“Let me finish. I came here with hopes for my future. I thought I was in love with a man who was in love with me. I felt like mismatched dinnerware in my own life.” She worked to scoot her body a little higher on the bed and Hudson stood to help her.
“Thank you. I hate being in this bed.”
She sighed and glanced out her window to the city beyond.
“I felt stupid, ugly, and completely undesirable in every way possible.” Turning her head, she stared at him. “Then I met two of the most gorgeous people. They fixated on me, for whatever reason, and I was beyond flattered. It helped.”
Her laugh wasn’t humorous, though she could certainly see the humor in the present situation. “I tried to tell them both how perfect they were for each other but when they insisted on gifting me with the best orgasms I’d ever experienced…” She grinned. “I didn’t turn them down.”
“Let me explain.”
“I don’t need you to, Hudson. I don’t. You and Natalia helped me move past one of the worst experiences of my life. I know you care about me, just as I care about both of you. Despite what any of us wished for, it isn’t love. It will never be love.”
“We hurt you.”
“No, I’m grateful for the memories. I told you once that I could bridge what you thought and what was. I did that. I think it’s the reason we met. The two of you, you’re a couple…not a ménage. You’ll never be able to include another person long-term in your relationship and there is nothing wrong with that.”
“We can try. We could…”
“No, we can’t. I’m the kind of woman you might want to be right for you – but I’m not, Hudson. You think of yourselves so black and white. It surprises me that neither of you realize how much control you already have over the future.”
She reached out her hand and he took it in both of his. “Whatever you want your relationship to be, make it that. If you think home cooked meals are the be all and end all, hire a woman to make them at her house and fill up your fridge.” Her smile was genuine when she added, “I’ll personally supply both of you with baked goods.”
“We don’t know normal, Brie.”
“What the fuck is normal? Twenty years ago, normal was a mom, a dad, two kids, a dog, and a house. I have no idea if I want kids and I prefer cats.” She winked at him. “After my time with Natalia…who knows if it will even be a man in my future?”
The conflict on his face tore at her heart.
“She doesn’t know you’re here.” He shook his head. “Hudson, first and foremost, you have got to stop trying to protect the people around you from everything. Sometimes, we have to figure things out on our own. Make mistakes. Fuck things up a bit. Fall on our faces. Bumps and bruises build character.”
“You’re a good woman.”
“I just happen to know a bit about bumps and bruises.”
“What are your plans from this point?”
“After I get out of the hospital?” He nodded. “I’ve been doing a lot of thinking about things, lying here with nothing else to do.”
“I can tell.”
“I told you that I’ll always have a hand in my family business. I enjoy it but I’ve done it so long that I could hire an assistant to manage a large portion of my responsibilities.” She took a deep breath. “I really want to make comic books.”
His eyes widened in surprise and she gave him a small laugh.
“I know it’s silly. A lot of my web business involves me doing whiteboard videos…do you know what those are?”
“Where someone sketches a commercial and then adds audio? You do that?”
“I do lots of different businesses but my clients really like my drawings. I sketch all the time. Now that they took the cast off, I’ve been drawing to strengthen that hand again.”
“Can I see what you’ve been working on?”
She felt her blush and opened the rolling hospital table to take out her sketchbook. He took it carefully and moved to stand closer to the window. His smile lit up the room.
“Chubby Chica in the City?” He frowned.
“It’s a working title. I don’t want the Sex and the City people to sue my ass.”
“Interesting. Tell me about it.”
Brie laid back on her pillows and closed her eyes. Hudson watched her for a moment before he returned to flipping through her pages of colorful drawings.
“My demographic would be young women struggling with coming of age issues. Snarky instead of condescending. Each of them would deal with a theme of tolerance, honoring your body, and accepting yourself and others exactly as we are. Celebrating our differences.”
She cleared her throat. “A young Latina girl arrives in New York City to go to college without a clue about the real world. She’s a little on the heavy side but she doesn’t let it bother her. Everyone tries to make her toughen up but she likes talking to people and learning about them. No matter how mean the people around her can be, she wants to be kind…”
She talked, explaining several of the storylines before she began to drift off. When she was asleep, Hudson watched her for a little while before he walked to the nurses’ station.
“Do you have a color copy machine?”
“In administration but…I don’t know that they’ll let you use it.”
He gave the older woman a smile. “They will.”
Twenty minutes later, he slid the color copies into an envelope and returned Brie’s book to her table. He stood over her, peering down into a face that was no longer swollen and bruised.
Gentleness radiated from her and he knew that without meeting her, he might have never seen the woman he’d taken for granted for the last thirty years.
He leaned closer and kissed her temple. The whispered words wouldn’t have been audible to someone standing on the other side of her bed. “I don’t forget people who change the course of my life, Brie. Consider me your new guardian angel…er, devil.”
One more kiss and he left the room and the hospital. The moment he was settled in the backseat, he dialed one of his business contacts from Trois.
The phone was picked up on the third ring. “Robert Fitzgerald…and this better be an emergency.”
