“Sunset?” Tessa repeats.
“Childhood nickname. He compared me to a sunset,” I tell them, memories of that crazy night filling my head. “He said I was fiery and glowing and breathtaking.”
By the time I finish the explanation, I’m blushing a little. Not because the story is embarrassing—I still think it’s one of the sweetest compliments I’ve ever gotten—but because they’ve got that “we’ve just seen an alien” look on their faces again. I stand and lean over and give each of them, even Abby, a quick hug good-bye and thank Carla profusely for hosting. Jude reaches for my hand again as I climb the stairs, and he leads me through the house. I can hear the boys yelling at each other upstairs in what I’m assuming is the man cave.
“I should say good-bye to Duncan and thank him.”
“I did it for both of us, it’s fine,” Jude says. His tone is flat and a little clipped, and I wonder if he’s in a bad mood suddenly, and if he is, why? As we walk down the steps to the sidewalk he slows his pace a little bit, and his grip on my hand gets looser. His thumb starts doing that circle thing again but this time on the heel of my hand. “So how was your time with the girls?”
“Good. I mean, how crazy is it that I know Tessa and Carla?” I reply as we make our way down the hill to his car. He just smiles. “But I will say, it was a bit of a grilling session after you left. And not the kind that requires a barbeque.”
He steps in front of me and turns to face me, stopping us both even though we’re nowhere near the car. His blue eyes are dark, murky, and his expression is defiant. “They’re not my biggest fans.”
“I was starting to catch that, but why?”
His eyes shift past me, over my head, probably looking out at the water visible at the bottom of the street. He takes a deep breath and exhales quickly and with force, and then he looks down at me. “I don’t bring girls like you around to things like this.”
“Girls like me?”
“Girls who…” He’s searching for a word and finally says, “Girls who know me.”
“So you bring strangers to friends’ parties?” I ask, trying to give the moment some levity because it feels oddly dark. “Like homeless people off the street?”
He smirks that bad-boy smirk. “I don’t usually bring anyone to parties, but I sometimes leave with someone if it’s a big event and there’s a girl there that isn’t taken or I haven’t already fucked.”
Fucked. The word startles me. Adam would never use such a visceral word. But damn if it doesn’t send a little shiver of desire skittering down my spine.
Jude looks at the horizon again and then back at me. “I play a game for a living, and I’m incredible at it. That means I not only love competition, I excel at it. I like the hunt-and-chase part of relationships. I’m great at it, but not everybody appreciates the dedication I bring to that aspect of relationships.”
“You’ve had a few one-night stands.” I shrug, and his blue eyes land on mine. I laugh. “Okay, so you’ve had a lot. Do you remember who you’re talking to, Jude? Hooking up was my only extracurricular activity in high school. I’m not going to judge you for that, even if they do. You didn’t judge me.”
He reaches up and wraps a hand around the base of my neck. It’s gentle but primal at the same time, and for a quick, fevered second I wish he’d kiss me. But instead he says, “I loved that you were experienced, because I didn’t know what the fuck I was doing.”
I laugh and blush. He leans forward and presses his lips to my forehead in a small kiss and then, lips still brushing my skin, he says, “I wanted you to teach me everything you knew. Take me and my virginity and make me a man. I wanted it from the second I laid eyes on you.”
“You laid eyes on me at barely fifteen.”
“Yeah. So? I know what I want as soon as I see it. I always have.” Jude dips his head so we’re eye to eye and grins devilishly. “And you, Zoey Quinlin, are something I want.”
He’s using present tense, not past. That shiver, like a quake of electricity, runs down my spine again. And then he says something that sends reality, like a bucket of ice water, crashing down over my heated skin. “Let’s get you home.”
Home. I can’t bring him there. Ugh. “Just drop me back off at the office. I’ll find my way from there.”
“Is your car there?”
“Yeah. And I don’t want to leave it overnight.”
He nods, and I’m relieved that he’s okay with that answer. Until we’re a block from my office and he starts to drive more slowly and says, “Where is your parking lot? Is it behind the building?”
“Umm…yeah, but I didn’t park there.”
“Oh. Okay, so where’d you park?”
Shoot. He’s going to be all gallant and take me to my actual car. I underestimated his chivalry. I point to the front of my office. “I actually have to run inside and grab some paperwork and stuff. So just drop me here.”
He pulls to the curb in front of my office, but as I reach to undo my seat belt and escape, he turns the car off. I blink. “What are you doing?”
“It’s late, Zoey. I’m going to wait for you and make sure you get to your car okay,” he offers and, damn, this would be so attractive if I weren’t lying my ass off.
