Within These Walls (29 page)

“I didn’t think this would happen,” I admitted.

We came to a stop not too far from where we’d started.

“I never thought I’d have a day like this, a day where I wouldn’t have to think about what others were doing while I was stuck at home.”

“We’ll have a lot more days like this,” he promised, tilting my chin.

He captured my lips. The kiss started sweet and delicate as our mouths brushed lightly against each other. As his fingers found their way into my hair, pulling me closer, while he fisted strands of my blonde waves in his palms, it turned into anything but sweet.

“We need to get off this beach,” I urged, pulling away breathlessly.

“Yes, good idea,” he agreed.

He grabbed me at the knees, and I was tossed up into his arms. We reached the car, and he set me down.

“Where to now?” I asked.

“We’re going home,” he answered, his eyes blazing with fire.

And my belly clenched in anticipation.

We drove several miles and pulled into an older apartment building lined with palm trees and a faded wooden sign. Jude pulled into a marked spot, which I assumed was his, and he shut off the engine.

“Stay here, and I’ll get your door,” he offered before disappearing out the driver’s side.

I heard the trunk pop open, and moments later, he was at my door. I took his hand and stepped out, taking a moment to look around. Even though the building was showing its age, it was well maintained, obviously by a dutiful manager or owner.

Our apartment was similar in style and had much of the same feel. The owner had inherited it from his father and strived to make sure his family’s legacy lived on. He didn’t have much, but he was a loving landlord, and he was always there to help when something had gone wrong. Our appliances weren’t brand-new, and our carpet had a few years of age, but everything worked perfectly. I was fairly certain he was undercharging us as well, which was the reason my mom had stayed for the last fifteen years.

Jude walked us over to a flight of stairs and stopped. “Sorry, second floor, no elevator.”

“It’s okay, Jude. I can manage a few stairs,” I said, taking the first one as I pulled him along.

He followed as we made our way up. A cool breeze from the ocean tickled my neck as our feet found the final step, and he turned to the right to take us along the open hallway. Passing by three or four other doors, we came to a stop, and he fished out a key before opening the door.

I peeked inside, seeing a small love seat and kitchen table, as he dropped my bags on the floor in front of me. I’d just crossed the threshold and heard the door shut when he pushed me against it, and his mouth closed over mine. My gasp of surprise quickly turned into a longing moan as his hand skimmed up my bare thigh.

“You have no idea how long I’ve waited to have you to myself without anyone else around. No distractions,” his husky voice rumbled. “No interruptions.”

My belly tightened, and my legs quivered from hearing him speak. Just his voice alone had me nearly panting. “And now, you have me,” I answered, not believing the bold words that had just escaped my shy, innocent lips.

His lips curved upward as he repeated, “Now, I have you.”

His mouth slammed against mine, and I lost myself in his touch. He pulled my thigh around his waist, fingering the delicate edge of my panties running along the curve of my butt under my shorts. Every nerve ending in my body was on high alert as I felt his touch against my skin. His free hand curved around the back of my head, angling it, as his tongue thrust deeper and harder.

A tiny beeping sound behind my ear startled me like a bucket of cold water, and my eyes flew open. I felt the warmth of Jude’s hand leave my neck, and then he held it in front of him, looking at a watch. Curious, I looked up at him, waiting for an explanation for the beeping.

“Time for lunch and your pills,” he said, pushing a button on the side to turn off the high-pitched noise.

“You set an alarm?” I asked.

“Yep, I have alarms set for each one of your pill times and every meal. I might have put one in there for a once-a-day vitals check.”

“You are pretty serious about this.” I laughed.

“Nothing will ever be more important than taking care of you. Ever,” he said.

Oh…

Well, I couldn’t think up much of a cheeky response to that.

I love you. Will you marry me? Yeah, that would probably be a bit too soon.

“Now, stop distracting me with your womanly ways, and let’s get you fed and medicated.”

He kissed me briefly on the cheek and slapped my butt, which caused me to yelp. Picking up my bags where he’d left them in the middle of the entryway, he started down a hallway, and I followed. There were two doors, which I presumed were the bedroom and bathroom.

He stopped in front of one and turned. “You don’t have to sleep with me. You can take the bed, and I’ll sleep on the floor or the couch. I don’t want to rush you,” he said hesitantly.

I took a step forward and then another until I brushed up against him. My fingers moved around his stomach, up his chest, and to his shoulder where the strap to my bag was resting. Sliding my fingers underneath, I lifted it and placed it on my shoulder.

“I’m sleeping with you.”

“Thank God,” he answered, a relieved breath of air escaping his lungs.

I walked past him, grinning, and entered the bedroom.

Like the few other places of the apartment I’d seen, the bedroom was sparse in its decoration. It fit what I knew of Jude. Alone and lonely for so long, I didn’t expect to walk into something out of a Pottery Barn catalog. His room was neat and tidy with no dirty piles of clothes or trash lying around. His bed was made, and he had a small dresser in the corner.

I set my duffel bag on the dark blue comforter and zipped open the top to pull out the giant Ziploc of pill bottles.

“Old people have nothing on me,” I joked, opening the top to sort through the different bottles.

He settled down on the bed and watched me. “If they keep you here, in my arms, it doesn’t matter.”

I found the three bottles I needed for lunch and turned to face him. His hands moved up my legs as I slid into his lap. I loved the feel of his arms around me.

