Chapter 20
HUDSON
Later that afternoon, I’ve got a screw in my hand as I tighten the hinges on the door to stop the wind catching it every time we open and close it.
Willow is outside drawing, which seems to keep her happy. She hides her concern about her brother, but I can tell it’s getting to her. This whole shitty situation is.
Marcus is scouring the CCTV cameras in Staunton. He picked up Tyler coming out of a convenience store a week ago, but nothing since.
Meanwhile, we’re working on the problem with the Street Kings. He’s trawling online data, trying to find enough evidence to put them away for exploitation.
But he needs to gather the evidence before we go to the feds.
And he needs to make sure it points back to Mani, the leader of the Kings.
If we can hand over the evidence to the feds, the Kings will never know where it came from.
Mani will go away, and Willow and Tyler will be safe.
And if the leaders are taken down, the entire gang might disperse.
They’re a small-time street gang; I doubt they’ll keep operating once their leaders are put away.
Then we can reunite Willow with her brother, and they can carry on their lives, hopefully making better choices.
My chest aches, and I rub the spot above my heart.
If all goes to plan, Willow will be free in a few days.
She’ll have to pay her dues for breaking her parole, which might involve more work at the center, but after that she’ll be free to carry on with her life, getting paint under her nails and having no regard for time.
It shouldn’t hurt to think about it, but it does.
I tighten the last screw and swing the door back and forth a few times. There’s a good amount of resistance. It’s not going to slam shut with the slightest breeze.
Willow is a dreamer and an artist, and there’s no universe where someone like her fits in with someone like me.
Even if we could put up with each other, we’d drive one other up the wall.
So there’s no point in even thinking about seeing her after this is done.
I doubt she’d have a serious interest in someone like me.
Except to shock me, which she seems to enjoy doing.
I throw the screwdriver in the toolkit. We’re a distraction to each other, nothing more. The catch on the toolbox snaps shut just as my wrist vibrates.
A warning light flashes. The south perimeter has been breached.
I snap into military mode. There’s a gun in the desk drawer, and I slide bullets into the chamber, then slip it into my pocket.
It’s probably tourists. The Kings have no way of tracking us here, but I have to assume the worst. Willow is outside, and I need to get to her and warn her.
I push the door open quietly, and thankfully it doesn’t bang shut behind me.
My heart pounds as I crouch and run along the deck.
Turning the corner, I skid to a halt. Willow’s sketchbook sits open on the chair, and the box of crayons is on the ground next to it.
The blue crayon rolls along the deck as if it were abandoned in a hurry by someone who didn’t have time to put it back in the box.
They’ve got Willow. The bottom falls out of my stomach, and fear grips my heart.
The gun is in my hand in an instant. I’m down the steps and running for the trees, treading as softly as possible.
But the thought of Willow, captured has my heart pounding.
Panic threatens to take over my better judgment, and I make myself slow down.
I duck behind a big pine and scan the trees; they get thicker away from the road.
I catch a glimpse of floral fabric between the tree trunks. Her dress.
Without thinking, I launch myself through the forest. I’m crashing over branches, announcing myself to whoever has her, but I don’t care. I need to get to Willow. I need to keep her safe.
Through the trees, her dress billows as I get closer, only to disappear behind a thicket. Now I can see her hair trailing down her back, and she looks unhurt. She’s not tied up. She’s…
As I crash through the thicket, Willow turns to face me with a surprised look on her face.
She’s alone.
“Hudson.” She puts a hand on her chest. “You startled me.”
I push her behind me as I hold out my gun, scanning the area for the bad guys.
“What are you doing?”
She seems annoyed that I’m rescuing her, and as I point my gun at the tall pine trees, I realize it’s because she doesn’t need rescuing.
“The alarm went off. I thought someone had taken you.”
She half smiles like I’m over-exaggerating. “I went for a walk.”
I put my hands on my knees, trying to catch my breath and calm my racing heart. Even in the worst circumstances when I was a SEAL, I never lost my cool like this.
“You went for a walk?” My racing heart hasn’t caught up with the fact that she’s safe yet, and the adrenaline turns to anger. “I told you there’s a sensor set up around the perimeter. I told you not to go walking on your own.”
She grins at me. “And I told you I’m not good at obeying orders.”
She has no idea of the panic she put me through. And instead of apologizing, she’s standing here with her hands on her hips, defiant as ever.
“Those orders are there for your protection,” I grit out.
She shakes her head at me like I’m the one overreacting. She has no respect for rules, and she disobeyed a direct order. In the Navy, you’d be punished for that. And that’s exactly what I’m going to do.
I pocket my gun, lift her off the ground, and sling her over my shoulder.
“What are you doing?” she yelps.
“I’m doing what I should’ve done the first day you were late at the center.”
I stomp off through the forest with Willow squirming over my shoulder. She pounds on my back, and I know if I put her down she’ll run off, and I can’t bear that. She scared me more than I want to admit.
We reach the cabin, and I keep one arm around her thighs as I open the door and kick it shut behind me. This is the second time I’ve carried her squirming into the cabin. But this time, she needs to be taught a lesson.
I stride to the couch and swing her around as I sit down so she’s facedown on the couch, and her bottom is on my lap.
“Hudson, what are you doing?”
I pull her skirt up, exposing her soft, pale legs. They look as good now as they did that first night in the moonlight. Strong legs that can wrap around me and pin me down.
Not today.
“I’m giving you the spanking you should have gotten a long time ago.”
