His eyes darken, and the corners of his lips twitch. “Says who?”
“I’mnotyour little woman,” I remind him.
Jude’s expression turns serious again. “I never said you were, love. You’re so much more than that. You’re my sun, moon, and stars. My whole world. You know that.”
“Then show me. Support me.”
He traces his index finger across my jawline. “I do support you, Ray. But I also need you. I can’t hire anyone to take your place in my life. If I make it to the governor’s mansion, it won’t mean shit if you’re not there with me. We’re a team.”
I sigh softly. “I know. I haven’t gotten the details on this job yet, though, so I’m not ready to say no.”
“I understand. As long as you aren’t ready to say yes, either.”
“Not right now,” I concede. “But I’m very interested, and if it’s what I’m hoping, I will want to say yes.”
He looks up at the ceiling for an instant, seeming to summon divine intervention.
“Let’s talk about it in the morning,” he says.
“Uh-huh. After you’ve gotten off a few times and you’re feeling less tense?”
He arches a brow. “I was thinking the same for you, babe.”
“A few times, though?” I give him a mock skeptical look. “You think you can make that happen?”
“Oh, little girl.” His laugh is low and sexy. “I’m gonna make you so sorry you said that.”
He rests his hand on my throat, his thumb stroking my jaw as he kisses me. He’s soft and gentle at first, but when I moan into his mouth, he slides his hand down to my breast and squeezes it as his other arm wraps around my waist, pulling me against him.
His mouth is hot and hungry against mine, like he’s trying to make up for all the kisses we’ve missed giving each other in our time apart.
I force myself to pull away from him, licking my lips as I step back and say, “Too bad we don’t have the ropes.”
“That is a shame, isn’t it?” He steps forward and puts his hands around my hips, his eyes swimming with desire as he looks down at me. “You could use a night tied to the bed with your ass in the air.”
“Maybe next time.” I put my hands on his hard, broad shoulders, squeezing the muscles there.
“Maybe this time.” He nods over at the king-size bed where the red nylon ropes stand out against the white bedspread.
A thousand butterflies flap their wings wildly in my stomach. Just the sight of those ropes makes my body respond. I’m warm all over, and I get even warmer when Jude walks over to the bed and picks up the ropes.
Seeing his big, powerful hands holding the restraints reminds me why I’m so turned on by this game we play. I have to trust him completely to let myself be tied up and left helpless. Before Jude, I never trusted any man that way.
But Jude never disappoints me. He pushes our game to the edge of my comfort zone, but never steps past it.
“I could take a nice, long shower first.” I glance at the bathroom. “Or soak in the tub for an hour or so.”
He shakes his head. “Come here.”
I swallow hard, every nerve in my body dancing with awareness as I slip out of my heels and walk over to him.
When I’m right next to him, he turns me around gently, laying my long, dark hair over one of my shoulders to expose the zipper on the simple black dress I’m wearing.
I don’t just hear the sliding down of the zipper, Ifeelit. Cool air hits my bare skin, dancing down my back as Jude unzips the dress almost to my waist.
Then his warm hand slides over my shoulder as he slips the dress off of me. It pools at my feet, leaving me in nothing but my lacy red bra and panties.
“One of my favorites,” he murmurs, dipping his face to my neck.
