20. Aster
Chapter 20
Aster
I settle into the armchair next to the bed, reading through the handbook for more tips while Hudson sleeps soundly. The more time I spend with him, the more interested I am in getting to know him outside of this situation, but we’ll never have that chance if I don’t figure out how to get the Horror back to the Below.
Crash is sprawled out on the floor, cuddling my dog and lazily answering questions I have as I read. My eyelids grow heavy, but I resist sleep as long as possible. The Horror is going to regain strength and if the handbook is correct, he’s only going to get angrier the more I interfere with his target.
Jocelyn’s potion is working well though, draining his energy and forcing him to prolong his efforts. The house spirits dutifully keep an eye on him and report to Crash, who shares the news with me.
After a few hours of research, Crash takes off and I stand to stretch, but pause when Hudson murmurs in his sleep. Within seconds, he’s flailing and making distressed sounds. Oh shit. Is he having a nightmare? I crawl into bed beside him, pulling him into my arms.
“I’m here, Hudson. You’re safe.”
He struggles against me, clawing at his neck as if trying to get free from an unseen assailant.
“Hudson, wake up. I’m here.”
I gently shake him until he snaps his eyes open. Relief spreads over his face, and I’m expecting him to back away when he realizes he’s awake, but instead he pulls me down, crashing his mouth into mine.
I yelp in surprise, but give in to the kiss, unable or unwilling to let him go, and the two of us fall into a steamy embrace.
“Hud,” I whisper against his lips. “Do you know what you’re doing?”
“Please, Aster,” he whimpers. “Please. I need this.”
“Fuck, so do I.”
We writhe together, exploring each other’s mouths with our tongues. I reach under his t-shirt, moaning at the expanse of warm, soft skin there. A light dusting of hair covers his chest and belly, and as I roll his nipple between my thumb and forefinger, he bumps his hips into mine, revealing his desire for me.
I tug his shirt up, breaking our kiss only long enough to get it off, then return to the paradise of his mouth. Hudson practically claws at my skin, a desperate groping to keep me close. I lose myself in his clean scent, like fresh linens blowing in the summer sun, and force my mouth away from his to suck on the skin of his neck.
“Aster,” he moans again, grinding his hips into me.
I take the hint, reaching between us to tug down the shorts he wore to sleep. When I’ve got him naked, I rise up enough to make out his form, and even in the dim light of late evening, he looks like a dream come true.
He fumbles with the button on my jeans, so I reach down to help, and he turns his attention to his nightstand, yanking at the drawer and feeling around inside until he produces a bottle of lube that’s nearly full.
After I kick out of my jeans and yank my shirt off, I collapse on top of him again, greedily swallowing his whimpers as he wraps his body around mine, hot skin pressed together, hard, leaking cocks grinding into each other.
“Fuck, you feel good. It’s been so long, Hud. So, so long.”
“Me too,” he grunts, scratching his nails down my back. “I want to come so bad.”
“Yeah,” I moan, smashing our lips together again. It’s like his kiss has something addictive in it and I can’t get enough. “Am I hurting you?”
“No.”
The click of the lube bottle opening is the only sound besides our heavy breath, and I raise my hips high enough to allow him to pour some between us. Then it’s just a sloppy grind of bodies, both of us chasing the heat building between us. Our mouths collide again and again in a mess of tongues and teeth, but it’s still the best kiss I can remember having.
Hudson digs his fingers into my shoulders, giving himself leverage to hump into me like his life depends on it. His cock is thicker and shorter than mine, and when it spasms against mine, the sensation sends me to new heights. It’s been way too long since I’ve indulged in sex with anyone but myself, and damn, was I missing this.
“Fuck, Aster,” Hudson moans. “I’m gonna… oooh, fuck.”
“Yes,” I whisper, biting the fleshy part in the crook of his neck. “Come all over me.”
He grinds against me, chasing his pleasure, then tenses, arching his back off the bed as his cock pulses, spilling hot, sticky cum between us. The scent of sex fills my nose, sending me over the edge with him.
I come hard, as if I’ve been holding it in for years, leaving me gasping and seeing stars as I thrust against his sweaty body. He keeps his arms and legs wrapped around me, holding me tightly, and even though I need to catch a breath, I bury my face against his neck, inhaling his unique scent.
We ride each other like leisurely waves until we collapse, breathless and spent. There’s a good chance he’s about to freak out that he gave in to this, but right now, I want to enjoy this moment. I think we both needed it.
Several minutes pass with only the sound of our breathing until Hudson breaks the silence.
“Aster?”
“Yeah?”
“I…” He blows out a breath, so I rise to gaze down at him. His expression is vulnerable, needy, and the part of me that wants to protect him blooms wildly.
“Talk to me, Hud.”
“I needed that,” he says, so softly I almost didn’t hear him. “And I wanted it.”
“Me too.”
Reaching up, he cups my cheek. “Please don’t make me regret it.”
I take his hand and kiss his palm. “I can’t promise you that I’ll be the man of your dreams, but I can promise there’s no malice in me. Nothing could make me intentionally hurt you.”
A tentative smile pulls at his lips. “That’s good enough for now.”