Trouble

by Kira Blakely

  “I know one thing that a nurse can’t do that will make me feel better,” I said.

  Chapter 34

  Ava

  Jude tugged me forward to kiss me, and he tasted of fresh mint toothpaste. I kissed him back passionately. I poured every inch of myself into that kiss as our tongues twisted around one another’s in a battle of dominance.

  The crisp fall air swirled around us. I pulled back to look up at the red oak leaves that fell upon us. Jude glanced up at them as well, with a smile. He wrapped his good arm around my shoulders as he guided me forward to the locked gate. The entire street was quiet and full of fancy townhomes. It had been a surprise when the driver dropped me off at Jude’s place thirty minutes away from the hospital. I had expected a garage. A big garage full of bikes, since that was all he lived and breathed.

  “You look a bit surprised,” Jude said as he pushed the gate open. He hobbled forward to let me walk in before clicking it shut. “Were you expecting something entirely different?”

  I fished out the spare key from my jacket that Jude had told me was hidden beneath a rock on the front porch. “I was expecting you to have an apartment somewhere with a large-ass garage. I remember how much you said a big garage was important to you in the past.”

  “It is important to me,” he said as I opened the front door. “This is just one of my homes here in the city. My garage is near the arena.”

  “You have a garage near the arena?”

  “Yes,” he said, hopping inside into the hallway. “Three stories high, actually. My office is in there. Which I’ll need to get to in the next couple of days.”

  I shook my head in awe. It never ceased to amaze me how incredibly wealthy Jude was. He owned a breathtaking townhome in Chicago. He owned a fleet of bikes and a garage. He had several businesses that were thriving. He would be okay, no matter what he did, because he had worked his ass off to get where he wanted to go.

  “I’ll call the nurse,” I said. “Let her know that you’re here, so—”

  “Ava.”

  I looked up in surprise at him as he started up the stairs slowly on the crutches. He turned to look down at me with a shake of his head.

  “Tell the nurse not to come in until tomorrow.” He cocked his eyebrow at me in a way that had my body already squirming in pleasure. “Catch my drift?”

  “I suppose so,” I said thickly. “I’ll give them a call real quick.”

  I spent the next ten minutes telling the nurse when to come in, along with sending in prescriptions to the pharmacy nearby. I would have to surface eventually to get them but for now, I knew he craved something entirely different. A different type of drug that I was more than willing to give to him repeatedly.

  I climbed the stairs to head in the direction of his bedroom, grateful that I had taken the time in the shower earlier to shave my legs at least. I pushed the door open to stop in surprise to see him already naked on the bed with a rock-hard erection straining against his stomach. Deep bruises covered his muscular body—a sign of his dedication, just like his tattoos. A cheeky smiled graced his face when I let out a laugh.

  “Eager much?” I asked.

  “You owe it to me,” he said, voice husky. “Come over here. I’ve been thinking about this since you left the hospital.”

  “Are you sure you aren’t in any pain?”

  “Yes. This is in pain.” He pointed to his erection. “Come help me ease this pain. Don’t think about anything else, either.”

  I stripped slowly out of my clothes while Jude watched me with fevered eyes. His hands were clutching the sheets and blankets as I stripped naked in front of him. His eyes left fiery trails down my skin as he took me in with an appreciative groan.

  “So beautiful,” he said. “Get over here. I can’t drag you here.”

  “That’s right,” I said teasingly. “You can’t do anything. I’m in charge right now.”

  His eyes hooded while I crawled across the bed to straddle his lap. We both let out a moan when his erection nestled against the core of me. I ground my hips teasingly against him as Jude’s lips attacked my breast in a series of hot kisses and little nips. His good hand clutched my right ass cheek while he guided my hips up and down him.

  “Damn, baby,” he whispered against my breasts. “I’ve missed you. I’ve missed you so fucking much.”

  Tears filled my eyes as I carefully anchored myself over him. The tip of his cock pulsated at my entrance before I slowly slid down, relishing in the heat and hardness stretching me in all the right ways. It felt so good.

  “I missed you, too,” I whispered, pressing a hot kiss against his lips.

  Our tongues danced as my hips rolled forward to set a slow and desirable pace. I grabbed the back of Jude’s neck to hold myself as I moved up and down over him. Every inch of Jude’s body went stiff from the pleasure of it. His jaw clenched. A vein throbbed in his temple, and ragged breaths pushed through his nose. I could feel his release coming swiftly, from how he hardened even more inside of me.

  Jude slid a hand around to press his thumb against the core of me. He parted the flesh between my legs to rub at the wetness there. I let out a ragged moan as he continued to do that in time with my hips rolling up and down him. I could feel the warm sunlight streaming in through the skylights above Jude’s bed as he pushed down hard to send me over into the oblivion of my own release.