“That’s all I want,” I said. “To stay in your arms forever.”

His arms tightened, and conviction laced his words as he spoke, “You will, I promise.”

I only hoped he was right.

The alarm on his watch went off two more times throughout the afternoon, and I couldn’t help but laugh at his dedication.

“Did you steal my hospital chart?” I asked when the second alarm went off.

“I didn’t have to steal it,” he scoffed. “I’m a hospital official. I just went in and looked.” A grin spread across his face.

“Well, you’re not going to wear that watch all the time, are you?” I asked, sinking down into his lap on the couch.

“No,” he said softly. “I think I could ditch it at bedtime.”

The tip of his nose skimmed the curve of my neck, making me shiver. My lips parted, and my eyes fluttered closed. His hands closed around my waist and squeezed. Then, he lifted me up onto my feet. I opened my eyes to meet his cocky grin.

“Dinner first,” he said.

My mouth curved into a pout.

He laughed, tapping on his watch. “Okay, okay…stupid watch.”

He grabbed my hand and pulled me in the direction of the kitchen.

“I hope you don’t mind, but I thought we’d do another meal in. We can go out tomorrow, but I’m not ready to share you yet.”

Yes, please.

“Sounds good,” I answered, watching the way his butt moved as he walked ahead of me. I definitely wasn’t ready to share him either.

Could I just hold him hostage in here forever?

“Do you want to help me make dinner?”

“Yes, absolutely. Are we making pizza again?” I asked, grinning.

I remembered him saying he’d had to get directions on how to make it, so I was curious on what he was going to cook up tonight.

“Nope, no pizza. We are making baked chicken, mashed potatoes, and green beans.”

“Did you go to chef school while I was in the hospital?” I asked, sitting down on a stool he’d placed in the kitchen for me.

After pulling several things out of the fridge, he turned to me. “Asking you to stay with me wasn’t a rash decision. I’d been planning it, hoping, and praying for it. I knew you’d get out of that hospital one day, and I hoped that when you did, you’d come home with me, so I wanted to be prepared,” he admitted.

“You learned how to cook for me?”

“I just did some Internet browsing. It wasn’t that hard. I looked up basic recipes, bought groceries for a change, and tried a few things.”

I stood up, took the things he had in his hands, and set them down on the small counter. “You learned how to cook for me.”

“Yeah, I guess I kind of did.” He smiled.

“I don’t know what to do with that,” I said in bewilderment.

“Help me.” He laughed.

“You got it!”

He made me sit the entire time, but I managed to help wash potatoes and chop them up. Once again, we made a good team, working in tandem as we talked and laughed. A day hadn’t gone by where I didn’t learn something new about him, and vice versa. Every little new thing I’d learned was like falling in love with him all over again.

Dinner was fantastic, and I thought even Jude was pleasantly surprised. I offered to help clean up, and he adamantly turned me down. He picked me up and settled me onto the couch to rest. I watched TV until I heard the dishwasher start running, and then I felt his fingers slide up my legs.

“Do you want to watch a movie?” he asked.

“No,” I answered, shutting the TV off.

I placed the remote on the floor and gently moved my feet before coming up onto my knees. I crawled over to where he was sitting. He silently watched as I moved over him. I slowly straddled his waist while his hands found my bare skin.

“Are you sure, Lailah?” he asked, his voice heavy with emotion.

“Yes.”

The second the word was spoken, his mouth came down on mine—devouring, licking, and tasting me. With his hand around my waist, he stood, and I coiled my legs around him. Our kissing briefly faltered as he stopped along the way to his bedroom to press me against the hallway wall to remove his shirt.

After he stumbled us into the bedroom, he placed me down on the bed. It was the first time I’d seen him completely shirtless, and I took it all in. The dark scrolling pattern going up his forearm continued over his massive bicep and went around his shoulder. I wanted to trace it with my fingers and lick it with my tongue.

“You need to stop looking at me like that,” he warned, his expression hooded.

“Like what?”

“Like you want to eat me.”

“I kind of do,” I admitted, my hands snaking up his chiseled torso.

“Jesus, Lailah,” he growled as he hovered above me on his knees. “You’re going to kill me.”

Fingers danced along the edge of my shirt, lifting it slightly, and he bent down to kiss the exposed skin. His hands slid underneath the fabric and skimmed up the sides of my body with the shirt. I helped, lifting slightly, so he could remove it the rest of the way.

“I need to see all of you,” he said as his eyes hungrily took in my simple cotton bra.

There was no staring at the large red scar running down my chest before disappearing into my bra. There were no gasps or dodgy eyes. He looked at me like I was a woman. I wasn’t broken and weak in his eyes. I was beautiful, sexy, and sensual.

He removed my shorts, sliding them down my legs, as he placed greedy kisses along my thighs and calves. His eyes wandered up my body, and he watched me as I reached behind and unhooked my bra.

“You’re exquisite,” he whispered. Leaning forward, he ran his hands over my thighs, teasing the sensitive flesh, then over my hip bones, and across my rib cage until he was palming my breasts. When he pinched my nipple, I moaned, squeezing my thighs together to prolong the pleasure.

He gave me a wicked grin, hooking his fingers into the waistband of my panties, and he slowly dragged them down, removing the last piece of clothing from my body. They fell onto the floor, and his hands drew a lazy path up the inside of my thighs, parting my legs, so he could move in between.