Total pages in book: 117
Estimated words: 113584 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 568(@200wpm)___ 454(@250wpm)___ 379(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 113584 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 568(@200wpm)___ 454(@250wpm)___ 379(@300wpm)
My feet slow. I owe him. Do I? Do I really owe him? I sigh to myself. I can’t let him find out how he found out last time. God damn my father; I wouldn’t be in this situation if he’d kept his nose out.
I head to the corner and scan the street, looking for Jude or any of his cars. Where is he? A horn sounds, startling me, and his black Ferrari pulls up, the passenger window sliding down. I dip, seeing Jude in the driver’s seat. His eyebrows are on the ceiling of the car. I won’t thank him for actually listening to me. He shouldn’t have accepted that meeting in the first place.
“How was your day?” he asks.
“After dealing with the wayward man in my life, it was a good day.”
He pats the passenger seat next to him. “Come tell me about it.”
I get in and settle beside him in the leather sports seat, but before I can even think to open my mouth and share my work news, Jude’s dragging me across the car.
“Whoa.” I laugh, my legs getting bent at all kinds of uncomfortable angles, my dress hampering my already limited movement.
I land on his lap, my back pressed up against his steering wheel, blowing my hair out of my face. Intent swirls in his eyes as he slips his hand onto my nape and pulls me onto his mouth. I’m all in, straddling his thighs, pushing my chest into his, feeling his hands stroke across my backside. I ignore the various car parts poking me in various places and hum my happiness, running my hands across his rough face, letting my tongue lap gently with his.
It takes everything in me and more not to haul him back onto my lips when he slows our kiss, eventually breaking it. I lick my lips and lean back, spending a few moments absorbing his face.
“What?” he asks, squeezing my arse.
“I think I fancy you more each time I see you.”
“Same.” He gives me a chaste kiss. “How’s your hand?”
I flex it, the bandage starting to annoy me. “A little sore.”
He helps me back across the car to my seat. “Alright?”
“Yeah,” I grunt, my leg at an obscene angle. “This car is really sexy, but it’s not built for sex.” I drop into my seat and blow my hair out of my face again.
I look at Jude. He’s smiling brightly. “So, tell me about your day.”
“Tilda Spector wants to meet me for lunch next Wednesday.” I bite my lip, my eyes surely dancing.
“And she’s the woman who’s retiring and off-loading clients, right?”
He listens. “That’s right.”
“That’s fucking great, baby.”
“I know!” I pull him over to me by the lapels of his jacket, ignoring the flash of pain in my hand, and finally let my excitement leave my body, slamming a hard kiss on his lips. “If she passes her clients over, there will be nothing Leighton can do to match me. Nothing. Plus, Leo Lombardy emailed to accept my services and—”
“Services?”
“Financial services.”
“And who is Leo Lombardy?”
“The guy I had dinner with at Nonna’s.”
“The older guy?”
“Yes. I think one of the senior partners is having an affair with him, hence she can’t take his file.”
“Scandalous.”
“It really is.”
Jude’s nose scrunches to match mine. “I got you something.” Pulling away, he dips and retrieves a bag from the floor by my feet.
Nervous, I eye it. “What is it?”
“Open it.”
The box is long. A necklace? “Why have you brought me a gift?”
“Because I wanted to. Open it.”
I tentatively peel the gift wrap open under Jude’s watchful eyes, my smile unsure, and, on an inhale, pull the box out, lifting the lid. “A pen,” I say, surprised, taking in the silver ballpoint.
“It’s more what it says on the pen.” Jude takes it out of the box and rolls it to show me.
“It’s engraved,” I breathe, taking it from him and reading. I feel my lip wobble, and my eyes fill, making the engraving blur.
I’ve got you. Jude xxx
“In every aspect of your life,” he says quietly.
And my heart melts to nothing. It’s the most thoughtful gift I’ve ever received, because it truly means something, and that’s his whole point. “I love it,” I say, reaching over and hugging him hard. “Thank you.”
“I’ve got you,” he repeats, injecting so much strength into his cuddle. “And I love you.”
I feel so overwhelmed. So fulfilled. It’s a new feeling, and I’m a fan of it. I move my lips onto his cheek and inhale as I kiss him. “I love you more.”
“I doubt it.” Jude turns his mouth onto mine and nibbles at my lip. “I could do something very explicit to you right now.”
“There’s no room.” I return to my seat as Jude lifts his arse from his, adjusting his trousers. “Okay?” I ask on a sideways smile.