Jude (Beautiful Mine #2) (23 page)

JUDE

My feelings burned inside me. I’d never felt anything so real. Molten hot lava feelings that lived deep within my heart, in the part of me I failed to acknowledge half the time, were bubbling to the surface. The most tender part of me that had been branded and scarred by years of abuse, wrapped in scar tissue and beating barely enough to keep me going, had been liberated.

I paced her room, terrifying her. Terrifying myself. I wanted her. I wanted to be with her. And for the first time in my adult life, I had no idea how to make it happen.

“Fuck,” I groaned. “I’m sorry, Evie. I didn’t mean to scare you. I’ll just go sit out there for a bit.”

I left her room, slamming the door shut and throwing myself on her sofa. My hands flew to shield my eyes from the Day-Glo sunrise that filled the living room.

“You mean it?” a soft voice asked.

I uncovered my eyes only to see her standing there, hands on her hips, eyes burning into me. I sat up.

“I do,” I said. “I love you.”

I was speaking another language. The words possessed me, though foreign and unfamiliar. I moved to her side, towering over her and cupping her sweet face in my hands.

“I love you,” I said again, each time easier than time before, and each time flooding my stiff body with ripples of the kind of warmth I’d never felt before. I’d lived for years in my own prison, and loving her freed me.

I caressed her cheek, leaning in and pressing my mouth to hers. The heat of her body against mine invited me in, and the taste of her tongue as it danced against mine indicated I was more than welcomed to stay. We stumbled back to her room, falling into her bed and the mess of covers that broke our fall. I breathed in her sweet gardenia scent, the only one that ever felt like home, and slipped my fingers through her soft hair.

Stippling her neck with kisses, I found myself down by her collarbone. Her skin covered in goose bumps, she grabbed a handful sheets and bit her lip as I tugged her pink satin shorts off.

I wanted to take my time with her. I wanted to make love to her, not just fuck her like I’d done with every other girl before her. I wanted to look into her eyes, tell her I loved her, feel how undeniably real everything was.

I climbed off her, kicking my sweats and boxers to the floor and tearing off my t-shirt. Evie sat up, peeled off her tank top and unhooked her bra, staring into my eyes as she bit her bottom lip. She scooted back against her headboard, and an innocent vulnerability mixed with intense need washed over her expression. Crawling across the bed, I pressed my naked body on top of her soft flesh, feeling every inch of her beneath me as she slowly moved under my weight. Our eyes locked. Her fingers reached up and raked through my hair, tickling my scalp.

I’d dreamed of making love to Evie in the months that passed. Once wasn’t enough. I needed more of her. I needed all of her, all of the time.

My lips lowered, pressed against hers as I breathed her in; delicate flowers, soft musk and clean laundry. My hardness grew as we touched, unsheathed, below. I pressed my eyes shut, trying to feel every sensation, every emotion.

“I love you, Evie,” I breathed between kisses.

“I love you too,” she said, tugging my face closer to her.

I leaned up, the cool air consuming the space between our parted bodies, and lowered myself down, leaving a trail of kisses from her mouth to just below her soft stomach. My head between her thighs, I pressed her legs apart and tasted her arousal. Sweet and musky, wet and wanting—that was what Evie tasted like. With each lick, Evie’s back arched and faint sighs escaped her mouth. The way she frantically grasped handfuls of sheets told me to keep going.

I reached up, cupping her full breast and gently tugging her pert nipples. She grabbed my hand, lifting it to her mouth and sucking my finger as I continued lapping her arousal.

Evie moaned and slapped the mattress as she tried to fight it, but eventually caved in, letting herself go. I steadied her hips as she bucked and wriggled with each wave of ecstasy that forced her to lose all control.

Her hand flew up to her face and she shielded her eyes, suddenly overcome with unnecessary embarrassment.

“I’ve never come like that before,” she sighed, breathless. “Oh, my God.”

