Take Me (Take Me Series Book 1)

by Calista Fox

  His gaze narrowed on her. “In case…?”

  “You ask me to marry you.”

  Now, his brow arched. “And if I did?”

  “I’d say yes.” She closed the gap between them. “In a heartbeat. Hell… I’d marry you tonight. Right this very second.”

  “Kate,” he murmured against her lips. “Don’t tease me.”

  “No teasing, I swear. I’m serious, Jude. I love you enough to believe in the whole goddamn fairy tale.”

  “How utterly romantic, Kate,” he quietly quipped.

  “You know what I’m saying.” Her lips pressed to his. Then she whispered, “We just might be the couple who truly can have it all.”

  “I would do anything—give anything—to make that happen, Kate.”

  “Me, too.”

  He kissed her, passionately. And Kate could care less how it might shock her parents, offend her brothers, scandalize their wives.

  Nikki and Charlotte would understand.

  That was good enough for Kate.

  When they finally came up for air, she told Jude, “I do love you. I would marry you.”

  “Not would,” he murmured. “Will.”

  “I will marry you, Jude McMillan.” She rubbed the tip of her nose against his and playfully added, “But you haven’t even asked me yet.”

  “Prepare to be swept off your feet. Completely and…endlessly…”

  He kissed her again. And suddenly, everything in her life that had seemed so elusive was now within Kate’s grasp.

  Including the most important thing of all—a life with Jude.

  23

  Bonus Epilogue

  Seven months later…

  “I am so ready for a thick, comfy bed, room service and soaking in a bathtub until I prune,” Kate murmured as she preceded Jude into their suite at a luxury hotel in Mexico City. A much-needed respite following six months of extensive, intensive and highly stressful field training and then their first “live” mission with a search and rescue team, a disaster-relief effort in Honduras. The country was riddled with civil unrest, which had made entry dangerous unto itself. Yet it was the nine-point-six earthquake that had rocked Tequcigalpa, its capital city, that left thousands homeless and hundreds injured or killed.

  Kate, Jude, Nikki and the SAR team they’d officially attached to had spent weeks working with survivors and their families, assisting medical teams and facilities, helping to recover personal possessions and reunite relatives or relay contact information.

  Kate was exhausted—and knew Jude was as well. He worked tirelessly alongside her, Nikki and the others, doing more than offer legal assistance to those in need. He’d taken his own training in search and rescue and not only did he excel in aiding with physical recovery efforts, he was proving invaluable in coordinating missing persons boards online and off, connecting dots and bringing people together.

  Not every story resulted in a happy ending, of course. And Kate knew there was a small toll on Jude’s soul each time he delivered tragic news. Yet…the triumphs eclipsed the tragedies enough for him to persevere and she admired his strength and resiliency. His dedication to a cause that she was wholly committed to and which had thrust their lives into a different direction than either could have predicted.

  Jude followed her into the suite and dropped his laptop bag on the desk in the corner as the valet put their leather duffles in the walk-in closet in the bedroom. He then filled the ice bucket and placed a tray with bottled waters and goblets on the coffee table before flipping the switch on the wall that caused the low flames in the hearth to spring to life.

  Jude tipped the man and then reached for the room service menu.

  “I’m starving,” he all-but growled.

  Their flight from Honduras had been a reasonable jaunt at just over two hours, but they’d worked right up until the very last seconds when they could make it to the airport in time to board their plane, skipping both lunch and dinner. And it crested two in the morning, so he had to be famished.

  “I’m ordering half this menu,” he announced as he reached for the phone.

  With a soft laugh, Kate said, “Order the other half for me.”

  She also set her medical tote on the large mahogany desk and went into the bathroom for a quick shower. Refreshed, she wrapped a thick robe around her body and towel-dried the ends of her hair as she returned to the living room. Jude was on his cell, likely checking on the progress made since they’d left Honduras. The earthquake had occurred three weeks ago; Jude still had a few remaining dots to connect and he was diligent about following up on leads, no matter how sliver-thin they were or cold they’d gone.

