Not with Hudson with me.
He not only loved me, but he shielded me; against any threat, even the smallest ones.
God, I loved him.
“The nurse said he’s sleeping, but we could go and sit with him for a few minutes.”
“Okay. Do you want me to go with you? I know...”
His much bigger hand gripped mine in almost the next second, holding me fiercely, yet softly.
“No, Darlin’. I want you with me.” He tugged me close, grasping my wide hips in his loving hold and I sighed happily, curling my fingers through his ash brown hair. The smooth, short strands were soft between my hands, such a contrast from the hard, determined man he could be.
“I’m with you.”
His eyes gleamed with emotion as he looked at me, those ocean blue eyes seeing straight to the very heart of me. My fingers pressed even deeper into his scalp, gently massaging and earning a low, sexy groan to leave his lips.
“Good,” His mouth brushed mine, sending electric sparks over the surface of my skin and I moaned against the warmth of his reverent kiss.
“Let’s go see him.”
Nodding, I kissed him one last time, stealing a nip of his full, lower lip before pulling away.
“Woman,” Hudson said on a low growl and I grinned, escaping his grasp before he could pull me close, again. I heard his following footsteps behind me and I didn’t have to look back to know he was shaking his head at me.
I saw right through him.
A few minutes later, I softly knocked on the room Tristan had been placed in and turned the knob, opening the door. Hudson’s grasp tightened around my hand as we stepped inside the hospital room, but when he saw his best friend sitting up in bed, the color returned to his features and his mouth firmly planted on Ashlee’s, it was like no time passed.
The pale, lifeless man that had laid here a few days ago was stronger than ever and as I raised my eyes to Hudson’s, I felt the sting of tears beneath my lids. He was so dedicated to those he cared for, those he loved. The idea of losing Tristan all but broke him.
Thank God he’d managed to pull through.
Roughly clearing his throat, he stepped into the room with me and moved toward the bed, the tension in his shoulders evident from the hard set of his large, seemingly intimidating body.
“Can I have a minute, Ashlee?”
Her near bleach-blonde head moved from Tristan’s shoulder as she nodded, moving from his side while concern crossed her pale face.
“I’m fine, pretty girl. Just go talk with Emberly and don’t go far.”
Her face lit up with another near blinding smile and she nodded, turning her attention to me and leaping towards me with the energy for life she’d always had.
“You okay?”
I murmured into her hair as we embraced and felt her quick nod against me.
“I am now. If he wasn’t okay…”
My arms tightened around her as her voice trailed off, familiar pain that we all felt after his accident rising to the surface, again.
“He is,” My eyes flitted over to where Hudson and Tristan were talking and there was no doubt in my mind that they were brothers; in every way that counted.
“Look at them, Ash.”
Hudson had lowered his head, sitting in a nearby chair by Tristan’s bedside and both men had their heads pressed together, one of of Tristan’s large hands clasped around Hudson’s neck.
The stance was intimate, telling of how close they’d both come to losing the closeness they’d had for one another; beyond friendship or colleague-ship. My heart stung for them both, but I knew it would all be okay, now.
Tristan was okay.
“Fuckin’ gave me a scare, man.”
“I know. I’m good now.”
Pulling away from one another, Hudson nodded gruffly.
“Let me know if you need-”
“I know. I’ve got my girl, she’s all I need right now.”
How sweet was he?
Soon enough, my man was back with me, his strong arms circling my waist and his stubbled chin tickling my nape.
“Tonight, you’re mine.”
Shivers flew down my spine as his voice heated my neck, where he placed a hot, open-mouthed kiss.
“Yes,” Was all I uttered but it must have been enough because he spun me toward his hard, muscular chest and secured me with a dominant hand holding my hip.
“Now.”
Chapter Thirty One
Emberly
He was everywhere.
His hands.
His mouth.
And God, that tongue of his.
“Hud, baby…”
“Anything, Emberly. What do you want?”
