Page 35 of Two For the Show (Trapped On The Tightrope Duet #2)

I bang on the trailer door with the toe of my sneaker.

Heavy steps rattle it before the door is ripped open, and Jude narrows his eyes at me. “What do you want?”

I don’t answer the big guy, instead slipping by him and heading to his living area.

“Of course, Dario, why don’t you come in?” he drawls.

“Thanks for the invite. I come bearing gifts.” I hold up the pack of chocolate chip cookies.

Jude rolls his eyes but crosses the room to me and snatches them out of my hands. “You’re trying to bribe me.”

“Not bribe, per se,” I say shiftily. “But we do need to talk.”

He shoves a few cookies in his mouth, as if that will get him out of talking to me.

It won’t.

He can’t hold off on swallowing forever.

When he does, he drops himself onto the couch and runs his hands through his hair. “What about, Dario?”

“Come on. Don’t pretend you don’t know.” I flop next to him. “We are both rocking a new scar, and that means we’re together for life.”

Whoa, it’s so much more intense now that I say it out loud.

“Why is this so important to you, Dario? It was just sex.” I don’t think Jude believes himself.

Sure, it was sex. The sex was great.

Better than great.

But it wouldn’t have happened without chemistry and connection. I know Jude. I know he wouldn’t have taken that step with me for only a sexual release.

It meant something to him, too, even if he doesn’t want to admit it.

“It wasn’t, but sure, keep lying to yourself,” I tell him, crossing my ankle loosely over my knee and crossing my arms behind my head.

I’m sure I look casual and cool. Nonchalant.

But I am very chalant on the inside.

“I’m too old for you,” he says roughly.

“Stupid reason.”

He tries to switch tactics. “Alex won’t be okay with it.”

“Try again. She told me she was fine with it.”

He gapes at me like a fish, and I stick my finger in his mouth and touch his tongue. He sputters and stares at me incredulously.

“Did you just touch my tongue?”

I chuckle. “So? You’ve sucked my cock, what’s a finger in light of that?”

He throws his hands up. “You’re insufferable.”

“True.”

“You’re pushy.”

“Correct.”

“You have no self-control.”

“Guilty. ”

He grabs the front of my shirt and hauls me forward, pressing our foreheads together. “You’re too good for me.”

“Ah, that’s where you’re wrong. We’re what each other needs.”

There is a pause, a moment where I think I’ve gone too far. That I’ve ruined any chance between us, taken away the possibility of our relationship growing.

But it’s a small moment.

His lips slam on mine, aggressive and punishing, and everything I remembered and more.

We pull apart, chests heaving, and Jude’s lip curls. “Is this what you want, Dario?” he growls. “Because there is no coming back from this. We’re pack, and that’s forever.”

I crowd him, pushing him backward until he’s sprawled out on the couch, his legs wide. I crawl onto his lap, squeezing his hips with my thighs. “Yes, this is what I want, Jude. I’m not sure how much clearer I can be.”

“Why?”

One word, full of so much vulnerability.

I don’t think Jude is used to being wanted, not like this.

Not that he’s had a lot of chances to be wanted. He joined the circus as a teenager, and for the longest time, if he wasn’t here, he was at a bar causing trouble.

He wasn’t exactly trying to find a partner, and now he’s got two.

“Because when I was homeless, you gave me one. When I need guidance, you give it to me. You ground me, Jude. You challenge me.”

Jude’s massive hands land on my hips, like he can’t control them. His fingers dig into my skin. “That’s not enough, Dario. That’s not enough to take this step that will change the dynamic of our pack forever.”

“Why can’t that be enough? Why isn’t that an acceptable basis for a relationship?” My chest hurts. I thought he’d be easier to get through to. I thought, with us both bonded to Alex, he’d finally accept that there is something between us.

Something more.

“This is your daddy issues, Dario. You see me as this safe, strong, older man, and you’re trying to fill that void.”

I wrinkle my nose. “Ew, that is not it at all.” I grab his cheeks, wrenching his face up so his only option is to look into my eyes.

“I see you, Jude Oliver. How fiercely you care for all of us. How hard you work to keep us afloat. The way you fought to get sober. The long hours you put in to make sure we have stops so we can get paid. I see every little thing you do for all of us. But the question is, Jude, who takes care of you?”

He doesn’t answer me.

He can’t.

Because no one does. Maybe he’ll let Alex, now that they have a bond, but part of me thinks he doesn’t want her to see that vulnerable side of himself because he thinks she needs him to be an unshakable Alpha.

We’ll address that bullshit later.

“Let me,” I implore. “Let me be the one who takes care of you. Let me be the one you turn to when things are too much. When the world you carry on your back is too heavy.”

His chest heaves with a sigh, and he cups my cheek with one of his hands, the other squeezing my hip to keep me rooted. “You’re asking for a lot, Dario.”

“I know. I know I’m a lot.”

I’ve always been that way. My emotions are wild, and I struggle sometimes to keep them in check. I feel everything intensely, but I have always had to push it down so I don’t upset Dexter. So others don’t see that side of me.

I’m the funny twin. The comic relief. The easy one .

A life spent as the jester who pulls the attention away from Dexter when he’s struggling.

I want to be more.

Alex sees that. She knows I am more than that.

Does Jude?

Or does he see me like everyone else does?

