floated down around her shoulders, halo soft. She’d dressed in worn-out sweats and sneakers.
Endearing.
Real.
No armor of lacy lingerie or perfect high heels or pretty dresses.
Just her.
I steeled myself against her.
And she looked unsure, sitting there with big unblinking eyes. Nervously tapping her foot. Drawing her bottom lip between her teeth.
This time I wasn’t gonna put her at ease. Hell, for all I knew she’d booked the room to get her rocks off with some other anonymous boy.
“Jude.” She rose but didn’t move any closer. “I can’t believe you came.”
“This is the last time.” I glanced around the room, worried I’d find evidence of another man. “You’ve been sitting here alone?”
“Yes.” Her hands folded together at her breasts. “I was so worried you wouldn’t show up.”
“I didn’t want to.” With a harsh laugh, I entered the room a little more. “Didn’t intend to. Not anymore. Do you know I picked up another woman last week? Actually”—I rubbed a hand across the back of my neck—“I picked up two. Never had a threesome before.”
Her lips tightened, pain flashing in her eyes.
“You didn’t think I’d just mope around over you again, did you? You told me to start seeing someone.”
She took two faltering steps toward me. “I didn’t think—”
“No. You sure didn’t.” I wasn’t about to budge a single inch.
“I deserve that.” She sniffed then swiped beneath her eyes. “Why are you here if I already lost you?”
“Because the thought of touching any other woman makes me feel sick.” I leaned back against the wall. “I didn’t go through with it.”
“You didn’t?”
“Jesus Christ. I would’ve if I could’ve, Cady. But fuck, you ruined me.”
“I’m sorry. I’m so sorry, Jude.”
She flew to me, but I grasped her arms, holding her away from me instead of crushing her to my chest like I wanted to. And it was the hardest thing I’d ever done in my life.
“You know what I want. All or nothing.”
“I’m scared.” Her voice broke.
She looked so small and vulnerable she broke my heart.
“I’m so scared of loving again,” Cady admitted.
I nodded, trying to keep my cool even though my blood pounded through my veins. “You’re either brave enough to love me, or you’re not. And I can’t make it easy for you anymore. This is it, Cady. Or I’m walking out that door, and I swear to fuck I’m never coming back to you.”
She lifted her eyes, and they were filled with tears.
She swallowed, and I watched her fingers convulse.
She started in a whisper, and I leaned closer to hear her.
“You’re right. I was such a coward. I fought against you the whole time because . . . you know why.” Pulling from my restraining grasp, she cupped my face in both her hands, and I couldn’t look away from her.
I was fucking terrified to start hoping now.
“That doesn’t matter. Life sucked without you. And I don’t want to try to keep you separate anymore. That never worked anyway.” Fingers sliding down, she clenched my shirt in her hands. “I want all of you. I want you to be with me, to be with my boys, to be with us.”
“Then tell me.” Taking a deep breath, I tried to hold it all together, waiting, hoping.
“I love you, Jude. I love you so much I hurt when I’m not with you.”
“God, woman.” Shaky, I swept her into my arms. “It’s about damn time.”
Carrying her in fast strides to the sofa, I sat with her in my lap.
Tears coursed down her cheeks, and I wiped them gently away before crushing my lips to hers. Unharnessed joy replaced all the hurt.
I held her tightly against me, and she touched me everywhere she could reach, hands wandering from my hair to my shoulders, and around to my back.
No touch was close enough, no kiss deep enough. No words said enough.
Grunting, I slipped my lips to her neck and my palm up under her sweatshirt. Her hot skin seared me, and I brushed against her breast.
Cady pressed away from me, her forehead resting against mine.
“What is it?” I swept a hand down over her hair.
“I don’t want to make love here. Not in this room. Never again.”
CHAPTER NINETEEN
Cady
“JUDE’S HOME!” I ANNOUNCED when we got to the house.
He squeezed my hand. “Am I?”
“I hope so.” Not having him in my life had scared me more than anything.
And when he’d told me he’d almost been with another woman—two women—I realized how close I’d come to losing him completely.
I wasn’t about to make that mistake again
.
Dane, Luke, and even Aiden broke into hollers and high fives when we entered the living room. My two youngest dragged Jude away from me, talking so fast I wondered how he could understand their excited chatter. Aiden extended a hand, which Jude grasped in both of his, treating my son like the young man he’d soon become.
