by Cher Carson
“Don’t beat yourself up about it. We both made mistakes.”
He kissed her neck, trying to make her forget about his multitude of sins. He didn’t know if the rest of their lives would be enough time to make up for the mistakes he’d made, rejecting her, denying her, ignoring her...
“I love it when you kiss me like that,” she murmured, tipping her head back.
He devoured her neck, licking, biting, and sucking her sensitive skin until he lost himself in thrill of giving her pleasure.
“You’re gonna make me come again,” she said, piercing his back with her nails.
“I’m right there with you, baby,” he said, thrusting harder and faster until he finally filled her. “Don’t move,” he whispered.
She smiled. “I don’t think I could even if I wanted to.”
“I just want to hold you for a minute.” He kissed her shoulder. “God, I’ve missed this.”
“Me too.” She kissed his shoulder. “I’ve missed you so much. I developed a serious case of insomnia while you were gone.”
He lifted his head to look at her. “Really? Why’s that?”
“That big bed was so empty without you.” She turned her head, fixating on the crack in the drapery panels. “When you were on the road, I was okay with you not being there ‘cause I knew you were coming back. But it was different when we separated.” She gripped the blankets in her fist. “After a while, I was afraid you were never coming back.”
He stroked her hair. “Sweetheart, I never stopped trying. I called, stopped by; you wouldn’t even give me a chance to make things right.”
She looked back at him. “The truth is, I was too afraid to see you or talk to you. I thought you wanted to tell me you were filing for divorce.”
She looked so sad, so lost; he had to soothe her with a kiss before responding. “I can’t believe you thought that. I’d never willingly end our marriage. Don’t you know that by now?”
She cupped his palm in her cheek. “I wanted to believe that, but with every day that passed, it became more obvious that we were growing further apart. I thought maybe reconciliation was still a possibility when you left, but after a few months, it began to feel hopeless.”
His stomach churned when he realized how close he’d come to losing her. “You’d really given up on me, on us?”
She stroked his chest, concentrating on the action of her hands instead of looking at him. “What other choice did I have? I had to think about moving on with my life.”
He rolled off of her and pulled her into his arms, settling her head on his chest. “I hate that you found someone else,” he whispered.
“James was just a distraction. I thought having someone in my life would help me forget about you.”
He traced circles on her lower back with his fingertip. “Did it work?”
“No, you were always there, in the back of my mind, vying for my attention.”
He chuckled. “I’ve always liked being the centre of attention.”
She kissed his chest. “I love you.”
He kissed the top of her head and wrapped his arms around her, holding her tight. “I love you too, baby.”
Her cell phone rang and she sat up to look for her purse. It was on the floor, on his side of the bed. “Can you grab my phone?”
He did as she asked, glancing at the call display. “It’s your mom.”
“Oh God, I haven’t talked to her since I left the wedding last night. She probably wants to know what happened when we left.”
Chase grinned, hitting the answer button. “Let me fill her in.”
She slapped his chest. “What are you going to tell her?”
“Hey, Mom, it’s Chase. How are you?” Chase listened to his mother-in-law prattle on about his game. Both of his in-laws were huge hockey fans, which had given him an instant in with them. “She’s right here. Yeah, she came here to surprise me after the game.” He gave Taylor a quick kiss as he heard his mother-in-law ask about whether they were back together. “We are, and this time it’s for keeps.” He pulled the phone away from his ear as she reprimanded him for permitting the separation in the first place.
Taylor rolled her eyes and grabbed the phone from his hand. “Mother, please stop lecturing us. We’re adults, not children.” She sighed. “We’re perfectly capable of working out our problems without your inter... help.”
Chase flipped her over and started kissing her neck as he caressed her breasts. He heard her breath quicken as she struggled to suppress a moan.
