by Abby Brooks
“I have a little fantasy going on about this counter,” he murmured as he yanked his shirt over his head and dropped it to the floor.
“You too?” I replied with a smirk as he advanced.
His lips. His touch. They were fire and ice dancing through me. Twining, tangling. He backed me toward the counter, his eyes hunting mine, then lifted me up.
I wrapped my legs around his waist, heels digging into his ass.
More Jude, more.
He stepped away, kicking out of his jeans, and my gaze traveled across his beautiful body. Broad shoulders, chiseled abs. A proud, thick cock straining towards me.
My eyes widened. His lips curled up in a smile as he stepped back into my waiting arms. His crown pushed against my opening. Slowly. Achingly slow. He filled me, stretching me to the knife’s edge of pleasure and pain.
His forehead pressed to mine. Our gaze joined. A union.
Our union.
“Holy fucking hell.” His voice grated through the kitchen as his hips met mine. “I want to take it slow but you’re too sweet…” He rocked forward and my inner muscles clenched.
“Don’t worry about slow. I’ve waited too long for this.”
“I want to make you feel good.”
“Believe me,” I said, my breath hitching as he slowly withdrew, “it feels good.”
My hair tickled my back and his hands gripped my ass and we moved, chasing sweet release. Together.
He pushed and I pulled and his name echoed through the kitchen as I gripped his shoulders. Sweet fires of desire licked our skin. It was everything. He was everything.
“Fuck, Iz,” Jude grunted, then took my bottom lip between his teeth and thrust himself deeper. Again. Again…
…again…
I moaned as I came undone around him, riding waves of pleasure while gripping his back, his shoulders. With a shudder, Jude finished with me, his face buried in my neck while my hands slid into his hair.
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
Jude
“Fucking hell, Iz,” I murmured against her skin. The first night we were together had been amazing but this…this was something else entirely. This was more than physical attraction. More than our bodies fitting together perfectly. More than finally getting to use the countertop like I had been in my fantasies.
This was connection. Understanding. Passion…
She giggled, this warm, personal sound that had me kissing the space below her jaw before pulling back to meet her eyes.
“I’ve wanted to do that for too long.” I cupped her cheeks, then smoothed her hair back from her face.
Her smile was a private thing as she nodded, her gaze locked on mine. “Me too.”
And suddenly I wondered if we were talking about the same long time. That night, all those years ago, I’d wanted her so much, it took all the strength I had to walk away from her. And now? I burned with desire for her. I wanted to consume her. To claim her. To have her as mine, over and over, again and again.
We cleaned up and met in the living room, she in my shirt and me in my jeans. Embers still glowed in the fireplace and I leaned on the mantle, staring at the coals. Izzy stepped up behind me and slid her arms around my chest, her cheek pressed to my back.
How was I ever going to let her sleep in her own bed? She belonged beside me.
Always.
Taking her hand, I led her to the couch and sat, drawing her close with an arm around her shoulders. There weren’t many times in my life that I’d been at a loss for words. I always had a joke or something stupid to say to fill the silence. But this silence didn’t need filled. It was complete in and of itself. Just her and me and all the things we didn’t need to say.
I pressed a kiss into her hair and adjusted so I could cover her tummy with my hand. An urge, a compulsion, a goddamned driving need swelled inside me. I would do everything in my power to protect this woman and our child. To make them happy. To prove myself worthy of their love.
“What about Lily?” Izzy’s quiet voice broke through my thoughts. “If our baby is a girl.”
I turned the name over in my mind. Lily Malone. “That’s pretty.”
“You handed me a lily the night you proposed and it just kind of popped into my head as a name.” Izzy snuggled closer, ducking her chin. “Probably a silly idea.”
And suddenly I loved it even more.
“Did you know that in Chinese, lily means ‘forever in love?’” I ran a hand through her hair. “That’s why I chose them that night. I know we’re not, you know, doing the love thing, but it seemed like a nice way to set us up for success.”
