It had been doomed from the beginning. Jude Nielson was under my skin, and I knew that as long as he was here in Calgary, I wouldn’t be able to stay away.
Before I could respond, he continued speaking in a soft murmur, his mouth brushing against mine. “So this is what it’s supposed to feel like. I wasn’t sure if I’d like the feel of your cum dripping out of me, but it’s kind of hot.”
My spent dick twitched, and I groaned. “Don’t say shit like that. I’m not sure I have another round in me tonight after the most intense game of hockey I’ve ever played, followed byeverything we just did. My stamina is good, but—” I cut myself off when I felt his lips curve upwards against my skin. “What?”
“You’re far more talkative with me now, you know? I like it.”
“I— Wait.” My head shot up as his earlier words penetrated the fog surrounding my brain. “That was your first time doing it bare?”
“Uh…” He bit down on his lip. “Yeah?”
“Jude? Why’d you say it like a question?”
His eyes squeezed shut, his whole body tensing. “Fuck. Okay. Uh. Listen. How pissed off would you be if I told you that night in the club was the first time I’d ever done anything with a man?”
“Thefuck?” I reeled backwards, my eyes widening. “Are you fucking serious?”
“Yeah.” He cracked his eyes open, giving me a cautious look. “I… Look. I was like, ninety-nine percent sure I was bi before I came here. Okay…I was a hundred percent sure. I thought being far away from home would be a good opportunity to, y’know, hook up without any pressure or worries that the media might find out.”
“You let me fuck you up against the wall in a seedy club for your first time? You let me fucking dick you down with barely any prep, right there, in a public fucking place?” My voice was rising, and he shrank back from me.
“I’m—I’m sorry.” He bit down on his lip. His trembling lip. Fuck, his eyes were glassy too.
All my anger disappeared, just like that. Reaching out, I stroked my thumb over his cheekbone. “Hey. I’m not mad. Not at you, anyway. I get why you did it. I just wish I’d known so I could’ve made it better for you.”
His lashes lowered, his lip still trembling, and I couldn’t fucking stand it.
“C’mere.” Rolling onto my back, I pulled him into my arms. I had no idea what I was doing, but he needed comfort, andso I acted on instinct. He came without resistance, sighing into my throat as I stroked down his back, soothing him as best as I could.
“I had a good time that night, though,” he said quietly. “And tonight…tonight was better than anything I could have imagined.”
I pressed a kiss to the side of his head. “Same goes for me.”
We were both silent for a while, lost in our own thoughts. Right when I was on the edge of sleep, Jude spoke again, his words whispered like a secret into the night.
“I’m glad you were my first.”
11
Jude
Abuzzing sound pulled me out of a dream involving a hard, naked body— Hang on. It wasn’t a dream. The buzzing was coming from Cody’s phone, next to mine on the bedside table, and that was his arm tightening around my waist as he fumbled for it with a yawn. A smile tugged at my lips as I lay there, so fucking happy he’d stayed, that he was still here in my bed, warm and solid against my back.
“Shit,” he muttered, blinking at his screen. “I didn’t mean to sleep this late.”
“Late? I squinted at my own phone screen before rolling over to face him. “It’s only nine.” Smiling, I took in the sight of the hot-as-fuck, tattooed man in my bed. His hair was even more tousled than normal, his eyes hadn’t even managed to open all the way yet, and the bruising around his nose had darkened to shades of blue and purple overnight. Despite all that, he was beautiful.
“Yeah. I have things to do today.” He dropped his phone on the bed and then dipped his head to mine, brushing a soft kiss over my cheek. I swallowed, rubbing my hand over my torso as something that felt weirdly like butterflies erupted in mystomach. It seemed as if he’d done it almost absent-mindedly, without really even being aware of what he was doing.
“Things?”
“Just prep for the next game. And…” He hesitated, and I pressed my lips carefully to the very tip of his nose, where there was no bruising.
“Tell me? I won’t say anything. You can trust me.”
He stared at me for a long moment with an inscrutable expression on his face. Eventually, he nodded. “I know I can. This needs to stay between us, okay?”
“You can trust me,” I said again. “I’d never break your confidence.”
