“Do you want me to get you in touch with my company event planners? Not that they’d be helpful in the pre-wedding party arena.”
“Nah, I got some things set up already.”
He took a swallow of his wine, and I guessed it was difficult for him to let me keep the reins on my project. But when he set down his glass, he seemed resigned. “Let me know if you change your mind.”
The meal was delicious—chicken breast stuffed with sundried tomatoes and artichokes. Sautéed zucchini and jasmine rice accompanied the chicken. I’d stayed at work all afternoon, arranging meetings for the week, and had skipped lunch. It wasn’t until I was eating that I realized how hungry I’d been.
“This is so good, Hudson,” I said when my plate was half-clean. “Wherever did you find this cook?”
“She used to be sous-chef at one of my restaurants. Things didn’t work out with her and another staff member, so she works privately for me now.”
I thought for a moment about what I knew from Hudson’s portfolio of businesses. “Fierce?”
“That’s the one.”
Fierce was one of the hottest restaurants in the city. The head chef had a reputation for being a complete hard-ass. I didn’t have to ask if that was the reason she’d left.
My work-oriented mindset of earlier lingered into the conversation. “Would she consider working at The Sky Launch?”
“Then who would cook for us?”
I ignored the rush I had from the way Hudson referred to us as an “us,” and pressed on. “For private events then. It doesn’t have to be a full-time gig.”
“I like the way your business brain works, Alayna. But why don’t we put the job away for the night? I’d like to spend time with the other sexy parts of my girlfriend.”
That shut me up. It was the first time he’d called me that—girlfriend—and holy wow, what it did to me. My chest warmed with what felt like a radioactive level of heat, spreading down my limbs and up into my cheeks. Girlfriend. I was Hudson Pierce’s girlfriend.
Pretending he didn’t know what his statement had done to me—he knew, he so knew—he continued with the common conversation that boyfriends and girlfriends exchanged after a day apart. “Other than work, how was your afternoon? I noticed the books came. Did the delivery go okay?”
I nodded as I swallowed my food, following it with a sip of wine before answering. “They did, and yes, it went fine. Celia accompanied the delivery.”
Though his face stayed even, he stopped chewing for half a second. “Oh?”
I had guessed that Hudson wouldn’t be that happy about Celia stopping by. Ever since she’d spilled the beans about his manipulative past, he seemed to fear what she’d say to me. No matter what I said, he didn’t understand that nothing she could say to me about him would ever change how I felt for him. Perhaps I shouldn’t have told him about her visit, but that didn’t feel right. I was already keeping my history with David on the down low. I didn’t want another secret.
The only thing to do was convince him Celia and I could be trusted together. “She surprised me. I guess I was in the shower when she buzzed up so she let herself in.”
His brows furrowed. “I need to take away her key.”
“Yes, you do.” I didn’t like worrying that she could stop by any time she wanted. “But it wasn’t bad. In fact, we had a nice chat.”
Hudson’s entire upper body tensed. “I don’t like that. At all.”
I’d only seen that possessiveness of his a couple of times before. It was frightening and thrilling, sending bolts of hormones to my lower regions and raising my arousal levels to full alert.
It was also unnecessary. “Don’t get all panicked. It was fine.”
“I don’t want you two to spend time together. Remember, in my script you aren’t friends.” He stabbed at the air with his fork, enunciating his point.
I clucked my tongue. “Come on, that’s not fair. I only want to feel close to you and she’s your best friend.”
He shook his head once. “She’s my only friend. It’s different.”
I stroked my foot up his calf, hoping to lighten his mood on the subject. “She didn’t give away any deep dark Hudson secrets.”
“Says you.”
“She only said she was happy that you’d found me.” I paused to let that sink in. “She thinks you deserve someone.”
Instead of softening, his expression hardened. “That’s a deep dark Hudson secret right there.” He leaned closer to me, speaking low. “So deep and dark, it’s a lie. I don’t deserve you and I never will.”
“Shut up.” I rolled my eyes then placed my hand over his. “You deserve much better than me. You’re out of my league and everyone knows it.”
“Alayna—” His tone was a warning.
I narrowed my eyes. “How about instead of arguing over who deserves whom, we agree that we fit pretty damn well together and leave it at that.”
“I don’t want you spending time with Celia.”
Damn, he was serious. So much for getting insider knowledge over coffee. On the other hand, who was he to tell me that I couldn’t spend time with someone?
But we were trying to make a relationship work. If it was important to him then…“All right, I won’t spend time with her. And I don’t want you spending time with her either.”
“I can live with that compromise.”
“You can?” I tried not to sound surprised.
“Yes. I barely see her anyway. From now on, if I have to see her, it will be with you.”
“Agreed.” It wasn’t as much of a sacrifice for me as it was for him. She wasn’t my friend.
“Good.” Then a wicked gleam filled his eyes. “We do fit pretty damn well together.”
“Now who’s getting naughty?”
He set down his fork and looked at our nearly empty plates. “It is time for dessert.”
“Hold that thought. I’ll be right back.” I wiped my mouth with my napkin and got up from the table. The hall bathroom wasn’t visible from the dining room so I hoped that’s where Hudson assumed I had gone. Instead, I went to the master bedroom, to my closet. I grabbed the lingerie set from its drawer and changed as quickly as I could.
