heard in his tone quieted her chaotic thoughts.
“I’m thinking what any sane woman would think when a guy says he has done bad things.” She paused. “Is it drugs?”
Please say no .
“No, I’ve never done drugs.”
“Never?”
He turned his head and looked at her. “Never.”
“Have you ever killed anyone?”
This earned her a glimpse of his perfect grin. He laughed, and it made her smile. “No, I’ve never killed anyone.”
“But you promise it doesn’t involve drugs?” Her smile vanished as memories of her brother, passed out high on ecstasy, came roaring back to her.
“No, I promise I’ve never had more than a few glasses of scotch or champagne in my entire life.”
“Then let me see them, Judas. I want to see your tattoos.”
Judas’s jaw tightened before he absently shook his head. “Fine, but I just want to tell you one thing first.”
“What?”
“You won’t like me afterward.”
“Don’t.” She stared at him. “Don’t try to make this go away by scaring me. You know so much about me, and yet here I am half in the dark about you. You’ve tried to alliterate your way inside of me, now let me get to know you, Judas. The real you.”
He laughed. “You’re good at making people feel comfortable, Doc. I’ll give you that. But my alliterative attempt failed, and now you’re psychoanalyzing me. I don’t want to be your guinea pig, Grace. As a matter of fact, it only makes me hate myself more.”
“Okay, fine. Don’t tell me. I guess I don’t need to know, but I probably do need to get some sleep.” Grace rolled onto her side.
Judas laughed. “I know what you’re trying to do.”
“Hmm-mmm,” Grace murmured. “Sleep can’t possibly be such a foreign concept to someone as intelligent as you,” she said, yawning. “After two orgasms, I’m pretty tired.”
“Okay, okay…” He pulled off his shirt and turned his back to her. “Go ahead, look at them.”
Grace couldn’t help herself. She rolled from her back and faced him. What she saw was incredible. There were dozens of images overlapping each other. The one in the middle caught her attention first—The Virgin Mary. Shadowed behind her were justice scales, each scale placed on his broad shoulders. Grace quickly recognized several of the images and realized these weren’t ordinary tattoos, and that each one told a unique story. Tears filled her eyes.
“You’re disgusted, aren’t you?” Judas murmured.
It wasn’t a question, but a statement because he hated himself.
“Of course not. I could never hate you, Judas.”
“But you think differently of me.”
Grace could hear the disgust in his voice. “I’m not going to lie. I obviously see you differently. How could I not? I’ve never seen anything like this before.”
“You can leave now. I would understand.”
“Are you serious?” Grace laid her arm across his naked torso and forced him to roll over, but he wouldn’t look at her. “I don’t know what happened to you, but I wish you would tell me.”
A single tear slid down his cheek as he closed his eyes. “I can’t, Grace.”
She curled up next to him. “Okay. I’ll wait. Even if it takes forever, I’ll wait. I care about you, Judas. And I promise, whatever it is, it won’t change the way I feel about you.”
It won’t change the fact I’m falling in love with you.
When Judas finally fell asleep, she quietly grabbed her things and paused next to the front door. Part of her hoped he would wake up, stop her from leaving and pull her beneath the covers with him.
But he didn’t.
G RACE PULLED INTO THE DRIVEWAY of her parent’s beach house and parked behind the Town Car. Ellis ’ driver, Robert must have come in from the city. She flipped down the visor, and wiped the tear stained mascara from beneath her eyes.
Grace was going to walk inside, tell Ellis she couldn’t marry him, then go back to Judas’s beach house and apologize profusely for leaving him sleeping and
“I’m thinking what any sane woman would think when a guy says he has done bad things.” She paused. “Is it drugs?”
Please say no .
“No, I’ve never done drugs.”
“Never?”
He turned his head and looked at her. “Never.”
“Have you ever killed anyone?”
This earned her a glimpse of his perfect grin. He laughed, and it made her smile. “No, I’ve never killed anyone.”
“But you promise it doesn’t involve drugs?” Her smile vanished as memories of her brother, passed out high on ecstasy, came roaring back to her.
“No, I promise I’ve never had more than a few glasses of scotch or champagne in my entire life.”
“Then let me see them, Judas. I want to see your tattoos.”
Judas’s jaw tightened before he absently shook his head. “Fine, but I just want to tell you one thing first.”
“What?”
“You won’t like me afterward.”
“Don’t.” She stared at him. “Don’t try to make this go away by scaring me. You know so much about me, and yet here I am half in the dark about you. You’ve tried to alliterate your way inside of me, now let me get to know you, Judas. The real you.”
He laughed. “You’re good at making people feel comfortable, Doc. I’ll give you that. But my alliterative attempt failed, and now you’re psychoanalyzing me. I don’t want to be your guinea pig, Grace. As a matter of fact, it only makes me hate myself more.”
“Okay, fine. Don’t tell me. I guess I don’t need to know, but I probably do need to get some sleep.” Grace rolled onto her side.
Judas laughed. “I know what you’re trying to do.”
“Hmm-mmm,” Grace murmured. “Sleep can’t possibly be such a foreign concept to someone as intelligent as you,” she said, yawning. “After two orgasms, I’m pretty tired.”
“Okay, okay…” He pulled off his shirt and turned his back to her. “Go ahead, look at them.”
Grace couldn’t help herself. She rolled from her back and faced him. What she saw was incredible. There were dozens of images overlapping each other. The one in the middle caught her attention first—The Virgin Mary. Shadowed behind her were justice scales, each scale placed on his broad shoulders. Grace quickly recognized several of the images and realized these weren’t ordinary tattoos, and that each one told a unique story. Tears filled her eyes.
“You’re disgusted, aren’t you?” Judas murmured.
It wasn’t a question, but a statement because he hated himself.
“Of course not. I could never hate you, Judas.”
“But you think differently of me.”
Grace could hear the disgust in his voice. “I’m not going to lie. I obviously see you differently. How could I not? I’ve never seen anything like this before.”
“You can leave now. I would understand.”
“Are you serious?” Grace laid her arm across his naked torso and forced him to roll over, but he wouldn’t look at her. “I don’t know what happened to you, but I wish you would tell me.”
A single tear slid down his cheek as he closed his eyes. “I can’t, Grace.”
She curled up next to him. “Okay. I’ll wait. Even if it takes forever, I’ll wait. I care about you, Judas. And I promise, whatever it is, it won’t change the way I feel about you.”
It won’t change the fact I’m falling in love with you.
When Judas finally fell asleep, she quietly grabbed her things and paused next to the front door. Part of her hoped he would wake up, stop her from leaving and pull her beneath the covers with him.
But he didn’t.
G RACE PULLED INTO THE DRIVEWAY of her parent’s beach house and parked behind the Town Car. Ellis ’ driver, Robert must have come in from the city. She flipped down the visor, and wiped the tear stained mascara from beneath her eyes.
Grace was going to walk inside, tell Ellis she couldn’t marry him, then go back to Judas’s beach house and apologize profusely for leaving him sleeping and
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