At the time, I would have sworn I’d chosen the flowers as a weapon in our little war, but now I wondered if maybe I’d been invested in this relationship from the start.
Izzy sat up, beaming. “That’s so ridiculously sweet I don’t even know what to say.”
“Luckily for me, you’ve already said the most important thing. ‘Yes.’ And in a few weeks, you’ll say the next most important thing. ‘I do.’”
Wow. I was starting to sound like a greeting card. What in the world had gotten into me?
“And here I thought you were gonna say the most important thing was, ‘Yes, Jude! More! Right there! Don’t stop!’” Wicked humor filled her smile. “I feel like I don’t even know you anymore.”
Or, maybe she was finally getting to know the real me. Normally, that would have scared me to death, but with Izzy, it just felt right. A yawn overtook her and she covered her face with her hands.
“Come on,” I said as I stood. “Let’s get you to bed.”
We wandered down the hallway, stopping in front of our rooms. She reached for her door, then paused as if she couldn’t quite bring herself to walk away. “Good night, Charming.”
And suddenly, I couldn’t bring myself to let her go.
“Where do you think you’re going?”
She quirked her head. “To bed.”
“Oh no, no, no. I’m not even close to done with you yet.” I took her hand, pulled her into my room, and shut the door.
Days passed. The nights I worked late, Izzy would be in bed when I came home. I’d pause in front of her door, on the brink of slipping in to wake her by trailing kisses down that luscious body while sliding a hand under the covers…
I never did.
I should’ve, but I didn’t.
She was tired and needed her sleep.
But on the nights I didn’t work? Her bed stayed made while mine succumbed to a tangle of sheets and passion.
Christmas came and went. I supplied Brennen with an entire winter wardrobe, a new bike, and the instructions to point his mom my way if she had a problem with that. With a sheepish grin, he handed Izzy and me two small packages, and could barely look at us as we opened them.
“They’re just silly things I carved,” he said to his feet as I pulled back the paper to reveal a wooden wolf.
“You made these?” Izzy asked as she studied the one he’d given her.
“Just outta some sticks. Passes the time. I made one for myself too. You know, ‘cause we’re about to be a pack.” Brennen’s cheeks blazed a vibrant red. “Told you it was dumb.”
“This is the coolest thing someone’s ever given me,” I said while Izzy nodded her agreement.
He covered his smile with a hand, as if he was afraid to let us see how happy he was. An oddly shaped bruise stood out on his wrist.
“What’s that?” I pointed at the mark.
Brennen froze, then swallowed hard. “Mom’s boyfriend was yellin’ at her so I stepped up. Told him to leave her alone. He grabbed me and said it was none of my business.”
“He did this?” My hand went into my pocket in search of my phone. I’d call the lawyer right fucking now.
“He swears it was a one-time thing.” Brennen scowled. “I’ll keep my head down and make sure it stays that way.”
I set my jaw. “I’ll be on the phone with my lawyer as soon as I’m in the truck. In the
meantime, if he so much as looks at you or your mom wrong, you call me, or the cops, or both of us. You hear me?”
Brennen nodded, pulling his coat sleeve down over his wrist. “I hear ya.”
Later that day, we celebrated with our families and friends and if it wasn’t for me worrying about my brother, it would have been the happiest time in my life. Jack and Amelia were daydreaming about their wedding. Evie and Alex couldn’t keep their hands off each other. Austin took great pleasure in making fun of all of us.
My wedding to Izzy tick-tocked ever closer and this sense of expectation settled over our life.
And then the day arrived.
The day I’d fake marry the woman I’d fallen in love with when I wasn’t supposed to.
Izzy left early to spend the morning with the girls, doing hair and nails and whatever else women did to get ready for a special occasion. I wasted the time pacing the kitchen as a battle waged inside me. Originally, today was supposed to be a formality. A hoop to jump through to bring me one step closer to getting custody of Brennen—something that needed to happen lickety-fucking-split. But after the last couple weeks, marrying Izzy didn’t feel so simple anymore.
