Page 82 of Fighting For You
“He’ll always raise a flag for me. We know Blackthorne has had its issues. I’d say we keep an eye out just in case.”
“Agreed. And I’ll see if Jenna can elaborate on what Julian got from Cara.” Luc ducked his chin and then he was gone, likely off to do just that.
“Sounds good,” I agreed, and hoped the sick feeling would ease up before I went to see Jess. I didn’t want to be thinking about Kurt The Idiot when I stole a few minutes with her… assuming she’d be able to arrive early.
Bruce and Tristan continued down the hallway, and I found my way back to the CP. Adam was nestled in and watching all the surveillance feeds, all of which were completely bereft of anything to see. Video monitoring was minimal, and this afternoon, everyone was static—most celebrities we were guarding were getting ready for the evening, so our personnel were at their doors. All quiet.
My phone buzzed right when I sat down. I braced for disappointment, but instead had to work to hide my smile.
“Looking forward to it.”
Whatever insecurities might still exist, we’d figure them out if we’d keep showing up for each other.
CHAPTER FORTY
Jess
Islipped into the giant truck at exactly nineteen minutes until my shift. I’d hoped to be even earlier, but my alarm hadn’t woken me from my nap quite as early as I’d planned and well, here we were.
Vanity should’ve had no part in my life at this point, but I couldn’t stand the thought of skipping the basic makeup and hair prep I’d planned on, even if Jude had seen me at my worst. I wanted him to like me, orkeepliking me, and showing up looking like these long days with endless variables for pretty celebrities were dragging me through mud wasn’t high on my list.
“Hey,” I said, stomach flipping as I pulled the door closed and got hit with the fresh scent of his laundry paired with the leather seats of his truck.
His gaze traveled over me like he was checking for injuries and then hooked into mine. His expression was sosevere, a sensation akin to panic flashed though me. Had I misread his text? I’d read it as fun and flirty and kind of like he was desperate to see me.
Maybe he’d been worried. Or about to tell me that all of this between us was just too much of a mess to keep bothering with.
“How are you? Are you… good?”
The soft hope lingering on his face and in the pinch of his brow shifted something enough that it clicked, a key turning in a lock. He wasn’t done, but he’d started to worryIwas.
“I’m great. I’m glad to see you, and?—”
Breath rushed from him, and he grabbed my head on either side and drew me into him, melting me with a demanding kiss, all in about two seconds.
My eyes, wide open from the surprise of his movement, slowly fluttered closed as the heat of his mouth on mine, ravenous and just as needy for me as I felt for him, took over all my senses.
He groaned as I opened for him and he took what he wanted, kissing me deeper and mesmerizing me. I couldn’t stand the center console between us or the way I had to lean, so I broke the kiss for a second and scrambled over, seating myself in his lap, and took his face in my hands this time.
No words passed between us, but the heat in his eyes sent fire low in my belly, and I dove back in. I’d never been so happy about his propensity forsounds, not words, because he was showing me just how much he enjoyed this with his nonverbal cues. Funny how I’d never thought about how much I could like this about him.
We only came up for air when my alarm sounded, loud and cruel, shocking me into breaking the drowning kissesbetween us with a gasp. I dove for my purse, jammed my finger against the screen to stop the racket, and then looked back at Jude to find him wide-eyed and bracing me at my hips so I wouldn’t tumble off him.
I started to giggle—yes, giggle, because he looked so genuinely confused about what was happening and he had bee-stung lips and ragged breaths—and soon, he joined me. His low chuckle rumbled between us, and in another few seconds we were both laughing hysterically. I laughed so hard I could hardly breathe and rested my forehead on his shoulder while I worked to regain composure.
His large hands smoothed up and down my back in a motion so deliciously comforting, my laughter soon melted away and I reluctantly sat up.
“I didn’t plan to spend the time that way,” he said, reaching up to tuck some hair behind my ear.
My stomach flipped again—it had taken up part-time acrobatics whenever he came close. “Me neither. But I’m not mad about it.”
His gorgeous lips twitched into the tiniest hint of an upward tilt, almost like he felt he’d overshared his smile during our laughing fit.
“No? Good.” The humor tapered off into another one of our eye-locking stares, and my heart rate ramped up again.
“I really have to go,” I said, glancing at my stupid watch and seeing I was right—I really,reallyhad to go. “When can we…” Do this again? Do more? Sit and talk? Snuggle on your couch with your beast-sized cat? “Hang out again?”
One big hand slipped up my neck and his thumb and index finger pinched my chin and guided my face to his. He pressed a long, slow, delectable kiss to my lips. “I’ll talk Kenny into switching so we both have tomorrow nightoff?”
