With a final breath of fresh air, I headed in.
On the elevator ride up, I decided I’d be no-nonsense about my task. As soon as the door opened inside the penthouse, I headed straight to my closet. I put on some underwear and changed into a dress and shoes suitable for work. Then I packed a duffel bag with a few items to get me through the next week. I was done and ready to go in less than fifteen minutes.
But a sudden wave of nostalgia kept me from leaving without doing a final look around. I told myself it was the smart thing to do—in case I found something that I wanted to take with me.
Yeah, that was it.
The place was almost exactly the way I’d left it, except the cleaning lady had been through. The trashcans and dishwasher had been emptied. The only sign of disarray was the books I’d left out in the library. All clean and immaculate like that, the apartment felt empty, abandoned. Lonely. The warmth that had once filled it was gone. It seemed staged. Like a model home that no one really lived in. Like nothing special or beautiful had ever happened there.
It could be anyone’s home. Nothing reflected us. How had I never noticed this before?
It was fitting, I supposed, to feel so empty.
Except it deepened my sorrow. I’d been prepared to walk in and be met with the ghosts of our past. That they weren’t there rocked me.
Suddenly, I felt desperate to find a sign of us somewhere—anywhere. I set down my bag and ran back to our bedroom. I threw myself onto the made bed and buried my face in a pillow. It smelled clean. The bedding had been changed since we’d last slept there together. In Hudson’s closet, I found only rows of clean clothes and an empty hamper. Finally, in the bathroom, I found a bottle of his body wash. I opened it and breathed in the scent.
My knees buckled. God, it was him and not him all at once. The smell permeated into my skin, reawakening every memory of him, rekindling feelings that I wanted to forget.
In that moment, though, I didn’t want to forget. I wanted to embrace everything I had left of him. And this scent wasn’t enough. It was missing the most important part. I wanted more, all of it. And I couldn’t find it here.
I recognized the emotion immediately—the desperate urge. I could make it go away if I tried hard enough, if I refocused, if I concentrated on my substitute list.
But I didn’t want to do that. I wanted to follow the urge, to let it lead me where I needed to go. For once, I wanted to give in to it instead of constantly fighting it. Wanted to fall into the comfort of the old pattern and let it swallow me.
Maybe, just today, I could let it take me away. I could go to the loft, slip in while Hudson was in his meetings, and feel him in the place that he’d been living. Look for traces of his existence. Smell him and sense him.
It wasn’t healthy, but it would only be one time. One time wouldn’t destroy me. And after that, I could move on. I’d go to my group meeting and get back on track and my new life—my life without Hudson—could really begin.
It sounded divine. Like a guilty pleasure. No worse than eating a whole tub of Ben and Jerry’s straight from the carton. Without any more thought, I decided to do it. Then I flagged down a cab and headed to the Pierce Industries building before I could change my mind.
I was grateful that Norma had told me about Hudson’s afternoon meeting. It made the chance of bumping into him not an issue. He’d be wrapped up in his business whatnot, never knowing I was right above him. It added to the appeal.
As soon as I opened the front door of the loft, I felt it. The thing I’d been missing—Hudson’s presence. It lingered in the air, not just his scent, but the warmth of him. It made the hair stand up on my arms and made my skin tingle. It was exactly what I’d longed for.
Setting my duffel by the front door, I explored further, remembering and putting to memory the place where we’d shared our first time. I trailed my hand along the back of his leather couch as I passed. Then I trailed my other hand over the papers on his desk as I went deeper into the loft. At the back, I found the private elevator. It led to one place only—down to his office. That’s how close he was. I placed my palm on the cool metal.
How close. How far away.
In the kitchen, I lingered over a half empty mug of coffee on the counter. He drank from this. His lips had touched the rim. I lifted the cup to my face, pressing it against my cheek. It was cold, but I could imagine it hot. Imagine him sipping at it gently, carefully.