Ever since she’d moved in, things had…changed.
This was real, damn it. Or at least, it felt real. Even if she did wait for permission to sleep in my bed.
Alex, Jack, and Austin arrived, each of them in a suit with a black tie, while I’d chosen a red one. Red, like her lips. Like the lilies I’d put on the tables at the bar. Red for the dress she’d worn the night this whole thing started.
Red for passion.
Red for love.
Red for us.
The guys and I drove together to the courthouse in the county seat and parked next to Amelia’s VW Beetle. “Shit man, it’s cold,” grumbled Austin as we climbed out of my truck.
I nodded my agreement even though I hadn’t noticed the temperature. All that mattered was somewhere in that building was my Izzy, the mother of my child, the woman about to be my wife. I wasn’t supposed to care this much but damn it, I was tired of worrying about what I was supposed to do when it came to her.
‘Supposed to’ kept me from her when we were younger. I would not let it keep me from her now.
Mom and Tim waited in the lobby with Edwin and Camille standing awkwardly apart, staring at their phones. Both sets of parents looked glad for the interruption when we approached.
“I still don’t know why you guys have to do this here,” Mrs. Prescott said, turning up her nose as she looked around the courthouse. “Why rob us of a real wedding? Why do this in such a graceless place? I swear, Izzy does this kind of stuff to annoy me.”
“With all due respect, today isn’t about you.” I kept my smile light so as not to start something, but I’d had enough of Camille trash-talking everything Izzy did. “And please, don’t say anything like that to her. Not today.” I met her eyes. “Actually…not ever.”
Camille blinked. Quirked her head. Furrowed her brow.
“The girls are in the bathroom,” Mom said before Mrs. Prescott could respond. “Doing a last-minute fix on Izzy’s hair.” She wrapped me in a hug. “I am just so happy for you guys; I don’t know what to say.” She released me, swiping at her eyes as Tim thumped me on the back and Edwin shook my hand.
The click of heels sounded in the hallway, and I looked up as Izzy approached with Amelia and Evie. Her hair framed her face in soft curls. She wore a white jumpsuit with a plunging V-neckline and billowing long sleeves that buttoned at the wrist. A ruffled lace top sat above wide-leg pants with a high waist. Her lips were red, as was the bouquet of lilies in her hands and the sky-high heels on her feet.
“Damn,” I whispered, then shut my mouth and excused myself to talk to my bride. “You look beautiful,” I said as we came together.
My hands ached to grab her face and kiss her, but I shoved them into my pockets.
“And you look charming as ever.” Her eyes swept across my face and her smile felt like sunshine.
“Can we have a second alone? I have something I want to give you.”
She nodded. “That’s funny. I have something for you, too.”
I excused us to our guests then led Izzy around a corner into a quiet hallway. “I know today isn’t the wedding you thought you’d have. Hell, I know none of this is happening the way it’s supposed to, but I wanted to do something special to show you how much this means to me.”
And because I love you, I almost said aloud. But, irony of ironies, today wasn’t the day for that.
I reached into my pocket and placed a pair of sapphire earrings into her palm. “These were my grandmother’s. She wore them at her wedding and she had a long and happy marriage, so she gave them to my mom to wear at hers, and look how happy she is with Tim. So now, I’m giving them to you. We might not be doing this for the same reason they did, but that doesn’t mean we can’t be happy together.”
Tears welled in Izzy’s eyes. “They’re just as beautiful as the sentiment.” She handed me her bouquet, removed her pearl earrings, and slipped the sapphires into place. “How do they look?” she asked, turning her head from side to side with a smile.
Surprisingly, my throat thickened and I swallowed hard. “They’re perfect.”
Just like her.
Izzy reached into her pocket, produced a leather pouch, and handed it to me. Inside was a strikingly detailed, stainless-steel, mirror-polished compass. Engraved in the lid were the words, “Let your heart be your compass, your mind your map, your soul your guide and you will never get lost.”
