There You Stand (Between Breaths 5)

“I want you to come with me,” I murmured.

And then his mouth came down on mine and our arms and legs tangled together. I wrapped my hand around both of our cocks and found a rhythm, both of us panting and groaning as I jerked us off in unison.

“Feels too good,” Jude ground out, his eyes glazing over.

“Are you close?” I grunted.

“Yeah,” he said into my mouth and then thrust his tongue in time with my hand.

I mixed the pre-come from both of our tips together to create friction and then reached around to his crease with my other hand. My finger made it halfway inside when he erupted all over his stomach.

“Christ.” The noises he was making along with the roughness from our lengths slicking tightly together made me shoot off immediately afterward.

We lay on his bed, staring dreamily into each other’s eyes, hoping never to rouse from this reverie.

“Stay for a little while longer,” he said after he got a washcloth and wiped us down. “It’s hard to let you go.”

My heart ballooned in my chest. I fucking loved hearing that.

Jude had left the bedroom door open this time, and I heard Chopper hurtle noisily down the hallway. I threw the covers over the top of us right before he struck—licking our faces and clomping in heavy circles on the bed.

“I knew you’d be a bed hog if Jude was anywhere near it,” I said as he found a cozy spot and lay down near our legs.

Jude laughed and tugged me closer, kissing the side of my head.

Chapter Twenty-nine

Jude: Bring Ace to see his old friend Chopper? They can piss around in the yard.

Me: How about tomorrow after work?

Jude: Looking forward to it.

I heard Chopper bark as I approached Jude’s place and my shoulders finally unwound. He was already in protective mode. And Jude could definitely use somebody else on his side.

I had only brought Patch home from the shelter two days before, and he and Ace had gotten along fine, with some minor adjustments. There was some territorialism over the food bowl, but Ace had quickly established himself as the alpha and Patch fell in line easily.

Patch was a pretty needy dog. Anytime I was home, he’d crawl onto my lap. I didn’t think he knew what to do with all the space he had free reign over, so he curled himself into a tight ball and seemed more comfortable that way.

Jude smiled when he opened the door and it halted the breath in my lungs. Ace saw Chopper and practically bolted through the entryway.

Chopper’s tail was wagging a million miles an hour and I bent down to pet him. “How do you like your new home?”

“He says he’s thrilled to bits,” Jude said, his eyes crinkling at the corners. “We should eventually get Chopper used to Patch as well. Especially if we ever walk them or meet you at the park.”

“Not a bad idea.” I stared into Jude’s eyes, trying to convey how happy his plans made me. Also how thankful I was that he was trying to make a life for himself.

I removed the treat I’d brought Chopper from a bag I’d placed on the counter. It was one of his favorite flavored bones, so his nose nudged at my knees. Jude made him sit before he was allowed to take the snack from my fingers. What a difference a couple of days had already made.

Chopper made his way to the dog bed in the corner of the living room, already comfortable here. Ace was busy exploring Jude’s house, so I saved his bone for later. It gave me such immense relief that Chopper would have Jude to look after him. And vice versa.

“I was just ordering Chinese takeout; sound good to you?”

“Great,” I said, realizing how famished I was.

After he placed the order, he sat down next to me on the couch. I slid my arm around his shoulder and pulled him against me, relishing all of his warmth.

“Cory,” he whispered into my hair and hell, I wished I could hear him say my name like that every single night.

The delivery was quick, so we ate and drank a couple of beers. Then we let the dogs out in the yard where they lay down together on the grass with their bones, chummy once again.

After he shut the door, Jude pressed me up against the wall.

“I bought supplies,” he said, breathless.

I arched an eyebrow. “Supplies?”

He bit his lip in a shy yet sexy way. “Condoms and lube.”

My heart thudded in my chest. Just because Jude said he wanted to have sex didn’t necessarily mean he was ready to do it right now.

“I need you to fuck me,” he whispered.

I shut my eyes. “Goddamn.”

It was as if all the pleasure receptors in my brain had swelled and then shot rapidly to my groin.

“No pressure, if you don’t want to.”

“Believe me, Jude. I want to,” I said. “It’s just . . . are you sure—”

“It’s all I can think about anymore,” he said.

“Hell.” I rolled my head back. “Me, too.”

Jude was entirely lips and hands and raw desire the whole way down the hall to his bed. We paused at the entrance to his room, and my hands were rough as they rushed down his body and grabbed at his ass. “Tell me you want this.”

He paused to study my eyes and there was a fierceness in them I hadn’t seen before. He flattened his body against mine and his mouth devoured me. His lips fastened around my tongue as he sucked it hungrily. I gasped for air and clutched at his shoulders.

I flipped him around and relaxed my hold, slowed my hands, and gentled my lips. I slid off his shirt and kissed his collarbone, dragging my mouth across his throat, licking his ear, and murmuring his name. When I unsnapped the button on his jeans, his breath caught.