by Wendi Zwaduk
“Stop pushing me,” a woman screamed. Jude knew that voice too—it was Carlie. “You can’t arrest me. I’m one of the cops. Those drugs weren’t mine.”
Through the ambulance window, Jude watched a scruffy man stuff Carlie into the back of a waiting cruiser. When the man saw Jude, a grin brightened his face. He crossed over to her position and tugged her out of the vehicle.
She hardly recognised him and shied back. He didn’t look like the blond barrel of a man she knew. “Jude, it’s okay. I’m James Mateo, Drew’s partner. It’s safe,” Mateo said and hugged her. “You were brave to make that call to nine-one-one. Because of you, we upped the ante on the sting op and found Drew in time. We were able to arrest Balthazar, not only for the drug charges, but also the assault of a police officer, and the alleged murders of Sergeant Randall McCall and Astra Devlin. Drew was next on his hit parade.”
Jude rocked back on her feet. Relief washed over her body, followed by a pang of fear as she further processed Mateo’s statements. Someone would pay for the deaths of her friends.
“Next on what? Where’s Drew?” She clutched Mateo’s arm. Her eyes widened and her breath caught in her throat. “How bad is he hurt, James? Is he…dead?”
“It’s not pretty, but he should manage. I assume you’ll provide some ‘special’ nursing to get him up and running,” Mateo said and dug his elbow into her ribs. He turned and nodded to the arriving stretcher. “Over there…”
Jude glanced in the direction of Mateo’s nod. She nearly fainted. Drew’s body was broken and bloody. His face swelled from the injuries, not to mention the matted, bloody hair and cuts marring his skin. A crash-test dummy looked more life-like.
Drew grinned weakly. He couldn’t even raise his arm to wave. Her heart broke.
“You can ride in the ambulance along with us,” the EMT said and helped her into the vehicle.
Jude nodded. She had to force her feet to move. Seeing Drew in such a bloody mess was devastating, but at least he was alive. As she climbed into the ambulance, Drew’s faint grin gave her strength. If he could deal, then so could she.
She sat at Drew’s feet and massaged his calf. In her mind, she thanked God for bringing him home. Though swollen and purple, he smiled. She knew this wouldn’t be the last time he went undercover. He’d eventually be in another dangerous position—police work wasn’t exactly secure in every situation. She thanked God that Drew had come home. She could be strong without him, but preferred to be strong together. She loved him too much to go it alone.
With the tip of his boot, Drew rubbed her thigh.
Jude smiled through her tears. At least he was alive and safe.
Chapter Twelve
Jude sat on the edge of the bed and flipped through her magazine. Drew glanced over at her, reading one of the headlines. The words ‘hump’, ‘dance’ and ‘get his attention’ certainly grabbed his attention. “Babe?” He bumped her shoulder. “What are you reading?”
He’d been out of the hospital for more than a week and his strength increased with each passing day, but man, the weight of recovery wore on him sometimes. His ribs ached and, when they didn’t, his head throbbed. Getting beaten up sucked ass.
“Garbage. The magazine is garbage.” She tossed the magazine aside. “The doctor told me to wait until you were back in the pink to antagonise you.”
He crooked one brow and squeezed her thigh. “He’s being cautious. Why?”
“There’s a few things we need to iron out.” Jude folded her hands and stared him in the eye. “Things that are crucial to the future.”
The future. He sighed. Jude never ceased to surprise him. Normally her quirks didn’t shock him to the core, but after seeing death head-on, well, he wasn’t going to brush her off. “And you mean…”
“So, how did you hook up with Officer Carlie Kenworth?” Jude turned to face him, sitting cross-legged across from him. “I mean, a man of high standards, such as you should’ve known when to be on guard and with whom. We aren’t all fine, upstanding citizens. She oozed trouble from every pore.”
Drew sighed and reached out to caress Jude’s thigh. “You’d be surprised.”
Jude crossed her smooth legs over his and rested her head on his shoulder. “So?”
“The truth is that she looked like my ex-wife, Nat,” Drew confessed finally. “I thought I needed someone to fill her place in my life. I was wrong.”
