Free Clash by Nicole Williams Page A

worst, I did cry out. Grabbing the edges of the counter, I forced myself to keep looking into those eyes of his that were darkening with their want.
    “I’ll be damned,” he breathed, the words all throaty and rough.
    I couldn’t acknowledge him with words‌—‌I was one thumb stroke past words.
    Closing the space between us, he kissed the corner of my mouth. “I love you,” he whispered outside my ear, right before his thumb started moving in slow circles over me.
    My head fell back, smashing into the mirror, but the dull pain felt good paired with the acute throb spreading its way through my body from Jude’s skilled thumb.
    My breath came in shorter gasps as everything tightened into a ball. I was so close.
    “I love you so damn much, Luce,” Jude said as his mouth explored my throat.
    And that was all I needed. My fingers dug into his back as my body quaked against his.
    As my muscles went limp, I let myself curl into him. I managed to sigh through my staggered breathing. I could feel his smile against my skin.
    Holy shit. My body felt like it was still intact, but a few moments ago it felt like it was falling apart from the center. I couldn’t calm my breathing and my inner thighs were still trembling as Jude continued sucking on the soft patches of my shoulder.
    Right as my head was falling back again, the bathroom door exploded open, slamming into Jude.
    “I think we better find you another bathroom to freshen up in, Adriana.” Holly peered over Adriana’s shoulder, shooting me a smile of camaraderie. Adriana took in the scene, my legs wrapped around Jude where he held me captive on the counter, still exploring my skin with his mouth. New tears pricked to life in her reddened eyes. “This one’s… occupied ,” Holly added, flashing me a wink before pulling on Adriana’s elbow.
    But before she backed out of the room, her eyes met mine. My mouth curved up, my lips still parted from my clipped breathing. Keeping her gaze, I curled my fingers into Jude’s back, arching my neck higher to give Jude better access. I didn’t have to utter a single word for Adriana to get the message. It was crystal clear.
    Jude was mine.
    Only after the door closed again did Jude’s mouth slow. Giving one last nip over my shoulder blade, he lifted his head. His face was smug as he took me in, still rattled from what he’d done to me.
    “I guess she figured out what ‘came up’ when I left her high and dry with a shot between her tits,” he said, bracing his hands over the counter outside my legs.
    “I guess she did,” I replied, scooting off the edge of the counter since the backs of my legs were falling asleep. Bad idea. Because nothing that was supposed to work in my body was. Jude’s arms wound around me, keeping me steady.
    “I guess I showed her,” I said, gripping Jude’s arms as the sensation drained back into my legs.
    His eyebrows squeezed together. “Showed her what?”
    “That she better keep her hands and sights off my man,” I replied, not sure I should be admitting this to him, but my mind was still foggy and punch drunk.
    Looking down at me, his eyebrows pulled tighter for a moment before his whole face flattened. “That’s what this whole thing is about,” he said, running his eyes down my dress that was still rolled up to my waist. “Isn’t it? This whole night has been about Adriana. Not about me.”
    Okay, yeah. I shouldn’t have said anything. Especially when the corners of his eyes lined from the words he’d said.
    “No, this was for you,” I said, rolling my dress back down.
    “Don’t lie to my, Luce,” he said, the muscles in his jaw going taut. “Everything‌—‌the dress, the coy little smiles and flirty eyes, the panties, the damn orgasm in the bathroom as Holly ‘accidently’ shows Adriana what’s going on‌—‌it was all just some calculated plan put into play by a jealous girlfriend.”
    “No,” I said. “This whole thing in the bathroom was one big,