Chapter 23
Valentina
The kiss was even more powerful than any before.
Was that even possible?
On a rainy night when I’d lost almost everything I owned and had faced the possibility of losing the single man who’d been in my corner, kissing while dancing in the rain seemed like the perfect activity to take my mind off the horror that had become my life.
Plus, he had a way of creating romance even though his actions were possessive and rough in nature. He was holding me so tightly against him my breathing was shallow, yet the crush of his weight against mine was exactly what I needed.
I’d fallen into a blackness that I knew well and loathed. He’d managed to pull me from the depths of sorrow and self-pity with a single act.
I kept my fingers tangled in his hair as he spun me around.
The taste of the whiskey he’d consumed was delicious and the scent of his aftershave, woodsy and toasted with spice was decadent.
He spun me around in a circle, avoiding catching us in the rain away from the awning.
But the pitter-patter of drops echoed in my ears.
He held me as if he had no intention of letting me go, sweeping his tongue back and forth. Always so dominating. Always so protective.
There was nothing wrong with allowing all the nasty details of the last few days and those coming soon to fade away. If only for one night.
When he fisted my hair, breaking the kiss and nipping my earlobe, I shuddered in his hold. “Do you still trust me?”
The tickle of his heated breath kept me floating. “Uh-huh.”
“That’s good to hear.” He backed away, yanking off his shirt.
“What are you doing?”
He acted as if he wasn’t going to answer me, stripping off his shorts and boxers after kicking his shoes to the side.
The only light was coming from inside, allowing for nothing more than a glimmer onto the deck.
But it was just enough to enjoy the sight of his naked body.
The dim light made the ink on his arms appear even more dangerous and seductive.
I hadn’t lied to him when I’d said I’d been drawn to him because of the goodness I’d experienced and had felt welling up from deep within him. However, he was right in that many people had two sides.
Seeing the other one, the one willing to go to great lengths to keep me safe at any cost, that ran into a burning building to save a puppy yet had become physically violent with four men determined to hurt me was an extraordinary aphrodisiac.
Hudson was the kind of man with the ability to make you believe in the goodness of people all while wrecking the concept of right and wrong. Good and evil.
As I’d experienced with him before, I suddenly forgot to breathe.
He took my silence as approval and before I knew what he’d done, he’d ripped off my clothes piece by piece. Then he whisked me into his arms, pulling me against the heat of his body and as usual, I swooned, my mouth suddenly dry.
I tilted my head, preparing or maybe hoping for another sensual kiss. What I wasn’t expecting was for him to pull me from under the protection of the awning and into the rain.
A laugh bubbled to the surface. “You’re crazy.”
“Yes, I am. Maybe there’s nothing wrong with having a little bit of crazy in your life.”
Of all the men I’d known and had been with, I would never have expected him to do anything so free spirited. It was so out of character I couldn’t think of a decent comeback.
As he’d done before, he twirled me in the rain, his moves smoother than I would have given him credit for. Within seconds, we were both soaked. There was no music, but there didn’t need to be. I would dance with him anywhere under any circumstances.
He covered every inch of the deck and by the point he did, I couldn’t stop laughing. I tilted my head toward the sky, opening my mouth and allowing the rain to tickle my nose and slide down my throat.
All the while, I could feel the explosive heat of his gaze. Watching me.
Protecting me.
I felt so good in his arms that I never wanted our dance of sin to end.
As with everything else about the man, I sensed he had more on his mind.
He moved us closer to the railing. In the hours I’d been in his house, I’d paid little attention to the incredible setting or that he had a beautiful view of South Beach.
He pressed me against the railing, crowding behind me.
With the weight of his body against mine, I slipped my arms out against the wire railing.
The coolness on my hands brought a slight chill.
But the feel of his throbbing cock pressed between my legs kept my heart pumping, creating a wave of the most intense heat.
“Life isn’t about waiting for the storm to pass. It’s about learning how to dance in the rain,” he whispered in my ear, the subtle vibrations keeping me tingling all over.
“Did you make that up?”
“I cannot tell a lie. A quote from Vivian Greene, but perfect for the moment. I thought it was something you should hear.”
