My gut tells me it’s best to keep her here under lock and key, but a girl like Ally needs to be busy and won’t do well cooped up.
“Did you buy those today?” She asks, fingering a pink daisy in the bouquet on the table.
“I did.”
“Because you saw the painting in my secret nook?”
“That, and because of your little piercing.” I smile.
She smiles. “You like that?”
“I do. I like it even more now knowing I’m the only one who’s seen it.”
“You, me, and Sherise.”
“Sherise?”
“The girl who pierced me.”
“Is she hot? Say yes so I can picture this event happening next time I’m alone in the shower.”
She smacks my arm with the dish towel but smiles wide.
“You’re beautiful when you smile,” I tell her. “And you’re beautiful when you’re coming. And you’re also beautiful when you’re being my bad girl with fire in those eyes, too. Let’s go to bed. I wanna play with a little pink daisy.”
She bites her lip. “Can we go make Ally and Jude soup first?”
“Fine by me.”
I follow her up the stairs.
“Hey, Vixen?”
“Hm?” She looks over her shoulder.
“You’ve put me through my paces with your attitude the last few weeks.”
“I know,” she says, and I catch a hint of mischief in her eyes.
“I’m gonna put you through yours often when I fuck you.”
“I hope so,” she challenges.
Challenge accepted, Vixen.
We get into the bathroom, and she wraps both arms around my neck.
“Your house, Jude? It’s fucking awesome.”
“Thanks, baby.”
“It didn’t need renovations,” she says.
“I planned to paint the laundry room while I stayed at your place so it wouldn’t be complete bullshit.”
She smiles wide.
“Can I paint it?”
“Sure.” I shrug.
39
Ally
I’m in bed, in the dark. Jude is asleep.
After the bath, he came in here and I was going to be right behind him after lotioning up and combing my hair, but he was fast asleep when I got here.
Maybe I’ve been keeping him up at night, too, because I’ve been bitchy, because he doesn’t know what I’m going to do next. Because he’s been worrying about me.
I don’t deserve him.
Lying beside him, I open up Carly’s text string and send a message to her.
I don’t know yet if I owe you $100 but time will tell. I think I might, and I’m totally prepared to take the gamble and pay up so check your email. Love you. Lunch tomorrow in the atrium? I’ll buy.
I send her a money transfer of $100. A minute later I hear a ping.
Carly: Lunch is on me. Love you, too. Yay for gambling on love. It’s worth the risk, Ally.
I reply with a heart and she responds with one, too.
Jude stirs at the whoosh sounds, so I set my phone to silence until wake-up time and put it on the bedside table.
He pulls me to him.
“Hey Vixen,” he says huskily.
“Hey Dick,” I greet.
And then I smile. I’ve got my very own private dick.
His fingers glide inside my panties as our mouths connect.
“I don’t think I can take a hate fuck right now,” I tell him.
“That’s okay. We can do that next time,” he says softly and then two fingers are inside me. “Open wider.”
He kisses his way down my torso until his face is buried between my thighs, my fingers buried into his hair.
No more than a minute later, I’m whimpering out my release and he’s moving up my body and sinking inside.
He fucks me slow. He fucks me lazily. And every single moment of it is delicious.
After he comes, groaning into my hair, I pull his mouth to mine.
“I’m falling in love with you, too,” I whisper.
“I know,” he says, and I can feel that he’s smiling against my lips while he says it, like the cocky alphahole that he is.
40
Ally
Wednesday Night
Fred (Rex) drives me to Jude’s after work, and I see two cars directly outside his garage. A white muscle car and a maroon minivan.
It’s been a good day at work. A productive one and lunch with Carly, Sonia, and Stacy in the atrium (with Fred/Rex eating his lunch nearby) while Sonia kept bringing the conversation back to how hot Fred/Rex is. I kept trying to steer the conversation elsewhere because I was sure my bodyguard was hanging on our every word despite that he looked to be reading the paper with earbuds in. Sonia was acting smitten despite the reminder that she has a boyfriend.
Because it was a group lunch, I couldn’t get into much with Carly, but I was already having visions of dinner parties on Jude’s roof with her and Aiden.
I can’t help but feel so much hope right now. It’s a completely different feeling, but that said, I can’t imagine taking things for granted if I do find myself safe and clear of the Steele brothers. And I can’t help but be afraid there’s going to be a big, explosive climax to this thing – that it won’t just blow over, ending quietly.