His polar bear was growling with excitement and he could feel his fangs dropping. A sharp kick to his shin made him jerk and Rosalie looked up at him. “Hudson?” He could smell her alarm. “Are you okay?”
“Yeah, why?” He said hoarsely.
“You’re, um, you’re growing a beard.”
He touched his jaw and, with intense effort, pushed his polar bear back. He stared across the table at Judd. His leg ached where the black bear had kicked him, but he was numbly grateful to his friend. He’d been about two seconds from trying to claim Rosalie right there in front of everyone. Christ.
Judd gave him a pointed look, and Hudson nodded subtly before staring at the menu. Rosalie’s arm was touching his, and he hated the timid look she gave him before moving her arm away.
She glanced at Maggie and Judd but they were studying the menu. She lowered her voice. “Sorry, Hudson.”
“It’s fine,” he repeated. After a moment, he lifted his arm and laid it across the back of the booth. “It’s my fault. I take up too much room.”
“You don’t,” she said, keeping her voice pitched low. “I just know that you like your space. I don’t want you to be uncomfortable.”
“I’m not,” he said. “Does this, uh, bother you? It gives us a bit more room if I do this.” He stared at his arm. If he moved a little closer, she’d be tucked up against his body from shoulder to hip. People would look at them and assume she belonged to him.
That thought made him happier than it should have.
“No, not at all,” she said. “Anyway, what are you having?”
“Not sure.” He studied the menu. God, Rosalie always smelled so good. Like a combination of strawberries and… cookies, maybe?
Cookies? Now you’re just embarrassing yourself.
“Have you eaten here before?” She asked.
“No, have you?” He leaned down, in pretense of studying the menu, and inhaled the sweet scent of Rosalie’s hair. Ah, that was where the strawberry smell came from. He inhaled again as Rosalie continued to study the menu.
“I haven’t. The baby spinach salad with herbed chicken looks good. Maybe I’ll try that. It has strawberries in it. I love strawberries,” she said.
She glanced at the other side of the menu as he tried not to stare at her tits. It was almost impossible. She was wearing a green long-sleeved shirt and there were enough buttons undone that he could see just a hint of cleavage. His hand curled around the back of the booth seat. Her skin looked delectably soft. Would she taste like strawberries?
She suddenly swept her hair up, fanning the back of her neck with her hand as she looked at the menu. “It’s a bit warm in here.”
He stared at the curve of her neck, at the slight sheen that covered her pale skin. He was sitting too close to her and the heat of his body was overheating her. If he was a good guy, he’d at least move to the edge of the seat to give her some space, but he couldn’t bring himself to move away from her. He so rarely allowed himself to be this close to her.
He resisted the urge to lean down and lick the long length of her throat. Instead, he said, “Sorry, that’s my fault. I throw off a lot of heat.”
She smiled at him. “It’s fine. I hate being cold, so the heat is kind of nice. If you were a heating blanket, I’d have you on top of me in a heartbeat.”
Her face suddenly turned crimson. “Oh God, that was… I mean, that came out entirely wrong. I just meant…”
He bit back his smile as she flushed even more. “I knew what you meant.”
“Right. Sorry. I didn’t mean to make it…weird.”
“You didn’t.” She hadn’t. Of course, he thought about being on top of her fifty goddamn times a day, so it was kind of nice that it was her turn to think about it.
Yeah, well, she doesn’t think about you that way so don’t feel too smug about it. She’s in love with that asshole lion shifter.
His polar bear snarled in anger and he soothed it absently. It was better for both him and Rosalie that she didn’t feel an attraction for him. If he even thought for a minute that she lusted after him, he wouldn’t be able to stop from seducing her.
Even knowing that it would put her in danger?
He grimaced inwardly. Maybe it would be fine. Maybe Corden had given up. It was over two years now. Maybe he’d –
You killed his son. He’ll never stop looking for you. Thinking you can stop looking over your shoulder, thinking you can have a life with Rosalie or anyone else, is insanity.
