by London Casey
“Prez was talking about a lockdown,” Cade said.
“Well, when the call is made, I’ll go to the clubhouse,” Hudson said.
Cade stood up. “We’ll keep in touch. We have prospects surveying the town. Call’s been made to Villie and Reno. Frelen’s been informed.”
“It’s a lot of quiet talk,” Jasper said.
I was suddenly lost. My head spinning round and round, trying to keep up with names, places, events. I never realized so much went into Hudson’s life before. It wasn’t just drinking, fighting, and getting chased by the cops. This was so much more, and I could see how much it mattered written on his face.
Yet he still wouldn’t look at me.
The biker meeting in my living room broke up. Jasper and Cade hugged Hudson. They both nodded to me. I walked them to the door, then shut it and locked it. I put my back against the locked door and touched my face.
What the hell was happening?
I stood there alone for a few minutes before Hudson appeared.
He filled the doorway, his lip almost curled into a snarl.
“What?” I asked. “What is it, Hudson? Why are you mad at me?”
“I had a chance, and it got fucked,” Hudson growled. “A chance to get that guy. But my leg hurt because of you. I had to head back because of you. I couldn’t get to my truck, my keys, nothing. Because of you. I couldn't even get on my ride because of you.”
Hudson had me cornered, spitting fire at me. But I was full of gasoline and ready to spit his fire right back at him. I’d engulf my own house if I had to.
“Because of me?” I said. “I’m not the criminal biker. I’m not the murderer. I was doing my damn job, like you asked me to do. You want a miracle, Hudson? There’s a church down the street. Go there and find a miracle. I do what I know. And I’m…I’m damn good…”
The night was catching up to me fast. I felt like I was suddenly drowning. I didn’t sign up for any of this. I didn’t want it. I didn’t need it. Yet I sort of invited it right into my house, didn’t I?
“Don’t tell me what I do,” Hudson said. “You don’t know what I do. You don’t know what I’m up against right now.”
I charged at Hudson. I made fists and pounded them to his chest. It was enough to get him to stutter-step out of the way. That let me break away from him and get away as fast as I could. I knew what a panic attack felt like. That swirling rage of fear. Throat trying to close. Someone sitting on your chest. The room spinning in your mind but standing steady in reality. It had been a long time since I’d had one.
I ran through the house to the kitchen, leaning over the sink, ready to get sick.
I wanted to get sick.
I wanted to crawl into bed and curl up.
And I wanted everything to be a dream.
Fuck Hudson.
Nobody should be so sexy and evil at the same time.
I burst into tears in the kitchen. And the worst part of the feeling?
I didn’t want to be alone.
12
HUDSON
I hung my head and touched my left leg. I was such an asshole. I knew it. I should have just left with Jasper and Cade. Gone back to the clubhouse and figure out what was happening. If the O’Nuall family was planning an attack on the club, things were going to get bloody and deadly. An SUV running me down and hitting a building was nothing compared to what they could do. And if Prez was crazy enough to keep getting other charters involved, it was going to get bad.
That still didn’t mean Cora did anything wrong.
I turned and groaned in pain. I looked through the house, a straight shot to the kitchen. I saw her standing at the sink, hovering over it.
Christ, had I made her sick?
I made my way toward the kitchen, slowly, using the walls for support.
When I was close enough to her, I could hear her almost hyperventilating. That didn’t stop me, though. She was scared. She was panicking. The night was starting to settle in on her. Realizing what had happened. Knowing she had come so close to dying. I knew the feeling. I lived that feeling almost every day. Except when you were in my boots and you wore the cut, you learned to appreciate the reaper riding side by side. Never could make you feel truly alone.
I leaned against the counter, then reached for Cora and touched her back.
“Sweetheart…”
She wiggled her curvy little body and sidestepped me. “No. No, Hudson.”
