I fell forward onto Jude's chest as a wave of spasms moved through my body and had me panting out an unintelligible series ofplease yes more now. Shooting stars flared behind my eyes and everything inside me seemed to unravel. He shifted to band his arms around my back, holding me steady as I shattered.
"Good?" He went right on hammering into me, working every gloriously sated ounce of me while I sprawled across his chest like a well-fucked starfish.
"Good," I mumbled. A moment later, I felt the roar building in his chest before I heard it.
In a distant, foggy sense, I was aware that Jude was speaking to me. Growling, perhaps. I knew he'd wrapped his arms around my torso and held me tight as he came though I couldn't focus on anything beyond the wonderful pulsing heat in my core.
It was so much.So very much.And he must've known I couldn't bear this, not all of it at once, because Jude rolled us to the side and tucked a pillow under my head. He stroked my back as I shook and gasped. It took a few minutes to fully catch my breath but when I did, I realized he was still inside me. My thighs and abdomen were drenched in our orgasms. He was a mess too, if we were taking stock.
"Wow," I whispered, touching a finger to my lips. All of a sudden I was exhausted. I could fall asleep right here and I wouldn't stir once.
"Yeah, I'd say so." He rubbed my nape and shoulders, I wanted to cry at how good it felt. "You're cold," he said.
"Not really." It would've been believable if the air conditioning hadn't clicked on at that moment and sent a shiver down my spine.
Jude kissed my forehead. "I can't reach the blankets unless I pull out."
"And you don't want to do that?"
He stared at me for a beat. "I don't want this to end."
I kissed the corner of his mouth. "What if we press pause for a minute? I can go to the bathroom, you can grab the blankets and get us some water. Then we'll come back and start again."
He tucked some hair over my ear. "You want that?"
"Yeah." Another shiver shook through me. "Think we can do that?"
It took a second but the corner of his mouth kicked up in a grin. He slapped my backside, saying, "Hurry up, Saunders. I'll be waiting for you."
Once I'd peed and cleaned up as much as possible, and the bedding was straightened, we slipped back under the covers. I nestled into his chest, my head under his chin and our legs twined together. He drew circles down my side and kissed my temple and forehead over and over.
I didn't let myself think much of it before asking, "Did you know I was at Pepperdine when you transferred to Caltech?"
"Yeah." He said this like it was more than obvious.
"Why didn't you tell me? We could've—I don't know—talked. Or something. You should've told me."
He leaned back to meet my eyes. He peered at me, his brows bunched tight like he didn't understand the question. Then, "I couldn't do that because of the restraining order, Audrey."
chapter thirty-seven
Jude
Today's vocabulary word: recital
She hadn't known.
That much was clear by the way she scrambled away from me and out of bed, threw on a short, silky robe (inside out), and paced the length of the room while muttering, "Oh my god. Ohmy god."
One mystery solved.
My working theory had been that she was coerced into it. Her father was the heavy-handed type. I'd lost count of the number of times I was pulled over by his state troopers back in high school. Whether I was searched, warned, or ticketed for some alleged violation, it made clear that AG Saunders enjoyed some light abuse of power.
But I'd always assumed she knew. Even if she'd been dragged along, she'd been aware.
"That's not how it was supposed to go," she went on, still beating a track in the carpet.
"How was it supposed to go?" I stepped into my boxers. This conversation seemed like one that required a layer of clothing.
