by Lucy Lennox
I stumbled to his side and leaned over to hug him. His arms came around me and held on.
My tears made a puddle on his neck but I didn’t dare pull away to wipe my eyes.
“Are you okay?” I whispered against his skin.
“I am now,” he said into my ear. “Are you?”
I nodded. “Mm-hm. Just scared.”
The hand without the IV came up to brush my hair out of my face. “Did they get the person who attacked you?”
I couldn’t help but laugh and pull back to look at his face. “Attacked me? She attacked you. And, yes. They got her. It was Ari’s wife, Britta. I guess Ari told her about our past after my interview aired, and she went crazy. I haven’t really heard any other details yet.”
Derek’s hand kept smoothing the hair out of my face as his eyes searched me for any sign of injury or distress.
“What are you doing here?” I asked him.
“I was stabbed,” he said with furrowed brows of confusion. I realized he was probably on some good pain meds. “A lot. I have stitches all over.”
“No, I mean, what are you doing in Nashville? I thought you were still at home.”
“I came to tell you I was an idiot,” he said. The look on his face was so serious I couldn’t help but laugh again.
“You could have told me that over the phone,” I teased.
“Jude, I love you. Need you. I can’t stand to live one minute longer without you by my side. The idea of not being with you makes me sick. I’m embarrassed and ashamed of myself for leaving you when you needed me the most. I should have been there when you did that interview. Should have told the world that you were mine. I’m so sorry.” His last words finished in a hushed kind of croak.
I leaned down and kissed his lips gently. “It’s about time.” I let out a deep breath as I moved my hands up to cup his cheeks. “Honestly, if I couldn’t get Joel to talk some sense into you, I was going to have to dedicate an original song to you during the Super Bowl halftime show. Can you even imagine?”
His eyes widened in surprise. “What?” he asked.
I laughed. “Derek, I didn’t get where I am by waiting for good things to fall from the sky. If I want something badly enough, I work for it. Don’t think for one minute you stood a chance at walking away from me. You’re mine. End of discussion.” I winked, causing his eyes to bug out.
I smirked and leaned closer to his face again. “Now kiss me some more before your dad comes in and kicks me out of your room,” I whispered.
“You’re not going anywhere,” he grumbled, grabbing the back of my head and bringing me in for a kiss.
“Really?” I asked. It wasn’t possible I was getting everything I wanted. It was just too good to be true.
“Really, Bluebell. I love you. You’re it for me.”
He leaned in again and kissed me. Oh god, his mouth was the best thing ever. Warm and familiar and home.
We kissed so long I thought his dad would barge in on us any minute and see the huge tent pitched under his blanket.
“Did the, ah, doctor say anything about restrictions from sex?” I asked him.
“If he did, do you think I’d admit it?” He smirked.
Hot damn.
I spent the rest of the day and night snuggled up against Derek’s side in the hospital bed. We talked and dozed despite his father and brothers’ obvious discomfort at seeing us together. Derek told me that he’d had a conversation with them before his dad let me in to the hospital room, and his family was understandably having a hard time with the news.
Finally, they left to head to the hotel and the airport, leaving us with just my dad, Pete and Ginger. Kevin and Mike hung around to keep an eye on us as well.
When Derek was released from the hospital, we exited the building into a storm of reporters and cameras. I tried to shuttle him to the waiting town car, but he stopped to take questions before we got there. Derek Wolfe was voluntarily speaking to the press? I stared at him as if he were a stranger.
“Mr. Wolfe, are you the ex-boyfriend Jude has mentioned to the press?” the reporter asked.
Derek’s eyes flashed and his mouth widened into a smile. “No, I’m not.”
The reporter looked disappointed while he struggled to come up with another question. He didn’t need to worry about it because Derek continued.
“I’m his current, and hopefully his always,” he clarified, reaching for my hand and threading his fingers through mine. “I told someone once that someone would have to be an idiot to ever leave Jude, and I don’t plan on being that idiot ever again.”
The reporter wasn’t finished. “Do you love him?”
Derek’s smile got even bigger. “More than anything.”
“Does he love you?”
“He’d better,” he joked, turning to look at me. “Or I’m going to regret getting a tattoo of him and Walker Texas Ranger on my ass.”
I couldn’t help but snort. “He’s kidding,” I told the reporters. Then I turned to him, “Wait, you’re kidding, right?”
“You’ll have to find out for yourself when we get home, babe.” And then that fucker grabbed me and kissed me in front of the whole world like my mouth was a slot machine payout and his tongue was hungry for quarters.
Epilogue - Derek
Six Months Later
It was August and we were settling in at home after the craziness of the tour. We’d been back for two weeks and life was beginning to feel normal again. The tour had been both a personal and professional success. The album was doing well but the single of “Dance With Me” had gone outer limits, surpassing even the success of “Bluebells.” On a personal note, I was doing double duty as Jude’s personal bodyguard and very out and official boyfriend.
