His voice is harsher. I don’t move.
“Precious, look at me,” he says it, the nickname I’ve come to adore. Finding the courage in the name, I lift my eyes, my uncertainty still there within me. I hold my breath, hoping this wasn’t a trick I’d be punished for later. He steps toward me, stopping inches away.
“Alice,” his voice, now a whisper, is laced with gentleness. He leans into me. I struggle to remain still, the heat from his body no longer a threat. Wanting to lean into him too, my eyes flutter up to meet the intensity of his blue ones.
Holy.
Shit.
“I want to please you....I desperately want to please you Hudson,” I croak, a single tear slips down my cheek. I bite my lower lip trying to keep myself from spilling more of them. I feel like I might die if he doesn’t tell me, if he doesn’t touch me. He swallows hard, struggling to keep himself under control. Does he like obedient Alice?
He reaches up. His large hand covers my cheek, brushing away the stray tear with his callused thumb. His mouth finally opens, ready to speak. I can’t help the giddy rush of emotions I feel knowing this was it, he was going to tell me what I needed to do please him and we would finally get back to the kissing. But he says nothing. Instead he stands there for a few moments, searching my face.
“You do please me, precious,” his words hit me in the chest, knocking the breath out of me.
Wait, what? A frustrated sob rips from my chest. I feel like I’ve failed and failure was not an option. Was this some kind of game to him? Why won’t he tell me? I thought he liked me. I thought he wanted me.
Hudson takes me into his arms, carefully picking me up. He carries me over to the couch and he sits. I wrap my arms around him and bury my face in his neck, breathing in his scent.
Chapter 19
Hudson
I held her until she stopped sobbing because I didn’t know what else to do. Crying women were not my cup of tea but kissing them, well, I was an expert in that department.
I’ve dreamt about kissing Alice’s sweet pouty lips for days. I wasn’t a fool though, I knew better than to try anything on her, the girl barely trusted me. I’m not the kind of man to push anything on a woman, even an innocent kiss. But damn, when she said my name, I couldn’t help it. Although there was nothing innocent about the kiss we shared. It was an out of this world experience, one I’ll never forget.
All I can think about is whether it pushed her too close to the edge. One moment we’re having an amazing kiss and the next she’s sobbing uncontrollably, begging to please me and I’m left completely confused and unsure of what to do or say.
“Why did you stop,” she asks, peeking out from my neck, her voice meek and unsure. It’s like music to my ears, more melodic than I imagined but still it is the most beautiful thing I’ve ever heard.
“Stop what?”
“K-kissing me,” she lifts her hand and pushes her dark brown hair out of her face. I frown.
“I didn’t.”
“You did,” her forehead puckers. “You pushed me away. I thought I did something wrong.”
My brain suddenly feels more muddled and confused than it already was.
“You pushed me away,” I correct her. I can see the moment replaying in her face. She doesn’t know what to believe. “You stopped kissing me.”
“I’m confused,” she swallows hard.
“You’re not the only one,” I admit trying to make sense of it all. At this point I don’t even know if she enjoyed what happened between us. “Did you like it?”
She casts her eyes down and blushes. I can’t help the sliver of joy I feel inside, she enjoyed the kiss.
“How did it make you feel?”
“I don’t know,” her face flushes.
“Have you ever felt anything like it before?” she shrugs. The need to know everything suddenly surges through me. “You’ve never felt anything like it before, have you?”
“No, I thought I was doing something wrong,” she explains.
Holy shit.
“You weren’t doing anything wrong,” I reassure her but still something wasn’t right. It wasn’t because she ended the kiss or the fact she believes I ended it. Her physical reaction to it changed at the end. Instead of moaning for pleasure, she groaned in pain. “What did you feel?”
”It doesn’t matter what I felt,” she responds finally looking up at me. Her eyes are just as confused as my head. Her once smiling face is pale and void of all emotion.
“Why doesn’t it matter, Alice?” I don’t want to twist the moment any further but my gut screamed to ask her why. We were up against something dangerous and since she wasn’t of mind to find out, I needed to do it for her.