The spanking I’ve been wanting to give her ever since I saw her ass in the moonlight. Before then, even. Ever since her sassy mouth put me in my place and her ass sashayed away from me in her too-tight overalls.
She gasps and goes still, and if she tells me to stop, I will. But she doesn’t tell me to stop. Instead, the defiant little minx arches her hips and raises her ass.
Fuck. Even at this, I can’t win against Willow. And that makes my cock lengthen and my heartbeat quicken. This woman challenges me like no other, and it does more than turn me on. It makes me want her in my life, challenging me with her wild ways and disregard for authority.
I pull down her white panties and run my palm over her bare ass. It’s smooth and creamy, and I pull my hand back and bring it down in a satisfying slap.
She cries out, and I pull her hair back off her cheek so I can see her face and make sure I haven’t really hurt her.
She turns her head to look at me with a defiant smirk. “Is that all you’ve got?”
Fuck.
“You want me to go harder?”
Her eyes twinkle with desire. “You’re the one giving the punishment, Hudson.”
There’s a challenge in her words, and I pull my hand back and apply more pressure. The slap rings out around the room, along with a moan from Willow.
Her hips lower to my crotch, and she finds my hard cock waiting for her. She rubs herself against me, and it’s so fucking good, feeling her against me, being this close to her.
I raise my hand and slap her again, and her moans get louder.
There’s a pink tinge on her skin, and I run my palm over it. So fucking smooth. So perfect.
“Harder,” she grits out.
Raising my hand, I come down hard, and Willow cries out. Her hips move back and forth, and I feel her soaking through my shorts, her pussy juices dripping onto my cock.
I slap her again, and her entire body jerks.
“Hudson…” I recognize her needy whine, and I slap her again as she writhes against me. A moment later, she convulses and cries out as she unravels on my lap.
My hand squeezes her ass. I’m so hard for her. But I’m still angry at her for breaking the perimeter, for making me panic, for making me feel things for her. For making me want her in more ways than just physical.
“Great punishment,” she says, turning her head. Her hair is plastered to her forehead with perspiration, and her eyes are dancing, laughing at me. Because every time I try to tame Willow, she surprises me with something else, and I love that way more than I should.
“I’m not done,” I growl.
I lift her off my lap, and she’s soft and pliable, but I’m not risking letting her go. I want the upper hand for once. Just one time.
“Stand up and come here.”
Her eyes flash, and I realize my mistake.
“No.”
Now, she’s deliberately defying me just to see what I’ll do. I lunge for her, and she springs off the couch. Her dress falls back over her ass, but her panties aren’t on properly, and she stumbles.
I reach for her, but she’s too fast.
“You want me, you have to catch me.” She’s grinning as she scurries around the back of the couch, holding the back for support. As if that will stop me from getting to her.
“Willow.” I lunge for her, and she darts left, keeping the couch as a barrier. I feint right and go left, and Willow bowls straight into me.
She squeals, but she’s laughing, and my heart is pounding in my chest from the chase, from the spanking, from the feel of her flimsy dress as the fabric slips through my fingers.
I spin her around and push between her shoulder blades so she’s bent over the back of the couch.
She looks at me over her shoulder, and there’s defiance in her eyes as she wiggles her ass.
“Are you going to teach me another lesson, Hudson? Teach me how to behave?”
She’s taunting me, and I fucking love it, and it drives me insane, and I want to fuck her senseless, and I want to make her come, and I want to pull her close all at once.
I keep a hand on her while I grab a condom from the packet and rip it open with my teeth.
With one hand, I drop my pants and sheath up. I lift her skirt up, and she gasps. I’ve never been this rough with Willow, but I can’t stop myself.
“I’m going to fuck that smirk off your face, Willow. And you have exactly three seconds to tell me if that’s not what you want.”
Her eyes lock on mine, and a stray strand of hair has gotten caught in her mouth. Her fingers grip the back of the couch, and there are crayon marks on her fingers that leave greasy crayon prints on the couch.
She pushes her lips together and sticks her ass in the air. Her skirt is ripped at a seam, and she’s still wearing her hiking boots, and she’s got odd fucking socks on. Every observation drives me closer to losing control and needing to claim her.
I finish the count to three in my head and yank down her panties. I push her thighs apart, and I push inside her without warning.
She cries out as her pussy sucks me inside. I hold her hips and pull her down my shaft, going deeper with every thrust.
She whimpers and looks back over her shoulder, and her eyes are hooded with desire. Her lips pull up at the sides. “Is this all you’ve got?” she taunts.
Fuck. I’ve got Willow bent over the back of a sofa, and she’s still challenging me. My cock jerks forward, and I might lose it with one look at her defiant grin.
“You want more?” I push her upper back until she lets go of the sofa and sinks lower down. Her chest rests on the back of the sofa, pushing her ass higher in the air. The next thrust goes deeper, and we both cry out as she takes every inch of me. “How about now?”
Instead of an answer, I get a whimper. Willow pushes her hips back, meeting my every thrust. I reach my hand between her legs and find her soaking wet. As I thrust inside her, I press against her hard clit, moving and pressing until she’s squirming beneath me.
“Hudson…” She looks over her shoulder, and this time she’s not smiling. Her expression is pure need. “I’m going to…”
She doesn’t finish her sentence. I slam into her, and she shatters, her pussy tugging at my cock in violent convulsions.
It’s too much to take, and a moment later I unravel with her, hard and sweet and utterly consuming.