“The gayest in town,” the bartender answered, sliding two coasters in front of Jude and me. “Who’s your friend, Jude?” Standing on the other side of the light oak bar was the most stereotypical cowboy I’d ever seen. And that was saying a lot for someone from Texas. He had to be six and a half feet tall with at least two or three days’ worth of scruff dusting his jaw. The black cowboy hat on top of his head was angled back just enough to reveal his dark brown eyes and bright white smile. And as much as I appreciated looking at him, I hated the jealousy flaring in my chest when he scanned Jude as if he belonged to him.
Casually draping an arm around my shoulders, Jude answered Mr. Bartender, “Micah’s an old friend.”
“Well, then Old Friend Micah, nice to meet you. I’m Heath.” He tipped his hat at me and nodded a greeting. “What can I get you?”
“Beer’s good,” I answered, missing the feel of Jude’s arm on my body.
Heath and Jude exchanged a look, leaving me clear out of the equation. Jude held up two fingers, and Heath responded, “Two, coming up.”
A group of people walked up to the bar after Heath gave us our beers. I was more than thankful for his distraction because I knew it wouldn’t have taken me much longer to say something I’d regret in front of him. “Get a table?” I asked, hoping Jude wouldn’t pick up on my discomfort at the bar.
He laughed.
So much for that.
“Sure,” he answered, tipping his head over to an open table next to a pool table. “Whatever you want.”
Oh, how he’d eat those words later.
An easy and comfortable air surrounded him as he slid into his seat. “So you never answered me before,” he drawled, his lips perched on the edge of his frosty mug.
“You seriously want to know how long it took me to learn how to jerk off with my left hand?” My words were a mixture of laughter and mock offense.
“Well, yeah. I mean anything about you jerking off would be welcomed news.” He took a long swallow of his drink, and I couldn’t think of anything other than how his throat looked when he swallowed me earlier. “But, on a more serious note,” he added, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand, “you were a righty. So, what was it like having to relearn the basics?”
I laughed. Apparently, jerking off was abasic.“It wasn’t too terrible. I mean once I got my prosthetic, I was able to learn how to use that to do a lot of the regular stuff.” Taking stock of everything, I realized I wasn’t nearly as uncomfortable talking about this as I thought I would be. So I continued, saying, “Writing was the real bitch. Still is. Simon writes a hell of a lot better than I do.”
Jude leaned forward, obviously interested in soaking up any little detail I was willing to offer him. With a carefree smile on his face, he asked, “Who’s Simon?”
“What?” I choked on my drink, not realizing I’d slipped so easily.
“Simon. Who is he? Another solider?”
More than thankful for the explanation Jude offered up, I went with it, telling myself the little white lie would be much easier to deal with than explaining my son to him right now. “Yeah. A friend from rehab.” Needing to occupy my mouth with something other than talking, I took another sip of my drink before angling my head toward the pool table. “You up for a game?”
Taking the bait, Jude’s competitive streak came out, guns blazing. “Oh, it’s on,” he jeered like a teenager. “Care to make it interesting?” His voice was like silk, wrapping around me as his words, seductive as sin, tumbled easily from his mouth.
Grabbing the triangle from the wall, I racked the game, trying to pretend as if my attention was focused solely on stacking the balls and not at all on how his ass was showcased perfectly in his tight-in-all-the-right-places jeans. “What did you have in mind?”
Jude handed me a cue and then chalked the tip of his. Pursing his lips together, he blew the excess dust off. He was mesmerizing, and he fucking knew it. “Winner gets to pick.”
“What?” With my brain in a haze of lust and desire, I had no clue what the hell he was talking about. He stepped closer to me before easily sliding behind me. Capturing my body between his and the wooden edge of the pool table, I felt his half-hard cock press up against my ass.
“Top or bottom,” he whispered in my ear, before nipping at my neck. “You game?” he asked, pressing into me even more. I’d never wanted someone to bend me over and do what they wanted to me more than I did right then. In that moment, we were the only two people in the room.
Until we weren’t.
My brain returned to my normal capacity as a waiter delivered another two beers to our table, winking at us as if what we were doing was par for the course around here. Letting that thought settle for a second, I did something I never would have done anywhere else.
Or with anyoneelse for that matter.
I pushed back against Jude, loving the feel of him pressing into my body. Spinning in the tight circle he’d created for me, I cupped his jaw with my hand, grazing my fingers over his unshaven jaw. “I’m game for anything with you,” I muttered before capturing his lips with mine.
And the world didn’t come crashing down. Couples continued to dance. People ordered drinks. A group continued their game at the pool table next to us. They all carried on, and no one paid us any attention.
And it felt fucking amazing.
So I kept kissing him, letting my tongue dance in his mouth as if it was seeking a partner it never thought it would find. It was only when Jude reached out for my right shoulder that I needed to end the kiss.
