Chapter 18
CHAPTER 18
JULIETTE
I stir awake to find myself in bed. I remember how last night went and truthfully, I hoped it never ended. Hudson and I moved from the floor when it got too uncomfortable to the bedroom; we continued to learn more about each other’s bodies. I just simply couldn’t get enough of him, and now, I slowly force myself to wake; I turn to find him standing by the window, sipping from a mug. He looks beautiful in the morning light. The way the beams slightly strike his face renders him in the fashion of a Greek god. His rumpled her, his quiet smile and mournful contemplation. This is all beautiful, so beautiful that I don’t want him to turn around and notice me awake. I want to watch him by that window forever.
Last night, I had given in to a hunger deep inside of me. I could lie and tell myself that alcohol is to be blamed, but it isn’t to blame for the lust I’ve felt since I saw Hudson in the tuxedo he chose to wear last night. It isn’t to be blamed for the risk I took coming into the living room in just the towel; it isn’t to be blamed that I hoped, and I would have gone ahead to make it happen—that my towel fell. Yet, things had gone better than I could have ever imagined them.
“You going to just lay there and stare at me forever?” Hudson asks, turning around to look at me.
“I wasn’t staring at you,” I lie.
“Now, you know that’s just a lie. Do you want coffee? I got them to make you one. I don’t really know how you like it, so I just told the cook, black is fine.”
“Are you having it black?” I ask him.
“Yes, I am.”
“I’ll have it black then.”
He picks up a mug from the ottoman and walks over to me. I sit up on the bed, using the duvet to cover myself. He grins at that but says nothing. Last night, we had no clothes to wear to bed, but he’s wearing some shorts this morning.
“Where did you get new clothes?”
“I had Alison bring our clothes from the hotel this morning,” he says. “It’s all in the closet.”
“Alison came in here?” I ask, feeling self-conscious.
“No, she didn’t,” he says, then he adds in a serious tone. “We have to talk.”
I know what the discussion will be about, and I agree with him before he says anything. He sits beside me on the bed, his eyes drinking me in.
“You’re a beautiful woman, Juliette, a passionate lover. I won’t lie and say I didn’t fancy you since you stepped into my office.”
“I thought you said I wasn’t your type,” I tease.
“That’s not what this conversation is about,” he replies.
“Okay, okay,” I say with a silly grin. “Go on.”
“Come on, you know I said all that just so something like this doesn’t happen.”
“I know,” I say, still smiling. “So go on.”
He sighs before he continues.
“I had wondered what it’ll be like to have you in bed, but I also knew it was something I mustn’t do. You tortured me even when you didn’t know you were. And I know this probably isn’t what you want to hear, but this can’t happen again. Last night has to be a one-time thing. I have always had a rule never to go to bed with people who work with me and for me. It complicates things.”
“I know,” I say, and I’m not surprised he looks shocked by my response.
“You do?” he asks.
“Yes. I was sent here to work. The scope of my work has expanded beyond what it should normally be, but I can’t include this. Like you said, it’ll muddy everything up. We need straight heads to survive the next five days, don’t we?”
“Yes, we do,” he agrees.
“Staying away from each other is one way to do that.”
“Yes. So, I checked the couch this morning, and luckily, it is a pull-out couch and very comfortable. Frank doesn’t leave anything to chance.”
“We agree that we keep our hands off each other, right?”
“Yes,” I tell him. “But not yet.”
I look down from his face to his toned muscles. It’s the right thing not to let sex muddle up the ruse we are building, but then I’m not ready to let go of him just yet. I want more this morning. Before I can tell him what I intend, Hudson kisses me. The hunger and ferocity in the kiss tell me he has been thinking just what I’ve been thinking.
He helps me set the mug down on the side table, and soon enough, the duvet is pulled away from me entirely, leaving me completely naked beneath his gaze. There’s no need for foreplay, no need to explore our bodies further. The only thing that matters is quenching the fire that’s burning through us both. Hudson strips off his shorts in one swift motion, his cock already hard, pulsing with need.
He grabs my waist, his fingers digging into my skin as he pulls me closer. Then, with a sudden, rough motion, he turns me over, pressing my chest against the mattress while lifting my ass high in the air. My heart races, anticipation building as I feel his breath on the back of my neck, the tension in the room so thick I can barely breathe.
With one hand, he grips my hair, pulling it back to expose my neck, while with the other, he guides his cock to my entrance. He pushes into me with a force that steals my breath, stretching me open until I’m filled completely, every inch of him buried deep inside me.
“Fuck!” I moan out in pleasure, my voice hoarse and desperate as he begins to move. It feels like the first time all over again, the sensation of him inside me so intense that my mind goes blank, and all I can do is feel. He starts slow, each thrust deliberate, giving me just enough to crave more. But soon, his restraint snaps, and he starts ramming into me, his hips slamming against mine with a ferocity that makes me cry out, the sound echoing in the room.
