CHAPTER 28
WREN
Sunshine filteringthrough the curtains wakes me. I rub my eyes to adjust, and it takes me a moment to figure out where I am. I slept at Hudson’s.I slept at Hudson’s. I’m too groggy right now to figure out what it means. Rolling over, I soak in the warmth of the morning rays. Ruby is still next to me and wags her tail as soon as she sees I’m awake.
“Good morning,” I say softly, and she leans her head against my leg as I pet her.
Hudson’s side of the bed is empty, the covers neatly arranged. I wish he were still there, so I could crawl over to his side and curl myself in next to him … see what he wakes up with in his boxers. I felt it the night he slept over in my childhood bed, and briefly last night, before he practically shoved me off him. I was practically begging him to have sex with me, which I’m not proud of. It’s not how I normally operate. But after the show he made me put on for him?
I think you like having me watch you like this. I did. I liked it very much. It was new for me, and it was hot. And thenHudson got up out of bed like it didn’t nearly make him cum his pants. I saw the wet mark of pre-cum on the cotton of his shorts when he got up. Even in the dim light, it was obvious. His rock-hard dick was obvious, too. The outline of it beneath his boxers was another stark reminder of the history Hudson and I share, and how badly I’ve craved being with him again.
But he wants to wait, and the wait might kill me.
The smell of bacon wafting through the bedroom door pulls my attention back to the present, and I’m suddenly aware that the butterflies in my stomach from thinking about last night have turned ravenous. They’re rabid and they’re out for blood. Or bacon. Bacon will do.
I throw back the duvet, and unlike Hudson, I leave my side crumpled. Every instinct in me is telling me to make the bed, but after yesterday’s panic attack, I decide today will be a fresh start, and I’m going to loosen up. As much as it pains me, I leave the duvet in disarray and pick up Hudson’s T-shirt off the floor, pulling it on over my head. It hangs down low enough to graze the tops of my thighs.
I pad out to the kitchen, Ruby in tow. Hudson is fully dressed already, wearing casual jeans and another worn T-shirt. His hair is damp from a shower, even though I swear he showered last night.
“Look who’s up.” He greets me over his shoulder, sliding bacon from a frying pan onto a plate lined with paper towel. “How did my girls sleep last night?”
Even my still-groggy brain catches the wording and stalls on his choice.My girls.
“Good. It was the best sleep I’ve had in a long time.”Hudson puts the frying pan down and moves to grab a mug from one of the cabinets before preparing a hot cup of coffee for me. He slides it across the counter towards me as I take a seat at one of the leather bar stools. “Probably from the mind-blowing orgasm,” I say as casually as I can, taking the first sip of the steaming liquid.
Hudson’s eyebrows raise by a half inch.
“Mind-blowing, eh?”
“Mmhmm.” I nod, meeting his stare across the counter where he’s leaning on both hands. Every muscle in his body tenses, thick ropes in his forearms flexing, his jaw twitching. We stare at each other for a moment, neither of us wanting to broach the subject of what last night was. But I can tell by flash of desire in his eyes, he’s woken up thinking about it, too.
I let my eyes dart down to his lips, daring him to say something more about last night. To give me some sort of indication of what it meant to him.
“Do you want some breakfast?” he says instead, and my face drops as he turns back toward the stove.
“Sure. I’d love some.”
Hudson prepares a plate with scrambled eggs, bacon, toast, and fruit. He slides it across the counter toward me like he did with the coffee. Then he turns and makes himself a plate, finally coming around to sit on the stool next to mine. We eat in silence for a few moments before Hudson breaks it.
“So how are you feeling after …” Hudson starts, his voice trailing off.
“I mean, great. Thinking about it again is making me horny,” I say, throwing him a sidelong glance and a cheekysmirk. Finally, we can address the elephant in the room. But I do a double-take when I notice his cocked his head and furrowed brow. “Oh, shit. You mean after my … episode yesterday.”
“Yeah … but I’m glad to hear you enjoyed last night as much as I did.” Now he’s smiling, hiding it by taking a drawn-out sip of coffee, but I see it in his eyes. Relief washes over me.
“Maybe we can finish what we started?”
“Miller …” His voice trails off. Uh oh. Here it comes.We’re better off as friends. I should have known better than to even get close to sleeping with Hudson again. This was why I wanted to stay away from him in the first place. “We’ve spent the last ten years, including the last few weeks, with you hating my guts. There’s a lot to unpack here. I don’t want to add sex to the mix and create even more confusion.”
“Yeah, because whatever happened last night isn’t confusing enough.” The sting of rejection is hard to ignore. I push my stool back and stand—I need to get out of here. But before I turn to walk back to the bedroom to collect my things, Hudson grabs my wrist and halts me in my tracks. He pulls me into him, so I’m standing between his legs, eye level with him.
“I want to take things slow,” he says, reaching up and tucking a piece of hair behind my ear. “I told you I want you to feel every ounce of love I’ve been saving for you for the last decade, and I meant it.” I swallow hard, unable to speak because my mouth has gone dry. “When we have sex, Miller, I don’t want there to beanyquestion,anydoubt in your mind that we shouldn’t be together.”
My eyelids have become heavy, my gaze dropping to Hudson’s mouth as he brushes his hands up my thighs and grips my ass in his hands. I run my tongue along my bottom lip, biting it to try and keep my cool. And it works, until Hudson pulls me closer, and something hard presses up against me as he leans into my ear.
“Until then, I will worship your body in whatever way I can.” His breath sends a zing of electricity down my spine, and a whimper escapes me. “If you’re getting mixed signals, Miller, let me clear things up for you right now.”
Hudson stands, and with his hands still on my hips, turns me around so my back is towards him. I steady myself on the counter in front of me while his hands roam up and down my body beneath the soft cotton T-shirt. He finds my breasts, pinching and tugging my peaked nipples. And then they slide down, down, so he’s running them between my thighs.
