Love, Tussles, and Takedowns

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Love, Tussles, and Takedowns Page 16

by Violet Duke


  “Look at you, Hudson. You want it so bad.”

  “Maybe I want you badly,” he rumbled, blocking her next advance. “Have you considered that? That it’s taking every ounce of restraint I have right now not to take you right here on the ground?”

  A sizzling spark of molten hot arousal burned in her expression. “How about we see who wins this fight to see who gets to do the taking.”

  She struck again.

  And this time he fought back.

  It really was all about the stakes.

  She launched into a high kick, but he caught her leg and pulled her flush against him. “Lia, enough. I’m too on-edge. You don’t want to push me.”

  Putting all her weight onto her captive leg, the insane woman dropped her upper body straight down and swung her other foot up to clock him in the jaw.

  Her kicks were altogether too well-acquainted with his head.

  …A fact that he was soon appreciative of when she toppled them both down to the ground and figure-four locked his head.

  Between her legs.

  NOW HOW THE hell was she going to get herself out of this position?

  Better question was why they’d never tried it before outside of grappling.

  Don’t go there.

  Trying in vain to keep her head in the fight, Lia stubbornly clung to the leg-lock, knowing damn well that Hudson could’ve gotten out of it by now.

  The man could be such an ass sometimes.

  So they stayed there in a stalemate.

  Until Hudson eventually broke the silence with a quiet question. “Lia, how can you want to be with a man like me?”

  Now? He wanted to have a heart-to-freaking-heart now?

  She unlocked her leg hold and sat up. Grabbed his jaw with both hands to drive her point home. “I love you, Hudson. Why is that so unbelievably hard for you to accept?”

  “But how can you? After what I’ve done? After knowing that I can’t ever be a father?”

  Her voice gentled. “Why do you keep insisting that you can’t be a father?”

  His eyes hardened to steel. “A man who kills a child should never get to have one of his own.”

  “You’re sentencing yourself unjustly for your actions, with no chance of parole.”

  “There’s no redemption for what I’ve done. Regardless of the reasoning, I failed in humanity. Period. There’s no going back from that.”

  She shrugged. “Of course not. That’s why you go forward. That old saying about forgiving and forgetting? Completely flawed in my book. Forgiveness should come with remembrance, not be the door through which we escape and lock behind us, never to be thought of again.”

  “Hudson, I’m not saying you should excuse your actions, but I’m saying that you need to find the peace to forgive yourself for choosing one of two impossible choices. Be strong enough to bear the weight of your decision—both the good and the bad that came of it.” Sliding her lips against his softly, she added, “And let those of us who love you spot you, brace you just in case that weight gets to be a little too hard to bear.”

  When he remained mulishly silent, she shot forward, ready to spar with the stubborn ass all over again. With a modified ankle pick, she flipped him back into a guard position. “Whether you feel you’re worthy of having kids or not, Hudson, I’m not letting you walk away from us. Live in a different state if that’s where your job takes you. But I want you in my life. And I’m digging roots in yours.”

  Bucking up sharply, Hudson rolled her up and over, swiftly catching both of her wrists in one hand and pinning them above her. “I wasn’t just camping this whole time,” he admitted gruffly.

  “You weren’t?”

  “No. I had a bunch of interviews and auditions. To get gigs here in Arizona, mostly Yuma. I even took over the rental agreement on my mobile home.”

  The hammering of her heart made her rib cage suddenly feel too small for the hope exploding in it. “You’re moving here for good?”

  That, she had not been expecting.

  HUDSON RELEASED HER and hopped to his feet.

  Pulling her up to eye level, he gazed at her and tried to put into words just how crazy she made him, how deeply she already owned him. “Even though I’ve been telling myself that I don’t deserve you, the thought of losing you makes me want to fight for you anyway.”

  She backed up a step and smiled. “Prove it. We still have to determine who gets to do the taking after this. So prove—”

  He struck before she finished her sentence.

