by Lia Slater
Her heart wept for the little boy inside of him.
So much so that she’d pushed aside her fear of losing him and told him how she really felt. She loved him. If ever there was a time to tell him, it was now. He needed to hear that she wanted more than just sex. She wanted him. Forever.
He remained quiet and his soft grip on her face didn’t falter. The only changes were the uptick of his heartbeat as she laid her palm against his chest and the slight intake of his breath. She was used to his reserved personality. It was one of the traits she’d grown to love. He chose his words carefully. He was dependable and strong. He was the sturdy oak she could hold on to when a hurricane arose and tried to uproot her sanity. She could vent and cry and he would listen and comfort.
But right now, she really hoped he’d say something to acknowledge the life-changing words that had poured out of her mouth.
She began to second-guess herself until he finally spoke.
“Come with me to the bedroom.” His voice was low and controlled.
“The bedroom?” The knot in her stomach had lodged up in her throat. What was he trying to tell her? That he only wanted sex?
She quickly dismissed the thought. Jude wouldn’t treat her that way. He wouldn’t dismiss her feelings. They were friends before tonight. Close friends. That hadn’t changed. She hoped.
“Okay.” She tried not to sound wary. Because really, how many times had she fantasized about following Jude into his bedroom, falling onto his bed and having him take advantage of her in every way possible?
He clasped her hand and led the way. She’d only been in his bedroom one time, briefly on the way to his walk-in closet. She’d helped him pick out a tie before an important business meeting.
Now, she’d have a better chance to check out where he slept.
She clenched the chenille throw tighter to her chest and quickened her step to catch up with his brisk, long strides. He opened the door and let her enter first. His jaw was tight, stretching his scar, showing that he was just as on edge as she was.
His room hadn’t changed. A dark, solid maple four-poster bed centered the far wall. Yards of black silk covered the duvet and king-size pillows. Jude treasured quality. Nothing but the best fabrics in his life, including his clothes.
Her body had a mind of its own as she walked the distance to the enormous bed and sat on the edge. She peered up at him. The ball would be in his court until he at least acknowledged her declaration of love. Two could play the quiet game.
“Scoot back, Naomi,” he said in a coaxing tone, while extracting the throw from her tight grip. “Lie down. Relax.”
“Sure. Okay.” She had no willpower. And it didn’t help she was still on a high from what had happened on the sofa.
With as much grace as possible, she scooted back, farther and farther until she was able to fall back onto the heavenly soft pillows. She propped back up on her elbows when she realized she’d lost sight of him.
He leaned over, tugging his pants off again, his gorgeous cock springing free. She pressed her trembling thighs together. She was already wet and aching for him, wondering what he’d feel like deep inside of her, as she craved to run her hands along his muscled body as he climbed on top of her.
Keeping his gaze fixed to hers, he walked to the side of the bed and picked up a condom from the nightstand. His movements were slow and deliberate... excruciating... as he opened the wrapper and rolled the rubber down his cock.
“Don’t you want to talk first?” Her voice shook.
He pulled in a breath and released it, seeming to think over the question. Then he shook his head and crawled onto the bed. His muscles flexed as he crept toward her. His eyes were fixed on hers. His hair fell over his cheeks and along his jaw.
Instinct had her sitting up halfway to push the locks behind his ears before they covered his eyes. He always waited too long for a haircut. She loved it that way. Loved everything about him.
So much.
And it finally dawned on her that she was at his mercy tonight. Ever since she’d opened the doors to an intimate relationship, she’d been at his mercy. She’d do anything for him, with him.
Please don’t break my heart.
CHAPTER EIGHT
NAOMI’S HEAD SWIRLED as Jude’s hands slid up her calf, brushed the sensitive area under her knee, then slowly curved along the inside of her thigh. Her hips lifted in response. Heat stewed low and deep.
Glancing down at herself, she noticed reddened splotches on her otherwise pale skin. Had to be the fevered passion Jude was arousing.
“I’ve never made love with the lights on.” She blurted her thoughts.
She had no idea if the splotches were normal, nor did she care. Her experiences with Jude would be new—she had to remember. He was the polar opposite of Dav—
Stop thinking.
She reached for Jude, grabbing hold of his forearm, just as his finger grazed her clit, then slipped lower to push into her. Watching him was highly erotic.
Her hips lifted higher off the mattress.
“Never in the light,” she murmured, completely in awe of how his forearm muscles bunched as his finger did delightful things down there.
“Are you thinking of him?” Jude’s coarse voice startled her.
Naomi glanced up to see lips formed into a terse frown. It was obvious he was talking about Davis.
“No. Why would you ask that?” She sounded defensive, even to her own ears. Guilty. But not in the way his undertone had suggested. She’d only marveled at the difference between them.
She sat up, pulling away from him. Yet her heart still raced and her body still thrummed. “Why?” she repeated.
“Tell me the truth, Naomi.”
Her cheeks blazed as she shook her head. He was killing the moment. But why?
“Tell me.” He wasn’t backing down.
“How could I not at least compare when you’re so different in every way? I’ve only been with one man, you know. He was all I knew. And you... you’re so...”
