Fool For You (Made for Love Book 4) (25 page)

“I’m a busy man. I don’t have the luxury of sleeping the morning away.”

“Ah, yes,” she hums as she stands, making her way toward me. “I, on the other hand, need the rest. I’m going home to crash,” she says, as if her leaving is her idea. I let her think that, content to bid her farewell. “See you around, big guy.” She lifts up onto her tip toes, reaching for a kiss. I press my lips to the corner of her mouth before I tell her goodbye. I watch her as she leaves my bedroom, listening as I hear the front door open and close; then I head back to the bathroom to finish getting ready for the day.

I put my car in park as I watch a woman exit Judah’s house. My stomach drops as I stare at her in complete and utter disbelief. Even all wrinkly, she makes the walk of shame look like a damn runway show. All the air in my lungs rushes out in a huff as I force myself to stop gawking while she backs out of Jude’s driveway. Then, for the next five minutes, I wonder why I came all the way over here. I think about dropping his clothes on his doorstep and going back home, but then a spark of indignation ignites within me. I came here for answers, and I will see my mission through, no matter what the outcome.

I march my way to his front door and ring the doorbell. When he doesn’t answer right away, I ring it again—
twice
. Then he’s there—
here
—filling the doorway. He’s so incredibly gorgeous that I forget to breathe for a second. He appears to have just gotten out of the shower, his hair still damp, his chest bare, and the top button of his pants undone, revealing the waistband of his boxer briefs. Given who just left, and his current lack of clothing, I’m going to wager a guess that he was expecting a sexy blonde—
not
me.

“What are you doing here?” he asks, narrowing his eyes on me.

My heart drops, my indignation from a moment ago hanging on by a
thread
. I open my mouth to speak, but then I realize I have no idea what to say. None of the scenarios I played out in my head on the way over here involved another woman leaving in last night’s clothes. So, without a word, I thrust his belongings at his bare chest. He grabs them as I begin to pull away, his fingers brushing over mine. The touch of his skin makes my whole hand tingle, and my anger disappears, leaving only my humiliation and hurt feelings.

“How could you?” I blurt out.

“It’s really quite simple, Teddy. I changed my mind.”

I blow out a sigh, tears welling up in my eyes. I’m both surprised and confused by his cold response. “But I—I don’t understand. Why? What happened? What did I do?”

“You played me for a fool—and I am
no one’s
fool.”

“What are you
talking
about?” I ask, growing exasperated with his vague responses.

He tosses his clothes behind him as he takes a step toward me, forcing me to crane my neck to look up at him. “Seven days. You told me to go
seven days
without having sex
with anyone
. I never pegged you as a slut, Teddy, but I thought the same rules would apply to you.”

I scrunch my face as I try and make sense of what he’s saying. I come up short.

“I haven’t had sex with anyone!”

“Then who was the blonde fuck with his tongue down your throat Thursday night?” I jerk away from him, trying to piece together the last couple of nights in an attempt to figure out what he thinks he knows. He misinterprets my movement and shakes his head at me in obvious distain. “Don’t feed me your lies. I saw you. At The Tap Room.”

I gasp, reaching my hands up to cover my face as it all suddenly becomes perfectly clear. Then I replay his words—
who was the blonde fuck with his tongue down your throat?
I drop my hands and cringe at the thought of making out with Geoff. “His tongue was
definitely
not in my mouth. Ew,” I mutter.

“The fuck?” he spits out with an irritated frown. “I don’t care—that’s not the point.”

“Yes! Yes, it is! The
blonde
you’re referring to? He’s my best friend. That was not a date. He’s not into me, and I’m not into him.”

“You let all your friends kiss you like that?” he asks, his shoulders rising and falling in a defiant shrug.

“
No
. I let all my
gay
friends kiss me like that.”

He backs up a step, as if caught off guard by my response. “What?”

“Yeah. Geoffrey—six-one, blonde hair, blue eyes, built like a Viking—he’s doesn’t have any interest in my vagina. In fact, not that this is any of your concern, but he’s getting over a really hard breakup. So while you were, apparently,
watching
us, making assumptions, he was drinking and helping me flirt with you via text! As for the blonde who just left
your
lovely abode, I doubt she kept you up all night with her
dazzling
conversation.”

I take a deep breath and will myself to calm down. “You know what? That’s none of my business. I came over here to check on you—or to get answers as to why you stood me up last night. Well, now I know.”

I turn to leave, take one step, and then find a little gumption hidden within me. After two restless nights of sleep, I’m running on adrenaline and coffee, and I’m feeling a little unbalanced. I decide to use it to my advantage. I spin back around, pointing a finger at him before I ask, “You know what you are? A coward. You’re so afraid that someone is going to mistreat you that you won’t even give a girl a chance. You could have just asked me, Judah! I would have been honest with you. I’ve never given you anything less than truth.”

You know what you are? A coward.

