Breath We Take (Cuffed By Love Duet Book 1)

by Amanda Kaitlyn

  “You can sleep here for a bit.” Nodding once, those sky blue eyes still silently watching me.

  Plopping down on the mattress, Hudson kicked off his shoes and I found myself wondering what it would feel like to lay next to him.

  To sleep in his arms.

  I was achingly familiar with the sensation of sleeping alone at night and the longer I was around this man, I was realizing that I wanted more and I wanted it with him.

  I watched, entranced as Hudson’s arms lifted above his head and he shed the white, button down shirt he wore. Each tantalizing inch of his tanned skin that was revealed hiked my breathing and stole the heart beats straight out of my chest, causing me to stand there, my mouth parted open as I stared at him.

  At his now naked chest.

  At his all-too-confident grin.

  At him.

  Holy hotness.

  Hudson’s messy, dark hair fell over his eyes while he lowered his large frame to the bed, his head hitting the pillow with a low thump.

  Watching him, my stomach pulled with the urge to go to him but instead I leaned my back against the wall behind me and lowered my eyes to the floor as the all-too-present blush covered my cheeks. Seeing him half naked was doing things to me and though I wanted to say that it didn’t affect me, I couldn’t. I was a quaking, shivering mess of feelings and unrealized desires, having him so close, tempting me to act on these feelings that scared me down to my core. I could feel his eyes on me, hungry and curious and I lifted my own, my mouth watering at the sight of him.

  “Stop looking at me like that, Darlin'.”

  His deeply spoken voice makes my eyes fly up to meet his again and my cheeks to blush knowing he’s caught me staring. Again.

  “I don’t know what your talking about, Hudson.”

  Before I know what he’s doing, he was off the mattress and stalking toward me at a relentless pace. I froze, the breath knocking out of me as I was pushed up and against the wall while large, assertive hands trapped mine against it.

  Hudson’s eyes were full of that same hunger I saw in them before. I realized that I’ve lost all function of my voice to tell him off and my feet to walk away from him, like I probably should have.

  “Do you know why I was put on your security detail?”

  His question stopped my efforts to push him away and I blinked a few times, trying to recollect my fragmented thoughts.

  My security detail?

  “You mean-”

  His hand covered my mouth before I could say much else and I gasped against his flesh.The smells of peppermint and beautiful, sinful man invaded my nostrils and I found myself pressing my body an inch closer to his, so that I could keep his scent with me.

  This man was temptation personified and if I thought before I was in trouble, I was most definitely screwed then.

  “I have been protecting you from the very moment I laid my eyes on you, Emberly. I haven’t been able to tear my eyes away from you ever since.”

  Arousal rose between my legs from his roughly spoken words and my body, once rigid from his hold was now putty in his hands. I just looked at him, my breaths coming faster as the heat in his eyes threatened to consume me.

  My fingers flexed beneath his, testing to see if I could shake them loose.

  “Do you feel this?” Hudson’s voice, next to my ear now, whispering slowly against the heated flesh of my blushed cheek. I pressed my hands against his once more and the soft bite of his teeth meeting my earlobe tingled my skin.

  He bit me.

  “Did you just bite me?” My voice was nothing but a careless whisper against the onslaught of sensation his proximity created. The hum of his mouth against my cheek had goosebumps covering my skin.

  “Answer the question.”

  Gasping in another breath of air, my fingers tightened against his and his mouth ventured further down the slope of my neck to the tender spot just beneath my collar bone. When his lips grazed over it, a moan of protest escaped me.

  “You scare me.”

  Hudson drew away from my space the moment the words slipped past my lips and inwardly, I cringed. Rough, callused palms reached my jaw and I look up into his wide eyes and softly smile. The way he looked at me felt intimate, almost sexual and it scared me even more.

  Somehow he saw right through my defenses. Somehow, he sees me.

  “You aren’t afraid of me.”