“Take a deep breath,” I said. “I’m sorry for what happened. I shouldn’t have said that. Any of it. Nothing tonight was your fault, Cora. Before that, either. Or whatever happens next. It’s not your goddamn fault. I’m angry, Cora.”
She turned her head and looked at me. “It doesn’t show.”
I grinned. “I saw the headlights and couldn’t get to my feet fast enough. That’s not me. I’m the one who saves people. I’m the one who pushed Cash out of the way of the SUV the first time. I’m the one who should have grabbed you and turned, protecting you. And, fuck, you shouldn’t have seen that to begin with.”
“But I did,” Cora said. “I just had bikers in my house, Hudson.”
“You still have one,” I said. I touched her back again, and she didn’t shake me away.
“That scares me.”
“I didn’t murder that guy Cade was talking about.”
“But you have…”
“Is that an answer you really want to know?”
“No,” she whispered. “But you could tell me what’s actually going on.”
I nodded. “Yeah. Right.”
“And for a little good faith,” Cora said.
She put her hands to the counter and jumped. It was a quick move, and she was on her knees on the counter. She reached up to a high cabinet. Her shirt pulled up, revealing smooth, creamy skin. I saw something, though. At her right hip, there was a tattoo that stuck out. Something little, but something that made me smile. She was beautiful. Her hips had that natural and seductive hourglass shape. Her ass was firm and round, an ass that was taken care of through exercise. The more she reached, the more her shirt pulled up. I could see her belly button, and at that exact second, my tongue tingled. I wanted to draw circles around her navel. Flick my tongue at her, see if she was ticklish, working my way down…
“Here,” she said.
A second later, a bottle of whiskey was flying at my head. I put my hand up and grabbed it before it smacked me.
“Seriously?”
“I got it for a Christmas present a couple years ago. Some stupid grab-bag thing. I don’t drink that stuff. Figure you could use it. Since you won’t take the pain pills.”
I wasn’t going to argue that. I twisted off the cap and took a drink.
Warm, fiery—just like Cora.
I swallowed the whiskey down, and it bubbled in my stomach. I soothed that volcano feeling by chugging more.
I put the bottle down and nestled into the L-shape of the counter.
“Tell me about your tattoo,” I said with a grin.
“Stop checking me out,” Cora said.
“Ah, you can’t give me whiskey and tell me not to get a little wild,” I said with a wink.
That at least got her to smile for a second.
I took another drink and rubbed my chin, pushing my fingers through the scruff on my face. “We have connections all over the world, sweetheart. That’s all I can say when it comes to the club. But as to what happened? There’s people out there, Cora, people that want to hurt the club. Hurt me. And shit just happens. Two guys popped into a store and tried to take me out. I shot one in the shoulder two times. They chased me. My brothers came to help, and I took the hit I did to save Cash. The driver is the one who killed the other guy. Not me, sweetheart. He killed his own guy.”
Cora covered her mouth.
“Yeah,” I said. “We aren’t sure what his motive is yet, though. That’s what Jasper and Cade were here to talk about. Giving me the information. Prez wants to go on lockdown, m
eaning everyone goes to the clubhouse to wait it out.”
“Will you get in trouble if you don’t go?”
“The order hasn’t come yet,” I said. “If it did, I’d go. Shit, either way… you’re safe here, Cora. He wasn’t after you. They’ll check the police reports, too. That’s why it was so important to say what you said.”
“You protected me,” she said.
“I wouldn’t go that far,” I said. “I just…you don’t need to get dragged into that mess. My mess.”
“Yeah, I know that feeling, Hudson.”
“Then tell me about it. Talk to me, Cora.”
“No. It’s not important at all.”
“To me it is. Call it a distraction.”
I pushed from the counter and walked my way toward her. I could feel something pouring from her body. Whether it was the night or something else, I could see she wasn’t comfortable.
“You didn’t ask me to come here because of what happened at your work,” I said. “So why did you?”
“Maybe I just didn’t want to come home alone for once.”
