Breath We Take (Cuffed By Love Duet Book 1)

by Amanda Kaitlyn

  This baby is gonna be a heart breaker for sure.

  “Hello, this is Nurse Logan,” I answered.

  “Ellie is on her way up to cover you, Emberly. You can take your dinner break.”

  “Sure, sounds good. Thanks, Linda”

  “No, honey, thank you.”

  She hangs up before I can respond and I move the phone back to it’s cradle.

  My stomach’s grumble comes at the perfect time because, damn, I’m hungry.

  I’m tidying up the baby changing area when Ellie comes in and gives me a soft smile, taking her sweater off and placing it by the hooks outside the door.

  I have worked with her ever since coming on to this job and she has been a gods send whenever I have needed someone to talk to that could understand the demands we faced at times. Working with the fragility of life and death of these babies took a toll on a person, especially when the sweet first moments experienced became the most painful to bear.

  “How was your weekend, Ellie?”

  She smiles again, a tint coming to her cheeks that looks like a blush to me.

  “Oh my gosh, something happened with that man didn’t it? Do tell”

  Okay, so I was a bit of a gossip. It wasn’t my fault really.

  When you worked this closely in this line of work, you became not only colleagues and friends but family. I had listened to Ellie worry that her date a few weeks ago had fallen flat and she was sure he wasn’t going to call her like he had promised. Inevitably, he didn’t and my happy friend was crushed.

  She had explained that he was busy, something about a big promotion.

  It seemed to me that he had come around to her, though.

  “Shit, how did you know?”

  I smirked at her, waiting her out and with a soft sigh, she spilled.

  “It was so nice, Em. He showed up outside the hospital last night and took me out to dinner and then we headed to the local pub to have a drink. He’s funny and charming and damn, I could feel his muscles through his shirt! He is toned, girl”

  Now a deep, almost cherry blush had taken place on her cheeks and I shook my head at her excitement. It was nice to see after her worry filled week.

  “Oh, you should go. Linda said there is some big meeting at seven and she wants the shift to be in order before then.”

  “Sure, let me just grab another package of warming blankets. We just ran out of them.”

  Nodding, Ellie turned on the water of the faucet by the door and I slipped out to get what I needed from down the hall.

  We kept all of our supplies, medication and necessities in a supply closet a few steps down the hall and it was only opened with an employee code. We each were given one. As I typed the six numbers into the code reader beside the wooden door, I felt an acute awareness cover me, as if someone was watching me. A shiver rushed over my skin in response.

  Shaking my shoulders and the weird feeling away, I opened the door, leaving it slightly opened behind me.

  Now all I had to do was find the blankets I kept in here for inventory of the units. Finding anything in here could deem a hard task since there wasn’t a rhyme or reason to where things were stored, it bugged the hell out of me, honestly.

  Before I could quite reach for the shelf in front of me where surprisingly, I found what I had been looking for, I heard the audible click of the wooden door closing behind me and I froze.

  Someone had been following me.

  Oh, no, no, no…

  “Who the hell-” My voice fell away as I took in who had followed me inside.

  Hudson.

  My skin pebbled with goosebumps at the sight of his large, seemingly intimidating frame blocking the entrance of the room, effectively locking me in the small space with him.

  What was he doing here?

  “I- What are you doing in here?” I asked, unconsciously taking a step back from him. He exuded heat, power, fire and I wasn’t looking to get burned.

  Even as that thought raced through my mind, I had an inescapable urge to step closer to the force that was this man. My body was at odds with my mind and God, I didn’t know what to do. I remained still, instead.

  Massive, tanned arms moved to fold across his broad chest, the defined muscles flexing at the movement. My eyes followed him, as if in a trance. I just couldn’t stop myself from looking at him. From watching him.

  Shit, I was in over my head in his presence and I hadn’t even kissed the man. I couldn’t help wondering what it would be like to experience it, though.

  Would it be soft and gentle or rough and intense?

