Chapter 23
Tessa yawned as she rounded the corner to the kitchen. The leather tote bag slipped from her shoulder as she froze in the doorway. Catching it before it hit the tile, she stared at the biggest reason for her lack of sleep.
The shirtless reason leaned over the sink, his back to her, as he splashed water on the face she hadn’t seen in three days.
But she hadn’t sought him out either. Not to thank him for the new laptop he’d left in her suite.
Not when she saw him and the General through the study window before and after her morning walks on the private beach with Ralphie.
And not in the afternoons when Josie mentioned she’d seen him headed to the garage.
But he was here now. Every reason she’d avoided him fled as he straightened and braced both hands on the sink.
She licked her lips. Morning sunlight glinted off shoulders so angular her tongue might bleed if she licked the sweat dotting his skin.
She could get used to walking into the kitchen to this sight every morning, but getting attached to Hudson and his…
their mansion, and the people in it wasn’t just risky.
It was insane to think this alternate reality where she was safe and cared for by the man of her dreams would last.
“Enjoying the view.”
He turned and gripped the edges of the sink behind him. The smirk on his face stalled her hell yes. Instead of pushing her answer free, she stared in stunned silence.
The raw beauty of his rigid torso, cut with smooth lines and deep valleys that matched the mesmerizing landscape of his back, struck her so hard it stole her breath. The marriage of lean muscle and bulky brawn should be celebrated in rituals under a full moon.
Dark smudges under his eyes hinted at sleepless nights. His smirk tilted into an appreciative grin as he dragged his gaze from her silky long-sleeve blouse to the black pencil skirt she’d tucked it into, and down to her black heels.
Good. At least she knew his reason for avoiding her wasn’t his lack of desire.
A water droplet dripped from his chin. She tracked its slow path down the deep valley carved into the center of his chest and over the nearly healed shallow cuts she’d cleaned on the police station.
“Eyes up here, Tessa.”
Slowly, she looked up.
He crooked a finger. “Come here.”
She hesitated as their heated conversation from the terrace pulsed in her brain.
When it comes to your safety, you will listen to what I tell you. And when you’re straddling my cock and making those sexy as fuck sounds that make me harder than I’ve ever been in my life, you are my subordinate.
He wasn’t giving her an order for her safety or mutual pleasure. She should ignore it. She didn’t, but even though she obeyed, she wouldn’t stand around and wait for him to speak first. “I’m mad at you.”
“I’m mad at you too.”
She didn’t ask why. That would lead to questions about her reasons. Instead, she swayed toward the warm heat radiating from his body that smelled like sunlight, and salt, and sweat, and…
She sniffed. “Do I smell chili?”
“I had a bowl after my run.”
She bit her lip. Why was the thought of him enjoying her cooking for breakfast so hot? “Did you like it?”
“Spicy and sweet.” He glanced down at the V of her blouse. “Tasty and addictive.”
“You could have had chili for lunch yesterday if you’d come out of the study.”
She couldn’t keep the sarcasm out of her voice.
Despite her denial that Lia hadn’t bought for a minute, she’d made the chili to entice him into the kitchen.
While they’d eaten and listened to Ralphie tell a story about the time he and Sam capsized a rowboat, Vivian and Shayla—who were growing on Tessa in a love to hate kind of way—exchanged glances every time she looked down the hall.
Even Lia joined their conspiratorial looks.
Hudson rubbed the back of his neck. “Sorry. The General’s been keeping me busy getting Pop’s business affairs in order, and I’ve been at Malcolm’s office in the afternoon working on the legal end.
And Pop’s acquaintances keep inviting me to dinner to express their condolences.
I guess I haven’t done a very good job of helping you acclimate to your new home. ”
“It’s okay.” He had responsibilities that didn’t include her. “Any new information to share with me?”
“The reports came back from the authorities just like the General said they would, but no new leads on anything.”
“I’ve been doing some searching about Passage and haven’t found anything other than dream vacations I’d like to take. Thanks for the laptop.”
“You’re welcome. And you know you can afford to go anywhere you want now, right?”
She held up a finger. “I can’t go anywhere. I’m in danger. Remember?”
He reached out and touched the neckline of her blouse. “You look like you’re going somewhere now.”
She couldn’t stop the low hum that originated in her belly as he dipped his fingertips inside the material and brushed the top of her breast. “I’m on my way to work.”
He raised an eyebrow. “Why?”
“Because it’s my job. And my staff is eager to see me and make sure I’m okay since my house blew up and all.”
“Just tell me what you need to work from here, and I’ll get it.”
“I appreciate the offer, but I need normalcy.” She nudged his fingers from her blouse and waved her hand around the kitchen. “This doesn’t feel real.”
He smiled a different kind of appreciation she couldn’t put her finger on.