I knew I was acting crazy, but I didn’t care. I couldn’t stop myself even if I did care.
Soon, I made it to the bedroom. The room he’d first taken me in. He’d been both amazing and overwhelming. I’d felt out of my league, and yet, I couldn’t help but try to fit into his world in the way he’d wanted me.
My eyes glanced toward the bathroom. If I went in there now, would the scent of clean Hudson still be lingering from his morning shower? I’d go there next.
But first, the bed…
I fell across the mattress. This time when I inhaled, he was there in abundance. I wrapped my arms tight around his pillow and closed my eyes, breathing him in and out and in. And out. The scent soothed me, calmed me. The ache in my chest released ever so slightly. The tension behind my temples abated. For the first time in days, I felt okay.
Closing my eyes, I let the fantasy wash over me. Let myself forget the hurt and betrayal and pretended Hudson and I could be together again in all the ways we used to be. I imagined his lips on me—phantom kisses along my neck and down my torso that sent shivers down my spine and caused my toes to curl. Then his hands, caressing and kneading my body, reawakening my skin with his simple touch. Adoring me physically but with so much concentration and attention that the effort had to come from true and pure love.
I was still lying on the bed, lost in my daydream, when the private elevator arrived in the next room.
My eyes flew open. Had I imagined it?
Then Hudson’s voice filled the air.
Fuck!
And he was talking to someone—he wasn’t alone.
I scrambled off the bed and crouched by the floor considering what to do next. It sounded like he was still in the back of the loft, near the kitchen. I crawled to the wall next to the door frame. There I could peek out and get a better idea of the situation and still stay hidden from the living area. As long as they didn’t come in the bedroom, I’d be fine.
But if they did come in the bedroom…
Gathering my courage, I peeked out and saw Hudson standing in front of the open refrigerator. He grabbed a bottle of water and turned toward his guest—toward me.
I pulled my head back around the corner. Did he see me? No, I didn’t think so.
Shit, shit, shit. All I could do was swear. And pray.
And eavesdrop.
“I haven’t been here in a while.” I hadn’t gotten a chance to look at his visitor, but I knew who it was from her voice. “I’d forgotten what a good job I’d done with the place.” Celia Werner.
My chest tightened and my eyes began to water.
I was gone barely a week, and he was bringing her to his loft? Why? To celebrate the slaughter of my soul? To plan their next game?
To connect?
Each possibility was worse than the last. This was heartache on top of heartache. Salt on the wound. A lesson to teach me not to give into my urges again.
Celia’s heels clicked on the cement floor.
Where was she going? I held my breath, my heart pounding. Maybe I should hide out in the bathroom. Then they wouldn’t see me if they came this way. But then I couldn’t hear what they were saying. And, besides, if they did need the bed…
God, I couldn’t think about that.
“Remember how I had to convince you to go with the leather couch?” she asked.
She was in the living area. If they stayed right there, I could pull this off.
“We’re not here for a walk down memory lane.” Hudson’s voice was cold.
Her footsteps paused. “Why
are we here?”
Yes, Hudson, do tell. Though I wasn’t sure I wanted to know.
“Because we have some things to talk about, and they aren’t suitable for my office.”
“Then I can’t help but think of old times. Other conversations that weren’t appropriate for your office.” Her heels clicked again and then stopped. Then the leather of the sofa creaked as she took a seat.
I let out the breath I’d been holding.
Now Hudson’s shoes sounded on the floor. “If you want to relive those times, then do it on your own.” His voice got nearer.
Shit, fuck, dammit! He was headed my way.
But then I heard the rattling of ice in a glass. Slowly, I turned my head to the side. He was there—not ten feet away, fixing himself a drink at the bar. If he looked over and down, he’d see me.
I froze, not blinking, not even breathing; willing myself to fade into the wall. My heart thudded so loudly, I was certain he could hear it.
Except he didn’t. He finished making his drink, then turned back to face Celia.
