Chapter 34

Ava

Jude tugged me forward to kiss me, and he tasted of fresh mint toothpaste. I kissed him back passionately. I poured every inch of myself into that kiss as our tongues twisted around one another’s in a battle of dominance.

The crisp fall air swirled around us. I pulled back to look up at the red oak leaves that fell upon us. Jude glanced up at them as well, with a smile. He wrapped his good arm around my shoulders as he guided me forward to the locked gate. The entire street was quiet and full of fancy townhomes. It had been a surprise when the driver dropped me off at Jude’s place thirty minutes away from the hospital. I had expected a garage. A big garage full of bikes, since that was all he lived and breathed.

“You look a bit surprised,” Jude said as he pushed the gate open. He hobbled forward to let me walk in before clicking it shut. “Were you expecting something entirely different?”

I fished out the spare key from my jacket that Jude had told me was hidden beneath a rock on the front porch. “I was expecting you to have an apartment somewhere with a large-ass garage. I remember how much you said a big garage was important to you in the past.”

“It is important to me,” he said as I opened the front door. “This is just one of my homes here in the city. My garage is near the arena.”

“You have a garage near the arena?”

“Yes,” he said, hopping inside into the hallway. “Three stories high, actually. My office is in there. Which I’ll need to get to in the next couple of days.”

I shook my head in awe. It never ceased to amaze me how incredibly wealthy Jude was. He owned a breathtaking townhome in Chicago. He owned a fleet of bikes and a garage. He had several businesses that were thriving. He would be okay, no matter what he did, because he had worked his ass off to get where he wanted to go.

“I’ll call the nurse,” I said. “Let her know that you’re here, so—”

“Ava.”

I looked up in surprise at him as he started up the stairs slowly on the crutches. He turned to look down at me with a shake of his head.

“Tell the nurse not to come in until tomorrow.” He cocked his eyebrow at me in a way that had my body already squirming in pleasure. “Catch my drift?”

“I suppose so,” I said thickly. “I’ll give them a call real quick.”

I spent the next ten minutes telling the nurse when to come in, along with sending in prescriptions to the pharmacy nearby. I would have to surface eventually to get them but for now, I knew he craved something entirely different. A different type of drug that I was more than willing to give to him repeatedly.

I climbed the stairs to head in the direction of his bedroom, grateful that I had taken the time in the shower earlier to shave my legs at least. I pushed the door open to stop in surprise to see him already naked on the bed with a rock-hard erection straining against his stomach. Deep bruises covered his muscular body—a sign of his dedication, just like his tattoos. A cheeky smiled graced his face when I let out a laugh.

“Eager much?” I asked.

“You owe it to me,” he said, voice husky. “Come over here. I’ve been thinking about this since you left the hospital.”

“Are you sure you aren’t in any pain?”

“Yes. This is in pain.” He pointed to his erection. “Come help me ease this pain. Don’t think about anything else, either.”

I stripped slowly out of my clothes while Jude watched me with fevered eyes. His hands were clutching the sheets and blankets as I stripped naked in front of him. His eyes left fiery trails down my skin as he took me in with an appreciative groan.

“So beautiful,” he said. “Get over here. I can’t drag you here.”

“That’s right,” I said teasingly. “You can’t do anything. I’m in charge right now.”

His eyes hooded while I crawled across the bed to straddle his lap. We both let out a moan when his erection nestled against the core of me. I ground my hips teasingly against him as Jude’s lips attacked my breast in a series of hot kisses and little nips. His good hand clutched my right ass cheek while he guided my hips up and down him.

“Damn, baby,” he whispered against my breasts. “I’ve missed you. I’ve missed you so fucking much.”

Tears filled my eyes as I carefully anchored myself over him. The tip of his cock pulsated at my entrance before I slowly slid down, relishing in the heat and hardness stretching me in all the right ways. It felt so good.

“I missed you, too,” I whispered, pressing a hot kiss against his lips.

Our tongues danced as my hips rolled forward to set a slow and desirable pace. I grabbed the back of Jude’s neck to hold myself as I moved up and down over him. Every inch of Jude’s body went stiff from the pleasure of it. His jaw clenched. A vein throbbed in his temple, and ragged breaths pushed through his nose. I could feel his release coming swiftly, from how he hardened even more inside of me.

Jude slid a hand around to press his thumb against the core of me. He parted the flesh between my legs to rub at the wetness there. I let out a ragged moan as he continued to do that in time with my hips rolling up and down him. I could feel the warm sunlight streaming in through the skylights above Jude’s bed as he pushed down hard to send me over into the oblivion of my own release.

I cried out, and Jude’s hand went to my hip to guide me up and down him fast. His eyes rolled back in pleasure. The sound of our skin smacking against one another filled the room. A simmering rose-red color filled Jude’s face before he went rigid beneath me with a loud cry. I felt him spill into me, hot and sticky.

I climbed off of him before I could fall over onto a bruise or sprained limb. We laid there for a long time, watching clouds drift by through the skylight above the bed. I gently threaded my fingers through Jude’s as I rolled over to press a kiss against his wildly thumping heart. I relished in the soft contact of his sweaty skin against mine. If things would’ve been different at that arena—cold fear shot through me thinking about it.

“I’m sorry for everything,” I whispered. “I love you, Jude. I really do love you.”

Jude pulled me close with his good arm. “I know, Ava. I’m sorry, too, for being such an asshole to you. I’m sorry about Andy, too. I miss him every damn day.”

“I know. I miss him, too.”

“I can’t race anymore,” Jude said quietly. “The motocross officials are going to ban me from the sport for a while because my blood test is going to show what everyone knew about the crash.”

“They’ll ban you for a short period of time, Jude,” I said, tracing a tattoo on his chest. “They can’t do it for the rest of your life.”

“It’s fine if they do. I’m just glad that I have you here. I have an idea for us to do together in the future.”

I propped my chin on his chest to gaze up at him curiously. He smiled down at me as he brushed back my hair with one hand.

“What sort of idea do you have?” I asked.

The smile on his face grew.

“You’ll see. I love you, Ava James. Don’t ever go running off on me again.”

I pressed a tender kiss to the patch of skin above his heart. “I promise. I won’t ever run away from you again. I love you, too, Jude Jacobs.”