  Kate stole behind him, tossed aside her towel, leaned over the back of the sofa and draped her arms around his neck as he sat in front of the fire.

  “You truly are amazing,” she whispered in his ear.

  “That couple from Bolivia who’d been visiting family in Tequcigalpa are still missing. I don’t get it. They weren’t even in the city when the earthquake hit. They’d taken a day trip.”

  “There was a lot of chaos, in all directions,” Kate pointed out. “They could have returned to the mayhem, gotten lost in the shuffle…suffered some terrible fate from one of the many aftershocks. Anything could have happened to them, Jude.”

  “Including being abducted by drug lords or a gang.”

  “Ransom would have been demanded by now,” Kate reasoned.

  With a shrug of a broad shoulder, Jude said, “The assholes could be bidding their time. Waiting for the dust to settle.”

  “Meaning there’s nothing you can do about it right this very second. Why don’t you take a hot shower? You’ll feel much better.”

  “I’ll feel much better after I eat something, make love to you, then eat some more.” He gave a slight shake of his head. “What am I saying? Reverse all that. Make love to you, eat, make love to you again—that’s what I want.”

  She smiled, her lips curving against the side of his neck, her breath teasing his skin if the slight quiver of his flesh was any indication.

  “We have the entire weekend off. Nothing to do but eat and make love.”

  “And plan our engagement party.”

  A low groan escaped her. “In the midst of all we’ve been through the past seven months—in five different countries, I might add—you’re still fixated on that?”

  “You did promise your mother, Kate.”

  She sighed. Dropped her chin to Jude’s shoulder and stared at the flickering flames.

  He quietly reminded her, “She’s had a really difficult time accepting your new career path. With good cause, Kate. Give her this one thing, hmm?”

  Another smile tipped Kate’s lips. “You know I’m onto you, right?”

  He chuckled.

  She said, “You want an engagement party as much as she does. The announcement in the Times. The titillation of our big, fancy impending wedding…”

  “Turns out I’m a sucker for tradition. Who would’ve guessed?”

  “Me, your former therapist. You didn’t have traditions growing up, didn’t have a conventional family unit.”

  “And I’m apparently not headed in that direction now.” He said this with zero regret and Kate sensed none. She knew Jude was fully on-board with their current endeavor.

  Yet she also knew he looked to the future and how that might shape up for the two of them.

  He envisioned filling his mammoth Manhattan apartment with kids and pets and Kate’s family on holidays, since he had none of his own.

  And with every night in his arms that passed, Kate accepted that vision more and more. Embraced it.

  Though, their work was nowhere near done. And…first things first.

  The engagement party.

  “My mother wants the Plaza, of course,” she told Jude. “That’s a family tradition for us. All my brothers’ parties were held there…as were their weddings—or will be, in Denny and Charlotte’s case next Friday evening.”
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  The very reason Kate and Jude were headed back to the States, with this brief layover in Mexico to decompress before the big doings in New York.

  “We don’t have to follow suit,” he assured her. “We can venture outside the box, if you’d like.”

  “You mean if it will get me to commit to a date,” she playfully mocked.

  “Tomato, to-mah-toe.”

  Kate laughed.

  A knock on the door had her unraveling from Jude and straightening. She grabbed a robe and donned it, then opened the suite for the waiters serving carts full of food, one of whom popped the cork on a bottle of expensive champagne while Jude hit the shower.

  Everything was perfectly laid out in front of the wall of windows that showcased the glittering skyline. Two crystal vases holding three dozen red roses each had also been delivered, because Jude never overlooked a single detail.

  As the staff departed, Kate carefully pulled a stem from one of the full bouquets and held the bloom to her nose, deeply inhaling the rich fragrance.

