Chapter 14
FOURTEEN
4 Days til Christmas
I plopped on the couch, crisscrossing my legs under me with a blanket and the bowl in my lap.
Now it felt too weird to tell him about my family. Not to mention, Kent going all feral on him, for God’s sake.
Not that he had ever loved any of my boyfriends—why should that be different?
And for God’s sake, Hudson wasn’t my boyfriend. He was my lover.
My temporary lover.
I swallowed my tongue as he came in with that towel over his shoulder, the white thermal shirt pushed up at his forearms. His torso was so long and muscled. That perfect taper of shoulder-to-waist ratio.
What did he even see in me? I was definitely not the workout queen type. I was blessed with a good metabolism and running around the various venues kept me trim- ish.
But when he looked at me, there was no denying the attraction that flared between us. Especially when those dark eyes locked on mine as he padded into the living room.
Even his long, bare feet were attractive. That was just unfair.
He stopped at the coffee table and picked up the remote. “Think the Kings are playing in an hour.”
He settled beside me and turned on the massive television over the fireplace. The various frames that appeared to be stacked above the mantel were actually one solid piece that hid the television.
I dipped into my bowl of food, humming at the salty, creamy concoction. It was the perfect winter storm kind of meal.
“So, I should be packed and gone before your brother gets here?”
I hunched my shoulders at Hudson’s tone. “Sorry about that. Kent thinks he’s my dad sometimes.”
“Was your dad not around?”
“Oh, he was. He worked a lot. Rawlings was an industrial town on the outskirts of the Catskills. Most people came around for the skiing during the winter months. Some of the more enterprising people in my town converted those big colonial mansions into bed and breakfast-type places, but mostly, people worked at the mills.”
“Like your dad?”
I licked the back of my fork, savoring the thick sauce he’d made. His dark eyes flicked to my tongue then his jaw worked a bit before he looked down at his bowl.
It was easier to distract him with sex than to talk about the people most important to me. I had guarded them so long that it was foreign to actually share things about myself.
Protecting my family from a too curious public was just second nature now.
I’d learned the hard way that some people only wanted to know things to add to a click-bait article about Q or Rio.
“He did. It was a paper mill, and he always took the overtime shifts. My brothers were all into sports, and gear wasn’t cheap.”
“Kent too?”
“Not really.” I dragged a piece of chicken through the mushrooms at the bottom of my bowl, trapping them along the side to scoop them up all together. I finished chewing thoughtfully.
It had been a long time since I’d thought of those days. Kent and I had started working as soon as possible. Neither of us had wanted to burden our parents when we made our own money.
“There was a B&B near our house. Kent was always helping out over there. He learned how to love old houses and their cantankerous ways. The older man, Mr. Bellows, who owned it taught him all there was to know about woodworking. I helped out cleaning for some extra cash. It was better than working in town.”
“I’d think it would be more exciting in town.”
I reached across Hudson, making sure to brush my breasts against his chest as I set my empty bowl on the end table near him. “We’ll just say my awkward phase was a bit longer than I’d like to admit,” I said close to his mouth before I settled back on my side of the couch.
The SportsCenter commentary buzzed lightly in the background. I twisted to push my butt into the corner of the couch, tucking my feet under Hudson’s thighs for warmth.
“I doubt that.”
I snickered. “Oh, I had braces and an unfortunate bout of hormonal acne until I turned seventeen. Skincare is a ton better these days.”
He finished his bowl and set it aside. Then he wrapped his big hand lightly around my ankle, stroking his thumb under the cuff of my pants. “Where are your fuzzy socks? You’re usually buttoned up tight. Not sure I’ve even seen your feet yet.”
I wrinkled my nose. The sexy quotient was high this snowpocalypse fling. “I end up in a lot of hotels for my job. Fuzzy socks are a comfort thing. Reminds me of home.”
“I like them.”
I rolled my eyes, but a secret part of me did a happy dance. “I need to do a load of laundry. Lots of wet socks the last few days.”
He huffed out a laugh. “Yeah, I need to do one, as well. Did you find the laundry room in this palace?”
“They have one of those stackable washer and dryers upstairs in the hall closet.”
“Good to know.” His fingers teased along the back of my calf. “So, your brother worked more than he got to play?”
Because Rio was the prodigy on the ice. As soon as he had been able to stand on skates, he’d been out on the pond or at the rink. Hockey was all he cared about.
Making it onto the Kings was step one in his dream lineup. They weren’t an amazing team, but getting up to the NHL level could give him opportunities with other teams.
And when it came to Rio—ultimately, he just wanted to play.
I nodded. “Most of my brothers were deep into sports. No time for part time jobs when practice took up most of the afternoon. My mom was all about the grades too, so they didn’t get to coast there. She wasn’t raising any meatheads, she’d say.”
“Sounds like your mom and mine would get along. She was a strong woman to deal with triplet boys. Callum, my older brother, was pretty self-sufficient. Always had his head in books.”
“That’s my sister,” I said with a laugh. “River is going to law school. She’s ridiculously smart. She’s in Boston with my other brother, Levi. He’s a firefighter. He was all in on a football scholarship, but he did some volunteer work as a firefighter one summer and that was it. He was hooked.”
“Bet your parents loved that.”
I snorted. “From one dangerous thing to another. My mother tries to be chill about things. Helps with us all out of the house now. She and my dad are retired and have turned into cruisers.”
His eyebrows shot up. “Sorry?”
I laughed, leaning in to grip his arm. “They love vacation cruises.”
