Thanks to my reviewers and new readers who are enjoying this story.

Chapter 34

Meet The Parent

Jude jumped out of Tommy's Hummer before he had even shut off the vehicle. Her father and sister were waiting for her on the front lawn after she had just called to say she was back home.

"Dad!" Jude exclaimed as she rushed into her father's arms for a hug. Tommy walked up behind them and stood there silently waiting. When father and daughter separated Stuart took in the young man that had come home with Jude. Tommy looked every inch the bad boy with his worn leather jacket and sunglasses on. Sadie stood next to Jude and waited for their father's reaction.

"Little Tommy Q?" Stuart said, proud that he had remembered one of Sadie's favorite singers. The sisters looked at each other and the laughter soon overtook the grins they gave each other.

"Uh I prefer Tom or Tommy." Or fuck me harder Tommy. Whoa! Where the hell had that come from? This was Jude's father he was standing in front of! Dumb Ass! He tried to focus on what the older man was saying.

"So Tom how did you like the tour?"

"It was great..."

"Should I put him out of his misery?" Jude whispered to Sadie as they watched their Dad start talking about classic rock to Tommy.

"Did he do anything wrong recently?"

"No..." Jude sighed and walked up to them putting her hand in a very grateful Tommy's. Her father looked at the couple in surprise.

"Geez Dad why did you think he came home with me?"

"Yeah Dad. Do you think Little Tommy Q just follows girls home for no reason?" Sadie added, enjoying teasing both of them. Stuart invited Tommy for the dinner he was in the process of making. Sadie grinned at Tommy and added her request for him to stay. He knew it would look bad if he said no.

Jude looked over at her best friend's house and sighed internally. He had not returned any of her calls after leaving the tour suddenly. She didn't want this to be the end of their friendship and hoped now that she was home she could repair what she had inadvertently damaged. She should have told him from the beginning that she was in love with someone else. Of course at the time she had never expected to see Tommy again, unless it was like in that Dido video where the two lovers passed each other at some premiere or other. She squeezed Tommy's hand thinking that song White Flag could so easily have applied to her, if he hadn't come after her.

Tommy and Stuart were left to bring Jude's bags in as she and Sadie caught up.

"So bringing Tommy home to meet Dad. Big move. Who's idea was it?" Jude shrugged. They hadn't exactly talked about it, it was just assumed that he would give her a ride home. He said he wanted to see where she had grown up.

They made it through dinner, not too awkwardly, letting Stuart dominate the conversation with music talk. Sadie had not been very helpful though when she found out Tommy spoke Italian too. Tommy choked on his seafood pasta when Sadie mentioned mussels being an aphrodisiac in Italian and Jude's hand somehow found its way to his inner thigh at the same time. The two sisters were apparently out to kill him. Jude he would get even with later...

"How do you like my special pasta Tommy?" Tommy coughed again as Jude's fingers started to dance lightly across his groin.

"It's uh...very good sir." Sadie could see from across the table that Jude was obviously distracting Tommy in some way. They shared a grin as Stuart launched into the musical genius of Bob Dylan. The situation was humorous to say the least. Tommy Q heartthrob extraordinaire was having dinner with them as if it was normal for him to go home to meet a girl's parents.

Stuart sat on the couch and looked towards the front door once again. Jude had gone to walk Tommy out 20 minutes ago and still wasn't back.

"What's taking Jude so long?" He started to get up, when Sadie spoke from her chair.

"You don't want to go out there Dad." She warned. "They can get kind of intense." He frowned at her and stood up, walking over to the window. What he saw there was not something any father should have had to see. Tommy had Jude propped up against the hood of the Hummer, her legs wrapped around his waist as their lips moved hungrily against one another's.

"Dad did you just yelp?"

"How well does she really know him Sadie? Doesn't he have a bit of a reputation?" He asked as he sank back onto the couch. Sadie looked at her father in amusement.

"I don't think you can get rid of him..." If a year of separation had not changed their feelings for each other, then Sadie couldn't picture Tommy going anywhere.

