Take Me (Take Me Series Book 1) Read online

  “What happened on December third of last year is the result of normal wear and tear on a valve that was neither deemed faulty nor past its prime. This was, for all intents and purposes, a freak accident.”

  Jude turned his attention to the plaintiff, Nathanial Stevens, a man who wore a stark and vacant expression Jude had seen one too many times before—in his own mirror.

  However, Jude managed to keep from his voice the true extent of the emotion this case stirred within him. He said, “There was an explosion. There was a fatality. My client is grieved by this—and remorseful. As is my co-counsel’s client. I’m sorry as well.”

  He paused a moment not just for dramatic effect, but because Jude had to take a breath to regroup, to fight the images that had been threatening to infiltrate his mind since he’d started this case.

  Continuing, he said, “The results are grim, yes. Devastating. But the facts are indisputable. Higgins & Dobbs was in no way out of compliance with any requirements at the time of the explosion, therefore bearing no legitimate responsibility on the part of its insurance carrier. This is an incredibly unfortunate situation, without doubt. But there is no blame to be placed on either organization brought into this courtroom today. And substantiating documentation and expert testimony will prove—”

  “My wife is dead!” Stevens bellowed as he jumped to his feet—and glared at Jude. “Doesn’t anyone give a damn about that? She went to work one morning, in this supposedly safe environment, and never came home!”

  The usual mayhem accompanying an outburst of this nature ensued. Pulling those triggers Kate wanted to know so much about and putting Jude on-edge before the day was out.

  He left the courthouse and stewed over the tumultuous and potentially volatile emotions coursing through him. He needed an outlet again, but another fight wasn’t the answer. Though he did hit the gym to pound a bag for an hour. Then he showered and had his car service deliver him to his Tribeca apartment, a stately, two-story, six-bedroom residence in an exclusive building.

  Entirely too much space for him, but Jude had recently purchased it. For reasons that had yet to gel in his mind, but the location was excellent and the price had been right because the owner was highly motivated to sell and…

  Jesus.

  Yes.

  Entirely too much space.

  He liked being able to spread out, though. He put his laptop bag in his office and then went into the largest of the three living rooms and poured himself a stiff drink. He needed it after today’s shitstorm.

  He shrugged out of his suit jacket and loosened his tie. Settling on a sofa with his scotch and cell phone, he pressed the number for his voicemail and listened to his assistant run down a series of urgent calls for him to return.

  Jude sipped, knowing Gwen would have also sent him a brief note per prioritized issue with a phone number all he had to do was click on and be connected to whomever needed to speak with him.

  He went onto the next message. And the next. A half-dozen into it, his gut clenched.

  “Jude, it’s Kate.”

  He set aside his scotch.

  “I haven’t heard from you and I thought…” She let out a low sigh. The faint one that belied her tension and denoted a hint of frustration, usually directed at herself. He’d heard it enough times to recognize the sound.

  Typically, when Kate worked her magic on him, prying his secrets from him, she had a gentle way of easing into a certain line of questioning she innately knew would be invasive. When she cast a line and her patient—i.e., Jude—took the bait, she could sometimes be too assertive with the reel-in, losing her big fish in the process. That was when the soft sigh would escape her parted lips, which he was too-often fixated on.

  Continuing in her professional tone, having collected herself, she said, “I just wanted to follow up with you on the referrals my assistant emailed.”

  Not exactly the kind of call he wanted to receive from Kate. Jude reached for his drink. He had no intention of seeing anyone else in that vein.

  And he’d prefer she phone him because she wanted him to talk dirty to her.

  That he was fully amenable to.

  Not her request at all—instead, she said, “I think it’s important you speak with someone, Jude. If not me…” Another wisp of air filled the line and caressed his ear.

  Jude sat up. He detected the hesitancy in Kate’s voice. There were so many facets to the woman he was wholly attuned to that he couldn’t help but react when his subconscious quickly homed in on the subtle shifts in her demeanor, her change in train of thought.

