Page 26 of Protecting Her

Jude nodded, and Carmen could see Jude craved it just as much as she did.

Defenseless against her growing desire, Carmen inched her fingers closer and closer to her goal. She slid over Jude’s desperately wet pussy that seemed to open like a flower for her, between her folds, and kept going until she reached Jude’s clit, where she circled it, pressing down lightly with her finger.

Jude gasped from the sudden sensation of pleasure but relaxed back into the bed, and Carmen leaned up on her elbow to keep going, her gaze never wavering from Jude’s eyes.

Carmen felt Jude spread her legs just a fraction of an inch, her knee now jutting out at an angle, and Carmen took that subtle permission to reposition herself between Jude’s velvety soft, smooth legs, never missing a beat with her continued clit circles.

She switched from her middle finger to her thumb as she leaned down, still maintaining eye contact, and she saw a glintin Jude’s eyes. She was now so close to Jude she could smell the scent of her desire, and it spurred her on even more as she leaned down and ran her tongue through Jude’s pussy from the bottom to the top. She moved her hand to the bed to give her extra leverage as she swirled her tongue around Jude’s clit, putting the slightest bit of pressure at first then pressing down more firmly.

Carmen could hear Jude’s fingers twist in the bed sheets as she continued to lavish on her clit, and she smirked slightly as she inserted one finger, then two, into her slick pussy. Jude lost all control and moaned deeply as Carmen tilted her fingers, looking for that special spot, and Jude moved her hands from twisting bed sheets to finding their way in Carmen’s hair between her legs, pulling and tugging at the root.

It only encouraged Carmen to continue, though, and she slipped in a third finger in easily, pumping to a steady rhythm as she kept flicking her tongue against Jude’s clit. She could feel the woman’s body coil tighter and knew her release was imminent, and she removed her fingers in order to lap up Jude’s juices that now flowed down between her legs, getting all over Carmen’s face.

When Jude’s orgasm came, it rocked her body hard, and Carmen pinned down Jude’s arm to keep her from wriggling away as she brought her higher and higher to climax.

Carmen buried her face deeper as she licked and licked. She felt like she could lose herself between Jude’s legs and in the sweet taste of her forever.

It was only when Jude’s body slackened back on the bed that Carmen crawled out from between Jude’s legs and laid down next to her. She raised her fingers to her mouth, savoring Jude’s taste, and she grinned. “You taste incredible.”

Jude looked spent, mentally and physically, her beautiful muscular body in complete relaxation for the first time since Carmen had met her.

Moonlight spilled through the suite's windows, illuminating silver paths across rumpled sheets. Carmen traced the scar on Jude's shoulder, an old wound from Yemen that felt like a chapter in a story she was slowly learning to read. The night wrapped around them like a blanket, making secrets easier to share.

"Tell me about this one," Carmen murmured, her fingers following the raised line of tissue.

"Extraction gone wrong." Jude's voice carried the weight of memory. "We lost two team members that day. I should have seen the ambush coming."

Carmen pressed her lips to the scar, feeling Jude's breath catch. "You always shoulder the blame for things beyond your control."

"Says the woman who negotiates peace treaties in active war zones." Jude's hand found Carmen's hip, thumb tracing circles on bare skin. "When was the last time you let someone else take the risks?"

The question hung in the darkness between them. Carmen shifted closer, drawn to Jude's warmth. "You know why I can't leave now. The treaty?—"

"Could get you killed." Jude's arms tightened around her. "Today proved that."

"Or it could save thousands of lives." Carmen propped herself up on one elbow, studying Jude's features in the dim light. The fresh cut on her cheek made her stomach clench. "The indigenous communities need this protection. Maria Elena's people have lost everything: their homes, their water rights, their children's future. If we back down now..."

"I know." Jude brushed a strand of hair from Carmen's face. "But there are other ways to fight. Ways that don't involve putting you in the crosshairs."

Carmen caught her hand, pressing a kiss to her palm. "Like what? Filing strongly worded complaints while more villages burn? Watching corporate interests destroy communities while we debate policy in Washington?" She shook her head. "I've spent too many years playing it safe, choosing caution over direct action. And what has it gained us?"

"It's kept you alive," Jude countered softly. "Which matters to more people than you realize. Especially now."

The admission hung between them, weighted with everything they'd discovered in each other's arms. Outside, Bogotá's lights twinkled like earthbound stars, while inside, two women who'd built careers on careful distance found themselves stripped bare in more ways than one.

"I haven't slept beside anyone since Sofia died," Carmen admitted softly. The confession felt weightless in the dark. “She was my last love. My last serious relationship. After losing her to cancer, it seemed easier to pour everything into the work."

"Tell me about her?" Jude's question carried genuine care rather than jealousy.

"She was a war correspondent. Fearless, brilliant, always chasing the next story that needed telling." Carmen smiled at the memory. "We met in Sudan during some peace negotiations. She said my diplomatic double-speak drove her crazy, but she loved how I could stare down warlords without flinching."

"Sounds familiar." Jude's lips brushed her temple. "Though I prefer how you handle corporate sharks in thousand-dollar suits."

Carmen laughed softly, but it faded as darker thoughts intruded. "The night before she died, Sofia made me promise not to close myself off. To keep fighting for what mattered, but toleave room for joy." Her voice caught. "I thought I was keeping half that promise by focusing on the work. Then you walked into that first security briefing..."

"And complicated everything?"

"And woke something I thought I'd buried with her." Carmen traced the line of Jude's jaw, memorizing its shape. "You saw past the diplomatic armor, read between my carefully chosen words. You made me want things I'd convinced myself I could live without."

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