“Something about that quote makes me think of you,” she said, her cheeks blushing pink. “The more I get to know who you are and why you do things, the more I…” She took a deep breath, her eyes bouncing across her face. “The more I like you,” she finally finished, her gaze dropping to the floor.
Something told me that wasn’t what she intended to say, but I didn’t push.
“This is so cool, Iz. I’ll cherish it always.” I slipped the compass back into its pouch and into my pocket. “Shall we?” I asked, offering her my arm. “I do believe we have a wedding to attend.”
Izzy linked her elbow with mine and we joined our friends. By the time it was all said and done, it took us longer to get dressed than it did to get married, but as Izzy slipped the ring on my finger, an odd feeling of satisfaction settled into my chest.
This was real.
This was right.
This was the start of something beautiful.
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
Izzy
Holy shit. I was officially Mrs. Jude Preston Malone. After all the years of loving him and pretending I didn’t, I was his wife. Life sure could be strange. I touched one of the sapphires sparkling in my ears as Mom and Dad pushed through our friends to say goodbye.
“Well that was special, for what it was,” Mom said as she gave me a hug.
“We’re very happy for you, honey.” Dad wrapped an awkward arm around me, then thumped Jude on the back. “Congratulations to you both.” And with that, they pushed through the front doors, waving goodbye to no one in particular.
Jude’s mom hugged him tight, then turned to me, smooshing my cheeks between her hands. “Welcome to the family, sweetie. I’m honored to have you as a daughter.” She wrapped her arms around me and swayed us back and forth.
“I’m so happy to be a Malone,” I said as Tim came in for a hug of his own.
And there was nothing fake about that statement.
“We’re so happy for you,” replied Ginny. “For both of you. I just know you guys are going to have a long and happy marriage. The earrings will guarantee it,” she finished with a conspiratorial whisper and a bright smile.
As people filtered out of the courthouse, Alex pulled Jude and me aside. My brother looked striking in his suit, his dark eyes crinkling with the smile he used to save for getting me in trouble. “I don’t know if you know this or not,” he said to me, “but wh
en we were little, I told Jude and the guys I’d murder them if they ever touched you.”
I rolled my eyes. “Oh, believe me, I’m aware.”
“When you two first explained that this whole marriage was fake, I told Jude I still meant what I said all those years ago. If he breaks your heart, so help me I’ll—”
“Alex…” I shifted my weight as I began my objection, but he held up a hand to interrupt.
“Hear me out before you tell me you don’t need your big brother, okay?” He grinned before continuing. “The last couple weeks…you two have seemed happier than I’ve ever seen you. And there’s something so cool about my best friend and my little sister making each other feel that way. I still don’t know that I understand what you’re doing, but I appreciate why you’re doing it.” His smile grew stern as he focused on Jude. “But know this, Malone, I’ll still kill you if you hurt her. I just don’t think that’s as guaranteed as I used to.”
“Gee, Alex.” Jude lifted his brows. “Thanks?”
“Anyway, I know you guys didn’t want any presents, but I couldn’t let something like my little sister’s wedding go by without doing something to celebrate. So here. And don’t protest or try to take it back. The money’s spent. The weekend’s yours.” He handed me a brochure with pictures of a beautiful cabin set in the woods, on a cliff surrounded by trees and magnificent views of the coastline. “It’s just for two nights. I talked to Jess and she’s ready to manage the bar and I’m gonna take care of Sweet Stuff while you’re gone. Evie and I packed your bags and put them in the truck with a cooler stocked full of food.”
“You didn’t have to do that,” I said, staring at the brochure in awe.
“You won’t say that after you’ve spent the night in the hot tub on the deck, while the snow comes down all around you and the ocean whispers below.” Alex shrugged and tapped the glossy advertisement in my hands. “The code to the gates and lockboxes are on the back.”
I threw my arms around him. “Has anyone ever told you that you’re the best big brother a woman could have?”
