Chapter Fourteen #2
It wasn’t the best of plans, but it was the best we were going to get.
Nothing much was said after that, and we all went upstairs.
Warren went into Hudson’s parents room because Hudson refused to set foot in there for years.
I didn’t know how they restrained Mace because there was no lock on the door.
Before we made our way down the hallway, Warren returned with a pillow and blanket, which he set up on the floor by the bedroom Mace was in.
“Is that really necessary?” Hudson asked. “He’s practically hog tied.”
“I’m not taking any chances. And, I’m right here,” he pointed at Hudson’s bedroom door. “Don’t fucking scandalize my ears.”
I flushed, even as I bristled and turned on my heel. Hudson chuckled as he followed me into his old bedroom, which was completely different to how it used to look. I wrung my hands together as he shut the door behind him.
“I don’t have clothes or anything here,” he said, glancing around at the bureau, it wasn’t in the same place it used to be when he lived here.
“I could sleep standing up,” I pointed out. “Clothes are the least of my concerns.”
We stood staring at each other. Hudson sat down and took off his shoes and socks, then lifted his t-shirt over his head. My eyes immediately went to the ‘Waverley’ tattoo on his chest. He watched me, knowing exactly where I was looking.
When he slipped off his jeans, my mouth dropped open. He wasn’t wearing any underwear.
“Something wrong?” he asked me, his eyes dancing with amusement. It was a challenge, but he wouldn’t get the better of me. “Come on,” he sighed. “We need to sleep, you must be exhausted.”
I eyed his dick. It twitched under my stare, and I inhaled sharply.
Now wasn’t the time. Warren was right outside.
I kept my eyes on him as I took off the hoody I’d been wearing since my shower at the apartment.
Hudson watched me, his eyes growing hungry.
Until I took off the pants and he saw my too large, baggy underwear.
“What the fuck are those?”
I threw the pants at him, ripped off the giant panties and got into bed with an angry huff. He was still laughing when he got in behind me. I turned my back on him. “It was this, dirty underwear or nothing,” I snapped.
He stopped laughing. Then he moved up behind me and wrapped his arm around me, pulling me back into his warm body. I relented because for the longest time, I’d thought I would never get to feel like this again. To know how it felt to be wrapped up in his arms.
“Sorry,” he murmured against my neck. “I hate the thought of you being locked up there.”
“Well, I’m not anymore,” I said, the lingering annoyance still in my tone.
“Thank fuck,” he said, his hand moving to brush my hair back. He lightly kissed my neck. “Tell me the truth,” Hudson whispered, cupping my cheek so my head tilted up to look at him. “Are you sure you’re okay. Apart from what happened before you got out…No one hurt you?”
“No one hurt me,” I said, staring into his eyes, knowing he needed to hear those words, more than anything else. “I’m back,” I turned over and lightly touched his cheekbone with my fingertips.
This, being here with him, felt right. It felt like I couldn’t be anywhere other than here. My old life, the second life, that I ran to after the hurt five years ago, that was over too.
Hudson kissed my forehead and shut off the lights. “Get some sleep, this isn’t over by a long shot. You need to rest.”
I nodded and closed my eyes, pushing closer into him.
This man. Over the last twenty-four hours, I’d barely had chance to catch my breath.
But as I lay here beside him, I almost wanted to laugh.
If I’d known a month ago, I would be lying in Hudson Kelley’s arms, I would have believed it was some sort of vicious joke.
As his breaths started to even out, I thought back on what he said on the phone. I wasn’t really thinking about it when I made that off the hand remark about him loving me. He’d answered, ‘I do.’ It wasn’t that I brushed over what he said, there was just a lot more going on at the time.
Did he mean it? He hadn’t actually said the words.
And I didn’t know whether I would be able to say them either.
The truth was, I’d always loved him. I’d loved him from when we were children, as we grew up, when we realized our feelings of love were more than just friendship.
Even when I watched him with that girl after what happened with Andrew, I loved him.
That was what made it hurt so much. While I was with Declan, I was never really able to take the final step with him because I was never over Hudson. He was always going to be a part of me. Thinking of Declan made me feel horrible, I hadn’t even asked if he was okay, I needed to check on him.
“Wave,” Hudson said sleepily. “You can’t shut off?”
“Not really,” I whispered. He stroked his hand over my hair. “Hudson?”
“Yeah.”
“When I called you…before.” He moved back a little and I looked up at him. It wasn’t totally dark in here, but it still wasn’t easy to discern his features. “What you said on the phone.”
“About what?” I could hear the amusement in his tone, and I pushed his shoulder, he laughed quietly. “What are you asking me, Wave?” his voice became serious, he pressed his forehead against mine. “If that half assed declaration of mine was a turn of phrase, or if I meant it?”
I didn’t answer. I couldn’t. In fact, I was struggling to catch my breath.
“When you were gone. The first time,” he clarified.
“It took me years to stop waking up each day, hoping you were still here. Regretting every decision I’d made.
But I hated you… no that isn’t right, I didn’t hate you.
How can you hate someone you love? It took a long time, and I changed as a person because of what happened that night.
I became a worse version of myself, a man I really didn’t like.
“When you came back…when I found out what really happened that night…it broke me Wave. Knowing I failed you, more than once, in the worst way,” his fingers kept moving through my hair as he spoke and my eyes welled with tears.
“I got a second chance. When we brought you back here, the plan was to stay as far from you as possible,” he huffed out a laugh.
“That worked out well,” he used his thumb to brush a tear away.
“And then you were gone again. Only I didn’t know what the hell was happening to you.
