Or he’d have to possibly let me go.
My eyes squeezed shut as I listened to the sound of the waves crashing nearby. I pulled my sweater tighter and leaned back into the reclined lounge chair on the deck, admiring the stars I’d missed so much while in the bright lights of the city. The condo was quiet tonight. After my surprise appearance and my rapid meltdown soon after, my parents had helped me settle in, giving me the guest room closest to the ocean. From the bed, I could hear the soothing sounds of the water and feel the heat of the sun as it moved across the sky.
My mother had held me as I cried and told her everything that had happened. The phone call earlier that morning had suddenly made sense to her, and as she’d cradled me in her arms, she’d stroked my hair and told me it would be all right—even though both of us knew better.
We’d faced hardship before.
Marcus had come in after that, wanting to know everything on the medical side of things. Until the next day when I could transfer my records back to his care, all he had was what I could tell him, and unfortunately, it wasn’t much.
“We’ll get you set up with the best OB in town,” he’d promised. “We’ll figure it out.”
I’d nodded, thanking him for his kindness.
“Hey, you want to order a pizza or something? Watch a movie?” he’d offered. His head had casually leaned against the doorframe, his tanned body turned toward me.
“No, I’m fine. Why don’t you two go out or something? You don’t need to hang around here just for me.”
He must have sensed my need for solitary because he had nodded. “Okay, kid. I’ll bring you back something.”
“Sounds good.”
Now, it was just me and the waves.
“I thought you said watching the water was my thing,” a deep voice called out in the darkness.
I turned to see Jude standing in the shadows, holding a suitcase in one hand and the spare key my mother kept hidden in a ceramic frog in the other.
“I figured I’d give it a try,” I answered calmly, swallowing the lump in my throat that had just formed at the mere sight of him.
I stood, fiddling with the sleeves of my sweater, as our eyes met. He looked taller and much more formidable as I watched him drop his bag and stalk forward.
“All the way across the country? You know we have oceans on the East Coast?”
“I needed some space,” I replied softly.
He closed the distance between us. He was so close I could feel his angry breath on my neck.
“I don’t want space, Lailah.”
His mouth closed over mine, searing every nerve ending with fire until I was consumed by only him. My hands clung to him, pulling him closer, and his body molded to mine. Every heated, turbulent word and emotion I’d felt over the last two days exploded as I touched him.
I wanted him to feel my pain, my outrage, and torment. I wanted him to understand just how much he’d hurt me by refusing to support me and instead feeling like he could make decisions for me.
It was my life—mine, not his.
I pushed him backward, watching his eyes go wide with shock and a flicker of heat.
“Angry, Lailah?” he asked, the intensity of his face aglow by the distant moonlight. “Good. Me, too.”
He grabbed me around the waist and hoisted me over his shoulder. I punched at his back, but he just laughed darkly as he carried me through the apartment.
When he spotted my things in the room toward the back, he lowered me to the bed and shut the door. I watched in stunned silence as his clothes came off, one piece at a time. His eyes never left mine. It was as if I were his hard-earned prize.
He bent down and slowly slipped my sweater off my shoulders. “You always said you wanted all of me, remember?”
My gaze lifted to him, confusion painting my face until I saw his crooked grin.
“Well, I guess you can have your wish now,” he said with a hint of sadness.
I wanted to stop him, tell him we didn’t have to do this tonight, but before I could, his mouth was on mine once again, and I was lost to the feeling of his naked body pressed against mine. Every article of clothing I wore was shed until skin met skin, and I was drowning in his heat and warmth.
“No more boundaries,” he whispered. “No more barriers. Just you, me, and the sea of emotions separating us.”
I cried out as his body claimed mine, entering swiftly, and I felt him inside me for the first time without anything between us.
“Fuck,” he swore under his breath, his head resting against the curve of my shoulder, as his heart raced against my chest.
“Jude,” I softly called.
He answered with a hard thrust that had my body reeling.
“Jude, please . . . look at me.”