Page 10 of The Surrender (Arlington Hall #2)

Whales call to me, the sound distant but clear. Light invades my eyes as I cautiously peel them open, finding Jude’s neck in my sights. The feel of his hands stroking through my hair registers, along with the warm softness of his cock still inside me.

Then the whales register again, and I push myself off his chest in a panic, wincing when he slips out of me.

Jude hisses. “What’s up?” he asks sleepily as I scramble to sit up.

“Fuck!” Pain slices through my hand, and I clench it to my naked boobs. “Ouch, ouch, ouch.”

“Careful,” he warns.

Disorientation gets me as I blink my eyes clear, snippets of last night coming back to me. I look at Jude, who’s rolled onto his back, apparently not concerned that we’ve slept through to morning. “Shit.”

“Amelia, what?” he asks, not opening his eyes.

I reach for the machine by his bed and shut up the whales.

“Oh my God,” I blurt when I see the time.

“Jude!” I jump up and run aimlessly around his bedroom trying to find my clothes, still not fully awake.

“It’s eight!” I’m going to be so late! And I have a shit ton of stuff to get done. “Jude, help me.”

At a loss and unable to locate my clothes, I go to the edge of the bed and nudge him. Even if I knew where my clothes were, I probably wouldn’t be able to see them; my vision is still foggy. That was a deep sleep. I shouldn’t be surprised. I’ve hardly slept for a week.

“Jude, wake up.”

He opens one eye and slowly props himself up against the headboard. “What?”

What? He must have been in a deep slumber too. “It’s eight o’clock.”

He frowns and looks at his whale machine. “In the evening, Amelia. For fuck’s sake.” He scrubs his hands down his face, exasperated, before reaching for my wrist and hauling me back into bed. “I don’t know why my alarm’s going off—I must have set it wrong.”

Evening? I fight Jude’s clutch and look towards the window.

It’s dusk. If it were morning, it would be lighter.

“Oh.” I fall back to the mattress and breathe out my relief, looking down at Jude’s hand on my tummy.

I know I’m about to face some resistance, and, no, I don’t want to go, but I have some prep I need to do this evening for my lunchtime meeting tomorrow and my diary is jam-packed with calls in the morning, so there’s no chance of finding the time then, not to mention the fact that I need to pack.

“I’ve got to go.” I roll onto my side and shuffle to the edge.

And immediately get tugged back.

“Jude, I’ve got to go.”

“Not a fan.”

I roll my eyes and make to move again, getting precisely nowhere, as Jude keeps me safe and close to his chest. “Come on, you promised to let me leave.”

“I made no promises. I think you’ll find that what I actually said was I’d think about your proposal. I’ve thought about it. And I have my answer. It’s a no.”

“Do you want some more time to think about that?” I ask on a laugh.

“It took me a split second to think about it. I just took longer to inform you of my decision.”

“And do I get a say?”

“No again.” He hugs me tight, pushing his nose into the crook of my neck and breathing in deeply. “You don’t want to leave me anyway.”

“I have so much to catch up on,” I say, really wishing I didn’t. “Clark’s wedding took up all of Friday and Saturday, I did nothing to prep for my week, I have investment reports to wrap up, and I’ve got to pack.” I feel Jude sag against me. “Can we negotiate?”

He stills for a moment, obviously thinking. “Okay.” Then he helps me turn around to face him, both of our heads settling on the same pillow. “Negotiate.” He pouts at my exposed boobs and starts circling my nipple.

“I’d like to negotiate without any distractions.” I take his hand, remove it from my boob, and pull the cups of my bra into place. His gorgeous, sleepy face contorts with disapproval. “My job is very important to me.”

“I know that. Support that.”

I raise a brow, and he visibly sags.

“Please state your case,” he breathes tiredly. “Whilst also remembering that I’m a little bit obsessed with you and have a habit to feed.”

Such a comment shouldn’t make me grin in delight, and yet it does. “Duly noted.”

“Good. Proceed.”

“I have to go home to pack and prep for tomorrow. I’ve not exactly been operating at full capacity this past week.”

Jude falls onto his back and theatrically pretends to stab himself in the heart.

I sigh and crawl onto his sprawled body, sitting up on his waist. “That wasn’t intended to make you feel bad.”

“But I do,” he says, sliding his palms onto my thighs. “I really do.”

Dropping my front to his, I frame his head with my bent arms and play with some locks of his hair. “I know.”

“So if I can’t keep you tonight, can I have you tomorrow night?” His hopeful face melts me.

How can I refuse him? “I can live with that,” I whisper, sealing our lips.

“Good. Negotiations are over.” He rolls us and gets himself into position, sliding into me easily on a hitch of breath from us both. “Fucking hell, there’s no place better in the world.”

I reach for his arse and sink my nails into his hard flesh, humming, flexing up into his drive. His face nuzzles mine, prompting me to open my eyes.

And I look into his as he rocks into me, and we both come on long exhales.

Taking it slowly was never going to work.