Chapter 10

Judah's phonerang three times and vibrated obnoxiously about ten more on the way to his house, but every time I asked if he wanted me to answer it, he simply shook his head and said, "It isn't important."

I wasn't a complete idiot, and despite me telling him not to call his mum, I knew that was exactly what he'd done while I was in the trailer packing. If Judah was anything, it was predictable, and once he got something in his brain, nothing would stop him.

He clearly didn't want to talk about it, though, and I wasn't going to push. Knowing Elizabeth, she'd storm back into my life like an angry bull, ready to gut me with her horns. Judah was more like his mum than he cared to admit.

"Where do you live?" Ellis asked from the back seat, huffing. "Not the Cider Mill private community?"

He'd hated the idea of going to stay at Judah's for the night, but I'd brought him around when I'd described how large and gorgeous it was. In the end, Ellis was still a teenager. Influencing him with the idea of a large telly or a huge-assed room after he'd spent time sleeping in a double bed with me was an easy task. While Ellis never complained about the trailer, it wasn't the best place to live. Mine was one of the shittier ones and was only big enough for one person.

"No, not there, but it isn't far from here," Judah answered, his voice tight as he peeked at Ellis in the rearview mirror.

I watched them carefully, a throb beginning to ache in my chest. They were two of the most important people in my life right now, and I needed them to like each other. While Ellis had come into my world rather unexpectedly as a scared boy who'd lost trust in his parents, he'd become a younger brother to me. I enjoyed protecting others when I could, and if anyone needed that kind of safety, it was the young man in the back seat.

"Why are we staying at your house again?" Ellis bulldozed on. His confidence grew, blooming and spreading similar to wildflowers in spring, and watching him flourish gave me a great amount of pride. "Who are you to Tav? None of my questions have been answered." He narrowed his eyes at Judah suspiciously.

I laughed and reached between mine and Judah's seat to whack him on the knee. "Stop it, lad. You don't need to know everything straight away."

"I do." He stuck out his chin. "He said you two have known each other for decades. How?" His eyes went wide. "You don't owe him money, do you? My uncle, John, owed some mobsters money. He ended up as fish food. That's what Mom told me when she warned me about gambling."

I rolled my eyes. Sounded like more religious bullshite to me; although, I didn't want Ellis getting into gambling, either, especially around New Gothenburg. There were many bad guys who would do more than feed him to the fishes, if he messed with the wrong people. "You believe her?"

He shrugged. "I guess not. You didn't answer my question."

My gaze slid to Judah, and I studied his face. His right eye twitched, a subtle sign of his irritation, but I wasn't quite sure if that was from Ellis or because of his mum. Maybe both. His jaw tensed, and he squeezed the steering wheel, his knuckles fading to white as he clutched it too tightly.

I petted his thigh, and he shot me a look, some of the tension bleeding from him. His hands relaxed, and I held out my palm, offering, and he took it into his, linking our fingers together.

"Judah was my first boyfriend and the only bloke I've ever loved," I admitted, shooting Ellis a smile.

His expression softened and he gave me a grin. "Is he the one who gave you the shell bracelet?"

I'd mentioned the bracelet a few times to him, especially as he became more comfortable with me and asked more questions. I'd told him the truth. My first love had given it to me. I winked at him. "That's the one."

He squinted at me. "So, why'd you break up?"

"Does it matter?" Judah grunted out in frustration, narrowing his eyes on Ellis through the rearview mirror. "You should mind your own business."

Ellis huffed and fell back against his seat, crossing his arms. "No need to get grouchy, old man."

I resisted the urge to roll my eyes again. They were as bad as each other and they didn't even realize it. Without knowing it, they were fighting an imaginary competition, and I was their prize, as if I couldn't have them both in my life.

"All right, stop it, you two, or I'll put you both in time-out." I grinned at Ellis and squeezed Judah's hand. "Now, do we need food before we get home?"

"I'll have the cook make something."

Silence fell in the car before Ellis shot forward, slamming his hands on each of our seats. "You have a cook? How rich are you?"

Judah winced and while it was barely perceptible, I didn't miss it. I couldn't. Everything in me was trained to see his micro-expressions, even the ones that I wasn't meant to. The Judah I used to know never hid them, but I watched him anyway, learned what I could about how he expressed himself. Now, I didn't need to study him too hard because I could see them clear as day.

"Is that a polite question to ask?" I gave Ellis a pointed look. "You should be grateful that he's getting you fed, right?"

