Chapter 22

I groanedwhen I stared at all the boxes the movers had set in the living room of Judah's house. He'd been rash, once again, and I wished I was surprised by his actions, but he wasn't Judah if he wasn't doing something crazy like this. It was a power move, and anyone else might've grown mad at him, but I couldn't bring myself to be anything but mildly miffed. So, instead of sending him a long text about all the reasons why that had been silly to do, I patched up my hurt hand, then went to work finding spots for my possessions. Some of the belongings were Ellis's, too, but he didn't have much.

I took the time to find homes for everything, smiling when I came across items I'd completely forgotten about, including a trophy I'd won when I was six for BMX. Mum and Dad had been so proud of me, but after seeing one of my friends in a rough crash, which resulted in a lot of broken bones, I'd been too scared to get back onto the BMX course. I'd never beaten the anxiety.

I placed the trophy in a display cabinet Judah had in the living room, beside some of his own for football—soccer—and American football.

The next special thing I found was a photo of my parents and me from when we'd first moved here. We were standing in the garden of our first, and only, home as a family. It was a small Craftsman house and wasn't worth much, but it'd been a place to call ours. I hadn't visited it since Mum died, and I had no intention to because it came with a mountain of memories I didn't want to hash over.

The negative outweighed the positive.

But the photo itself was beautiful, with me at the age of thirteen standing in front of my parents, each of their hands on my shoulder. Even though I was in my early teens, I was already tall. Their smiles were huge, the happiness of change lighting up their faces. I had more trepidation about my new home, but Judah had quickly put an end to that.

I placed the photo in its white frame on the mantel of the fireplace, beside a snapshot of Judah at his college graduation. If Judah wanted me to make this my home, then I would, and he'd come back after work to find pieces of me scattered around the house as though I'd always been here. In a strange way, I had been. He'd never forgotten me, like I'd never done with him. We'd always been there for each other, ghosts of the past that never left.

"You okay there, laddie?" Lisa stuck her head out from the kitchen door, and I startled. She'd already started on dinner, and even though she was working, she'd been nice company the last few hours. At one point, she'd grabbed a stool from the kitchen island and stuck the back of it under the doorknob so we could talk without a barrier. She spoke about Scotland, and I listened, a homesickness I never quite knew I had aching deep inside. I wondered if I could convince Judah to go to Edinburgh with me one day.

"Aye, I was just thinkin'." I laughed sadly and stared at the photo of my parents. "I haven't seen this picture in a while. I put it away so it would hurt less."

She moved farther into the living room with some flour on her cheek, and I couldn't help but smile. She stopped beside me and threw the tea towel over her shoulder before planting her fists on her hips. "That your ma and pa?"

"Aye." I glanced back at the picture, and a peacefulness washed through me. "You remind me of my mum, Lisa. She was a strongheaded woman who liked to take care of people. She took everyone under her wing. She loved people."

Lisa wrapped an arm around my shoulders—or tried. She wasn't very tall and only managed to cup my neck as she petted me soothingly. "You don't mention your da much. Was he a good bloke?"

I nodded. "Aye, definitely. Originally from the Isle of Lewis."

"Oh, I got a cousin from there. Nice fellow." Her pets became harder, and I leaned into her embrace.

"Dad was a tough bloke. He always worked sunup to sundown. When they got to the States, he started working at a construction company. There was an accident. A steel beam fell on his chest, puncturing his lungs. They couldn't get him to the hospital fast enough. I was fifteen when he died, and I miss him every day."

She made a sad sound. "You look like him."

I chuckled. "Mum always said I did. She also said I acted like him, too."

"So, he was definitely a good man, then, because you are." She plopped a kiss on my cheek. "Have you had anything to eat today? You're pale." She didn't wait for an answer. Wrapping her nimble fingers around my wrist, she dragged me toward the kitchen, and I had no choice but to follow her. She was a strong lady.

She steamrolled her way into the kitchen and grabbed the stool from under the doorknob before shoving me into it at the island. Pointing a finger at me, she gave me a long, hard look. "Now, you will eat or so help me, I will tie you down and hand-feed you if I have to. You're as bad as Judah." She spun on her heel and grabbed an apple in a bowl sitting on the counter, then passed it to me. "Eat."

"Aye, ma'am," I teased, and she whacked me over the arm. Laughing, I took a bite out of the apple and settled onto the stool.