  And that earned him a grudging smile. And a vicious strike combo back, along with a bastardized Muay Thai move that nailed him in his obliques.

  When her next kick combination proved to be too ambitious, Hudson pounced and had her arms barred up quickly. Over the weeks, he’d learned that joint locks and grappling moves were sometimes the only way to counter her rabbit punches. She attacked his legs viciously to try and get him to free her arms. He blocked kick after kick and countered with enough rapidfire succession that Lia had to scramble around the clearing to avoid falling on her ass.

  When he countered, she pummeled and slipped into a grappling position, dropping down to escape his hold. He spun with a chambered punch, letting go of her arms, but still holding onto one of her wrists.

  The second she saw an opening, she turned and struck him in the shoulder with pinpoint precision, hitting several pressure points.

  Hudson instantly let go and jumped back, shaking out his arm to relieve the tingling in his forearm and wrist.

  He eyed her sardonic amusement. “Pressure point fighting? You really want to go there?”

  Her grin wide, she reset her stance. Bring it on, her taunting look declared.

  Dammit, he was so freaking in love with her.

  * * * * *

  THE NEXT MORNING, Hudson was shocked to find that Lia was awake before him.

  And it was still pitch-black out.

  Funny, he didn’t even hear the dozen alarms that had to have blared to get that feat to happen.

  At his astonished expression, Lia gave him a mildly insulted look, followed by a brilliant smile. “Get up sleepy-head. You didn’t think I lo-jacked your phone and tracked you all the way out here just to declare my love for you and take advantage of your body, now did you?”

  Well, yeah.

  But judging by the decidedly non-lusty excitement brewing in her eyes, he could tell they had very different ideas of how this morning was going to play out.

  “You sure you don’t want me to take a little off the top with my dog clippers?” she teased, ruffling his hair. “For where we’re going today, I guarantee you’ll be the shaggiest one of the bunch otherwise.”

  Now he was just curious as hell as to what she was planning.

  He got dressed quickly and packed up his campsite.

  A half hour later, they were chasing the sunrise back towards Yuma.

  When he saw the landscape become even more deserted and heard all the familiar sounds he hadn’t realized he missed until now, he looked over at Lia in wonder.

  “The Yuma Proving Ground?” he asked incredulously, damn near reverently. The thirteen hundred square mile facility the U.S. Army had tucked away in Arizona to test nearly every ground combat weapon system at their disposal.

  As well as some not yet at their disposal.

  “Yep. I figured you’d recognize it. How many times have you been here for training?”

  “Three times, but the last was over five years ago.”

  At the entry gate, Lia used her civilian base badge to gain them entrance.

  More surprises. “I thought you only handled the private sector.”

  “I do. But sometimes, we need access to the facilities and the Spencer’s organization has been working with the folks here for years.” She smiled. “But I mostly come out just to visit. One of the guys here is basically like an uncle; he’s Jack’s oldest friend.”

  She parked his jeep and threw him back his keys. “S
ee, we got here in one piece. Now that wasn’t so painful was it?”

  It actually was. He adored Lia to no end, but for good lord, the woman couldn’t drive a stick to save her life. He’d definitely have to recalibrate his clutch later…or ask Lia’s mechanic friend to do it, since she was so fond of tinkering with his vehicle and all.

  They headed over to the main office, where Lia ran up to hug the officer awaiting their arrival. Hudson just barely tamped down the compulsion to salute. But he of course addressed him properly.

  “Colonel,” Hudson extended his hand formally.

  Lia made quick introductions. “Hudson, this is Jefferson Walters, one of the Spencer’s closest family friends. Uncle Jeff, this is Hudson Reyes,” she flicked her eyes at Hudson, “my boyfriend.”

  He felt a huge thump in his chest and grinned like an idiot. Damn if that didn’t feel like she’d just called him the high commanding emperor of the moon.

