Page 25 of Protecting Her

"Come here," Carmen said softly, reaching for the first aid kit she kept in her luggage. Her diplomatic voice had deserted her, leaving something rawer in its wake. "Let me look at that."

Jude hesitated, her body caught between ingrained duty and obvious want. "I should finish the security protocols?—"

"They can wait." Carmen moved closer, brandishing antiseptic and butterfly bandages. "For once in your life, let someone else do the protecting."

The words hung between them, loaded with meaning that went beyond just first aid. Jude's resistance crumbled like a sandcastle against the tide. She let Carmen guide her to sit on the suite's plush sofa, where warm lamplight revealed the full extent of her exhaustion.

Carmen's hands were steady now as she cleaned the wound, each touch gentle but sure. Jude's breath hitched when Carmen's fingers traced the edge of the cut, and the sound made heat pool in Carmen's stomach.

"I've had worse," Jude murmured, but her eyes had darkened as they tracked Carmen's movements.

"I know." Carmen applied the butterfly bandages with careful precision. "I've read your service record, remember? But that doesn't make it easier to watch you bleed."

The admission slipped out before she could catch it. Jude went very still under her hands, and Carmen felt the shift in the air between them – like the moment before a storm breaks.

"When I saw him draw the knife," Carmen continued, unable to stop now that the words had started flowing, "I thought—" Her voice caught. "I can't lose you. Not now. Not when?—"

Jude's hand came up to cup her face, calloused fingers impossibly gentle against her skin. "Carmen."

Her name on Jude's lips was everything she wanted and needed to hear. They were close enough now that Carmen could feel the heat radiating between them.

"I told you it was just sex," Carmen whispered, remembering their agreement after that first night. "But I lied."

The confession shattered the last remnants of professional distance between them. Jude's other hand slid into her hair, tugging gently until Carmen gasped.

"I know," Jude breathed against her lips. "I lied too."

The kiss felt inevitable, like gravity, like falling. Carmen pressed closer, letting Jude feel all the fear and want she'd been suppressing. Jude's mouth opened under hers, tasting of coffee and adrenaline and possibility. Her tongue pushed into Jude’s mouth, tangling with her own, pressing, tasting and exploring.

They broke apart only when the need for air became critical. Carmen rested her forehead against Jude's, both of them breathing hard.

"Stay," Carmen whispered against Jude's lips. It wasn't a question this time, but a declaration. A claiming.

Jude's answer came in the form of another kiss, deeper and full of promise. Together, they moved toward the bedroom, leaving pretense and protocol behind with the first aid kit and Carmen's last attempts at maintaining professional distance. Carmen shrugged off her jacket and laid it on the chair, followed by calmly shedding the rest of her clothes including her underwear and placing them with her jacket.

Jude followed suit until they were both naked. Jude’s muscular form, striking and so attractive to her.

When they got to the bed, Carmen gently pushed Jude down on the pillowy-soft mattress, and she felt that Jude had let her. She crawled in to lie down beside Jude, staring at her silhouette in the darkness, and she grabbed Jude’s hand and laced their fingers together.

Not even a minute later, and Jude had slipped her fingers out of the embrace, trailing softly up Carmen’s arm, starting at the tips of her fingers, over her wrist, up her arm, every scar on display for Jude.

Then Jude trailed back down. Carmen closed her eyes, relishing the moment and wanting to burn every second in her memory forever. She wanted to remember not just Jude’s careful caress, but what it felt like lying here next to her. Feeling the way her heat emanated from her body. Feeling the weight of her presence next to her.

Jude continued making her trail along Carmen’s arm, then let her fingers linger on Carmen’s before she moved a half inch to Carmen’s thigh and began tracing small circles on the edge of her thigh that grew larger by the second.

Carmen reached over and rubbed her hand down Jude’s side, going over her ribs—she could feel where old fractures had healed—then back down and over her taut stomach.

She noticed the way her skin was pale where her sporty underwear had been and tan everywhere else. She noticedJude’s dark pubic hair, thick curls that just begged Carmen to run her fingers through them.

They turned to face each other, and Carmen stared into Jude’s eyes that had depths she craved to explore. She cupped Jude’s face, letting her hand rest on Jude’s jaw line and leaned in til their lips pressed against each other, and she could feel Jude’s sigh wash over her face as the woman’s body relaxed next to her.

Being naked with Jude felt natural and real. As though both of their defenses had been left at the door.

The kiss started soft, sweet, then Jude deepened it, their tongues dancing together. Carmen hungrily grabbed at Jude’s hips, pulling their bodies even more impossibly close together.

It wasn’t close enough. Carmen wanted—no, needed—to be even closer to Jude. She let her hand drop from Jude’s hip down her leg then back up, pausing just as she almost reached the top.

Carmen broke their contact. “Is this…?”

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