Unequivocally, Blindly, Yours

by B. Love

  I should have done this sooner, but I was so caught up in how you looked that I didn’t think to. I’ll need to get a copy of your credit report and a background check on file with our attorney. Nothing on there will change our agreement unless you have a history of robbing rich men. Then, of course, I couldn’t give you access to my nephew.

  I’ll give you extra money to buy anything else you’ll need, and you will have access to all of Hudson’s cars. I cannot express to you in words just how much this means to me, so I won’t even try. All I’ll say is, thank you, and I hope you allow Hudson to love you back in a way that makes this worth it for you.”

  It was all happening so fast. All Reina could do was shake her head, then nod.

  “If you want to quit, I’ll wait for you outside. My car is the black Jag parked out front.”

  With another nod, Reina slowly began to remove her apron. She knew the moment she handed it in that she would have to do whatever it took to make this work. There would be no more coming back to Cheeks or any other job that had nothing to do with her dream for that matter. As she slowly walked to her manager’s office, a smile spread across her face.

  Finally… things were starting to look up for her.

  Hudson’s home was beautiful. From his large, high windows to his cereal bar. The in-home movie theater with reclining seats to his bowling alley and game room. All of the rooms were big and spacious, but the master bedroom was the biggest of course. His home was the complete opposite of hers – new, multi-level, spacious. Wide, bright, and open. But it would surely be an easy adjustment.

  Even with the beautiful home that she would now call her own, it was still hard for Reina to say goodbye to her brothers again. Rico understood and told her to stick around for as long as she could. Bentley, the youngest, was also the saddest. He cheered up, though, when she promised to come and see him as much as she possibly could.

  As Reina pulled pictures of her brothers out of her duffle bag, she sighed, jumping slightly at the sound of a woman clearing her throat. She turned, forcing a smile at the sight of Rose. Well, she told Reina her name was pronounced Rosé, like the liquor. Rose was one of the many employees working and living in the suite behind the home. They spent most of the morning and afternoon cleaning, cooking, and shopping for Hudson. Then, when he returned home from work, the kitchen staff served him dinner and cleaned up before leaving the main house for the evening.

  Reina had been itching and aching to get in the huge kitchen and whip something up, but Rose made it clear that she wasn’t allowed to. She said it was because Hudson would have a fit if she cooked knowing he had a full staff for it, but Reina knew Rose simply didn’t want another woman in her kitchen.

  “I see you’re getting settled in rather nicely,” Rose noticed, smiling as she looked at the clothes Reina had tossed onto the bed.

  “Yea. I’m putting a few things in here to make it look like I’ve been in here, but I’m prepared to sleep in a guest room if that’s what Hudson wants.”

  It wasn’t the first time she’d actually said his name, but Reina couldn’t deny how good it felt rolling off her tongue.

  “Hudson is very kind. Very gracious. He loves hard, but when he’s hurt, he hates even harder,” Rose warned. She pulled her hands behind her back. “He doesn’t deserve to be hurt any more than he already has been.”

  Reina licked her lips and sighed. Every time she did it, it was an attempt to release the irritation that was building within her. Running her hand down the back of her neck, she waited a few seconds before she said anything.

  “I understand that you care about him, but I’m here to do a job. That job does not include me hurting Hudson or anyone else for that matter. My hope is that we can date and get to know each other for six months to a year, then he realizes he doesn’t want to marry me after all. I will gracefully bow out so we can part ways.”

  “I hope so too. Hudson is like a son to me, and I will do anything for him. I work for him in the kitchen, and I make sure his home is always up to par, but I’m also his protector. No one will break my baby’s heart.”

  Without bothering to let Reina reply, Rose left. With a chuckle and shake of her head, Reina returned her attention to her bag. Hurting Hudson was the last thing on her mind. If anything, she had to make sure he didn’t hurt her. If he was such a great guy as everyone portrayed, Reina knew she’d fall for him like a baby learning how to walk.

  If anyone’s heart was on the line… it was hers.

