Chapter 21
Valentina
“Woo hoo!” My squeal sounded way too happy considering the circumstances. However, there was no denying I’d enjoyed spending time with him.
Hudson hung his head, shaking it as he grumbled under his breath. When he finally admitted that I was the better dart player, I did a little jig in front of him. “You are a damn shark.”
“I told you I played to win.” I rubbed my folded fingers across my chest and blew on them. “Plus, you’re a terrible dart player.”
“I am not. You simply cheat.”
“How do you cheat in darts?”
“It’s all in the hand action.”
“You want some hand action, big boy?”
If I didn’t know better about the big he-man, I’d say I caught him in a moment of embarrassment. Just to be naughty, I slowly dropped my gaze to his crotch. Holy shit. He was hard as a rock.
My heart fluttered as it had done a few times during dinner. He’d been so stoic in court that I would have never guessed how charming he could be.
“You’re really asking me that question?”
“What if I am?” I tossed my hair over my shoulder and headed to the dartboard, sauntering by him and teasing him even more by brushing my hand across his chest. Every time he issued a delicious growl, which was certainly more often than any man I’d been with, a tiny shudder formed.
Without bothering to look at the dartboard, I threw one after the other.
“Damn.”
Hearing the gruffness in his voice or rather the extreme disappointment allowed a gleeful moment. I spun in a circle after seeing that I’d managed to hit the bullseye two out of three times. “No too shabby.”
“Maybe I need you on my team playing poker.”
“Oh, I kill in poker.”
“Then I take that back.”
I stared at him for a beat with a wicked smile on my face.
Just to tease him. Tonight I’d learned quite a few things about the man looking entirely out of place in a pizza joint that had seen better days.
At least he’d removed his suit jacket and had rolled up his sleeves, exposing the tattoos I still longed to trace with my tongue.
With his tie undone, buttons on his shirt unfastened, and a tumbler of whiskey in his hand, he had the appearance of one of those hot guys in liquor commercials seen on Netflix.
The only aspect about his appearance that was missing was his hair was too perfect.
It needed to be mussed up by my fingers. Mmm… Maybe I’d need to try that.
While I knew we were both playing at being carefree, I was grateful we were both amenable to shoving aside the nightmare. Although I’d thought about Camille and what she’d said to me and the way she’d talked about Hudson. She’d considered him her hero and he’d failed her.
The case he’d mentioned was very personal.
While my instinct screamed I knew the reason, as Tim had told me, it was one for him to tell.
The hard thump as Hudson slammed his glass on the table’s surface made me jump. And the way his lips twisted created a crazy desire to kiss them.
His eyes narrowed and he took a long stride toward me, grabbing me around the waist. Another squeal erupted into the pizza joint, but if anyone was bothered by my outburst, not only did I not notice, I didn’t care. As he swung me around in a circle, the look on his face was completely carnal.
Our laughter slowly faded as did the music coming from an old jukebox, the chatter in the room, and the clanging of utensils in the kitchen.
There was no other sound but the wild thumping of our hearts.
Slowly, he stopped moving altogether, his gaze lowering, concentrating on the way I was licking my lips.
I was constantly nervous around him and I wasn’t certain why. Maybe because he was older. Maybe because he was wiser. Or richer. Or the most handsome man I’d ever met. Or maybe it was simply because he’d made it his mission to protect me against all odds and pure evil.
The darkness in his eyes and the furrow of his brow suggested he was prepared to cross a line and one he could never return from. I wasn’t certain how I felt about that.
Every time he brushed his knuckles across my face, the explosion of tingles was uncontrollable. I’d never experienced such a rush from being close to a man. It was exciting. And crazy. And breathtaking.
He didn’t stop there, crushing the weight of his body against mine, his grip on my face more possessive than ever before. The way his eyes darted back and forth across mine as he lowered his head kept me in suspended animation. I was no longer certain I was even breathing.
His lips brushed across mine and I crunched my fingers around his shirt. With his breath fiery hot and the flutter of my heart, the world simply faded away. As soon as I tilted my head so our lips were pressed together, he made a sudden move, dipping me not once but twice.