His mouth tortured my neck as his hands moved over the zipper of my sundress, giving a sharp tug until the billowy fabric gave way and fell to my ankles. The cool air of the room pebbled my nipples against my bra, causing shivers to slip over my prickling skin. The rough texture of Hudson’s hands over it was heavenly and I never wanted to stop the sensations.
“You,” I breathed the word, my heartbeat racing within my chest while my breaths slowed into quick, anticipating pants. The soft nip of teeth around the shell of my ear had a pleasured whimper falling from my parted lips and a shudder shook me, almost as much as the man looming behind me had rattled my heart.
“Where? Where do you want me?”
Before I could utter a word, I was spun in his hold, my bra clad chest pressing to his bare torso and his firm, sure hands cupping my chin with a tenderness that brought with it, the threat of tears. But, I was smiling because the sadness I’d felt for so long was gone, now. These were tears of sheer, unrelenting joy.
“Everything, Hudson. I’m yours.”
A mischievous smirk lit his face and he lowered his mouth to mine, leaving the whisper of a kiss in his wake.
“It’s forever, Darlin’.”
God, yes.
I arched up just as his mouth swooped down, capturing a taut, aching nipple through the frilly, barely there lace of my bra. Searing me with the intensity of his mouth.
“Naked. Now.”
The faint click of the front clasp of my bra was the only warning I had before the fabric fell away and his warm hands took its place, pressing and loving and brushing against my oh-so-sensitive skin, taking each nipple between his callused fingertips, giving the pointed mounds just a hint of roughness against the deceptively way he touched me. I felt my core tightening from between my legs, swelling with the desire I held for him; only him.
“Hudson,” My hands moved from my sides to his jaw, my needful fingers feeling the whiskers of his beard as I waited for his eyes to find mine, the warmth and emotion they held warmed me all over.
“I love you.”
It wasn’t that I didn’t think he knew the truth of those words. He did. He’d known of my feelings for him before I ever did, before I could face it.
For so long, I’d thought I would always be alone. Aimless, adrift, floating through my life rather than living it. I’d thought I wasn’t enough, unworthy of the love and adoration I saw in the world around me. But this man, this beautiful, determined man had seen right through my walls and my excuses for why we couldn’t happen. I refused to let him into my heart, even after I saw how deeply he cared for me, he wanted me. He didn’t let me get away, though. He knew we were right for each other, before I ever did.
The past week was hard for us. Between the danger of being watched by an unknown man, of Brad and Tristan’s accident, we’d been tested more than I thought we could withstand. I thought I would lose him, whether from the hands of the sick man who’d taken me from the hospital or from the bomb that almost took Hudson from me, forever.
“Fuck, Emberly. Please don’t do this to me.”
His fingers wiped at the hot, stinging tears that made their way down my face and I shivered, remembering all of the ways he could have been lost to me. Wrapping my fingers around his wrists where
he was gently holding my face, I knew he’d become so much more than my protector.
He was my savior, my soul, the owner of my heart and all of its love.
“It’s happy tears. It’s okay. I’m just,” Pausing to breathe, I moved my hands to his stoically set face, softly rubbing a thumb over his bottom lip as he bit into it in the way I knew he did when he was uneasy or worried.
“I’m just realizing how close I came to losing you, Hudson. I know I haven’t always made it easy for us to get here and I’m sorry…”
The crush of his warm, rough kiss stopped my words and a moan slipped out of me the instant I felt his teeth graze the lush flesh of my lips, ravishing me and loving me all at once.
“I was talking.” I breathed against his full, devilish mouth and he only kissed me deeper, licking at my lips and stealing my breath as his kisses always had. That was, until he released me, leaving me shaking in aftershock of his ardent assault and I swayed into him, where he easily caught my waist and held me where he wanted me.