All I could do was watch with a growing smile though tears prickled my eyes again. The boys just hadn’t been themselves recently. Now it seemed they were back to crazy-normal.
Joelle sidled up to me. “Are you gonna be all right now?”
“Yes.”
She brushed her palms together. “Then my work here is done.”
I walked her to the door and gave her a heartfelt hug, then Jude tugged me back to the living room and unceremoniously plopped me right in his lap. Right in front of the kids.
Luke waggled his eyebrows. “Just Bunko, right?”
“Bunko?” Jude asked, peering at me as my face flushed.
“Nothing.”
“Mom said—”
I cut across Dane. “Never mind.”
“We knew you’d been seeing each other or whatever,” Aiden added.
“Well, I guessed that when you caught us kissing.” Taking everything in stride, Jude pulled me deeper into his lap.
I squirmed to get free.
He just laughed and held onto me tighter.
“Mom was pathetic without you,” Luke just had to mention.
“Okay.” I pointed at the three of them. “That’s enough. Just because there’s four of you guys against me now doesn’t mean I’m not in charge.”
“Yes, ma’am.” But my oh-so-angelic children grinned while Jude brushed his cheek against mine.
Clearing his throat, Aiden said, “Let’s give them some privacy, huh?”
“Actually, I’ve got something to say to y’all.” Jude kept a firm hold on me, but his voice was less than steady. “First of all, I shouldn’t have left the way I did. That was pretty crappy.” His so-blue eyes lifted to the boys. “I missed all of you, and I’ll never do that again.”
I held in a torrent of tears, reminded once again of how much of a good man Jude was.
“It’s cool,” Aiden spoke for all, and his voice sounded thicker and deeper all of a sudden.
“Well, it really wasn’t cool at all, but I ’preciate that.” With a lighter tone, he went on. “And um, I don’t know if your mom told you, but the owner of the Carolina Crush invited me to check them out—or I guess have them check me out.”
I swung my head toward his, squeezing his hand. “You went?”
“Peyton Fox? Carolina Crush?” Much less subdued, Aiden rocked forward on his feet. “Are you gonna play again?”
Jude half-nodded, half-shook his head. “I went. I saw. I’m not playing again. My knee can’t take it. Buuuut, I’ve been hired as an offensive line coach.”
His grin warming, I turned to kiss him soundly then backed off enough to say, “I’m so proud of you.”
His cheeks turned pink, and he chuckled self-consciously.
A chuckle emboldened when Luke shouted, “Shit yeah! We’re gonna be super famous!”
“Are we supposed to leave you guys alone now?” Dane scratched his unruly hair. “Because I might be a genius or something, but I don’t really get all this adulting stuff, and I definitely don’t want to watch you lock lips again.”
Jude and the other two boys sniggered, but I straightened up.
“That won’t be necessary.” I ignored the desire to be alone with Jude as soon as possible, because some things were more important. “How about a game? All of us?”
“We’ve got school tomorrow and it’s kind of late.” Dane’s nose wrinkled.
“Maybe just this once we can all play hooky,” I suggested.
“Game night?” Jude asked in an undertone.
“We’re going to have to start doing something different on Thursday night,” I whispered back.
“Are we?” He studied me as if maybe he’d gotten the wrong end of the stick again.
“Assuming you can wait long enough for them to go to bed?”
One side of his mouth curled up in the delicious smirk that promised naughty things later. “Oh yeah.”
“You’re not gonna sit in Jude’s lap the whole time though, right? Because . . .” Luke made a bunch of gagging noises.
Aiden shoved him on the shoulder. “Grow up.”
“Shut up.”
Jude shifted me around so I sat on the chair and he stood in front of me.
Hands braced on the chair’s arms, he kissed me softly—to more gagging sounds.
“Is it weird that I missed this?” he asked.
I smiled up at him. “Maybe a little bit.”
****
“I thought they were gonna demand a damn rematch.” Jude grumbled, checking to make sure the front door was locked while I turned off the downstairs lights.
We’d made popcorn, chosen teams, and endured three games of Pictionary that were pretty excruciating considering our combined lack of drawing skills. In the end, the Game Night had devolved into a popcorn fight, reminiscent of the afternoon we’d drowned the kitchen.
It was perfect.
I’d just switched off the last lamp when Jude snuck up behind me. He swung me over his shoulder, and I very nearly squealed.