  Gently, he brushes away the thick strand of hair that fell in front of my face and his large hands cupped the back of my head.

  “You’re afraid to trust me.” He said and that’s when I realize just how deep our connection ran.

  The walls I have tried to put up to everyone around me had been knocked down by his intense, blue eyes and heart stopping smile and somehow, I was thankful. Because when I looked deep into his gaze, I knew I was safe with him. My head lifts and Hudson tilted his head to mine and I felt the beat of my heart fasten within my chest as I waited for him to kiss me.

  “You’re safe with me, Darlin'. Believe that.”

  As he spoke against my lips, I melted. Moving my head to his chest, I buried my face into his neck and nuzzled my nose against the smooth skin there.

  He smells like home.

  The thought scared me but I shook it off and sighed the moment large, muscular arms wrap around me and he just held me.

  I took a full breath of his musky scent, trying in vain to calm the effect he’s had on me.

  “I know.” I whisper, but he just held me tighter. Minutes passed between us, maybe more before Hudson’s body drew partially away from mine and he stifled a yawn against my hair.

  “Lay down with me.”

  He wasted no time before hauling me closer to his warm, hard muscled body and laid down across the mattress without taking his hands off of me.

  It’s as if he was afraid I’d slip away if he does and on a soft sigh, I caved.

  For just this one moment, I’m his.

  Chapter Eight

  Emberly

  MY EYES FLUTTERED open and my body instantly tenses as I felt a pair of thick, powerful arms bound around my waist, a possessive hand hidden beneath the fabric of my scrubs.

  I am in a bed with a man.

  A man who makes me feel these crazy feelings.

  A man who calls me his Darlin'.

  “Hudson,” I breathed. His hand rubbed a gentle path over my hip, lifting the fabric of my shirt higher to better gain access to my skin.

  My teeth come down to worry my bottom lip as sparks fly beneath the surface of my skin and he must have seen it, because he rose up on his forearms and loomed over me, his tanned chest spanning my vision as he drags his hand higher against my stomach until he reached my rib cage and I shuddered beneath the tender touch. When his index finger brushed against my upper stomach, I shook with the effort not to cover up.Ugly.

  The word rushed through my head on repeat and unknowingly, I’m scooting away from his gentling touch.

  “Get back here, Darlin'.”

  He begun to advance on me from my spot at the edge of the bed and I stilled, having the fleeting thought that I would want to be caught by him.

  I was so tired of wondering what it could be like if we gave into our connection.

  I wanted to fall because I knew in my heart that he would be there to catch me.

  He wouldn’t let me go.

  “Hudson, we shouldn’t-” I protested but as the knowing smile covers his devilish mouth, I knew they were empty words.

  “You like pushing me away, don’t you?”

  My mouth opened in surprise by his words and then my head was shaking viciously. That couldn’t be farther from the truth, he had to know that.

  “No.” The word merely a breath as I placed my hand to his bare chest, his skin hot and pulsing beneath my fingers. I itched to touch him everywhere and I tell myself going slow with this man was the only option.

  I have a feeling fast to a man like him could only mean one thing.

&
nbsp; He would devour me in an instant and I would get helplessly, crazily, indecently lost in him. And that fact terrified me because it’s what I wanted more than anything.

  I craved to get so lost in him that I forgot everything else and all that remained would be us.

  “You’re fucking beautiful, you hear me? Don’t you ever shy away from my touch like that. Get it through your head, sweet girl. I want you.”

  His large palms encompassed my face as he took a breath in order to calm himself and then his intensely blue eyes were boring into mine.

  “The moment I kissed you, you were mine. Fuck, even before that. I laid my eyes on you and everyone else seized to exist. You were all I could see.”

  Hudson shook his head once, grabbed my hand laid against his chest and pressed it firmly to the front of his jeans where I felt the unmistakable hardness of his cock. My stomach pulled in arousal and hot, thick moisture gathered between my legs, making it impossible to ignore the ache resonating in my core from the contact.