“Do you really think I would have given up on you just because you made me wait a while? You’re the woman I love, Emberly. Fuck, you’re my world. It wouldn’t have mattered if I waited a year to have you, Darlin’. It would have been worth it.”
“Hud,” I pulled his head down to mine, letting our foreheads press together for a long moment, taking the time to thank God for bringing him into my life, a life that I’d refused to risk until I found him. His mouth skimmed my cheek as I kept my eyes firmly closed, letting the drip of overjoyed, persistent moisture to slip free while in the safety of Hudson’s arms.
“I know, baby. I know.”
And as he made love to me, well into the early hours of dawn, I knew he had been right.
This was forever.
Chapter Thirty Two
Hudson
WAKE UP, DARLIN’.”
I set the tray of food beside her as I spoke in her ear, letting my fingers trail over the soft, pale skin of her cheek. It seemed I couldn’t go long without touching her, in some way. I craved closeness with her, even in the smallest ways. She stirred beneath me, a cute as all hell yawn parting her mouth as she stretched.
“Come on, baby. I brought us breakfast.”
“Mhmm.” Her little moan of protest was both maddening and endearing and I dropped my head to hers, rubbing my lips over the top of her head before telling her something I knew would perk her right up.
“And coffee.”
“Oh!” Her eyes popped open, her colorful irises lit up with excitement as she sat up and held her hands out for the drink I’d picked up for her at her favorite cafe. My girl loved it sweet and strong and wouldn’t have anything less. Grinning at her, bemused that I could make her happy with something so small. I placed the white, paper cup in one of her outreached hands while I took the other in mine and lifted it to my mouth. Her little moans of pleasure hit my ears not long after and though I knew she loved my kisses, I was sure those sounds were because of the coffee. My chest heated with a sense of possession I’d only ever felt for her and I ground my teeth, wanting those moans to be because of me. Only me.
How the fuck was I jealous of a beverage?
Crazy.
She made me crazy.
“Did you just growl?”
I snapped my eyes to hers, slowly releasing my fists so that she didn’t see how absolutely crazy she was making me. Good thing she had my ring on her finger. She couldn’t get away, now.
“No,” Moving my mouth from her little fingers to her full, lush lips and I groaned against their softness. As my hands found purchase in her honey, blonde hair, my knees nudged her legs open so that she could wrap them around me. Jesus, I loved her body.
Fucking perfect.
It made me crazy that she thought of herself as anything but the beautiful woman I knew her to be, the perfect woman I was holding right then. There wasn’t one flaw on her that I saw and even if there was, I’d love her all the same.
Mine.
“You did it again, baby.”
I felt her pulling away from me, propping her chin lightly, against my chest and her eyes seared to mine, filled with a raw love that had my chest locked in an almost painful vise, one I withstood because it meant this was real.
We were real.
“Did what?” I said the words against her mouth before lowering my kisses to her jaw, the soft line of skin just underneath her chin, her collar bones and her neck. Something primal inside of me was sated when she begun mewling low in her throat, sounds of more, more, more meeting my ears as I trailed my mouth to her earlobe where I bit her lightly, nibbling on her supple skin. Like I planned to do to her sweet, pussy once I was done teasing her. I wouldn’t ever tell her, but I loved to tease her. These little noises of pleasure she gave me were dizzying and I found myself craving them as I loved on her.
Claimed her.
Ravished her.
Owned her.
“You growled.”
A wide grin spread over my face at her little quip and I bit her again, catching the skin of her lobe between my teeth, giving no mercy until I heard her sweet laugh in my ear. God. That sound. I wanted to listen to it for the rest of my life.
“I’m crazy for you, Darlin’. Don’t you know that by now?”
I lapped at her neck, circling the soft spot I knew she had just behind her ear and I kept at it, wanting to hear her beg for me to stop; for me to keep at it.
“God. Hud, please. You’re making me…”
“Crazy?”
God knew I had the affliction.