“Oh my God, they have seal!” Rosalie made a soft noise of excitement and his groin tightened when she innocently touched his thigh under the table. “Hudson, look! Seal!”
Her excitement made him grin. “Guess I’m having seal.”
“Can I try some of it?” Her hand was still resting on his thigh and fucking hell, his cock was so hard it was gonna bust through his jeans if she didn’t move it soon.
“Uh, sure, yeah.” Sweat was forming on his brow. He needed her to move her hand, but he couldn’t bring himself to push her hand away. If he touched her hand, he’d move it to his aching dick. “Uh, your hand, Rosalie…”
“Oh shit.” She snatched her hand away and gave him a mortified look before saying in a low voice. “I am so sorry.”
“It’s okay.”
“I got excited about the seal,” she said and then blushed again.
“I know. It’s fine.”
The server arrived with his and Judd’s beer. They ordered their meals and he drank half of his bottle in two large gulps. He needed to get control of himself before he did something really stupid. Why the fuck did he sit in the booth with her?
Rosalie was staring at her drink. Her cheeks were still pink and he could smell her embarrassment. She was feeling bad about touching him and he hated that. But what fucking choice did he have?
“So,” Maggie smiled at him. “How are you enjoying working at the bar, Hudson?”
“Really like it,” he said.
He’d made a mistake by sitting in the booth with Rosalie, but he just had to get through the next hour or so and everything would be fine.
He could do this.
* * *
“Thanks again for letting us sit with you,” Judd said to Maggie.
“Of course.” Maggie smiled at the bear shifter when he bent and pressed a kiss against her cheek. “Have a good night, Judd. See you Friday, okay?”
“You bet. Drive safe.”
Maggie hugged Rosalie. “I’ll see you Saturday. I’ll text you about the time.”
“Sounds good. Bye, Maggie.”
“Bye, Rosalie. Wait, where did you park?”
“Just over there.” Rosalie pointed to her truck parked across the lot.
Maggie frowned. “Judd, will you walk Rosalie to her truck? It’s late and -”
“I’ll do it,” Hudson said.
“It’s all right. I don’t need -”
He scowled at Rosalie, and she shrugged. “Okay, fine.”
Hudson turned to Judd. “I’ll be right back.”
“I’ll be here.” Judd gave him a shit-eating grin, and Hudson glared at him before moving to Rosalie.
Without speaking, they started across the lot. They stopped at her truck and she unlocked it before giving him a quick darting glance. “Thanks for letting me try some of your seal.”
“You’re welcome. Did you like it?”
“Um, it was kind of rubbery.”
He laughed. “Yeah, I know.”
“Still, I guess I can say I’ve tried seal now and how many humans can say that, right?”
“Right.” He shoved his hands into his pockets so he wouldn’t brush back the lock of hair that was curled against her cheek. “You okay to drive home? I can give you a ride if you want and bring you here in the morning to pick up your truck before work.”
If he gave Rosalie a ride home, she’d have to sit in the middle of the bench seat between him and Judd. She’d be pressed up tight against him and he’d h
ave a little longer to feel her soft curves.
“Oh no, I’m fine. I only had one drink. Besides, you have the day off, I’m sure you want to sleep in.” There was awkward silence and then she blushed. “Oh, wait, you probably always sleep in because you work nights. Lord, I’m dumb.”
“You’re not,” he said.
“Yeah, maybe,” she said before sighing. “Anyway, good night, Hudson.”
“Night, Rosalie.”
He waited until she started the truck and drove away, before trudging back to Judd. The bear shifter was leaning against Hudson’s truck, a toothpick stuck in the corner of his mouth. He had no idea how the toothpick was even staying there, what with the giant grin on Judd’s face.
“Shut up, Judd,” he said before opening the door of his battered truck.
