24. Chapter 24
Chapter 24
The Huntress
They don’t come for me. Not a single taunting thought plows through my mind like I expect. However, my ringing phone does jar me from my sleep. My eyes flutter open at the piercing sound, and I fumble, searching for it.
“Here,” Jude’s voice is groggy as he shifts in the bed, reaching over the side and plucking up my phone from the floor. “It’s your brother.”
“Oh shit. ” I shoot straight up, now wide awake. “I forgot to text him.”
“Great, I’ll start planning my funeral,” Jude grumbles, rolling onto his stomach beside me and burying his face in the pillow.
I roll my eyes and answer, prepping myself mentally for his anger. “Hey, what’s up?” If I’d have stayed at Sarah’s, I wouldn’t be apologizing to him.
“Where the hell are you?”
“Good morning to you, too,” I snap, shaking my head. “But I told you I was going out with Sarah.” As the words leave my lips, Jude lifts his head, curiously watching me.
“Why the fuck didn’t you tell me that included a slumber party?”
“Because I’m almost thirty years old, asshole,” I answer him, catching my breath as Jude’s hand glides under the covers, running up the top of my thigh. I glare at the wicked grin on his face.
“Yeah, well, get home. We’re going house hunting today.” The sharpness in his tone tells me he’s still obviously pissed about whatever happened with Jude.
“Who all is going?” I ask, trying to sound more curious than annoyed.
“Us.”
Ugh. My eyes catch Jude’s gaze, and fear pummels my chest. Honestly, I’m terrified to leave his presence. For the last twelve hours, I’ve felt normal. No voices. No breakdowns. Well, other than the thought of having to leave him. But definitely no urge to kill anyone.
Except my brother, maybe.
“Is there anyone else you’d like to take?” Henry asks, his question almost sounding a little accusatory.
“No.” But I hesitate after that. I do have lunch plans today, and after my brother mentioning something about the Black Widow being on the dark web, it’s pertinent I figure out what the fuck is going on.
But at least the stalker is figured out.
Except...
He hasn’t once mentioned the Black Widow or murder to me. In fact, he doesn’t seem to act any different toward me at all. Seeds of doubt penetrate my thoughts in the moment, but I brush it off. I just need to meet with Liam and see where the city is at. Then, I’ll make a plan for where to go from here—and do whatever it takes to keep Jude close enough to keep the voices away, but far enough he doesn’t find out anything more about me.
Right now, he wants me... But if he found out the truth...
“Cher?” Henry snaps in my ear.
“Sorry,” I mutter, blinking rapidly as I realize I zoned out on Jude’s face. “We can go after lunch.”
“Fine. I’ll meet you at two.”
“Yes, sir.”
“Don’t call me that.”
“Bye,” I snort, hanging up. I toss the phone onto the covers and run my hands over my face. “He’s going to kill you when he finds out.”
Jude chuckles. “I think we already established that.”
“What did you tell him?” I ask, carefully approaching the situation. “That you were stalking me?”
“For the record,” he grabs my waist and pulls me onto him, leaving me to straddle his erection. “I wasn’t stalking you in a way to scare you.”
I furrow my brow—and then decide to take the shot. “So what were the texts for then?”
“What?” The genuine look of confusion answers everything. I’m wrong about the identity of the unknown sender. “What texts?”
“The ones that led to the alley,” I lie, playing it off. My breath hitches as he grinds against me, my pussy growing wet at the motion.
“I just wanted to keep you in line,” he rasps as I rock back, a burst of pleasure following the sway of my hips. He frees my mind to explore with unabandon and without shame. I never want it to stop, especially as his face darkens. “These need to come off.” He reaches forward and tears through the fabric of my underwear.
I gasp at the movement but lift my hips enough to let him rid himself of his boxer briefs. When I sit back down, it’s flesh against flesh, and I soak his shaft as I straddle it long ways.
His hands land on my hips, and he rocks me back and forth, my pussy stroking the length of his cock. “Go ahead,” he instructs, dropping his hands to my thighs. “Make yourself come.”
I don’t know if I can.
But I don’t tell him that. His heated gaze gives me a small burst of confidence, and I slowly move, just in time for Jude to pull his shirt from over my head. My bare body is on display in front of him, but his eyes stay on mine.
“Come on, baby. Pleasure yourself for me.” His words fuel my arousal, and I soak him further as I rock back and forth. However, nerves begin to gnash at me, and I drop my eyes to my hands resting on his chest.
“I...”
“Look at me,” his voice is commanding but gentle. As I meet his gaze, I see the same reflection as his tone. “Keep going. I know you want this.”
And I do.
I really fucking do.
Biting down on my lip, I move with more intention, pressing against him as I coat him. He groans, his expression contorting with pleasure, and for some reason, it fuels me. I rock faster, grind harder, and a moan slips from my throat as my core begins the buildup.
“Explode all over me,” he growls as my movements grow desperate, jerky, and my breaths ragged. “And say my name.”
