“Want me to come?”

“No. Keep dancing. I’ll be right back.”

Jude hurried to the hall, then slowed down, her heart beating out of her chest. Suddenly, she was grabbed and dragged into a bathroom. The door was locked and she was pressed against the cheap wood. Taylor’s lips were on hers, his hands roaming her body. Her heart was racing and her body was frenzied. She’d missed him so much. She’d missed this so much.

She came up for air while he went down on her chest, kissing the chain that held his ring over her heart. His hands went under her skirt. Panting, he warned, “Don’t wear this skirt again. Do you understand me, Jude?”

“I do,” she exhaled. “I do. I do.” Then it occurred to her and she lifted her head to look at him. “No, I don’t understand. Don’t you like it?”

Just as his hands covered her thighs, he stopped and burst out laughing, leaving her against the door and out of breath. The faucet was turned on and he splashed his face twice with cold water. While he patted dry with a paper towel, he watched her lick her lips. “And that. Don’t do that anymore either.”

“What?”

“Lick your lips.”

It was becoming clear. His comments were becoming clear to her. She cocked an eyebrow and said, “So, no wearing of aforementioned skirt.” She dragged the edge of it up her thigh slowly, oh so slowly. He was following the deliberate rise with his eyes. “And no licking of the lips.” She licked her lips, dragging her tongue over them.

Turning abruptly he slammed the bottom of his fists against the painted cinder block wall, then tossed the towel. “You’re driving me fucking crazy, Jude, but I’m not gonna fuck you in a filthy bathroom.”

“Where are you going to fuck me then?”

Taylor paced back and forth twice before he said, “I want you to come home with me. I know you’ll say you can’t, but please don’t.”

“Is it that you miss me or you miss having sex?”

He laughed, but it was tinged with desperation. “I’m not going to lie to you. Both. But I want you in my bed again any way I can get you. I want to make love to you and I want to wake up to you.” He caressed her face, his body against hers. “Come home with me.”

His breath was inebriating. His heat awakened her body. Her body became alight with desire for this man. Everything that she had tried so hard to protect him from, everything she’d kept hidden, was for him. And here he stood pressed to her, weakening her defenses. He was worth the wrath she would face because she never stood a chance. She kissed his temple, his forehead, the side of his mouth. “Okay,” she whispered against the edge of his lips. “Okay, Hazel. For you. All for you, I’ll come home with you.”

He kissed her again, a smile showing as their lips parted. “Let’s go.” Taking a tight hold of her hand, they left the bathroom much to the relief of everyone in line, waiting for it. He pulled her through the dancing crowd. The music thumped louder, or it was his heart in his ears. He wasn’t sure anymore. The flashing lights kept him from thinking rationally. The only thing he knew to do was to get Jude out of here, to get her to his place, to make love to her. To love her. Again and again.

Taking one last look back at Rufus, the enemy’s eyes fastened on Taylor. Rufus held his glass in the air as a toast, or touché. Taylor knew Rufus had gotten the better of him, but there was no going back now. They would face whatever battle they had to together, repercussions be damned. Glancing down at Jude, he knew he loved her too much to go back anyway.

EVERYTHING ABOUT JUDE—the mystery, the secrets in her eyes, her body, her lips—all of her attracted Taylor like no other. She was different from the girls he had grown up with, dated, was expected to marry. She was uniquely her. She was Jude. And she was his.

“How did we not know each other growing up?” he asked in the car ride to his house, meaning to ask her this long before now.

“We lived upstate until I was fifteen. My stepdad got a promotion and we moved to the city.” She didn’t look at him when she replied.

He didn’t like that. He could see how anxious she was getting and it made him feel bad, like he was taking advantage of her. That was the last thing he wanted to do. “I can take you home.”

She turned to him. “I want to be with you.”

“I don’t want to cause you any more problems.”

Her hand slid across the seat until she found his. She was quiet for a few blocks and then said, “We can go to mine. If you don’t mind sneaking out before morning.”

“I’ll take my chances if it will help you.”

“It will make tomorrow easier.”

“Are you sure you want to do this?”

“I’m sure.”

Thank fuck, thought Taylor.

She unlocked the front door and snuck Hazel upstairs. It was late and no one was awake. Apparently staying out late was perfectly acceptable if she was with Isla. She rolled her eyes at the ridiculousness. When they entered her bedroom, she left him standing by the closed door in the dark until she reached the lamp on her bedside table. When it flicked on, she said, “Ignore the pink explosion. It was here, furniture and all, when we moved in. Ryan got the green room. I got stuck in here.”

Taylor stood there in astonishment, not only by the large size of the room, but by the décor. This was not his Jude. This room belonged to a ten-year-old. He was horrified. “Good God, Jude. They’re keeping you young forever.”

She got embarrassed. “It’s just a room. It means nothing.” She didn’t know why he was angry, but she felt it rolling off him in waves. Her teeth scraped over her lip, tugging it in and she stood there awkwardly.

He wasn’t sure what to think about this, but he could see her discomfort so he tried to push the other feelings down and went to her. “I’m sorry. Just from what you’ve told me… and now seeing this. It’s a lot to take in.”

“I loved being at your place. It felt more like home than this room ever has.”

His heart lurched and all he wanted to do was love this woman the way she deserved to be loved, for as long as he was able to love her. His few years would be better than having her stay here. He wanted to save her, to protect her, and to love her. “Jude?”

“Yeah?” she whispered.

“Marry me.” He didn’t whisper.

“What?”

“I want you to marry me.” He pulled her toward the bed and sat, holding her hands as she stood in front of him. “I’m not sex drunk. I’m not drunk at all. I love you. I want you with me.”

She smiled. He always had a way of making her smile from the inside. “Is this because you want me out of this room?”

Not just the room. He wanted her out of the house that had stolen the life from her eyes. He could see it. “I do want you out of this room, but I wouldn’t marry you for that reason.”

She sat on his lap, and ran the tips of her fingers over his mouth. “Have I ever told you how wonderful these lips are?”

He was used to how her mind worked and let her go down this path. “No, tell me.” He reached around her and undid the clasp of the necklace. Sliding the ring he’d given her off the chain, then listened to her while placing the ring on her finger.

“They’re full and kissable, so very kissable.” She kissed him. “And they say the sweetest things to me and they ask me to marry them. When I look at them, I have no restraint whatsoever. So if they really want me to marry them, I will.”

He got up, so she stood. Dropping to one knee in front of her, he said, “Jude, I love you more than anything or anyone.” Bringing her hand to his mouth, he kissed her palm, the ring she was wearing on her finger, and placed her hand on his heart. “I feel you here. I feel you in my soul. I feel your absence when you’re away. I don’t want to be away from you anymore. I promise to love you always. I promise to protect you all of my days, my entire life. Please say yes. Will you marry me?”