  The room we were in felt entirely too small, the air surrounding us thick with desire and hot with anticipation. My face flamed as he granted me with a devilishly beautiful smirk, his hand pressing mine against him as he become rock hard beneath my palm. Holy fuck.

  “Hudson, God-” My lips parted on a deep, ragged inhale.

  “Have dinner with me.” His next words quickly stole my breath, all over again. They were so completely unexpected, knocking all coherent thought from my otherwise clear head.

  He wants me to have dinner with him. Why?

  I blinked up into his hunger filled gaze and instantly knew the answer to my internal question. He wants more.

  “Yes.” I let myself utter and raised up and into his hard muscled chest, my urgent hands curling around his neck and settling against his skull as my fingers urgently tangled in his hair. It met his neck and I thanked God for the leverage his smooth strands created as my mouth folded against his.

  Hudson stilled above me, either surprised or wary, I couldn’t tell but after no more than a moment, a deep, possessive growling sound resonated from his throat and his tongue was pushing between my lips.

  Tasting me.

  Devouring me.

  Marking me.

  Claiming me.

  My short, gasping breath was the only thing between us as he took a long pull of my taste and pulled marginally back and peered down at me.

  “I’ll walk you to your car.”

  I nodded, standing on shaky legs, his arm the only thing tethering me after the onslaught his kiss just created.

  “See you tonight, baby.”

  The engine of my car came to life before I wrapped my hand around the wheel and reversed out of the parking spot, all the while feeling Hudson’s watching gaze on me.

  ***

  “You took me to a buffet?” I asked, annoyed at the crazy, gorgeous man I hadn’t been able to get off of my mind. He smirked at me, the dimple in his chin coming out to tease me and I inwardly groaned. I couldn’t count the number of times I imagined leaning forward and pressing my lips against that exact dimple, just to experience how it would feel on my tongue. But, just like every other time my mind ran away from me, I denied that urge.

  “Come on, baby. You remember who’s been watching you for the past month or have you forgotten?” His deep, playful tone rushed over me in a wave of excitement and sinful thoughts and I nodded, trying my best not to kiss him like I wanted to.

  I purse my lips in an effort not to smile back at him, shaking my head.

  “I don’t know what you’re talking about.” I leaned against the door jam of the quaint, little chinese buffet Hudson had driven us to. It was just off of the highway and I hadn’t even noticed it until he pulled into the parking lot. I was guessing he had been here before.

  I felt the hairs at the back of my neck stand up and a slight shiver to shake my body as he stepped toward me, his lean, large body boxing me into the wall and his rough, callused hands slid over my cheeks so I was looking into his eyes. The intensity in his gaze stole my breath all the while the nearness of him made my heart stutter in my chest.

  “I can’t believe you took me to a buffet for dinner.”

  Chuckling in my ear, he kissed my temple, causing my chest to warm and my hands to come up to take hold of his strong, oh-so-broad shoulders. Drawing away just an inch, his eyes met mine again, this time filled with amusement.

  “Oh no, Darlin'. I took you to a Chinese buffet. All you can eat.”

  Pushing his shoulder, I laughed with him. I loved his laugh.

  It was husky, deep and full- warming my hollow heart and filling my belly with frantic, little butterflies.

  “You asshole. I don’t eat that much Chinese.”

  It was a total lie. I had an incredible weakness for it and indulged whenever I thought I could get away with it.

  That didn’t mean I wanted to admit it, though.

  “It I get fat it’ll be your fault, you know that right?”

  He threw his head back in laughter, and I watched, rapt as he chuckled loudly.

  My head knocked gently against his chest and I was still shaking my head at him when the young girl that sat behind the hostess stand called our number.

  “Come on. I want to watch you stuff your face.”

  Taking my hand in his, I was tugged into his side but I didn’t complain.

  I loved how physical he was with me. Hudson always made sure that I knew how he liked me and I loved that, even if I wouldn’t admit it to him.

