Page 84 of Lies Like Love

“So you get to tell me what to do now?” I don’t back down, enjoying his little show of claiming me.

“Exactly.”

“Fuck you, Jude.”

I try to move past him, but he grips my arm and holds me in place, tangling his fingers through the hair at the back of my head.

“Is that an offer or a threat?” He grips tighter. “Because I have no problem making you scream for everyone in the shop to hear if you force my hand. So tell me, Fel, do you want to say that again?”

I grit my teeth because I really do, but my nipples are sore, and I’m not sure I could handle whatever punishment he’d throw at me right now. So instead, I shake my head.

“Good.” He grazes a hand over my cheek, his tough exterior faltering as he stares into my eyes.

They burn, and with each blink they’re getting glossy. Because as tough as I try to be around him, I can’t help that I fall apart.

“Talk to me, Fel.” His tone is softer with the change in my demeanor. His fingers graze my cheek, and I hate how perceptive he is. “What’s the real issue?”

“You touch me like you own me.” The words shake on their way out. “And maybe you do, and always have. But where does that leave me with you?”

His eyebrows pinch. “What about me?”

“You know I’m yours. You point it out every chance you get. But how is that fair when you still get to be everyone else’s?” I should shut up now, but the words spill from my lips, and I can’t stop them. “You’ve still got condoms under your sink. I’m not an idiot. I know you only ever tell me half of anything. So how many other women are you with while we’re fucking?”

Jude smirks, dropping his chin and shaking his head, which makes my stomach curl.

“I’m notfuckingyou.” There’s an icy, hard undertone to his voice. Almost like the thought of it sickens him.

“Okay, well youwere. Past tense then. At least now I know where you stand.” I try to pull away, but he doesn’t let me.

“Nothing is ever past tense with you.” His hands ball into fists and he presses them to the wall on either side of me, locking me in. “What I’m saying,Felicity, is that we aren’tjust fucking. The moment you let me sink into your pussy, you became mine. Your orgasms, your mouth, your fucking soul. You handed yourself over to me whether you like it or not. So whatever makes you think I’d give a fuck about anyone else when I have you...”

He grabs my cheeks in his hands and forces my stare to focus only on him—the center of the universe.

“You have been, are, and always will be the only person on this entire planet to ever matter to me. Something I apparently need to prove more than I already have. Toss the condoms in the trash for all I care because I can guarantee using them was not worth it compared to having you.”

I blink, and a tear rolls down my cheek.

Jude brushes it away with his thumb. It’s gentle, sweet. All things he rarely is. Like the sides of him he only shows to me, and even then, it’s fleeting.

Even so, I can’t help that I soak it in for every last drop.

“What if this can’t last?” My fears bubble to the surface as his thumb grazes back and forth. I know better than to trust this can actually be something, when I’ve seen the outcome play out in front of me once before. “What if this is only temporary?”

“Then to the end we go.” Jude rakes his fingers into my hair, pulling it away from my face as he kisses my tear-stained cheek. “For you, I’m always prepared to go to the end.”

I fall against his chest, into his arms. Needing him unlike I’ve ever needed anything.

“Promise?” I bury my face and breathe him in.

I’m asking him for something he’ll likely break, but I can’t help myself.

“I’d follow you to my own damnation.” He kisses the top of my head. “If this were a fairytale, like the ones you’re always reading, I’d follow you to the end.”

“Does that make you the huntsman or the wolf?”

He breathes out a chuckle that rustles my hair, before kissing the top of my head. “Neither. I’m the forest, and you’re never escaping me, Red.”

The door to my room swings open, and Jude steps inside. His hair is a mess, and I’m not sure if it’s from football or some girl he’s been rolling around with.

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