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Jude grabs the human by the shoulder and practically snarls at her to get lost, losing control of her temper. Everyone knows who Jude is and precisely why you should take that threat seriously, so the human scurries off. Jude then turns her anger on me, “What were you hoping to achieve by flirting with that human in front of me? You say you’re trying to win my trust back, and then you do that? Do youwantme to hate you?” She seethes.

Raising my eyebrow, because we both know that it didn’t happen like that, I turn to Luca and ask, “Can we use your office for privacy?” She wordlessly hands me her office keys and grabbing Jude’s hand, I lead her through the packed nightclub, squeezing past all the gyrating bodies until we’re in the privacy of Luca’s office. Inside, the thumping of the musicgone, I lean against the desk, crossing my arms over my chest, trying to remain calm and collected as I explain.

“You’ve made it clear you’re only tolerating my presence because of my mother’s instructions, and I can never have you the way I did again. So what was that display of jealousy about?” Jude stares at my lips and unconsciously starts biting hers before she quickly looks away and responds, “I don’t know.”

This time my temper flares. “Bullshit. If I’ve learned to communicate, you can definitely do it. Let me rephrase; you don’t want me, but your actions show something different. So what is it then? If you can’t have me, no one can? Am I not allowed to be happy without you?”

When Jude turns to face me again, the look on her face becomes predatory. Her voice is like a spell. “Maybe I’ve had a bit more to drink tonight than I should have, and it’s been a while since I’ve been with someone. I haven’t forgotten how good we are together and maybe, just for a moment, I want to be a normal university student again. Not my family's future.”

She threads her arms around my neck, her body pressed flush against me, her mouth only inches from mine. There is no way she hasn’t felt how hard I am, and when her breath shudders, it confirms my suspicion. When I brought Jude to Luca’s office, I wanted to give her space to fight it out with me. Now, she’s trying to seduce me. She may not trust me, but no one knows her better than I do. It doesn’t help that I’m still hopelessly in love with her.

“What do you want, Jude?” My sanity is barely holding on by a thread. Having her so close to me is exquisite and torturous at the same time. “I don’t know about the future, but right now, this,” she presses her hips into me for emphasis, “seems like a really great idea.”

She finally brings her face closer and presses her lips against mine. Groaning into her mouth, I relish the kiss for a minute before reminding myself that I have to do the responsible thing. I owe her that much after everything I put her through. Breaking the kiss, I tuck her hair behind her ear to give my hands something else to do while I ask what I’m dreading.

“Jude, is this really what you want right now? We’ve both been drinking. I’ve lost so much of you. I don’t want to take advantage of you and give you another reason to hate me.” She bites her lip again, and I swear I will do anything she wants when she does that.

“Have you ever wondered that maybe I want to be taken advantage of? While I may not trust you with my heart, I know I can trust you with my body. Loving you has only brought me pain. But tomorrow, nothing will have changed between us.”

While some of that stings, it's all I needed to hear, and my mouth crashes into hers, and we’re frenzied trying to get close enough to each other. While I would have liked to draw this out for hours, we don’t have a lot of time, and Jude fumbles for my belt buckle as I unbutton my shirt. Just having her hands on me again is enough to almost finish me. She touches something deep in my soul, and for a second, I want to close my eyes and savor this moment with her, committing every beautiful part of her to my memory.

Grabbing her hand, I take control as my pants hang loosely. Guiding her by the hips, we swap places so her back is against the desk. Hoisting her up onto it, I promise myself I will buy Luca a new office if I need to when we’re done. Jude wraps her legs around my hips, locking me into place while she kisses my neck in my favorite spot, between my jaw and my ear. If she keeps going like that, this is going to be over before we’ve even started.

Lifting her head for a moment, she runs her hands over the myriad of tattoos over my body, something she’s never seen before. “They’re beautiful,” she murmurs, and the last thing I want to do is talk about it now, so I lift her dress. Finding blue lace underwear waiting for me, I groan because she’s a literal dream, and I can’t believe I get this chance with her again after everything that’s happened. A tear echoes through the room as I rip her underwear off her, and the only thing she says is, “Pity, I liked this underwear set.”

Thankfully, this gets her back on track, and I slowly insert one finger inside her, and Jude’s head rolls back in pleasure. She’s wet for me already, so I remove my finger–I’m briefly met by a death glare–as I line myself up with her entrance. Holding her breath in anticipation, I slowly enter her, and she tilts her head back again, and this time she moans as her back arches further.