Jude cocked his head. Naomi licked her lips. Her gaze traveled down his torso as he kneeled, hunched forward, muscular but still lean. An athletic build.
“What am I?”
She laughed nervously. “You’re an eyeful. You’re incredible. I could stare at you forever and never grow bored. Jude”—she sighed—“don’t you see?”
“You said you loved me. Why?”
“Because I do, of course.”
“But I’m so different from him. You just admitted that. We had nothing in common.”
“You’re right. Other than your passion for business.”
Passion. That’s what they had in common. Though she’d never been aware of it to this degree. Not in the bedroom. Not like this.
She shook the thought from her mind. What was Jude trying to prove by bringing up Davis now anyway? She’d laid out her heart by admitting she’d fallen in love with him. She’d bypassed her guilt for realizing Davis might not have been the only love of her life... when all throughout her marriage she’d thought exactly that.
Now things had changed. Now her heart was open and ready for Jude. Only apparently, he wasn’t ready to hear it. Was this how he pushed women away?
“You said you didn’t want to talk,” she said, stubbornly and more than a little upset. “I don’t either.” Yet she couldn’t help but add, “Are you trying to talk me out of my feelings for you?”
“No,” he said, before she’d had a chance to finish. “Hell, no.” His frown grew taut, and before she could blink, he grabbed for her waist and lifted her onto his lap.
Air gushed from her lips as she straddled his naked hips. His strength astounded her. In his arms, she’d felt light, utterly feminine.
Frenzied butterflies swooped low in her abdomen. Her breath halted as her pussy grazed his solid shaft. The rapid pulse of his heart beat against her palm.
Passion, yes. More than she could bear. Her body trembled under his embrace.
“Wh-what?”
He didn’t answer. Instead, he lifted her, edged the head of his cock against her slick entrance... then slowly eased her down.
Naomi held her breath as he filled her, his cock stretching her pussy walls. A desperate moan vibrated up her throat, sounding raspy and raw in the otherwise quiet room.
She sank down on his lap. Her thighs spread against his hips, her knees finally reaching the mattress. His thick length lodged deep inside. She couldn’t move. Nerves, long-neglected, sparked and frolicked throughout her body. Her breasts crushed against his hard chest.
She was going to orgasm just sitting there, not moving an inch. And, damn, did she want it bad. When the sensations smoldered rather than peaked, she grew anxious.
Jude’s hands on her ass stilled, only pressing her close. His lips worked over her jaw and down her neck, spreading licks and skilled kisses.
“Jude, please.” Naomi attempted to lift off him for friction... for more. But his hold on her was firm.
“Tell me again,” he whispered. “Tell me.”
She sucked in a breath and tried to clear her mind. Tell him again. Tell him what? Whatever it was, he sounded desperate to hear the words.
Then it clicked.
Of course.
He needed to be reassured. The neglected little boy inside the successful, intimidating, brutally handsome man needed affirmation.
“I love you.” She scraped her fingers into his soft hair, pulling him closer so not an inch of space separated them. “I love you.” And she did love him—as much as he wanted, as much as he needed.
His hands on her ass hitched her up as his hips shifted down. Then up in a slick, full thrust that ground against her most inner wall.
Oh, God. She arched her back and threw her head back. Another crying moan ripped from her lips. Pleasure shocks skittered throughout her pelvis, up her belly, reaching her fingertips as she dug them into his scalp.
“Say it again, Naomi.” He held her down again.
Blood pulsed in her head and deep inside her core, building and building. She closed her eyes and nuzzled her nose to his cheek, inhaling his spicy aftershave. How much more until she crashed over the edge?
“Say it.”
“I love you, Jude.”
Again, his large hands lifted her bottom up and then down again, his cock arching brilliantly into her, skimming tightly against her pussy walls.
She cried out. More pressure built, just short of the crescendo she so craved. “Please, Jude, please.”
“Say it. Again and again. I want to hear your sweet voice. Tell me you’re mine.”
“I’m yours. Only yours.”
“You are mine.” He lifted her again, repeating the same maneuver, the same driving motion. But this time he didn’t stop. His powerful grip pulled her up and down while he worked his hips in rotating motions.
The bed jounced beneath them. The headboard butted against the wall. Her breasts bounced against his chest. She whimpered and Jude groaned.
Studying the way his hips moved, she was able to work with him, rolling her pelvis forward to match his movement. Heat stirred so low, compacting deep and deeper. Fast, fast, then slow. Hard, hard, then soft. The rhythm was a rising storm inside her body.
Her hands feathered down to clasp his shoulders, moist with sweat. She clung to him and concentrated on their dance. They had one goal in common.
“I love you,” she whispered against his ear, then smiled at the way he groaned. Hard to believe the power her words had over such an intoxicating man. So strong. Powerful. Brilliant. Kind. Generous. “I’ll love you forever.”
~ * ~
JUDE COULDN’T THINK straight. For years, he’d longed to hear those words from Naomi’s mouth. He should be celebrating. He should be dropping to his knee and asking her to marry him.
He should be doing something romantic and sappy and worthy of her love. Something more than he could give at the moment. Something other than ordering her to his bed and fucking her.
