Chapter 20
Twenty
Cullen
My jaw hits the floor of Hudson’s Bronco as we pull up to the behemoth stone house built into the side of the mountain.
“Dude, you said the place was big.”
“You don’t think this is big?”
“No. I think it’s fucking massive! It’s like a mini mansion in the sky.”
Hudson laughs and hops out to start unloading. He parked in one of the three garage bays, which is lined with shelves full of neatly organized outdoor gear. There are lawn chairs, fishing poles, corn hole boards, and life vests. It looks straight out of an HGTV episode.
We live in an affluent area with large homes, but this house is next-level. I knew Hadley and Hudson’s grandparents had money, but I didn’t realize they were loaded like this.
“You coming, or are you going to sit there and become one with the garage?”
I roll my eyes, climb out, and grab some bags from the trunk. I follow Hudson up the front steps, where he fishes a key out from under the welcome mat.
“The housekeeper left it for us,” he explains when I give him a questioning look.
He opens the door, and we all file in. Oohs and aahs echo through the entryway before everyone is off in a frenzy, racing to claim their bedrooms for the week.
Archer, Matt, and a couple of our other buddies from the soccer team were last-minute additions. Since they’re stuck with air mattresses in the upstairs loft, they hang back to help Hud and me haul everyone’s bags inside.
“Archer, glad you’re in a walking boot,” I say. “But what are you going to do while the rest of us are out on the lake?” I look at my friend who broke his leg during our last soccer game a few weeks ago.
“Work on my Greek god tan, I guess. I’m just happy to be off crutches, and I’ll happily spectate if it means I dodged going to my Aunt Martha’s. She has thirteen cats, and I’ve never seen a litter box,” he shudders.
We all crack up, then split off to find where everyone ended up, taking in the house as we go.
Massive windows span the three floors, flooding the space with light.
Thick beams and log walls give it a lodge-like vibe.
A stone fireplace anchors the room, surrounded by oversized leather couches and red-and-black checkered blankets.
Through the back windows, I catch sight of an outdoor fireplace and a hot tub on the deck overlooking the lake and the lush green mountains.
This place is awesome, and way beyond what I expected.
“Hudson, I snagged us a room!” Ella barrels into Hudson, arms wrapping around his neck. He tries to hide the grimace, but I see it.
Disappointment punches through me. What were we thinking? Of course everyone would assume Ella and Hud would share a room.
We should’ve planned better.
“There’s one unclaimed bed in our room,” Hadley calls as she rounds the corner, eyes scanning the group.
Nothing but crickets.
My stomach drops. I’m the odd man out.
I give her a weak smile. She stops in her tracks, realization hitting her like a wave. “Oh no. Nope. Not happening. Someone switch with me. I am not sharing a room with him.”
“I have an idea,” Hudson cuts in, a spark in his eye. “Ella, why don’t you take the extra bed in Hadley’s room?” he suggests. “Cullen and I can bunk together.”
Ella’s face falls. “But it’s the only king-size bed. And do you really want to sleep with Cullen?”
Hudson shrugs. “We’ve shared a bed many times. The only one making it weird is you.”
Well, damn. Hud is usually the group’s yes-man, but right now? He’s taking what he wants.
I’m what he wants.
“Yeah, Ella, room with us. There are two bunks with doubles and plenty of room. Please?”
I’ve never seen Hadley beg before. It’s kind of comical.
“Okay, that does make more sense, I guess.” Ella smiles wide.
Immense relief flows through me. I know she and Hud have this whole farce of a relationship going, but she’s not sleeping next to my man every night.
My man.
I like that.
“Oh, thank you, thank you, thank you!” Hadley squeals, bouncing up and down.
“Alright,” Hudson calls out, stepping in like the unofficial house leader. “Let’s all take an hour to decompress. Nap, explore the house, whatever. We’ll hit the lake after that.”
Everyone agrees, snatching up their bags and peeling off to their rooms. I trail Hudson down the hall until he stops in front of a door and presses a button, a soft ding ringing out.
“Please tell me that’s not an elevator.”
He smirks, slides open a pocket door, and reveals just that. “My grandparents are in their seventies,” he tells me. “Mobility’s not what it used to be. They had it installed a few years ago.”
We step into the two-person elevator, and Hudson presses the button for the third floor. After sliding the pocket door closed, the elevator lurches and begins its slow ascent.
We step out into the loft, where the three guys stuck with air mattresses are mid-setup.
“There’s an elevator?” Matt stares at us where we’ve just materialized.
“No, we levitated,” Hudson deadpans.