  “But that’s not the only reason I’m calling.”

  Jude went on high-alert, all senses engaged.

  “Something’s come up on my end. A…family thing.”

  Her more tentative tone was the ultimate hook for Jude.

  “Can you please give me a call at your earliest convenience?” Click.

  There it was. The recoil. The slip back into professional mode.

  But aside from wondering if he’d followed up on the referrals from her office, the message he’d just heard had been anything but doctor-/patient-related.

  Jude couldn’t fight the cocky grin. Kate wanted something from him.

  Kate needed something from him.

  Or maybe she just plain needed him.

  The thought hitched his testosterone. He took a deep sip of scotch, then called her.

  She picked up on the second ring, just breathless enough to tighten Jude’s groin and get his adrenaline pumping.

  “Thank you for getting back to me so promptly,” she said.

  “Sounded important. What can I do for you, Kate?”

  She paused.

  He drained his drink. Stood and began to prowl the living room.

  “Kate?”

  Her casual laugh caught him off guard, drawing him up short.

  She said, “Sorry. This is awkward.”

  “How so?”

  “I’ve found myself between a rock and a hard place.” She groaned before muttering under her breath, “Not the best choice of words.”

  His brow jumped. She’d piqued his interest a thousand-fold. And probably had no clue.

  Kate said, “You’re very good at putting different scenarios into silos, Jude. I’m suddenly in a situation where that will—”

  “Goddamn it, Kate,” he growled. Surprising even himself with his impatience. “If there’s something I can do for you, just ask me. No bullshit, remember?”

  “Right. No bullshit.” She inhaled deeply. Exhaled slowly. Then told him, “I need a date for my brother’s engagement party. I’m not currently seeing anyone. Hell, I haven’t ‘currently been seeing anyone’ for years. But that’s beside the point. This is really important to my family. To my brother and his incredibly delightful fiancée. And I—”

  “Yes, Kate,” Jude interjected, sparing her from the agony she was clearly in over appealing to him. Because they both knew it undermined some of her authority, some of her control over him. Put them on a more even playing field. “If you want me to be your date, Kate, the answer is yes.”

  “It’s just that…your name came up unexpectedly.”

  “A story I’m more than curious to hear.”

  “I’m not even sure how it all happened,” she cautiously added. “So impetuously. This is kind of crazy, Jude. I just—”

  “Kate, for God’s sake. Do you want me or not?”

  4

  Kate’s breath caught.

  Oh, God, yes… I want you!

  An unanticipated thrill chased down her spine. Her nipples tightened and her clit tingled. And Jude wasn’t even in the same room with her!

  Not that he needed to be in order for her to react to him. She’d discovered that recently, these days unable to stop herself from weaving fantasies of him making love to her—and not in the way her new polite-society gal-pals would likely fantasize about. Well, unless they knew Jude McMillan.

  Kate didn’t doubt for a se
cond he’d take her in ways no other man ever had. Leaving her limp and boneless. And probably dying for more…

  All bad and wrong for Kate. She wasn’t looking to plan her own engagement party anytime soon.

  Or ever.

  Thinking about the impending festivities brought her back around. She cleared her throat—and her mind of all lascivious thoughts. As best as she could, considering she was still on the line with Jude.

  “I haven’t even told you the time and date yet,” she pointed out.

  Jude chuckled, low and rich, the sound reverberating through every inch of her.

  “I’ll change my schedule if need be. I want to see you again, Kate.”

  “You could have made an appointment with my assistant, Jude.”

  “Not professionally.”

  She nodded, even though he couldn’t see the gesture. “We should discuss what happened in your office.”

  “My intentions were obvious.”

  Kate’s lids drifted closed for a moment. How dangerous a game was she playing here? And why did it excite her so damn much?

  She said, “This is just a date for show, Jude. To get Charlotte off my back and placate my family. Can you handle that?”

  “I’ve always admired how candid you are, Kate. Though, you are skirting a salient point.”