Her words circle their way around my head as I watch her turn to leave for the second time. She doesn’t get two steps before I lunge after her, snaking my arm around her waist as I lift her from her feet and carry her inside. She gasps, but she doesn’t fight me as I shut us in, spinning her around before I press my body flush against hers, trapping her against the door.

“I’m not a fucking coward,” I declare before crushing my lips against hers.

The sound she makes at my contact goes straight to my dick, sending a message to my entire body that
this
is what I’ve been craving.
She
is who I want.

The kiss only lasts but a couple seconds, just long enough for her to find her fight to push me away. She’s not nearly strong enough to make me move, but I get the hint—her small hands pressed firmly against my bare chest. In this moment, she’s showing me glimpses of her
wild
and I love it. Against my better judgment, all I want is more.

“What are you doing?”

“I’m taking what’s mine.”

“
Excuse me?
What the hell are you talking about?”

“You,” I answer matter-of-factly.

“Are you kidding me? You stood me up last night—or have you recently been diagnosed with amnesia? Do you not recall the blonde who left here not ten minutes ago?”

“She’s not mine,” I reply with a shrug. “Never has been. Never will be.”

“But
I
am?” I nod, appalled at how easy it is for me to tell her as much. “Shit,” she mumbles, pressing her head back against the door as she frowns up at me. “I’m so confused.”

“Nothing to be confused about, Teddy. You’re mine now. End of story.” I kiss her again. This time, I manage to slip my tongue into her mouth before she pushes me away.

“No. Stop! I waited up for you, Jude. I waited—and you were out with
her!
” As she says the words, her eyes fill with tears. Just like a few minutes ago, her glassy stare hits me square in the gut. I’ve made her nervous, I’ve made her anxious, I’ve turned her on, and I’ve ignited her
wild
—but it disturbs me to see her cry, especially knowing it’s my fault.

“Last night was a misunderstanding.”

“A misunderstanding?” she shrieks. “Bullshit, Judah. Let me go.”

“I can’t,” I mutter, cupping my hands around her face.

“What do you mean? You can. You
have!
”

A tear leaks out of the corner of her eye, and I’m quick to wipe it away with my thumb. As I gaze down into her beautiful brown irises, I wonder how it is that I got here? I wonder what it is about her that cripples me? I wonder—but I don’t question. What I know is that when she turned to walk away from me, I couldn’t bare to see her go. I want so much more of her. I’m certainly not going to stand here and promise her forever. I don’t believe in forever. But I know that there’s no way in hell I’m letting another man touch her. Even knowing that
Geoffrey
is no more than her best friend, it doesn’t dull the anger that accompanied seeing him put his lips on her.

She’s meant to be mine. At least for now, as long as I so choose. Her body knows it.
My
body knows it. My head is suddenly aware, and now all that’s left is making sure she understands—she belongs to
me.

“Let’s cut the bullshit. I get what I want when I want it—except for
you
. You’ve got me playing by your rules.”

“You
broke
my rules,” she interrupts.

“I thought you broke them first!” I argue. “I was pissed. Don’t you get it? Last night wasn’t about a quick fuck—it was about
you
.”

She shakes her head at me, reaching up to wrap her hands around my wrists. “I don’t understand what you’re saying.”

“I was jealous,” I admit, the words tumbling from my mouth just as realization strikes. My eyes dance around her face, taking in every delicate detail that I admire, and I know what I’ve spoken is truth. “I don’t get jealous, Teddy. But you—
fuck. You
,” I whisper, touching my forehead against hers. “You make me jealous.”

“So-so what—what does that mean?”

“It means, this just turned into a two-man game. You and me.”

“You and me?” she murmurs in disbelief.

“You. And
me
,” I say once more before my mouth collides with hers. This time, when I pry her lips open with my tongue, rather than resist me, she hesitantly reaches up to wrap her arms around my neck, gently pulling me closer. I let go of her face, circling my arms around her waist as I lift her from her feet, locking her against my chest. She squeezes me tighter, her body proclaiming her surrender—and
victory
is
mine.

Now, so is she.

I can’t make myself pull away. Not this time. Not with his strong arms crushing me against his hard chest, lifting me from off of the ground. He feels so good.
Too
good. My hands are wrapped around his neck, my arms resting on the warm, bare skin of his shoulders, and all I can think about is how much I want to sink my fingers into his fragrant, damp hair.

You and me
.

I can’t say for sure what that means. Everything that’s happened since he’s opened the door is like one confusing jumble of words and
feelings
.

You make me jealous
.

A soft moan slips from my mouth, sliding into his. I shouldn’t be kissing him. I shouldn’t want to wrap my entire body around his. I shouldn’t want him this badly—not after the way he treated me last night; not after watching that bosomy blonde stroll out of here a few minutes ago—but I do. I still want this kiss. I still want to get lost in him. I still want
him
. The man who sends me flowers and has my dry cleaning delivered. The man who cooks me dinner and serves me wine, all the while giving me glimpses of who he is—who he
really
is.