Best Friend

It was 2 a.m. and the house was dark as Jude gently closed the front door behind her. She was wearing a gray hoodie that was obviously too big to belong to her and a pair of shorts. She had been tossing and turning in her bed since 12:30 and had finally texted Tommy to tell him she couldn't sleep without him. Surprisingly enough he had called her back and said the same thing. It had brought a soft smile to her face. Then his voice had turned husky and low and it brought heat to her cheeks, as he told her what he would be doing to her if she was there with him. As stimulating as the conversation was, it would never be enough for either of them. That was why Jude was sneaking out of her own home like she was still in high school, to meet her boyfriend. Boyfriend seemed like such a bland word to her. He was so much more.

"So you finally made it home." A voice said out of the darkness, causing her to jump.

"Jamie..." She said in relief, making out his tall gangly form on the lawn. "You scared me." He had seen her come home earlier and had seen the time she had spent saying goodbye to Tommy. He had been unable to sleep and had decided to go for a walk when he saw her coming out the front door.

"Sorry..." They were both silent for a long moment before he spoke again. "You're going to him aren't you? Why are you sneaking out? Your Dad not like him?"

"Um...no I just didn't want to spring everything on him at once...Look Jamie I'm so sorry about the way I handled things with us...I never meant to hurt you...I just didn't know how to tell you..."

"You love him huh?" Jude knew he deserved honesty, at least, from her.

"So much...I can't breathe sometimes." She waited for his response patiently, knowing this probably hurt him too.

"I know what that's like..." He finally said, making Jude feel even more guilty.

"Jamie...You're my best friend..." He gave her a rueful smile.

"I was...I don't think you really need that from me anymore...Spied was right when he said I didn't know who you are now..." Although he could not see it in the dim, her eyes reflected pain.

"Jamie...You're still important to me."

"You should get going. It's late."

"Jamie...Are you okay?"

"Don't worry about me. I'll see you around Jude." He left to walk to his own house without another word. She stood there for a moment listening to the sounds of the night and they were beautiful, but the urging of her heart soon had her walking to her Mustang to make the trip into his arms.

The Things You Do To Me

Tommy opened his door and drew her in without a word. His lips found hers and their bodies pressed firmly together. His hands were under her sweat shirt in a heartbeat, meeting the soft skin of her bare back. Her fingers were busy raking across his bare chest as their tongues stroked in a lazy caress. She raised her arms so he could pull her shirt off, revealing her braless state. His mouth found her nipple as he sank onto his knees. His wicked tongue flicked against the nub, making it hard as she moaned. He took his time in tasting her sensitive breasts, and then her knees grew boneless and she sank down in front of him. Their mouths met again, this time in urgency, as he pulled her shorts and panties down. She got them the rest of the way off and had her fingers on the waistband of his boxers. Jude pushed him onto his back, on the plush carpeting, and straddled him. Her mouth moved to his cheek, then chin, then neck as she licked his salty skin. Her tongue left a wet trail down his chest as she slid down his body. She let her hot breath tickle the head of his erection causing him to shiver.

"Baby...Please..." He begged, as her tongue licked the tip of him, tasting him. His fingers tangled in her hair as she teased him, sliding her mouth down the length of him before moving back up. When Tommy was ready to just grab her and pull her up to sink himself deep inside her, she took him into her mouth. He groaned in pleasure as she worked her mouth on him, sucking as she retreated. He felt all his blood pulsing in one location and managed barely managed to stop himself in time. He pulled her up so she was straddling him again. Their lips met in an open mouthed kiss as the head of his erection pushed insistently against her heat. She shifted a little and lowered herself onto him as his hips thrust up. She gasped as he filled her completely. He started a rhythm that had both of them breathing hard. She met his thrusts, sliding her sensitive nub against his skin.

Tommy's arms wrapped around her back, pulling her down so they were chest to chest. He rolled them both over, still inside of her as his hands went underneath her thighs to hold her open for him. He pounded into her hard causing her let out a small scream. Her nails dug into the carpeting as he rocked his hips against her in a way that had her muscles tightening. He lost control as he stared down at her naked body and his pace quickened, sending her over in an intense rush of sensation. Her contracting muscles sent him over the edge, as he gave a few final thrusts causing her to whimper. He fell on top of her and they kissed again, gently this time. Their fingers linked as they both lay there, gazing into each others eyes. Finally he moved off of her and got up, pulling her to her feet.

"Well your carpet is nice...Do I get to see the rest of the place?" He gave a short laugh and put one arm underneath her knees and the other at her back to lift her up into his arms.

"Wanna see the bed?" He grinned at her and headed for the other room.

