Page 86 of Sterling Fight

And I’m not certain I can say goodbye.

“It’s beautiful.” My eyes prickle with tears brought on overwhelming emotions. I don’t want to leave him.

As I round the desk, Judd scoots back the chair. I slip onto his lap, circling my arms around his neck while he casually wraps his arms around my waist.

“Let me see.” I hum. “There once was a man named Judd.” I focus my eyes on his.

“He made my heart go thud-thud.”

The corner of Judd’s mouth quirks upward again.

“He is handsome and strong. And his beep-beep is long.”

“Beep-beep,” Judd mouths before he chuckles, the sound jostling me on his lap.

“And he knows how to blossom my bud.” I laugh, knowing the line doesn’t make sense, but not a bad limerick for off the cuff.

Suddenly, I’m lifted when Judd stands. He spins us and my back hits the sliding ladder leaning against the bookshelves. My backside balances on a rung while my feet rest on a lower one.

When Judd pulls away, I cling to him, afraid I’ll fall forward.

Then his mouth is on mine, pressing me back. The poem is still in my hand, and I release it, letting the paper drift to the floor while Judd pins me to the ladder. His broad body holds me in place as my breasts crush against his chest. My hands are in his hair. His palms cup my face. And he kisses me like it’s his superpower.

“You make my heart go thud-thud, too, firefly.”

I hum as his mouth meets mine again, scattering my thoughts. His lower body wedges between my legs, spreading them farther apart. Judd bends a little, lining us up so his thickness meets my core but too many layers of clothing separate us.

Why haven’t we had sex yet?

He shifts his hips, rocking against me, and I purr against his mouth. Back and forth he moves, until he’s hastily lifting the hem of his T-shirt which I wear and swiping his knuckles over the damp center of my underwear. I hadn’t bothered with shorts after my shower, thinking we’d curl up on the couch together. This is ultimately better.

“I don’t want you to go,” Judd hums in my ear before moving to my neck, sucking at my jaw, nipping at my chin. “Stay with me a little longer.”

Longer than ten days? Longer than tomorrow? Could Judd want forever? The thought hits me so hard, I gasp, but he’s also slid his fingers around my boy-cut panty and runs his knuckles over bare skin, sensitive and damp with desire.

“Judd.” I whimper. How does this man take me from zero to sixty in less than a minute? “I want you inside me.” Give me something to always remember you by. Give me more.

Judd pauses on his kissing spree, stopping at my collarbone a second before lifting his head. His fiery blue eyes stare into mine. “Not yet, firefly.”

Before I can protest, he kisses me hard again, sweeping swiftly into my mouth with his tongue. He moves to my neck, sucking and nipping at the tender flesh once more.

I tip back my head, tapping it lightly against a ladder rung behind me.

“Hold on, firefly,” he whispers, removing my arms from his neck and setting my hands above me to cling to a higher rung. Then Judd drops to his knees, taking my underwear with him as he lowers.

Precariously stretched on this library ladder, I’m too blissed out to move.

Judd’s head is between my thighs, one leg draped over his shoulder. His tongue against that nub of nerves. His mouth sucks at me. I’m completely at Judd’s whim in this position, and I never want to move. Like a flower pressed into a book, I’m pinned in place, preserved forever in this moment.

Except, Judd is my keepsake.

This man has given me so much in such a short time. The answers to long-held questions and new truths. He’s shared me with his family and other important people in his life. He’s proud of me and what I’ve accomplished, and he’s taken me to new levels of arousal.

Couple goals. Never lose one another.

Tears well again. The combination of his mouth on me and the fullness of my heart. It’s too much and yet I selfishly want more.

Judd’s tongue flicks and I’m drawn back to the moment. He hums against me, and I fall apart.