Page 174 of Jude

We spent the rest of the day wandering the harbourside.

We ate oysters and drank white wine at the Opera House bar, after which we joined Jude and the band for another show.

My final day in Australia arrived with a bittersweet ache.

I woke up at dawn, the first amber rays of the southern sun striking the steel beams of the Harbor Bridge outside our glass-walled suite.

Kissing Jude’s shoulders, as he lay face down in bed, I untangled myself from him, hit the shower, and dressed.

Back in the bedroom, I found him awake, resting high on the pillows, one arm flung back, the other beckoning to me.

‘Morning babe,’ he growled as I tracked to him.

We kissed long and slow before I tore myself away. ‘Got to pack.’

Jude groaned in disappointment.

His green eyes were intense on me as I pulled my clothes from the hangers and folded them into my suitcase.

My heart twisted, unwilling to think about the fact that I had to board a 15-hour flight back to the States, while he remained on the road for another 6 weeks.

He was ordering breakfast when I crawled across the duvet, slid my arms around his waist, and buried my face in the crook of his neck.

‘I hate this part,’ I whispered, stroking his dark hair. ‘I can’t stand saying goodbye, tesoro.’

‘Me too, babe,’ he rasped, his muscled embrace wrapping me. ‘However, this is the last extended tour stretch for a while. I swear it to you.’

He shifted, pinning me beneath him as his thumbs traced my jawline, tilting my face upward.

He gave me a slow, deep kiss, his firm lips melding to mine.

I whimpered with need.

Damn, there was something about his love that made me weak and knocked me off my feet.

We kissed until a knock at the door pulled us apart.

‘It’s our breakfast,’ Jude murmured, stroking my cheek.

‘Forget it, we don’t need food,’ I groused.

That’s when he shook his head. ‘No, babe, got to eat before your flight.’

‘You’re speaking way too much sense right now,’ I moaned as he slid out of bed.

I tracked his fine ass as he found a robe and strode to the door to let the server in with our food.

We ate, then Jude showered, and later he drove a rental SUV through the morning traffic toward Sydney Kingsford Smith Airport, his hand holding mine the entire way.

When he pulled into the international departures lane, I sighed. ‘I want to tear up my ticket and stay.’

‘Then stick around,’ he rasped, giving me a side glance and a wink.

I couldn’t, and we both knew that.

Work, a mini renovation, and settling into our new home awaited me on the other end.

We stepped out onto the curb amid the rushing travelers, beeping taxi horns, and the roar of transit buses.