Damaged and the Knight (Damaged #2)

Hours passed, yet only our growling stomachs stopped the fun. Judd walked his naked ass into the kitchen, found a menu, and called the restaurant to order a ton of Chinese. Once he slapped cash on the counter for when the delivery arrived, he returned to me in bed. I laughed at how he barely missed a thrust in the whole endeavor.

When the food arrived, Judd slid on a pair of sweat shorts and answered the door. I dug out a pair of panties and one of Judd’s wife beaters. The minute he saw me in the oversized tank that didn’t even come close to covering my breasts, I suspected we were heading back to bed.

“I’m yours,” I promised and the intense look in his blue eyes faded a little.

“I really fucking missed you, Tawny.”

Smiling, I smelled the food and shivered. “I missed you too, but we’re not leaving here for a few days. No more missing each other.”

“I hated waking up without you next to me,” he said, having set the food down and now playing with a lock of my hair. “I hated not hearing your voice or seeing your smile. Once I let myself need you, I can’t live without that feeling.”

“Have I mentioned how much I love you?” I asked, leaning against him as he dumped mounds of food on two plates.

Judd grinned then glanced over the food. “We need to carbo load.”

Laughing, we walked to the living room where he turned on the TV while we ate. After a few minutes, Judd sighed. “Christmas is almost here and we need a tree.”

Stopping mid-chew, I smiled up at him. “The only time I’ve had a tree was when we visited my grandma for Christmas.”

“I never bought one for the place. It’s just me, so what was the point? You’re here now and we need a tree.”

“Can we get one of those small plastic ones this year?” I asked, thinking of all the work involved in getting a real tree. “I saw some pretty ones at Kmart that don’t need maintenance or decorating. We’ll keep it low key.”

Judd gave me a tired grin. “I’m glad you suggested that because I really didn’t want to deal with a real tree this year. We will need presents though. I haven’t even gotten something for my mom.”

“After a few days of hibernating, we’ll get everything ready for Christmas. Oh, and Farah wants me to come to the house for Christmas Eve. Will you come with me?”

Rolling his eyes, Judd continued eating. “Like I’d hang out here alone while my woman eats cookies and drinks beer.”

“I’m really excited about my life,” I said, watching him intently. “I feel amazing in a way I’ve never felt before and it’s because of you.”

Brushing hair away from my face, Judd studied me. “You’re an angel with those eyes, babe.”

As I smiled, Judd set aside his plate then took mine. “Let’s go do something.”

“Can’t we finish eating first? I need to load more carbs.”

Judd smirked as he pulled me to my feet then tugged me into the bathroom. With his back facing the mirror, I caught a glimpse of the pirate ship tattoo before I looked away.

“I want you to see your eyes.”

Panic struck me and I tried to pull away. “I don’t want to.”

“Peek around my shoulder and see your eyes just for a few seconds. Do it for me as a reward for sharing my home with a chick, even though I swore I never would. I was such a fool to think I could say no once I met you.”

Grinning weakly at his comment, I asked, “Just my eyes. Not my mouth. I hate my mouth.”

Judd kissed the mouth I hated then sighed. “Only your eyes this time. Just for a few seconds, so you can see what I see.”

Holding onto him as I tilted to my left, I caught a glimpse of my hair and panicked. Pulling back, I took a breath then tried again, this time focusing on his tattoo. Slowly, I moved my gaze from the reflection of the pirate ship to the eyes I hadn’t really seen in years. They were afraid, but browner than I remembered.

“I have my dad’s eyes,” I whispered.

“Fuck your stupid dad. Don’t think about him. Think about what I see when I look at you. See what I see and you can learn to love yourself the way I love you.”

His words giving me courage, I noticed a change in the mirror. “When I think about you and how good you feel against me, my eyes get pretty.”

Judd glanced over his shoulder and looked into the mirror. “They’re fucking gorgeous. I could stare at them forever and I plan to.”

Moving safely away from the reflection, I stared up at him and smiled. “I feel brave when I have you with me.”

“You make me brave too, angel. I never wanted anything more than what I had because I might lose it. When I’d see Kirk playing family man, I’d think that was never going to be me. Hell, sometimes having Pearl around was too damn much. Now, I think about what he has and it seems possible because you’ll be with me.”

Judd took my hand and we walked back to the couch. “When I was on the road, I saw this commercial about Disneyworld and I thought about how ridiculous it would be for me to be there, playing family man like Kirk does. I tried to imagine pushing one of those stroller things and it seemed stupid. Then, I imagined you walking next to me and it wasn’t so stupid. It was something possible.”

“I’m not ready to have a kid,” I blurted out.