Finley must have sensed my discomfort with the topic. “Hey, guys, new subject.” She reached across for a marshmallow stick.
Cole elbowed me. “Hey, your marshmallow just took a dive.” He reached into the marshmallow bag.
“I’m all right. I don’t need one. I never have good luck toasting them.” I handed him back the stick. The topic of Jude had reduced my appetite for marshmallows.
“I thought Jude might join us tonight to celebrate his new freedom,” Cole said.
Finley and I both turned to him. “What do you mean?” Finley asked.
“They took the ankle monitor off today. Jude’s a free man.”
I was not prepared for how profoundly that comment would affect me.
Max laughed. “I guess that means he’ll be out of here soon. Four months of being cooped up in this house would be torture.”
Max had, of course, no idea that his comment was significant, but Cole and I both peeked over at Finley to gage her reaction. She bit her lip as she stared down at her marshmallow.
“Hey, Finley,” Max said, “watch that all those bracelets of yours don’t get too hot by the fire. You’ll burn your skin.”
I thought it was sweet of him to worry about it, but Finley didn’t respond. I knew she was still dwelling on the earlier comment.
“Is Jude still seeing that stuck-up girl, Remi, or whatever the heck her name was?” one of the girls asked.
“Remi?” Max asked. “Is that the chick who plays in all those zombie flicks?”
“Yeah, that’s her,” Cole said. “The whole house arrest thing put an end to that relationship. But truthfully, I think Jude was glad to see her go.”
“So he’s not seeing anyone?” the same girl asked. Even through the dancing flames, I could see the gleam in her eye.
Cole looked over at Max. “I love inviting chicks over and then spending the entire night answering questions about my brother.”
“Sorry, Coley” the girl said. “You know how much I love you.”
“Yeah, yeah.” He stabbed a marshmallow onto a stick and pushed it into the flames.
“Where are you from, Eden?” Max asked.
“I’m from the valley,” I answered, and decided no elaboration was necessary.
“Are you a cousin?” the girl across the pit asked, and it seemed all eyes were on me.
“She’s a long time friend,” Finley said sharply. Her mood had definitely disintegrated since Max’s comment, and I truly hoped she would snap out of it. She looked over at me. “I feel like I’ve known her a lifetime.”
I smiled back at her. “We’re really close. Like sisters.”
Finley reached over and grabbed my hand. A large splash in the pool made everyone sit forward.
“Who’s swimming?” Max asked.
Cole shrugged and sat back. “Well Butch and Sundance would rather become vegetarian than go anywhere near that pool, so it must be Jude. I guess he decided to cool off after his workout.”
The girls popped out of their chairs. “We’re going to go visit him at the pool.”
“Oh, and I thought you loved me,” Cole said.
“We do,” the girl answered. “But we’re talking about Jude King in a bathing suit.”
They stepped onto the brick path that led them back to the pool yard but stopped as Jude came around the corner, dripping wet. He walked past them without as much as a nod. The entire circle watched as he plunked his massive frame down onto a beach chair directly across from me. The wall of flames was glowing hot, but they were no match for the heated gaze he shot my way. He stared at me openly, not giving a damn that everyone was watching him.
The girls looked dejected as they took their seats again.
“Jude,” Max called across the fire, breaking the tense silence. “I see you’re a free man again.”
“Yeah,” Jude answered without pulling his gaze from me.
“Christ, Jude, you’re such an ass.” Obviously sensing what was truly happening across the flames, Finley finally spoke.
Jude stood and looked over at his sister. “I’m sorry, Fin, but I’ve got to talk to her.”
She sighed. “Yeah, I know. Just go.”
Jude walked around the pit and lowered his hand in front of me. It took me all of a second to decide to place my hand in his. He pulled me from the chair, and I half-stumbled behind him as he yanked me along to the dimly lit pool area. Once out of view of the others, he hauled me against his hard body.
“You’re wet,” I said.
“You don’t know the half of it, Valley.” He dragged me behind him once again, and we entered the pool house.
The flickering light from the fire created dancing shadows in the dark room.
He held me in his arms, and his cold, wet skin seemed to warm instantly. I pressed my face against his chest, and his hand came up and held my head tightly against him. “You know why I couldn’t paint you, Eden.”
“I have an idea,” I said quietly
“Since I first met you, I’ve memorized every inch of you, the slope of your neck, the curve of your breasts, the sultry pout of your bottom lip, and all I could think was that I wanted to put it all on canvas.”
I lifted my face and peered up at him. He drew his fingers down the side of my face.
He laughed quietly. “I thought I could handle it, and I was doing pretty well until I sat across from you and looked up at you from my canvas. It all fell to pieces then, and I knew I’d been fooling myself. To have you sit a few feet away and only touch you with my eyes was too much to bear.”
He pushed my face up with the tip of his thumb. His hungry gaze floated down to my lips. “And now that I’m holding you,” his voice was low and jagged, “it is once again, too much to bear. I want every inch of you Eden.” He lowered his mouth to mine, and it hovered so near, I could feel his warm breath on my skin. “Starting with these incredible lips.” The space between us vanished and his mouth found mine. His kiss started gently, but as each second passed, a sense of urgency consumed both of us. His tongue traced my lips and then his kiss deepened and I pressed my body hard against his. A deep groan came from his throat as his hands trailed down my back and slipped beneath my shirt. He caressed the skin on my back and my hands encircled his neck to pull his mouth even closer to mine. I could not get near enough to him, and he held me so tightly that his grasp along with the intoxicating kiss left me breathless and lightheaded.
He lifted his face and stared down at me with a flood of passion that would have scared me if it had not been Jude.
His hands came up between us, and he deftly unbuttoned my shirt. Then his long, rough fingers slid between the open sides of my blouse and parted it. “There’s that damn bra again.” He leaned down and tugged down the top of my bra, exposing my naked breast to his mouth. His tongue traced circles around it and I pushed harder against his mouth. “Shit, Valley, do you know what you do to me?” he mumbled against my bare skin.
My thigh pressed between his legs and I laughed softly. “I have an idea, yeah.”
He lifted his face and grinned wickedly before continuing his trail of kisses down my neck. Heat swirled through my body and tugged at me with a need that I knew only he could satisfy. I’d been with other guys before, but none of them had ever elicited such a profound physical reaction as this. I felt completely out of control, and I loved every second of it.
We were lost in each other’s touch and scent when an urgent knock rattled the door of the pool house.
“Jude!” Cole called through the door.
Jude sighed loudly and pressed his forehead against mine. “If you want to live, Cole, go away.” His fingers traced the tops of my breasts.
“It’s Finley,” Cole said through the crack in the door.
We separated as if someone had thrown a bucket of ice water on us. Jude raced to the door, and I followed closely at his heels. He opened the door.
Even in the dim light it was easy to see that Cole looked upset.