3. Heather
HEATHER
H e’s in my car. I can smell the deliciously piney goodness of him mixed with something kinda sweet and it’s got me aching to pull over and see if I can get him to slip his leash.
Why do I have to want this guy so damn bad? I can’t do anything about it. My brother’s best friend still has that hard gleam in his eyes that tells me that he doesn’t want to be anywhere near me. He definitely doesn’t want to touch me.
I tried to reach over and grab one of his smaller suitcases and he jerked back like I kneed him in the groin. His firm lips thinned out and he glared at me like I’d tried to grab his dick in public.
For crying out loud! I was trying to help him carry all his shit! Not molest the man.
“I’ve got them, Red. You worry about you.”
I glare at him. “I can walk and chew gum at the same time, Jude. I’m not that uncoordinated.”
“I never said you were. I’m just saying that I can handle this and I don’t need help.”
I jerk back and growl under my breath. “Fine. Take care of it yourself, asshole!”
Being alone in the car hasn’t helped anything. In fact, I’m not sure which I’d rather do…grab him by the ears and kiss the hell out of him or throat punch him. Some days it’s definitely a toss-up which it’s going to be.
Everything outside flashes by but I can’t focus on any of it. Instead, my nose tingles at the delicious, fresh scent of him. My eyes burn with the need to look over at him sitting in the seat next to me, his big, bulky body taking up so much space it’s a wonder that he’s not busting out the passenger-side door.
He’s still the most handsome, deadly-dangerous man I’ve ever seen. So dark and scary that it almost seems like the sunlight bleeds into him and he swallows it, leaving only shadows where the light used to be.
I know the kinds of things he did in the military. Know that he’s a scary damn guy that could and has killed men with his bare hands. Oddly enough, I’m apparently a little twisted because I find that hot. My thighs rub together unconsciously with the urge to fuck this guy. My pussy is so fucking wet it’s a wonder that I’m not soaking my car seat.
“Are you going to say thank you or even hello?” I snap at him, sick and tired of the silence.
“Thank you,” he grumbles so low that I almost don’t hear him.
“What a prince you are.” I blow out a breath and sink deeper into the seat, my hands tightening on the steering wheel. The air is thick with tension and the yummy smell of him is killing me. I can’t quite figure out what that sweet scent is but I like it. A lot. Too damn much.
“I told Chris that this was a bad idea. He said ignore you but I don’t know how he thought that was going to happen. We’ve got an hour before we get back to Vegas. It would be nice if you could be a little more grateful and a little less hateful.”
He grunts and I roll my eyes. Fucker!
Blowing out another sharp breath, I groan when I see the dark clouds coming over the hills. The last thing I need is bad weather to slow me down. I need people around me, to make a barrier and keep Jude away from me. Keep me from thinking about his tree-trunk thighs spread wide on my car seat. Wide enough that I could fit in between them, touch his belt and then slip it open slowly, my heart pounding and my mouth watering as I watch the fabric slip down and his bare skin…
“Shit!” I swerve and jump as Jude grabs the steering wheel.
“Watch what you’re doing, Red!” He snaps. “I’d like to make it there in one piece.” His hands tighten on the steering wheel and I can feel the heat of his hard body against mine. His arm brushes mine as his hands deftly control the wheel, slipping over my skin. My mouth goes dry and I fight to keep from closing my eyes and tipping my head back, groaning.
“You can let go of the wheel, Jude. I’m just a little tired.” Lying seems like the best course of action right now. I absolutely can’t tell my brother’s best friend that I was picturing pulling over and ripping his dick out of his pants to suck him dry.
I clear my throat and he sighs. “Yeah, sure.” Then his big, broad, rough hand slips off of the wheel and I hate it. I miss the feel of his rough, warm hand covering mine. Miss the slide of his skin over mine and the protected, feminine way it made me feel.
It’s been a long time since I let any man take care of me. I don’t need that. I can take care of myself. But I have to admit that it made me feel good to have him looking out for me.
The wheel jerks under my hands and my eyes widen. “What the hell?”
