Remind Me

by Ann Marie Walker

  “Not much I can do while he’s in detox.”

  Hudson grew quiet again. She could only imagine how helpless he felt, because that was how she felt when she looked at him. Helpless to ease his worry and pain.

  Allie shifted closer. Hudson wrapped his arm around her, welcoming her comfort by tucking her into his side and pressing his lips to the top of her head. She reciprocated, planting a soft kiss on his bare chest, and felt him relax beneath her touch. This was the comfort she could offer. If only for the night, he could lose himself in her.

  Her hand slid across his stomach, gliding over the ripples of his abs as she left a trail of openmouthed kisses along the slope of his pecs. His chest expanded, and when her tongue flicked over his nipple, an appreciative groan vibrated in the back of his throat. Her mouth drifted further, softly sucking and nipping the skin along his ribs. Hudson ran his hand up and down her back as her questing fingers drew rhythmic patterns. She glanced up at him. His eyes blistered with heat as he watched her explore his upper body with her fingers and tongue.

  Wanting more, she reached for the drawstring of his pants. When she tugged them open, his erection sprang free, hard and glistening at the tip. Featherlight touches teased him as her fingers traced the honed contour of his hips. He twitched when the back of her hand brushed the hard ridge of his arousal, and a satisfied smile tugged at her lips. Oh yes, she could do this. She could turn the tables on the game he played so well.

  Allie pushed his pajamas lower. She dragged her fingernails down one thigh then back up the other. Then her hand swept across his stomach before repeating the same path, making sure her wrist brushed his straining erection before running her nails down his inner thigh. His hips flexed.

  “Touch me,” he whispered.

  She pressed a wet kiss to his chest and finally took him in her hand. Hudson’s breath hitched as she caressed him, so firm and yet velvety soft. His hips flexed again. Instinctively her grasp tightened, squeezing and stroking his thickening length. His eyes drifted shut, and when her tongue swirled over his navel, a low moan escaped his lips. It was the most erotic sound she’d ever heard. Her body ignited with a need for more. Touching every inch of him wasn’t enough. She wanted to taste him. All of him. She leaned forward and took the tip of him past her lips.

  His eyes flew open. “Allie . . .”

  He gazed down at her, his eyes burning with desire as she flicked her tongue across the head of his erection. His hand gently cradled her head as her tongue swirled round and round. Her lips slid over him and she sucked tentatively, pulling him deeper as she found a rhythm with her mouth. His lids lowered and his breath hissed between his teeth.

  “Ah, fuck, just like that.”

  Moving between his legs, she folded his erection against his stomach, running the flat of her tongue from root to tip before taking him fully. His hips flexed, thrusting him deeper into her mouth. She pushed him to the back of her throat then sucked hard as she drew him out. Her tongue swirled over the top before sliding him deep once again.

  His fingers fisted in her hair. “God, Allie . . . that feels good.”

  A warm ache spread between her thighs. Hearing her name on his lips had her practically panting with need. She had no idea giving him pleasure could be such a turn-on. But as she looked up at him, she couldn’t imagine anything more arousing than the feel of him in her mouth.

  Hudson’s eyes blazed with desire as he watched her take him again and again. “Ah, Allie . . .” He ground the words out through clenched teeth. “You’re going to make me come.” He sucked in a sharp breath and exhaled a warning. “Stop now if you don’t want me to.”

  Allie grabbed his hips, feeling his muscles tense beneath her hands. He twitched in her mouth and she knew he was close. She sucked harder, relishing in her ability to make him lose control. The fingers in her hair pulled tighter and the rhythm of his hips intensified.

  “I’m gonna come.” He pushed the words out between harsh breaths. He thrust deeply and then stilled, shouting out as his release filled her mouth. “Fuck, Allie.”

  She glanced up as the salty taste of his pleasure slipped down her throat. God, she loved watching him come. And knowing it was her touch, her mouth, that caused him to come undone made it that much sweeter. She sat back on her heels, a victorious smile spreading across her face as the tension drained from his body.