Lisa went back to the stove, and after a few moments, she peeked over her shoulder at me. The flour was still stuck on her cheek, and the more I stared at her, the more I saw Mum. "I've been hearing you and Judah speak here and there, and honey, let me give you a piece of advice, the same I'd give my own child."

I cocked my head. "Yes?"

"Judah's mother is a beast of a woman. She's stubborn and bullheaded, and what she's doing, it isn't about her son, it's about her. Don't let her win." She gave me a small smile. "Judah's happier than I've ever seen him and you're the reason. Don't break his heart again."

"I love him," I whispered in return. "I won't let her drive me away this time."

She winked. "You're a good lad."

A few hours later, I'd unpacked the dismal number of boxes and had given everything a place. Ten minutes after I'd finished, Judah, Ellis, and Hilton walked through the door. Almost immediately, Ellis and Hilton ran up to me and started telling me everything they'd done, and their excitement made me smile. It was amazing how quickly they'd grown attached, like best friends who'd known each other their entire lives.

I stared over their shoulders at Judah, who leaned against the threshold of the living room with his arms crossed wearing a gentle grin. He was handsome like this, despite the bruising on his gorgeous face, and I had no idea why I'd thought I could ever leave him again. I'd missed him too much the first time.

"And then, he asked me out on a date." Hilton rolled his eyes and waved his hand with a huff. "I don't shit where I eat, if you know what I mean."

I blinked, completely missing parts of the story. "Who asked you out?"

Hilton pouted. "Weren't you listening to me, Tav?"

Ellis knocked his hip against Hilton's. "He was too busy eye fucking Judah."

"Hey!" I batted Ellis's arm with the back of my hand, and he laughed, dancing away from me.

"Where's the lie?" Ellis shrugged, and I couldn't deny it. I had been eye fucking Judah, but who could blame me? My partner was hotter than the sun on a summer afternoon, and that went double when he was fully clothed in a suit that moved and fit snugly with his hard body.

"We're going to leave you two alone for adult time." Ellis rolled his eyes, a small tilt to the corner of his mouth, and he tugged Hilton's jacket to guide him toward the stairs.

I watched until they were gone before I turned back to Judah. "You hired movers."

"You're not angry," he hit back without missing a beat. He didn't move from where he was leaning against the threshold, clearly taking the time to study how annoyed I was. Smart man.

"Oh, I'm pissed." I crossed my arms to meet his posture. "But fighting with you is a losing battle, and I'd rather have you fuck me and coming on my tits instead."

He jumped as though he'd been hit with a current of electricity and shot forward, heading straight toward me. I managed to open my arms and wrap them around him right as he slammed into me, driving me backward until I hit the wall. His mouth was on mine, hungry and desperate, and I gave back what he dished out. My fingers clutched at his suit, dragging him closer as I hooked an ankle around his knee to hold him in place. I rocked my hips against his, and we simultaneously moaned, the hard feel of his cock nudging against mine.

"Upstairs," I whimpered into his mouth.

"Now," he growled back, curling his arms under my arse and lifting me as if I weighed nothing. I was careful not to knock his face as he tilted his head back and demanded a kiss by puckering his lips. I complied, slanting my mouth over his and kissing him hard. He tasted of mint, and I craved more.

He climbed the stairs carefully, nearly tipping us over at one point when we knocked into the wall beside the staircase, and we giggled like teenagers. I was really too big for him to be doing this, but he seemed determined.

"Shh," I whispered urgently between the kisses I laid across his cheeks and jaw. "We can't let the kids know what we're doing."

Judah laughed loudly, and a thump came from Ellis's room.

"We know exactly what you're doing!" Ellis yelled with a cackle.

"And we're not kids," Hilton added with a giggle because I didn't think he knew how to do anything else.

He was a sweet guy, and I had the strange urge to protect him as much as Ellis despite Hilton being older. That was something I'd have to unpack later. Right now, I had Judah carrying me straight to his—our—bedroom. Once we were inside, he kicked the door closed.

"Don't think about them. Focus on me," Judah growled into my mouth, then sucked on my tongue aggressively before he dropped me on the bed. I bounced and didn't have time to gather my wits because he was on top of me fast, his body a comforting weight.

I wrapped my arms and legs around him like an octopus, making it so he couldn't escape. His warmth consumed me, and a sense of peace blanketed me. The only time I ever felt this good was when he was around. He was my compass, the one who guided me to safety. If I could redo it all again.... Well, I didn't know what I'd do. I couldn't've given up the chance to help Mum.