“I see…” she said and trailed off. Jude smoothed her fingers along the slender silky patch of hair on his bare chest. The bruises were slowly fading, but the tenderness remained. She touched the outline of his ribs gingerly.
“It wasn’t my brightest move, I’ll agree. When we weren’t arguing, we had… Well, it wasn’t a good time. Actually, it was pretty awful dating a fellow officer. I guess I was too weak to walk away and she liked the attention. I met her at a bar. Martin introduced us.”
Jude raised a brow and turned to look at him. “Was that before or after you two split?”
Drew snorted. “After.”
Jude licked her lips and her eyes flashed. He could see the wheels in her mind turning overtime. What went through that beautiful mind of hers, this time?
A smile drifted across her lips.
“What?” Drew shifted uncomfortably. Jude knew every button and pushed with all her sexual might. He was up to her challenge, if he could figure out what she was up to and could move in a way to incur the least amount of pain.
Jude’s smile increased a thousand watts, making him squirm even more. “You won’t make that mistake again,” she purred and slid onto his lap. She shifted to rub her body on his growing heat.
Drew reached up to cup her face in his hands. “Absolutely not,” he replied and brought her lips to his. What was meant to be a quick taste lingered into complete consumption—she tasted too damn good to turn away.
Jude rocked back and forth on his cock. “Ummm,” she hummed in approval. “Drew, you’ll make me forget what I practiced telling you in the mirror.”
“You used the mirror? Isn’t that my job?” Through the tank top, he clasped her breasts in both hands. He relished the fact that she went braless just for his pleasure. He toyed with her nipples, cursing the constrictive cotton fabric. “So, what exactly were you rehearsing?”
Jude threw her head back and groaned. “You play dirty.”
“Always. So, you came in here to tell me something.” Drew continued to knead her pliable flesh. His mouth mauled her neck with heated kisses. “What was it?”
“Yes,” she gasped. Her eyes rolled back and her lips parted. God, he loved when she zoned out, drugged by his movements.
As she tilted her head back, her long hair tickled his naked legs, sending shivers up his spine. His blood thrummed in his veins and his chest squeezed, not from pain, but pleasure.
“So?” Drew dropped his hands into his lap. Time to mess with her head. Turnabout was fair play. He pulled a condom from the nightstand and placed it on his lap.
Jude snapped back to attention and shook her head. Her hair fell in her eyes and her cheeks flushed, turning him on all the more. “You can’t get off that easily…until I do.”
Jude pulled his erection out of his boxers and wrapped it in the latex barrier. Drew slid her panties to the side, rubbing her wetness on his shaft. To add to her pleasure, he grazed his thumb across the tight nub of her clit. She panted. “Oh…you’re not going to…tease me.”
She shifted to accommodate him.
Drew grasped her hips, increasing their sexual rhythm. “We will get off and it will be incredibly easy,” he groaned. “God, I love you, woman.”
Jude moaned. Could she get any more responsive to his touch? Never…and he loved it that way.
“I love you too, Drew.”
Hearing her say his name, not the cover name, thrilled him to his core. Drew ran his fingers through her hair to move it from her face. He needed to look into her piercing blue eyes—there he found strength, power and peace. Y
es, she was truly his other half. Every time they made love, Jude proved their mutual devotion to each other was real and oh so strong.
Jude dug her nails into his thighs as the climax racked her body.
“Yes,” he hissed, giving way to his own orgasm. “Yes, babe… Come for me.”
Jude screamed his name. “Drew! Oh, God! Drew!”
Drew beamed inwardly. He could listen to the music of her soul every day.
“Oh, Drew.” Jude’s sated body fell limply against his firm chest.
Drew winced at the momentary pain and cuddled her close. “Now, what was it that you had to tell me?” He ran his fingers through her silky hair. “I played dirty. Your turn.”
“I bought a cat,” she whispered in laboured breath. “Adopted him…”
Drew’s brows bunched together as he processed her statement. Why did they need a cat? Hell, how had he not noticed?
“We need a cat so I have company while I’m here alone. With Gramma and your uncle in Florida… I didn’t want to be lonely,” Jude continued without raising her head. Her breath tickled his still-sensitive skin.