I was terrified I really wouldn’t see you again.
Before, I knew where you were, but this time.
I didn’t know if you were dead or alive.
“So if you’re asking me if I meant what I said, in that half assed stupid way that I did it… Then yeah. I meant it. You’re mine, Waverley. You always will be. I love you.”
I sniffled, not wanting to cry but his words were singing to my heart. I knew he meant them. He would never lie to me about it.
“I love you, Hudson,” I said softly into the darkness.
Reaching up, I pressed my lips against his.
“I’ve always loved you. Even when you were a stupid asshole.
” I expected him to laugh but he didn’t.
He kissed me, holding my face in his huge palm, his thumb stroking my cheekbone as he parted my lips and we kissed deeper, our breath mingling together.
I wrapped my arm around his back, pulling him closer to me.
“Tell me you’re mine, Wave,” he mumbled between kisses.
“No.” His fingers stilled and he strained his neck backwards to look at me. I could see the mixture of hurt confusion and downright annoyance in his gaze.
I stared back at him, defiant. “You’re mine.”
For a second he just stared at me, like he was about to argue until he thought about what I’d actually said, then he grinned. “I’m yours,” he laughed a little, his chest jostling me.
“Damn fucking right,” he kissed me again and I felt his cock straining up between us. I pushed my hips against him. “Not now,” he said gently. “You’re tired, you’ve been through too much.”
“I’m fine,” I argued.
“Waverley,” his voice was stern. “I’d love nothing more than to sink into you right now, but I’m not going to, not while Warren is on the floor outside, a Kingsmen is tied up in the spare bedroom, and you’re still recovering from what happened to you.
You need to sleep, we have all the time in the world for that, because I’m never letting you go again,” he moved so his dick was out of reach and turned me over, pressing against my back.
“If that is supposed to make this easier,” I wriggled my ass against him. “I know you want this.”
He slapped my ass with a laugh, making me moan, and he hissed then grabbed my hands before I could reach around.
“You’d be surprised at my willpower, Wave. Go to sleep.”
“What if I can’t.”
“You’re safe, I’m here. I won’t let anyone take you again.”
There was no point arguing with him. He was right. And now that I’d told him how I felt, my body was fading. I was exhausted. I let my eyes close as he held me, his heart thumping steadily against my back, lulling me to sleep.
Warren was like an angry bear with a sore head, after sleeping on the floor.
Hudson had called him a dumb fuck because he hadn’t needed to do it.
Mace hadn’t been able to get out. That just pissed him off more and he made Hudson go out to get us breakfast. I’d checked on Mace, forced Warren to untie him so he could use the bathroom.
I drew the line at keeping the door open or leaving his hands tied, knowing all too well how fucking dehumanizing that was.
Mace had looked me in the eye afterwards, like he was trying to figure me out. He went willingly back into the room, allowed his hands to be tied again, all without a single word. I made sure they took food up to him too.
Now he was secured in the back of the van. I had no idea where it had come from, the Devil’s seemed to have an endless supply of vehicles, even though their preferred method of transportation was their bikes and the thought of driving around in anything else had them pouting like children.
We arrived at Ballistic and Rosa’s house.
I hadn’t been back here since the night I left Sussex.
When Rosa brought me back to help me after Andrew’s assault and Hudson’s betrayal.
I could tell Hudson was thinking about it too, knowing I’d made my escape from here and he’d lost me for five years. Neither of us mentioned it.
My dad and Ballistic’s bikes were already waiting. Warren turned to me, I was sat between the two of them. I knew what he was going to say before he even opened his mouth.
“You gotta let us do this.”
“I know,” I gave a resigned sigh and Warren’s eyes widened in surprise that I hadn’t challenged him. “Go get over the shitty part so we can get to what is really important.”
Hudson suppressed a laugh beside me and Warren called him a name before getting out of the van. “Just give us a few minutes,” he told me, squeezing my hand. Then he thumped on the wall behind us. “Don’t try anything,” he yelled through to Mace. No answer came back. I rolled my eyes.
“I’m fine, just go.”
Hudson watched me for a minute. I was sure the fear and uncertainty was written all over my face.
Until right now, I hadn’t thought about facing my dad.
I was angry, I wanted answers, and he had a fuck of a lot of explaining to do, but he was my dad.
I’d thought I was going to die. It put into perspective how much I had really missed them during the years I was away, even if neither myself nor my dad could show it.
I was afraid there would be nothing there more than anything. Despite what King told us when I first came back, despite how he defended me against Tanya. I had to prepare myself for that. Warren and Hudson had given me enough to know I was loved.
“I’ll come out to get you once we’re ready.”
“And Mace?”
“Ballistic will let us into the garage so we can bring him through without anyone seeing us dragging a tied-up hostage across the front garden.”
“Screw you,” I pushed him as he grinned at me. He leaned back in and kissed me. Then he jumped out and walked without a care in the world up the steps to Rosa’s home.
I wish I had a phone to call her, to check on her and Connor.
I should have asked them before they went inside.
I guess it would have to wait. Mace was silent in the back of the van.
He hadn’t said a word to me but I’d tried to convey that he was safe, even if I had no idea how my father would react.
It was taking longer than I expected and I was tempted to get out of the van and go listen to what was happening but thought better of it. I had no watch but estimated it had been close to thirty minutes when the garage door started rising. They were coming for the van.
I had already undone my seatbelt and was sliding over to the passenger door when I saw him.
My father stood on the top stair by the front door. His hands hung down at his sides, fists clenched tight. He was staring straight at me. My throat closed up and I almost hit the lock button.
He looked beyond angry.