“Mom, listen, this really isn’t a good time. Chase is tired...” She closed her eyes and bit her lip when he began stroking her clit. “Ah, yeah, I’ll call you tomorrow. Yeah, I promise.” She hit the end button and glared at him over her shoulder. “You are so bad.”
He grinned. “Yeah, but I’m gonna make you feel so good.”
Chapter Ten
Taylor woke the next morning to the sound of someone pounding on the door of their suite. She grasped Chase’s shoulder, shaking him. “Honey, wake up,” she whispered. “There’s someone at the door.”
He groaned and pulled the pillow over his head. “It’s probably just one of the guys. They’ll go away.”
“Mr. Hudson, it’s the police. Open the door,” a male voice shouted.
“Ohmigod,” Taylor said. “What do they want?”
Chase jumped up, grabbing his discarded pants from a nearby chair. “If one of the guys got into shit last night, the coach is gonna lose it. He’s already pissed off about the loss.” He put his pants on and buckled the belt as he walked toward the door.
Taylor padded into the bathroom and slipped into the white terrycloth bathrobe hanging on the back of the door. She ran her hands through her hair and splashed cold water on her face before seeing to their guests. Opening the door, she heard Chase greet the officers.
“Good morning, officers. What can I do for you?”
“Chase Hudson?”
“Yes, sir.” Chase took a step back, allowing them access to the suite.
One of the officers tipped his hat at Taylor. “Good morning, ma’am. We’re sorry to disturb you.”
Taylor wrapped her arms around her waist, feeling the sudden need to protect herself. “That’s okay. Can I ask what this is about?”
One of the uniformed men held a folded piece of paper as he turned toward Chase. “We have a warrant for your arrest, Mr. Hudson.”
“What the hell?” Chase grabbed the sheet of paper and read the contents.
Taylor watched the color drain from his face and knew whatever the charge, it had merit. “What’s the charge?” she asked quietly, praying Chase would be able to assure her their allegation was unfounded.
He looked up at her. “It’s statutory rape,” he said quietly.
Taylor sat at the end of the bed, not trusting her legs to support her. “That girl from last night...”
Chase looked at the officers. “I never touched her, I swear to you.”
The younger of the two men smirked as he held up a folded newspaper. “This tells a different story, Mr. Hudson.”
Chase took the newspaper from his hand and glanced at the page. “Shit.”
“May I see that?” Taylor asked.
Chase fisted the newspaper in his hand. “Baby, this is not what it looks like.”
The younger officer, a good-looking man with cropped dark hair and blue eyes, turned toward Taylor. “You’re his wife?”
She nodded her head, feeling numb. She and Chase had just committed to putting their marriage back together, and one stupid mistake on his part threatened to tear it all apart again. Trembling, she held her hand out. “May I see the newspaper, please?”
Chase handed the newspaper to the older officer, who set it in her outstretched hand. “I’m sorry, ma’am.”
She looked at the headline on the front of the sports page. ‘How Young is Too Young for Chase Hudson?’ There was a picture of Chase with his hand up the girl’s skirt as she leaned
over their table. There was another photo in the bottom left corner of the article. It was obviously taken in the hotel bar last night when she’d hugged Mark to show her appreciation. The caption read ‘At least Mrs. Hudson, pictured in the arms of her husband’s teammate, Mark Atwell, is smart enough to choose men her own age.’
“This can’t be happening,” she muttered, scanning the article.
Chase crossed the room, dropping to his knees in front of her. “Taylor, look at me.” He cupped her face in his hand. “Honey, I swear to you, nothing happened. You’ve got to believe me.”
She held the folded newspaper up in front of him. “You can’t say you didn’t touch her, Chase.”
He dropped his head. “It was nothing. I was drunk...”
She glanced at the officers, who were listening to their conversation intently. “Maybe you should talk to your lawyer before you say anything else.”
He gripped the sheets on either side of her. “I don’t need a lawyer. I didn’t do anything wrong. Damn it, you need to believe me. Please, Taylor.”