I was used to Judah and his family's money. Back when we were teens, I knew all the people who worked in his home, from the cook to the handyman to the gardener—and the pool boy, too. Hearing he had a chef was not surprising to me, but it was an awful reminder that we still came from two very different worlds.

Ellis smiled. "Sorry."

Judah gave him a small nod through the mirror and the car fell back into silence. We came to a stoplight, one of the rare ones outside the city, and Judah pulled the car to a halt. On our left, the sound of a revving motorcycle caught our attention, and Ellis let out a hoot, hitting the button to lower the window.

"It's the Kings!" he shouted at me in excitement. "I wonder if Ethan's there." He stuck his head out of the car and waved. "Ethan! Ethan!"

I peered out my window and took in the scene. There were ten motorcycles parked in front of a café. The men were all sitting around a large rectangular table, laughing at someone who was doing unsafe tricks in the parking lot on his bike. The rider was spinning his Harley in a tight circle, then hopping it up onto the front wheel. I had no idea how he was accomplishing that with such a heavy bike. The guys wore black leather jackets with the Kings of Men MC's insignia stitched loud and proud on the back. Shep, my former neighbor—the one who Ellis was singing out to—was sitting at one end of the table, his short blond hair slicked back and his shoulders wide in his plain jacket.

The moment Ellis called his name, Shep glanced toward us and raised his arm in a wave. He wasn't a tall young man, but he was buff and fit in with the Kings well. He'd only just become one of their prospects after leaving our trailer park, and I missed having him as a neighbor. Before Ellis, Shep was the one I'd tried to protect the best I could, which was how I'd ended up with Ellis in the first place.

Ellis exhaled loudly, and I hid a grin in the hand I ran over my mouth. Despite their rough beginnings—Shep beating Ellis up for outing Shep's then crush, Jonas, to Jonas's religious fanatic parents—I had a feeling that Ellis had an attraction of his own. He always seemed to melt when we came across bikers or some form of bad boy. Whether it was a phase or not, I wasn't sure, but I seriously hoped it didn't result in him getting his heart shattered. There was one thing that was certain, though—he had no chance with Shep.

Jonas, Shep's boyfriend, walked out of the café and looked in the direction Shep was staring, then his face lit up. He waved at us, and Ellis returned it, though less enthusiastic than he had with Shep. While Ellis and Jonas were good friends, it was obvious Ellis had a fascination with Shep.

"Why the fuck is he waving at the Kings of Men? Shit." Judah glanced back at Ellis with wide eyes. "Kid, don't do that. They aren't good guys. They're dangerous."

Ellis laughed. "It's only Ethan and Jonas. We should have dinner with them again, Tav."

The street signal turned green, and Judah hit the accelerator. We shot off, away from the bikers and their late-afternoon snack.

I patted the hand clutched in my own and chuckled. "It's fine, Jude. They're friends. One of them was Shep, my old neighbor. He, uh, I guess you could say he and his boyfriend saved Ellis's life."

"He's a King," Judah repeated, eyeing me in surprise. I guess I didn't blame him. The old me never got involved in any illegal activities, and while I still didn't, I associated with a lot more people who did, including Shep. When you lived the kind of life that put you in a trailer park like Lakeview, you'd do all sorts of things to survive. I'd learned that, too, but luckily, I'd never had to resort to breaking the law.

"He's Ethan," Ellis said from the back, shrugging as though he didn't understand the issue.

I wished I was that young and innocent again. Though, I wasn't sure if I ever was like Ellis. He'd been through hell and back this last year, and he'd seen the worst in people, but he also still had a large helping of naivety. When I was his age, I hadn't lived a comfortable life and had seen how cruel others were from the beginning.

Judah frowned but didn't ask any more questions. I switched the music on to drown out the silence and leaned back into the leather seat, inhaling the scents of the car. My truck always smelled of oil and gas, but this second car of Judah's had the new aroma to it, and it was nice to sit in a vehicle with heating and a seat that didn't have a spring that dug into my back.

It took us another ten minutes to get to Judah's house, and the moment Ellis saw it, his eyes went wide.

"Fuck, you are rich."

I shoved him gently and pointed my finger at him. "Manners."

His cheeks went red and he gave Judah a smile, but the suspiciousness never left his gaze. "Thanks for letting us stay tonight."

