Page 74 of Two For the Show
“True.”
“You’re pushy.”
“Correct.”
“You have no self-control.”
“Guilty.”
He grabs the front of my shirt and hauls me forward, pressing our foreheads together. “You’re too good for me.”
“Ah, that’s where you’re wrong. We’re what each other needs.”
There is a pause, a moment where I think I’ve gone too far. That I’ve ruined any chance between us, taken away the possibility of our relationship growing.
But it’s a small moment.
His lips slam on mine, aggressive and punishing, and everything I remembered and more.
We pull apart, chests heaving, and Jude’s lip curls. “Is this what you want, Dario?” he growls. “Because there is no coming back from this. We’re pack, and that’s forever.”
I crowd him, pushing him backward until he’s sprawled out on the couch, his legs wide. I crawl onto his lap, squeezing his hips with my thighs. “Yes, this is what I want, Jude. I’m not sure how much clearer I can be.”
“Why?”
One word, full of so much vulnerability.
I don’t think Jude is used to being wanted, not like this.
Not that he’s had a lot of chances to be wanted. He joined the circus as a teenager, and for the longest time, if he wasn’t here, he was at a bar causing trouble.
He wasn’t exactly trying to find a partner, and now he’s got two.
“Because when I was homeless, you gave me one. When I need guidance, you give it to me. You ground me, Jude. You challenge me.”
Jude’s massive hands land on my hips, like he can’t control them. His fingers dig into my skin. “That’s not enough, Dario. That’s not enough to take this step that will change the dynamic of our pack forever.”
“Why can’t that be enough? Why isn’t that an acceptable basis for a relationship?” My chest hurts. I thoughthe’d be easier to get through to. I thought, with us both bonded to Alex, he’d finally accept that there is something between us.
Something more.
“This is your daddy issues, Dario. You see me as this safe, strong, older man, and you’re trying to fill that void.”
I wrinkle my nose. “Ew, that is not it at all.” I grab his cheeks, wrenching his face up so his only option is to look into my eyes. “I see you, Jude Oliver. How fiercely you care for all of us. How hard you work to keep us afloat. The way you fought to get sober. The long hours you put in to make sure we have stops so we can get paid. I see every little thing you do for all of us. But the question is, Jude, who takes care of you?”
He doesn’t answer me.
He can’t.
Because no one does. Maybe he’ll let Alex, now that they have a bond, but part of me thinks he doesn’t want her to see that vulnerable side of himself because he thinks she needs him to be an unshakable Alpha.
We’ll address that bullshit later.
“Let me,” I implore. “Let me be the one who takes care of you. Let me be the one you turn to when things are too much. When the world you carry on your back is too heavy.”
His chest heaves with a sigh, and he cups my cheek with one of his hands, the other squeezing my hip to keep me rooted. “You’re asking for a lot, Dario.”
“I know. I know I’m a lot.”