“Hudson, please…”
My hands moved to the button of her slim fitting jeans as her plea filled the room and I smiled wider, because I wanted to savor it. Though, with a low chuckle I realized I didn’t necessarily need to. She was wearing my ring and soon enough, we’d be bonded in every possible way. We’d been in love for some time now and I think we both knew where it would lead. Marriage.
I couldn’t wait.
“Off.” I growled; yes, growled. My insatiable need for her was in every beat of my heart, in every thrum of my pulse.
“Yes,” She shimmied her curvy hips, pushing the denim fabric down her wide, creamy thighs and over her knees, before letting them fall to her ankles. My mouth met her ear again and as I tortured her, some more, I let my always wandering hands find the hem of her tee and I lifted it off of her with a quick tug, dropping it to the floor and lifting her off of her feet in the same motion.
“Hud, baby. What are you doing?”
“Bed.”
“Now?”
I sucked one of her tight, plump nipples between my teeth and tugged, groaning my protest when she pulled sharply on my hair in response.
“Yes, now. Lay back, Emberly.”
Her body fell away from me, save for her legs that were still wrapped, snug against my waist and I just stood there, ravaging her with my eyes; I couldn’t stop myself from looking at her.
“Jesus, baby. Look at you.”
Her face pinked at my adoring words and though I knew she was learning to be confident in her beauty, in her skin, I knew a part of her still wondered if I’d ever see her the way she did. As anything less than the angel she was. And it didn’t much matter, to me, because I would get to spend the rest of my life reassuring her. Loving her.
“What?” Her voice was small but those wide, violet eyes of hers were full of emotion. The same way I felt for her. Love.
“You’re spread out for me like a fucking feast, baby. How am I supposed to resist these legs? Their a damn dream.” I ran my hands over her milky thighs, knowing the roughness of my skin, earned by years of working with my hands as a teen followed by my years on the beat with the force, would have her coming alive beneath me; she always did.
“And these hips. These little love handles. Makes me crazy with wanting you.” I dropped my head as my fingers curled around her waist, letting my lips linger on her smooth, pale flesh for a moment before I
continued my journey up her curvaceous body. Emberly was chanting my name, arching and moaning and needing me and I kept going, letting out a hearty moan of approval when I finally filled my hands with her pert breasts, the lithe flesh molding perfectly in my hands. My mouth took one pointed nipple and my hunger for her was boiling over, not to be ignored and I feasted on her.
I ravished her.
“Ah, God, baby. So tight. So damn snug for me.”
I groaned, uncontrolled as I gave a harsh thrust of my hips, rooting myself in her depths with just one motion. My eyes closed at the sensation of her hot, wet channel, grasping me in the tightest vice; holding me captive, right where I wanted to be. I dropped my face to the nape of her neck, gently planting my lips along her moist skin, kissing her everywhere my mouth would reach as my body showed her how I wanted her; needed her.
Needed her sweetness, her innocence that I’d been drawn to from the very beginning.
Wanted her hot pussy, cradling me and owning me; in a way no other women ever had.
Craved the way she was looking at me, holding onto me as if I was her world.
I knew that sentiment was true, since I felt the same exact way.
I’d never thought I would want this.
Love.
Marriage.
A family.
It was her, my sweet, sassy, girl. With the most beautiful eyes I’d ever seen and a full, loving heart that captured mine and hadn’t let go.
It was a good thing, too, since it was hers.
I would never want her to give it back.
“Oh my god, Hud!”
Her hot breath wafted over our joined mouths as she panted against my ardent kiss. And I smiled, giving another twist of my hips against hers, twisting a budded, kiss swollen nipple at the same time. Savoring the way she yelled my name, with a fervor I craved, a desperation I would quell for her as soon as she gave me what I wanted. Her hot pussy was tightening around my cock, leaking its essence all over me and she hadn’t even come yet. God, I loved her like this.
Breath We Take (Cuffed By Love Duet Book 1) Page 20