Judah merely bent his head forward in acknowledgement, then got out and hustled toward the front door. We followed him but not before I patted my truck on the way past. It'd become a habit for me to acknowledge her and all the situations we'd been through together.

As soon as we entered, I dropped my bags and let Ellis take in the grandeur, giving him a small smile as his gaze roamed the foyer.

"Come on." Judah grabbed the bags and gestured for us to follow.

Ellis had more bounce in his step as he strode after Judah, while I took up the rear, not exactly shocked. I'd grown up in Judah's childhood home, and while this one was different, it was also a lot of the same, too. It had the feeling of wealth.

The hallway on the second floor was wide and long, with a line of elegant wall lamps and paintings that Judah's mum probably bought for him to decorate the house. It had more white porcelain tiles, giving it a spacious feel.

Judah opened the second door to the right and waved his hand at it. "This will be your room, Ellis."

"For how long?" Ellis blinked at Judah before his attention slid to me. "It's supposed to be one night, right?"

Supposed to bewere the important words. Judah could claim it was only for tonight, but I knew him too well. He wasn't purposely manipulative, but he was used to getting his own way. He cared for certain people, but sometimes his means of showing it came across as dominant and selfish. It was the result of how he'd grown up, and certainly not a topic I could explain to Ellis.

"Don't worry about it, lad." I patted Ellis's shoulder and winked. "Think about the flatscreen TV and your own bed."

"King-size bed and your own bathroom, including a jacuzzi," Judah drawled, and that was enough to get Ellis rushing through the door and slamming it shut behind him.

I laughed and shook my head. "You've distracted him for a little while."

"Enough for alone time, then." Judah's grin turned wicked, and he seized my hand, dragging me farther down the hallway as though I was a rag doll. I let him because I loved it when he got rough with me. The younger Judah had always been too scared of hurting me, but this man craved to dominate me, and I wanted it just as much.

He took me to the first door on the right—which was different from the other room we'd had sex in—and shoved me inside. I laughed loudly, nearly tripping over my feet as he dumped my bags on the floor. He closed the door, then stalked toward me, and I backed away from him, the desire to tease him tickling my brain.

He paused and I did, too, grinning.

His eyes flashed and he took a small step forward, and I met the move with one of my own by shuffling away from him.

"What are you doing, Tav?" He knew, I could tell by the way a smirk slid onto his face.

I shrugged. "Making you work for it."

"Me?" He chuckled. "Shouldn't you be making up for lost time?"

My eyebrows shot up. "I don't know, should I?"

He slowly slid off his suit jacket and folded it in half before throwing it to his left. I followed the path of the jacket and took in my surroundings. This room belonged to Judah, and it was so different from the parts of the house we'd seen. Instead of more white and tiles, this space was designed with dark wooden floorboards and a feature wall—a dusky mixture of driftwood and onyx—behind the ash gray divan bed. The throw across the mattress was charcoal, which matched the open walk-in wardrobe to the right. The jacket had landed on a gray chair the same color as the fabric on the bed, and beside that was a bookcase. I spied his favorite copy of Fahrenheit 451, the same one he'd had as a teenager. The only light colors came from the white ceiling and pillows.

I'd been so invested in studying his space, attempting to divine if there was anything truly different about him now, that I hadn't realized he'd approached me until his breath tickled my ear. He laid his palm over my chest, right above my pec. I was surprised he hadn't lowered it to get a good squeeze of my nipple, seeing as he had an obsession with them.

"Do you like it?" he asked.

Thisseemed more like Judah. He'd always loved grays and browns, and it felt like he'd made this spot his own.

I smiled at him gently. "It's you."

He stared at me for a long moment that seemed to stretch on forever before a softness I'd missed—despite loving the roughness—crossed over his handsome face. "Can I kiss you?"

I swallowed around the raw emotion that lodged itself in my throat, and I resisted the urge to say something completely sappy, though I was sure he wouldn't care. Instead, I played with the shell bracelet on my wrist, and he glanced down at it.

"You can do anything you want to me," I answered honestly. "Because fuck, I missed you, Jude."

A grin flicked up the corner of his mouth and he cradled my face between his big hands. "Does that mean I can keep you?"

"If you're willing to fight your mother." Because we both knew she'd be the biggest issue. Like Judah, she was stubborn, and I didn't see her letting this go without doing everything she possibly could to stop it.

"I'd fight the world for you." He slanted his mouth over mine gently, and I let him, eyes slipping shut.