Chapter 26
Holy fuck.
Hudson slammed his hand into the tile. One minute his dirty fantasy of Tessa on her knees with her lips wrapped around his cock played in his mind. The next minute, the real, willing, breathtaking woman materialized like he’d willed her into existence and obliterated his control.
And then she ran from him. The satisfied look on her face before she’d bolted held a hint of panic. Had he pushed her too far?
He grabbed a towel from a hook. Wrapping it around his waist, he tore through his suite and yanked open the door.
The General stood on the other side.
“Morning, Hudson.” He raised a bushy eyebrow along with his coffee mug. “You should wear that to your meeting at the Pentagon.”
Hudson stepped around the General and swiveled his head left and right. A low snarl prowled up his throat. “Have you seen Tessa?”
“Yeah. I said good morning, but she ran past me.”
Hudson’s patience broke clean in two. “Where did she go?” And why the fuck had she left him with just a thank you and more questions than answers before she dropped to her knees and blew up his world?
“Not sure, but you might want to focus on other things.” He eyed the towel. “Your meeting is tomorrow at noon.”
Hudson pinched the bridge of his nose and blew out a breath. His pulse refused to settle. “Tomorrow is Saturday.”
“And the meeting you canceled last week was on a Sunday. Don’t you get it? They want you that bad.” The General took a sip of coffee. “Afterward, I’m meeting an old friend of mine at the Marine Corps Ball. You and Tessa will be our guests.”
“What the hell are you talking about? I don’t have time for a ball.”
The General clasped his shoulder. “Yes, you do. I made a reservation at the hotel where it’s being held.
Tickets will be waiting for you at the front desk.
And I arranged an appointment for Tessa to meet the wife of another buddy of mine who owns a dress shop.
I figured she didn’t have an evening gown handy. ”
“Jesus. You planned all that? Your scheming is as subtle Pop’s.” But two nights in a hotel room with Tessa sounded like heaven.
“I already told Josie to tell her to get ready. Go pack your uniforms.”
Heavy footsteps rounded the corner. Hudson smelled heavy cologne and groaned.
Nathaniel strode down the hall, tugging on the cuffs of his suit jacket. “I heard Josie say you’re headed to D.C. I’m headed there too for meetings. Want to ride together? We haven’t had a chance to reschedule last week’s dinner, and I’d love to talk to you about a few projects I’m working on.”
“I’m good. Thanks.” Hudson angled toward his door. “Hope your meetings go well.”
“Hold on.” Nathaniel’s brows lowered inward over his nose.
“I don’t have time to hold on.”
“I need you to make time.” Nathaniel ran a hand down his tie, like smoothing imaginary wrinkles could reset the conversation to his advantage.
“I’ve been trying to talk to you all week, but you haven’t been around.
We have things to discuss, like the ridiculous parts of the will nobody wants to contest. Vivian doesn’t even want to fight them any longer because she’s starting to like that gold-digger. ”
Hudson gripped his towel tight enough to tear it. “I wouldn’t say gold-digger again if I were you. As for the will, sounds like you need to take that issue up with your wife.”
Nathaniel rolled back his shoulders. “I’m getting really irritated with the lack of respect in this house.”
“And I’m already pissed off with your abundance of entitlement.” Hudson stepped up to the prick. “I suggest you find Vivian and work this out before it becomes a problem.”
Nathaniel flinched at the cold steel in Hudson’s tone.
Too bad.
Hudson had a weekend-long date with Tessa he couldn’t fucking wait for.
Crisp salt air whipped Tessa’s unbound hair into her face as she stepped onto the porch. The heavy door closed behind her with a loud click.
She spotted Hudson at the bottom of the stairs with the General, his eyes on a tablet and a file in his hand.
Tension, and not the kind she'd relished on his face from her knees earlier, cut into his profile. As he turned his head and looked at her, she nearly dropped the bag she’d packed in less than an hour.
He took the half-dozen porch stairs two at a time and reached for her suitcase. She pulled it back. She knew what was in the file. If the vein throbbing in his neck from barely coiled rage didn't confirm her fears, the General's stare sure did.
“Give me the bag, Tessa.”
She hesitated for a heartbeat before she handed it to him.
“Get in the car.” He shot his thumb toward a dark green SUV parked in the gravel. “I’ll be there in a minute.”
She didn’t argue. If she was right about the cause of his cold, clipped command, he already knew about the past she’d planned to share with him this morning. Instead, she’d sparked the most thrilling moments of her life.
