“I’m close.” Jude groaned, and my body tensed at his words, orgasm lurking just out of reach.
“Do it.” I growled the order.
“Want you to go too.” Jude sounded strained at the effort of holding back.
“I will.” I reached up to cup his face, beard tickling my fingers. “Promise.”
“Gonna hold you to that.” Jude’s eyes fluttered shut as he moved faster and faster.
“Go hard,” I urged, moving my hands to his back, pulling him more firmly against me, matching each of his thrusts untilwe were both coming on near-simultaneous shouts. For the first time, my orgasm didn’t feel solely my own. Rather, it was shared in a way I hadn’t known was possible, energy ricocheting between us, his shudders feeling like mine and mine like his.
“Damn. Jude.” My voice was rough, pleasure continuing to course through me.
Collapsing against me, Jude chuckled as he rested his head near mine. “Well, that was talented.”
“Guess we tied,” I teased.
“We did.” Grinning, Jude kissed the side of my head before turning more serious. “I want to do this again.”
“Now?” I raised an eyebrow at him. He’d proven last night that he could inspire a fast turnaround time from me, but even I had limits.
“Not now. When we’re back.” He stroked a hand down my sweaty side. “I don’t want this to be a one-time thing.”
“It’s not.” I made my tone as certain as I could. The last thing he needed was both of us doubting.
“Good.” He pressed a fast kiss to my lips. “Not sure exactly how it will work out?—”
“Overthinking again.” I pulled him back for a longer kiss.
“Possibly.”
“Probably.” I gave an exaggerated yawn, wanting to linger in the good feelings and closeness, not worry about the future. “Nap now. Worry later.”
“I suppose that’s not a bad plan.” Jude joined me in yawning.
“Trust me.” I kissed his sleepy mouth. That was all I wanted. Him to trust me. Trust me to want this. Trust me to stick around. Trust me not to ruin our friendship. Trust me not to hurt him. A wave of protectiveness washed over me as I drifted closer to sleep. I wanted to earn his trust and keep it safe.
Chapter Sixteen
Jude
“Come on.”I drummed my fingers against my steering wheel, waiting for a tractor to mosey on down the road. I was on my way to Second Chance Ranch, and my patience felt as thin as the lining on my stomach. I’d been slightly queasy ever since my return trip with Carson.
In fact, merely thinking about Carson was enough to make my insides wobble and my attention drift from the slow-moving tractor to how in the hell I was supposed to make this thing between us work.
No clue.Today was the Thursday after our Sunday return, and I’d spent the week counting down to and dreading today’s appointment at the ranch in equal measure.
September loomed, and all the back-to-campus hubbub we’d seen in Fort Collins had transformed into the start of the school year for the younger crowd too. Rodeo and town festival season was winding down, as was breeding season for horses. The cattle season was also largely over, giving me a lull before winter calving started and horse fertility consults picked back up. My work followed a fairly predictable pattern of peak months, and I should have welcomed the slower pace of September.
Instead, a weird restlessness had settled over me. Carson and I had texted all week, but neither of us had suggested meeting up. It was nice, however, to have someone ask how my day was. In keeping with his dry sense of humor, Carson proved adept at communicating via horse and military joke memes.
Today, though, I was determined to push beyond the weirdness and invite him to dinner tomorrow. I’d already bought steaks in anticipation of grilling. And him saying yes. Mainly that. I missed my usual confidence and wanted it back.
Finally, the tractor turned onto a private road leading to some fields, and traffic picked up to a normal pace. Luckily, this was my last call of the day as well, so time was less of a factor. At the ranch, Kat greeted me with no Carson in sight. I couldn’t make my eagerness too obvious, so I forced myself to focus on the couple of early horse pregnancies we were monitoring.
I fetched my portable ultrasound device so we could confirm each mare had only one foal growing inside her. Twins sounded all cute until one understood how deadly they could be to mares and foals, and I always held my breath during early ultrasounds. These mares wouldn’t be due until next spring, but careful monitoring now meant fewer complications later.
As we finished up with the last of the mares, Kat rolled her shoulders, long braid bouncing, as relieved as I was that none of the pregnancies were twins.
