Strangely Normal - By Tess Oliver Page 0,45
and then spending the entire night answering questions about my brother.”
“Sorry, Coley” the girl said. “You know how much I love you.”
“Yeah, yeah.” He stabbed a marshmallow onto a stick and pushed it into the flames.
“Where are you from, Eden?” Max asked.
“I’m from the valley,” I answered, and decided no elaboration was necessary.
“Are you a cousin?” the girl across the pit asked, and it seemed all eyes were on me.
“She’s a long time friend,” Finley said sharply. Her mood had definitely disintegrated since Max’s comment, and I truly hoped she would snap out of it. She looked over at me. “I feel like I’ve known her a lifetime.”
I smiled back at her. “We’re really close. Like sisters.”
Finley reached over and grabbed my hand. A large splash in the pool made everyone sit forward.
“Who’s swimming?” Max asked.
Cole shrugged and sat back. “Well Butch and Sundance would rather become vegetarian than go anywhere near that pool, so it must be Jude. I guess he decided to cool off after his workout.”
The girls popped out of their chairs. “We’re going to go visit him at the pool.”
“Oh, and I thought you loved me,” Cole said.
“We do,” the girl answered. “But we’re talking about Jude King in a bathing suit.”
They stepped onto the brick path that led them back to the pool yard but stopped as Jude came around the corner, dripping wet. He walked past them without as much as a nod. The entire circle watched as he plunked his massive frame down onto a beach chair directly across from me. The wall of flames was glowing hot, but they were no match for the heated gaze he shot my way. He stared at me openly, not giving a damn that everyone was watching him.
The girls looked dejected as they took their seats again.
“Jude,” Max called across the fire, breaking the tense silence. “I see you’re a free man again.”
“Yeah,” Jude answered without pulling his gaze from me.
“Christ, Jude, you’re such an ass.” Obviously sensing what was truly happening across the flames, Finley finally spoke.
Jude stood and looked over at his sister. “I’m sorry, Fin, but I’ve got to talk to her.”
She sighed. “Yeah, I know. Just go.”
Jude walked around the pit and lowered his hand in front of me. It took me all of a second to decide to place my hand in his. He pulled me from the chair, and I half-stumbled behind him as he yanked me along to the dimly lit pool area. Once out of view of the others, he hauled me against his hard body.
“You’re wet,” I said.
“You don’t know the half of it, Valley.” He dragged me behind him once again, and we entered the pool house.
The flickering light from the fire created dancing shadows in the dark room.
He held me in his arms, and his cold, wet skin seemed to warm instantly. I pressed my face against his chest, and his hand came up and held my head tightly against him. “You know why I couldn’t paint you, Eden.”
“I have an idea,” I said quietly
“Since I first met you, I’ve memorized every inch of you, the slope of your neck, the curve of your breasts, the sultry pout of your bottom lip, and all I could think was that I wanted to put it all on canvas.”
I lifted my face and peered up at him. He drew his fingers down the side of my face.
He laughed quietly. “I thought I could handle it, and I was doing pretty well until I sat across from you and looked up at you from my canvas. It all fell to pieces then, and I knew I’d been fooling myself. To have you sit a few feet away and only touch you with my eyes was too much to bear.”
He pushed my face up with the tip of his thumb. His hungry gaze floated down to my lips. “And now that I’m holding you,” his voice was low and jagged, “it is once again, too much to bear. I want every inch of you Eden.” He lowered his mouth to mine, and it hovered so near, I could feel his warm breath on my skin. “Starting with these incredible lips.” The space between us vanished and his mouth found mine. His kiss started gently, but as each second passed, a sense of urgency consumed both of us. His tongue traced my lips and then his kiss deepened and I pressed my body hard against his. A deep groan came