  Chapter 3

  Hudson

  Hudson thought seeing his home would put him in a better mood, but he was wrong. If anything, seeing his home made his mood worse. He hadn’t been here for months because of the accident. Unable to remember anything from the last two years was really taking a toll on him. As grateful as Hudson was to still have his life, he struggled with not being able to remember all of it.

  Looking over at his uncle, Hudson was filled with gratitude. This whole ordeal had been hard but having his family around made it a little easier. Since his parents were still on their cruise, Harold had stepped up in a major way. His parents had originally come back to Memphis when he first had the accident, but when he started rehab, they returned to their normal lives.

  Hudson wasn’t surprised. Ever since he and his brother were of legal age, his parents spent months at a time traveling. That was the good thing about their family business. When you were married, you were able to retire and spend the rest of your days doing whatever the hell you wanted while still getting a nice chunk of money on a monthly basis. And because Hudson had been working for the family since he was sixteen, he could retire as early or late as he wanted to.

  “How you feeling?” Harold checked, cutting off his Infinity.

  Cars were Harold’s obsession. He had a six-car garage, and each one was filled with a beautiful car. While he didn’t get very expensive cars like the rest of the family did, Harold switched them out every six months and always paid cash.

  “Irritated as fuck.” Hudson chuckled and Harold gave him a sad smile. “I don’t know what to do with myself, Unc. I’m nervous as hell because it’s people in this house that I’ll know and some I won’t even recognize. I can’t fake the funk in a situation like this, and I feel fraud as hell not being able to recognize people that I established relationships with within the past two years.”

  Harold’s head shook as he unbuckled his seatbelt. “You worried about the wrong thing, nephew. Those that love you understand your plight. They are ready to embrace you with open arms or give you space – whatever you need. Just focus on this day. This moment. You’re alive, all that other shit don’t matter.”

  Hudson nodded, wanting to be done with the conversation. It was easy for Harold or anyone else to say it didn’t matter because they weren’t in his situation. He could literally walk right past someone he knew and have no clue.

  “I know you don’t remember her, but your fiancée, Reina, is in there waiting for you. She’s okay with giving you space if you need it as well. If you want my advice, I’d recommend giving it about three to six months to see how you feel about her. Make your relationship fresh. Get to know her all over again. And if it’s really meant to be, you’ll fall in love with her all over again. If not, she’s okay with your relationship ending.”

  “But it shouldn’t have to, Unc. If I was preparing to build a life with her, it ain’t fair for her to have to leave me because I can’t remember her. You know I ain’t in the business of using and hurting women, and that’s exactly what this shit feels like.”

  Not wanting to discuss it any further, Hudson opened the door and got out of the car. He went to the trunk and waited for Harold to pop it so he could get his bags. While in rehab, his family took turns bringing in some of his personal belongings. Once Hudson made it to his front door, Harold was right behind him. In no rush to go inside, Hudson took his time pulling his keys out of his pocket.

  Thankfully, he’d purchased the six-bedroo
m home on his twenty-fifth birthday five years ago, so he still remembered how to get there and make his way around the place. The bulk of his staff had been with him since he bought his home, and a couple of them used to work for his parents. Their relationships were solid, and they were more like family to Hudson than employees. Hudson made his way down the hall, and as soon as he saw the staff lined up in the living room he smiled.

  They all shouted welcome home, bringing tears to his eyes. Hudson had never been emotional in the crying sense, so he knew the tears wouldn’t fall. With a wider smile, he nodded his head as they all began to hug him one by one. His eyes scanned the room for Rose, and when he couldn’t find her, he asked where she was.

  “She went to get Reina,” Walter, his head butler, informed him.

  Reina.

  The woman he’d supposedly vowed to spend the rest of his life with.

  Inhaling a deep breath, Hudson closed and opened his fists in anxiousness. He wished, upon seeing her or even smelling her scent, that something would trigger his memories of her. Because at this moment, he didn’t know a damn thing about the woman nor would he have a story to tell when they got married and started their family and people asked how they met.