“This is Winters.”
There was rustling on the other end of the line. “What can I do for you, Winters?”
“Will you be at the club later?”
The older man laughed. “It’s Melody’s birthday, there isn’t a chance in hell I’d miss it.”
“I’d like to show you something. Get your professional feedback on it.”
“As a publisher?”
There was a heavy pause. “Unless you recently became a plumber…yes, as a publisher.”
“Winters, you can be such a spectacular bastard. How fortunate that everything you touch turns to gold.”
“I’ll see you at the club.” Without another word, he disconnected.
He spent the next half an hour handling business on Brie’s behalf. Lola was happy to set up an office for Izzy. “It’s going to be fascinating to have another person around who talks.”
“I talk.”
“My desk is more talkative. Your will shall be done, my liege.”
“Have I told you lately that you can be a bitch?”
“Mm, compliments are unnecessary. Alright, I have no time to play with you. My boss is downright cranky if his plans aren’t implemented instantaneously. I’m out.”
Lola hung up on him and he couldn’t help but grin.
At his penthouse, he changed into the clothes Natalia left for him that morning. A ribbed tank top, dress shirt, retro pinstriped suit, and suspenders. He wore classic wingtips on his feet and slicked his hair back with gel as requested.
Laughing at himself but more excited about an event than he’d been in a long time, he carefully folded the copies of Brie’s sketches and tucked them in his pocket.
As he slid into his car once again, he idly wondered what Natalia would be wearing.
E
pilogue
The valets were turned out in classic 1930’s wear and Hudson told Leonard to take the rest of the night off since Natalia had her own car at the club.
“I’ll call you tomorrow after twelve.”
“Yes, sir. Thank you, sir.”
Trois was impressive in burlesque style for Melody’s fortieth birthday bash. Beads, satin, and lace decorated the space in deep burgundy and black.
Natalia turned to speak to one of her staff as Hudson entered and he stumbled to a stop. She towered over the young server who was similarly dressed but currently barefoot.
“Was Etta able to fix the strap?” The woman nodded. “Excellent. Remind me to order you a new pair. You’re damn lucky it didn’t give way coming down the stairs.” They chatted for a moment and she walked away with a smile.
His best friend was costumed for the evening in a blue and black lace-up corset and satin tap pants with thigh-high stockings on garters that lead to retro black heels. Her legs looked a mile long. As breathtaking as the outfit was, it was not what caught and held his attention.
Natalia was blonde.
Her natural color was accompanied by the curls he hadn’t seen since they were twelve. Tiny, jeweled clips pulled it back to frame her face and made the blue of her eyes radiate.
At that moment, she glanced up and their gazes locked.
She self-consciously touched her tresses and he assumed the look on his face as he walked toward her told her exactly what was on his mind. He didn’t stop until they were close enough for the fabric of her corset to brush his chest with every breath.
It had been many years since Hudson had seen his best friend unsure of her appearance. Clothing and style was armor she used to insulate herself from the rest of the world. Something he’d come to realize in their past months together.
“Hudson, I…”
“Ssh. Let me look at you.” He reached up to stroke his fingers through the honey blonde hair he’d all but forgotten. “You look beautiful. You always look so fucking beautiful.”
In the main foyer of her club, in front of her employees, he kissed her. It was the first time anyone close to them had seen them touch intimately and he heard more than one gasp.
His heart made the same sound as he publicly claimed the one woman who had held his heart in her competent hands for the majority of his lifetime. Any doubt, any hesitation in putting their friendship on the line, fled as if it had never existed.
One hand slid beneath her silken hair to cup her nape and hold her in place, taking her breath and giving it back. His arm circled her waist and he distantly heard the clipboard she’d been holding hit the marble. Delicate hands moved over his chest and wrapped around his neck as Natalia stole every rational thought from his mind.
When he broke the kiss at some point that time didn’t matter, the air around them was still.
“I love you. With every cell in my body, with every ounce of emotion I possess, with all my strengths and my flaws. You are mine. I stake my claim, Natalia. Do you accept me?”
There was a slight pause as she stared deeply into his eyes. Then she whispered, “I love you and offer you my most precious belongings. My body, my mind, my heart, and my soul. To do with as your will and passion dictates.”
To people such as them, the words were as serious as wedding vows. The importance was not lost on her staff and as he scooped her into his arms, they clapped and cheered behind them.
He carried her to her office, kicked the door closed behind them, and set her on her feet. He pinned her to the wall as he reached behind her to turn the lock.
One long leg wrapped around his hip as he ground his cock against her. Touching his forehead to hers, he worked to steady his heart and his breathing.
“I’m sorry I waited so long.”
“You waited just the right amount of time, Hudson.”
“Natalia?”
“Yes?”
“It might take time to get used to the blonde. You’ve never sucked my cock as a blonde.”
“We should correct that oversight then.”
He smiled and took a step back. Shrugging off his jacket, he dropped the suspenders from his shoulders as his hands went to the closure of the slacks.