“Come on, Huds.” Her tone was playful, cajoling, in complete opposition to his. “You act like we never had any fun together.”
“That was a lifetime ago, Celia.” Though he was still merely steps away, his words were distant. “It’s time to move on.”
Celia laughed. “Because of her?”
“Who? Alayna?” A chill ran through my body. Jesus, even when he said my name to someone else, it had the same effect as when he said it to me. “Yes. And no.” He paused. “We aren’t together anymore.”
And hearing him say that—it was as painful as when I’d said it to Mira. The verbalization of it made it so real. So final.
Celia seemed overjoyed with the news. “Am I supposed to be sad?”
“Why would I expect that? That was your intended outcome, after all.” He moved forward, out of my sightline. Then there was another creak of furniture. He’d sat in the chair across from her, I guessed.
I struggled with listening to them talk as I debated with myself—should I scurry to the other side of the door frame? If he came back to the bar, I’d be better hidden. But if one of them went to the guest bathroom, then I’d be easily seen.
“No,” Celia said, “my intended outcome was that she’d go crazy after your break-up and end up back in her psycho obsession mode.”
I decided to stay put.
“Well, that’s not happening. She’s stronger than you thought.”
And yet, there I was, hiding in Hudson’s bedroom because I’d done exactly as predicted and gone stalker. It crushed me that he could believe otherwise—that he had no understanding of how much he could break me. Did he not get what he’d meant to me?
If he didn’t understand, Celia did. Perhaps it was a female thing. “Maybe. I’m not sure I agree. How long ago was this breakup?”
“A few days now.”
“Oh, give it time. She’ll be back. That girl was head over heels for you. She’s not walking away that easily. Not that type.”
I cringed at the accuracy with which she was describing me. It would fuel me to be strong, I decided. Otherwise, she’d win. Technically, she’d already won—I was here, after all. But if she didn’t know, then she couldn’t take it as a victory, right?
“Celia, stop it.” Hudson’s sharp command drew my attention.
“Are you still sticking to the story that you’re in love with her?”
Her question made my hair stand on end. He’d told her that he loved me…did that mean there’d really been some truth to it?
He didn’t answer her verbally, but his expression must have been in the affirmative because Celia scoffed. “That’s ridiculous, Hudson. You’ve never loved anyone. It’s not in your nature. You’re fascinated with her for some godforsaken reason. But it’s not love.”
“What do you know about love?” He’d never spoke so harshly in my presence.
She laughed again. “Everything you taught me—it’s a fleeting emotion that can be manipulated and fabricated. It’s not real. It’s never real.”
“It’s time you found another teacher. I no longer believe any of that.”
I drew my knees into my chest. He believed in love now—because of me? The discovery tugged at my heart, begging me to reexamine the status of our relationship. Oh, how I wanted to fasten myself to his love. Wanted to turn it into a chance for us to be together.
But I couldn’t. His deceit was too great. It didn’t matter that he fell in love. It was deserved. His just rewards. His karma.
“Maybe I should be the teacher for a while,” Celia suggested. “It’s time to change up the game anyway.”
There was a sound of ice rattling—Hudson shaking his glass, perhaps. Then a pause while he swallowed. “I don’t want to play anymore, Celia.”
“You said that before with Stacy. And you ended up coming around.”
“That was all your game. I gave you a make-out session. That’s all. And it wasn’t for you, it was for her. I don’t know the extent you played with her, but it was time you were done. I knew that the kiss would end it.”
“Are you trying to convince me you had feelings for Stacy too?”
“You were using my name to fuck with my sister’s assistant. It was going to come back and bite me in the ass eventually. And she was a nice girl. She didn’t deserve it.”
Their words had come fast, one statement on top of another.
Now they paused as Hudson perhaps took another swallow of his drink. Then he said, “Those are the only reasons I resorted to helping you with that.”