“What?” Judd asked innocently. He climbed into the passenger side as Hudson turned the key. The truck started with a wheeze and a groan and he pumped the gas a little as Judd settled into the seat. “I’m not sayin’ a word about your crush on the little human.”
He didn’t reply, but Judd kept going anyway. “I don’t blame you. She’s got a fucking great ass and those tits… you think she’s a D or double D? I bet they’re -”
Hudson growled so loudly that Judd gave him a startled look before growling in return. “What the fuck, Hudson?”
“Don’t talk about her tits,” Hudson snarled. “You’re my friend, but you even look at her tits and I’ll tear your fucking eyeballs right out of your goddamn head. Got it?”
“Got it,” Judd said. “Just calm down, big guy.”
Hudson wrapped his hands around the steering wheel. He squeezed tightly as his polar bear snarled and growled. It wanted to be free. It wanted to rip out his friend’s throat and drink from the spray of his blood.
The steering wheel creaked beneath his grip, any minute now it would simply crack in two. He took a deep breath as Judd, real fear in his voice, said, “Calm down, Hudson. I won’t go near your woman. I promise. Just don’t shift, buddy.”
“She’s mine.” His voice was low, sounding gargled as he wavered on the brink of his shift. “Mine.”
“Yeah, I know. Rosalie is yours. I won’t touch her. I swear to fucking God, I won’t go near her.”
The sincerity in Judd’s voice helped calm him and he released the steering wheel. He ran his hands through his short hair, staring blindly out the windshield.
“Sorry, man,” he said.
“That’s okay. I didn’t realize how bad you had it for her, that’s all,” Judd said. “Why aren’t you claiming her?”
“She’s not into me.”
“You asked her out and she turned you down? Because she seemed to like you just fine at dinner.”
“We’re just friends. She wants a lion shifter,” Hudson said. Even just saying the words made his stomach contents curdle.
“Fucking lion shifters. She know what they’re like?” Judd asked.
“She knows.”
“Huh, she doesn’t seem like the kinky kind to me.”
“She’s not.” He put the truck in gear and drove out of the parking lot.
Chapter Six
“Ouch! Son of a motherf’n biscuit!” Rosalie let go of the heavy box. It slid off the tailgate of her truck and hit the pavement with a loud thud. She kicked the box, grunting when it sent pain darting up her foot. She shook her pinched finger, resisting the urge to scream true expletives at the sky above her before cautiously flexing the finger. It didn’t seem to be broken, but holy hell did it hurt, and it was red and already swelling a little. A cold wind was blowing, and she was shivering despite her jacket. God, she hated being cold. Another storm was rolling in and big fat drops of cold rain were already starting to fall.
“You might have made a mistake, Rosalie,” she muttered as she turned her gaze to the pile of boxes in the truck bed. She had dropped by her mother’s house after work. That was a definite mistake. Her mom was in a terrible mood and after only an hour, Rosalie lied and said she needed to leave to pick up a closet organizer.
Sure, she actually did need a closet organizer, but the one she wanted was heavy with a lot of parts that needed to be put together. She’d kept putting it off because she was completely hopeless when it came to doing shit like that, not because she was hoping that she might convince Lincoln to pop by during their mutual vacation time and help her put it together.
That was a total bust of an idea. Make that fantasy. She’d lain awake in bed more than a few nights, picturing Lincoln helping her build a closet organizer, then being overcome with lust and carrying her to her bed only a few convenient steps away.
She was so stupid sometimes. Thinking that Lincoln would help her build a closet organizer was one of her more ridiculous ideas. He wasn’t a ‘build an organizer’ kind of guy. He was more of a ‘have sex while hanging off of a closet organizer’ guy.
But, now that she’d told her mother she was buying one, she couldn’t put it off any longer. After seeing one news story years ago about a break-in in the townhouse complex next to Rosalie’s, her mother was convinced that Rosalie lived in a dangerous part of town and she rarely visited. But she also knew her mother, and it wouldn’t be unlike her to drop by unexpectedly just to see the damn closet organizer.
