Page 163 of Jude

‘Now you get the real thing, woman. Always. Starting the second we get home.’

Her eyes glittered at my promise.

‘Can’t wait.’

As she cleared out the small space, my jaw tightened as I made a silent vow to myself.

She would never sleep in a confined cage like this again.

We left her Civic in the gravel lot.

‘I’ll let Linda know she can pass it on to someone else,’ Sofia said, tossing the keys onto the front chair. ‘That OK with you?’

I shrugged. ‘It’s your car, woman, do what you want.’

She’d no idea I’d give her the sun, moon and stars if she asked for them.

‘I’ll say my goodbye and settle my bills, too.’

She tracked back inside to have a brief word with the manager, Linda, before returning to settle into the passenger seat of my Ram.

I shut her door and rounded the hood, taking the wheel.

As we drove through the quiet streets of Nashville, we held hands all the way.

On occasion, I brought her hand to my lips for a kiss as we shared long looks so poignant and moving they left my exhalations ragged.

She was back where she belonged, beside me.

When we pulled up to the house, I scooped her into my arms, carrying her upstairs.

‘What’d do you need, babe?’ I asked as I laid her on my bed.

‘A bath, then you.’

I huffed as her husky, sensuous words sent a shot of need through me.

Leading her to the bathroom, I turned the brass taps and filled the porcelain claw-foot tub with scalding water.

I stripped her down, lifting her into the heat before kicking off my own clothes.

I stepped in behind her, hauling her back to my chest and wrapping my hand around the sponge.

‘Let me take care of you, baby,’ I growled into her ear, so fucking gone for her that it made my chest ache.

‘I’d like that, Jude,’ she sighed, her head falling back onto my collarbone.

My hands trembled as I dragged the warm suds over her skin, washing away the grief, the scars, and the hell of those weeks apart.

‘You’re shaking,’ she whispered, turning her face to press a soft kiss on my jaw.

‘I’m out of my mind touching you again, woman,’ I growled, squeezing the sponge over her collarbone. ‘I thought I lost you for good.’

‘I’m right here,’ she murmured, reaching back to tangle her fingers tight in my hair.

I sank my head into her nape, breathing her in, cupping her tits, holding her close, still in awe that she was mine, and she was home.

After drying her with a thick towel, I lifted her into the bedroom, sinking a knee to settle us onto the fresh sheets.