  Would the kiss be filled with pent up need or with passion that would explode between us? Would my toes curl in exquisite pleasure or would my heart race in excitement of what he’d do next?

  Thoughts I shouldn’t have been thinking flooded my mind and for a moment, I forgot about all the reasons to avoid this hulk of a man.

  I wasn’t ready for a relationship.

  It was only when I lifted my gaze to his icy light blues that I realized he hadn’t answered me.

  “Hudson,” I breathed, just wanting to say his name.

  Hudson. It fitted him.

  Strong.

  Resilient.

  Beautiful.

  “You’re not supposed to be in here.”

  His shoulders, tense with tightly strung muscles, just like the rest of him, lifted in what looked like a shrug.

  “Yet, here I am, Emberly.”

  He stepped toward me, his movements slow yet precise and it felt as if he was a predator as he advanced on me, one large step at a time.

  “Hudson-” I spoke his name once more, this time in warning.

  I wasn’t sure what I would do if he touched me now.

  Heat had pooled low and wet between my legs and the affliction only worsened the closer he got to me. Then he was only a step away from me and I panted in a breath, my chest tight with the urge to reach out to touch him and feel the electric shock I knew I’d find at the contact.

  “I think you should leave.” I said, but the words held no power behind them. They were the complete opposite of what I wanted to say. My head over ran my heart and I wanted to listen to its reason.

  What I truly wanted slowly thrummed through my veins, heating me from the inside until I couldn’t ignore it.

  I didn’t want him to leave.

  I wanted him closer.

  I just wasn’t going to admit that to him.

  “I watch you, Darlin'. You have had your eyes glued to me since I found you just outside this building and they haven’t left me. Why do you think that is?”

  My heart sped up as the easy endearment fell between us and I found myself wrestling my bottom lip between my teeth in an effort to alleviate the ache he had caused in me.

  The reactions my body had to him were crazy.

  I had never felt anything like it before.

  “I don’t know what you are talking about.” Hudson took another painfully slow step into my space and my breath was caught in my throat. His closeness had my body buzzing with energy and it’s only a matter of time before I’d fall into him and the connection that buzzes, full and bright, between us.

  “Wrong answer, you want to try again?”

  Swallowing the lump in my throat, I move my hands over his large, rough ones that are covering my curved waist and gasped in a shaky breath of air.

  “I mean, it’s normal to be curious about a stranger.” I reason, nervously twisting my hands in front of me to avoid his assessing, inquisitive gaze.

  He nods, strands of his short,dark hair falling over his face.

  “That could be true. At first. But there’s more. You are attracted to me, I feel it, right here, between us. Do you feel it, Darlin'?”

  The word once again, steals my breath and cautiously, I push the few pieces of his hair away from his eyes, he has the most intense eyes I have ever seen.

  I could get lost in them.

  “I-” Grasping my hand in his,
Hudson flips it over in his own and presses the flat of my palm to his chest, directly above where his heart is.

  The pounding of his heart against my fingers feels strangely intimate, because even with not only his white button down shirt but his leather jacket too covering his heated skin, I could feel it.

  “This is what you fucking do to me.”

  I bit even harder down on my poor bottom lip and watched as Hudson’s pupils honed in on the action and the muscles of his face tightened as if it was taking every ounce of his control to stay where he was, with my hand pressed to his as it was.

  “Tell me.” He muttered and my eyes widen, hesitation stopping the words wanting to roll off my tongue.

  If I told him what was racing through my mind right then, I would be in even more trouble.

  “W-what?” I breathed as his roughly skinned fingers rubbed against my jaw and he skated one hand to my lower back to hold me right where he wanted me.

  Hudson’s hands on me gave me a rush of anticipation that pooled low in my stomach and sparks, actual sparks of attraction flew beneath the surface of the skin that he touched.

  “Tell me what you are so afraid of, Emberly.”