She reached down, gripping my arms and pulling me over her as she nibbled her lip. Her blue eyes locked into mine and she nodded, rendering words useless. I knew what she wanted. I wanted it too.

“I’m on the pill,” she whispered, running her hands from my arm down my sides and resting them on my lower back as she pressed me into her. “Please. I want this. I want you.”

I cupped a hand beneath her ass, positioning her as I grabbed my throbbing hardness, placing it at her entrance. One gentle push, and I was inside her. Evie threw her head back as she breathed a sigh, releasing all her tension in one breathy gasp.

She brought her head up and as I pressed myself into her further, I lowered my mouth to hers, claiming her. She was mine. Warm and tight, we fit together perfectly. Evie’s pretty face scrunched and her brows furrowed in concentration. She pressed her face into the side of the pillow as she licked her lips, as if another wave of ecstasy was building and she couldn’t fight it any longer.

My lips dipped to her neck, tasting her skin as her thighs squeezed tight around my hips. My hand slipped behind her lower back, providing resistance as I thrust deep inside her.

Evie’s lips parted into an “O” shape and her brows knitted further. Her breasts bounced as I picked up intensity. I didn’t give two shits about getting my rocks off. I wanted to give her all the pleasure I could.

Sighs escaped her lips once again and her head flailed back and forth. The second her back arched, it was all over. Her hips bucked wildly beneath me, still pinned by my weight, and her hands flew up to her face the second she was finished.

A slow smile crept upon her face as I exploded inside her, my hardness writhing and wriggling uncontrollably as she gently bucked back, still in her post-coital bliss. The moment it was finished, I lowered myself on top of her, breathing in our sex and feeling the drumbeat of her heart against mine.

“Jude,” she breathed. “Oh, my God.”

I rolled off her, keeping my hand above the dip of her hip. I had to touch her always. I never wanted to let go.

“Give me more of that,” she laughed breathlessly. “Not now, though. I need a break.”

She inched her way closer to me, nuzzling up under my arm and draping my other arm tighter around her like I was her safe place.

“I’ve never had sunrise sex before,” she mused, her voice muffled by my chest.

“Neither have I,” I said, brushing my fingers through her mussed up hair. If I could close my eyes, I could feel her love, warm and soft like a blanket, as vital as the air I breathed, and as real as anything I could possibly touch.

EVIE

I slipped the key into the lock of Jude’s condo door. He’d given me a key, and lately I’d been spending most of my days with him. Two weeks we’d been back together, and two weeks we’d done nothing but make up for lost time, our days and nights blurring together.

“Wake up,” I said, slipping back into his room. I’d left briefly to run down the street that morning. “I got your favorite breakfast burrito.”

He emerged from beneath the covers, hair a suggestive mix of bedhead and sex and a smile forming on his lips. “You take such good care of me, Ev.” He pulled me into bed and under the covers with him, leaning over to kiss my cheek as he reached for his food.

My phone buzzed from my purse on the ground, and I leaned over to grab it. “I don’t know who the hell’s calling me this early. Hello?”

“Yes, is this Evelyn Garner-Willoughby?” the woman’s voice asked from the other end of the blocked number.

“It is,” I said, reserved.

“This is Belinda at Cedars-Sinai,” she said, forcing my heart to race as blood rushed to my head.

“Yes?”

“I just wanted to let you know that we’ve concluded our investigation,” she said. It had been months. I’d pretty much written them off. “The claims made against you were unfounded, and we were unable to substantiate them.”

My jaw dropped, and no words passed my lips.

“So, Evelyn, would you like to come back to work for us?” she asked, her voice uplifting and encouraging.

I took a deep breath and closed my eyes. “Thank you, Belinda, but I’m going to have to pass.”

“Really?” She took on a curious tone.

“I don’t need the work right now,” I said, adding, “but I would absolutely love to speak to you about volunteer positions.”