Sheathed inside her to my hilt, my breathing is heavy. I let out another groan because she feels so good, and I would do anything to draw this out for as long as possible. Picking up the pace, we meet each other thrust for thrust. With the sound of the desk scuffing the floor, an ornament breaks, and I don’t care, Jude neither. Pleasure courses through my body, and chasing that high, I increase the frequency of my thrusting. Jude sits up and grabs my ass, bringing me closer to her if that's even possible, her nails digging into my skin as we both find our release.

Chapter 14 | Blind Obedience

Sebastian

When Jude left, things were a blur. I had to make her hate me to get her to go, and it almost killed me to go through with it. Afterwards, between booze and any drugs that Dom would give me, I threw myself into numbing the pain. I dug myself into a pit of depression, and for a long time, I wasn’t sure I would get out of it.

It didn’t help that every time I closed my eyes, all I saw was Jude’s face and how devastated she was when we broke up. Between that and the faces of my targets constantly flashing through my mind, I’m not sure I deserve forgiveness then, or now. But since Jude’s come home, I’ve been noticing small changes in myself. The biggest one is I’ve started caring more, and I’m reaching for the bottle less. I’ve even set a new personal record in our Rogue training.

It's why I need to remind myself to appear indifferent at breakfast with my parents. You would think being vulnerable with them is a good thing, but when your mother is Alyssa Vance, it's something that only leadsto problems.

The morning light casts a glow on the oak floors in the dining room, emphasized by the crystal chandelier. In the center of the room, my parents are already at the long mahogany table eating their breakfast while they discuss business. The aroma of freshly brewed coffee greets me as I find the sideboard table with breakfast options, and I help myself to the smoked salmon, deciding to make it a lox bagel. Grabbing a chocolate croissant to go with it, I find a seat at the table as far away from my parents as I can get.

Things seem more strained between them than normal. I’ve known for a while that my parents weren’t a love match, but to see them so openly advertise it, is odd, even for them. Mom looks nicer than normal, and I wonder what the occasion is, even if I won’t dare ask. A tailored suit won’t hide the evil person she is. Snippets of their conversation drift over to me. “Consulting is doing well, David. Did you see the new case?” I finish my croissant and move onto the bagel.

I zone out until their conversation is only a murmur in the back of my mind, even if now and then something else slips through. “Did you hear about the missing humans, Alyssa?” I see Mom nod out of the corner of my eye as I help myself to another coffee. “Yes, I did, and Eric assured me they’re not a result of his rampage.”

Determined to enjoy my breakfast even if they’re there, I get comfortable in the plush high-back chair of deep burgundy velvet and happily munch on my lox bagel, wondering if I should go for a second round of breakfast.

When my mom ordered me to get close to Jude again, I wondered if it was a test, to see if she could trust me; because trust is vital in our line of business. I’m positive she never meant for my feelings to get in the way. Sure, she knows about our past. In fact, I think she’s counting on it, but she can never know the true depth of mine and Jude’s feelings. That’sdangerous for us both. To Alyssa Vance, I need to appear as her good little soldier so I can keep Jude and myself safe. But if Jude can stand up to the very people and the system she hates, why can’t I? Finally, Mom addresses me, and I wish she hadn’t. “Clark called. His assignment is proving difficult…He’s hoping to be home soon with good news and understands that failure is not an option for him. “

If she thinks that was a good conversation starter, she’s sorely mistaken. She’s killed any attempt at me wanting to engage if that's what she led with. What amazes me the most is Amaya Van Helsing, our ancestor, the one that started the Rogues, evolved. But my mother won’t. Because change could mean she needs to give up her power. My mom loves her power more than she’s ever loved us.

The silence between us grows awkward as I barely acknowledge her pathetic attempt at making conversation, and Dad jumps in. “Ryder is getting antsy again. I know we all need these humans for our lives, but it's times like these I wish we didn’t. We should go see him soon to help reassure him we can keep them safe with these disappearances.”

Finally, a piece of conversation I can engage in. “I’ll do it. Ryder and I have always gotten on. I don’t mind.” Downing my coffee and taking my last bite of the bagel, I push my plate to the side and excuse myself. Except, Mom has other plans in mind for me.

“Actually, Sebastian, I have something else I need you to take care of first. Ryder can wait. There is a Rogue that has disrespected the chain of command on too many occasions, and now they need to be dealt with. It would be bad for business and all the Rogues if it was known that this type of behavior was tolerated. The file is on the table on your way out.”

Blind obedience, that's what my mother expects from her Rogues, and it never irritated me as much as it does now. Clenching my jaw and trying to remain calm, I ask, “I thought I was on a break to focus on relations with the Rhodes?” My mom’s head whips around to me, as if she can’t believe I spoke back.