Fortune favored the bold.
Clutching the gift to my chest, I crept down the dark hallway, praying that I wouldn’t run into anyone along the way. I wasn’t scared of his dad but I didn’t want to give him a reason to get angry either. Sneaking into Jude’s bedroom in the middle of the night could potentially get us both in trouble. Jesse was the one who told me the boys had been given a talk at the dinner table before I moved in.
“While Lila is living under our roof, you’ll treat her like a sister. Have I made myself clear?” Patrick had said.
Apparently, Gideon had said, “So you’re saying that Jude and Brody can’t have sex with Lila while she’s living with us.”
Which had made twelve-year-old Jesse crack up when he told me the story.
Not that I was planning to have sex with Jude. I was just going to his room to give him his birthday present. It was perfectly innocent. I was wearing shorts and an old T-shirt, not the outfit of a seductress. No makeup. Hair in a messy bun.
Here goes nothing. I ducked into Jude’s bedroom and quietly closed the door behind me, letting out a breath of relief that I hadn’t woken anyone up. A sliver of moon lit up his bedroom and I debated whether or not to turn on the lights. Why wouldn’t I turn on the lights? I was still standing in the middle of his room debating, when his head appeared in the open window. I slapped a hand over my mouth to stop myself from screaming.
Why was he climbing the trellis instead of using the front door?
I froze. This was a stupid idea. I should go. Slip out the door before he noticed me.
“That you, Rebel?” He didn’t sound surprised. Or happy. His tone was flat like he really didn’t care one way or the other.
“Yeah, it’s me.”
He turned on his desk lamp, casting a soft glow on the room, and dropped into the swivel chair then spun around to face me. His hair was messy and tousled as if someone had been running their fingers through it all night long and his eyes were glassy but I couldn’t tell how drunk he was.
“What are you doing here?” he asked, his voice low as his gaze lowered to the wrapped gift I was clutching to my chest. Holding on for dear life, both arms wrapped around it tightly like it was my firstborn child and I couldn’t bear to part with something so precious to me.
“I wanted to give you your birthday present.” It came out sounding more like a question and I cursed myself for sounding so unsure. This had been a huge mistake. It wasn’t the right time to give him this present, and I was starting to think there never would be a right time.
He hated me. Could I really blame him though? I’d hate me too.
He leaned back in the chair and linked his hands behind his head, assessing me with cool disdain. I was under no illusions. He was in full command of this situation and he was going to use it to his benefit. His blue eyes were hooded as they roamed over my body from head to toe while I stood under his scrutiny. He didn’t say a word. For a few long, excruciating moments it was so quiet I could hear my heart drumming in my ears.
He wanted to see me squirm. I didn’t know why I was still standing there like an idiot. Why hadn’t I walked out the door by now?
“You know what I want for my birthday?” he asked finally.
I shook my head and even though I knew I was setting myself up, I couldn’t help but ask, “What do you want?” My voice sounded scratchy like I hadn’t used it in a long time.
“You. Down on your knees in front of me.” He licked his lips and closed his eyes as if he was savoring the taste. Then his eyes opened and locked onto mine and there was something different in them. “I want you begging me to let you suck my dick.”
My jaw dropped and I had to pick it up from the floor. Who the hell did he think he was?
“Think you can handle that?” he taunted like this was one of our dares and he was challenging me to do it.
I spun around and headed for the door.
My hand was on the doorknob when his palm smacked against the wood above my head and my chest was pressed against the door, his body flush with mine.
He dipped his head, and shivers ran up and down my spine as his mouth moved close to the shell of my ear, his voice low and husky. “Stay, Rebel. See it through. I dare you.”
He took a step back, and I closed my eyes, my forehead pressed against the door. Then I squared my shoulders, turned the knob and heard him laugh. There was no trace of humor in his laughter.
“Go on. Do what you do best. Run, Rebel, run. But if you walk out that door now, don’t bother coming back.”
I released the doorknob and let my arm hang loose at my side. I’d never heard him use that tone of voice with me but I knew he meant what he said. If I walked away now, there would be no coming back from this.
Slowly, I turned around to face him. Setting my gift on the floor like it was an offering to the gods, I straightened my spine, lifted my chin and met his gaze. Something flickered in his eyes that set my pulse racing and my heart hammering against my ribcage. Like it was trying to break free.
I wasn’t backing down. Challenge accepted. Jude would never force me to give him a blow job, I knew that, but I was volunteering. I was