“Put me down,” I hissed, mindful of the boys.
He swatted me on the butt, taking the stairs two at a time. “Not a chance.”
“You can’t just caveman me around the house.”
“Watch me.”
Once in my room, the door very definitely closed, Jude slid me down his body, immediately capturing my mouth with his.
Tantalizing teases of tongues later, he impatiently hauled my sweatshirt over my head.
It seemed he struggled to slow down when he reached for the clasp of my bra then slipped it from my body. His hands returned, rough and warm, cupping my flesh.
I hissed at that first touch, pleasure crashing through me when he rubbed his thumbs across the stiffening peaks. Reveling in his caresses, I ran my fingers through his hair, along his jaw, down his throat. I tugged at his shirt urgently, wanting his flesh too.
He whipped off the shirt, flung it away, and a needy noise left my lips. Tall and broad and so muscular he made my mouth water, he watched while I drew my fingers through the springy hair on his chest then followed the trail with my tongue.
His groan reverberated against my mouth, and I only stopped my downward progress to the hardness of his stomach . . . to the hardness of his cock . . . when he yanked me upward.
Then he yanked off my sweats and panties. He clasped me to him, drawing my leg to his hip, which opened the heated wetness of my slit. I rocked against his firm erection, whimpering into the hot cavern of his mouth while his tongue took a wild trip inside mine.
I broke free, gasping. “I want—”
“What?” His knuckles swept beneath my chin, lifting my face. “You know I’ll give you anything you want.”
“Your cock in my mouth.”
His eyes dropped to my lips, his nostrils flaring.
His voice gruff and deep, he said, “That’ll make me come real quick.”
I licked my lips in anticipation. “Good. I can’t wait to taste you again.”
Features dark and stark when I dropped to my knees, he remained still while I hastily opened his jeans. My fingers brushed over the solid thickness of his cock, and he tipped his head back with a curse.
Freed, his cock sprang out. So extremely hard, veins bulged and the tip had turned a slick purple. I smelled his heat. Smelled his masculinity.
The big fat erection I lusted over bobbed in front of me, and I salivated to have him in my mouth. Veins throbbing, balls heavy. I started with those balls, greedily lapping the large orbs, mouthing them while I touched no other part of his body.
Jude thrust me back, eyes low lidded and blazing blue. He tore off his boots, socks, and jeans then gripp
ed my neck to drawn me back to his groin.
“More. Gimme your mouth, darlin’, so I can come down your throat.”
“What if I want it on my face?” I lashed my tongue along the wide base of his shaft.
His fingers combed into my hair and hung on. “That can be arranged. Jesus, Cady.”
I moaned loudly when the big head slipped between my lips. My eyes rolled back deliriously when I took as much of the thick cock as I could. I gurgled softly around the dick rooting in and out of my so-willing mouth. My lips tingled. My taste buds sang. I wished just once I could deepthroat him, but he was just too large.
My pussy wept, squeezing and releasing around empty air, so wet and waiting to be fucked full of the big cock I worshipped as wetly as I could.
Using both hands, I stroked the lower half, glugging on and off the rest of his magnificent shaft.
Jude swore over and over, his fingers clenching then relaxing in my hair. He didn’t guide me, just held me. Held me and watched me and grunted every time I swallowed with him poised just at the entrance of my throat.
I produced slippery strings of saliva that combined with his precum. The blowjob foamy loud and hot, I couldn’t get enough of him stretching my lips wide and sliding across my tongue.
“Fuck, Cady.”
I peered up at him, pulling off to playfully lick all over him.
“I’m not gonna last long.”
Taking him back in, I moaned, and that was enough. He thickened, swelled, and came in great spouts I greedily pulled into my mouth. I let the last warm spurts coat my lips, drip down my chin, splash onto my breasts.
Covered in Jude’s cum, I shook and gasped as much as he did. And when I started scooping up his warm seed to feed into my mouth, he swore ferociously.
Dick swelling again to its full thick length, he stood still just long enough to watch me eat his cum from my body. Then he swung me up, pivoted around, tossed me onto the bed.
I bounced just once in the center before his huge hands gripped my ankles. Hauling me to the edge, he leaned over to wildly plunder my mouth. He left me gasping and clutching at air, my eyes shooting wide open when I felt him between my thighs.
“Tell me you’ve never gotten this wet for any other man.” He held my legs wide apart, kneeling on the floor between them.