Claimed(71)

Hudson sighed as he stalked off without another word. The man drove her crazy sometimes. It was like he was actively going out of his way to not create a life for himself at this camp, doing the bare minimum to survive and refusing to give everyone what they yearned for – a safe place to call home.



And yet at the same time, his presence alone made Hudson feel safer than she’d ever felt in her life. She understood why Rylan and the others had joined up with him, why they’d forced their way into his life in spite of his reluctance to accept them. Connor was compelling without even trying to be. He was a man you looked at and thought leader.



It marveled her to think what he could accomplish if he actually embraced the role instead of shunning it.



“Down.”



Pike’s irritable voice jerked her back to the present. She grinned when her gaze landed on Hope, who was sitting so sweetly at Pike’s feet, peering up at him in concentration.



“Lie down,” he snapped.



The wolf kept staring.



Cursing, he dropped to his knees and pounded his fist on the ground. “Down, Hope.”



Hope blinked at him.



Pike shot to his feet, growling out another expletive. “Why does she do it when you ask her?”



“Two reasons – I ask her nicely and I give her treats.”



Before he could break out in another lecture about spoiling the wolf, Hudson darted off with a laugh. She headed to her cabin to change into her work clothes, then hiked across camp to tackle the next cabin on her clean-the-fuck-up list.



The rest of the day flew by. After she’d scrubbed the cabin from top to bottom, she hopped in the shower and scrubbed herself from top to bottom, then donned all black and long sleeves and went to find Connor.



The sun had already set when she walked back to the lodge. Connor was waiting for her by his motorcycle, wearing jeans and a black T-shirt that stretched across his broad shoulders.



“Ready?” he said gruffly.



She nodded, too distracted by the sight of him. The stubble shadowing his jaw, the tattoos peeking out from his sleeves, the corded muscles of his arms.



Before she could stop herself, she grabbed the back of his head and yanked him down for a kiss. He stiffened but didn’t pull away. He stood there, allowing her to brush her mouth over his, to lick and nip at his bottom lip until finally, finally, he parted his lips and his tongue met hers.



Connor groaned and deepened the kiss, taking control as his tongue teased and demanded, and although Hudson never wanted it to end, she forced herself to wrench her mouth away.



“Stop being mad at me,” she ordered. “It’s hurting my feelings.”



He looked unusually dazed for a second, but then his carefully composed mask snapped back into place. “Stop bringing wolves home,” he grumbled.



She flashed an impish grin. “I promise not to bring another one home if you quit being such a grump about this one.”



He rolled his eyes. “I’ll think about it.”



But she could tell his anger was already starting to thaw, and his touch was gentle as he helped her onto the bike.



The drive to Lennox’s seemed to go a lot faster this time. As the motorcycle sped through the darkness, the wind turned Hudson’s hair into a blond tornado that whipped around her head, a glaring reminder that neither one of them was wearing a helmet. Connor had explained that their helmets had been stolen a few months ago by bandits who’d ransacked their temporary camp while the men were out on a raid. He said he was on the lookout for replacements, but he hadn’t found any yet. And apparently he didn’t want to owe the people who did have helmets to spare.



That was the part Hudson still didn’t fully grasp – favors. Who you did them for, who you stayed away from. It seemed unnecessarily complicated, but she was confident she’d figure it out eventually.



When they arrived at Lennox’s, Connor checked the clip of his gun before tucking it in his waistband, then walked into the house like he owned the place. Hudson trailed after him, a tad apprehensive as they approached the main room.



She had no idea what carnal scene they’d be walking in on this time, but to her surprise, almost everyone was wearing clothes tonight.



There were fewer people around too, and more than half of them were women, chatting quietly on the couches. Every head turned when Hudson and Connor entered the room, but nobody seemed bothered to see them.



Connor signaled to someone behind her, then touched her cheek with unexpected tenderness. “Stick close to Jamie, sweetheart. I’m going to find Lennox.”



He strode off, leaving her to greet the blonde who’d been riding Rylan to heaven the last time Hudson had seen her.