“You can hit any bar in town, sweetheart, and pick up a guy,” I said. “Anyone that would deny you a night is either blind or just a fucking fool.”
She smiled. “Thanks, Hudson.”
“Look, I’m really sorry I snapped before. You don’t deserve the blame. You did amazing tonight. The club really appreciates it.”
“The club?” she asked. “Are you the spokesperson?”
I reached out and gently stroked her cheek. “Cora, if they didn’t appreciate it, you wouldn’t have heard what you did. Take that as a sign of respect.”
I pulled my hand away but Cora grabbed it. There was a moment of hesitation between us. We looked at each other and then it was like a bomb went off. I moved right toward her, pinning her against the fridge. Little magnets and a paper calendar fell to the floor. I put my mouth to hers, tasting her sweet, innocent lips, letting her taste the whiskey on mine. But I wasn’t going to just give her a little peck on the lips.
I wanted to really taste her.
As I kissed her, feeling her soft tongue touch against mine, she put my hand to her breast. I squeezed, taking full control. I thrust my hips against her body, making sure she could feel how hard she was making me. I reached down with my other hand and grabbed her leg to wrap it around me.
I broke the kiss and looked at her again. She reached up and touched my face. Her lips quivered, wanting more.
“Fuck, sweetheart,” I whispered. “I better get back to the clubhouse before anything else gets out of hand.”
“No,” she whispered. “Stay the night. I… want you, Hudson. I want you to protect me.”
My cock ached, pulsing in my jeans. If I pulled her more into my world…
“Need me to check for monsters under your bed?” I asked.
“Yes. And you better stay right there, just in case any monsters come to get me.”
“There’s only one problem, sweetheart.”
“What?” Cora asked.
Things were heated between us. I wanted to pull away and get the hell out of there. But there was so much to know about her. She caught my attention and I wanted to catch all of her.
I pressed my lips to hers and then broke away.
“I can’t protect you from monsters…”
“Why?”
I grinned. “Because I am one.”
I put her on the bed and hovered over her. Her room smelled sweet, clean, a subtle reminder of her. My fists were on the bed, elbows locked. I could see the lust and hesitation burning in her eyes. She wanted it but she didn’t know why.
“I don’t fall,” I said. “I give. So you don’t need to worry about anything with me, Cora. Understand?”
She nodded.
Those few gulps of whiskey had settled themselves nicely into my brain.
“You have so much hidden in you, Cora,” I said. “I sense it. I’m fucking drawn to it. It’s driving me nuts.”
“Do you want me to confess my darkest secrets to you right now?” she asked.
“No. I want to taste every inch of your beautiful body. From your lips… to your lips…”
Cora’s face turned an apple red.
I stood from the bed and pulled her to a seated position. I took her shirt off as she reached for my jeans. She managed to get my belt buckle ripped open before I unsnapped her bra.
“Back on your elbows, sweetheart,” I ordered.
She fell back and her bra fell forward to the edge of the bed. My eyes locked onto her bare breasts. They were firm, supple, her rose pink nipples looking delicate and precious. They were a perfect size for her body, smaller than the size of a palm. I licked my lips like a hungry animal eyeing a new meal.
I lunged at her.
Cora thrust her hands forward and slid my cut down off my body and I let it fall to the floor. She then brought her hands up to my head, digging her nails into my hair as I began to taste her warm chest. I kissed just below her collarbone, inching down, letting the scruff of my beard tickle her left breast. When my hair touched her nipple she jumped and let out a moan.
I could tell she hadn’t been touched in a while.
I told myself to take it easy on her but that was impossible. I couldn’t contain myself as I tasted the sweetness of her skin. My tongue flicked against her nipple. She was erect, thrusting her chest forward at me, pulling my head close to her. My other hand slid up her body, feeling the curve of her hip. I came around and up to her other breast, cupping her with ease. For some reason I felt even stronger as my hand covered her breast. I loved the way her breathing became wild. I closed my teeth against her nipple and pulled.
