fifth day with Jude, I found myself becoming more and more disgruntled by the way he kept himself apart from me.
A glance at my watch showed that it was well after two o'clock in the morning. Since I hadn't heard a peep out of Jude in hours, I started to feel that familiar tickle of anxiety that I was coming to associate only with him. Strangely enough, it only occurred when he was out of my sight.
It was yet another sign that I was becoming too engrossed with Jude Archer. Maybe I needed to talk to Mike about assigning someone else to Jude now that he seemed less interested in ditching me. He wasn't exactly open to the idea of personal protection, but he hadn't pulled any stunts like he had with his other protection details. I had a feeling that had more to do with his work than anything else. Whatever contract negotiations he was working through, it seemed like it was occupying more and more of his mind and his time.
I sent my sister a quick text telling her that I likely wouldn’t make it home the following day for our parents’ anniversary dinner. Protecting Jude was taking a toll on my personal life, but my family understood the importance of this particular job. Not only did the income matter, but they understood my need to help Mike and his family keep their business.
I got to my feet and went to Jude's office. I knocked on the door softly, but there was no response. Since the man wasn't exactly receptive, I reached down to try the knob. I fully expected the door to be locked, but to my surprise, it wasn't. I wanted to believe that meant maybe Jude trusted me a little, but it was more likely that he’d just forgotten to lock it. It was that whole focus thing of his. He had it in spades but only for certain things. I needed to figure out how to remedy that so he’d put just as much focus on his safety. Luckily, there hadn't been any more notes to Clifton Hayes threatening Jude's life, but I knew that didn't mean the risk was gone. The most dangerous threat would be the one we didn't see coming.
I slowly pushed the door open and stuck my head in, fully expecting to see Jude's eyes glued to his computer screen. But to my surprise he was sitting at his desk with his head resting on it, his arms folded beneath his cheek. The softest of snores left his lips. I couldn't even be irritated that while I'd been sitting out in the waiting area for hours on end, he'd apparently been passed out in his office. He just looked too adorable all soft and peaceful.
He also looked incredibly young. I told myself just to call out to him, but my body overruled my mind and I ended up walking slowly toward his desk and taking in his features. His beautiful full lips that were slightly parted, his dark as night eyelashes that were fanned over his pale skin, the little piece of dirty-blond hair that hung down over his forehead…
I could picture him looking exactly like that after a couple rounds of intense lovemaking. Hell, I could practically feel the weight of him on my chest as he pressed his body against mine. The skin along his spine would feel like silk as I ran my fingers up and down his back…
Yeah, good job on the not letting the job get too personal, I said silently to myself.
I stepped behind the desk and moved to his right side, the one without the computer. "Jude," I said softly. He didn't stir, so I put my hand on his shoulder and gave him a gentle shake as I repeated his name. He still didn't respond. Since he was breathing just fine and didn't seem to be in any kind of distress, I figured he was simply just a heavy sleeper.
"Jude," I said more loudly and this time I gave him a firm shake.
He snapped out of his sleep like a wild man and began lashing out at me. He managed to graze my jawline before I grabbed his wrists and said, "Hey, calm down, it's me. It’s Nik.”
His eyes were bleary as he tried to take me in. "Nikolai?" he said groggily. The use of my full name sounded strange on his lips, but I also kind of liked it.