I didn’t think I’d find myself falling for Jude. Call me a fool, but I truly thought I could save myself from heartache and just keep things friendly while we pretended otherwise. After all, Jude needs someone who will be with him forever. Someone who will love him and show him how much he has to offer. And I’m not that girl. I’ve never been that girl. And even if, by some crazy chance, he wanted more from me than just a fuck buddy and a fake girlfriend, he’d realize soon enough that I’m not who he truly wants, and I’d be cast aside. And any promise we’ve made that our agreement won’t mess up my friendship with his family would be out the window.
I fight back my intrusive thoughts before I completely ruin the mood. Right now, Jude’s amazing dick is doing things to me that I really, really like. And that’s what I need to focus on.
This moment. Not the future.
I pull back, lift my leg even higher, then push myself back onto his dick with as much force as I can from this position. Jude’s eyes flare wide, but he doesn’t comment on the change. He meets me thrust for thrust, his hands gripping my ass and helping me to rock into him, our groans filling the air.
“Damn. Lily. Fuck, I’m gonna…” His voice trails off as we both let go, my orgasm hurtling through me stronger and faster than a freight train.
“Jude!” I gasp as my pussy clenches tightly around him. Wave after wave of sensation rolls across me, making me breathless.
Eventually, I come back to earth, Jude’s hands rhythmically stroking up and down my back.
“Holy shit,” he says quietly, his hands coming to rest on my damp skin.
“Mm-hmm.” I can’t muster any more of a response than that.
“C’mon, sunshine, let’s clean up, then get some sleep.” His voice is gravelly, laden with satisfaction and something sweeter. Something I don’t let myself think about too hard.
Instead, I carefully untangle my legs from his, and watch out of sleepy eyes as he ties off the condom before dropping it into the waste basket conveniently located beside the bed. Then Jude gathers me back in his arms, tucking my body against his. I reach down and tug the blanket up to cover us both.
And the last thing I remember before falling asleep is Jude’s lips pressing a sweet kiss to my head.
Chapter twenty-one
Jude
This is the second morning in a row I’ve woken up actually feeling rested. Not only that, but I don’t remember being awake all night. Even pre-injury, mornings sucked, mostly because insomnia robbed me of any possibility at restful sleep. It didn’t matter if I was waking up on game day or a day off, I hated mornings.
Until now, I guess. Well, until the first time I woke up with Lily in my arms. That fateful morning after the wedding, I thought it was just a weird, crazy fluke. But now? I’m wondering if she’s what I’ve been missing all along.
Because two nights ago, she slept in my arms, and it was the best night of my life. And even though I was alone last night, I still slept. The whole damn night.
Walking into the shower, even my leg isn’t hurting as badly as it was just yesterday. My gait feels smoother, and I feel overall stronger and steadier.
Sex with Lily is a goddamn miracle cure.
See, jackass, you just needed to get laid to stop being a grouch.
I chuckle to myself at that thought, and the memory of joking with Lily about which grumpy character I was most like. And the excited hug she gave me simply because I cracked the tiniest of smiles. She has no clue that I’ve been fighting them back when I’m around her for a while. I’ve been resisting the fact that she makes me happy — happier than I have been in a long fucking time.
In the shower, I lean my hands against the wall and flex my quads, feeling them fire. Sure, the right side isn’t as strong, but it’s getting there. Thanks to her.
It always comes back to her.
For just a second, I let myself think about what it would be like if things were different. If Lily’s feelings for me were as real as mine are becoming for her. If we had a future together.
One hand travels down and grips my cock. Because just thinking about her like I have been has me sporting a semi. And seeing as I have to go to a session with her this morning, it’s probably best I deal with this now instead of showing up and popping a boner the second she lays her hands on me.
I pull and tug on my dick, letting the hot water provide a little bit of lubrication. It’s not as good as her hot mouth, or her even hotter pussy, but if I close my eyes, I can envision her dropping to her knees in the shower and sucking me in between her lips. I groan as my dick immediately swells in my hands. Fuck, if just thethoughtof her can get me hard… It’s witchcraft.
An embarrassingly short period of time later, I’m spraying the shower walls with my orgasm, shouting her name loud enough that it echoes back at me. Panting, I lower my head and close my eyes. I want more. I want her. I want her back in my bed, and I want to tie her up there so she can never leave.
And with that surprisingly sexy image in my head, I quickly finish my shower, eager to get to the clinic and see her for real.
With the weather clear outside, I decide to walk to the clinic, which I realize too late was a bad idea. Because now, I’m standing in the reception area with her in front of me, both hands on her hips, looking adorable and alluring all at once, with long white feathers dangling from her ears. And my fucking leg is visibly shaking.
“Why do I not see one of your brothers’ vehicles out front?” she demands, and I give her a small sheepish grin.
