Page 19 of Judas

Without a moment of hesitation, the man with no conscience pulled out of the lot with a wave. Judas continued to shield Eliza all the way to her car door, shaking his head in disgust.

Leaning against the car, he looked out over the crowd, still violently stirring before him. He watched them hate each other with fists and furious screams. The sight made his gut feel queasy and he instinctively brushed his eye once more, but the area was clean and undamaged. Today could have gone so differently. Judas reminded himself that he couldn’t allow lapses like that one again. He must remain on high alert in these situations or something far worse could happen to Eliza.

And, for the first time in his very long life, he knew that he would not survive that heartbreak.

Most of the car ride back to Eliza's apartment they sat in silence. Judas was still in his own thoughts about how he nearlyfailed the angel sitting next to him, while Eliza wrestled deeply with her recriminations.

The idea of attending today's rally had disgusted her from the start, but now she fully understood the gravity of what she had done. The shame she felt inside her was daunting and heavy on her soul. She never should have been there. She should have told her father no. That's it.

Holding the distaste for being there inside her while standing on the sidelines felt excusable in the moment, but while walking under Judas's hold as the crowd screamed every filthy word of hate they could dream of at him Eliza's faith in her own decisions had crumbled. She hated herself in those long torturous moments. Nothing about this rally was acceptable. Nothing about her presence there was okay in any way.

She finally had to admit to herself that using her blind support of her father was a cop out for the responsibility she needed to own. She knew it was wrong, yet still, she’d said nothing in the moment. That was what cowards did and Eliza refused to be a coward ever again. She would start from this moment forward by being a loud voice against hate of any kind, but first, she owed something to Judas.

As he parked in front of Eliza's building, she turned to him. She knew she’d hurt him with her inaction today and she would do anything to erase it all. To somehow take it back, but she couldn’t. All she could do was take accountability. He gazed back at her with profound sadness pouring from his deep eyes.

Holding his gaze with her own, Eliza spoke, "Judas, I owe you an apology for today."

Confusion crossed his face and his forehead crinkled, "For what? I don't understand."

For a moment, Eliza dropped her eyes to her feet fidgeting nervously on the floorboard, but then shaking her head she looked him in the eye. He deserved that, "We never should havebeen at that rally today. I never should have allowed my father to have any of us there. I knew it was wrong, but I still went and I will forever regret that decision. You shouldn't have had to stand there and hear all those terrible things those atrocious people were saying. I understand you're hurt and I just wanted you to know that I’m eternally sorry."

Silence fell between them for a moment and Eliza let it sink its teeth into her. She deserved his silence.

But then his deep laugh filled the car and she stared at him with confusion.

"Oh, dear, wonderful Eliza. No apologies needed. I promise. I know your heart. I know you aren't one of those people and I told you why I stayed. That was my choice." His smile now is warm and he placed a gentle hand on her cheek.

She leaned into his warm palm but then shook off his easy acceptance, "No, Judas. You don't have to do that. I can take the reproach. I promise. I should have put my foot down with Dad and none of us would have been there. I know I deserve any bad feelings you have about it and I can tell you're upset. It's okay, really."

Judas leaned toward her and spoke directly to her pleading eyes, "I'm upset because I was too distracted thinking about you to realize we were in danger until it had already begun. It's my job to do better. I am not upset with you. I am upset with myself."

Hearing how completely selfless this man truly was did things to Eliza that she couldn’t quite understand. The only thing she did know for certain was that she wanted him more than she had ever wanted anything in her life. Without hesitation, she climbed over the console and into his lap. She straddled him, placing one hand on either side of his beautiful face. He licked his lips as a warm blush rose into his face. As she lowered her mouth to his, and Judas wrapped his arms around her tightly,fusing them together. Their tongues tangled and desire flickered to life inside them.

Short of breath, Eliza leaned back, staring down at him, "Would you like to come inside and wash this awful day off with me?"

Immediate thoughts of water running down her bare skin and seeing her body pressed against the slick shower walls took over his every thought. Without a word, he climbed out of the car with Eliza still on his lap. A squeak of surprise escaped her as he effortlessly threw her over his shoulder and began walking up the stairs with her. She giggled uncontrollably and handed him the keys.

Chapter eleven

Eliza was doing her best to focus on the task at hand, but laying out all her father’s tasks for the day was not nearly as entrancing as her memories of the scandalous things Judas did to her last night. She simply couldn't process a single coherent thought without quickly flashing to the memory of his body against her, his skin on her skin. His lips on her in places she should not be thinking about at work. She could feel the blush overtaking her fair skin just with the memory. This was all so unlike her and the weight of it was overwhelming.

Right as she took a steadying breath to calm her inappropriate urges, an arm snaked around her waist and she gasped in shock. In one fluid movement, the arm spun her around and she saw his perfect face smiling down at her. She melted into him instantly. With his arms tightly wound around her, Judas felt complete. Seeing her smile back up at him made everything in the world right.

“What has you blushing so much this morning, Harzr Shli?” he asked, knowing the answer already.

His words sent a shiver through her, even though they were completely foreign to her. “What does that mean?” she asked.

“It’s Hebrew. It means, my treasure,” he responded with no hesitation because that was what she was to him. She was the only treasure he had ever felt the need to possess.

She smiled at him, "You speak Hebrew?"

He tilted his head as he contemplated how much he should reveal, "I speak many languages. Someday I will tell you how valuable you are in every one of them."

Warmth filled her soul from top to bottom. As he brought his mouth down to meet hers, that heat morphed into scorching flames. Their tongues danced. Their hands roamed. He slid a leg between her knees, opening her to him.

He broke their kiss and slid his cheek against hers to whisper in her ear with a laugh, “Maybe you should start wearing skirts to work after all.”

Eliza laughed out loud and squeezed him tight against her, nuzzling into his neck. She breathed in his scent, committing it to memory for possible candle buying later. She wanted to smell his sultry skin at all times.

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