I stopped in front of the bedroom mirror to fluff my hair into as close of a sexy tousle as my straight strands would allow and noticed, damn, I looked good. The teddy was a coral baby-doll flyaway that pushed my already perky boobs up to soaring heights. The middle opened to expose my flat belly and the matching lace thong. Hell, I’d do me.
I slunk back to the dining room and found the table cleared and Hudson at the bar making a drink, his back to me. Awkwardly, I tried to come up with some stripper pose, but when he turned toward me, I’d only managed to cock my hip and put a hand at my waist.
He nearly dropped his glass, his eyes wide. “Holy, fuck, Alayna. You look so goddamned hot, you’ve surpassed naughty and gone straight to sinful.”
“Why, thank you.” I swayed toward him, his lustful gaze never leaving my body. When I was close enough, I pulled on his tie, beckoning him forward. His brow arched in surprise, but he let me lead him back to his chair and push him to a sitting position.
Leaning forward so his view was all tits, I ran my hands up his thighs to his waist where I undid his belt and began working on his fly.
“What are you doing?” His voice was hoarse, his eyes pinned on my cleavage.
“You served dinner. I figured I should serve dessert.” I wasn’t sure he’d let me take the lead. He rarely did where sex was concerned—where anything was concerned. But instead of waiting for his permission, I simply took charge.
I tugged at his waistband and waited to see if he’d play along. After a moment’s hesitation, he submitted, lifting his hips for me to pull down his pants and underwear. I lowered them just enough to expose his already rock hard cock.
“Holy, fuck, Hudson,” I repeated his earlier words as I took his dick in my hand. “Talk about sinful.” Still gripping hi
m in my hand, I knelt before him, nudging his legs wider for me to fit in between them.
Leaning forward, I rubbed my breasts along his bare cock.
He let out a heavy breath, and I did it again, running my fingernails along his chest, digging through his shirt. His eyes were pinned to my tits as I stroked his penis between them.
“You’re so fucking beautiful, Alayna.” His voice grated, like he was losing control. “So fucking beautiful.”
“So are you.” This time I maneuvered my hands under his shirt to claw at his skin as I rubbed my tits along his throbbing cock. “Do you like fucking my tits?”
“I love anything you do to me.”
“Is that so?” I sat back on my haunches and leaned down to run my tongue up the length of his shaft.
He growled—actually growled—and I shivered at the sound.
But despite how his sounds and reactions made me completely weak and dizzy, I suddenly felt powerful. There was nothing in the world that I could imagine that would be strong enough to cause Hudson Pierce to relinquish his authority—nothing in the universe that could make him yield to anyone.
Yet here he was giving in to me.
Yes, I felt very powerful.
I licked again up the other side of him then swirled my tongue across his head as I pumped him once with my hand.
He jerked in the chair, his fingers gripping the arms. “Jesus, yes.”
I wanted his hands on me, him grasping my hair. But I knew, as he did, that if he touched me, he’d take over. He’d run the show. His lack of contact was a gift, and I took it graciously. Greedily.
Moving one hand to fondle his balls, I placed my lips over his crown and slid my mouth over his soft, stone cock, my hand grasping the length of him I couldn’t fit inside. Up and down I pumped him, sucking him off with an insatiable passion.
I felt his thighs tense around me and I knew he was close.
“Alayna, slow down,” he pleaded through gritted teeth.
I ignored his request, continuing to stroke and suck him toward his orgasm.
“Alayna!” His hands flew to my shoulders.
Next thing I knew, I was on the floor, Hudson hovering over me as he tore at my thong, ripping the flimsy thing off of me. Then he was inside me, filling me, stretching me, thrusting into me with such force I thought he might rip me apart.
And, god, he felt good. So goddamn good.
“You feel amazing, Alayna,” he said as he drove into me, his face sweaty and pinched with the effort. “I was about to come in your mouth.”
“That would have been fine.” I would have sucked him dry and licked him clean.
“But I much prefer coming in your tight cunt.” His jabs slowed as I clenched around him, constricting his movement. “Fuck, I’m coming now.”
I groaned with him as his climax pressed him deeper into me, as my own heightened arousal took me to a gentle release behind him. It wasn’t the earth-shattering variety of orgasm that I’d grown accustomed to having with Hudson, and somehow that made it even sweeter, more savory.
When he’d emptied himself completely, Hudson fell to his back beside me and took in several deep, ragged breaths. “I apologize for that.”
I sat up on my elbows and cast him a questioning glance. I could recall very few times he’d apologized to anyone for anything. Certainly not for sex.
“I got carried away. I didn’t give you the attention you deserved.”
Laughing, I rolled to lie across his chest. “I love it when you get carried away. You rarely let yourself go. It’s a nice change. Not to mention, it’s hot.”
Hudson’s chest rose as he chortled—another sound I heard infrequently from him—and he draped an arm over my back.
I propped myself up on my arm. “Someday, though, you’re going to let me suck you off until you finish.”
“You know I love to come buried inside you.”