“Oh.” He flushed. “I did one of those once. Pretty sure it took my liver about six months to recover.”
“Think a booze cruise is a little different.”
He held onto me, urging me to come to his side of the couch. “You’re too far away.”
“I thought we were being good and getting to know each other?” I rolled forward onto my knees.
He leaned his head on the back cushion of the couch and gave me a soft smile. Those deep chocolate eyes could tease a nun out of her habit.
And no part of me was saintly.
“I’ll be good.”
“How good?” I inched closer and squeaked when he grabbed me and set me astride his lap.
He was warm and so dang solid. His hands settled on my ass, nudging me closer so he could get to my mouth.
“This isn’t being good,” I said between kisses.
“Over the clothes isn’t cheating. It’s second base. Besides, there is no rule against kissing.”
He brushed his lips over mine gently. His beard tickled a little as he took his time learning every corner of my mouth.
I played with the short hair along his nape, lightly dragging my fingers through the dense hair there.
Restlessly, I rocked against him.
He groaned, widening my mouth to snake his tongue inside to tangle with mine, his fingers flexing on my ass with each undulation of my hips.
The kisses grew bolder and deeper. He nipped my tongue and bottom lip as we rocked together.
One of his hands slid up between us to cup my breast over my shirt as he scraped his way down my neck to bury his face in my hair, finding my earlobe with a sharp little tug that echoed between my thighs.
“If this is you being good…” I trailed off as he swirled his tongue along the spot behind my ear that made me lift my shoulder with a laugh that turned into a groan.
“Your skin is addicting,” he said into my ear followed by another one of those tugs. “Can you come doing this?” He moved back enough to look into my eyes. “Are you wet?”
“Why don’t you check?”
“Because that would be cheating.”
“Right. One whole day.”
Which I was pretty sure would make me insane.
I tried to slide off his lap. I needed a second to cool down.
Instead, he held me tight. “Can’t control yourself?”
I lifted my chin. “Oh, are you daring me? I can hold out longer than you, pal.”
He reached over for the remote and shut off the television. “Prove it.”
I slowed my rocking, taking in a leisurely breath as I trailed my nails over the collar of his thermal shirt again and again as I licked at the seam of his lips.
He didn’t let me in, just kept his gaze locked with mine. The only thing that betrayed him was how tight his thighs were under my butt.
I gentled the kiss, his lips softening under mine though neither of us broke our stare. I slipped my hands over the waffle texture of his shirt, each sensory inch buzzing under my skin.
My nipples tightened under my cotton bra and pushed up against the thin pajama material of my shirt. Lightly, I rubbed against his chest, pleased to see a matching tightening under his thermal.
I drew my fingers down over his pecs, my thumbs finding the tight discs and using the shirt to abrade them.
His jaw locked and his nostrils flared.
I leaned forward to kiss his ear. “Are you hard for me, baby? That cock is all for me.”
His breath hitched.
All’s fair…
“I remember the first time you slid inside me…” I grinned as I flexed the muscles of my thighs to squeeze him. “So silky and hot and salty.”
He drew in a sharp breath.
“Usually, oral isn’t my first go to. I don’t mind it, but for you…” I felt him harden, poking against my lower belly. “Seeing you stare down at me as I sucked you deep.”
“Jesus, Ocean.”
I laughed as I slid back to his knees and off of him to put my feet down. I lowered my mouth to his crotch, my teeth grazing over the tent of his sweats before I stood and took the bowls off the end table and sauntered into the kitchen.
When I got out of sight, I sagged against the counter.
What the hell had gotten into me?
My whole body was strung so tight, I was ready to take the edge off on my own.
“There’s no rule about watching you get yourself off, Angel.”
I spun around at his voice. The room had gotten dark as we fooled around and he was in the shadows, backlit by the Christmas tree.
The dark helped bring back the bold Ocean that lived inside for him. My hand rose to cup my breast. “You want to watch me?”
“I always want to watch you. Listening to you groan my name makes me insane.”
“Hudson,” I said quietly with a purr as I tightened my grip on my breast.
“Make yourself feel good, Angel. Let me watch you.”
Slowly, I nodded and walked toward him. His throat worked as I eased by him and strolled back into the living room.
Instead of returning to the couch we’d been sitting on, I sat on the one across from it, my back to the fireplace. The unholy wind and sleet beating at the window barely registered above my pounding heart.
Hudson followed, sitting on the couch across from me. He widened his legs, and I could see how hard he was under his dark sweatpants, the length of him tenting the material deliciously.
I swallowed deeply, on the verge of asking for a show of my own. Though I was getting one even without voicing the demand.
He sat back, his arm resting across the top of the cushion. The snow whirling behind him, sticking to the icy window. The Christmas tree lighting one side of his face, leaving the other in shadow.
This game had taken on a whole different feel. I wasn’t sure what to do with my hands, myself, or how to temper my skittering heartbeat.
I grabbed the hem of my shirt, and he shook his head. “With your clothes on. If you show me that golden skin, this is over.”
My mouth tipped up at one corner. “Can’t resist me?” That was more empowering than I wanted to think about right now.
“No.”
The vulnerability in that one word made my chest ache. It seemed patently unfair for me to meet someone as amazing as Hudson when there was no chance for a future.
When I was terribly afraid I’d never meet anyone like him again.
So, I needed to make every minute, every hour, and every day count.
I slid my hand into the waistband of my pants, a little embarrassed about how slick I was. I released a shaky breath and slipped even lower, my gaze locked on him.
On those dark eyes that saw far too much.