  I attempted to back away from him but just as I knew he would, he kept me there, my body wedged between his parted knees and my back pressed tightly against the wall behind me. He was inescapable.

  “I told you-”

  I stilled as he dropped his head to my neck and breathed in my scent, nose pressing to the skin behind my ear, effectively causing a shiver of awareness to skate up my spine.

  I didn’t dare move in fear he would move away, instead I slid my hands from the wall to his shoulders. The muscles I felt beneath my fingers clenched and moved as I held him there, the rough feeling of his stubbled jaw drawing up the length of my neck eliciting a moan to escape me.

  “You smell so fucking good, what do you wear?”

  I blinked at him when he lifted my chin with his hand, forcing my eyes upon his.

  “I don’t wear anything, it’s my shampoo. It’s vanilla.” His mouth quirked up in a smile at that and he nodded, but didn’t step away from me. Inwardly, I was grateful he didn’t.

  “You gonna tell me now? Or should I keep torturing you?”

  Frowning, I sighed in frustration when he didn’t budge from me as I tried to slip past him. Hudson was a large man and there was no way of me moving him if he was content to hold me here.

  Crap.

  “You weren’t torturing me.” His large hand lifted again, this time dragging painfully slow down my arm and tracing a line of fire against my already heated skin.

  “Hudson,” I breathed heavily and when he raised his eyes back to mine, I know he had me. His touches, his voice, the slow advance on me- it’s all torture for me.

  “Why are you doing this?” I asked, once again attempting to get past the beast of a man. Again, he shook his head at me and keeps me put, only tightening his hold on my hips. My head falls back to the wall behind me with a thud and I groan inwardly. His warm, mint laced breath covered my cheek as he lowered his head toward mine. I heard his whisper, rough in my ear.

  “What are you afraid of?”

  “You.” I finally whispered.

  His head pulled fractionally away from me and his hands slid into place to take hold of my face.

  “You should be.”

  Before I know it, Hudson’s mouth was covering mine. He presses his full, dominating mouth over mine and swallows my startled gasp, his teeth coming down to torture my lower lip with soft bites and licks meant to tease.

  And God, he does tease me.

  “Hudson,” My voice fell between us and on a hungered growl, he took full advantage of my plea as he delves his tongue between my lips and claimed my mouth, completely.

  My body came alive for him upon the contact, my hands covering his against my cheeks and my mouth falling open to him in a plea for more.

  “Fuck,” He gritted against my mouth, drawing away once he’s had his fill.

  “Hud-” I breathed again, this time in a craving for more.

  His head falls next to mine against the wall and as our foreheads touch, he muttered my endearment once again.

  “Darlin'.”

  Chapter Seven

  Emberly

  THE WALK SIGNAL across West Fifth avenue blinked in front of me and pushing the bag of food higher on my arm, I rushed across the intersection. Making it safely to the side walk, my gaze flicked down to the watch that rested on my wrist and I cringed.

  Was I ever on time for anything?

  No wonder my boss was on thin ice with me!

  I sighed warily seeing that I was a good five minutes late coming back to my shift after my dinner break. I hoped Linda had gone home for the day so I would be saved from yet another embarrassing conversation with her about my tardiness.

  If I was ever early for something, I was sure she would be surprised.

  My two inch, chunky heels clicked rhythmically against the concrete as I practicably ran from the sidewalk and into the front entrance way of the hospital. I wished that the dress code here allowed me to wear something a bit taller to hide from the fact that I was a short five foot two, but it didn’t and after a few shifts here, I understood why.

  My feet would fall off in anything taller than these.

  “Oh!” I gasped out in shock as my body knocked into a large chest and both my purse and the deli bag fell to the ground.

  Shit!