Not just thrilling, but dirty in the most beautiful, respectful way she’d ever been treated by a man.
Suppressing a shiver that had nothing to do with the dip in temperature, Tessa pulled the black leather blazer over the gold sweater Josie laid out.
As she hurried down the steps and into the car, she couldn’t stem the cruel memories that kept resurrecting like stubborn ghosts who refused to be banished.
Trailer trash thief.
Filthy slut.
Watch your wallet.
She’s a crook, just like her dad.
She jumped in her seat as Hudson climbed in and threw the file on the dashboard. With motions as sharp as his anger, he pulled down the driveway and through the security gate. As they left the mansion behind, he pressed his hand against the pocket of his dark jeans where Sam’s sinker surely sat.
He glanced at the file. “Why didn’t you tell me you were arrested?”
His tone dropped with each word in a deadly cadence.
Fear seeped into her bones. Her hand flew to her cheek. “How did the General find out?”
“Because he’s the fucking General. He finds out everything.”
“I…” She picked at a loose thread on her jeans. “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you.”
“You’re sorry. Are you fucking kidding me?
” He banged his palm against the steering wheel.
“The General found a video of your arrest. I just watched those assholes chase you like a fugitive and tackle you to the dirt. They smashed your cheek against the car door when they shoved you into the backseat. And Frank watched it all go down. No wonder you’re afraid of cops.
” He ground his fist into his thigh. “When I come face to face with Frank—"
“Wait.” Her heart stuttered. “You’re angry with him instead of me?”
He glanced at her like she’d said bluefish tasted better than striped bass. “Of course I’m angry with Frank. Not only did he watch you get brutalized by two dirty cops, he stood by and did nothing.”
“Stop. Just—” She threw out her arm. Flattening her palm on his chest, she dug her fingers into the solid muscle under his soft black sweater. She didn’t need a recap of the past. She needed to make sure she understood the present. “Do you think I’m a filthy criminal like my father?”
“What?” He blinked. “Fuck, no. I think you’re a strong, resilient, beautiful thief who stole my sanity.
” He moved her hand from his sweater and threaded their fingers.
“I’m so sorry that happened to you, Tessa, and for what?
The cops arrested you for driving away without paying for gas, not cleaning out the safe. ”
“I stole a lot more than drinks and medicine between the ages of…” She slipped her fingers from his and trapped them between her thighs. “I don’t remember how old I was when Frank taught me to pickpocket and made stealing a game.”
“You were a kid. You didn’t know any better.” Hudson glanced at her as he pulled onto the north ramp for the parkway.
She lowered her lashes against the memories she was about to relive.
“When I was a kid, Frank took me to elaborate adventure games every weekend. Until I was ten, I believed that they were exactly that—games. Frank organized the locations and the people involved. If I lifted the treasure from my target without getting caught, I won.”
Hudson flinched like she’d hit him. “How often did you win?”
“Every time, until I learned the truth.”
“What happened?”
“I was ten. Tired from staying up all night with my mom waiting for Frank to come home and I got sloppy. That day’s game was in the parking lot of a baseball stadium.
A dad waiting in line with his kids felt me lift his wallet and called for a police officer.
It clicked right away that it wasn’t a game. ”
“Jesus, Tessa.”
“In the time it took me to run to the car, I knew I’d been nothing but a pawn. My mom was in the driver’s seat, whispering prayers for our safe return. That was her role. To pray for a win. I jumped in the back, crying and screaming about the cops chasing me, but she didn’t drive.”
Hudson reached for her hand.
She pulled it away. If he touched her with the potent care she should have received from her mother, she’d cry. “When we drove from Kansas to Missouri without going back to our shitty apartment, she didn’t say a word. She just prayed while Frank screamed at me for losing the game.”
He reached for her hand again and didn’t take no for an answer. Without a word, he squeezed her fingers and encouraged her to continue.
“After I realized my childhood was a scam, I refused to be his accomplice, and he refused to be my father any longer.”
“I’m going to kill that motherfucker.”
She let out a tight laugh. Holding Hudson’s hand hadn’t made her cry.
His sweet rage did. She swiped away a tear and sniffed.
“Believe me, there were plenty of times when I wished someone would kill him. During the times he’d disappear, my mom would pick up shifts as a nurse, but her anxiety about him getting thrown in jail or killed got so bad she developed PNES. ”
“Psychogenic non-epileptic seizures. I know veterans who suffer from it. How often did your mom pass out from stress overload?”