Maybe I would've taken Judah with us.

"Fuck, Puffin. Love you, love you so fucking much." He laid a trail of kisses across my cheek and made his way back to my lips, and I moaned into his mouth, rocking my hips up into him.

"Show me," I begged. "Show me how much you need me." I dug my socked feet into his arse, pressing his hips even closer to mine. "Fuck me, baby. Please."

He grunted and his hardness rolled against mine. He twisted, and I let him go so he could jump to his feet and shed his clothes. His jacket and tie went first, and he unbuttoned his shirt with the kind of elegance that might've made me jealous—if I wasn't so hungry to see his skin.

I sat up on my elbows, gaze eating the ridges of his abs and pecs. "Fuck, you're so hot."

He grinned wickedly and ran the tip of his finger over his belt buckle. "What do you want to do to me?"

"Everything," I moaned out. I slipped off the bed and fell to my knees in front of him, my hands cupping his thighs as I stared up at him. "Let me suck your cock?"

He carded his fingers through my hair, and I closed my eyes, enjoying the sensation of his nails scraping over my scalp. "I'm yours. Do what you want to me."

A shudder slid down my spine and my tongue poked out to wet my lips. I opened my eyes again and nuzzled the material of his pants at his thigh. I unbuckled his belt, staring up at him while I did so, and he returned my gaze. It was as though I couldn't look away, and I didn't want to since I had his attention on me.

Once I had his belt out of the way, I unbuttoned and unzipped his pants and yanked them down with his underwear. His shoes came off, then his socks, so he was able to step out of his pants and briefs, leaving me with the sexiest sight of his cock, thick and red at the tip, ready for me to do whatever I wanted to him.

He finally slipped off his shirt and threw it aside, and I whimpered at his nakedness. How was I so lucky to have a chance with him again? I didn't know, but I wasn't going to squander it. I slid my palms up his thighs, watching intently at the way they twitched under my touch. His cock jerked, precum beading at the slit, and I reached out with my tongue, swiping over the head.

He hissed and tried to clutch at the short strands of my hair. "Fuck, Puffin."

"Like that?" I teased, nuzzling the underside of his hard-on. Pleasure coiled in my lower stomach, my cock throbbing where it was trapped inside my underwear. "Want me to do more?"

"You know the answer," he growled out. He grabbed the base of his cock and slapped the length against my lips. "Open your mouth for me and show me how much you love me."

I grasped his hips and dug my nails into his skin as I leaned forward and did exactly what he'd instructed. I started at the head of his hard-on, sucking the tip with timid movements, before I stroked my tongue under it and took more of him between my lips.

He cursed and drove more of his cock into my mouth. I accepted the extra length with a small twinge of pain, relaxing my throat so I could take as much of him as possible until I had my face pressed into his groin. I moaned around his sensitive length, flicking my gaze up to take in the way his face was clouded with pleasure, his mouth open in a groan that came straight from hell, it was that deep.

"Fuck, Puffin." He brushed his fingertips down my cheek and smiled at me. "You're so fucking beautiful right now. My sweet Scot."

I shivered at his praise and swallowed around his cock, drawing a gasp out of him.

"Look at you, your mouth full of my dick. You are so fucking angelic like this. Jesus. You're mine, aren't you? You're not going anywhere." His fingers went down my neck and he pressed them into my skin, almost like he was going to choke me but without the force. "So pretty like this, Tav. I love you so much."

I pulled back before I took him in again, sucking and licking and enjoying the taste of his skin against my tongue. I smoothed my thumb over his hip bone, then lowered my hands across his hairy, muscular thighs. He was so strong, so capable, and I was his.

"Fuck, come here." He pushed me away gently by the shoulders, and I moaned in disappointment.

"I was enjoying that." I pouted up at him, but he hooked his hands under my armpits and yanked me to my feet. He was desperate in his movements as he tugged at my clothes. I stood there, letting him unwrap me like I was a present for only him.

With every piece of clothing he managed to get off, the hungrier he became, until I was as naked as him. He laid kisses over my skin, starting at my right shoulder and working his way down my chest to my nipple. He sucked on my tit, thirsty and frantic, and desire rippled across my flesh, eliciting goose bumps.

I trembled under his mouth, catching my bottom lip between my teeth so I didn't let out an obnoxious moan that the boys could hear in the other room. They already knew we were going to have sex; they didn't need to hear it, too.

"Fuck, I love your tits so much." He caught the nub between his teeth, tugging gently at it until it was swollen under his lips. Then, he moved on to the other.

