Within These Walls (Within These Walls #1)(69)

“I love you,” I moaned.

His head fell, and he kissed my neck as he pushed my knee forward. It changed the pleasurable feeling to intense, smoking-hot bliss. I cried out, gripping his shoulders, as he began to thrust slow and deep into me.

His body was magnificent, even more so when it was making love to me. He moved with grace and raw masculine power. Every thrust was exotic and thrilling to watch. I ran my hands everywhere—over the curves of his butt, the deep V of his hips, and around the wide expanse of his shoulders.

His mouth returned to mine, his tongue moving in the same rhythm as his body. A hand snaked between us and went to the sensitive spot between my thighs, pressing down, as he moved against me. Every time he slammed into my willing body, his thumb hit my throbbing clit.

“Oh God, I’m going to…” I cried, feeling everything in my body tighten.

He moved faster, harder, and our bodies began slapping together in a fast-paced tempo. I climaxed, and my body tightened around Jude just as I felt him go rigid above me. Groaning, he kissed me furiously.

Some time later, he got up and went into the bathroom to get rid of the condom. When he returned, he collapsed onto the bed and tucked me into his side. I wrapped my legs around his and kissed his chest. We cuddled while talking, laughing, and kissing into the late hours.

“I want to take you somewhere tomorrow,” he said.

I started to feel sleep taking me under.

“Okay,” I answered with a yawn.

His fingers gently stroked my hair, and his warm lips on my forehead were the last things I remembered before I fell asleep.

Twenty-four: Time to Say Good-Bye—Jude

SLEEP HAD NEVER come easily to me in this place. Ever since the night I had rushed into the ER, cuts and bruises scattered across my body as I’d screamed Megan’s name, the ability to drift out of consciousness and find peace had eluded me.

If I was being honest with myself, sleep and I hadn’t been friends for quite a long time before the accident. I couldn’t count the number of sunsets I’d watched blaze into the horizon, morning after morning, as I had counted down the days until graduation. It had felt like doomsday. The clock had been ticking, and freedom would soon be over. Like most of our friends, Megan had been thrilled. After four years, we had almost been done. All our hard work had paid off, and after crossing that stage with a fancy degree in hand, we would be set to go out and tackle the world—together.

Late at night, I would hold her as she slept. I’d watch the way the moonlight hit her dark chestnut hair and the way a small smile formed on her lips as she dreamed. I would watch her, and I’d worry. I’d worry about everything I’d so neatly kept from her over the years. As far as she had known, I was going to work for my dad. It had been what most of our friends were doing as well, so it should have been no big deal. Except, I wouldn’t have been going to work for my dad. I would have been handing my freedom over to him on a silver f**king platter. He’d shown me the status of the company, and we hadn’t been doing well. They had been counting on me to turn things around, and it wouldn’t have happened overnight.

My life had been about to change drastically, and I hadn’t even told her.

Would she have hated me? Would she have resented me for bringing her blind into a situation?

I had planned on telling her everything after our trip to Hawaii, but I’d never gotten the chance.

She’d died, believing our life would have been perfect, and God willing, I would have given everything to make it so.

Am I making the same mistake with Lailah by withholding the truth about Megan’s accident?

As the first light from morning cast its rays through the bedroom window, I looked down at the angel sleeping in my arms. Her long blonde strands fell across her body like a golden silk sheet, and I couldn’t stop myself from bending down to kiss her bare skin.

Her eyes fluttered open, and she smiled.

“Good morning,” she said softly, her voice still groggy from sleep.

“Morning,” I replied. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to wake you.”

“You can wake me like that anytime.” She grinned shyly, stretching her body in an innocent way that looked anything but. Her arms went above her head, which accentuated her bare br**sts and hips. She arched her back and lifted her knees while she let out a small sigh.

“What?” she asked as she curled back into me.

“That was the sexiest thing I think I’ve ever seen.”

“What was? Me stretching?” she asked. “You’re insane.”

Reaching out, I placed my hand on top of hers and guided it across my stomach and down to the apex of my thighs, letting her fingers brush against my sensitive skin under the sheets. When fingertips reached my hard and ready cock, she gasped.

“Does that feel insane to you?” I asked.

I didn’t expect her to answer my question by touching me nor had I anticipated her eager small hands to boldly reach out and grip my shaft.

“Shit!” I cursed through my teeth.

Her hand stilled, and she looked up at me. “Was that wrong? Am I supposed to grip it harder…or softer? I’m sorry. I suck at this, don’t I?”

Her hand was still gripping me, and I was going to pass out soon if she didn’t start moving her palm again.

“You know I love it when you babble. It’s damn cute. So, please don’t get mad at me when I say this, babe,” I said before pausing. I waited until she met my gaze. “Shut up, and for the love of God, please keep going.”