“Oh? Oh. Um. Okay,” she said as I heard papers shuffling in the background. “Sure, um, I can put you in contact with our volunteer coordinator and we can go from there. That sound good?”

“Absolutely,” I said, smiling as if she could see me. It felt right. I didn’t need to work, but I still wanted to do something in Julian’s memory. “Can I volunteer in the respiratory unit?”

“We can arrange that, yes,” Belinda said.

“And I’d also like to speak to someone about making a donation,” I said, “in my late husband’s name.”

“Oh, um, yes, sure,” Belinda fumbled over her words, indicating this was not the way she’d imagined the conversation to go. “I’ll pass on your info, and have the right people get a hold of you as soon as possible. We sure do appreciate this, Evelyn.”

“It’s Evie,” I said. “And you’re very welcome.”

“Cedars?” Jude said as I ended the call with Belinda.

“Yep,” I said, cocking my head to the side. “They said the allegations were unfounded. It makes no sense.”

“Why’s that?”

“It couldn’t have been your mother that filed the claims,” I said, eyes shifting into his. “She would’ve done everything she could to strip me of my license. I don’t think she was lying when she said she didn’t know I moved out here.”

Jude looked down at his food and cleared his throat, lifting his eyebrows as he said, “I know it wasn’t my mother.”

“Then who was it?” I crossed my arms. Why hadn’t he told me this sooner?

“It was Veronica,” he said, avoiding the intensity of my stare.

“Veronica? Are you serious? Why?”

Jude shrugged. “I told you she’s crazy.”

“How did she know about me working at Cedars?”

“I may have mentioned it to her casually,” Jude said, rolling his eyes. “I didn’t think she’d do something like that. Who the fuck does that?”

“A woman scorned,” I said, voice low.

“She was pissed because I bought her out,” Jude said. “And she was even more pissed that I fell in love with you.” He turned to face me, reaching up and brushing my cheek with his hand. “She was just trying to get back at me. I’m sorry you got caught up in that.”

I placed my hand over his and smiled. “It’s okay. I didn’t lose my license. Everything worked out just fine in the end, don’t you think?”

“Is this the end?” Jude asked.

I smiled. “You know what I meant.”

“This is just the beginning,” Jude said, climbing over top of me, the weight of his body pinning me against the soft mattress. He nuzzled the side of my neck, his five o’clock shadow tickling my soft skin. His hand glided down my side, slipping under the waistband of my leggings and tugging them down.

Knock, knock, knock.

“You expecting someone?” I asked as his motions became frozen in place.

“No,” he said, glancing over at the alarm clock. He slid off me and grabbed a t-shirt out of a dresser drawer, pulling it over his head and finger-combing his hair into place as he left the room.

I hid back in his room, peeking out from behind the door and listening intently.

“Sam, what are you doing here?” he asked. From where I stood, I could see him stretching his arms across the door, blocking her access and preventing her from coming any closer.

“I just wanted to drop off some things,” she said, shoving a medium sized cardboard box into his arms.

“What’s this?” he asked.

“Some things of yours,” she sighed. “They were scattered around my place. I didn’t want to look at them anymore.”

“Oh,” he said, looking down. “Thanks.”

She lingered, both of them silent, until she said, “You really hurt me, you know.”

“I’m sorry, Sam,” he said, remaining stoic. “I never meant for you to get hurt. I thought we were on the same page.”

“You know, in a way,” she began, her voice trembling. I didn’t really know Sam, but my heart began to ache for her. “I’m glad this happened. Because it taught me a lot.”

Jude set the box down and pulled her in for a comforting hug, the same way he’d offered me comfort when we first met. The man hated to see a girl cry.

“You set me free,” she said. “I’m not going to settle again. I’m not going to look for someone to fill that void anymore. I want something real. I want that crazy love, like what you have with Evie.”

Jude hugged her tight and rubbed her back. “You’ll have that someday. I promise. You’re a nice girl, Sam. You’re just meant to be someone else’s girl.”

