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He worked up to another fast, hard rhythm, their bodies slapping together and the bed squeaking from their motion. She braced herself on the bed and pushed back against his thrusts, shamelessly urging him on to take her faster and harder.

He wasn’t going to last for much longer like this. The pleasure coiled tight in his balls, and it wouldn’t take much to release it. He strained against the need to come as he feltEve’s body responding again. Her channel was deliciously tight around him and growing tighter. She was also getting louder until finally her elbows buckled and her upper body hit the bed.

She sobbed uninhibitedly into the bedding as she fell into another orgasm.

This time he came with her, making a few last, clumsy pushes inside her. Then everything he’d been holding back let go in an intense rush.

He came hard and too loud as the sensations spasmed through him. He kept jerking against her until the last of them had finally passed.

Then he withdrew and collapsed onto the bed in utter exhaustion, pulling her down with him. She gasped and clung to him. He wrapped his arms around her. His entire being was saturated with visceral satisfaction.

They lay tangled together until Jude finally caught his breath and regained his ability to speak. “That was…”

“Yeah,” she said even though he hadn’t completed the thought. She was still wearing her pretty dress.

“It turned out to be a pretty good night.”

She giggled and stretched up to kiss him lightly. “Yeah.”

“Do you feel better?” he asked, trying to focus enough to check her expression. He was completely spent. It wasn’t going to be long before he fell asleep.

Her smile flickered just slightly. “Yeah. Yeah, I do.”

He believed her. She looked like she was telling him the truth, and he knew she’d enjoyed the sex as much as he had. “Okay. Good.”

She got up to clean herself and then returned to the bed, wearing a little blue nightgown. She gave him a nudge so she could pull back the covers.

With a groan, he heaved himself to his feet and limped toward the bathroom too. He made quick work of the cleanupand brushed his teeth. That would have to be enough of a bedtime routine for him tonight.

He could barely keep his eyes open.

But he was happy. He felt incredibly good, and Eve was better. He hadn’t felt particularly competent all day, but he must have managed okay. She was still smiling at him as he got into bed beside her.

He pulled her into his arms, and he was asleep before he could think of anything else to say.

11

Eve wokeup to the sound of Jude vomiting.

Since she’d had a lot more wine than normal the evening before, it took a few moments for her brain to clear. She knew immediately something was wrong, but she had to sit up and blink several times before she processed exactly what she was hearing.

As soon as she did, she scrambled off the bed, pulling down her gown from where it was bunched up at her waist and then hurrying toward the fancy bathroom in their hotel suite.

Jude was slumping to the tile floor when she reached him. He wore nothing but the pajama pants he’d pulled on after sex last night. His hair was a mess, hanging down around his face and sticking to his skin in places. He was dead white and sweating, curling into a fetal position on the floor.

“Oh my God,” she choked out, her mind clouding with growing panic. “Jude.”

“Sorry.” The word was barely a rasp. “Sorry.”

“You don’t have to be sorry.” She reached over to flush the toilet without looking into the bowl. “Have you taken anything yet?”

“N-no.” He was shivering violently. “I… I tried but couldn’t… get up.”

Oh God. How long had he been sick in here while she’d been sleeping? She never should have drunk so much last night.

She grabbed the case where they kept his medication and fumbled a few times before she could unzip it and retrieve the right bottle. Her hands were shaking, and her eyes had swollen up painfully.

When she’d managed to get one of the nausea pills in her hand, she knelt on the floor and gently opened his mouth, placing the pill under his tongue. He made a slight gagging sound, his body jerking, but he didn’t spit out the pill. It must have dissolved quickly because he stopped choking soon after, leaving only the shivering.

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