"Here big eyes. I need to get going. You sleep." He said as he dropped something besides her in bed and then leaned down to kiss her lips gently. "I'll see you for lunch?" She murmured sleepily and he grinned as he got up to go. He had promised Georgia he would be back at work as soon as the tour was over and he needed to check in. Jude wasn't expected for another day.

When Jude woke up again, she was lying on something hard poking into her side. She raised a keychain with a pewter guitar and a set of keys on it. She wasn't sure what it meant other than they belonged to his apartment.

Back To the Grind

Tommy came into G-Major ready to work when Georgia called him into her office. They exchanged greetings and she asked about the tour, but quickly got down to business.

"G I have some new stuff I want to get down. Can this wait?" He and Jude had come up with some new songs for his album and for her next one.

"Tommy sit." He did so finally noticing her serious expression.

"Darius Mills has a court injunction out on you. He claims the stuff you've been working on here was written before your contract with him expired. Therefore it belongs to him." Georgia watched him carefully for any signs of an impending blow up. He had never had that great of a temper, even in the best of situations.

"That asshole! He can't prove when I wrote that music!"

" No, but he can block your album for a longtime. Look Tommy we have our lawyers working on it, but it may take some time." Tommy stood up and looked at her with unhappy, but strangely calm eyes.

"Don't worry about it Georgia. I'll take care of it. Is Darius in Toronto?" She nodded.

"He wanted to meet with you as soon as you came back from the tour."

He walked out of G-Major and back to his apartment, quickly explaining to Jude what had happened. He told her to meet him for lunch and got what he needed before he left to find the man who would not get out of his life.

Reckoning

Tommy walked into Darius's satellite office and barely noticed the receptionist checking him out.

"Darius in his office?" The brunette nodded and then protested as he walked past her.

"Wait he's got a conference call..." She sighed and wondered if Darius would fire her over this.

Tommy made his way to the closed door and opened it stepping in to an inscrutable looking Darius sitting behind his desk.. Darius had heard the bootlegs from Tommy's guest appearances at Jude Harrison's concerts and had known immediately that Tommy could make him money and that Tommy had sabotaged the album he had given him. Darius Mills was not a forgiving person when crossed.

"Tommy...I've been expecting you." He gestured to the chairs and Tommy sat. "I guess you've seen Georgia." Tommy simply continued to scrutinize the other man, his mouth set in a grim line. Darius did not speak either, considering himself the king of mind games.

"You owe me D." Tommy finally spoke.

"I owe you? How do you figure that? I made you." Darius gave him an amused look.

"You made Little Tommy Q. I'm not him anymore." Darius couldn't argue with that, Tommy had become an artist in his own right after all. His new music proved that. That was something Darius had never expected. "You covered up your sister's attempt to kill me." Darius's eyes showed vulnerability for just the merest second before his usual impassive mask slipped back into place.

"You can't prove anything." Tommy took some folded papers out of his jacket and tossed them in front of Darius.

"This is a report made from the Alfa Romeo company. They were looking for any design flaws, but surprise, surprise they didn't find any. They found only one thing wrong with the car."

"That doesn't prove Portia did it."

"Look at the last page." Darius flipped to the attached photocopied letter his sister had written.

"Even if that confession isn't enough evidence, the press would love a chance to dig deeper as to why there was no investigation."

"What do you want?" Darius was finally shaken. Tommy shook his head.

"See that's where we're different D. I don't want anything from you, although I think Portia should get some treatment. She seems to be in a bad place, but that's not my call." Darius nodded, waiting for him to continue. "All I want is a chance to work on my stuff without interference from you. Leave Jude and me alone and I swear I won't ever bring this up again. If we meet at a social gathering we'll be cordial, but I do not want to deal with you or your family again." Darius tried to salvage what he could from this disastrous meeting. He hated being at a disadvantage, but knew there was nothing he could do this time.

"Tommy...If you want a solo contract I'm willing to put big bucks into you. You call the shots." Tommy smirked. Big D. still looking at all the angles. He shook his head no.

"I'm happy at G-Major."

Tommy sat down beside Jude at the table and she looked up at him, her eyes full of questions. He gave her a small smile and she relaxed. She had wanted to go with him, but he had insisted he needed to face Darius alone. For too long the man had had too much influence in his life.

"Everything okay?" She asked. He took her hand and kissed her fingers.

"It is now."