“That’s not what I meant,” he says quietly.

“I don’t know what the hell I’m doing, Dario.

I’ve never had a relationship, and suddenly I’m bonded to an Omega and am now the Prime Alpha of a pack, all while trying to keep this circus running.

It’s a lot. I don’t know if I have any more in me to give. ”

My stomach twists.

This was a bad idea. I pushed too far. I went too far.

I try to climb off his lap, but he anchors me with his hands.

“It’s okay,” I insist. “I overstepped. You’re not ready. It’s not like we need to rush this.”

He flexes his fingers, pushing up the hem of my shirt to touch my skin directly.

I shudder, the feeling like a brand. “I’m afraid I’ll hurt you, Dario.

That I won’t be enough for you, and you’ll feel neglected.

How am I supposed to split my attention between the circus, Alex, you, and the rest of the pack? ”

“You ask for help!” I nearly shout. “You don’t have to do this alone. Alex has five of us to deal with; it’s not like spending time together takes anything away from her. You truly believe you’re not going to be there for her when she needs it because we explore a dynamic between us?”

He avoids eye contact with me. I exhale in frustration, my hair fluttering against my forehead.

“Fine. We’ll talk to Alex about it. You can hear from her directly that she’s okay with us exploring this.

But then I’m taking you on a date, Jude Oliver.

Whatever it takes to show you that I’m serious about this. About us.”

“I’ll never understand you, Dario.” His hand moves to my stomach, resting under my navel. “How can you live through what you did and still see the best in people?”

“No idea. I just do.” Unable to stop myself, I stroke my hand down his face to his neck, across his collarbones. “I’m not asking you to fall in love with me, Jude. I’m asking you to be open to me.”

Silence stretches between us, weighing us down as I hold myself back from him. I wish I could press my body to his, tangle our tongues together, and force this issue.

But I can’t.

I have to let Jude come to me.

“Okay,” he finally says.

“Okay?” It’s hard to keep the hope out of my voice.

“Yeah. Okay. I’ll try to be open.”

Yeah, I don’t think I can wait for Jude to come to me anymore.

I wrap an arm around his neck and pull him toward me. He comes easily, fingertips digging into the flesh of my stomach. Our lips clash, each of us fighting for dominance as we explore each other. I can’t stop myself from circling my hips, grinding against his cock as it hardens beneath me.

I trail my lips across his jaw and down his neck, kissing the bonding mark he has from Alex.

He grips me tighter, one hand teasing the waist of my pants and the other on my lower back.

He shoves me forward and then pushes me back, grinding me on his cock and groaning as I flick my tongue across his bonding mark.

When he slips his fingers into my pants, barely touching the top of my briefs, I jerk my hips forward, silently begging him for more .

I want whatever he is willing to give me.

Jude doesn’t make me wait. He unbuttons my pants, and I raise myself on my knees so he can pull them down enough to expose me. When I sit down, I rest on his thighs. Rubbing my palm down the front of his zipper, I have to force myself to slow down.

I feel desperate for him.

“Can I?” I ask, breathlessly as I fist my cock with one hand.

“Yeah.” Jude’s voice is deeper than usual as he pulls his shirt up, exposing his round, hairy stomach as he watches my hand.

Unfortunately, I have to drop my cock because I need both hands to undo his pants and pull his dick out.

It sits heavily in my hand, and I drag my thumb down his slit.

The moisture there makes me shiver with excitement.

I smear the cum from both of our tips down our shafts as best as I can, then spit in my hand.

When I grip our cocks tightly together, Jude groans and thrusts up.

The drag of his smooth skin against mine has me throwing my head back with a pleased moan.

I stroke us together, as Jude thrusts from below.

We’re both leaking, growing slick as our skin slides together.

He’s a quiet lover, making little noise except for the increased pace of his breath.

I am not the same. I would be embarrassed by the sounds that escape me if it didn’t feel so fucking good. I can feel myself tensing as I get closer and closer to coming, and I’m trying to hold off for Jude, but I can’t.

Hot cum splashes onto his stomach and the head of his cock. I use the moisture to slick his shaft and pick up the pace, the pressure of my oversensitive cock rubbing against his making me squeeze my eyes tight and bite my tongue so I don’t cry out.

With a grunt, I can feel Jude’s cock pulse against mine as he comes. I stroke three more times slowly, bringing us both down before I collapse forward.

The sticky mess between us doesn’t bother me. I kiss him, trying to show him without words that this wasn’t just a release for me. He meets me halfway, calming my rapidly beating heart.

After a few moments, I head to his bathroom and grab a towel, wetting the edge of it. It doesn’t take long to clean us up, and both of us pull our bottoms back on. I sit down next to him, unsure of what to do next.

Do we cuddle? Do we go into his room and curl together and fall asleep? It’s late as fuck, and I’m tired, but I have no idea what I’m supposed to do now. Are we supposed to high-five?

Shit, I didn’t think this through. With Alex, it makes sense to cuddle up. But with Jude, I don’t know if he’d want that, and we didn’t talk about it first.

Before I can overthink anymore, the door to his trailer slams open, and Alex stands in the doorway, barefoot and in an oversized shirt.

Dexter’s shirt.

Her nostrils flare, clearly taking in our combined scents, before her eyes lock with mine. “There you are. You have to come quickly. It’s Dexter.”