Matt’s cheeks pink, slightly embarrassed, then flips him off, both of them cracking up.
“This way.” Hudson gestures his head down the hall. He points out a small home gym, an office, and a full bath, before we stop in front of a heavy wooden door. Hudson nudges it with his foot and steps inside.
“How’d you know this was the room Ella picked?” I ask.
“She wanted the King bed. This is the only one.”
“And aside from the three tagalongs back there, no one else is on this floor?” I ask, hopeful.
He gives me a nod, that smirk tugging at the corner of his mouth. I glance at the door, see the lock, and flip it with a satisfying snick.
“What should we do with our hour of mandatory chill time, oh mighty house king?” I ask, stepping up to him and hooking two fingers into the waistband of his shorts, tugging him closer.
“I can think of a few things,” he breathes, fingers playing with the hem of my t-shirt, grazing the skin above my waistband.
I yank the shirt over my head and smash my mouth to his. He gasps and stumbles back until the backs of his legs hit the mattress, then drops down, pulling me with him.
I break the kiss just long enough to ask, “What do you want, Hud?”
“I want to touch you.”
I scoot back until I’m leaning against the rustic tree-branch headboard and hold my arms out to my sides. “Then come touch me.”
Hudson scrambles upright and straddles my hips, kissing me with a new kind of hunger.
His hands move leisurely down my body like he’s trying to memorize every inch of my chest, ribs, abs, and hips.
He explores me with this perfect mix of reverence and heat, and I swear I’m burning beneath his fingertips.
When his fingers drift to the waistband of my shorts, he pauses, a silent question in his eyes. I whisper a yes against his lips, not wanting to pull away for even a second.
He slides his fingers inside and pushes my shorts down, taking my boxers with them. My cock jumps free, already aching and leaking with anticipation.
You’d think I would be nervous, but I'm not. Because it’s Hudson. And Hudson has always meant safety. He’s always meant comfort.
He pulls away from our kiss to glance down at me. “Shit.”
I can feel the nerves radiating off him, so I take his trembling hands in mine and rub slow, soothing circles over his knuckles.
“You alright? We don’t have to do anything you’re not ready for.” I’d have to take a cold shower and rub one out at this point, but I’d jerk off every day for eternity if that’s how long it took him to feel at ease.
“How are you not nervous right now? I know you’ve done things with… well, I know you’ve done things. But never with a guy, right?”
“No. Never with a guy. This is as much my first time as it is yours.”
“Then how come I’m the only one freaking out?”
I chuckle. His eyes are wide and panicked, so I lean in and give him a soft kiss. “Because I’m confident in you. You’re the one I want to do this with.”
He blows out a breath and lifts our joined hands to his chest, holding them there for a beat. “Will you guide me? I mean, I obviously know the mechanics of it all, but I want it to be good for you.”
“Whatever you need, baby.”
That lopsided smile I love so much tugs at the corner of his mouth, brightening all his features.
I lean in to kiss him. “I think we’re both still wearing entirely too many clothes.”
He glances down at himself, still fully dressed, then back at me, bare-chested, dick out, and shorts bunched awkwardly around my thighs.
He huffs a laugh and drops beside me on the bed. He reaches for the hem of his shirt, but I stop him. “Let me?”
He lowers his hands as I sit up on my knees, grasping the bottom of his t-shirt and dragging it over his head. With each inch of newly exposed skin, my breathing picks up, excited by the prospect of what we’re about to do.
His shorts are next, but I get too impatient and end up ripping them in my haste. We both look down at the torn fabric and burst out laughing.
“Eager much?” Hud teases.
“You have no idea.” I finish peeling off the rest of his torn shorts and toss them over my shoulder. When he reaches for mine, still clinging to my thighs, I bat his hands away. I want to see all of him first.
“What’s wrong?” he asks, brows knitting together.
“Not a damn thing,” I rasp, my throat dry. My mouth waters as my eyes drink him in.
Hud is fit. We both are, from soccer and the weightlifting elective we take, but Hudson… he was made to be lean and muscular.
He flexes his stomach, making his six-pack more prominent and his rock-hard dick jump.
My eyes lock onto his cock, the crown red and swollen, slick at the tip.
Without a second thought, I lean down and lick his slit, gathering the sticky liquid on my tongue.
He tastes delicious, the salty and slightly sweet flavor enveloping my mouth.
“Holy fuck!” he yells.
I reach up and slap a hand over his mouth, my heart racing. “You need to be quiet.” The idea that someone could catch us flashes through my mind.