  “Good to meet you, Sergeant Reyes. I’ve heard a lot of good things.”

  “Please, call me Hudson. Thanks for having us over today.”

  “Little Lia hasn’t ever introduced one of her young men to me before so it’s my pleasure entirely. And after talking with your former commanding officer, I hear you were quite the valued asset for us.”

  The past tense verb use of that stung.

  And apparently, he wasn’t hiding his reaction well.

  Lia’s eyebrows dipped down in concern and after a swift mental kick to his own ass, he leaned over and gave her a quick kiss to clear the clouds he’d caused. “It’s actually a very cool experience to come here as a civilian,” he murmured honestly with a smile when Lieutenant Colonel Walters called over one of his men to give him directions for today’s visit.

  “I’m sorry, I didn’t think it would make you sad,” Lia whispered back, worried.

  Shit, he felt like the biggest ass in the world.

  “It didn’t honey. Honest. This is an amazing surprise. I love it.”

  “Really?”

  “Yes, really.” And he meant it. “You setting up this day for me—” Hudson’s words grinded to a complete, astonished halt when a new Stryker armored combat vehicle unlike any he’d ever seen before, wheeled into vision.

  No. Effing. Way.

  “Is that what I think it is?” he asked in an awed voice, sounding even to his own ears like a kid who’d just discovered a mythical new superhero truly existed.

  “Yep,” said Lia with a beaming grin. “And they’re going to let you play with it today.”

  * * * * *

  DREW SWITCHED ON his Bluetooth and answered his ringing cell phone, just as he was pulling out of his friend’s apartment complex. “Hello?”

  “Hey Drew, it’s Lia. Are you busy?”

  “Nope. Just heading out to run some errands. I’m actually back in Arizona for a few days, staying at a friend’s house before I start my internship with the DOD.”

  He was pretty sure he could hear her smiling.

  “So you did get it! Hudson had mentioned you were being considered. I am so crazy proud of you. You know that, don’t you?”

  He did know. Mostly because Lia had made a point of telling him so as often as she could for the last eight years. “I wouldn’t have gotten it if it hadn’t been for Hudson.”

  At the slight hitch in her breathing, Drew immediately pulled his rental car over. “Is everything okay with you two?”

  “What? Yes, of course. Everything’s great.”

  Drew frowned. Lia had never been a good liar.

  “Okay, well, there is something...” she admitted seconds later.

  Just as he thought.

  She took a deep breath and asked hesitantly, “Do you think you could look into something for me?”

  That was a surprise. “Sure. Is this about Hudson?”

  “Yes, actually. I was wanting to do something for him and I need you to find a few names for me. And since I figure whatever voodoo you do on your computer generally trumps even the highest-level military clearance, maybe you could help me find the info I need.”

  Drew exhaled in relief. “That’s it? He’s not hurting you or anything like that?”

  “No! Of course not! I just want to help him is all.”

  “Next time lead with that. You had me worried there for a second.”

  She sighed. “You are getting to be more and more like the Spencer boys every day.”

  Hell of a compliment. Drew had always respected each of his foster brothers. “I still have a long ways to go before I can hover over you as fully as they do.”

  Her soft chuckle was her wordless agreement, warm with affection.

  He grinned. It was always great to hear her laugh. For the first few years after Leo went missing, her laughter had been non-existent. Lately, he noticed she was happier than she’d been in a long time. “And to answer your question, it’s not a problem. I actually already have a file on him so I might even have what you’re looking for already.”

  A brief pause and then a scolding: “Have you been snooping on Hudson?”

  The fact that she sounded so genuinely surprised had him smothering back a laugh. She was the only one in his circle who seemed to forget he was a hacker.

  “Lia, you’re my former sister-in-law and my foster sister. And you’ve been living like a nun for the past eight years. Of course I’ve been snooping on the one guy you’re actually serious about. I had a full workup on Hudson even before Caine asked.”

  “How touchingly disturbing.”