  Even during the emotionally and physically challenging and gritty training they’d endured, starting in Afghanistan, Jude had found the perfect moments to infuse a little romance into their otherwise sparse and intense existence. He’d arrange for something momentous to be delivered to Kate at one of their base camps, or he’d find a local to fulfill one request or another. Scented oils for a foot bath. Chamomile tea. A pretty trinket. Small things that said I love you in a huge way. Sweet gestures that didn’t detract from their mission, but which offered moments of escapism when Kate needed them the most. When she was stressed or anxious or fearing everything she’d agreed to take on might be too much for her. For them.

  Jude knew precisely how to settle her nerves. Knew how to keep her grounded so she could do what she did best: help people heal.

  As for him… Kate was thrilled by how helping others was cathartic for Jude’s ravaged soul. He was a steady force during trying times and together, they made a fantastic team.

  The way Nikki and Conner once had.

  Kate’s stomach clenched at the thought of her friends.

  Nikki had come to Mexico City as well. They’d all been in need of a couple of days away from disaster and chaos—their first true break since they’d started this adventure. She occupied the suite next door, and Kate would have invited her to the middle-of-the-night feast she and Jude were about to devour, but Nikki had insisted she was going straight to the king-sized bed in her room. And might possibly stay there all weekend.

  Kate didn’t want to disturb her friend.

  And then there was that promise Jude had made to her about how they were going to spend their first night in a beautiful hotel, their first night in so long away from a tent or a makeshift shelter. They weren’t out in the middle of nowhere; they were someplace fabulously romantic.

  Well, okay, she couldn’t totally vouch for what Mexico City had to offer by way of romance. But she was here with Jude, so… Romance would follow around every corner.

  With another smile on her face, she glanced at him over her shoulder.

  He had a towel slung low around his hips, showing off his hard muscles. The rigid grooves of his abs, the well-defined ledge of his pecs, his bulging biceps. A portion of his sexy and fierce tattoo.

  He stepped close to her and she absorbed his heat and masculinity. The virility that exuded from him. A heady sensation rushed through her veins. Her skin tingled and a tickle along her clit reminded her she was in need of his scintillating and highly skilled touch.

  “If I recall correctly, we’re starting with the sex, right?” she asked, her lips brushing his as she spoke, because his head had dipped to hers.

  Their gazes connected and he murmured, “I have the sudden and very deep, very real need to taste you.”

  Her arms wove around his neck. “Then by all means… Put that very talented mouth on my body, Jude McMillan.”

  24

  A low groan fell from Jude’s lips.

  His fiancée was a temptation he could never resist. Which had made the past seven months more complicated than he’d ever imagined.

  Well, maybe not unrealistically complicated—he’d suffered through wanting her and needing her when he was her patient and she was his therapist and their desire for each other had been kept under wraps. On both their sides.

  Pure torture for Jude.

  Now, he was able to express his lust and longing; but since they’d started their formal SAR training and he’d dove into learning all the complexities of international legalities that went along with disaster-relief efforts, they’d been nonstop, round-the-clock, twenty-four-seven committed to their cause.

  It was physically exhausting, sure. Yet also mentally stimulating. And Jude was finding that helping others helped him as well. So that he wasn’t drowning in his angst and pain and torment. He could breathe.

  He had Kate to thank for that. In so many ways.

  His fingers worked the sash at her waist and her plush robe fell open. He whisked the material over her shoulders and down her arms, letting it drop to the floor.

  “This is what I want tonight,” he mumbled, forgetting all about the food that was laid out. Metal domes covered the plates, keeping everything warm, telling Jude he had plenty of time to pleasure Kate.

  He swept her into his arms and carried her to the bedroom, setting her gently in the center of the wide mattress. The lux layers had been peeled back during the turn-down service, but Kate didn’t slip under the covers.

  Instead, she crooked a finger at Jude, beckoning him forward. He crawled onto the bed as she eased back, spreading her legs, welcoming him to her.