I worked directly for Jude now, no longer for Joel at On Your Six Security. That meant I basically got to be with him whenever I wanted, and he paid me a bodyguard’s salary so I didn’t have to refer to him as my sugar daddy. It didn’t really matter since he’d put my name on all his bank accounts anyway, but it helped us keep a power balance that worked for us. We both knew I would never spend his money on myself despite his encouragement for me to do so. Maybe that would change one day but not anytime soon.
My parents had decided to take a break from speaking to me while I “took some time to think about life choices.” I was trying to be okay with the break. The Marians had accepted me with open arms, and I realized life was too short to focus your love on people who couldn’t accept you the way you were.
Jude had spoken to his bandmates about taking at least a year off from touring and they heartily agreed. Joey and Fiona had been secretly dating for a while now, and I had a suspicion they were thinking about making it official by starting a family.
I’d moved into Jude’s house shortly after returning from the Super Bowl trip. He nursed me back to health which really meant he forced me to stay in bed and did naughty things to me while I was there. Oh, and I learned that changing the shape of a vegetable definitely did not improve its taste.
Halfway through the tour Ollie’s grandmother had decided to sell her house and move to a retirement community. Ollie was back in the apartment over our garage, which made all three of us happy as could be. If not for Ollie, I’d never get to eat pizza or potato chips anymore, and I wouldn’t laugh nearly as much.
It was Sunday, and we were at Jude’s parents’ for dinner. It was still a little strange for me to be a participating member of the family after standing quietly in the background for so long, but I was getting better.
Rebecca had helped me arrange a surprise for Jude, and I led him into the backyard with my hands over his eyes.
“If you throw me in the pool, I’ll kick your ass,” Jude warned.
“I’d like to see you try.” I laughed. “Describe to me what that would look like exactly.”
He laughed too. “Okay, fine, but if you throw me in the pool there will be a severe shortage of nookie in your future.”
&n
bsp; I laughed again. “Again, I’d like to see you try. You can’t resist me, and we both know it.”
“Okay, fine. But it will be nookie with attitude,” he finished lamely
“Is that supposed to be a threat? Sounds more like a promise to me,” I said.
We got to an area in the grass where Rebecca had put an open-topped dog pen filled with a mama dog and two of her fat puppies. I took my hands from his eyes and leaned in to kiss his cheek.
“Surprise, Bluebell. You get to pick a puppy. Your mom took in a stray at the clinic and she had puppies. They’re not pugs, but that’s only because you and I both know there can only be one pug in our family.”
Jude’s hands went to his mouth in surprise even while he shot me an evil glare for the pug reference. “Look at how fat and adorable they are,” he said in a high-pitched oh-my-god-puppies voice. “Are you serious, Wolfe? You sure you’re okay with us getting a puppy?”
I smiled at his thoughtfulness, realizing he thought of us as a unit. That still took some getting used to.
“Absolutely. The girls have been out here playing with them all afternoon, so they might be able to give you some insight into their personalities.”
Just then Simone stormed through the kitchen door to the backyard yelling into her phone. Her face was dark like thunderclouds.
“I don’t want your fucking flowers, jackass. Take them to that whore I saw you with or shove them up your ass,” she snapped before poking the phone screen with an angry finger.
“Yeah, right his sister. His sister, my ass,” she muttered under her breath. “Son of a bitch.”
Rebecca interrupted the mutterings. “Simone, honey, language around the girls,” she said, tilting her head in the direction of Pete and Ginger’s almost eight-year-old daughters. As if those girls hadn’t heard more swear words in their tender years than a veteran sailor.
“Fuck. Sorry, Mom,” Simone said.
I laughed. “Well done.”
She turned and glared before noticing the pen full of heaven on the ground in front of her. “Oh my god, the puppies are here!”
By the time we all cuddled them into a puppy slumber, we returned to the kitchen to help Thomas finish prepping dinner.
Jude announced he had selected not one but both puppies.
Five Marians, including Jude’s mom, handed me twenty bucks each.
Jude’s eyes widened. “What the hell?”
I put my arms around him and kissed his forehead. “You know I love you, but you really are a sucker. I mean a softie.”
“Are you pissed I couldn’t pick just one?”
Simone snorted. “He said you’d want all four, but you’d compromise on two to keep the peace. That’s when Mom decided to only bring home two in the first place to save poor Derek from a house full of dog shit.”
I snapped my head around with a shushing sound. “Zip it, sister.”
Jude burst out laughing. “Four? Where are the other two? Does that mean we get to take home four puppies?”
“Oh fuck no,” I said quickly.
“Derek, language,” Rebecca said through a laugh.
“Sorry,” I muttered.
“What the hell are you sorry for?” Aunt Tilly asked as she walked in and plunked down some kind of nasty-looking gelatin salad.
“Hiya, hot stuff,” I said before kissing her on the cheek. My new tactic with Tilly was “if you can’t beat ’em, join ’em.” I’d decided to kill her with sexy talk. It gave Jude the heebie-jeebies, which made it ten times more fun.
“Wolfe, you’re looking predatory as usual. I promised the girls you’d be wearing swim trunks at some point today. Don’t make a liar out of me,” she teased, referring to Granny and Irene. The three old ladies tittered with excitement.