The blast of music suddenly broke through the haze of lust. I’d be damned if he wasn’t twirling me around, dancing in perfect beat to the rhythm. It was impossible to keep from laughing. Here I’d thought nothing about him could surprise me.
When he dipped me again, he held me suspended. Now his heated gaze was completely dominating. I kind of liked this side of him. Playful yet controlling.
He kept his lips hovering where they were, leaving me exasperated and completely and desperately in need.
When he chuckled in his dark and demanding tone, I slipped my fingers through the opening in his shirt. He gripped my hand immediately, pulling it free before purposely sliding both down his side to his groin.
“Mmm… What do you have in mind, big boy?”
“Would it surprise you if I said nothing good?”
“Not even a little bit.”
His laugh was surprising and even though his eyes continued registering extreme heat, he pushed me away. When he wagged his finger in front of me, I stomped my foot. “You’re a bad girl. You still need punishment. We’ll take care of that when we return home.”
Home. He made the word sound so inviting.
I took a giant stride away. “You told me I was one of the good girls.”
“I was wrong. Now, unless you’d prefer that I punish you in front of all these fine customers, I suggest you finish your wine and we get out of here. Now I can add cheater to the list of reasons to punish you.”
“Party pooper.”
“That’s what my buddies call me.”
Grabbing my wine, I rolled my eyes. “I think I’ll like this group of guys. Such interesting adventures you’ve been on together.”
“You were snooping in my man cave.” He used his deep baritone, pretending to be a Neanderthal.
“I was. Since you tell me very little about yourself, I had to fight fire with fire. Maybe I’ll talk to your buddies behind your back.”
“Be careful, little girl. They might like you a little too much. That would lead to acts of uncontrollable violence.” He tossed several twenties on the table, arching an eyebrow as if testing me again.
“Now that I’d love to see.” Before I finished the few sips, I dragged my tongue around the rim of the glass.
“Such a tease. I’ll need to take care of that as well.”
“I hope you do.”
As soon as he led me from the restaurant, his personality switched to the man I’d met the first time, one of control and complete awareness.
I’d seen the outline of the gun in his jacket pocket.
Whether he’d wanted to talk about the situation at dinner or not, he’d continually scanned the customers as they’d come and gone.
He’d even insisted on a seat where he could see the picture window allowing for a perfect view of the sidewalk and a portion of the busy street.
While I’d always loved the darkness night brought, tonight was different. There was an eerie feeling, not only from the humidity clinging to my dress or the oppressive dampness in the air, but something more sinister.
As if the boogeyman was right around the corner.
And not just a storm that could brewing in the horizon.
He hurried me to the parking lot, insisting he open my door, peering inside when he did. There was no mistaking when he suddenly disappeared from view. He was checking under the car to see if a bomb had been placed.
Even when it appeared he was satisfied, he scanned the parking lot a second time.
The silence as he drove to my apartment was yet another unnerving moment.
I hated the anxiety keeping us both on edge.
I loathed wondering if every shadow held a monster.
He obviously felt exactly as I did. His fingers were constantly tapping on the steering wheel, his eyes darting to all three mirrors.
By the time he found a parking spot more than a block from my apartment building, I’d already shifted to the edge of the seat. After he cut the engine, we sat quietly for a couple of minutes.
While I’d been lucky to find a relatively quiet neighborhood, there were still people enjoying the warm night, some walking hand in hand, others holding onto leashes of their dogs.
The atmosphere was entirely different after midnight. That’s when the criminals walked the street freely like vampires searching for their next meal. Carrying mace wasn’t a decent enough deterrent.
“Ten minutes. Okay?” Hudson wasn’t asking if that was enough time. He was telling me it was.
“That’s all I’ll need.”
His hand remained pressed possessively against the small of my back, his body shielding mine and we remained close to the buildings as we walked the block.
While my apartment was small, the security was decent.
I had a separate key for the front door.
With only eight apartments in the building, I certainly knew my neighbors and could sense if there were any issues.
I was on the top floor with two apartments per floor. He remained peering over the railing as I unlocked my front door, but with one stern look, I knew to wait just inside as he quickly checked to ensure no one was inside or had been.
“All clear,” he said. Even his voice was entirely different. Almost as if revisiting his days in the Marines.