Page 45 of Steadfast
“Let’s call it Awesome Forest.”
He took a second bite. Then he forked up a third and offered it to me.
Heat rose on my cheeks as I opened my mouth to receive it. Jude fed me the bite gently, and our eyes locked. I felt goosebumps break out on my arms. At the last second, Jude angled the fork to smear my lip with frosting on the dismount.
“You ass,” I complained, and he laughed. The sound of his laughter—low and naughty—cranked my heartstrings a little tighter. It used to be this easy between us. When Jude and I were alone together, the rest of the world didn’t exist.
That’s what I’d thought, anyway. Until our little world cracked in two.
Jude sat back, as if putting a little distance between us. Maybe he felt it, too—the tightening of the invisible cord between us. “So. What did you get for your birthday?”
I wasn’t quite ready for that question. “Well,” I whispered, feeling my sadness rise to the surface again. “For my birthday I received one Awesome Forest cake.”
He set the fork down inside the cake box and set the box on the bed, waiting for me to go on. When I didn’t, his brow creased with concern. And then my stupid eyes watered.
I swear to God, the entire time that Jude and I were a couple, I only cried for sad movies. But now I could not be in the same zip code with him without springing a leak.
Jude reached for me. He lifted me by the hips into his lap as if I were a little girl. And I hid my face in his neck as if I were one. He smelled of clean flannel and laundry detergent.
“My girl is having a rough time,” he whispered. “I’m sorry.”
“It’s not a big deal,” I mumbled, trying to backtrack. “Birthdays don’t really matter when you’re twenty-three. But it justwearson me sometimes—all the petty, dysfunctional bullshit.”And I don’t have anyone to talk to about it, because you left me all alone.
I was still angry at Jude, and I probably always would be. But the strong arms holding me close took the edge off my anger. With one big palm Jude began to rub my back. His hand slid up to scoop the hair off my neck, and when his fingertips grazed my nape, I shivered.
I didn’t want to think about my birthday anymore. I just wanted to bask in Jude’s arms. The stubbled skin of his neck tickled my nose, and it was all too easy for me to place a kiss there. So I did. And then I kissed him again.
Jude’s body went completely still.
As my lips worshiped his neck, he made a sound of surrender—half sigh, half groan. His arms tightened around me. But still he did not make a move.
I wanted him too, though.One more birthday present, please. With soft lips, I kissed a line down into the hollow of Jude’s throat. Then I parted my lips and sucked gently on his skin. Beneath me, his breath hitched.
That’s when I knew I’d won.
Shifting my weight, I spun around to straddle him. Lust-darkened eyes met mine, and there was a question in them.
Leaning in, I pressed my lips against his, hoping to kiss that question away.
Jude gave a groan against my mouth. He kissed me once. Twice. “Sophie,” he grunted.Kiss. “You shouldn’t be here.”Kiss.
“Thank you, Captain Obvious.”Kiss, kiss. Kiss. I rubbed my hands up and down his inked biceps. Jesus, he had bulked up.
“Where’s your car?” he asked between kisses. But then he pushed me down on the bed, stretching out over my body.
The weight of his hips on mine made me crazy. “Church parking lot,” I breathed.
He flexed his body against me. “But what if somebody…?”
“What if you just shut up?” I reached for his shoulders, but he did a pushup, levering himself up and off of me.
Something like worry crossed his features. “You make me crazy, Sophie.”
I ran a hand up and down his bare chest, and his eyes closed. “Yeah? Well back at you, babe. We both have first-class tickets on the crazy train. But it’s my birthday, and you’re the only one who remembered.” My logic was thin at best. But Jude shivered at my touch and lowered himself onto my body again. His mouth found mine, hot and determined. I opened for him right away.
And then we were justgone. Deep kisses and hands everywhere. I couldn’t get enough of his beautiful chest. I traced every new ridge of muscle with my fingertips. Jude’s hand slid into the crease between my legs, and I squeezed my thighs together to show him how much I wanted him.
We struggled out of our clothes in a ridiculous way due to our inability to stop kissing. My T-shirt got stuck because I wouldn’t let go of Jude’s mouth. So he turned his attention to the zipper on my jeans instead. He unzipped me, and I hiked up my hips to let him yank the fabric away from my body.
