Chapter 17
Chapter Seventeen
Jude
Do you want me to?
Kendall, who in this moment looked more beautiful than any woman I’d ever seen in my entire life, shook her head. Not even a beat of hesitation. Her cheeks were still flushed, her eyes wide, and her lips swollen from our kisses.
The ache of need for her was so powerful I could hardly bear it. And yet, for some reason, stupid probably, I needed to wait before we brought everything to fruition. There would be no turning back after that.
I knew it. I was already lost to Kendall. But some part of me needed to savor every second.
“I’m staying,” I finally said.
My awareness was hazy. All I knew was the feel of Kendall curled up against me. I almost groaned aloud at the feel of her. My heart beat fast and steady against my ribs. It felt like hands clapping in my chest, shouting out and clamoring for joy. Finally, I felt as if I were home.
All I wanted was to wrap the world around Kendall and me and stay here forever. My lips curled in the darkness. There was a quiet sense of joy in the midst of the startle of it. I took a quick breath and let it out. The sound of her breathing was slow and steady.
I was lying on my back with my arm curled around her shoulders, and she was soft against my side. One of her knees hooked over mine, her head tucked in the curve of my shoulder, and her palm rested in the center of my chest.
I didn’t want to wake her and carefully rolled my head to the side. My eyes landed on the clock on the nightstand by her bed, the hands glowing in the darkness. 4 a.m.
I had to force myself to breathe slowly because just being close like this with her was bringing my body to life. Electricity fired in my cells, need spinning through my veins.
And yet, it wasn’t just about lust. My heart was in deep.
Hell, I’d been half in love with her since high school, and I’d told her. Playing it cool was out of the question. And yet, I didn’t want her to panic and push me away.
She shifted, and I felt the awareness hum to life in her body. “Jude,” she whispered after a moment.
I loved the sound of her voice, sleepy and velvety soft.
“Kendall,” I returned, my own voice a little gruff.
I could feel the curve of her lips on my skin, tugging my own into a smile.
I almost laughed. I was downright giddy to wake up beside Kendall with her tangled against me.
Everything felt as if it was exactly where it belonged. She was facing the clock, and I felt the motion of her lips when she said, “It’s four. Is this what time you usually wake up?”
She knew I was an early riser, not because we’d ever slept together but because that would be a detail she knew because I told her. I chuckled.
“Somewhere between four and five. What time do you usually wake up?”
“Same.”
Of course, I knew that because she often texted me in the morning to tell me mundane things, like she was out of coffee and did I want to meet her at Firehouse Café? Sometimes I would stop by the rescue barn and help her out because she had animals to feed.
“What time do you need to go in?” I asked.
“Sometime between five-thirty and six is good. What should we do?”
I turned that question over in my thoughts.
I wasn’t sure what she meant but then her palm on my chest began exploring, her touch light as her fingertips traced one of my collarbones and then the other.
Her palm stretched open, smoothing over my chest and down over my abs.
My heart was rioting in my chest, and I knew she was inches away from discovering just how much I wanted her.
Her breath drew in sharply. Because of the way she was pressed against my side, wearing nothing but a thin cotton tank top, I could feel the rapid beat of her heart.
Everything felt almost suspended, the anticipation burgeoning to a point that, by the time she lightly stroked her palm over my arousal, I was surprised that alone didn’t make me go off.
“Jude,” she whispered before she shifted and pressed hot open kisses on the side of my neck.
I clenched my teeth, scrambling to get control. “Kendall,” I bit out.
“What?” she asked her voice sultry and raspy. “I want to do this.”
I was just about to ask what she meant when she shoved my boxers down.
“Fuck, Kendall,” I groaned when she curled her palm around my length and she slid her thumb over the pre-cum rolling out.
“Mmmhmmm,” she teased.
I tried to say something else, but she was fast. In a matter of seconds she shimmied down, dragging the covers with her.
I felt her tongue teasing around my thick crown, and I could hardly breathe, one hand gripping the sheets and the other lacing in her curls as she sucked me in.
It felt as if I had tumbled down a hill, unable to get my footing, to take control of the moment.
All the while, she teased me, exploring me with her tongue, her hand sliding up and down, sucking me in just enough that I could barely hold on. When she hummed around my length, the vibration of it was like lightning striking.
“Kendall,” I groaned.
She lifted her head. “Yeah?”
All I could do was throw my head back when her palm tightened around my length.
She was humming again as she sucked me in once more, and my release whipped through me, that electricity sizzling hot with a crack.
I held on as I cried her name in broken gasps.
I felt undone, literally, when she slowly released me and rose up to straddle me.
I dragged my eyes open to see her smiling. She looked entirely satisfied with herself.
“Good morning,” she whispered.
I chuckled. “Good morning,” I managed, still sounding breathless, my voice almost weak when she rocked her hips over my length.
I managed to curl one hand around her hip and grip to hold her in place. “Oh no, we’re not doing that now.”
“Oh, I know,” she teased.
“Shower,” was all I could say in return.
I gathered up enough strength to nudge her off and tug her into the shower with me, which I promptly discovered was a bad idea. Kendall, with her skin flushed pink from sleep and the water and soap bubbles rolling over her, was enough to make me want her all over again.
Thanks to her I had enough control that I didn’t take her against the shower wall.
I did however nudge her out from under the water and tease my fingers inside her slippery cleft, making sure she found her release.
It was only fair, after all. When her mouth parted and she cried out, her spiky wet lashes sweeping down as her pussy clamped around my fingers, I thought I could watch Kendall climax for the rest of my life and it probably still wouldn’t be enough.
Her breasts heaved as she gasped. I leaned forward to suck one puckered nipple into my mouth.
“Jude!” she protested when I drew away.
“Just making sure you have a good morning.” I grinned.
I loved when she giggled. I dragged my fingers out and licked them clean right before I kissed her. My arousal ached, but for now, I savored just being able to feel her against me.
“I need to wash my hair,” she said when I lifted my head.
“Well, let’s take care of that,” I teased, spinning us back under the water.
When she got dressed not much later, it felt like a crime to watch her body disappear behind her practical clothes. “Should we go get coffee?” she asked.
As I looked at her, my heart kicked again and again, reminding me just how much she already meant to me. “How are we handling this?” I asked.
“Handling what?”
“Are we open about what’s happening?”
She chewed the inside of one cheek as she held my gaze. “I don’t know. What if we screw it all up?”