Epilogue

Epilogue

One Month Later

Max

They arrest Grant about three weeks after Jude gave a statement. I don’t leave his side all day because he has this look in his eye like he wants to call the whole thing off. I don’t know how retracting statements works, and I don’t want to find out.

His brothers must think the same thing because they blow his phone up with texts throughout the day, checking up on him.

He doesn’t sleep much that night, and we spend a lot of time in the bed. We don’t have sex, even though we’re both restless enough to do it. Instead, I hold onto him, his back pressed to my chest while he stares at the clock on the nightstand.

His body is rigid against mine in a way it hasn’t been since that night before the wedding. But this time, it’s not because of anything we’re doing. I can feel the fear pouring out of him even though he’s trying to hide it.

“It’s okay,” I whisper, kissing the back of his neck. “I’m right here.”

He nods silently.

“Is there anything I can do?”

“No. Just hold me.”

It’s the same answer he gives me three nights in a row. But on the fourth night, he’s a little more relaxed as he folds into me when we’re in bed. And this time, he gives a different answer.

“Just talk to me. Tell me a story. I want to hear your voice.” He says it almost shyly, and the innocent request makes me smile.

“Okay. Once upon a time, there was a handsome bar owner named Bax. He was gorgeous and funny and everywhere he went, people loved him.”

Jude snorts, and the sound makes me smile.

“Hey, I’m telling it. Be quiet and listen.” I flick his ear gently before continuing. “Bax was working innocently one day when a mouthy customer walked in. Named…Jim.”

“That doesn’t even sound close to my name.”

“It’s your fault for not having a name that rhymes easily.” I press my lips to his shoulder. “This mouthy customer was the hottest guy Bax had ever seen. He didn’t realize it, but Jim was the guy Bax had been waiting for. And he gave him the best fucking hand job of his life in the alley behind the bar.”

Jude turns his head to look at me. “That’s not a very good initial meeting.”

“Maybe. But Jim made a hell of an impression.”

Jude smiles and turns fully over to face me. His shoulders are relaxed in a way they haven’t been over the last few days, and it makes relief fill my stomach.

“What did Bax do after the hand job in the alley?”

“He had to go home and jerk one off in the shower too because Jim was still on his mind.”

Jude’s smile widens, and I feel like I could look at it forever. “Jim didn’t have to do that.”

“I’m writing the story,” I interrupt. “And in my head, Jim had to go to his hotel and get himself off in his hand, imagining it was Bax’s mouth.”

Jude’s skin warms, heating my arm where it’s slung over his waist. “And then what happened?”

“Then Jim was so hard up that he fucked Bax in the bathroom of a bar. And the entire time it happened, Bax never wanted it to stop. He’d never met anyone like Jim, and he couldn’t believe how much that man turned him on.” I shift my hand from his waist to run it along his spine. “Bax was crazy about the way Jim made him feel. He liked when Jim bent him over the bed and spanked him. He liked when Jim ate him out on his desk. And he liked when Jim let him fuck his mouth.”

Jude shifts, and I feel him growing hard against my leg.

I run my finger up his spine, and he shivers before moaning softly. “It’s always okay with Bax if Jim needs to get off. It’s fucking hot to watch.”

Jude meets my gaze before reaching down to push the blankets off. He sleeps only in boxers, and it takes him just half a second to free himself. Then he throws a leg over mine, so his dick is nestled right above my knee.

My cock hardens immediately, but I don’t make a move to touch it. I want Jude to get off first. He’s been wound so tight the last few days.

I use my other arm, the one Jude’s head is lying on, to pull him closer. “Just use me to get yourself off. However you need to, all right?”

He presses his face into my neck and starts humping my leg. He’s already leaking precum, giving him some natural lube to slide up and down.

My balls grow heavy with need, and I bite the inside of my cheek to stop myself from saying or doing anything other than simply being here in the moment for Jude.

He whimpers and slides a hand to my waist to pull me closer.

“That’s right,” I say. “Just like that.”

His moves grow frantic, his hips snapping back and forth as he rubs his dick on me.

“Come on, Jude.” I kiss his sweaty forehead. “Come all over my leg.”

He does it almost immediately, his hips stuttering to a halt as he cries out. Warm liquid shoots up my leg before running down to my mattress. It turns me on even more, which I didn’t think was even possible.

Jude comes down slowly, panting. His cheeks are red, and his body’s relaxed and warm.

“Okay?” I ask. My voice is more strained than I want it to be.

Jude nods and presses a kiss to my neck and shoulder before shifting his mouth to my chest.

“Hey—”

“I want to,” he interrupts. “You have no idea how much I want to. I’m going to suck you until you come in my mouth, and then I want to pound your ass.”

All I can do is nod my agreement.

He frowns, and I rush to say, “Green. I mean green. Though technically, you didn’t ask for my color. You didn’t even ask anything.”

“You want to get out of it on a technicality?” Jude asks.

“No. I’m not trying to get out of anything.”

“You’re not? So if I flip you over and spank your ass, you’d know you needed it for not using words?”

“Yes.” The word comes out as a whisper. My balls are aching, and my dick is pressing against my boxers almost painfully.

Jude pushes up to kneel beside me, and he works my boxers down my thighs before pulling them off completely. Then he flips me effortlessly so I’m on my stomach.

Slowly, Jude traces a finger down my spine, causing goosebumps to erupt over my skin. “Color?”

“Green.”

“What do you want?”

I try to press myself to the mattress to get some friction, but Jude slaps my ass hard.