  “Does this mean you don’t want this information?” he teased lightly.

  Ooh, that was definitely a glare he could feel over the phone line.

  “Gabe and Max have been horrible influences on you,” she muttered.

  It was actually a two-way street, but he thought it best to let his foster brothers take the blame for this one. Seeing as how his halo was so shiny and all.

  “I’ll be by your shop in a few hours with the file.”

  * * * * *

  DREW PARKED IN the brewery side lot between Ocotillos and Desert Confections so he could run in and grab some lunch at the brewpub before meeting Lia. He was nearly at the side entrance when he heard the unmistakable sound of someone crying.

  Rounding the building of the chocolate shop next door he felt a kick in the gut when he saw the tears belonging to a familiar face, now ten times prettier than he remembered the last time he saw it. She’d always been cute in a jail bait sort of way, but there was something else about her that had always drawn her to him. Even back when she’d been a freshman he had no business noticing during his senior year, she’d had a way about her.

  Now, nearly two years later, she was well on her way to becoming the beauty he’d predicted she’d turn into. A beauty who was still way too young, still too sweet for him.

  But like a masochistic moth being drawn to a flame that could singe him, he went over to her anyway.

  Skylar’s tear-filled eyes grew to the size of saucers when he crouched down in front of her.

  “Drew? Drew Lawson?”

  Good lord. The way his name sounded on her lips...

  He retreated back a safe step before grabbing a seat on the ground in front of her. “Hey, Skylar. Long time.”

  Her jaw dropped. “You remember my name?”

  “Why wouldn’t I remember your name? We talked in school, worked on some homecoming decorations together too, if memory serves.”

  “B-but. You’re three years older than me.”

  “And yet you remember my name.”

  “Well, yeah. How could I not?” she replied instantly. Before flushing bright red.

  So freakin’ adorable.

  “Well, I could say the same back to you,” he tossed back. “Even when you were a freshman, you were active in everything—student government, school event planning committees, and about five clubs I never knew we even had at the school.”

  “Still. I can’t believe you remember me.”


  “You’re kind of hard to forget.” He caught himself. Damn, those eyes of hers were worse than truth serum. “You were always hosting all those community service projects and getting the whole school to participate,” he added in recovery.

  Understanding and a twinge of disappointment he hated seeing dimmed her eyes. “Oh. Yeah. I guess I did pester you seniors a lot.”

  “In a good way. You’d be surprised how jaded kids get by their senior year. You were kind of inspiring. In an intense and on-a-sugar-high sort of way.”

  A genuine smile then.

  She’s still in high school, he reminded himself. “So why are you out here alone crying?”

  “My boyfriend.”

  Dammit, but he really hated hearing her say those two words. Shocking since he had no claim to her whatsoever. “Do you need me to kick his ass for you?”

  Please say yes.

  “No,” she sighed. “Since he’s not my boyfriend anymore.”

  Excellent news.

  “You don’t sound too broken up about it. So again, why the tears?”

  “Because he cheated on me. He wasn’t exactly the best boyfriend in the world, but he’s basically like the nicest guy in our grade. He’s never cheated on any of his other girlfriends before. But he cheated on me.”

  “He’s an idiot.”

  “Yeah, that’s what everyone’s saying. But the girl he cheated on me with is super hot, and actually really sweet. She’s smart, funny, and pretty—”

  “Honey, you’re all those things and more. You’re special. I’ve always thought so, and I’m always going to think so.” Running his eyes over her adorably astonished face he launched over his last grenade, “The only reason I’m not proving these things to you is because you’re sixteen and I’m nineteen.”

  When she just sat there and gaped at him, he steamrolled right along. “After my undergrad, I’m applying for a Masters degree with a fellowship in D.C. that I’ve been informed I’m on the short list for. In total, I’ll be done in five years. Five years, Skylar. Exactly how many years it’ll take for you to no longer be off-limits.”

 

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