She looked up at the older officer. “What grounds do you have to arrest him? You’re assuming they had sex based on her word alone?”
“No, we have physical evidence to substantiate her claim.”
Chase got to his feet. He stood in front of the cop, his hands on his hips as he glared at him. “How is that even possible? We didn’t have sex.”
“Sara’s father is a sergeant with our precinct, Mr. Hudson. When his daughter came home, crying because of what happened between the two of you, he insisted on taking her to the hospital for a rape kit.”
Chase raked his hands through his hair. “Look, she may have had sex last night, but it sure as hell wasn’t with me.”
“We can have this discussion down at the station, sir. Please turn around and place your hands behind your back.”
Chase grabbed his shirt and put it on, clearly resigned to his fate. “Listen to me; I was with my buddy Steve. He can verify my whereabouts.”
The older officer opened his small bound book, consulting his notes. “We’ve already spoken to him. According to his timeline, you were alone in your room with her for at least twenty minutes. That’s more than enough time to...”
Chase looked worried, desperate. “I called hotel security because I wanted them to escort her from my room. They can verify that.”
“We spoke to hotel security. They said they found her getting out of the shower when they came in. Why would she have needed a shower if you two didn’t have sex?”
Chase brushed his hand over his head. “I don’t know, she said she’d been working all night. She wanted to freshen up before we...” He glanced at Taylor. “Not that I ever intended to sleep with her.”
The officers exchanged a glance. “According to her, you told her you’d be right back.”
“I said that, but I never intended to come back. The girl was obsessed with me. She started saying all this crazy shit about having a relationship with me. I didn’t want to deal with her, so I bailed.”
“You mean you didn’t want to deal with her after your sexual encounter?”
“Damn it, there was no sexual encounter. I never touched her.”
The older officer looked at Taylor. “Mrs. Hudson, have you ever seen this girl before?”
She bit her lip as she looked from Chase to the officer. She didn’t want to incriminate Chase, but she wouldn’t lie to protect him. If he had sex with that girl, he deserved to face his punishment. “Yes, I saw her with Chase last night.”
The younger officer pulled a small black notebook out of his pocket. He flipped it open, his pen poised over the page. “Can you tell us where they were when you saw them together?”
Chase closed his eyes.
“They were here, in his room,” she said quietly.
“Go on,” the older man said, looking at Chase.
She lowered her head. She was so confused. He was her husband, the man she loved, but last night he obviously intended to have sex with that girl when she saw them together. How could she be one hundred percent certain he hadn’t acted out in anger when she left? But if he had, would he have been able to make love to her hours later? The thought was too revolting to contemplate. “I was here waiting for my husband when they came in.”
“Can you tell us what they were doing or saying when you saw them together, Mrs. Hudson?”
Taylor replayed the conversation in her mind, her eyes drifting to Chase. She knew him well enough to read his thoughts. He was begging for her silence, counting on her to cover for him. She couldn’t do it. Not as long as there was a doubt in her mind. “They were about to have sex.”
Chase dropped his chin to his chest. “Goddammit, Taylor.”
Feeling a niggling of guilt for betraying him, she amended her statement. “He asked her to leave while I was here. It was obvious he didn’t want her to stay.”
“Isn’t it possible he was just saying that to appease you, ma’am?” the younger officer, with a name badge that read Officer Nelson, asked.
She looked up at Chase. “I guess anything’s possible.” She knew he could read the intended malice in her statement. She resented him for putting himself, them, in this position. If he hadn’t brought that girl up to his room last night, he wouldn’t be facing an arrest warrant.
Chase rubbed his hands over his face. “I don’t understand this. How can that girl be underage? Don’t you have to be at least twenty-one to serve drinks in a bar?”
“She admitted to using falsified identification to secure the job,” Officer Nelson said.
Chase rolled his eyes. “If she would lie about her age, it’s not a stretch to believe she’d lie about this.”