My cock jerked with his attention, and despite needing him inside me, I didn't rush him. He was obsessed with my nipples and squeezing my pecs, and I liked his fascination with them as much as I loved him playing with them. My entire body was on fire, a burning need sizzling right below the surface as he kissed, nibbled, and sucked on my tits.

"Fuck, sweetheart. Love these so much." He nestled his face between my pecs and inhaled.

I smoothed my hand over the back of his head. "Mm."

Finally, after what felt like ages, he stood and shoved me backward. I fell onto the bed, and he was on top of me again, kissing me with an intensity I'd only ever experienced from Judah. His desperation for me was the biggest turn-on, and I didn't think another man would ever live up to him. I never wanted to find out because now that I had Judah back in my life, I wasn't going to let him go.

"Fuck. Need to get inside you," he mumbled against my mouth.

"Please," I begged. "Please, Jude."

He placed a trail of kisses down my neck before he shifted away to lean over to the bedside cabinet. He yanked the top drawer open so hard that it fell out completely, but he didn't seem to care as he grabbed the lube and threw it onto the mattress beside me.

I chuckled, but he shut me up with another press of his lips against mine. I didn't need much prep, but he still opened me with two lubed fingers.

"Just fuck me," I demanded fiercely. "Or I'll go to my box of goodies you made the movers pack up and get my dildo out." That comment made him freeze. He stared down at me, and I grinned, nodding. "Oh yeah, I have one."

He smirked. "We are going to have fun with that later."

I rolled my eyes and gripped his shoulders tightly. "I'm sure. Hurry up."

He hummed. "So demanding, Puffin. What happened to my sweet Scotsman?"

"He wants this Yankee's cock inside his hole," I said, deadpan, curling my arms around his shoulders and dragging him closer until we were chest to chest. "Now fuck me."

Judah chuckled and slanted his mouth over mine as he settled between my legs. I tilted my hips up, and he grabbed a pillow from behind my head to slide it under my arse. I kissed him in gratitude as he grasped his cock and lined it up with my hole. With one long stroke, he thrust inside me.

I gasped, throwing my head back. My legs shook and I hooked them around Judah's hips, holding him in place. Quivers of pleasure thrummed inside me mixed with the sweetness of pain that came with the stretch of his cock. "Oh, bloody hell."

"Feel good?" He kissed down my jaw before he found an erogenous spot near my neck and sucked a bruise onto it.

The overpowering desire flooded me from head to toe, and if he moved immediately, I'd probably come then and there, so I gripped his arm to keep him in place. "Wait, wait. Oh, fuck."

"Mm-hmm." He shifted back to stare at his work on my neck and grinned. "Perfect."

I laughed despite the readiness to crash over the edge of an early orgasm. "You're insatiable."

"For you, yeah." He cupped my cheeks and kissed me on the mouth, and I moaned into him. "Can I move?"

I nodded furiously, and he began to tease me. His thrusts started out slow, but he quickly picked up the pace. Between the stretch of my hole and his lips on my burning skin, I was tumbling toward an oblivion I never wanted to leave. I wrapped my body around him—arms circling his shoulders and legs cradling his hips—and held on.

I kept murmuring words that I didn't think I understood myself, but whatever they were, they had Judah cursing and muttering "I love you" back in a prayerful whisper.

We rocked together, moving as one, and I clung for dear life. I never wanted to let go. Judah was mine, like I was his, and nobody could tear us apart again. Nobody.

I shuddered and mumbled, "Not leaving. Never leaving. Yours. I'm yours, Jude."

"Fuck. Mine. You're mine."

It was rare for me to come without touching myself, but with the friction of our abs and his cock in my hole, I let out a stuttering little gasp. My orgasm was ripped from me in a tidal wave of cum, splattering and making a mess as far up as our chests and into the dip of my neck.

Judah wasn't far behind me, and he groaned and stilled as he came, the warmth of his release filling me until I thought I felt it sliding out and down onto the bed again.

"Love you," I whispered, kissing him lazily. I was too tired to care or be embarrassed by how quickly we'd come. I never needed to feel ashamed around Judah. He was my forever, and it was something I wasn't going to forget anytime soon.

"Love you, too." He swiped a palm over my sweaty forehead and through my hair before he placed a kiss above my brow. "We're taking your trailer keys back to the owner tomorrow."

All I could do was hum. In that moment, I would've agreed to anything.