“That’s why you have me,” Drew said, still confused and engrossed in watching her breasts move in time with her heartbeat.
“When you’re working, you can’t be here.” She sat up and grinned. “I got Sergeant Pepper from the APL. I didn’t exactly plan to go there, but I drove past and had to stop in. The lady who runs the APL was so nice and I couldn’t say no to the little guy. He was born there and looked so forlorn—I had to take him home.”
Police theme? The Beatles? Didn’t matter. Drew liked the name. He tipped her face to his. “Did the lady con you into naming him—it is a him, I assume—Sergeant Pepper? Or was there a better reason?”
Jude bit the corners of her mouth. “Well, you’re a detective and I’m Jude, so I thought Sergeant Pepper just fit.” She paused. “It was better than Walrus or Abbey or Eggman. Have you got a more suitable suggestion?”
Drew continued to mutely stroke her hair and consider her explanation. A cat would be decent company. Farms had cats. Lots of them. They caught mice and other rodents, didn’t they? The barn cats had and left them everywhere. “So where is the good Sergeant?”
Jude sat up, pursed her lips and whistled. As if on cue, a rather skinny, mottled mahogany and white cat strolled into the room, stalked across the carpet and jumped up onto the bed.
Drew narrowed his eyes to size up the new member of the family. In turn, the little cat sat patiently on the end of the bed, doing the same to him. The scrawny devil had Matilda’s spots and wasn’t more than a year old. Food and a place to nap were the only things the cat cared about—and maybe some play time or a good scratch behind the ears.
“What if I’m allergic to him?” Drew held out his hand. The cat gave him a finicky sniff and plopped down on his side licking his paw as if he’d already lost interest.
“No dice,” Jude replied and giggled. “I called Gramma. She told me you loved cats.”
Drew sighed and pulled her close. Double teamed. Jude was too smart for his own good—not that he’d let on. “You got me. You win.” He kissed her temple. Damn, he was thankful to have her in his life.
“I always had you.” Jude sat up and grinned like a Cheshire cat. “Are you ready for surprise number two?”
Drew cocked his head. “Let me guess…a dog?”
Jude shook her head. “Too cliché.” She slid off his lap and disappeared into the bathroom. When she returned, she held a small box. Her eyes sparkled with mischief and her smile was a country mile wide. Jude scooted onto the bed, next to him. “Ready?”
Drew nodded tentatively. He feared her news was something awful. What did she hide behind her smile?
“Here,” Jude said and handed him a white stick. “Congrats.”
Drew stared at her gift. A pregnancy test. The questions filled his mind and wrinkled his brow. Had they made a baby? They did have plenty of unprotected sex, but…was it possible? He didn’t think he could get a woman pregnant. According to Nat, he was infertile…low sperm count or something. He looked at Jude for answers. “Are you sure?”
“Considering that’s the third test, I’d say I’m pretty sure. I’ve never been preggo before and never had to worry about it.” Jude cocked her head. Wide-eyed and chin quivering, she chewed on her bottom lip. “Second thoughts?”
Drew stared at the test for what seemed like an eternity. Thoughts swirled around in his head. He needed to process her information and his feelings. Having children with Natalie had been out of the question. Regardless, another thought occurred to him. Would he be the same type of father as his own? Would his children be afraid of him? His stomach wrenched. Would Jude change her mind about him, too?
The longer he thought, the more Jude sank back into her seat. She turned to exit the bed. Did she think he’d turn away? Insist on paternity tests or even an abortion? No.
Lack of preparation and comprehension on his part? Yes.
“Hold up, babe.” Drew reached out to pull her onto his lap. The image of a little boy with a dark crew cut and a Popsicle dribbling down his chubby little hand standing next to a little girl with dazzling blue eyes and curls flashed in his mind. Children. His children. “Are you sure?”
“I said I’d tested three times.” Jude nodded. Tears glistened in her eyes. “I have a doctor’s appointment for Tuesday, but I’m sure,” she whispered in a virtually inaudible voice.
