Page 49 of Play With Me

I pinch back the smile, even though he can’t see it.This man.

“So you remember last night?” I ask.

“Yes. Do you? Wait, which part?”

Sweat breaks out along my temple as I flip the machine on. My pulse skips fast. I turn, squinting.

But Jude was telling the truth, of course. He’s properly covered. Sort of. The towel’s tightly reknotted. He’s leaning against the doorframe now too, his arms folded, wet hair slicked back and falling to his shoulders. He looks so hot, I have to stare at the bridge of his nose to make it appear I’m able to look him in the eye—and to keep my eyes from going anywhere else. “So…do you remember what Sasha did?”

Jude nods. “I do.” I can hear the smile in his voice. “You wanna back out?”

I let out a breath. “You want me to?”

“No.”

I can tell he’s holding back. He already asked me to come, and I said no.

“Just think of it as a game, Nor. A fun adventure. Come play with me.”

He’s being cheeky, but he still has no idea how that inadvertent double entendre makes my lower half swirl. I bite my cheek, saying it fast. “I don’t want to back out.”

“Fuck yeah!”

Jude crosses the floor and a second later his damp arms are wrapped around me, my face squashed up against his warm chest.

Okay, now I’m going to melt.

“Cap’s going to freak out! Speaking of which…”

Jude goes on about how this morning would work best, and we agree he’ll go now to pick up him and Farrah and get them to the train station. I manage to calm my body down, mostly by gently extracting myself from his arms as he talks.

We’re on a different train, arriving an hour after them.

“Maybe we should see if we can get the same train?” he asks, looking concerned.

“Both of them are direct, Jude. Just make sure Farrah knows to wait in the station for us in Zurich before we get in the car.”

“Right. Okay, good.”

“You’ve made this trip, Nora,” Jude says. “I mean it.”

“I can’t believe I’m doing this,” I say, meaning that, too. But the figurative train has left the station, and the literal one is going to soon too.

“Okay, well…I’m going to shower and get packing,” I say, already thinking of the removable showerhead with an extra strong jet I specifically bought to…relieve pressure. “I’ll see you soon?”

“See you soon,” he says. Then I practically run from the room before I have to deal with any more half-nude Jude.

CHAPTER12

Nora

This is all happening so fast.

Literally so fast—outside, the snowy fields of northern France zip by so quickly I feel almost dizzy. Or maybe that’s being cozied up next to Jude in our plush business class train seats on our way to Zurich.

This morning after my shower I felt slightly less sexually frustrated, and the excitement and nerves set in. I was distracted, briefly, by calling Christian. Incredibly, he actually picked up the phone, and I told him about my plans. He’d given me a long pause, then said, “It’ll be good for you to spend time with Cap again.” A rush of love for my brother came over me at that—we didn’t talk a lot about our personal lives these days—he was busy and had his own life. But he knew I’d had a single dad best friend, and he seemed to sense my tension. “Yes,” I’d agreed. “I’ve missed Cap more than life itself.”

I was a little devastated to miss Cap en route, but I needed the time to pack, and I’d be seeing plenty of Cap over the course of our trip.

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