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Jude pulled me against him, rocking my hips with his hands, crooning in my ear. His enthusiasm swept me up. I danced with him, wrapping my arms around his neck. I loved this man. Ilovedhim. I hated what he was doing to himself and us, but I lovedhim.
“We have to get in the pool, baby.”
“I don’t think so. No swimsuit and I’m not skinny dipping.”
His eyebrows shot up. There was devious intent behind his wild eyes. I squealed and started to run away, but he caught me, hauling me over his shoulder and running straight for the water.
We flew through the air, suspended for seconds before we crashed beneath the surface. My eyes closed, and I let go, falling, sinking, until my hand was grabbed, and I was being pulled up, up, up.
Jude’s smiling, dripping face was there to greet me when I emerged as people splashed all around us. He’d started, and they’d followed.
He swam us over to the corner. If he hadn’t been holding me, I would have been pulled under. My Docs were full of water, most likely ruined forever. My favorite shoes, gone because Jude had a whim.
His mouth crashed into mine, kissing me with wild fervor. On instinct, I responded, kissing him with the same intensity. The same shared passion. But it only lasted until we were splashed by someone doing a cannonball. The waves of water brought me back to my senses. I tore my mouth from his and smacked at his chest, both for throwing me in when I said I didn’t want to and ruining my shoes.
“I need to get out. My shoes are like cement blocks.”
He took a deep breath and dove under water, yanking my shoes off my feet. When he resurfaced, he held them over his head like a prize, then tossed them into the dark yard.
“No more excuses, Stripes.”
He caged me in, but I twisted away from him. “No, Jude. I’m not kissing you in this pool with soaking wet clothes and your pupils as big as dimes. Not happening.”
He caught my hand, pulling me close again. “I’m not going to hurt you, Stripes. You know me.” His voice had softened, and I nearly softened too.
He moved in to kiss me again, but I just couldn’t. “No. Not now. I want to get out.”
I twisted away from him, pulling myself along the wall to the stairs, but he caught me from behind.
“Don’t fucking leave me, Tali.”
His grip was a vise, and it panicked me. If we hadn’t been in the pool, I probably wouldn’t have gotten scared, but my clothes felt like they were pulling me under. More than anything, I wanted out of this water and into dry clothes.
“Let go, Jude! Please, let me go.” My voice was forceful and loud. His hands loosened but didn’t entirely drop.
“Tali, baby,” he pleaded.
“She told you to let her go.”
We both looked up to find Ben standing by the edge of the pool with Tino and Juan at his sides. I used Jude’s distraction to climb the stairs with Tinos’ help. Jude followed quickly behind me, but instead of grabbing me again, he pushed past me to Ben, getting in his face.
“What the fuck, Benny? Mind your own business.”
Ben smirked at him. “Tali’s my business.”
“Like hell she is,” Jude bit out.
“Oh, really. Guess who she hangs out with while you’re playing rock star? Guess who shares three meals a day with her? It sure as hell isn’t you.”
Jude pulled in so much air through his nose, it felt like he sucked it right out of my lungs.
“You motherfucker.” Jude shoved Ben back a step. “You’re nothing to her.”
Ben reclaimed his ground, getting in his face. “She should have been mine. I saw her first. I told you I wanted her. You were fucking mysisterand you still went after her.”
“She didn’t want you, Benny. She’s never gonna want you.” Jude’s fists were clenched so tight, he had to be drawing blood. I’d never seen him like this. But then I remembered the night he’d come home from work with someone else’s blood splattered on him. Had he been hiding this side of himself this whole time? It scared me.
“Tino, do something,” I said frantically. “They’re going to hurt each other.”