“She doesn’t deny that she wanted to meet you, Mr. Hudson. Evidently, that was a motivating factor when she applied for the job.”
Chase raised his hands to make his point. “I’m telling you, she’s obsessed with me. When I told her I wasn’t interested, she lost it. I’m sure she was even angrier when I had hotel security escort her from my suite. She’s doing this to get even with me for rejecting her. Are they looking for money? Is that what this is about?”
The older gentleman, Officer Rogers, glared at Chase. “I can assure you, her father is a well-respected member of this force, young man. His only motivation is protecting his young daughter from sexual predators.”
Chase laughed abruptly. “Now you’re calling me a sexual predator?”
The officer took a step closer, staring Chase down. “How would you describe a man who has sex with a girl half his age? I have a teenage daughter myself, and I can assure you, if she ever had sex with a man your age, I’d resort to whatever means necessary to protect her. That includes slapping the guy with a felony rape charge.”
Taylor covered her mouth with her hand. “This is a felony charge?”
Officer Nelson’s eyes softened when he looked at her. “Yes, ma’am. I’m sorry, but we’re going to have to take your husband down to the station now. If you’d like to meet us down there...”
She shook her head. “No, I’m going home.”
Chase looked at her. “You can’t be serious.”
“I don’t know what to believe anymore.”
“Taylor, please, don’t do this. I meant every word I said last night. You’ve gotta believe me.”
She lowered her head, fixing her eyes on the ground. “I want to believe you, but...”
Chase sighed. “This is bullshit,” he said to the officers. “You can’t keep me here. I have a playoff game tomorrow night.”
Officer Rogers took his handcuffs off his belt. “I’m sure the judge will consider that. In all likelihood, you’ll be able to post bail later today. The judge may permit you to travel for away games, but that’s up to them to decide.”
Chase tipped his head back and looked at the ceiling. “I can’t believe this is happening.”
“Sir, please turn around and place your hands behind your back.�
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Taylor watched Chase follow the officer’s instructions. She had a sick feeling in the pit of her stomach when she heard the click of the handcuffs locking around his wrists. She listened to the officer read Chase his rights.
He bowed his head, looking defeated.
“I’ll ask Steve to meet you at the station,” she said quietly.
“He’s in 308. Can you have him call my lawyer?” he asked, glancing over his shoulder at her. “Tell Masters to have a local associate meet me at the police station.”
“I will.”
“Taylor,” he said quietly. “I love you, just remember that.”
Taylor sat on the edge of the bed, trying to hold it together as the police led her husband away in handcuffs. She was trying to prepare herself for the inevitable media storm that would surely follow Chase’s arrest. When the people back home learned their hometown hero had been arrested for having sex with a minor, the backlash would be catastrophic for Chase, the team, and their marriage. No doubt he would have his share of supporters, people who believed in his innocence, but they hadn’t witnessed the exchange between Chase and that girl. She knew if she hadn’t been in his hotel room when they walked in, he would have slept with her. And she still couldn’t be sure he hadn’t once she left. Chase had a legendary temper, and it wouldn’t be unlike him to act out of anger, without considering the consequences. Is that what happened last night?
She got up and crossed the room, opening the door to make sure the coast was clear before venturing across the hall to Steve’s room. She tapped on the door and bowed her head, waiting for him to respond.
He opened the door and sighed, pulling her into his arms. “Jesus, Taylor,” he whispered. “I’m so sorry about this mess.”
She buried her face in his solid chest, grateful for the support. Steve had been her husband’s best friend as long as they had been together and he had become like a brother to her. If anyone could help her put this situation into perspective, it was Steve. “I can’t believe this is happening. I thought we were finally back on track.”
Steve gripped her forearms, setting her at arm’s length. “Listen to me; I don’t give a shit what the cops say, Chase didn’t sleep with that girl. If he had, he would’ve told me. Trust me, when he came to see me last night, his only thought was of getting rid of her.”