Yet all he could force himself to do was to take her. To claim her. The need was primal... and foolhardy. But he couldn’t stop.
He tuned in to her sounds and movements—the whimpers, moans and trembles—and played off them, never wanting to hear a cry of pleasure more in his life.
Her pussy was slick and so tight, squeezing him as he jutted his hips upward. Her juices trickled down his balls. Her fingers clenched his shoulders, digging in deeper.
So close. Break the code.
He loosened his grip on her ass, letting her move with him, but also letting his palms brush across her soft flesh. The need to possess every part of her twisted and grew. His fingers boldly swept into her crevice and lightly skimmed her anus. Once and then again when she half gasped, half moaned, but didn’t protest.
The lightest of touches seemed to be what she needed to lose herself in the moment. She halted her maddening movements and fell into him. Jude wrapped one arm around her to hold her to him while his other hand was free to continue his experiment.
His cock thrust up deep inside her as his fingers brushed over her anus. Lightly, then a firmer rubbing, then lightly again.
And she responded.
“Ah, ah... oh, God.” Her body, slippery with perspiration, quaked under his hold.
Yes.
He drove harder and faster, milking her orgasm. Her feminine cries spurted from her lips. Her body tensed. Her sweet pussy squeezed him. So tight.
She jerked against him. Her fingers dug into his shoulders.
He relished the sound of her uninhibited moans as they grew louder, frantic.
One last, shuddering whimper and then she was quiet. Spent and limp against him.
He held her and smiled to himself, pleased. He’d been so caught up in her response he’d forgotten his own.
But he could wait.
He lifted her, garnering more soft moans, then eased her onto her back against his pillows. He pulled from her body, instantly missing her warmth.
He spread light kisses over her lips and cheeks. There was so much more he wanted to do with her. So much more of her he wanted to claim. But somehow, he coerced himself into moving to the edge of the bed, leaving her. He had to.
“Jude? Where are you going?” Her voice was raspy. Damn sexy. And vulnerable.
“Don’t worry, angel. I’ll be right back.” He grabbed a pair of work-out shorts and tugged them on. A fierce determination he’d never felt before swelled in his chest.
His feet led him to the en suite bathroom first to rid of the condom, wash up and splash cool water on his face.
Clear your head, Jude. Don’t fuck this up.
He was doing this. Yes, nothing could stop him.
He dried his face on the towel before stepping back into the bedroom and heading toward the den.
“Jude?” she called again, sounding anxious. She probably thought he’d lost his mind... or worse.
But he couldn’t stop his feet from heading to his destination. He would explain soon. He only hoped he was making the right decision. And not scaring her away.
In his den, he strode to his safe and punched in the combo. His hand shook as he lifted the small box from the far corner. He knew right where he’d left it—his mind would never let him forget. Never.
But he’d once vowed to turn the bad memories into good. So far he’d accomplished more than he’d imagined. Only one thing was missing. All he needed to do was to believe he deserved that one precious thing.
“I deserve her,” he said aloud, realizing the person he pictured talking to wasn’t his mother, but Davis.
He shut the safe and propped himself against his desk, suddenly feeling dizzy. The lights of Denver glowed and dimly lit the room, casting shadows here and there.
“I’ll take care of her, Davis. I’ll do right by you.” He swa
llowed and winced at the pain caught in his throat. He hadn’t realized he’d needed to say these words until now.
“I love her, man. I’ve loved her for a long time and I don’t intend to ever stop.”
He paused, feeling like an idiot for waiting for some type of response. Of course he got none. Davis wasn’t going to stroll out of the dark shadows and punch him in the face. He wasn’t going to argue. He wasn’t going to do anything. He was gone.
And life had to continue without him.
“Good talk, man,” Jude said, repeating the words Davis always used after they’d resolved one of their heated debates.
Jude squeezed the box in his hand and shook his head.
Naomi. The only person he needed was Naomi.
And... shit. He’d been here too long, making her wait.
He pushed to his feet and headed toward his bedroom but stopped short when he saw her by his sofa, slipping her dress on.
~ * ~
SEVERAL MINUTES PASSED. Naomi couldn’t help but think the worst... or be hurt that Jude had made love to her and then simply left the room without explanation.
And it had been making love. Casual sex couldn’t possibly be that intense. Jude wouldn’t have insisted on hearing her say those words over and over. He wouldn’t have asked for love without loving her back. At least in some small way.
Would he?
No. Maybe?
She shook her head. In any case, his actions couldn’t be ignored, no matter that they didn’t make a bit of sense.
Annoyed and confused, she shoved the hem of her dress to her knees with so much force the stitching tore.
“Oh, no.” Blinking her burning eyes, she twirled around to pick up her heels.
And then she saw him.
Just standing there. Watching her. Shirtless still. Something clenched in one hand. She couldn’t seem to force herself to move her gaze up farther, afraid she’d see something in his eyes that gave away his true feelings.
“Naomi.” His voice was low, too low.
She bent to pick up her heels from the floor, then flipped her hair from her face, hoping to at least look unhurt. “I was wondering where you were,” she said while busying herself with slipping on one sandal, then the other.