  His hands cupped the undersides of her knees and his head lowered to her, his lips grazing her inner thighs.

  She let out a lustful sigh. Her flesh quivered and her fingers threaded through his damp hair.

  “Been a while since I’ve properly ravaged you,” he quietly quipped, his breath blowing against her skin, making her squirm in anticipation.

  “Difficult to manage in the semi-private quarters we’ve had of late.”

  “Well,” he murmured, “you can be damn sure I don’t give a rip if Nik can hear us through the walls. She’ll understand.”

  Kate laughed softly. “Nik has her earbuds in, rocking out to AC/DC as she turns the whole world off and sleeps for the next three days.”

  “She deserves it.” His gaze dropped to the bounty before him and Jude’s mouth all but watered. “And I deserve this.”

  “Something tells me I’m the one about to reap the full reward.”

  “Oh, come on,” he whispered as his tongue flittered over her inner thigh, then his teeth nipped lightly. “You know how much I love doing this to you.”

  His erection already pressed against the tightly wrapped towel around his hips.

  “So smooth and satiny,” he whispered. His lips and tongue glided over her skin, inching closer and closer to his intended target.

  He hitched her leg slightly, so it draped over his shoulder, keeping her open to him. Then the tip of his tongue swept slowly over her slick folds, causing her to suck in a breath. Her fingers in his hair tightened.

  “Jude,” she said on a sexy sigh. “I’ve been wanting this for so long.”

  “And you know how much I hate denying you anything.”

  His fingers spread her folds and his tongue whisked over her clit, jolting her in a way that made her gasp with delight.

  “Oh, God, yes…” she said on a rasping breath.

  Jude took his time, fluttering his tongue over the tiny bead, toying with her clit, then gliding over her labia.

  Kate’s hips lifted slightly off the bed, a silent plea for more.

  Currently, Jude’s sole intention was giving her anything and everything she wanted. Whatever she needed. But he planned to take his time. Savor these moments with her, while they were here in their own haven, all alone… And his mouth was on her.

  Jude’s hand s
lid along the underside of her thigh as it remained crooked over his shoulder. His other palm splayed in the dip of her waist, holding her steady as he tongued her clit, eliciting soft whimpers from her and making her hips roll.

  He suckled her clit and she cried his name. Jude did not let up.

  He inhaled her enticing scent, tasted her arousal. The adrenaline pumped through him with every sharp intake of air he incited from her, every jerk of her hips, every tug of her fingers in his hair.

  “Oh, God,” she said, her voice a mere wisp, tinged with desire. “Like that… Just like that.”

  He continued his ministrations, adding to his repertoire.

  One long finger slid into her wet depths and Kate cried out again.

  He eased a second finger into her tight canal and pumped feverishly as he suckled her clit.

  “Jude,” she gasped. “Right there. Oh, my God… Right. There!”

  He worked her faster, more fervently. Her erotic whimpers echoed in the otherwise quiet bedroom.

  He felt the tension grip her body. Sensed the mounting of pressure within her. He did everything he could to push her higher, to push her closer, to send her soaring over the edge.

  Her breath caught.

  Her body stilled.

  Then…

  “Jude!” she called out. “Yes!”

  Her climax seemed to reverberate within him, tightening his gut and groin, making his cock throb.

  Her inner muscles clenched his fingers and Jude groaned. He was dying to have her squeezing him that fiercely, milking him until he came inside her.

  In fact, he couldn’t take another second of not being buried deep, to the hilt.

  He shifted in the bed and stripped off his towel. A breath barely left his body before he was thrusting into her and she was twining her legs around his waist, lifting her hips and inviting him to pump into her, deep and fast.

  “Kate,” he ground out. “Jesus. You’re so wet for me.”

  “Always,” she murmured.

  “So fucking tight,” he added, losing himself immediately in her sensual heat and the electric currents that arced between them.