“You first, darlin’,” I cooed. “Show me what you got.”
Jude groaned.
Next came Griffin and Dante, who usually rode together from the city. They were arguing about something in an “am not, are too” kind of way.
Jude interrupted. “What are you two arguing about?”
Griff grabbed Simone and tucked her under his chin in a hug. I caught a glimpse of a tattoo I’d never noticed on his upper arm. All I could see was something that looked like a spiked tail disappearing under his sleeve toward his shoulder.
“Remember that piece I was writing about using terms of endearments when picking up guys in the clubs?”
“Yeah,” Jude said.
“Well, the whole thing got shelved when I took that ghostwriting job in February. Now that I’m done, I decided to take it up again.”
“Tell them about the bartender,” Dante interjected.
Griff flipped him the bird.
“So I’ve done the pick-up thing at several clubs already and only need a few more nights of experimenting before starting the article. The bartender at Harry Dicks keeps eying me like I’m doing something wrong, and last night he finally pulled me aside to accuse me of—”
Dante interrupted again. “Who gives a shit? Tell them about wanting to have his babies.”
Griff blushed. “Anyway, long story short, now I want to see him naked.”
Aunt Tilly sighed, resting her chin in her hand. “Tell us more about this stud muffin. Does he have a tight ass?”
Granny chimed in. “More to the point, when are you gonna fuck him?”
Pete and Ginger’s daughters never stood a chance at growing up surrounded by clean language.
Griff melted into a red-faced puddle of mortification.
After dinner, Jude and I wandered back outside to check on the puppies. He looked at the sleeping pups before turning his gaze up to mine. His warm brown eyes shone with happiness and my heart felt like it would explode.
“What should we name them?” I asked, wrapping my arms around him. I could never keep my hands off the man.
“Well, for sure one of them needs to be called Kale. I was thinking the other one could be Tofu. Or maybe—”
“Fuck you. Take it back.”
He laughed. “I think we should wait until we get them home and spend some more time getting to know them.”
“That’s probably a good idea, but the names have to sound right with Marian.”
Jude looked at me strangely. “Why? They’re not just mine, they’re ours together.”
“I know. I just thought it would be easier if their last name was Marian so that when I become a Marian, it won’t be confusing for our poor pups.”
I was ready for his leap before it happened, so I caught him under his ass with ease. His legs wrapped around my waist and he planted a giant kiss on my lips.
His face lit up in the full-Jude smile that made me grin like a fool. “You’d better fucking mean it,” he warned me.
“Just say when, Bluebell.”
Invisible
by Jude Marian
You stand behind me — Invisible
But I see your shadow.
You run beside me — Invisible
But I hear your footsteps.
You watch me, all-seeing — Invisible
But I see all of you.
Always watch over me like you do,
But who watches over you?
Protection Perfection — I need you.
You stand tall and walk proud — I walk with you.
Your green eyes are sparkling — I laugh with you.
Our words have a rhythm — Please share with me.
Always watch over me like you do,
And I’ll watch over you.
Dance with Me
by Jude Marian
When the music blares and the drumbeats boom,
Dance with me.
Bodies facing
Rhythm chasing
Dance with me.
Eyes are shining
Stars aligning
Dance with me.
When the springtime comes and the flowers bloom,
Play with me.
When autumn night is dar
k and the campfire glows,
Camp with me.
When our bodies chill as the winter wind blows,
Stay with me.
Bodies facing
Rhythm chasing
Dance with me.
Eyes are shining
Stars aligning
Dance with me.
If the summer comes and we’re still in love,
Marry me.
Bodies facing
Rhythm chasing
Dance with me.
Eyes are shining
Stars aligning
Promise me.
Letter from Lucy
Dear Reader,
Thank you so much for reading Jumping Jude! I can’t wait to help more of the Marian brothers find love in future Made Marian novels.
Be sure to follow me on Amazon to be notified of new releases, and look for me on Facebook for sneak peeks of upcoming stories.
Please take a moment to write a review of Jumping Jude on Amazon and Goodreads. For a debut author just starting out, reviews can make all the difference in helping a book show up in Amazon searches.
Feel free to sign up for my newsletter, stop by www.LucyLennox.com or visit me on social media to stay in touch. To see fun inspiration photos for all of my novels, visit my Pinterest boards.
Happy reading!
Lucy
About the Author
Lucy Lennox is a mother of three sarcastic kids. Born and raised in the southeast, she now resides outside of Atlanta finally putting good use to that English Lit degree.
Lucy enjoys naps, pizza, and procrastinating. She is married to someone who is better at math than romance but who makes her laugh every single day and is the best dancer in the history of ever.
She stays up way too late each night reading M/M romance because that shit is hot.
For more information and to stay updated about future releases, please sign up for Lucy’s author newsletter on her website.
Connect with Lucy on social media:
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Also by Lucy Lennox
Borrowing Blue - Made Marian Book 1 - currently available on Amazon.
Taming Teddy - Made Marian Book 2 - currently available on Amazon.
