Chapter 37
Shannon
Life is funny. The ups and downs, twists and turns you never see coming. I’m essentially in a room full of strangers holding a daughter I never wanted only to realize my daughter is the best thing that ever happened to me and these strangers have become family in the span of an hour.
They know one of my darkest secrets, not to mention, my shame over being hoodwinked by Gregor makes me want to hide my face. And yet, here they are. Rallying around me and my daughter.
I know it’s for Hudson’s sake, but the way they’ve embraced this.
Embraced me. Embraced us, makes me want this life—and only this life—for Serafina.
I’m about to make another choice that I’ll be judged for, but her father only has heartbreak, guilt, and manipulation to offer her.
As soon as he’s able to, he’d use her as a weapon against me.
He’d poison her just to be the favorite parent. And I can’t let that happen.
“I don’t want to have to worry about her father manipulating her when I’m not around, the same way he did to me.
I want Serafina to have security and stability.
To know love from two people who raise her together.
” Flashing a look at Hudson, I finish my thought, “I know who I want that person to be, and it isn’t Greg.
If an opportunity presents itself, take him down,” I confirm.
Monica doesn’t get emotional. She simply nods and slides the folder back into the bag on the floor.
“I’m not going to push the conflict-of-interest form until after the trial starts.
I need his intention to hide that relationship to be crystal clear.
This means he’ll have time to stir the pot, but hopefully not too much since he has to be in court early Monday.
Hud, he’s probably already emailed your boss though, so just be ready. ”
Hudson nods. “Oh, I am.”
Ready for this to be over, I think to myself.
We spend the rest of the evening hanging out and playing with the kids.
I help Ally feed Serafina, and Hudson and the guys build some kind of racecar track with Cam.
As much fun as it is getting to know everyone, when Phoenix, the last to leave, heads down the driveway, I’m exhausted and glad to be alone with Hudson and my daughter.
We definitely had some wins tonight and that feels good, but now I want to celebrate.
I’ve decided I’ll be celebrating all the small victories in the coming months.
Putting Serafina back down on her stomach in the playpen, she rolls onto her back, her newest feat, and quickly falls asleep.
The stimulation from all the people really wore her out.
I wrap my arms around Hudson’s torso, immediately putting my cold hands on his bare skin.
“Christ, woman! How do you have frostbite? It’s seventy degrees in here.” He laughs, playfully trying to remove my hands.
“Guess you’ll have to warm me up.”
“I probably have a few ideas about how to do that,” he says. “On a scale of one to ten, how cold are you really?” he asks.
“I’m not really cold at all,” I confess. “Just my hands.”
My honest answer earns me a wicked smirk in response.
“Great. Come with me.”
Hudson leads me out on the deck and I’m starting to enjoy his affinity for outdoor sex. I can see Serafina through the giant windows and I also have the baby monitor on her.
“Do you want it sweet or dirty?” Hudson asks, his eagerness bouncing between us as I consider his question, grateful that he knows the difference and that he wants my input.
“Dirty,” I answer honestly.
He leans in and captures my bottom lip between his teeth. “Turn around and put your hands on the railing, and don’t take them off,” he instructs.
While I’m turning around, I hear him shedding his shoes, pants, and boxers.
As soon as my hands are planted, he reaches in front of me and undoes the clasp on my pants.
Pushing them, and my thong, down before he taps my ankle, telling me to lift my foot.
My boots and pants slide off easily. The air is cool, but like the beach, it’s invigorating more than uncomfortable.
Once my lower half is bare, Hudson’s hand lands on my back, pushing me forward until I’m bent almost at a ninety-degree angle. In front of me, the river flows peacefully.
I feel his finger slip inside my pussy first and then the head of his cock brushes against me, teasing me, but never dipping inside.
“Did you bring me out here to torture me?” I ask, trying to push back onto him.
“I’m debating on the use of the condom in my pocket,” he tells me.
“Please, no,” I beg, wanting to feel him in me the way I did last night…with no barriers.