“On your knees.”
Keeping reading for a sneak peek of the next book set in “The Barter System” world!
Sneak Peek of Backstage by Shayne McClendon
Gabriella Hernandez grinned up at her companions for the evening and she knew her excitement was a physical thing. She was so grateful that her release from the hospital came in time for her to attend the Bishop Foundation theater benefit.
She’d seen several rehearsals of Not that Desperate months ago and when one of her best friends told her he had tickets to the exclusive charity event, she almost swooned like a Victorian maiden.
After almost four months within the confines of one floor, she was practically drunk with freedom. Her physical therapy would continue for another year but there would come a day that she would be able to walk on her own without the pain and fatigue she experienced now.
She could use a walker for short distances but a wheelchair was required if there was a chance she’d be on her feet for more than ten or fifteen minutes.
Hudson Winters was stunningly turned out in a classic tuxedo and his black hair was swept back from his face. He was being his typical overprotective self and she adored him for it.
“Stop frowning. You are so much prettier when you smile.”
He laughed. “You are the only woman on the planet that would ever call me pretty, Brie.”
A small growl issued from his chest as he gently maneuvered her chair around people in the lobby who didn’t move fast enough for his liking.
Natalia Roman winked at her. “Darling, you know he likes to be considered fierce and terrifying.”
The statuesque – now blonde – woman could have appeared on the cover of any magazine in her sleek Valentino gown. In her strappy stilettos, she and Hudson were the same height.
“I know. I try to remember but…I can’t. He has so many teddy bear-like character traits.” She felt him tug on one of the black curls that her sister Isabella fashioned into an up-do a mere hour before they arrived to pick her up. It made her laugh. “See?”
Brie gave a little clap and said breathlessly, “Let me see it again. I want to be dazzled.” Natalia held out her left hand and Brie squealed for the third time as she took in the princess cut diamond set in platinum with black diamonds around it.
“You are the man, no shit. You totally nailed it with this ring, Hudson.”
“You and Izzy designed the fucking ring, Brie. I already told her.”
“Yes but you had the good sense to listen and that makes you the man.” She pitched her voice low and both of them laughed. “I’m so happy you invited me to this. I’m like a fat kid with a table full of cake.” To Natalia, she whispered, “Are you sure about the dress?”
“Ask me one more time. Friends make sure friends get the spanks they deserve.”
“I just…”
“You look spectacular. With the procedure and months of hospital food, we’re going to have to cram you full of carbs to get your previous curves back.”
“No thanks. I don’t think I’ve been this light since sixth grade.”
Natalia and Izzy had taken her measurements as she stood carefully with her walker in the bathroom. Then her sister worked her magic to find what she considered an event-appropriate gown.
It was a blue so dark that it appeared black without direct lighting. Thick straps tied around her neck and the scoop of the bodice bared more cleavage than she ever dared before her breast reduction surgery. The boning hid the fact that she was soft from weight loss that happened far too fast and the flared chiffon layered bottom made the wheelchair less noticeable.
Hudson brought her chair to a stop as they exited the elevator. He came around and crouched beside her.
“Brie. You are
aware that we love you.”
“Yes, Hudson.”
“You are aware that our friendship will continue until our last breath.”
She smiled. “You and Natalia are death before dishonor kinds of friends. I’m well aware.”
“You are a beautiful woman, inside and out. I would not lie to you.”
“Your integrity is one of the things I find most attractive about you.”
“One day, you’re going to be back on your feet in every way. Then we will work on building you up again. Your confidence has taken an understandable hit but the accident does not change the fact that you are gorgeous and talented.”
On her other side, Natalia bent to kiss her cheek. “The man – or men if Tawny and Riya have anything to say about it – who snags you will know how lucky he is and he will spend his life showing you how fucking wonderful you are.”
“I hear what you’re saying and I love you for it. I’m in no rush. I love hanging out with you guys, Tawny and her hotties, or Riya and the oh-so-British M’s. I’m not in any condition to look now nor would I be capable of anything even remotely fun if I happened upon some perfect person anyway. I’m focused on myself until further notice and I feel incredible on the inside. I would like to say that is the prettiest bra I’ve ever seen, Natalia.”
Hudson snorted and Natalia blinked.
“I’ll buy you the set tomorrow. Brat. Your new boobies will be perfect in it.” She fluffed Brie’s skirts and stood to the side so he could push her into the box he’d purchased for the evening.
“I’m sorry we’re here so early. I know it isn’t usual but…I felt nervous about being in the chair around so many people.”
“Hush. You are one of the few people I like to talk to so we will talk. The restaurant we want you to try is open until three in the morning and we will feed you after the play and the party. Izzy and my mother are meeting us.”
“Did I ever tell you the story about the play? How it came about and what happened once the theater was found?” Hudson and Natalia shook their heads. “I heard the whole thing from the Johannson twins’ mom. The girls filled in the dirty, dirty details.”
Hudson Page 23