I yelp and try to pull away, but there’s nowhere to go.

“I asked you a question,” Jude says. “What do you want?”

“I want you to fuck me.” I’m already breathless, and he hasn’t even done anything.

“I have to spank you before I can fuck you.” Jude slides a hand over my ass, caressing my cheeks.

“Okay. Do it then. Just hurry. I need you inside me.” I sound desperate and pathetic, but I can’t even care. I need Jude in me.

The bed creaks as Jude stands, then he softly orders, “Pull your knees up under you a little. I want your ass in the air.”

I immediately crawl into the position he wants. It’s only been three days since we last fucked, but it might as well have been three months for how hard I am right now.

Jude wastes no time before he starts spanking me. He doesn’t miss the tension in my body, and he reacts incredibly to it. He wails on me in a way he never has before, alternating cheeks to the middle, to the soft bottom part right above my thighs.

“Shit, Jude.” It fucking hurts.

I start to lie flat again to get away from his hand, and he asks, “Do you want me to sit and haul you over my lap?”

The image sparks heat in my stomach, but I file it for later. As soon as he’s done spanking me, he’ll finally fuck me. And I need that more than anything.

“No,” I mumble. “I’m sorry, Jude. Please. I just need you inside me. You’re killing me.”

He spanks me five more times, each slap stinging more than the last. My face is pressed into my pillow to muffle the noises I’m making as Jude beats my ass. It feels so good and dirty, I almost don’t want him to stop.

But he does suddenly, and I can hear him panting from the exertion. Then he lays a hand on my stinging ass and squeezes just a little.

I hiss and pull away. “Don’t give me any lotion. Just get in me. I took the spanking.”

“Yes, you did.” There’s a smile in Jude’s voice. “You took it so well. You gonna take my dick just as well?”

“Yes, I swear, I will. I swear.” I’m beyond begging. I just need him to pound into me like he promised.

“Okay.” He shushes me as he climbs behind me onto the bed.

I hold my position and listen to him pop the cap off the lube. He slides two fingers into me, and I push back on them instantly. “Jude, I need you in me.”

He pulls his fingers out, and despite my protest, I want them in me again. I just need to be filled. But I know it won’t be as good unless it’s his dick.

“Sit up and climb on my lap,” Jude orders quietly.

I scramble to obey, straddling him so he’s tilting his head up to look at me. He slides his hands to my ass and squeezes. I hiss at the pain, making him squeeze a little harder.

“Fuck yourself on me,” he commands.

I don’t need to be told twice. I sink down on him, and he sucks in a sharp breath. The feel of him stretching me, claiming me, is so good that I can’t help but let out a moan.

Jude keeps one hand on my ass, and the other he shifts to my hip, helping me keep my balance as I lift off him before slamming back down again. I grip his shoulders for leverage and speed up the pace, bouncing up and down on him so quickly that my heart’s racing.

Jude bites his bottom lip, staring up at me with lust and tenderness mixed in his eyes. “You’re beautiful,” he murmurs.

I want to respond, but all that comes out is a groan. My body’s on fire, and I just need to get it out. I need—

Jude surges up to kiss me, sliding his tongue into my mouth. At the same time, he shifts his hand from my cheek to my crack, teasing my already stretched hole.

I come with a scream that Jude muffles with his own mouth. He stills beneath me, his body going rigid before he spills inside me. I stay on him while he rides out his orgasm, burying my face in his neck. A part of me wishes we could stay like this forever.

But once he’s empty, I ease off him, and Jude moves immediately to grab Kleenexes from the side table. He starts cleaning me first, and I catch his wrist.

“Why don’t you let me do that?” I ask softly.

He glances up at me. Even though he tries to hide it, I see the fear flash in his eyes before he schools his expression.

“It’s okay,” I say, taking the box from him. “You just lie back and relax, okay?”

He hesitates, but I don’t push. If he insists, I’ll let him and try again next time. Just like I have every other time since he told me the truth about Grant. But this time, he gives me the smallest nod and shifts back to his side of the bed.

I clean him first, secretly pleased that he’s so relaxed and sated. I love it when he looks like that.

Once I’m done cleaning everything, I shift to the middle of the bed and wrap my arms around Jude again. He snuggles against me immediately, and my heart softens.

“I’m never gonna get tired of this,” Jude mumbles. “You’re perfect.”

I smile and kiss the tip of his ear. “You’re not so bad yourself.”

He slides his hand over top of mine, linking our fingers together. “Thanks for being here.”

“Always. You don’t need to thank me for that.”

He shrugs, but I let it go. There are some things Grant did to him that’re going to take longer for him to get past. But I plan to be here through all of it.

“Hey,” I whisper.

When he turns to face me, I press my mouth to his, needing to show him how much he means to me. Sometimes there aren’t words for a feeling, but I need him to know.

He moves his free hand to my neck, keeping me in place as his tongue pushes into my mouth. When he pulls back, he rests his forehead against mine, his eyes closed.

“I know you said I don’t need to thank you for that, but…I really didn’t think a guy could ever want me other than for sex. The fact that you want to spend time with me outside of that… It just feels like something I thought I wasn’t going to get.”

My anger at Grant resurfaces yet again, but I push it away for now. I’ll never understand how he could treat Jude like that, but I’m determined to spend the rest of our time together by showing Jude how wrong Grant was.

So I reach a hand up to run it through his hair gently. “I love you.”

His cheeks redden, and his eyes shine with happiness. “I love you too.”

I kiss him again, more determined than ever to show him every day that my love isn’t going anywhere.