I stare at him forgetting to breathe. The look on his face tells me there’s something else, something he doesn’t want me to know.
“Is this good or bad?”
“Both,” he says sounding as unsure as he looks. “Something’s happened. Their questioning my loyalty and I’ve been summoned to stand before the Family.”
His confession seemed practiced and vague. I sit a moment, when the truth dawns on me. The family called him, they don’t think he’s loyal and he waited to tell me. Why?
“Are you in danger?” I ask watching his face transform.
He shakes his head slowly, “No, precious, I’m not in danger. Don’t worry, okay?”
“I don’t understand,” I frown again, trying to keep calm and focused. “You said they’re questioning, what does that mean?”
“Precious, I’ll be fine,” he pulls me from my chair, wrapping his arms around me. It’s a movement we’ve perfected in the last few days. One I enjoy a lot. “If I were in danger, King wouldn’t let me go.”
“Then why make a big deal about it like this?” I ask softly, believing his words.
“Worry, I guess,” he kisses my forehead. “I wasn’t sure how you’d take the news, especially after last night.”
“I don’t want you to leave,” I tilt my head, kissing him softly on his collarbone before placing my head there.
“I don’t want to leave either, but I have to,” he gives me a small squeeze. “King said his contacts are closing in and this trip should be the last.”
“Then go,” I murmur against his skin, my body humming from his nearness. “Catch the bad guys and then come home to me.”
He chuckles but his body shifts and stiffens.
“I’ve arranged for the guys and Missy to be with you while I’m gone.”
“I don’t need a babysitter Hudson.”
“I know but this will give me peace of mind, which means I spend less time worrying about you and more time focusing on closing this case,” what he said made sense and I wasn’t going to argue if it meant he’d be safe too. I didn’t like the idea of having someone follow me around but I was willing to do it for him. I nod, letting him know I wasn’t going to fight him on the subject.
“How long will you be gone?”
“I’m not sure,” he shrugs, his eyes now distant. “A couple of weeks maybe. It depends on King’s contacts.”
“You said you have two days until you leave?”
“Yes,” he takes a deep breath and I know he’s feeling the same dread I feel in my chest. We finally stopped fighting the feelings between us and now he has to leave.
“Then we should make the most of these two days,” I pull back to look up at him, letting the need bleed through. “Don’t you think?”
He smiles, his eyes darkening in response. He leans down and claims my lips. Telling me everything I need to know about the next two days in his kiss.
Chapter 25
Alice
If someone had told me three months ago I’d be lying under one of the most gorgeous men I’ve ever seen, reaching levels of pleasure I never believed possible, I would’ve laughed them off the face of the planet. My natural aversion to men and anything sexually related wasn’t the reason why I’d laugh either. It was the idea a man would want me after learning what my life had been like before him.
I was drawn to Hudson before knowing him and it wasn’t sexual. Sure, I thought he was gorgeous the first time I saw him but I was too damaged to allow myself to think of anything but safety and where to run to next. When I think back to the day I stowed away in his closet I don’t know what I was thinking. For all I knew, Hudson could’ve been a wolf in sheep’s clothing. He could have thrown me out, returned me to Erik but he didn’t. He protected me and he did the unthinkable. He invited me into his life. He made my problems his own, gave me a safe place to be, people to care about and a shoulder to cry on. He gave me the support I needed to push through the darkness and to find myself again. All of this while struggling with his own demons and letting me in.
Maybe trudging through the darkness was worth it, if it meant this man was meant to be mine. Maybe the suffering we’ve both been through and the paths we’ve walked was important, otherwise we would’ve never have recognized each other. Maybe fate wasn’t such a far off concept after all. I didn’t care about the maybes, as long as whatever it was that was responsible brought me to this moment, the weight of his body pressed into mine and his lips against my skin. How could I complain?