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“Promise?” I stupidly ask. Damn it. It’s too late. I’m attached.
“Promise,” he says with a smirk.
Jaxon clears his throat impatiently, and Jude finally walks away, but not before he glares at Jaxon one last time. If I were him, I’d be scared. Jude could easily kick his ass if he wanted to. Jaxon is a cocky jerk and can hold his own among the drunk assholes we usually get here in the club, but Jude is next level. He wouldn’t stand a chance against him. Some not-so-nice part of me kind of wants to see him get his ass handed to him. I might still be pissy about how he wouldn’t leave me alone, and then once he did, he treated me like shit calling me a stuck-up bitch and prude just because I didn’t throw myself at him.
I work through the closing tasks with a renewed purpose. I want to hurry and get it done to spend time with Jude. I know he’s just giving me a ride home, and it’s not a date or anything, but I’m looking forward to it just the same. Now that I’ve come to terms with the fact that I’m already attached to the idea of him, I’ve decided to enjoy it while it lasts.
It’ll hurt when he leaves, but like with Gerald and Maude, I’ll have good memories to look back on, and that means something. I’ll always be grateful for the love they showed me during my years with them. I wasn’t their daughter, but they treated me like family. It broke my heart when they died, but I survived it even though it hurt worse than being abandoned by my parents. Maybe because they didn’t choose to leave me. Either way, I’ll survive Jude leaving too. I might never be the same afterward, but one thing I’ve learned is that it’s never wrong to cling to the good things in life. They are few and far between and oh-so-precious.
“You’re in a good mood for someone who has just spent ten hours getting hit on by drunks while wearing torturous shoes,” Mike says as he sets the alarm so we can leave.
I shrug, trying to hide my blushing cheeks.
“This wouldn’t have anything to do with the sexy-as-sin man that brought you to work, would it? And don’t think I didn’t notice Mr. Tonic and Lime watching you all night. He’s got it bad for you.”
“You think?” I ask with a little more excitement than I intended to show.
Mike laughs. “Girl, he eye-fucked you all night long. I’m pretty sure you’re pregnant and just don’t know it yet.”
“Oh my God, you’re horrible! He did not!” I protest.
“Oh, but he did. It’s not a bad thing, babe. He’s hot. You’re hot. And he’s not an asshole just trying to get in your panties.”
“How do you know?”
“He wouldn’t have volunteered for chauffeur duties if he just wanted in your pants. Not to mention, he’s helping with the Scourge. He’s something special if he’s willing to try and tackle that piece of shit.”
I lightly slap his shoulder. “Be nice. That car’s a classic and deserves respect.”
He snorts. “It’s scrap metal posing as a real car… badly. Terrible acting skills. Hence the whole not running thing.”
I give him a fake pout at his apt description of the Nova. It really is a piece of crap, even though it’s a classic. I’m sure it could be amazing if it had an owner with money to spend, but I’m just looking for it to be able to get me to and from work again. Anything more will have to wait for a job in my field, so I’ll have more than two pennies to rub together.
Jude is waiting just like he promised. I can’t hold back the smile that spreads across my face when he strides across the parking lot. His sexy smile stops me in my tracks. I nearly melt into a puddle when he tucks a loose strand of my hair behind my ear. His warm touch sends shivers of pleasure down my spine. He mistakes the shiver as me being cold and wraps his arm around me, wordlessly guiding me to his truck.
“Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do!” Mike shouts to our retreating backs.
My cheeks heat in a blush of embarrassment. Jude is simply a nice guy helping me out, and Mike just implied we’re having sex. The worst part is that I want to have sex with Jude. I’ve never wanted to give my body to a man before, but I’m struggling to not throw myself at him. It’s scary and exhilarating at the same time.
“Sorry about him,” I say.
Jude chuckles. “It’s fine. Let’s get you inside before you freeze.”
He helps me into the truck and buckles me in. My breath catches at him being so close. I can feel his heated breath and smell his spicy cologne. It takes an unbelievable amount of restraint to keep from kissing him. I’m practically panting when he pulls away and shuts my door.
Pull it together, I scold myself.
Thankfully, I have myself under control when he gets into the driver’s seat. An awkward silence fills the air. I’m not sure what to say, and I’m half afraid I’ll do something stupid like confess my undying love for him or, worse, call him Daddy and beg him to touch me. Being in such close confines isn’t helping anything. The whole truck smells like him, and he’s a huge presence that I can’t ignore. He radiates sex appeal. I’m cursing my body for waking up after years of indifference to men.
“Do you work tomorrow?” he asks, breaking the silence.
“N-no… it’s my day off.”
A pang of sadness fills me because I won’t see him tomorrow. I’ve already decided to let him drive me to work until my car is up and running again, and now the thought of missing a day of seeing him makes me sad. It won’t take long for him to fix my car, so there’s a finite number of days until I won’t need Jude to drive me anymore. I’m tempted to take an extra shift even though I desperately need a day off just so I can see him tomorrow.
Ridiculous.
“What are you going to do tomorrow?”