  “And what’s that?” she inquired. Already intuitively knowing what the hell he was going to say. And it’d only be one more nail driven into this coffin that was becoming her personal life.

  “I think you’re as hot for me as I am for you.”

  Shit.

  Exactly what she knew he’d say.

  And goddamn it, it was true. Still… She had a lot of liability to muddle through here. So she reasonably said, “Jude, that’s not what this is about.”

  “I beg to differ. If we’re going to this party together, Kate, it will be a real date.” He sipped whatever cocktail he was drinking, then added in his darkly sensual tone, “And you can be damn sure I’ll have you begging before the evening’s over. For everything you want me to give you.”

  The sizzle between her legs was wholly distracting so that Kate couldn’t think straight. Her pulse beat erratically, throbbing at the base of her throat, where she suddenly craved to feel Jude’s lips. Sweeping over that vital spot. Nipping softly with his teeth. Soothing the bite with his tongue before gliding along her skin. Upward toward another erogenous zone for her, behind her ear.

  A faint moan slipped from her lips.

  “Jesus, Kate,” Jude murmured. “You’re driving me wild. You know how much I want you.”

  “Jude… It would just be sex. For both of us. For you to get me out of your system, as you stated. And for me to…” She shook her head as her voice trailed off.

  “To what, Kate?” he heatedly probed. “What do you need?”

  The sizzle spread through her entire body, making her deliciously uncomfortable. Restless in an erotic, insistent way. Kate pushed out of the chair she’d been sitting in when Jude had returned her call. Her manicured nails trailed over the glass-topped desk in her home office. She wanted to trail them over Jude’s skin, his sculpted muscles, that intricate tattoo covering a portion of his shoulder and biceps. An intriguing design that held her curiosity hostage…and turned her on.

  Hell, everything about the man turned her on. Even his damaged soul.

  But Kate needed to retain that perspective she’d thought of earlier. She had no interest in romantic entanglements. Yes, one night of absolute reckless abandon with Jude McMillan would rock her world and likely right her axis, given it’d been a small eternity since she’d had sex. But again, that’s all it would be. And regardless of whether or not it went that far between them, it was only fair she be open and honest about that from the onset.

  In a quiet voice, she said, “I don’t have a stable of potential dates to select from, Jude. I don’t date. I don’t get involved. I don’t fall in love. But I do have to appease the most important people in my life. That means bringing a handsome and successful man to this party.”

  “And what do you intend to tell them about us, Kate?”

  “I haven’t thought that far in advance, truthfully. This just sort of…happened,” she confessed. “Of course, I’d never mention you’re a former patient. That’s none of their business and I’d never betray your confidence in such a—”

  “Kate. I fucking know that already,” he irritably said. “If they know you don’t date, how are you going to explain me?”

  “I… I’m not certain… I don’t know, Jude.”

  She sighed. And crossed her office to the wet bar. Cradling her cell between her ear and shoulder, she pulled the cork on a nice bottle of red and poured.

  After a couple of sips, she contended, “They’ll find it typical ‘Kathryn’ behavior for me to be vague. So don’t worry about any of that. Just… Tell me if you’re available on Saturday evening. Seven-thirty. The Plaza. A cocktail reception, followed by a five-course meal, followed by extensive champagne toasts. Oh…and dancing.”

  “Totally over-the-top?”

  “You can count on it. Lots of society types and one astoundingly charismatic bride-to-be who will steal your heart. You won’t be able to help adoring her.”

  “Pretty sure I won’t even notice her,” he said, his voice a bit strained.

  She heard rustling on his end…as though he was undressing.

  “Jude?”

  “I took a shower at the gym after my workout earlier. Now I need a different kind of shower, Kate.”

  She gasped. His words seared her insides.

  “Jesus, Jude.” The visual that flashed in her mind—of Jude naked and stroking himself while he thought of her—heightened the restlessness within her.

  Kate splashed more wine in her glass. Took a long drink.

  In an erotically edgy tone, Jude said, “I had a shit day, but talking with you has made my night much better, Kate. And thinking about Saturday—you in a curve-hugging dress…and out of it—is making me hard.”