Drew caught her chin and brought her lips to his. “Then I couldn’t be happier. It’s perfect,” he said and kissed her. His child with the woman of his dreams—Drew nearly cried for joy. “I… We can and will break the cycle…together. And to think it all started with a simple glance at the club.”
When they surfaced for air, worry etched Jude’s face again. The tears began to fall from her beautiful eyes. She shivered. “Are you sure?”
Drew grinned like a man in love…like a man who just found out that he’ll be a daddy. He knew she feared the past would come back to haunt them, but this was their future and it was a one thousand watt future.
“Babe, I’ve never been so sure in all my life,” he said and stroked her stomach. Drew pictured Jude on her side across the bed, teaching the little one about art and Daddy’s job. It was a sweet mental image he’d cherish until it came true. “This is perfect—you, me, Sergeant Pepper and a little one on the way. What else can a man ask for?”
The smile returned to Jude’s face, followed by more tears. These were tears of joy. “I was afraid you’d changed your mind,” she gasped and cuddled against his shoulder.
“No,” Drew reassured her and stroked her hair. “All I’ve ever wanted was a woman to love me, a family to care for, and a home for all of us. You’ve given me that and so much more. Babe, I love you.”
Jude kissed his collarbone. “I love you, too.”
Drew squared his shoulders. “So when is the due date? The farmhouse does have plenty of space, but I’d like to know how long I have until I have to round up Ray, Logan and Ned to help me build a swing set or a fort.”
Jude began to laugh and met his lips for a kiss. “What about a princess castle?”
“Can you imagine big old Ray painting something pink? He’d rather chew off his foot.” Drew chuckled at the vision of his friends with cans of pink paint, covering a massive castle. Things would be hairy at times. But, as long as he had Jude and they were together, it would be all right. “Since we’re sharing, I have something for you.”
“What do you have?”
Drew’s kindness turned Jude on and made her heart swell. She smoothed down the flyaway strands of hair. She felt beautiful. “Are you pregnant, too?”
“Har.” Drew fumbled in his discarded track short pocket and produced a diamond ring. The gem sparkled in the light of the setting sun. “I never knew I could love someone so deeply so quickly. I met you and my world tumbled upside down in every perfect way possible. I love you and want you to be mine
forever. Will you marry me, babe?”
Jude’s mouth fell open. The man of her dreams asking her to marry him—was it real? The odd compulsion to pinch herself came to mind. Sensory overload or something like that. She stared at his hand, the ring, then his face. All the love bursting in her chest was mirrored in his eyes. Yes, she’d marry him. Hell, she’d take a rocket ride to the moon if that’s what he wanted.
“I can’t imagine my life without you,” he admitted. “Nor do I want to…”
Drew didn’t need to beg—he had her heart.
“Um, here’s where you tell me yes, no, get lost, drop dead, I’m so happy…take your pick?”
Jude nodded. Like she could fathom life without him, either. Now that she’d found him, wild horses couldn’t drag her away. The blood coursed through her body. She felt like she was flying. God, it felt wonderful. “Yes, forever.”
Drew took a breath and nodded. Jude could see the relief wash over his body. He grappled with her hand and placed the ring on her finger. She looked at her new jewellery and marvelled at its brilliance. “Where did you get this so quickly? I never saw you leave and no one save for the guys from the force has been in to visit.”
Drew threw his head back and laughed, making her slightly uncomfortable. Jude felt like smacking herself on the forehead.
Real smart—question his motives. He must think I’m an ungrateful brat. Nice.
Jude bit the inside of her cheek. “What?”
“I just figured I’d get an ‘it’s so beautiful’ or ‘it’s what I’ve always wanted’,” he chuckled. “Are you afraid I stole it?”
The slightest nudge of her shoulder belied her calm exterior.
“Sweetheart, I’m a cop. I don’t thieve.”
Jude blushed. Now she felt incredibly dumb. Drew saw to the core of her fear—honesty or a lack thereof. She twined her fingers together, wondering what else might go wrong.
“I have no manners,” she admitted and snuggled into his arms. “It’s very beautiful. I love it and you, but I don’t deserve either.”