  I cried out, and Jude’s hand went to my hip to guide me up and down him fast. His eyes rolled back in pleasure. The sound of our skin smacking against one another filled the room. A simmering rose-red color filled Jude’s face before he went rigid beneath me with a loud cry. I felt him spill into me, hot and sticky.

  I climbed off of him before I could fall over onto a bruise or sprained limb. We laid there for a long time, watching clouds drift by through the skylight above the bed. I gently threaded my fingers through Jude’s as I rolled over to press a kiss against his wildly thumping heart. I relished in the soft contact of his sweaty skin against mine. If things would’ve been different at that arena—cold fear shot through me thinking about it.

  “I’m sorry for everything,” I whispered. “I love you, Jude. I really do love you.”

  Jude pulled me close with his good arm. “I know, Ava. I’m sorry, too, for being such an asshole to you. I’m sorry about Andy, too. I miss him every damn day.”

  “I know. I miss him, too.”

  “I can’t race anymore,” Jude said quietly. “The motocross officials are going to ban me from the sport for a while because my blood test is going to show what everyone knew about the crash.”

  “They’ll ban you for a short period of time, Jude,” I said, tracing a tattoo on his chest. “They can’t do it for the rest of your life.”

  “It’s fine if they do. I’m just glad that I have you here. I have an idea for us to do together in the future.”

  I propped my chin on his chest to gaze up at him curiously. He smiled down at me as he brushed back my hair with one hand.

  “What sort of idea do you have?” I asked.

  The smile on his face grew.

  “You’ll see. I love you, Ava James. Don’t ever go running off on me again.”

  I pressed a tender kiss to the patch of skin above his heart. “I promise. I won’t ever run away from you again. I love you, too, Jude Jacobs.

  Epilogue

  Six Months Later

  Jude

  Sunlight glinted off the snowy slopes of Aspen, Colorado. It was an endless valley of rugged, snow-covered mountains. The fresh pine air filled my lungs as snow crunched beneath my boots. I walked along the various booths in the direction of my tent.

  The X-Games was easily the most intense sport during the winter months. I had spent the past few weeks watching skiers and snowboarders do their stunts down the slick slopes of the mountains. They reminded me of myself a few months ago, when I had officially announced my retirement from motocross with Ava at my side.

  I spotted my tent out of
the sea of tents, where the media camped out with hot coffee to fend off the cold. Extreme Sports with JJ. I smiled up at the banner taped to the sunshade. ESPN had been quick to offer a time slot with a three-year contract of six million dollars per year. It meant having to travel around the world to report about all the dangerous and extreme sports out there. Wherever ESPN told me to go, I went without batting an eyelash. I got to travel around the entire world, chasing the extreme sports that captured the nation’s attention. That was a job I felt proud of because I understood the athletes behind it. I had done it for a long time, too.

  It was a nice break from the physical aspects of being an athlete. I kept in shape, though, by going to the gym, but I also thrived on the fact that I could eat a cheeseburger if I wanted to without worry. My thigh still didn’t feel right, though. It was a physical scar, and a reminder that extreme sports had a short shelf life for many athletes.

  I spotted Ava standing next to a few cameramen from ESPN. They were all talking over their cups of coffee, taking a break from our recent interview. In a few hours, the games would retire for the night because of the frigid plunge of temperatures in the mountains.

  Ava’s dark locks of hair were braided back. She wore a thick pair of black leggings that hugged her curves in all the right ways. She wore a plaid coat with flannel lining beneath it to fight off the cold. I wrapped my arms around her waist tightly as she leaned back up against me with a smile.

  “Good interview,” she said. “I really liked it.”

  “Thank you.” I pressed a kiss against the side of her head. “We should be wrapping up here soon. Let’s go back to the hotel for a long hot bath. What do you think?”

  Everyone rolled their eyes around us in amusement. It didn’t even faze them even more. Our relationship was intense. Our sexual chemistry was explosive. They probably had heard more than they were wanting to hear, but it had been a condition of mine when ESPN hired me on as a commentator with my own time slot. Ava had to come with me.

  “Sounds good to me,” Ava said. “I have to update our blog tonight. Let everyone know to check out the interview. There’s also a special announcement I want to make with you, too.”

  I arched an eyebrow at the mischievous glint in her eye as she slipped away from me to help gather up the equipment when the announcer closed out the day. I had no idea what special announcement Ava had in mind, but I had my own special announcement as well. No one knew about either announcement, judging from the confused looks they gave us.

  While Ava was downstairs in the hotel lobby ordering us both hot drinks, I made quick work of spreading out rose petals all over the floor and bed. I placed a bottle of champagne in an ice bucket, even though it was so cold outside that ice felt unnecessary. I gazed out the large windows of our private suite at the rugged mountains along with the bustling city of Aspen.