“We’re really tempting fate here, Shan. We have enough on our plates without adding an unplanned pregnancy to the mix.”
Fuck. He’s right.
“What if you pull out this time and come on my ass instead?” I ask like I’m negotiating a hostage.
When thirty seconds go by and he still hasn’t answered, I peek over my shoulder. “Hud?”
“Yep, all good,” he chokes out. “Just trying not to bust a nut over the fact that you just told me to come on your ass.”
I laugh. “Play your cards right and one day soon, you can come in it.”
“Okay, Guinness World Record for quickest orgasm…here we go,” he says, chuckling. It’s so foreign to relax, to have fun, to laugh, while having sex.
But we only laugh for a second, because in two thrusts, he’s seated so deeply inside me he’s tickling my tonsils…from the bottom. As he picks up speed, he grabs my shoulders so he can slam into me harder. The railing is abrading the skin on my chest, but the sensation is heavenly.
Hudson lets go of my shoulder to start playing with my clit, and between the spot he keeps hitting inside me and the way he’s striking a chord with that solitary note, my scream is about to notify everyone in the next state that he’s getting me off.
He must feel how close I am because he says, “I’m fucking there. I need you to come for me, Shannon.”
I’ve never been the come-on-command kind of girl. Even in my wild days, my vagina did what she was going to do regardless of what anyone said.
But apparently, Hudson’s voice just changed all that because I shatter around him.
“Oh shit,” he mutters as he slows his thrusts, trying not to spill inside me before my orgasm runs its course.
“Baby, it’s now or never,” he grunts as he pulls himself out of my body.
I hear the sound of his fist flying up and down over his shaft for only a second before I feel the warmth of his cum land on my ass.
And the second after that? His cock slides between my ass cheeks, making me a shivering mess.
“Fuck, that’s hot,” he breathes against my skin as he bends down to grab his boxers and uses them to clean me up.
We shower while Serafina sleeps, but there’s no crib here so I know I’ll have to wake her to go back to the apartment.
“I know you’re excited about your new place, and I’m excited for you. I just want you to know that anytime you and Serafina want to stay here. You’re welcome to. Especially once Gregor is back in town tomorrow. If you don’t feel safe, you don’t even have to call, just come over.”
“I will. Thank you.”
Once I get as settled as I can back at my place, I finally turn my phone back on to check some emails. I didn’t expect Greg to grovel because that’s just not who he is, but there are thirteen text messages from him, including a video someone took of a speech he gave at the banquet in his honor.
Manipulative bastard said he couldn’t have done it without me, and he was heartbroken that I wasn’t feeling well and therefore couldn’t attend. He even blew a kiss to the camera and had everyone say get well soon at the end.
My email in-box was no better. A lengthy love letter—probably written entirely with Chat GPT—waits for me, pleading with me not to leave him and that he can see how he might have been a little busier than usual and doesn’t fault me for stepping outside our marriage for attention.
He acknowledges his part in pushing me away and just wants me back so our family can be whole.
Thank God I already took my heart back for myself because these are all the words I’ve wanted him to say. But they’re only being said so Greg can paint the picture he wants the world to see.
The only response I give is a text that simply says,
Shannon
Let me know when you want to see Serafina.
Two can play the game of let’s be on our best behavior for the courts.
I’m unsurprised when I don’t get a response.
That night on my mattress, I toss and turn.
I’ve only spent one night here and it was the day I’d moved in.
I was so exhausted my body pulled me into a sleep before anything could keep me awake.
But tonight is different. It’s been a while since I shared a wall with my neighbors.
I’m trying to reacquaint myself to the sounds of community living, but I don’t love it.
With an infant daughter, I feel like I’m constantly on alert for anything out of the ordinary.
If I’m honest, I’d also hoped the price point for these apartments meant they would mostly house working professionals or other families with small kids, but the bass thumping from somewhere nearby suggests that at least one tenant is a fan of electronic dance music, and the fact that they’re playing it at three a.m. makes me confident they don’t have small children.
By the next evening, Serafina has a crib at Hudson’s.