“God, I do, too.” I smiled, dreamily. “But I’d also love to have you come in my mouth. I’m craving it, actually.”
His arm tightened around me. “Stay tonight.”
It wasn’t a question or even an invitation. It was a declaration that I would stay, and of course I would. But I responded anyway. “Okay.”
Where else would I want to be?
***
Hudson had missed his usual morning workout since we’d slept in that morning. Though I was convinced we’d worked out enough in the bedroom—and the kitchen and the dining room—he decided to hit the penthouse gym. Wanting to be near, I joined him.
The gym was in the back of the apartment, next to the master bedroom, and was equipped with a treadmill, elliptical trainer, rowing machine and a weight system. I changed into a sports bra and shorts from my closet and claimed the treadmill. Hudson started out on the elliptical and moved to the weights for the bulk of his workout.
I’d always been a fairly good runner, usually pounding Central Park or the blocks from the club to my apartment, but running with the sight of Hudson’s calves and arms flexing as he worked the elliptical was quite a feat, even for me. Admittedly, I tripped a couple of times.
After exercising, we showered and settled in the bedroom, Hudson donning a pair of boxers while I snagged one of his t-shirts to wear with a pair of panties. Hudson brought in his laptop to sort through some business emails, and I curled up with a book from the day’s delivery. There were several Hudson had got that I hadn’t read yet but were on the list of greatest books of all time that I was working through.
When I’d been reading long enough to get lost in the first few chapters of my book, I suddenly became aware of stillness next to me. Hudson was no longer typing. I looked up and found he was watching me.
Goose bumps marched down my arms. “What?”
“You look good in my t-shirt.”
“I know.”
His lips curled into a sexy smile. “You look better without it.”
I laughed.
He lifted his chin toward my book. “What did you choose to read?”
I held the book up for him to see the cover.
“The Talented Mr. Ripley. Interesting. A book about a true sociopath.”
An unexpected chill ran through me. Hudson’s mother had told me that he was a sociopath—unable to feel empathy or love, detached and self-absorbed. I disagreed vehemently. I’d seen otherwise. Hudson loved and cared for me like no one in my life had.
But, though I hadn’t told him about the conversation, I was certain sociopath was a term Sophia had used openly with him. I wondered if he thought it was an accurate description of himself. It was hard to bring it up and debate it with him when I knew so little about the things he’d actually done in the past. I only knew the general idea—that he manipulated people. Played them.
If I was being honest with myself, I could see where sociopath might be mentioned by a therapist treating someone with those types of habits.
I didn’t know enough. Though I believed in Hudson and his feelings for me, there were still so many unknowns.
Propping the book open on the nightstand, I turned my body to face him. “Hudson, can I ask you something?”
He shut his laptop, set it on the nightstand on his side of the bed and switched on the table lamp. “Yes, I will do wicked things to your body, but only if you promise to do wicked things to mine.”
I giggled. “I’m being serious.”
“So am I.” His eyes blazed as he ran them down my bare legs and back to meet mine. “But wickedness can wait. Ask me.”
“I was thinking…” I ran my teeth over my lower lip as I figured how to broach the subject. “Celia had said that you manipulated women, as if it was more than her. What does that mean exactly? Like, what did you do?”
His jaw set. “I thought you said you just chatted today.”
“We did.” I rushed to correct his impression. “She didn’t mention that today at all. Or anything like it. I swear.” I took a deep breath. “It was before, at the charity fa
shion event of your mother’s and I’ve been thinking about it. I should know, don’t you think? If we’re going to be open and honest with each other, I need to know.”
“No, you don’t.” He stood, and for a moment, I thought he was leaving the room, but he merely turned off the overhead light and started back to the bed.
“I do need to know.”
“No way.” He said it with finality. Case closed.
But I wasn’t willing to accept that. I pulled my legs under me to a kneeling position. “Hudson, I get it. I do. You want to ignore it and leave things in the past. But you’re always going to be scared that I can’t love you through anything if you don’t give me the chance to prove that I will.”
He stood at the edge of the bed, his eyes narrowed. “But what if you don’t? Have you considered that? Has it crossed your mind that I might have done things you could never forgive?”
“There’s nothing—”
He cut me off. “You don’t know that.”
I switched tactics. “Is there anything I could have done to make you…?” Stop loving me is what I thought. But it felt weird to say it out loud like that when he hadn’t ever said it himself. “To change the way you feel about me?”
“It’s not the same.”
“You don’t know that either.” To be fair, he knew very little about the things I’d done before. I hadn’t wanted to tell him, hadn’t wanted him to know the awful ways I’d invaded people’s lives. I completely understood about wanting to let the past lie.
“Then tell me.”
I swallowed but didn’t let the trepidation show on my face. “Anything?”
He sat on the bed, facing me. “The restraining order against you was filed by Paul Kresh. Who was he?”
I closed my eyes for half a second. Hudson had read my police files. Of course he would remember the details.
My hesitation spurred him. “See? You can’t tell me.”
“He was a guy,” I blurted out. I wasn’t stupid. If I wanted him to share, I’d have to do the same. “Just a guy who picked me up once when I was clubbing.”