Jude took a long drag of his cigarette. The end glowed bright and orange, just as the sky was streaked with orange as the summer sun was going down to greet the other half of the world's new day. With want in his eyes, he noticed the light of the room he had been looking up at had turned off. He flicked the rest of the cigarette onto the road. Its embers glowed, and a slim trail of smoke lingered up into the air, before it finally faded out completely, colorless.

He was leaning on the driver side door of his car, a pitch black 1965 Ford Falcon. Between Uncle Andy working on his own classic car that summer, Jude got help when he could. Tyler, willingly, helped as well, and just in the past week Jude was able to take his Falcon out onto the open road. Any flaws she had were imperceptible underneath the waning light of the distant sun. She looked absolutely perfect, and Jude appeared to smolder before her.

    Though he always dressed for comfort and not style, Jude somehow managed to make the most simple unbelievably hot. His soft, white v-neck shirt fit just right and graced the length of his torso before stopping at his dark grey leather belt and dark-washed jeans. He shifted his weight in his black Vans and hooked his thumb into a belt loop. Jude was ready for the night to take him away.

   As Rachel approached him, he moved over to the passenger side door and opened it for her.

   "Good evening, beautiful."

   "Hey," Rachel leaned into him, placing a warm kiss on his neck before looking up into his dark eyes. She breathed him in, a midnight forest. "What do you have planned for us tonight, babe?"

   "Get in and you'll find out."

***

   Jude slid Rachel another twenty dollar bill over the table. The perks of dating a college girl were endless. She was twenty-one, so there were no problems for him to get drinks on a crowded weekend night.

   He had brought them to a local bar that resided in the downtown area of old Blanesville. Brock's Bar and Grill was a fun place for the surrounding college population to come to inbetween classes for a cheap hamburger and fries or some buffalo wings and a quick game of pool. But on the weekends, Brock's turned into an all out party. Patrons stood almost shoulder to shoulder and just as many drinks, it seemed, ended up on the floor as they did into their mouths.

   There was a band onstage tonight, Bred for Lust, and they mostly performed covers of hit rock songs. The drums were loud, the electric guitar's wails shook through to everyone's core, and the feverish notes of the lead singer filled the air of the bar with heady emotion and intensity. It was as if Bred for Lust controlled the crowd with every tumultuous beat.

   "Did I tell you how sexy you look tonight?" Jude yelled over the music.

   "Not yet," Rachel teased as she brought a tray of drinks over to their small table tucked away into a corner yet still within good reach of the bar and stage.

   Before he came to pick her up, she had curled her dark, almost black, magenta-hued hair into loose and inviting waves. They fell over her bare shoulders. Her scarlet red corset top fit tight and brought forth an abundant cleavage. Jude was careful not to look at her breasts when they were facing each other. He stole looks whenever he could, though. Rachel's outfit and her hair, skimming over her bare skin, was driving him up the wall with anticipation.

   She widened her deep green eyes and let out a shriek as she pointed in the direction just behind Jude.

   "Oh my God," she yelled out, almost spilling her tall glass of vodka and cranberry juice, "What are you doing here?" She set her drink on the table and gave an inebriated hug to an equally inebriated girl.

   "Oh my God, girl, I missed you so so much!"

   "Me too," Rachel's friend said. The girls were still in each other's arms. The friend was twirling Rachel's hair through her fingers. "It's so soft! Did you dye it? It's gorgeous! Ugh! You look so beautiful, Rachel!"

   Jude's expression had grown blank. He took another sip of his rum and coke.

   "Babe! This is my friend, Malia! I haven't seen her in like two months," she squeezed her friend's arms and put her eyes back onto hers. "When did you get back? I thought you said you weren't gonna get back 'til a few days before the start of the semester! We have so much to catch up on, girl!"

   Rachel motioned for Malia to sit with them. Her hammered silver bracelets slid up and down her arm as she did so. Jude took another sip of his drink and ran his fingers through the dark mess of his hair.

He did not miss the lingering stare Malia had broken herself away from before returning her smiling eyes back to her friend. Once she caught sight of him again, he playfully returned the stare with a quick, penetrating look.

   "Can we get you anything to drink, Malia?"

   "No, thanks. I'll just have Rachel's other drink for now."

   "Hey, babe," Jude got up and leaned into Rachel. "I'm going to go out for a smoke. I'll be right back."

