Chapter 6
Iwas immediately enamored with Copper Cliffs. It was everything I imagined small town Colorado to be—charming, friendly, beautifully snow-covered, and a world away from the city of Glasgow.
After driving expertly down the mountain, Hudson stopped first at a coffee shop so I was fully caffeinated before we began our shopping adventure.
Then Hudson left us to it. He gave me and Susan his phone number and told us to call when we were ready to go to lunch.
Hudson was considerate, thoughtful, and sweet, but he was also a man in the traditional sense and shopping was something he just did not do.
Susan, Molly, and I chattered easily as we wandered around the small town together.
Nothing could (or ever would) erase the hard glint of grief in either of their eyes, but Molly was excited and Susan seemed to be relieved by this renewed energy in her daughter.
I talked to Molly about the ideas I had for décor and she loved them.
I’d been worried it was a little too old for a thirteen-year-old’s birthday party but it would seem Molly was over “little girl stuff” and wanted something more sophisticated.
We stopped by a flower shop, and although the budget didn’t allow for too many floral arrangements, we ordered a few in pinks and whites to be delivered to the condo on their last day of vacation, the day we were hosting the party.
It didn’t take long for us to realize that as beautiful as Copper Cliffs was, I wasn’t going to be able to do everything I needed to do from here.
I picked up a bunch of fairy lights for the decoration, and I advised Susan and Molly on really cute outfits, but we were soon to be stumped on the rest of the planning.
Deciding to have a late lunch, we held off on calling Hudson and went back to the coffee shop with its free wifi. We sat at a table with my phone in hand and together we ordered everything online. Moreover, we sent e-invites to all of Molly’s friends and a couple of Susan’s and some family members.
Finally we called Hudson and he took us to a diner for lunch where I had the best burger I’d had in a long time. Molly threw question after question at Hudson, gazing up at him like he was a hero come to life. I sensed an adorable crush.
I couldn’t blame her.
At lunch, as soon as Molly took a breath and I had an in, I asked Hudson where I could get all my baking and cooking needs. That was the store we hit last and Hudson said I could use the condo in his kitchen to cater the party.
It was a fun day but obviously a lot more energetic than Molly or Susan had experienced in a while. Between the ski lessons that morning and walking all over the small town that afternoon, they were tired. We bundled all of my supplies into the car and headed back up the mountain.
I told them I’d see them the next day and received a hug from Molly, followed by a tight squeeze of a hug from her mum.
My eyes brightened with tears at the quiet desperation in her grip and I held her just as tight.
When we finally let go of each other she smiled gratefully and then touched Hudson’s arm in silent thanks.
He gave her a solemn chin nod and we watched as mother and daughter climbed the stairs up to their condo.
Finally Hudson turned to me. “Good day then?”
I nodded, knowing I couldn’t hide what I felt for him.
His eyes darkened with desire and a whole lot more. “Tired?”
I shook my head.
Hudson’s lips curled at the corners. “You ever going to talk again?”
“I’m afraid of what I might say.”
He stepped into me, sliding his arms around my waist to pull me close. “Don’t be. Ever. Not with me.”
Melting against him, I slid my hands across his chest, desperate to feel every inch of him against me. “Will you do a late dinner with me tonight?”
“You don’t even have to ask.”
“And then after… do you want to spend the night with me?”
I felt his heart beat faster against the palm of my hand. “More than anything.”
I didn’t remember much about dinner that evening.
I did remember the look on Hudson’s face when I met him outside the restaurant (something I insisted on because I knew if he collected me from my suite we wouldn’t make it to dinner).
I wore an LBD—a little black dress. It was simple but form fitting, and although the sweetheart neckline only hinted at cleavage, and the hem sat a respectable few inches above the knee, it was still sexy.
Especially paired with my Jimmy Choos. And by the smoldering heat in Hudson’s eyes, he thought so too.
I remembered how gorgeous he looked in a cobalt blue shirt that matched his eyes.
I remembered that I hardly ate a thing because I was so nervous and excited about what was going to happen between us after dinner.
But I couldn’t remember our conversation. All I was cognizant of was the palpable heat between us. Both of our minds were on one thing and one thing only.
Suffice it to say we rushed dinner.
In fact, in retrospect it was almost comical how fast we hurried down the corridor to my suite, hand in hand. However, neither of us were laughing. At the time, there wasn’t anything funny about the potent sexual desire licking between us like flames scorching our skin.