  The sound of the low giggle pulled every one’s attention to the open entryway. When Rose and a woman he had no recollection of entered the room, Hudson casually broke away from the crowd of people that had huddled around him. Rose rushed over to him, and the only thing that pulled his eyes away from her was the feel of Rose’s arms wrapping around him.

  Hudson returned the embrace, lifting Rose off her feet and twirling her around. She’d basically raised him and his brother along with their mother. Rose wasn’t just a nanny or cook… Rose was like his second mother.

  “Boy, I’m so happy to see youuuu,” Rose almost sang, making everyone in the room chuckle.

  “I’m happy to be seen,” Hudson replied, putting Rose back on her feet. “And to be home.”

  His eyes were back on Reina, and he slowly took every part of her in as he made his way over to her. She was shorter than him by a few inches. He was six-two, she must have been five-five or five-six. All legs. Long. Toned. She was slim but it looked like it was on purpose. As if she spent several days out of the week maintaining her shape.

  Her hair was long, shiny, black and wavy. It fell to her underarms, and Hudson couldn’t help but want to pull it as he dug deep inside of her. She had high, prominent cheek bones. Plump maroon colored lips. And her eyes… she had the most beautiful almond shaped, honey colored eyes. They were bright and so damn alluring.

  “Hud,” Harold called from behind him. “This is Re–”

  “I know who she is,” Hudson interrupted. Or at least, he wanted to. “A woman this beautiful… what did I do to deserve you?”

  She smiled, warming every cold crevice of Hudson’s heart. “I may be beautiful, but you’re my angel. Welcome home, Huddy.” No words came to his mind to say, giving Reina time to ask, “Is it… okay… if I hug you?”

  “Of course,” he almost whispered, pulling her into his arms. Hudson closed his eyes and inhaled a deep breath, feeling like a failure for not having one small memory of her. “I don’t remember you,” he confessed, voice cracking as he held her tighter.

  “It’s okay. I don’t expect you to. If you want, we can get to know each other and create new memories. If you want to end things, I’m okay with that too. Whatever you need.”

  Still keeping his arms wrapped around her, Hudson pulled back slightly to look into her eyes.

  “I don’t know why, but right now, all I feel like I need is you.”

  And that was true.

  Hudson didn’t know if it was the idea of the love he had for her, the warmth that spread within him at the sight of her, or the peace he felt with her in his arms. Whatever it was, Hudson didn’t want to be away from it any time soon.

  “Okay. Well…” Reina smiled as she took his free hand. “I’ll help you get settled in your room.”

  As Walter followed behind them with his bags, Rose told him that she was going to make his favorite soul food meal. Because she refused to make him a pan of lasagna for his return home. As focused as Hudson was on Reina, he couldn’t help but chuckle.

  Unable to keep his eyes off of her, Hudson watched as Reina emptied his bags. She put the dirty clothes where they needed to be along with the clean ones, then put his toiletries in the bathroom. When she was done, she grabbed his royal blue dinner jacket from the closet along with a black button-down shirt and slacks.

  Even though it was common for Hudson and his staff to dress up for dinner, this evening, all he wanted to do was get comfortable, eat, and rest in his own bed.

  “I’m not feeling this shit, bae,” he grumbled, picking the dinner jacket up and looking it over. True enough, it was his favorite one, but Hudson wasn’t in the mood to get all fancy.

  “Okay. What do you want to wear then?”

  With a shrug, Hudson scratched the back of his neck. “Shit I don’t know. Not no damn suit for dinner, though.”

  Reina smiled as she picked the clothes up and took them back to the closet. “This is your dinner and your home. You can wear pajamas for all I care.”

  “Let’s do that then.” Reina turned to face him. “Can you tell Rose not to have anyone dress up tonight? I’m dressing comfortably in pajamas and they are free to do the same.” Standing, Hudson walked over to her. He placed a kiss to the top of her head and made a sweet giggle escape her lips.