Before he turned to leave, Rachel lunged for him. She wrapped her arm around his neck and brought his face toward her with her other hand. He gave her an approving smile and titled his head forward to kiss her.

Their heads tilted side to side, accommodating each other in waves while they engaged in their deep and sultry lip-lock. Rachel held onto the hair at the nape of his neck as her breathing increased with each brush of his lips.

Malia watched them for only a second and then turned to look at the band while taking a sip of her drink. They were now playing, with scary accuracy, a song by Stone Temple Pilots.

***

All three of them were appropriately drunk at this point. It was nearly one o' clock in the morning and the bartender had called out last call over an hour ago. The Brock's staff was now hurriedly wiping tables and sweeping the floors while Bred for Lust was talking to some tipsy fans and loading their gear up into their van.

Jude, standing between the girls, wrapped his arms around their waists, and they walked out into the jet black night. Malia tripped and almost fell in her purple, strappy heels, and they all laughed as she clawed at Jude's jacket for support.

"Alright, ladies, where to?"

He looked at the two of them lit overhead by the street light. They almost looked like twins, the same height and with long dark tresses. Malia, however, had more of an olive hue to her skin. Jude also noted her long, slender legs and how the dimples in her cheeks deepened as she laughed, her mouth opening and her head wildly dipping backward as she did so.

"I need to get home," Malia lamented. "My mom will seriously kill me if I don't get back before two."

"We'll give you a ride home, right, Jude?"

"Yeah. Hop in ladies."

The girls giggled again as he opened up the car door. They contorted their limbs in all sorts of booze-induced ways as they squeezed into the backseat together. Jude got into the car after them with a grin on his face.

***

"Malia is great, isn't she? Can you see why she's my best friend? She's so funny! Isn't she funny? Isn't she the best? We met freshman year and--"

Jude could not take it anymore. He swept Rachel up into his arms and broke her off mid sentence. He did not care to talk about Malia anymore. He did not care to talk at all.

"Ssssshhhh," he hushed into Rachel's ear as her head titled back in pleasure.

They were in her apartment's bedroom. He put his hands firmly on her waist and searched into her emerald eyes. Longing had completely taken over him. Rachel was both thrilled and apprehensive at the sight before her.

He brushed her soft waves off her shoulder and then placed his warm hand there. He delicately and slowly laid small kisses on her shoulder and up to the base of her ear. Rachel curled beneath him and her hands tightened their grip in his hair. She let out a soft sigh, and he led them over to her bed.

Jude yanked at the comforter on her bed and placed Rachel down onto her sheets. She shivered under his touch but not because she was cold.

Fire was sweetly taking over her body, little by little. Wherever he kissed her, wherever his fingers grazed, it felt like that area became instantly engulfed in flames. The flames burned and burned, leaving her in desirous ashes.

   Jude then stood before her and took off his shirt. His tanned and toned physique seduced Rachel in ways she never knew possible. She eyed his tattoos and sat up on her bed to trace them with her fingertips.

   The largest tattoo was spread over the left side of his chest and shoulder. It was the image of a raven with its wings spread open, soaring. The other one was of a rose, vibrant and with no trace of the color black. She lifted his right arm with her hands and brought it to her mouth. She kissed the rose's shades of red gently, caressing the velveteen skin of his inner arm with her lips. Hooking her fingers into his belt loops, she hungrily forced him back on top of her as they both fell onto her bed.

Rachel begun undoing the hooks at the front of her corset. Jude broke away from their fiery kiss and helped her.

She was removing much more than just her clothes, though. She was removing a small part of her vulnerable self every time she undressed and gave into Jude's affections. She did so willingly. She did so freely and longingly, too. But there was a part of her that feared she was losing something else, too.

   As Jude began to roam and spread his kisses further down her chest and waist, Rachel caught a glimpse of the moon, full and bright, through her sheer violet curtains. She closed her eyes, moaned, and let the fire beneath her naked skin burn anew.

~~~~~~~~~~~

A/N: Hey, there, racy readers!

I would be lying if I said I wasn't waiting for this chapter either. I was DYING to write it!!

Is Rachel in way over her head? What did you think of her bestie, Malia?

Also, I do not think there is a more perfect song for Jude than The Midnight's "Jason", so I had to add it to this chapter. I may add more songs to chapters as I go along, too.

Please vote and comment. The moon will smile down on you!

XO,
Leanne