Jude released her and she stepped back, wiping tears from her eyes and flashing him a bittersweet smile before silently slipping down the hall.

“That was nice of you,” I said, emerging from his room as soon as he shut the door. “Couldn’t help but overhear.”

Jude shrugged. “I never meant to hurt her.”

“I know you didn’t,” I said, slipping my arm around his solid waist and leaning my head against his chest. “You’re a good guy, you know that?”

Jude shook his head. He still struggled with self-loathing, and the guy beat himself up more than anyone I’d ever met before, but it was something he was working on.

He sauntered over to the sofa, taking a seat and cracking his laptop open.

“How’s work going?” I asked. “I don’t see you working much anymore.”

Running his hand against his bristly cheek he took a deep breath. “Not so good.”

“I thought you were doing great, though? You were going to sell it to someone,” I said, vaguely pasting together bits and pieces of past conversations. He was always so reserved anytime I asked him about his company.

“The buyer,” he said, his shoulders falling, “was Sam’s dad.”

“Oh.”

“Yeah,” he said. “Since I broke up with Sam, he decided to take his money elsewhere. He’s still an investor, but ever since things went south with Sam and me, he’s been trying to stir up trouble and dictating things I do. He owns 51% of J-Corp right now. I only sold him the majority of the company because I thought I’d be handing it over in a few months.”

“Jude,” I said, sinking into the sofa next to him and wrapping my arm around him. “So, if you would’ve stayed with Sam a few more months, you could’ve sold your company and walked away with a big profit?”

“Yeah,” he said. “But Evie, I told you, we were never dating. And the second you came back, I knew I couldn’t keep pretending with Sam. I had to be with you. At any cost.”

“Wow.” I sucked in a deep breath, wrapping my head around the lengths he took just to try to be with me once again. “You really do love me, don’t you?”

He nodded, eyes focused on his computer screen as he went through his email, deleting almost everything.

“Is J-Corp still a viable company?” I asked.

“Oh, yeah,” he said, his tone picking up. “J-Corp is still very much viable. The potential is limitless. The only problem is I’ve got that asshole trying to tell me what to do, and he knows absolutely nothing about the industry.”

“Can you find another buyer?”

“What’s the point?” he said. “I don’t own the majority of the company. I can’t agree to any offers. It’s all up to Frank.”

“Wouldn’t he want you to be successful? If he forces J-Corp to crumble, he loses his money,” I said.

Jude scoffed. “He only invested a couple million. To a man like him, that’s nothing. His net worth probably fluctuates as much on any given day. He could lose J-Corp today and make up the difference if the Dow goes up a couple points tomorrow.”

“So he’s basically trying to get you back for hurting Sam.”

“Yep.” Jude’s nostrils flared.

I shook my head. People with insane amounts of money were bat shit crazy. That’s what I’d determined in the last year.

“I could try to sell my 49%, but no one wants to own a company with a man who knows absolutely nothing about what he’s doing.” Jude shut his laptop. “Without me, J-Corp would sink like a stone. I’m not going to do that to someone.”

“How much would you need to start up a new company?” I asked. “Like, a fresh start.”

He raised his eyebrows. He knew exactly what I was implying. “Evie, I’m not going to take any money from you.”

“Why not? It’s your family’s money,” I objected. “It’s not mine alone.”

“It is your money,” he argued. “Julian gave it to you.”

“Okay, if it’s my money, then I can do what I want with it,” I said. “Try to argue with that.”

His lips slipped into a relenting smile. “We can discuss this another time. I don’t want you rushing into this because you feel obligated.”

I rolled my eyes. “Fine. Hey, I was thinking about going back to Halverford for a weekend to visit my parents and check on the house. Want to come?”

He peered down his nose at me. “I don’t want to go to Halverford, no.”

“That’s fine,” I said, disguising my disappointment with a smile.

“But I don’t think I can be away from you,” he said. “I’m going.”