I laughed. It wasn’t even remotely funny but what else could I do? He was so far off base in his assumptions that it was laughable. “You’re ridiculous. It was an accident.”
“Keep telling yourself that, baby mama. How long did you wait after I left? Or wait... were you fucking him the whole time? Were you fucking him behind my back while I was in Afghanistan?”
“Don’t be ridiculous. You know I never cheated on you.”
“And I’m supposed to believe you. That’s funny.”
“I never lied to you.” I looked him straight in the eye and took a deep breath, gathering all my courage. “You left me. With only a goodbye letter. I always thought you faced all your fears, turns out you run from them.”
“Don’t turn this around on me. You fucked my cousin. Maybe he was the one you wanted all along. Or maybe you just fucked every guy in town after I left.”
“How dare you!” My blood was boiling. He still pushed my buttons. Besides, I’d rather get angry and argue than deal with the heartache and misery. Anger was so much easier. The cut was cleaner. Sharper.
“You were my girl, Lila. Mine. I never thought you’d betray me like that.”
“I never thought you’d leave me but you did. And the day you walked out that door, you gave up the right to call me your girl. I’m not yours anymore, Jude.”
“Is that right?” He advanced on me. I took a step back. We did this tango until my back hit the wall and there was nowhere left to run.
Jude placed his hands on either side of my head and leaned in. His minty breath danced over my lips. “Tell me, Lila. Should we pretend we meant nothing to each other? Pretend we didn’t break each other’s hearts?” His hands slid down the wall and stopped next to my hips. “Should we pretend we don’t still want each other?”
I pressed my back against the wall, the violent beating of my heart so loud I could hear it pounding in my ears. “I don’t,” I whispered. “I’m over you.”
“And I’m over you. I am so fucking over you, baby.” His gaze lowered to my mouth. My lips parted, a small breath escaping. “I never think of you. You never cross my mind.”
“I never think of you either.” I inhaled, and it was his scent that filled my head. Cedar soap and masculinity and all those pheromones that played havoc with my senses. It’s just a chemical reaction, I told myself. It means nothing. “You’re nothing but a speck in my rearview mirror.”
“I never think about the feel of your lips against mine. The sweet taste of you. The little sounds you made when I fucked you.” His eyes were hooded and he wasn’t even touching me but every word from his perfect lips sent delicious shivers up and down my spine. “I never dream of you. Never wonder if you’re dreaming of me or if you’ve forgotten me. Do you still call out my name in your sleep?”
“Never.” I’m sure I did, but there was nobody there to tell me about it.
“Liar.” He dipped his head, his lips a mere fraction of an inch from mine.
Then he kissed me. Without hesitation, without asking permission, Jude kissed me.
His mouth was on mine, and I forgot to breathe. He shuddered and there was a sound from the back of his throat, a growl so deep and guttural I felt it reverberating in my core. Shivers of pleasure shot through me as he deepened the kiss. I wasn’t thinking straight. I wasn’t thinking at all. I pushed off the wall, erasing the tiny sliver of space between us and pressed my body flush against him, my fingers digging into his hair. It was soft and silky while everything else about him was hard, forged of steel.
His hands gripped my hips, and he lifted me up as if I were featherlight. My legs wrapped around his waist, and he spun us around, our lips remaining sealed. We were devouring one another, drowning in each other, and still it wasn’t enough. I needed more.
It had been so long. Too long.
The kiss grew frenzied and wild and he set me down on the island, my legs still cinched around his waist, my skirt bunched around my hips. His tongue dragged down my neck while his hands slid down my sides. Then he ripped my skirt open and pushed aside my panties. Two fingers glided through my slick heat and I whimpered when his thumb circled the tight bundle of nerves.
“Tell me, Lila. Does Brody make you this wet? Does he make you lose your mind over a kiss?”
His words broke through and snapped me out of my lust-filled haze.
What was I doing? This man had broken my heart. Shattered it into a million pieces.
I shoved him away and hopped off the island, my shaky hands doing up the snaps of my skirt. My God. Within five minutes of being alone with him, I’d ended up half-naked and only seconds away from letting him fuck me on the worktable.
Where was my self-respect?
“Go. Away,” I gritted out, adjusting my top and smoothing a hand over my crazy hair as I walked away from him on legs that were made of Jell-O. I still had to design the floral arch. I still had so much work to do today.
Get it together, Lila. Pretend he’s not even there.
Turning my back to him, I gathered my supplies from the wood shelves under the windows. Pliers. Chicken wire. Zip ties. When I turned, he was right there in front of me.
“You know what’s funny? I came back for you. I came back to see if there was a chance you could forgive me. I came back to see if you