She let out a little cry as my teeth slipped off her nipple.
I then wasted no time in kissing down her body.
Kiss after kiss, I only stopped when I came to the top of her pants. Those tight black pants that had been driving me wild from the time we met up at the physical therapy center.
I brought my hands down and grabbed the sides of them. She lifted her ass off the bed as I tugged, revealing more of her body. She was left wearing nothing but panties. Dark red panties with a lacy trim. I gritted my teeth and looked up at her. She bit her lip and grabbed at the sheets, ready for whatever I had in store for her.
My lips grazed the inside of her thigh and I rubbed my scruff against her sensitive skin, making her shiver and sigh. I eased my way along her leg, loving the way she shivered, groaned, and the way her hips gently bucked, her ass lifting off the bed. She was in dire need and I was there to satisfy. I couldn’t make the danger of the night go away but I could easily distract her from it all. The same tongue that hurt her feelings was the same tongue that was going to make her come.
I paused directly between her legs, savoring that potent sweetness that poured from her body. That scent destroyed through my wall and senses, shaking me to my feral depths, my craving for her increasing tenfold with just one breath. She was the air I needed when drowning. I gently touched her, peeling her dark red panties to the side, revealing her flower as it glistened with nectar. My fingertips grazed her tender folds and her hips bucked again as she cried out. She was sensitive to even the softest touch.
My cock throbbed, realizing what I was getting myself into with Cora.
I leaned forward, leading with the tip of my tongue. I could not let another second collect in the bucket of time without tasting her. So I did. I ran my tongue from the top of her sweet flower down and right back up. I opened her, soft petals curling open, her wetness the offering to my giving of pleasure. I eased closer, thrusting my tongue, feeling her tightness as it welcomed me inside the most secretive places of her body. My right hand came up and gripped the inside of her thigh, holding her leg open.
“Oh, fuck,” Cora managed to whisper.
I closed my lips to her sweet and soft lips. I pulled back with a wet kiss, loud enough to echo in the room. I looked up at up Cora, our eyes locking tig
ht for a second.
From there, my focus was all on her.
I grabbed the waistband of her panties and figured whatever they worth, they were worth replacing. So I ripped them like a piece of paper, giving me all the access I needed to her pussy.
My hands slipped around to her ass I had her right where I wanted her.
I came forward, rubbing my nose against the soft nub of her clit. Her pearl shined with sweetness and my tongue demanded to have a taste. That proved to be a hot spot for Cora, which was no big surprise. The moment my tongue touched her clit, her body jumped. Her legs kicked back, away from me, but that wasn’t going to stand.
Fuck no, sweetheart. You wanted this. Now you fucking get it.
I pulled her right back, my hands now around her legs, holding her waist, keeping her steady. My tongue lapped her wetness for a few seconds, being soft, sweet, maybe even flirting with the notion of romantic. But that word wasn’t top in my dictionary of life.
Cora was with an outlaw and that’s how she was going to be taken care of.
The tip of my tongue attacked her clit in every direction. There was no mercy, no hesitation, my only goal being to bring her to climax.
I growled as her sweetness filled my mouth, her taste lingering around me. I opened my right hand, rubbing around her leg and up her body, grabbing her left breast tightly. She let out a gasping cry and slammed her hand against mine. I thought she was going to try and rip my hand away but instead she squeezed. She wanted more. She liked it hard and rough.
My tongue moved down and back up, curling under her clit. I brought my lips together and suckled against her bud. I pulled, the scruff on my face touching such sensitive skin. It couldn’t have felt all that great but it was enough to keep her groaning and thrusting up at me.
“Hudson,” she purred. “Yes. There. Please. Right there.”
My left hand still held tight at her inner thigh but I slowly brought it forward and plunged my finger into her pussy. I made wide circles, going with the movement of her thrusts as my mouth focused on her clit.