My hands trembled as I fumbled in my clutch for my room key card and as soon as that door opened, Hudson pushed me gently inside, let the door slam shut, and then shoved me against the wall, pinning me there with his body and his mouth as he crushed mine beneath his.
I wrapped myself around him, wanting us to melt together, and my fingers curled in the hair at the back of his neck as I licked and sucked and flicked my tongue against his, our kiss so deep I’d forgotten where we were. All that mattered was Hudson.
My breasts were swollen, my skin burned, and because the entire dinner had felt like foreplay, I was more than a little ready for him from just his kiss and the anticipation.
I tugged his shirt out of his suit trousers so I could slide my hand up under it to feel his smooth, sculpted, hot skin against my palm.
I groaned into his mouth and Hudson’s grip on my waist turned almost bruising.
He sucked my tongue hard and I shuddered in need, eliciting a growl from him that turned the heat between us into wildfire.
Our kiss lost all control and I felt his warm, callused hands on my outer thighs as they brushed my skin, pushing my dress up to my waist. Hudson curled his hands around the fabric of my knickers and tugged, breaking the kiss to stare into my eyes as he pulled them down.
I felt them fall around my ankles and as cold air hit between my legs, my belly squeezed, causing another rush of wet.
I shivered with want as I kicked my underwear away. Hudson’s eyes were so dark they were almost black and his jaw was taut with tension. He brought his lips to mine but barely brushed them, staring deep into my eyes.
“Spread your legs, angel,” he murmured against my mouth.
Another belly squeeze.
Holy crap.
I did as asked, my breath stuttering as Hudson leaned one hand against the wall at my head and slid the other between my legs. His fingers pushed in, eased by my wetness, and as his thumb came down on my clit, his eyes flared and a groan rumbled out between his lips from somewhere deep inside him.
“Fuck,” he grunted against my mouth. “Fuck, you’re ready. So ready.”
“That’s what you do to me,” I whispered on a gasp as his fingers moved inside me.
Hudson dropped his hand from the wall as he kept pleasuring me with his other and he made short, jerky movements as he unbuttoned and unzipped his trousers. Then he took my hand and suddenly I had his hot, pulsing erection in it.
His eyes squeezed shut for a second as I fondled him and when they opened he stared deep into mine. “And that’s what you do to me.”
Suddenly we were kissing again—lips biting, nipping, licking, as we both reached to shove his trousers down.
Then he broke the kiss to bend down to collect a condom from his back pocket.
When he straightened to roll it down his straining arousal, I whimpered with need.
He was unsurprisingly big… but he also had impressive girth too.
“Holy…” I breathed.
“All yours, angel.” Hudson flashed me a cocky grin that made me giggle—laughter that ended with a gasp as he gripped my legs, spread them, and thrust up into me.
“Oh God!” I cried out in pleasured shock, his throbbing heat overwhelming me.
I wrapped my arms around his back, my fingers curling into the fabric of his shirt and the muscle beneath.
Hudson had one hand braced on the wall at my head and the other curled around my thigh, holding it against his waist as he powered in and out of me.
He’d lost control. This was fucking. Raw and hard.
And I was right there with him, glorying in the mind-blowing pleasure of it. Holding tight to him, I panted with excitement as he pounded us into the wall, thrusting into me hard, gliding in and out of my snug channel, each drive spurring us toward climax.
It didn’t take long, my body had been so ready for him before he even entered me, and I blew apart.
“Ahhhh!” I cried out, shuddering and pulsing so hard it triggered Hudson’s release. He threw his head back, his eyes on me, his muscles strained as he let out a guttural grunt, my sex pulsing around him as he jerked inside me.
Hudson’s body melted against mine, his forehead dropping to my shoulder. “Fuck,” he huffed.
I caressed his back, feeling it rise and fall as he tried to catch his breath. Attempting to catch my own, I could only nod.
He lifted his head to stare into my eyes. To my shock, I saw concern there. “That wasn’t how I wanted our first time to go. You okay?”
I smiled lazily. “Babe, you just gave me the best orgasm of my life. I’m more than okay.” I felt him pulse in little aftershocks inside me. “Hudson,” I whimpered.
His eyes flashed. “More?”
“More,” I demanded, sliding my hand up his back to clasp his nape and draw his head to mine. My kiss was full of need.