Page 75 of Ruthless Protector

I glanced at the door. I had a choice to make. I could go out on a limb and choose to believe what these women were telling me, or I could walk out of here and not look back.

I looked at Jude and I could see he was willing me to listen to these women. He trusted them. And I trusted Jude. I knew he was a good guy. He’d shown me repeatedly. I had to believe he would surround himself with good people. As hard as it was for me to comprehend that people like this existed, I believed in Jude.

A stunning realization, but one that couldn’t be denied.

Which left only one choice.

18

Jude

I looked down at Tilly, asleep in my arms, then at Willa, as she took the stairs beside me to her apartment, at the smile curling her gorgeous mouth, the brightness in her eyes, and knew I wanted more than what we currently had going on.

I never thought I’d want something real, something permanent, not after losing Kate and Louis. I didn’t think I was capable of that kind of feeling, of any deep emotion for another person, or people. That I deserved it.

At first, I thought what I felt for Willa was all twisted up in my feelings of failure, my need to protect every woman and child I came across. But I knew that wasn’t it. What I felt for Willa, shit, I’d never felt like this before, and I wasn’t going to let it go, let her go. Christ, I couldn’t.

Willa unlocked the door and held it wide for me. I walked in and carried Tilly to her room, sliding her in between the sheets that her aunt held back for me. Willa took off Tilly’s shoes and socks and pulled the covers up.

Silently, Willa took my hand and led me to her bedroom door, and looked up at me. The woman dazzled me, had my head spinning, had me pining for her all damn day. She made me high as fuck, drunk on her, when I finally got my hands on her at night.

I swallowed, the sound audible, in the silence. “You have a good night, beautiful?” We’d gotten off to a rocky start at Zeke and Sunny’s, but by the end of the night, she was laughing her ass off with Ruby, teaching Sunny dance moves, and talking about Tilly and Josh with Lulu.

The smile she gave me made my fucking heart skip a beat, when I thought the organ had stopped beating when Kate and Louis’ did. I was gone over this woman and she had no clue.

“I like your friends,” she said. “They’re nice.”

I tucked a soft, pink strand of hair behind her ear. “They liked you.”

She chuckled, and the sound tugged low in my gut. “I think Tilly has a new super fan.”

I grinned. “Josh never let her out of his sight.”

Willa giggled, not something I’d ever heard from her before. She sounded carefree. Happy. “I like that, baby, a whole fucking lot,” I said.

Her head tilted to the side, her color high. “What do you like?”

“Seeing you so happy.” I slid my thumb under her lower lip. “And you. I like you.”

She stepped closer, her fingers curling in my shirt. “I like you, too.”

“Yeah?”

“Oh yeah.”

Her grip on my shirt tightened, and something came over me, something possessive, overwhelming. “Willa, I think we should talk,” I said, the words tumbling from my mouth.

I had no idea what I was going to say, not really. I just knew that I wanted more, that liking her didn’t come close to how I felt. That I couldn’t imagine my future without her. I needed to try and explain how I felt. What she meant to me.

She smiled and pressed her tits against my chest. “Talk? I had something else in mind.” She lifted to her tiptoes and pressed a soft kiss to my throat, sucking and nipping the skin there. My dick throbbed harder.

I gripped her shoulders, needing her in a way that boarded on savage, but I wanted to say this, to let her know it was her and not just the incredible sex that had me coming back to her night after night. Why I couldn’t keep the hell away. I tried to move her back, so I could see her face.

“Willa…” Her head tilted back, her eyes meeting mine, and I saw something that looked a lot like panic. I flinched from the sight of it, my gut twisting. “Beautiful?”

She wriggled in my hold, burrowing back in close, pressing her hot, soft curves against me. “Jude, please…would you just take me to bed. I want you to take me to bed.”

I had no idea what was going through her head, what she thought I was going to say, why it scared her so much, but I couldn’t fucking bear it, seeing that look in her eyes. I’d do anything to never see it again, give her anything, anything, to get back that carefree expression I’d seen on her face when we walked in the door.