Page 38 of The Huntress and Her Hound

“We need to go,” I grab Jude’s arm and tug him forward, excitement and urgency pulsing through my body.

“I’m not fucking done,” Jude growls, lifting his foot off the ground.

I jerk him hard enough to catch him off balance. “No, you’ll end up in the back of a cop car.” I tug him through the crowd as Ben begins to stand to his feet, desperate to get us out of sight. Jude mutters incoherently behind me, but I ignore him, leading him to the first alleyway I can find so we can cut back to the apartment as unnoticed as possible.

“Slow down,” Jude pulls back, stopping me. “Nothing is going to happen. That guy’s ego is too big to make a report.”

I turn to face him and notice blood oozing from a busted bottom lip. “I didn’t see him hit you,” I nearly whisper, unable to look away. Fingers trembling, I reach up, and try to brush the crimson away. However, it smears underneath his lip. My core reacts in an unexpected way, and I brace for the panic to set in...

But it doesn’t. My arousal intensifies.

Swallowing hard, I meet Jude’s eyes, and even in the darkness, I can see my desire reflecting in his. The air charges around us, tangible waves of anticipation rolling down my spine.

Jude threads his fingers through my hair, heat exploding from his fingertips. He closes the space between us, leaning forward until his nose brushes mine. His lips follow, and I freeze as they make contact with mine.

That does it for me.

No, no, no, no.

NO.

Panic crashes into me, destroying every fucking ounce of excitement prior and I shove him back as hard as I can, shocking both of us. He grunts, and I spin on my heels, charging out of there.

I start to sweat, hearing his footsteps behind me. My chest tightens, my stomach furls with worry, and my head spins faster with every step forward. I taste a hint of copper as I run my tongue over my bottom lip, a mixture of impenetrable sadness and disgust washing over me.

“Cher,” Jude calls. “I’m so sorry. I didn’t... I didn’t mean to... I thought...”

I don’t turn around, terrified that he might somehow be able to see the secrets I hide from the world. I’ve never let someone touch their lips to mine since I was seventeen. And now, Jude McKenzie, my brother’s best friend has done the one thing that will catapult me right back into the hollow, bleak hole I’ve worked so hard to crawl out of.

“Cher,” he says more sternly. “I misread you. I thought you wanted...me.” My heart does a strange squeeze at the pain in his voice. Jude was acting like any other man would in a dark alley with a woman, and here I am... feeling sympathy.

“It’s fine,” I choke out, just as he grabs my wrist lightly, whirling me around to face him once more. “Let me go.”

“No,” he rasps, his eyes studying my face. “Tell me what happened... Did I read you wrong?”

I stare back at him, trying to appear as a stone while he visibly softens with rejection written across his handsome features. My jaw aches with tension as I open my mouth, spitting another lie that causes my chest to ache. “Yes.”

Chapter 14

The Hound

I was drunk. And I fucked up.

I follow Cher in silence, rubbing my aching eyes as we reach her apartment. She types in the code, and then opens the door. I don’t know what I was thinking when I tried to kiss her. She looked like she wanted me to.

And now I’m the asshole for it.

“What the hell are you two doing?” Henry’s sharp voice cuts through the quiet like a fucking sword to flesh.

“He walked me home from work.” Cher’s tone is painfully light and sweet—and I’m once again reminded of the fucking façade she puts on for her brother.

“Why is there blood on his face?” Henry snaps, his eyes boring into my skull.

“I drank a little too much and got a little hotheaded.” I don’t offer the reason why. I still haven’t processed whatever the fuck that guy said about Cher. Henry told me she lost her job because of some higher up corruption...

Not because she assaulted someone with a paperweight.

“Since when do you throw a punch?” Henry laughs, shaking his head as he peers at my busted lip. “Must’ve been short-lived.”

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