Now, we’re in my bed. I’ve got my computer on my lap, scrolling sluggishly through some course material for yet another online class I’m taking. I’m struggling to keep my heavy lids open but I don’t have the luxury of going to sleep, not when I’m already so far behind.
Jude is surprisingly quiet. In fact, he’s been less of his playful self since Callie’s party ended. Tonight, Broody Jude is back.
Not that I blame him—today was intense. From Penny and Walker’s food fight to Callie’s wish for new parents, emotions were running high all over the place.
He shifts onto his side so he’s facing me. “I heard you talking with my mom today.”
“Oh?” I nervously lick my lips. “What about?”
“About the flower shop.” He pauses. “I think you should put in an offer.”
A shot of anxiety zips through my chest. I rise up on one elbow. “Jude, that’s crazy. I can’t put in an offer for the flower shop. I’m already in enough debt as it is. Who in their right mind would lend me money to buy a flower shop?”
“Me.” His face is impassive when he says it.
I blink. I shake my head. “Then obviously, you’re not in your right mind.” I joke even as my insides coil up into uneasy knots.
Jude sits up now, his glorious broad chest on display for me. “I’m serious, Iris. You love flowers. You love gardening—”
“I love cheese. But you don’t see me running off opening a dairy farm!”
“Hey, if you want to open a dairy farm, I’m on board.” Jude brushes hair from my face. “Anything you want to do, I’m behind you. I’m in your corner. So, I could be your partner…your silent investor…I could give you a loan…I could hand you a duffel bag of cash and fuck off.” I giggle at that. “Whatever you want, however you want it, I’m there.”
His offer is so generous, so sweet, I don’t even know what to do with it, how to process his kindness. After being deprived of warmth and affection for so long, all this gentleness is overwhelming.
“You’ve been struggling to get one of your business ideas to stick. I think this is the perfect opportunity for you.”
I open my mouth to object, to let all my doubts spill free but Jude’s lips come down on mine in a sweet, chaste kiss.
“I believe in you, Iris. And I’ll help you in any way I can.”
Hearing his words, everything gets knotted up on the inside of me. This man has so much faith in me. If I’m not careful, I could get used to it. Hell, if I’m not careful, I might start believing in myself, too. That doesn’t sound like such a bad thing.
“So can you promise me that you’ll think about it? You don’t have to give me an answer right this minute. Just think about it.”
All the emotions bubbling up inside me pour out of my body. I set my laptop aside and straddle Jude. I kiss him soft, slow and his hands caress my skin. My fingertips trace the dips and ridges of his masculine form as my lips take a path down his torso to his delicious V.
Even with the ache and strain in my muscles—several muscles I forgot even existed—I still want more of him. I always want more of him.
He groans when I stroke his erection and when my lips seal around the crown of his shaft, he rakes his fingers through my hair and pulls tenderly.
“Iris…” The strained sound of my name on his lips makes me feel like I can do anything, be anything. And I want to give him my whole damn world.
I swirl my tongue around the crown. I work my lips and cheeks. Suctioning, massaging, idolizing his thick, hard cock.
Before long, I’m frantic on my mission to give him pleasure. I brace his hard, muscled thighs for leverage and go all in. Gagging, salivating, messy.
His fingers are locked in my hair, controlling the rise and fall of my bobbing head. He keeps saying my name, taking me higher, making me wilder than I’ve ever been.
“Fuck, Iris. So good. Your hot, little mouth is so good.”
Eager for release, his hips rock off the bed. The tip of his cock hits the back of my throat again and again. My eyes burn, my head feels full, I’m struggling to breathe but as he pounds into my mouth on his quest for release, I’ve never felt more powerful, more adventurous, more free. He comes on a rough growl, shooting his seed into my throat and I swallow it all.
In an instant, he’s pulled me into his arms and spun me around so my back is flush with his hard chest. We’re lying together. He slides on the condom sitting on my bedside dresser and breaches me from behind. He cups my chin in his big hand and angles my face to kiss me just like that.
He’s spooned behind me. His pelvis grinds against my supple ass. He licks and kisses the back of my neck as he works my clit with his skilled fingers. He whispers sweet things in my ear. I feel tears forming on the rims of my eyes. Tears of pleasure. Tears of relief. Healing tears.
And I swear, this man is trying to break me, he’s trying to shatter something inside me. The fences and gates and barriers I’ve built to protect my damaged heart, he’s trying to tear them all down.
…I think I’ll let him.
We move together. Wild. Frantic. Careless. Chasing nothing but release. As we approach our climax, the sounds of our bodies slapping together mix with our moans of satisfaction.
“You need to come,” he grunts out, squeezing my breast, pinching my nipple between his fingertips. A serrated cry bursts from my throat and I know I’m right on the brink.
We come hard,
