Maybe I was wrong.

Like, really wrong.

Jude didn't kiss me.

The only telling sign I could see that he had heard me was the slight widening of his eyes.

Why couldn't I just shut my mouth?

"...or not." I tried to hide in the crook of his neck, but he shifted away so I couldn't. I pushed my head into the pillow instead, avoiding his gaze.

I rarely blushed but I knew my cheeks were sporting twin red dots.

"Look at me." He coerced my eyes back to him. I tried to look elsewhere but he brought his finger to my chin to keep me from looking away.

"Could we pretend that the last few seconds didn't exist?" I squeaked, feeling a wave of heat crawl up my spine and spread across my cheeks.

"I can't."

"At least try." I said through clenched teeth. It was a miracle I hadn't chipped any away from how hard I snapped them together.

"Can't." His lip twitched. It almost seemed as if he was going to laugh but his lips shortly returned to a stern line.

"Well, this is just embarrassing." I muttered, staring at his perfect collarbone. It was going to take a while before I gathered enough courage to face him again.

Or a century.

"Look at me." He beckoned, sliding his knuckles along my jawline.

"I-" My words cut off when another pulse travelled down the length of my body. My spine arched in a painful curve as my head pressed deep into my pillow.

"How long does this last again?" I asked breathlessly, hoping I didn't sound as vulnerable as I did. It was tiring, feeling the heat come and go. One second it'd be fine, then the heat would return, more demanding. My muscles ached from the continuous tensing. I could feel my wolf getting agitated from having some of her control slip gradually.

I didn't get an answer because I felt the velvet texture of his lips settle on the contours of mine.

My heart faltered like a pair of fragile wings but then it picked up speed, slamming loudly against my ribcage.

I'm not sure which one of us groaned first but it didn't matter. Jude had shifted from his side and rolled onto me, covering me with the heat emanating from his skin. I felt his rough hands skim along my thighs before touching the top my knees, gently parting them. He slipped his weight between the soft cradle of them, moaning into my neck as he settled on top of me, gripping fistfuls of the sheets beneath us.

A shaky breath escaped my lips as he suddenly gripped my ankles and crossed them just above his firm buttocks. He dug his fingers back into the sheets. Chest to chest, hip to hip, I felt him everywhere on me.

I enjoyed the way his stone-hard abs tensed when he experimentally pressed his hips into mine. A moan tore from my lips.

I relished the way he fisted the bedspread beneath us at each careful slide of our lips.

I loved the rough scrape of his stubble on my smooth cheek.

I savoured the way his unbound hair tickled my skin.

I even felt the strong, frenetic beat of his heart imprint upon my skin.

I gasped his name when the hot feeling in my chest grew but his lips immediately devoured the sound until I was rendered into nothing but breathless moans and whimpers.

We kissed and kissed, not aware of anything else but the soft, exploring glide of our lips. Nothing else really mattered. It was just us with our hearts beating wildly in our chests and the wet sound of our lips colliding.

I was feeling too much, too soon. I knew he felt it too by the way his lips paused, and his breath shook.

Our lips briefly broke apart as we breathed each other in.

I felt his hands skim up my sides in a feather-light ascent and press into the mattress on either side of my head before his lips settled on mine once more like he couldn't stay away. I felt the same as I flicked the tip of my tongue against his lips, tasting him all over again.

Although neither of us dared to go any further, we stayed locked together, simply enjoying the taste of the other until the heat of the needing dimmed a little.

Even then, we struggled to stop but Jude managed to stop the kiss as he forced himself away. That was, after he pressed far more innocent pecks on my lips, once, twice...thrice before he rolled off me, breathing hard into the back of his wrist.

I bit my lip, feeling the tingling sensation play upon them. I knew they were swollen pink and a touch bruised.

"That was..." I began.

"No words. Not a single one can define that..."

I swallowed hard, clutching the sheets closer to my naked body. "Yeah. No words."

***

I woke up to the sound of stifled music.

It was dark outside, but the room was dimly illuminated by the stray silver rays of the moon.

A soft breeze filtered into the room through the small open slit in the window. The dusky drapes rustled against the wall, looking like puppets being tugged by strings.

Someone was in bed with me.

I stiffened, trying to sort through my memories however the lingering whiff of pine, frost, and roses calmed my nerves immediately.

Jude.

I noted that I was wearing a plain cotton shirt that fell loose on my frame. The sleeves draped over my fingertips. The hem skimmed mid-thigh. I knew Jude must've put it on me. The thought made me flush.

Hell, he saw me naked!

There was an emblem of the E.S on the breast-pocket of the shirt, stitched in gold. I absently traced the protruding letters, hoping one day I'd be able to wear the mark proudly.

"Did I wake you?"

I jolted from the sound of his voice.

I sat up, self-consciously dragging the silky sheets to my chest. I looked at him through the dark curtain of my hair. I combed the thick locks off my face and shifted it over my shoulders. As I did this, I felt his gaze on me. It was difficult to ignore the intensity of it. When I caught his gaze, he looked away, drawing his attention to the dim-lit screen of his tablet. There were two documents opened, each showing lines of small black letters.

Now that his earphones were out, I could hear the soft melody of Yimura playing. I recognised the piano piece as 'River flows in you'.

"No, you didn't wake me." I said quietly, barely recognising my voice.

I was fumbling with things to say because of the flashbacks of our time entangled on the bed. I recalled how smooth and hot his skin felt against mine. I still felt the remnants of his lips against my own.

"You're thinking too much." He said as he placed the tablet on the bedside table. I watched as he methodically twirled his white earplugs around his fingers. He placed it on top of his tablet. I noted that while I was sleeping, he had dressed in a simple blue shirt and black boxer briefs. With the wrinkled sheets gathered at his hips and his back against the headboard, he appeared as if he was amid a GQ shot. His hair was artfully tousled, although I knew he ran his fingers through them endlessly.

