stay.”
“For now,” Jude said, closing his eyes and leaning close. “It feels like forever.”
“I can take that,” Emilio said, and it was like a jolt to his system when he realized that Emilio was being completely and entirely honest.
15
They traded lazy hand-jobs, then Emilio threw together some pancakes, which was heavier than Jude liked to eat in the morning, but he’d worked off enough energy to need the carbs and sugar. When he settled on the floor to work on his PT, Emilio wasted no time dropping down next to him, and he followed Jude’s instructions with careful dedication that made his throat a little hot and his sweats a little tight.
He took his reprieve in the shower, palming himself while water pounded against his back, and he determinedly didn’t toss himself off. He needed a clear head, but the more he seemed to indulge how much he wanted this man, the more he seemed caught up in him and only him.
And it was no time to lose his head.
This was a little bubble, and it was going to pop in the next few hours because Emilio’s niece was coming over, and soon after that, Emilio was riding out of town with a few of his brothers to take care of club business. And club business, he knew, meant dealing with the man that had nearly killed all of them.
It meant all of them being put in danger, and even without knowing the details, Jude understood that they were in for a lot of work to protect the people in their club. And that included his brother, which strengthened his resolve not to leave—but it was more than that now he and Emilio had acknowledged feelings for each other.
He let himself have a lie down, resting his knee, and he came to at the sound of a small girl laughing and feet running up and down the halls.
“…please stop yelling, monster. Jude’s trying to sleep.”
“But I wanna say hiiiiiiii,” her voice trailed off as they were clearly ushering her back outside, and eventually the door slammed.
Jude couldn’t help a small grin as he threw his legs over the bed, then reached for his brace. He could move around without the cane easier when his knee was being supported, but he still kept his pace slow as he made his way out of the room and eventually to the back door.
He hadn’t noticed the swing set before, nor had he realized there was a massive garden in the back full of lush plants and fat, ripe vegetables waiting to be harvested. His heart did a sort of thrumming dance against his ribs as his mind once again re-ordered who that man was.
Emilio was with Gunner—who he’d only met a couple of times—and they were standing by a tall tree, Emilio pushing the little girl on a swing. She looked like she couldn’t have been more than five or six, her hair a wild mess of tangled curls—dark like her brother’s. She was laughing, showing off a single missing front tooth, and Jude couldn’t help but grin as he opened the door and took the stairs down.
“Look!” the little girl cried. She began to wriggle in her seat, and Emilio managed to catch her before she flew off. Setting her down, she tore up grass under her strappy sandals as she closed the distance between them. “You don’t look like Eliah. He’s got a bigger belly.”
That startled a laugh out of him, and he lifted his brows. “Is that right?”
She cocked her head to the side. “You kind of…um. You kind of sound the same.”
Jude’s grin widened. “Do we?”
“But he said you was…that um. My friend Amelia at school has a twin named Aria, and they have the same face.”
Jude nodded solemnly. “I’m sure they do, and when Eliah and I were little like you, we looked more alike. But sometimes people change when they grow up.”
“Oh.” She stared another moment, then turned on her heel and raced off just as Emilio and Gunner reached him.
“Jesus, I’m sorry. Everyone told me this mouthy stage was supposed to get better, but I swear she’s getting worse every fuckin’ day,” Gunner muttered.
Jude laughed again and shrugged. “She wasn’t wrong.”
“Yeah, but the last thing I need is for her to tell Eliah he’s got a bigger belly than you to his face,” Gunner muttered.
Jude lifted a brow. “I can tell you with full confidence my brother has never been ashamed of his body or the