Page 62 of Jude

She was the woman I was supposed to want. The one who held my past.

Truth was, I hadn’t touched a woman in months.

I’d locked that part of myself away in dry dock, but having Sofia in my space tore the doors right off the hinges.

The worst part? My sex life before tonight, even with Abby, didn’t come close to this absolute firestorm.

With other women, fucking was routine.

A mutual exchange, a checklist, a quiet turn to opposite sides of the mattress when it was over.

Sofia brought zero masks to the sheets. She tore through my armor with a raw, electric confidence that left me completely exposed.

When I looked down at her face right after the high dropped, her eyes said it all.

Pure shock and raw emotion.

She hadn’t seen that tidal wave coming any more than I had.

So why was my stomach in knots?

What the hell was wrong with me?

She was my legal wife. She begged for it. She met me blow for blow, line for line, surrendered to the heat.

I couldn’t even lie to myself and pretend she hadn’t turned me into an inferno with her sound, her heat, the way she took every inch of me.

She put a fever in my blood that made me feel fucking invincible, and that kind of power terrified me.

She had the keys to my control, and I was in deep shit.

I gritted my teeth, making a cold, binding vow to myself right then and there: tonight was a one-time only.

She wasn’t my future. She was a vulnerable woman under my protection.

That was all I would allow her to be.

Chapter 14

SOFIA

The rich aroma of coffee filled the kitchen at seven the next morning.

I stood at the marble island, shaping dough into balls, stuffing the centers with salsiccia and melted mozzarella, then sizzling them in a cast-iron skillet.

The pantry larder yielded everything I needed, and my respect for Nari’s shopping skills grew with every treasure I uncovered.

As I cooked, I tamped down my panic at seeing Jude for the first time since our lovemaking last night.

What we’d shared was savage, my body still jolting at the memory of it.

I never expected our connection to be a wildfire.

However, his post sex reticence twisted my insides, and now, embarrassed, insecure, and shy, I fought the urge to run.

I had nowhere to go.

I had to stay put and fake a brave face, so I channeled my nervous energy into prepping breakfast.