Within These Walls (Within These Walls #1)(73)

About a block down, he pulled us into a fairly large store. It didn’t have that stuffy, cramped feeling many others had as we’d walked past them, and I wasn’t bombarded by salesclerks the minute I’d walked in, which was a plus in my mind. They also had a clearance rack.

Score.

“Really? You go straight for the sales?”

“You can’t blame me for being thrifty. Besides, it doesn’t matter if it’s fifty percent off and looks like this.” I held up the dress I’d spotted at the door, and I watched his eyes bug out of his head.

“Try it on—now,” he demanded.

I searched for the dressing room and made a beeline to the entrance. Eye contact was made with the store clerk, and she ushered me to go ahead. Jude took a seat just out front. I pulled the curtain back, lifted my shirt, and slid my shorts down my legs.

“Nice,” I heard from beyond the curtain.

I snorted out a laugh and shook my head as I unzipped the dress from the hanger. It covered my scar perfectly, and it tied in a bow just at the nape of my neck. Nearly backless, the vibrant summery pattern gathered at my waist and flared out in an asymmetrical pattern. It felt light and airy against my skin, and it did amazing things to my slight figure.

I took a deep breath and turned, facing the curtain. I slowly pulled it back, revealing myself to Jude. His gaze lifted, and I watched his surprised expression change into raw hunger.

“I think the zipper isn’t up all the way in the back,” he said, swiftly rising from his chair.

I looked down immediately and turned to check.

“What? Yes, it is. Oh—”

The curtain was yanked shut, and his mouth slammed down on mine. He pressed me up against the cold mirror, and anxious hands slid under my dress. I grabbed fistfuls of his hair, pulling him closer, as his tongue moved against mine, over and over, relentlessly,

“Is everything okay in there?” the clerk hollered from outside the curtain.

My hands froze, and our frenzied kisses slowed. A wicked grin appeared on Jude’s face seconds before he reached up and snapped the tag from the dress.

“Go pay for it,” he said, handing me his wallet. “I’m going to grab your clothes, and I’ll be out…in a minute.”

I looked down to the impressive bulge in his pants, and I had to bite my bottom lip to keep from laughing before I left to pay the weary-eyed cashier.

“Oh my God, we almost had sex in a dressing room!” I giggled into his shoulder as we walked arm in arm down the street minutes later.

“I was perfectly in control. I don’t know what your problem was.”

I playfully smacked his chest as we continued our goofy banter down the block. We stopped at a quiet little Italian restaurant. There was a bit of a wait, so we headed to the bar and took a seat.

“You can order something if you want,” I said, motioning to the bartender on the other side of the bar.

“I don’t need anything.”

I placed my hand on his. “Just because I have limitations doesn’t mean you have to.”

“It’s not that,” he answered. “I haven’t had a drink since the night of the accident. I just can’t.”

Nodding, I smiled warmly. “So, water for both of us?”

His eyes crinkled together. “I think I’ll be daring and go with a Coke.”

“Oh, crazy.”

We ordered our drinks, and after twenty minutes, Jude began to get impatient.

“I’m going to go check on our table. I’ll be right back.” His hand brushed across my back, and then he vanished into the crowd.

I was left swirling the ice in my cup, waiting for him to return.

People sat around the bar, laughing and joking, oblivious to how lucky they were to have moments like this. They were completely unaware of how incredibly blessed they were for the normalcy they had in their lives.

Then again, I was finally having my chance as well.

I was finally the lucky one.

“You look awfully lonely, sitting there, all by yourself,” a deep voice said from behind me.

Smiling, I thought Jude was playing a trick on me, but I turned to find an older broad-shouldered man standing behind me. His neatly trimmed dark hair and dazzling white smile startled me, and I wondered for a moment if he was actually speaking to someone else.

“Excuse me?” I replied softly.

“I said, you look awfully lonely. Can I buy you a drink and join you?”

“Uh…I am actually—”

“She’s spoken for,” Jude’s baritone voice filled the air as his possessive hand slid across my shoulder.

The man looked immediately put out, and his gaze narrowed in on Jude. “Well, I think she probably has a say in that, doesn’t she?” he said smugly, looking down at me like he expected me to shove Jude and throw myself at him instead.

“I’m definitely spoken for. Thanks,” I answered, turning to Jude and forgetting all about the man with the bleach-white smile.

Jude’s hands cupped my face, and he shook his head. “Five seconds. I leave you alone for five seconds, and they’re on you like vultures.”

“I got hit on!” I exclaimed with a slight high-pitched thrill in my voice.

He rolled his eyes. “That was one thing on your list I really could have left undone. Or better yet, I could have just done it myself. In fact, let’s just say I did it first and forget this ever happened.”