She sighed and stared at the box on the ground. A very nice young man at the store had helped her load the heavier boxes into her truck, and she was kicking herself for not considering how she would actually get the boxes into the house. She was strong, but most of the boxes were large and heavy as shit.
She chewed on her bottom lip as more rain fell from the sky. Maybe she could drag the heavier boxes.
Call Hudson. He literally lives five minutes away and he’s Superman strong.
She couldn’t call Hudson. Their friendship still felt in the early stages to her, and she didn’t want to mess it up by using him as some kind of pack mule. He probably got asked by people to lift heavy shit all the time. She wouldn’t do that to him as well. Besides, it was almost seven and he was working.
He isn’t. The bar is closed tonight and tomorrow night for renovations. Remember? Call him.
No. She wouldn’t. She was a strong, self-supporting woman who could figure out how to get some heavy boxes into her damn house.
How are you going to get them upstairs to the bedroom?
She’d worry about that later. Right now, she just needed to get them into the house before it really started raining.
She squatted and slid her fingers under one edge of the box.
“Lift with your legs, girl,” she muttered before standing and heaving one side of the box up. Gripping the slippery box, she dragged it forward about a foot before it slipped out of her grip and fell on the ground, narrowly missing her foot.
“Goddammit!” She crouched and lifted the box up again, staring grimly at her townhouse. The distance seemed like miles, and she shook her hair back when the wind whipped it into her face.
“You can do this, Rosalie. You’re a strong woman who can move her own fargin’ boxes,” she puffed.
She dragged the box a few more inches. “You can do this, you’ve got this, you can do anything you put your mind… are you kidding me?”
She jumped back as the box slipped out of her grip again and went crashing to the ground. Not caring that her neighbours were probably watching and enjoying the show, she kicked the box again.
“You stupid piece of -”
“Rosalie?”
She whipped around, staring in surprise at Hudson standing behind her.
“Hudson? What are you doing here?”
“Going for a walk.”
“In the rain?”
He studied the sky before shrugging. “Wasn’t raining when I started walking.”
“Oh. Right.” She cleared her throat as Hudson stared at the box at her feet.
“I bought a closet organizer,” she said.
He didn’t reply, and she pushed her hair out of her
face again. “It’s really heavy.”
He bent and picked up the box like it weighed nothing. “I’ll carry this into the house for you.”
“Thank you so much.” She hurried in front of him and unlocked the front door, scooping up Mr. Pibbles before he could dart out the front door.
He set it down in the hallway and gave her an expectant look.
“You can just put it in the living room,” she said.
“It’s for your living room?”
She blushed a little. “No, it’s, um, for my bedroom, but I don’t want to make you carry it all the way upstairs.”
“I don’t mind.”
He lifted the box and carried it up the stairs. She followed him, trying not to stare at his ass, and quickly put Mr. Pibbles in the spare bedroom before leading Hudson to hers. Silently thanking God that she kept her bedroom neat and tidy, she opened the door.
“You can just set the box on the floor at the end of the bed,” she said.
He set it down and she smiled at him. “Thank you so much, Hudson.”
“I’ll get the rest of the boxes,” he said.
“Oh no, you don’t have to…” She followed him back downstairs and outside.
He pulled another box out of the truck bed, frowning a little. “These are really heavy, Rosalie. You could have hurt yourself trying to carry them. You should have texted me.”
She grabbed one of the smaller, lighter boxes and they walked back into the townhouse. “I didn’t want to bother you.”
“It isn’t a bother.”
“I’m sure you’re asked to help with stuff like this all the time.” She followed him up the stairs again. Shit, he really did have an amazing ass.
He shrugged as he set the box next to the other. “Not that often.”
Five minutes later, all of the boxes were sitting on the floor of her bedroom. She smiled at Hudson. “Thank you so much. Really. It would have taken me forever to carry all the boxes in myself.”
“You’re welcome.”
Rosalie Undone (Book Six) Page 9
