Take Me (Take Me 1)

“Turns out I’m a sucker for tradition. Who would’ve guessed?”

“Me, your former therapist. You didn’t have traditions growing up, didn’t have a conventional family unit.”

“And I’m apparently not headed in that direction now.” He said this with zero regret and Kate sensed none. She knew Jude was fully on-board with their current endeavor.

Yet she also knew he looked to the future and how that might shape up for the two of them.

He envisioned filling his mammoth Manhattan apartment with kids and pets and Kate’s family on holidays, since he had none of his own.

And with every night in his arms that passed, Kate accepted that vision more and more. Embraced it.

Though, their work was nowhere near done. And…first things first.

The engagement party.

“My mother wants the Plaza, of course,” she told Jude. “That’s a family tradition for us. All my brothers’ parties were held there…as were their weddings—or will be, in Denny and Charlotte’s case next Friday evening.”

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The very reason Kate and Jude were headed back to the States, with this brief layover in Mexico to decompress before the big doings in New York.

“We don’t have to follow suit,” he assured her. “We can venture outside the box, if you’d like.”

“You mean if it will get me to commit to a date,” she playfully mocked.

“Tomato, to-mah-toe.”

Kate laughed.

A knock on the door had her unraveling from Jude and straightening. She grabbed a robe and donned it, then opened the suite for the waiters serving carts full of food, one of whom popped the cork on a bottle of expensive champagne while Jude hit the shower.

Everything was perfectly laid out in front of the wall of windows that showcased the glittering skyline. Two crystal vases holding three dozen red roses each had also been delivered, because Jude never overlooked a single detail.

As the staff departed, Kate carefully pulled a stem from one of the full bouquets and held the bloom to her nose, deeply inhaling the rich fragrance.

Even during the emotionally and physically challenging and gritty training they’d endured, starting in Afghanistan, Jude had found the perfect moments to infuse a little romance into their otherwise sparse and intense existence. He’d arrange for something momentous to be delivered to Kate at one of their base camps, or he’d find a local to fulfill one request or another. Scented oils for a foot bath. Chamomile tea. A pretty trinket. Small things that said I love you in a huge way. Sweet gestures that didn’t detract from their mission, but which offered moments of escapism when Kate needed them the most. When she was stressed or anxious or fearing everything she’d agreed to take on might be too much for her. For them.

Jude knew precisely how to settle her nerves. Knew how to keep her grounded so she could do what she did best: help people heal.

As for him… Kate was thrilled by how helping others was cathartic for Jude’s ravaged soul. He was a steady force during trying times and together, they made a fantastic team.

The way Nikki and Conner once had.

Kate’s stomach clenched at the thought of her friends.

Nikki had come to Mexico City as well. They’d all been in need of a couple of days away from disaster and chaos—their first true break since they’d started this adventure. She occupied the suite next door, and Kate would have invited her to the middle-of-the-night feast she and Jude were about to devour, but Nikki had insisted she was going straight to the king-sized bed in her room. And might possibly stay there all weekend.

Kate didn’t want to disturb her friend.

And then there was that promise Jude had made to her about how they were going to spend their first night in a beautiful hotel, their first night in so long away from a tent or a makeshift shelter. They weren’t out in the middle of nowhere; they were someplace fabulously romantic.

Well, okay, she couldn’t totally vouch for what Mexico City had to offer by way of romance. But she was here with Jude, so… Romance would follow around every corner.

With another smile on her face, she glanced at him over her shoulder.

He had a towel slung low around his hips, showing off his hard muscles. The rigid grooves of his abs, the well-defined ledge of his pecs, his bulging biceps. A portion of his sexy and fierce tattoo.

He stepped close to her and she absorbed his heat and masculinity. The virility that exuded from him. A heady sensation rushed through her veins. Her skin tingled and a tickle along her clit reminded her she was in need of his scintillating and highly skilled touch.