Within These Walls (Within These Walls #1)(33)

Without a second thought, I grabbed the nape of her neck and pulled her body to mine before fusing our mouths together. She gasped in surprise, pulling back slightly, but then she surrendered, melting into me completely. My hands tightened around her waist as I deepened our kiss. I knew this had to be her first kiss, and I intended to make sure it was well worth the wait.

A new war raged inside of me. My hands wanted to feel every inch of her skin, trace every line of her body, and lay her back on the bed to devour her. My fingers shook as I steadied myself.

She’s innocent in every way.

Dr. Marcus’s words came back to me like a bucket of cold water on a hot summer day, and I stilled. I needed to be the man she deserved even if I never lived up to it. Being pawed and felt up in a hospital room wasn’t the way she needed to remember tonight.

With my breath coming out in heavy puffs, I touched my lips to hers, letting myself taste heaven one last time. I pulled back slightly while reaching up to run my hands through her silky strands. She watched me with wide, curious eyes, and I smiled.

“Did I just knock another one of those numbers off your list?”

Pink stained her cheeks, and she nodded. “What was that, Jude?”

I raised my eyebrow in amusement. “That was a kiss. Did I not do it right? Because I’d be happy to try again.”

“No!” she yelped. “I mean, yes! Crap!”

A sly smirk spread across my face. “It’s okay, Lailah. Breathe.”

Her eyes fluttered closed, and she took a deep breath, letting it slowly fill her chest. I couldn’t stop myself. I leaned down and briefly touched my lips to hers.

“Everything needs a beginning,” I said, lifting my eyes to hers. “This is ours.”

“But I’m leaving.”

“Yes, and I will miss seeing your beautiful face here, but I don’t live here.”

Something must have clicked just then because a goofy grin slowly spread across her face, and she blushed again.

“You don’t even know where I live. Oh God! You’ll have to meet my mom!”

The angry blonde I’d seen in the hall with Marcus suddenly flashed through my mind, and honestly, the thought of meeting her was a little frightening.

Lailah laughed, the sound of amusement echoing each note. “You’re nervous!”

“Maybe a little, but I’ll be okay,” I assured her.

She gave me a doubtful look, but I wrapped my arms tighter around her waist and squeezed with assurance.

“Besides, we’ll have to figure it out if we want to start working on that list of yours. I think a trip to the ocean is in order.”

Her eyes lit up at the idea. I couldn’t wait to get my hands on that list and start crossing out each and every one of those one-hundred-and-forty-three mysterious adventures.

“So, what do we do now?” She nervously bit her bottom lip.

I leaned in close, millimeters from her lips. She sucked in a breath, and her eyes widened in anticipation. A grin I couldn’t stop swept across my face as I placed a chaste kiss on her cheek before taking a step back.

“I’m going to go try to explain my extremely long absence from my duties to my supervisor,” I said.

A faint blush appeared on her cheeks.

“And then I will need to play a little catch-up. I’ll take my lunch break in a while, though and sneak back in here. It is your last night, and I do have a duty to deliver your dessert.”

“Yes, you do,” she answered.

I took a step back toward the door, keeping my eyes trained on her, until my outstretched hand felt the cool metal of the door handle. I turned to make my exit, still smiling like a fool.

Then, she called out, “Jude?”

“Yeah?” I answered, whipping back around.

“Just bring one pudding tonight. We’ll share again,” she shyly suggested, red blotches staining her already pink cheeks.

“You got it.”

God bless the creator of pudding.

“Tell me something about you, something I don’t know,” I said.

We were leaning back against her pillow, sharing the single pudding cup I’d brought, as requested.

I’d raced through the rest of my duties, making sure I had everything ticked off and accounted for before going to lunch. I hadn’t wanted to be negligent, but I also hadn’t wanted Lailah to wait up until after midnight for me. I’d clocked out and grabbed a quick sandwich and a cup of pudding from the cafeteria before racing back upstairs and wolfing down my sandwich almost whole. If the nurses had noticed me visiting Lailah’s room more than needed, no one said anything. I wondered if that was Dr. Marcus’s doing.

When I’d slipped back in here, I hadn’t bothered with the chair or the end of the bed this time. I needed to be near her. Side by side with our legs entwined, we shared one spoon and started a game of twenty questions.

“Um…what do you want to know?” she asked, dipping the spoon into the creamy, dark dessert.

“Anything.”

She thought about it for a moment and finally answered, “Ever since I was young, I’ve always wanted a sibling. I didn’t really care if it was a brother or sister. I just wanted to spend time with someone my age. I guess that comes from being alone all the time,” she said. “Do you have any siblings?”