  “You want me to run you a bath?”

  “I’m good but thank you.”

  Stepping back, Hudson watched as she turned and headed for the closet. His eyes lowered to her ass. It was medium sized and round. She had a bubble butt that Hudson wanted to squeeze, slap, and caress.

  “Well…” Reina walked out of the closet with a smile. “I’ll give you some space and head to the guest room on the left to get ready.”

  His brows wrinkled as he grabbed her wrist to keep her from walking away.

  “What you staying in the guest room for?”

  “I didn’t want to be in bed without you. And I figured since you don’t remember me that you’d want some space to be alone.”

  Lowering his hand to hers, Hudson lifted it and kissed the ring on her finger. “I want you close. You’ll move all of your things back in here.”

  Their eyes remained locked for a while before she smiled and softly agreed with, “Okay.”

  He watched as she walked away, then headed for the bathroom. Hudson cut the shower on, repositioning his uncomfortably hard shaft in his pants. It seemed like the right thing to do to give them time to reconnect, but his body was reacting to her something crazy. Leaning against the sink, Hudson checked his phone calls, text messages, and emails as he waited for the water in the shower to warm up.

  When he was done, he undressed then stepped inside. Stepping under the showerhead fully, Hudson ran his hands down his face as he allowed the weight of being back home to settle within him. All of the doubts he had about not being able to recognize everyone had quickly faded away. Though he didn’t know everyone that greeted him, there was so much genuine love and happiness in their eyes at the sight of him that it didn’t seem to matter.

  And Reina.

  There was something soft and sweet about her aura that drew him in. Maybe that’s what first attracted him to her. Well, that was a lie. It had to be her looks. Reina was beautiful. As fuck. All Hudson could do was shake his head. While a part of him wanted to enjoy being in his spacious shower after so much time, the other part of him wanted to shower as quickly as he could to get back to her. Slowly, his hand lowered to his shaft, and he began to stroke it until his dick throbbed in need of release. There was no doubt in his mind that Reina’s walls would feel better than warm water and his hand… but for now… this shit would have to do.

  “Anything for you,” Rose gritted with a forced smile before storming away.

  She almo
st had a heart attack when Reina told her what Hudson wanted. Refusing to believe it, she came to ask Hudson herself. Her eyes widened and almost popped out of her head when he agreed, but she didn’t give him a hard time about it even though she clearly didn’t want to break tradition.

  Hudson made his way next door, pleased to see no traces of Reina were left behind. He went back to his room to wash his face and brush his teeth, then headed for the dining room. At the sight of him, everyone stood to their feet, including Reina.

  “Have a seat, gorgeous,” he ordered, making his way around the table. “You stand or bow for no one but God. Not even me.”

  Ignoring the smiles and eyes that were on them, Hudson kissed her cheek before sitting next to her. Their eyes remained locked as Hudson inhaled a deep whiff of her fruity scent. When he winked at her, she blushed and looked away.

  Once they were served, the staff left them alone. When they first started to eat, they remained silent -- until Hudson noticed that Reina ate one thing off her plate at a time. First, she ate her greens. Then, her sweet potatoes. By the time she made it to the mac and cheese, Hudson’s plate was almost clean.

  He asked her why she ate one thing on her plate at a time, finding it cute when she told him that it helped her savor the flavors better.

  “So what have you been up to while I’ve been gone,” he asked before taking a sip of his red wine.

  “Not too much. Spending a lot of time with family. I haven’t really been dancing as much because of my tight schedule. And I’ve been missing it like crazy.”

  “Really? I didn’t know you were a dancer.”

  Hudson laughed, remembering he didn’t know anything about her for that matter. She grabbed his hand as she smiled softly, and something happened between them. The shock that radiated from her hand to his caused his body to heat. Her eyes dropped to the connection of their hands… as if she felt it too. Reina’s smile wavered slightly but when she gave him her eyes again and saw that he was smiling too, it returned to its full state.