  Her stomach flipped. “Jude.”

  “Kate.” He challenged her with his tone alone.

  She let out a soft puff of air. They were only fanning the fire by continuing down this path.

  She heard the spray of water in the background—and instantly wondered if Jude’s cell had a protective casing and he intended to stay on the line with her while he pleasured himself.

  Another moan escaped her, unbidden. And this one was much louder, much lustier.

  “You’re killing me over here, Kate. Get in a cab now and come to my apartment.”

  “No, Jude,” she hastily said—though she actually did yearn to do exactly as he requested. But Kate was not only known for her secrecy, she was also famous for her restraint. Sometimes to her own emotional detriment, she wouldn’t lie.

  Jude said, “Then tell me one thing, Kate. One thing you desperately want, intensely desire…would scream my name if I did it to you.”

  That scorching sensation roared through her again, taking her breath with it.

  “Come on, Kate,” he sexily taunted. Seductively coaxed. “Tell me. Give me something I’ll know will make you crazed and pleading for more.”

  Kate’s knees weakened as she thought of what he’d said in his office that morning she’d met him there.

  I only went down on the woman.

  And yet said woman had nearly shredded his back. Telling Kate that Jude McMillan would know precisely how to get her off.

  She needed to sit.

  Sinking into the sofa by the wet bar, she polished off her wine and then steeled herself—resisting the overwhelming urge to slip her hand under her skirt and rub her suddenly pulsating clit.

  Imagining Jude was there with her, she told him, “Your head between my legs would make me scream your name.”

  He let out a low, sexy groan. “You want my mouth on you, Kate?”

  “Yes,” she murmured, breathless.

  “Tonguing y
our clit, my fingers pushing deep into your pussy…”

  Her legs squeezed together as the pressure mounted and the throbbing intensified.

  “Say it, Kate,” he quietly commanded. “Tell me you want me to make you come.”

  Her breath hitched.

  “Kate.”

  “I need you to make me come, Jude.”

  5

  “Tell me you’re envisioning it, Kate,” he muttered.

  Her lips parted and there were words forming in her mind, yet none sprang free.

  She keenly comprehended she’d taken this game too far. That it hadn’t just been Jude goading her. She’d willingly participated.

  Now, she needed to extricate herself. Before she got in too deep. Something she’d have to figure out how not to do on Saturday night.

  Christ, there were an infinite number of issues she needed to reconcile before the party. Before she introduced Jude to her family…and their jaws hit the floor, not just over how amazingly powerful and commanding his very presence was, but also how she couldn’t take her eyes off him.

  Because Kate already knew with certainty that would happen.

  She’d obviously set something lethal into motion here. And yet, she didn’t back out. Just backed down.

  She said, “If you want to meet at The Plaza—”

  “I don’t want to meet at The Plaza, Kate,” he countered in his brusque tone. “I told you, this is a real date. I’ll pick you up—from your doorstep. No change of plans at the last minute.”

  Damn, how he forced her hand at every turn! He was relentless…and Kate found that highly arousing.

  “Fine, Jude. My apartment, seven o’clock on Saturday.”

  “Fine, Kate. Now I’m taking that shower.”

  She disconnected the call with trembling fingers as exhilaration tore through her from his words alone. Well, and knowing he was enticingly wicked to the core.

  But she’d fought his lure enough to hang up on him—her only remaining defense against the magnetic force that was Jude McMillan.

  Jude stripped off the rest of his clothing and stepped under the hot water falling from the overhead rain feature in his large, glass-enclosed shower. There were also dual showerheads mounted to the midnight-blue marble walls, but he’d used similar ones with the pulsating massage setting earlier at the executive fitness center he belonged to, needing the hammering of the spray against his too-tight muscles. Tonight, he wasn’t looking to alleviate tension resulting from his grueling day in court or his vigorous workout; what Jude needed was a release from the sexual tension brought on by everything related to Kate.