  I was reasonably looking forward to the leftover sandwiches I had bought along with my dinner for after my shift ended. A lot of the time I would be bone tired by the time I made the short drive home from work and I would either eat a small dinner or nothing at all. Having something ready to eat would have been so nice. My face flashed upwards to the huge man that hadn’t been looking where the hell he had been going and I was ready to rip him a new one. When my angry gaze saw the man before me, I stepped back and a sigh left my lips. It was impossible to be mad at him, even if I’d wanted to.

  “You’re not supposed to be here, Hudson. And you made me drop my dinner.”

  His eyebrows lowered as he frowned at me, his arms crossed over his chest and his sinful mouth set in a definitive, hard, line.

  He looked like the ultimate bad boy.

  The thought of him flew through my mind and I hoped like hell he couldn’t see the dirty thoughts I continued to have when I was around him.

  “I’d be happy to buy you dinner, Emberly.”

  My heart stopped at his words, dripping with charm and casual interest, as if it was no big deal. But it was a big deal. Because dinner meant a date and a date was something I was both thrilled at the thought of and afraid to indulge in with him.

  I had just met him only a month ago and in that time, he hadn’t said more than a handful of words to me choosing instead to watch me from afar until he reached the end of his stone like control and devoured my mouth in the hospital supply closet just an hour ago.

  I wanted to do it again.

  But I was damn near terrified to because Hudson wasn’t just a guy I could date or fool around with. He was different and scary and rough and sweet and I had no idea what to do with even half of those things.

  As he knelt down to pick up my things and muttered an apology, I almost felt bad for blaming him for my haste. But he had to see me coming. He could have moved out of my way. Yet he hadn’t.

  Maybe he wanted me to run into him.

  Maybe it was fate.

  Oh my god, I needed a coffee. I was obviously losing my marbles if I thought fate had anything to do with it. It was just a run in. We both worked at the same place, after all. Or was it?

  “Thank you, I’m sorry for snapping at you. I’m just in a hurry. If Linda sees that I’m late, once again, she’s going to fire me”

  A rich chuckle came from him and he smiled up at me as he sat on his haunches before me. Annoyance filled me at the sound.

  How dare he l
augh at this?

  “What are you laughing at? I could lose my job!”

  Shaking his head at me, he tucked my bags against his side and placed his hand over the small of my back, leading me inside the hospital doors.

  “Linda may not say it, but I don’t think she would ever fire you. She told me that you remind her of her youngest daughter, Amy.”

  My jaw dropped a bit and my eyes flashed to his, unbelieving of his words.

  “Why would she tell you that?” I asked.

  Handing me my purse, he smirked, which caused my heart to putter-patter against my breast bone, as if it was trying to escape from its hold and into his waiting hands.

  I looked away from the hold he had on my gaze, not wanting him to see the want I had for him.

  How could he affect me like this?

  It was crazy!

  “She’s a good friend of my mothers, actually. My mother was a nurse at this hospital for ten years before she retired to raise me. She loved this hospital.”

  My whole body warmed as I saw the clear fondness and love he had for his mother as he talked about her and I craved to know more.

  “I didn’t know that.” I murmured, instead of asking him the questions that gathered in my mind, knowing that if I asked, he would push me, too.

  I wasn’t ready to divulge secrets to a man I hardly knew.

  I doubted he would understand, anyways.

  “I’m always late, I just can’t seem to help it. I’m afraid she may get sick of me letting her down all the time.”

  Hudson’s shoulder knocked into mine gently as we stepped off the elevator on my floor and my lips tipped up at the indulgent smile he threw my way.

  “I think you’re too hard on yourself. No one is perfect. Every person, no matter how hard they try, cannot be perfect or without flaw. It’s just not possible.”

  When his hands circled each of my shoulders, my body shivered at the touch. He squeezed them in reassurance, his gaze unwavering as he waited until I met his sky blue eyes.

  “You’re not letting anyone down.”

  I nodded, entranced by the intensity of his gaze.

  If I kept looking into them as I was in this moment, I was going to be lost in them. I kind of wanted to get lost there, though because I knew that his heart stopping smile would always be there to greet me.