  “I’m sorry, but the only seats we have open are upstairs by the windows. Is that alright?” The hostess asked as she led us up the stairs of the restaurant and I shrugged when Hudson’s gaze darted down to mine.

  “That’s fine with me.”

  As we walked, my eyes took in the surroundings of the restaurant Hudson had taken me to. The walls were painted red, the bright shade of red seemed a stark contrast of the dark floors and black topped tables and chairs. The buffet was placed in the center of the floor and surprised how busy it was, I wondered how long we’d have to wait to eat. My stomach growled as if it sensed my thoughts and I blushed.

  “Let’s get you fed.” Hudson muttered, helping to remove my jean jacket and purse before he placed them on one of the chairs. I nodded, this time I took his hand before he could re-claim it and I followed him silently.

  “Holy shit, this is good.” I moaned as I chewed my first bite of crab Rangoon, the taste of it delicious on my tongue. I heard a groan from the other side of the table and raising my eyes to see Hudson’s eyes set on me, narrowed and filled with amusement and hunger. I swallowed thickly, embarrassed.

  “Sorry.”

  Leaning forward, his face came to only an inch from mine and I watched his smile widen until that damn dimple revealed itself to me again.

  “Don’t be, Darlin'. I like that you love food so much. I would hate for that to change just because your embarrassed.”

  “Okay.” I felt his hand reach over the table cloth toward mine and mine met it halfway, my fingers locking with his much larger and thicker ones.

  “So,” He said, a few minutes later and I looked at him, my napkin pressed to my mouth as I wiped away the crumbs on my lips from the meal.

  “So,” I said back and his mouth twitched in a smile.

  “Tell me something about yourself.”

  It sounded like the most typical date question and I cringed.

  What did he want to know about me?

  What could I say?

  Nerves curled deep in my lower stomach and made it clench in something other than hunger. His eyes narrowed slightly and his thumb brushed against my hand, causing a calm to wash over me.

  I took a deep, calming breath and nodded.

  “What do you want to know?”

  He moves his other hand to our joined ones that rested across the table and I sighed at the contact. His touch did crazy things to me and I craved more of it.

 
“Anything you want to tell me.”

  I looked down at my plate, now empty besides the napkins on top of it and one lone piece of chicken I hadn’t had room for. I rubbed my thumb against his and decided to start simple. I hadn’t done this before and was afraid to mess it up. Dating had never appealed to me before him and I wondered if there was a reason for that.

  Maybe I had known to wait for him.

  Maybe it was meant to be.

  Him and me.

  I shook my head to rid of my strange thoughts before they took hold of anything meaningful. Anything I wouldn’t want to admit.

  “Emberly.” His voice was deep and filled with worry and a need I was becoming familiar with and my gaze rose to his once more.

  “I have this craving to know you better and I have tried to squash it, to forget it, to ignore it. I have tried everything in the book to rid of these feelings that you cause in me but it’s no fucking use because I want you.”

  Every concern for what came next vanished as I heard his softly spoken confession and I didn’t care how hard I had tried to keep him at arms length.

  I wanted him just as much as I was sure he now wanted me.

  Why the hell was I denying it?

  The man was infuriating and sexy as hell but he was also everything I wanted.

  My heart knew what it wanted as I moved from my seat and walked into the circle of his arms, my hands going down to his as he held my waist securely.

  “I want you, too”

  “Fuck, thank God.”

  Hudson stood to his full height, grabbing my face in his callused palms before he dropped his head to mine and his mouth whispered over mine in a soft, feather-light kiss.

  It was a stark opposite of the kiss we shared not long ago but just like the last time, my body melted into it and his name was on my lips when I came up for precious air.

  “Hudson.”

  He moved away, pressing a kiss to my temple in the same gentle press that he kissed my mouth. My arms wrapped around his hips tightly as he continued to press light kisses on my upturned face.