His words hung in the air. They sunk over me slowly. They pissed me off. I didn’t want to think of him as the hero of that situation, of any situation. So he’d participated in the scam to help Stacy. There were other ways he could have helped her. It wasn’t enough to redeem him.
I heard the creak of the couch—maybe just Celia leaning forward, but I tensed, afraid she was on the move again.
But there wasn’t any sound of footsteps, just her speaking, “And why did you agree to the Alayna game? Don’t tell me that was an excuse to be with her.”
Hudson must have nodded, because next she said, “Liar. You’re you. Hudson Pierce. You would have found a way to be with her anyway.”
“The minute I showed her any interest, you did too. Going along with your game was the only way to protect her.”
“Whatever,” Celia echoed my thoughts. “If it’s true that your interest was what attracted me, then the way for you to protect her would have been to run from her. Far and fast. I don’t buy it. You wanted to play.”
I hated to admit she and I were on the same page, but we were.
It was Hudson’s answer that surprised me. “You’re right. I should have run. I couldn’t. So I did the next best thing.”
A memory flashed into my mind of the first time I’d seen Hudson at the bar of the club. I’d known immediately that he was someone I should run from. The words far and fast had even occurred to me. Against my own conscience, knowing my faults and my weaknesses, I’d gone after him anyway.
Could I blame him for doing the same?
“I didn’t want to play the game with her,” he said next. “And I don’t want to play ever again.”
More movement. Then Hudson returned to the bar.
I should have moved. I should have moved! My pulse accelerated, and again, I held my breath.
“You don’t mean that, Hudson.” Celia stood as well. Her heels gave her away.
God, please don’t let her join him. Hudson was at least focused on his glass. She’d see me for sure.
Thankfully, she stayed where she was.
“Remember what it’s like?” she asked him. “The adrenaline rush? To stage a situation, knowing exactly how it will play out because you studied the characters so well you understand what they’ll do. There’s nothing like it.”
“You’re destroying people’s lives!”
“You taug
ht me!”
“Then learn this next lesson well—it was wrong. I. Was. Wrong.”
Their words flew back and forth again. My heart continued to thud in my chest as they sparred. It was thrilling, exhilarating to hear him fight her.
Did that mean I thought of her as a worse enemy than him? Because I wanted him to defeat her?
Until that afternoon, I’d thought of them as a pair. Two of a kind. Now, my feelings were changing ever so slightly.
Hudson turned again to face her. “And of all the lives I’ve destroyed, Celia, I’m most regretful for what I’ve done to yours. But I can’t be responsible for that anymore. You have to decide now who you’re going to be. This is not who I’m going to be.”
Damn tears at my eyes again. Not wanting to move while I was still in his sightline, I let them fall freely. If it was true—if he really was done with his games—well, it made me proud.
Why the fuck I even cared, I couldn’t say.
“Then you’re out,” Celia said, resigned. “That’s fine. I’m not. And I’m not done with the Alayna Withers experiment.”
My stomach sunk. My break-up with Hudson should have won me a reprieve from her games. I’d never be away from her, would I?
Hudson thought I would. “Oh yes, you are done with Alayna.” He stepped further into the room, again out of my sight. “And don’t give me the line that you play to win. I can think of some times that you’ve lost. You’ve lost big, if I recall.”
“That’s cruel.” She actually sounded hurt. I hadn’t realized the woman had feelings.
“Ah, but isn’t that one of the requirements to playing the game?” His awful, caustic tone both frightened and elated me. It was scary to think Hudson had it in him, but it was delightful that he used it on my nemesis.
“Tell me, I’m curious,” Hudson began now, “what exactly was your plan with Alayna, anyway? After I dropped out and refused to break up with her, you created your befriend-and-frame scheme. When that failed, then what? The books with the quotes, the stalking—what was that supposed to do?”
Complete Fixed: The Complete Fixed Series: Books 1-5 Page 81