“Pull over, Red! Now!” I’m fighting the wheel and he moves over, snarling. He’s so close and he smells so damn good! My head reels and he growls, “Let go of the wheel, Heather! I’ve got it!”
I drop my hands and he smoothly pulls the car over to the side of the road, barely flinching at the jerk of the wheel. He shuts off the car and immediately drops back into the seat, his big hands shoveling into his dark, ruffled hair.
“You blew a tire, baby. We better get your spare on and get back on the road before that storm hits.” He points to the gathering clouds that seem to be getting darker by the minute.
I nod my head and grab my key, opening the door and stepping out into the approaching storm. “Damn!” I howl as the wind rips the door out of my hand and I stumble, the door slamming back into me.
“Hey! You alright?” Jude stands in front of me, his big hands bracketing my hips as he blocks the door. My eyes look up into his and it feels like the whole world tilts. His dark eyes heat with something I’ve never seen before and his hands tighten on my hips, digging in until I gasp slightly.
Immediately he backs away and helps me close the door. “Let’s get that tire.”
He rushes around to the trunk and waits for me. My fingers tingle and shake. I wish I could tell myself that it’s because of the storm or the door, or anything but what it is.
My whole body is tingling and that old familiar fire is flaring to life in my soul.
I want Jude McHenry just the same as I always have. My heart trips and I suck in a deep breath, slowing my body down deliberately. I need control or I’m gonna do something damn stupid like climb Jude like a tree and wrap around him until there’s no way to tell where I end and he begins. Until I can feel him so deep in me that we’re finally the one that we were always meant to be.
Alarm bells clang in my head and I shiver. He’s standing in front of me holding out his hand for my key and I hand it over quickly, desperate not to touch him or I might do every damn thing I shouldn’t.
He pulls out the cover and then he glowers at me. “Heather? Is there something you want to tell me?”
I lean over him and suck in a breath, closing my eyes and dropping my head to his back, barely feeling the heat from his body. “Dammit,” I grumble. “I forgot that I used the donut about six weeks ago when I replaced one of the other tires.”
He throws the cover and jack back in and then slams the trunk shut. He moves close to me and I back away until he grasps my shoulders and spins us, backing me into the back of the car. “Well now, Red. That’s gonna be a problem.”
The wind whips around us and a slow furl of heat builds inside me, begging me to reach out and touch him.
“I’m sorry, Jude. I forgot. I had a tire that blew over a month ago. I should have replaced the donut but I forgot.”
His firm lips twist and his dark eyes blaze into mine. “You are a menace, Red. You can’t look after yourself at all, can you? You need a keeper.”
I stand up straight and poke him in the chest. “Hey, it was an accident. I just forgot.”
He leans forward until we’re so close I can feel his breath on my cheek. “Accidents happen because you don’t take things seriously. You always did fly by the seat of your pants, Red. It drove me nuts.” His heated glare dips down to my lips and that coiling heat boils over until I’m shaking with hunger. I want to grab his head and drag him down until his lips touch my own. “It still does.”
Like he can read my mind, he dips down and his lips take mine, hard, insistent, punishing. His mouth claims mine. It’s brutal, harsh and so damn perfect.
I wrap my arms around his broad shoulders and cling to him tightly, my hands sinking into his soft, dark hair. His tongue slips out and runs along the seam of my lips. I gasp and he storms inside my mouth, running his tongue along my teeth, twisting and twining with my own.
“Fuck, Red. What the hell am I doing?”
He yanks back and I stumble, almost falling to the dirt. His calloused, rough hands catch me and hold me for a second, his dark as midnight gaze capturing mine like a spider does its prey. I can’t look away.
But his gaze rises to the sky and he twists around, pushing me ahead of him. “Get in the car, Red,” he grits out.
Like a lamb to the slaughter, I meekly let him push me back in the car on the passenger side and then watch as he runs around to the driver’s seat.
He sits down and as soon as the door closes, the car is rocked and sheets of rain blast down, blocking out everything but his darkness and my confusion.