  I would never get tired of coming here. It was quiet and peaceful. Much like back in Gypsum. I patted the small box in my front pocket with a smile. It had taken some time for Ava’s parents to adjust to us traveling around together but they had accepted me into the family slowly over the past few months. After my retirement from motocross, they had started to look at our relationship seriously. They had visited us both a few weeks ago for Christmas in Chicago when I had asked Ava’s father for permission to marry Ava.

  “Take good care of her, JJ. That’s all I want for my little girl.”

  I planned to. I had made damn sure of it over the past few months that Ava had everything she wanted and needed.

  The door to our hotel suite opened. Ava stopped in surprise to see all the rose petals scattered about the floor and bed. She arched an eyebrow at me teasingly.

  “You’re going romantic on me,” she said. “Rose petals?”

  I rolled my eyes at the soft jest. I could see that she was touched by the gesture as she handed me a black coffee. The smell of green tea took me by surprise as I looked down at her cup.

  “No coffee for you?”

  Ava glanced down at her cup. “No. It’s part of my announcement, but you tell me what this is all about.”

  “How about you tell me your announcement,” I suggested and set our cups down on the coffee table. “I have a feeling it might tie into my surprise.”

  “Close your eyes, then.”

  I obliged, even though I was confused as hell about what she was doing. Her soft hands grasped mine gently. Something cold and plastic brushed against my fingers. It felt like a glossy photograph in my fingertips.

  “Okay,” Ava said softly. “Open your eyes.”

  I took in the dark photograph in my hand with a confused frown. Realization washed over me when I looked at the pregnancy test. The positive pregnancy test. I looked up as tears filled my eyes. Ava smiled at me while tears filled her eyes, too.

  “You’re pregnant?”

  “Yes,” she said softly. “A few weeks along. I found out when we were back in Chicago for Christmas vacation.”

  My heart leapt with joy as I swept Ava up into my arms. Fatherhood. A family. A few years ago, all of that would’ve struck fear into my head. Not now. Not after the past few months of having Ava at my side every day as we traveled the world together.

  “It’s a good thing that I put money down on that piece of land in Gypsum,” I said, pulling back to press a kiss to her lips with a smile. “We’re going to have to settle down somewhere, huh?”

  “What about your parents?” Ava asked. “Do you want to tell them or—”

  “They can figure it out,” I said, not willing to let them taint the moment.

  I reached into the pocket of my sweater. Nerves crashed over me, which seemed ridiculous, given that we were expecting a baby together. Still, sweat gathered in my palms. My heart raced as I pulled the box out to open it as I sank down to one knee. Ava gasped in surprise as she stared down at me with wide eyes, full of a fresh wave of tears again.

  “Ava James,” I started, voice trembling. “Will you marry me?”

  “Yes!” she exclaimed, hands shaking in mine. “Yes. Absolutely!”

  I slid the ring on her finger with a relieved sigh. The ring glittered in the soft light from the fireplace. I pressed a kiss to Ava’s hand as I stood up to gather her into my arms.

  We had spent the past few months traveling together around the world. Now, we were embarking on a new adventure that I couldn’t be more excited about.

  Forbidden Series

  Forbidden Three

  Forbidden Santa

  Forbidden Daddy

  Forbidden Feast

  Also by Kira Blakely

  Savage

  Ruthless

  Delivering Her Secret

  Secret Daddy

  Surprise Package

  Untouchable

  First Love Second Chance

  Last Chance

  Throttle

  She’s Mine

  Play Thing

  Beauty and the Billionaire

  Faking For Her

  One Hot Daddy

  Owned by the Billionaire

  Untamed

  Billionaire’s Protest Box Set

  Billionaire Bad Boys Box Set

  Let’s hang out.

  Most days I’m busy writing and watching Netflix. I do, however, have a special Facebook group where I post often and interact with my peeps. I’d love for you to come hang out at the Naughty Girls Hangout on Facebook.

  facebook.com/groups/nghangout

  amazon.com/author/kirablakely

  facebook.com/kirablakelyromance

  bookbub.com/authors/kira-blakely

  www.kirablakely.com

  info@kirablakely.com

  About the Author

  Kira Blakely

  All I’ve ever wanted to do for years is write my own books. I spent an ungodly amount of time ghostwriting a few bestsellers for other authors before realizing it was time to start taking credit for my own work.

  My personal struggles in life, love, and money have
driven me to start doing what I love most: Writing full time.

  I started writing when I was a teenager. I fell in love with a boy who didn’t quite love me back--admittedly, I was terribly insecure and slightly overweight--and the entire experience drove me to start practicing my craft. Writing helped me to escape, to reimagine a world where happy endings actually existed. If I couldn’t have the love of my life, I’d just create Mr. Right in my romance novels… with maybe a few embellishments.