“What doesn’t feel real, Tessa?”
“All of it. Every time I go to do something normal, like empty the dishwasher, Josie steps in and does it. And Ralphie keeps knocking on my door with board games. It’s not that I don’t love them both, I really, truly do, and I appreciate how much they care about me, but…”
She stared at the sunlight glinting off the ruby. “I can’t believe how ungrateful I sound.”
“Look at me, Tessa.”
She lifted her gaze. God, why did her breathing, her pulse, her heartbeat accelerate every time he got bossy?
“You’ve been programmed to look out for yourself and the people around you. It’s natural for it to feel weird when someone else takes over. When are you leaving for work?”
“Now.”
He pulled his phone from his pocket. “I’ll have a car here in fifteen minutes.”
“Thanks, but I can drive myself. Josie said my car was delivered the other day.”
“You can, but you won’t. I figured you’d want to go back to work soon so I put a security detail on standby.”
“What? No. Did you not hear me when I said I needed normalcy? A security detail driving me to work isn’t normal.”
“Was nearly getting abducted at gunpoint on the boardwalk a normal Sunday for you? If so, be my guest and enjoy an average Thursday carjacking.”
She couldn’t disagree with his wiseass assessment of not just the danger, but the root of why it made her uncomfortable. “Fine. I see your point.”
The divot in his chin deepened as his lips curved into another smirk. “I knew you would.”
“That’s what Sam said when I finally agreed to let him hire the private investigator. You’re just as bossy as he was.”
“Thank you.” His lips dropped into a hard line.
“Your driver is a trained security professional recommended by one of the General’s associates.
He’ll take you to work and bring you back here.
While you’re at the hospital, you aren’t to leave the building without his protection, not even for a coffee break. ”
“Don’t you think that’s extreme?” She often met Lia at the park across the street from the emergency room. They didn’t need an audience, especially today since she’d be detailing every second of this conversation to her bestie.
“I mean it, Tessa. We’re supposed to take care of each other.” He pressed his finger to her lips. “Not another word about this?”
“Really?” His eyes darkened as she spoke against the pad of his finger. “Want to know why I’m mad?”
He traced her lower lip with his fingertip. “Tell me.”
“Cause I haven’t seen you in three days to be able to take care of you.”
Gripping her waist, he spun them both and pinned her against the sink with his hips. “Want to know why you haven’t seen me?”
His iron cock zapped the juncture of her thighs like lightning on the water. Sizzling need flashed through her core and rumbled with the ferocity of a coastal storm.
He pressed his forehead to hers and withdrew his hips enough to snake his hand between them.
“I’m mad because when I’m supposed to be concentrating on portfolios and assets, and trusts and other financial and legal shit, I’m thinking about what will make you come harder—my fingers or my tongue inside your wet pussy. ”
He fisted her skirt and hiked it up.
She arched into his hand. “Hudson.”
“That’s it, little thief. The way you say my name, like you’re begging for my cock, is the reason I avoided you.
” He dipped his head to her mouth and gently bit her lower lip.
“All my attention should be focused on the mess blowing up around me, but I keep hearing those little sounds you make when I touch you. And I keep wondering what you’ll sound like, what you’ll taste like, when I graze my teeth up your thigh and devour your wet pussy. ”
She half-moaned, half-yelped as he cupped her with his palm and pressed his thumb against her clit.
“There, that’s one of the sounds I’m talking about. But do you want to know what’s kept me up the past three nights, after I’ve jerked off thinking about you?”
All she could manage was a nod and one of those sounds he loved but had never heard herself make until he’d touched her.
He tugged her skirt back down. Bracing one hand on the sink, he stroked her cheekbone with the other.
“I want to know how you got hurt. To know everything about the way you grew up. About the shitty way you were treated, because when I meet Frank, I want him to know the reason why my fist meets his face. But you know what I want to know most?”
If the unfiltered admission that penetrated the starved places in her heart was only a dream, she never wanted to wake up. Gripping his biceps, she held on to him like he’d disappear as quickly as he’d burst into her life.
He slid his hand into her hair as he dipped his head to her mouth. “I want to know more about the pretty little thief who I went from not trusting to respecting in less than a week.”
Before she could take a breath, he pressed his lips to hers in a firm kiss that left the taste of chili and everything strong and exciting about Hudson on her lips and tongue.
She whimpered as he pulled back. The quiet satisfaction in the way he stared at her mouth broke her restraint. She bit back a groan.
Smiling, he didn’t bother to hide that he’d heard her. “Have a nice day at work and don’t give your security detail a hard time. I’ll see you tonight at dinner.”
“You’ll be the one I’ll be giving a hard time to if you’re late. I’m not emotionally stable enough for more worry today. You’ll call if you get held up, right?”
He kissed her hard on the lips again. “Yes.”