Page 30 of Counted

“I’mnot easy? Maybe take a look in the mirror.” She stood up so she had a little more height for the glare she aimed at him. “Someone as closemouthed as you are doesn’t get to complain about me not telling you everything I’m thinking.”

His mouth twitched slightly, and his eyes warmed up.

“Don’t even think about making me laugh,” she told him. “I’m making a very good point here.”

He laughed out loud. “I know you are. I’m sorry if I made you think I was complaining. I wasn’t. I was simply trying to explain my surprise. You haven’t acted—” He cut himself off and rephrased. “Our wedding night was amazing, but I haven’t picked up any clues that you were interested again. Believe me, I was looking.”

This distracted her from her indignation. “You were looking?”

“Of course I was looking. Of course I’d like to have sex with you again. But you’re the one doing me a favor in this marriage, and I don’t want to… push.”

“So you’re planning to always wait around for me to make the first move?”

“Well, yeah.”

She frowned up at him again.

“You don’t like that.” His words were a statement rather than a question.

“No. Not really. I’m not a person who’s good at making first moves.”

He thought about that for a minute. “So you wantmeto make the first moves?”

“I… I don’t know. I mean, I guess? If you want to. You don’t have to. Just maybe we can both initiate. If we want.”

“Okay.” His voice was a little thicker now. He took a step closer to her. “So you’re okay if we continue having sex?”

“Yes. Of course I am. We’re married. We did pretty good the first time. Why wouldn’t we?”

“All right then. I agree.”

“You agree to what?”

“That we did pretty good. And that we should continue.”

She nodded, her heartbeat accelerating and her skin flushing again. For a different reason this time. “Okay. Good.”

“Good.”

“Okay.”

“Good.”

They were staring at each other. His expression had gotten tense. Hot.

“Okay,” she said again. Then heard herself and giggled.

He let out a soft huff of matching amusement. “So do you want to?—?”

“Yeah.”

“Right now?”

She took one more step closer to him, now only inches away. “Yeah. Right now.”

“Thank God. I was about to need another shower just to jerk off.”

Eve giggled again. Then stopped giggling when Jude reached over to untie her robe and pulled it open so he could see her body.

---