“They are civically minded,” he concurred. “They conscientiously arrived at that sum with Nathaniel’s best interest at heart.”
“Then they’ll want to help him honor his wife’s memory.”
“Kate… It’s a lot to—”
“Figure out, concede to, coordinate, orchestrate, execute… Yes to all of the above.” Her fingers curled around the material of his robin’s egg-blue dress shirt as she insisted, “But that’s what makes endeavors like these so special, Jude. So worthwhile. You have a case to win. Nathanial Stevens can win as well. In a different capacity, but what matters most is that no one discards him or his pain. No one casts him aside as they praise your victory. Partner with him, Jude. Don’t leave him destroyed…give him reasons to get up in the morning long after the dust has settled on his lawsuit.”
“Holy shit,” Jude muttered. “What the hell are you doing, Kate?”
Her heart plummeted to somewhere around her knees. Had she completely misread the situation? Sent it spiraling into some catastrophic realm that not only impacted Nathanial Stevens, but also screwed with all the progress Jude had made?
“Jude, I—”
“Have a stellar idea, Kate.”
His arms were suddenly around her and he lifted her up, kissing her with a fiery furor that had Kate instantly clinging to him.
And returning the kiss.
There was an intriguing shattering of tension within Jude that was replaced with an enticing effervescence…that gave way to his more aggressive nature.
Kate absorbed all the various shifts in his demeanor, reveled in them. As he strode to the sofa and eased her down onto it, she was mesmerized by the vastly different type of intensity he exuded. The sexual kind, accompanied by the tightening of his muscles, the deepening of his kiss.
She walked a very fine line. Lines she blurred, actually, because whether she was a therapist, a confidant or a strategist for Jude was becoming less clear. What did resonate was the term lover.
He wanted her in ways she was more than willing to assent to. Would be begging for once again, except that Jude was already peeling away their clothes and sinking into her. Thrusting deep. Propelling her into that darkly sensual bliss where all the rational roles and definitions were forgotten.
Where all she could think about and focus on was Jude.
His thick cock stroked forcefully, seeking and finding her G-spot. Rubbing frantically so that Kate could barely breathe. So that all she wanted was to free Jude from everything that haunted him and coax him into that mindless oblivion that would release him from this fresh round of torment.
Kate grasped she had a need to cure him on a level she’d never been able to contemplate until they’d entered into a passionate relationship. She’d never been able to consider or employ a holistic approach to his healing. Until now.
Now, at this very moment, she could be everything to Jude.
Even if only for this very moment…
“Jude,” Kate whispered as her pelvis undulated and she matched his assertive pace. Her hand gripped his ass cheek, her nails digging in. “Fuck me. Pour every ounce of angst and desire and the dismay over the endless issues you can’t resolve into me.”
“Jesus, Kate,” he groaned. And thrust deeper, harder.
“I want it all, Jude.” One of her legs lifted and her foot pressed into the small of his back, keeping their bodies sealed. “Give it to me.”
16
“You are so fucking tight,” he ground out. “So wet. So amazing.”
“And I want you, Jude. I love how you feel, every inch of you filling me, stretching me. Pressing so far into me…”
“Kate.” The hitch in his voice was the undeniable sign she recognized. He was damn close to losing it.
So was she.
“Yes, Jude,” Kate whispered. “Just like that.”
They moved together, quickly, frenetically. Kate urged him on with her vise grip on his body and his cock. Jude upped the ante with his relentless aggression. Their labored breaths filled the room. The sensations surrounded Kate, making all thoughts shadowy and inconsequential as one prevailing and all-consuming emotion ensnared her.
> Desire tore through her and Kate screamed Jude’s name. She clenched him fiercely as her orgasm raged within her. Her body quaked and she just might have drawn blood from her nails biting into Jude’s ass.