The man was sexy and from the looks of it, he knew it already, although he didn't flaunt it.

I chewed on my lip, contemplating his words. Okay, I was overthinking but what could I do? Now that the burning desire dimmed, I could think clearly. We kissed. We made out. We came alive. If we had powers, the whole bed would've diminished to ashes from the unadulterated passion we created.

I didn't know it was possible to burn for someone so wildly and recklessly.

I licked my lips and remembered the way he tasted. There was no way I could forget. My body had already committed everything about him to memory. His delicious taste. His calloused touch. The stifled moans he made against my neck, ear, and cheek. The way his muscles tensed when I explored the contours of his body with my fingertips.

Just as I was about to ask him how he knew the needing hit, a ball of white fluff leaped onto the bed, landing on my thigh.

Misty, Jude's kitten purred, rubbing her little soft head against my belly. She purred again, pawing at me. I couldn't help the smile that touched my lips. "Hello, what are you doing here?"

She purred as Jude shook his head, "She shouldn't be here."

When I shot him a confused look, he explained, "She has a little door she can come through in the kitchen. I don't know how she got here though. Jamison was supposed to keep an eye on her."

Jamison kitty sitting?

I couldn't imagine it.

Misty purred louder and tumbled onto her back. She released a soft meow and I melted. Absolutely melted.

"She's hungry." Jude flicked the covers from his lap and slid off the bed. He padded to the door and halted to look over his shoulder at me. "Would you mind bringing her with you to the kitchen?"

"Yeah. Of course." I scooped Misty up and scrambled unceremoniously off the bed. Luckily Jude was out the room before he could witness my lack of grace.

The kitchen, I knew, had no cat food. So, I was surprised when he sorted through the pantry and drew out a can of tuna I didn't spot before. He grabbed a knife from the cutlery holder and began to make quick work of cutting the lid off.

Guess Jude didn't use can openers.

He soon had the can open and grabbed a bowl from the dish rack and emptied half its slimy contents into the bowl. The other half he disposed in another bowl and wrapped it, slipping it into the fridge. He took another bowl and filled it with tap water and carefully placed the two bowls on the kitchen mat. He did all this as if he'd done this for years. It was attractive the way he moved through the kitchen with quiet assurance. It reminded me of the way he moved when he wielded his chains. I had noted that the weapon wasn't on him when he stormed into the cabin.

"Your chains are gone."

He took a second to look at his forearms as if noticing just then that they were indeed gone. He stroked the bare skin thoughtfully, "Must've left it back in my bedroom."

Misty picked up on the tuna scent pretty quickly and pawed my arm. I let her down. She quickly scurried to her meal. She chirped a soft meow in Jude's direction, like a thank you for the food before diving her pink snout into the tuna with relish. Jude simply rewarded her with a full body stroke.

"Are you hungry?"

My stomach growled in response.

He nodded and opened a lower cabinet, pulling out a frypan. "I don't cook but I know how to make scrambled eggs."

"Maybe I should cook." I offered. Although I wasn't a great chef, I could make decent food. After all, I was raised by a great cook who liked to experiment.

He paused by the fridge, with the butter in his hands. "Are you sure?"

"Unless you want scrambled eggs-"

"You can cook." He interrupted quickly.

I chuckled, "Okay, leave it to me."

When Alexei and Jamison dropped me off, one of the first things I did was examine the cupboards and fridge. What can I say? Priorities. I was pleasantly surprised to see that the cabin was stocked with food. So, it wasn't a shock I dove straight for the chocolate cookies. All three packets. I hoped Jude hadn't noticed the shortage of the chocolate cookies because there was a noticeable gap on the shelf where they used to be.

I found the ingredients for my famous Linguine Carbonara dish with cauliflower and pancetta. It was Ma's favourite dish, and it was a meal she fed to me often in my childhood days. These days, she rarely cooked for me since I was old enough to work the kitchen. It was only on special occasions she'd cook it for me.

Now, I was cooking it for Jude who grabbed a seat on the stool and sat at the island, facing me.

He didn't look away when our gazes brushed as I went to reach for the black pepper in front of him. He just had that brooding look on his face, like he was contemplating something.

I tried to ignore his stare, or at least pretend that Misty was my only company, but Jude's presence was too conspicuous. Even if he wanted to be invisible, one simply couldn't ignore Jude Slater.

Heck, even his name was badass.

Thirty minutes later, I had the steaming pasta dished into separate plates. I had to admit, it smelt freaking good. I was salivating for it already, but I wanted Jude to have a bite first.

I passed him a fork and he accepted it with a rough thanks before he slowly twirled the pasta strands onto the tines of his fork. He almost had the forkful in his mouth, but I stopped him with a shake of my head. He paused and furrowed his brows in confusion. I darted to the fridge and pulled out the parmesan. "You can't have it without the parmesan." I declared like a weirdo.

Jude let me sprinkle some onto his plate and forkful. When I finished, I sat back in my seat and watched him take the first mouthful.

"Good?"

He chewed, swallowed, and stared beyond my shoulder.

Something was working behind that busy brain of his and it sucked he didn't share his thoughts aloud.

He didn't answer me until he finished his third bite. "It's good." He spoke softly, staring at his plate instead of me. His fingers were wrapped around his fork tightly with his knuckles turning white. Although his answer was flat, I smiled to myself as I dug into my share.

We ate in silence, but it wasn't uncomfortable.

Strangely, the moment was perfect without words to fill in the quiet.

My grin spread wider when he scooped a second and third serving, leaving nothing behind on the porcelain.

Not even a crumb.