“ Jude, ” I say it once, and then I cry out, my orgasm crashing over me as my muscles tense, my nails digging into his skin. His lips collide with mine as his hands slip to my ass, lifting me and setting me back down...
On his cock.
I gasp at the fullness and heightened sensitivity, whimpering as he thrusts his hips up. “ Fuck, ” I moan into his mouth.
“Get used to it,” he growls, nipping my bottom lip.
I bite back as he pumps into me, his hand dipping lower. He grunts as I draw blood and presses a finger into my ass. I moan, unprepared for the pleasure it draws out of me.
“You’re going to be so fucking sweet for me, aren’t you?” Jude breaks the kiss long enough to give me a view of the blood smeared across his mouth. The sight turns me on, and I fall back into him, chasing a second climax.
He pushes a second finger inside of me, and I gasp at the pressure—and then explode. I cry out his name once more, and he follows with a deep groan, filling my pussy with himself once again. I swear, every time he comes, it feels as though he’s washing it clean of any vile acts that have ever been committed there.
I collapse forward, my sweaty body slick against his chest. His hand strokes my back, and he removes his fingers from me, but leaves his cock buried deep inside.
And it feels okay to have him there.
In fact, it feels so fucking... good.
“No one gets to have you like this except me,” Jude says, threading his fingers through my hair. “No one.”
I nod, but Jude truly has no idea. No one has ever had me like this. The only person who’s ever been with me between the sheets destroyed my sense of self, gifted me my demons, and then sent my mind to hell.
And if Jude ever tries that, I’ll fucking kill him.
Then God knows what insanity will befall me—if it doesn’t catch me before then.
***
Jude watches me in a curious silence as I get dressed in the clothes from the night before, and while I have an urge to vomit up every ounce of truth I haven’t given him, I know it’s best not to yet. He might have made it through my outer walls, but I haven’t spent time away from him.
And what if it hits me harder than ever? What if I can’t handle it?
“You said you were going to lunch with Sarah?” He throws it out as I grab my purse and sling it over my body. “Are you doing that now?”
“I have an hour. I figured I’d go home and shower,” I tell him, biting down on my lower lip. I don’t want him to know that I’m actually meeting with Liam, the detective acquaintance that provides me with risk evaluation. And speaking of, Jude has my location, which provides a risk with this lie I’m telling anyway.
“Then where to?”
“House hunting with Henry.”
“Hmm.” He pops his jaw in an irritated way, and I can tell that overshadows the lunch plans with Sarah.
“I can ask if you can go?” I offer, hovering by the door of the master bedroom.
“Yeah, we both know the answer to that.” Jude stands a few feet away, his jeans hanging off his hips and giving me an inviting view of his fit upper body. I’ve seen plenty of men in my life, but I’d take Jude in any shape or form. It’s not the body.
It’s just him.
“I can still try.” I hold his gaze, my stomach churning at the fact I have to leave. “I’d, um...I’d like for you to come.”
Jude runs his fingers through his disheveled hair and does that thing where it feels like he’s looking right into my soul. “What keeps you here, Cher? Is Vegas where you want to stay?” It’s a heavy question, and the weight leaves me struggling to answer.
“I...I have friends here.” Lie.
“You have a friend you work with, meet in back alleys, and then use as a cover.” His voice is sharp, and his eyes give away the betrayal he’s feeling—but it still infuriates me .
“You’re making assumptions.”
“I’m telling the truth, Cher, and I’m starting to think that’s something you’re unfamiliar with.” His eyes are blazing.
“I don’t know why you’re suddenly mad, but I have to go.” Shaking my head, I reach for the door.
“Don’t forget your phone, sweets,” he calls after me.
I freeze, spinning around just in time to catch it as he tosses it in my direction. “Thanks,” I choke out, slipping out of the apartment. I glance down at the screen, and the answer to what happened is right in front of my face.
Liam: Looking forward to lunch today.
My stomach lurches, and I turn to go back to Jude—to attempt to explain, but as I reach out to knock, I hear the deadbolt slide. I have a feeling he was watching the doorbell camera, given the timing. I close my eyes in defeat, and then beat on the door anyway.
I’m so fucking stupid, Jude. I’m fucked up, but I’m not a whore.
My hands shake as I knock again. And again. I wait for him to come to the door, trying to give him the benefit of the doubt... But I know I wouldn’t if I were in his shoes.
‘You were never cut out for something real.’
“No, no, no,” I mumble, my knees trembling as the voice returns. “Jude, please come to the door.” My voice isn’t coherent and hardly audible.
‘Get it together. Don’t be weak.’
‘Who cares if he shuts you out?’
‘Good fucking riddance.’
My face scrunches as my head spins and I stagger down the hallway. I’m just trying to protect him. I smash the elevator button, rocking onto my heels. My phone chimes with the Uber notification, and as the doors glide open, I glance back at Jude’s apartment once more.
I step inside the elevator, still staring at the white door. My chance of freedom from my mental prison feels like it’s slipping through my fingers as the voices ring out in deafening volume.
‘Once a liar, always a liar.’
‘It’s just who you are.’
‘He’d hate you.’
He probably already does.