When he placed his hands on mine, interlocking our fingers, I shifted my hips back and forth. I did so adore teasing him.
“If it’s alright with you, I’d like you to be my shelter in the storm.”
His breath caught and seconds later, he used his knee to press my legs apart. I rolled onto my toes, arching my body. The friction created was amazing, the desire I felt for him something I would never have thought possible. “I will be anything you need me to be.”
Perhaps the words were the closest thing to romantic that he could become. But that was just fine by me. I should feel embarrassment for standing on an open deck completely naked, but with him, nothing seemed out of place.
When he brushed the back of his hand down my side, I closed my eyes. Every sensation was amplified, every flutter of butterflies in my stomach creating more excitement. After the fire, I’d never thought I could feel free or as alive as I’d felt before.
But as usual, I was wrong.
His fingers danced along my skin, goosebumps immediately following. With the wind and the rain, the moment was cathartic, but for an entirely different reason.
Gone were the horrible images I’d allowed to plague my mind since our return. They’d been replaced with this moment, something I hoped to remember for years to come. How strange was that? That I could indulge my mind with possibilities of the future.
He crawled his fingers to my stomach, encircling my belly button. When he rubbed the flat of his hand up to my breast, a single husky moan escaped. He pinched my nipple, taking his time to twist it until I shuddered from the slice of pain.
He knew exactly how much pressure to use, backing off when the discomfort became too intense. I pushed back against him, my body swaying back and forth as my hold on the railing tightened.
The feeling as he pushed the tip of his cock into my pussy was even more incredible than before. Maybe it was the rain. Maybe it was the moment. Or the danger we’d experienced. Whatever the reason, I held my breath as he pushed his cock in inch by inch.
“Oh. Yes.” With my face tilted toward the sky, I pushed back against him, forcing the remainder to fill me. My muscles stretched, the sweet moment of being as one something I hoped I would never take for granted.
“So tight,” he muttered. The way he nipped my earlobe brought a slight laugh. We were drenched, soaked to the bone, but I didn’t care.
This was as close to being perfect as possible.
With his cock throbbing inside, neither one of us moved for at two minutes. He wrapped his arms around me and I folded mine over his. Still on my toes. Still tingling all over.
We rocked together, feeling the passion in every stroke.
I was lightheaded, happy, and a tiny part of me believed that was wrong, that somehow, I didn’t deserve to feel a moment of happiness when it seemed the world was collapsing all around me, but accepting the sheer pleasure was the only thing I could do.
The only thing I wanted to do.
The rain continued to pelt our heated bodies, coming down harder. It didn’t matter. Nothing did but having his arms around me, his cock buried inside my pussy. With every stroke I was pushed closer to nirvana. I couldn’t believe we were so close.
He held me so tightly I couldn’t breathe, but I didn’t want to move, dared not shift even a little for fear of breaking the electric connection.
Hudson was so powerful, so strong of heart and body that if I wasn’t careful, I could find myself swept away in the burgeoning sensation of love.
That just couldn’t happen. He wasn’t the kind of man to settle down and I wasn’t capable of handling someone who might break my heart in the process of protecting me.
But I could enjoy spending time with him.
His actions rougher, he thrust hard and fast, pushing me until my body let go, free of the demons that had become determined to plague me.
“Oh. Oh. Oh.” My cries were fed to the wind and the ocean water as it crashed against the shore.
The moment the climax swept through me, my entire body stiffened, prickling sensations leaving me breathless.
He nuzzled into my neck, cupping and squeezing both breasts until I slowly fell back to earth. “You feel so good.”
“Mmm… So do you.” My whisper was hoarse and I was surprised he could hear me at all.
The closeness continued, his body molding into mine as my pussy muscles clenched and released in the same perfect rhythm he was using to fuck me.
With my heart still racing, I knew the moment he was ready to release. I hadn’t realized I’d had a smile on my face the entire time.
“Fuck,” he muttered, and I squeezed my muscles on purpose, drawing his cock in even deeper.
Another perfect yet surreal moment.
With his hold tightening even more, he let go, erupting deep inside.
And for some crazy reason, a tear mixed with the drops of rain, falling ever so slowly down my face.