Hudson spanks my ass hard, the sting of his hand sending jolts of pleasure straight to my core. He pulls my hair tighter, using it as leverage to drive himself deeper, and I arch my back, meeting his thrusts with equal desperation. The room is filled with the sound of our bodies colliding, the wet, obscene noise of his cock sliding in and out of me as he fucks me relentlessly.
Every nerve in my body is on fire, the pleasure so intense that I feel like I’m going to shatter. My legs begin to shake, the strength leaving them as he continues to pound into me, and I collapse onto the bed. But Hudson doesn’t stop. He follows me down, his body pressing me into the mattress as he keeps fucking me, his pace brutal, unyielding.
I’m lost in the sensation, my mind a haze of lust and need as he takes me over and over, driving me higher and higher until I’m teetering on the edge of oblivion. My orgasm hits me like a tidal wave, crashing through me with such force that I scream, my body convulsing around him as the pleasure rips through me. But he doesn’t stop. He keeps going, his thrusts never faltering as he pushes me through another climax, and then another, each one more powerful than the last.
My nails dig into the sheets, clawing for purchase as I’m overwhelmed by the sheer intensity of it all. My body trembles uncontrollably, every muscle tensing as Hudson fucks me into oblivion, his cock filling me completely, owning me in every way. His breath is ragged, his movements frantic as he nears his own release, and when he finally comes, he does so with a deep, guttural groan, spilling himself inside me, his cock throbbing as he fills me with his warmth.
We lay there, tangled together, our bodies slick with sweat, both of us spent and sated. Hudson kisses my forehead softly before he slowly pulls out of me, leaving me feeling empty and fulfilled all at the same time. I can barely move, my body completely exhausted from the intense, primal fucking we just shared.
When I wake up again, the sun is shining brightly outside, and the bedside clock tells me it’s midday. Hudson isn’t in the room, but he’s left a note for me, telling me he had business to handle in town and will be back in time for dinner. He confesses he had a good time last night and this morning, and as I read his words, I can’t help but smile. I miss him already, my body still humming from the aftermath, yearning for his touch, craving the feel of him inside me again.
“Get it together, Juls,” I tell myself and get out of bed. My mug of coffee is still on the table. I take a sip of it and find it cold. I’ll have to find someone to heat it up for me. I get into the bathroom to take my shower. Having the water cascade down my body reminds me of Hudson’s tongue loving every bit of me, reaching into crevices I didn’t know existed in my body and giving me pleasure from it. How do I go from experiencing such bliss from him to never experiencing it again? It’ll be a tough job, especially given that we’ll be staying so close to each other, just a couple of feet away from each other. It’ll be hard, but it’s what I must do. Things would have been easier to navigate if I hadn’t given in to my lust.
After taking my shower, my stomach grumbles, telling me I’m hungry, so I dress, pick up my mug and search for the kitchen. The house is mostly empty, or at least in this wing where Hudson and I are situated; it looks that way. A couple of times I almost lose my way, but in the end, I find the kitchen. The sound of clanging utensils leads me to it. There is someone standing by the stove cooking. He’s dressed in chef’s clothes, and coming from the oven is the smell of freshly baked bread. The chef notices me and smiles at me as he pulls his bread out of his oven.
“Hi,” I say to him.
“Hello,” he says, walking over to me. “You must be Miss Juliette.”
“Yes.”
“I’m Alejandro. Mr. Dubois told me you might find your way to the kitchen at any time. I trust your night was splendid.”
The glint in his eyes and the way he cocks his head to the side gives me the suggestion that he knows about the activities Hudson and I performed during the night, but then I realize he’s just making polite conversations.
“Yes, it was thanks. I woke up to find this by my side. It’s cold already,” I show him the coffee mug.
“Give me that. I’ll heat it up for you,” Alejandro says, putting my coffee in the microwave. We both stand in silence for a while as the coffee heats up. He gets it out and hands it to me a couple of minutes later. I take a sip. Perfect.
“I met Mr. Sinclair this morning on his way to work,” Alejandro continues. “He told me to feed you properly; that last night must have left you famished.”
I almost choke on my coffee, and he stares at me in confusion. “Are you not hungry?”
“Yes, yes, I am hungry. It was just… you know what, never mind. Are you making something?” I ask, pointing at the bread he’s letting cool off.
“Yes. Bruschetta. Have you ever had it before?”
“I don’t think I have.”
“You’re in for a treat then. It’s one of my favorite meals to prepare. It’s simple, but delicious.”
“How do you make it?” I ask him.
“I’ll show you, come. All you need is bread, tomatoes, garlic, basil, and olive oil.”
I join him at the counter, glad that I have a way to spend my morning.
“Do you cook?” Alejandro asks me as I help him slice his tomatoes.
“Yes, I bake. I plan to open a bakery soon,” I tell him, and he looks impressed.
“That’s great,” he says.
“I don’t know how to bake so well. Especially American confectioneries. I have always wanted to learn, but there’s no one to teach me and no time.”
“Luckily for you, what I have in excess now is time.”