Free Ryker’s Justice by Lee Ann Sontheimer Murphy Page B

sweeter than
a stash of wild honey in a bee tree. He never doubted she meant it, and so
before her eyes closed and he succumbed to fatigue, he repeated them back to
her like the vow they were. “Oh, honey, I love you, too.”
    He
drifted to sleep on soft wings, content in the knowledge that he loved and was
loved in return. Jude didn’t fret over the future, not his nephew’s or the
investigation or what would happen with Nicole. This moment, this interlude
contained the world—for now.
    Morning
changed everything. He woke to the shrill insistence of a ringing cell phone, a
sound which would not stop. Jude roused, aware of the warm woman cuddled beside
him, her hand resting on his broad chest. His ringtone continued and he
untangled from Nicole to find the phone, still in the pocket of his discarded
jeans. Tense with concern, afraid the call might bring ill news, he answered.
    “Ryker.”
    “Jude?”
Mary’s voice echoed in his ear. “I’m sorry to call so early but I’m worried
about Nicole. She never came home.”
    Jude
relaxed. “It’s okay, she’s with me,” he said. Then he realized how it must
sound and added, “After the football game, my nephew David was in a bad car
accident. He needed surgery but he’s in ICU now and the docs say he should
recover. Nicole wanted to stay, to offer what support she could.”
    Mary’s
tone altered. “Oh, my. I hadn’t heard. Well, you’ve
both put in a long night. I’m glad David will be okay, though. If you can
leave, come to the inn and I’ll fix you a nice breakfast, Jude.”
    “Thanks,”
he said. “We’ll see. I appreciate it.”
    Nicole
stirred and opened her eyes. He watched as she became aware of her
surroundings, then stretched out her hand to find him.
When she didn’t, he stepped to the bed and sat down on the edge. “Good morning,
honey.”
    She
answered with a smile and stretched out her hand. He took it. No woman had ever
seemed more beautiful than she did, hair tousled and bare skinned. “ Wanna come back to bed for a while?”
    His
cock tightened at the idea but he shook his head. “I wish. But I need to head
down to the hospital and see what’s going on. You can sleep awhile longer if
you want.”
    Jude
stroked hair back from her face as tenderness welled up within. Nicole shook
her head. “No thanks,” she said. “I need coffee and then we need to talk.”
    “Mary
offered to feed us if you want to head over to the inn.”
    “She’s
sweet but I want this to last, just us, for a little longer.”
    He
had no desire to argue so he pulled on his jeans and padded barefooted
downstairs to plug in the coffeepot. Reality, he thought, would be back soon so
he resolved to enjoy the interlude while it lasted.

Chapter Nine
     
    After
plenty of black coffee and leftover biscuits, Nicole cleared the table while
Jude lingered over his last cup. She paused behind him and put her hands on his
shoulders, then leaned closer. “I meant what I said,” she told him.
    Jude
tilted back so he could see her face. “So did I ,” he
said. “I love you, Nicole. I’ve never said those words to any woman until now. Just
so you know , it’s not some ‘morning after sweet talk’.
But I’ll be damned if I know what happens next.”
    She
folded her fingers and rested her hand against his cheek. “We’ll figure it out,
Jude. I haven’t felt this way, this strong, this real before either, and
I was married.”
    He
placed his hand over hers, savoring her caress. “Yeah, I know, honey.”
    “There’s
a lot you don’t know, but I want you to,” she told him.
    “I’m
ready to listen whenever you want to talk. I need to tell you why I’m here and
what I’m doing, too, Nicole. But like I said, you can’t tell anyone any details.”
    “I
won’t. And I know you’ll do the same. There are things I’d rather most people
don’t know about my ex and what he did. It’s one reason I left Memphis and why I’ve stayed so long.”
    She’s gonna talk about