  Hudson’s chest heaved as he struggled to catch his breath. “That was quite unexpected,” he said, pushing up on an elbow and bending one knee. “Exceptional, but unexpected.” He pushed up further, holding Allie’s gaze until they were sitting eye to eye. One hand supported his weight while the other began caressing her thigh. “Did it turn you on to do that?”

  The simple act of his hand on her skin made her belly tighten. “What do you think?” she asked. His palm slid between her knees and she opened herself to him, spreading her legs as his hand moved higher. Her breath caught as his fingers brushed over the silk of her panties.

  “Oh, I think it did. I think having my cock in your mouth made you ache to feel it between your thighs.” His crude words sent a rush of heat through her core and her entire body pulsed with need. His fingers kept up their relentless torture, stroking the damp fabric. Her eyes drifted shut as she concentrated solely on the sensation of his fingers rubbing back and forth. Back and forth. Before long her hips began to rock against his hand. “Am I right, Alessandra, are you aching to have me inside you?”

  She gasped as his finger slipped under the edge of her panties. “Yes.”

  He surged forward, his tongue plunging into her mouth at the same time his finger thrust inside her. Desire coursed through her veins. She reached for him, grabbing fistfuls of his hair and holding him to her. His tongue stroked over hers, mirroring the rhythm of his finger as he massaged a spot deep inside of her.

  Her back arched as his hand cupped her breast, his thumb brushing her hardened nipple as it strained against the fabric of her T-shirt. He groaned into her mouth, then broke away, whipping her shirt over her head and lowering her onto the bed.

  Hudson hovered over her. He dipped his head and took her lower lip between his teeth, tugging gently before kissing her long and hard. She welcomed his kiss, wrapping her arms around his neck and urging him closer. His body glided over hers until every inch of her skin was covered by him. And yet it wasn’t enough. She needed more. Desperate for friction, she lifted her hips only to have him shift to his side.

  She whimpered at the loss of contact, then shivered as his hand slid down her stomach and under the delicate fabric of her panties. The ache between her legs spread throughout her body as his fingers pressed and released. He moved lower, pausing at her entrance. Circling, caressing . . . driving her wild.

  She cried out as first one and then two fingers pushed inside her. His voice rasped in her ear, telling her how good it felt to have her lips around him and how badly he wanted to feel her body’s wet heat around him now. He accentuated his words by pressing his growing erection against her hip while his fingers continued their steady rhythm. Her muscles tightened around him, his fingers and words pushing her closer to the release she craved.

  His tongue traced the edge of her ear and then his lips were on her neck, slowly kissing his way down her body. He traced leisurely circles around her taut nipple before scraping it with his teeth. She writhed beneath him, near mindless with need.

  “Please, Hudson . . .”

  She felt him smile against her stomach. “Oh no, baby, quid pro quo.”

  “What?” Panting, she lifted her head. Hudson looked up at her from beneath dark lashes. His eyes were full of salacious intent as he dragged his tongue from one hip bone to the other.

  “You were relentless in your pursuit, Alessandra.” His hands gripped the sides of her panties, easing them down as he worked his way lower. “Now it’s my turn.”

  Chapter Twenty-nine

  Allie yanked open the bathroom drawer and began gathering items by the handful
. Toothpaste, makeup, lotion. She didn’t stop to sort through them, just tossed them into a cosmetic bag. The last thing she needed was for her mother to stop by unannounced and find her packing for a weekend getaway. And now that Victoria’s antenna was up, anything was possible. Of course she’d offer some perfectly logical excuse—I was in the neighborhood and just had to show you these swatches—but it would be nothing more than a pretense. The sooner she got Hudson out of her apartment, the better.

  She’d tried to get him to wait in the car, offering a seemingly innocent, “No need to come up. I’ll just be a few minutes.”

  Yeah, that went well.

  “The hell I’m waiting in the car,” he’d said.

  Judging by his success in the corporate world, there wasn’t much that intimidated Hudson Chase. Not a ruthless competitor in the boardroom and certainly not an irate mother in a living room. What Hudson failed to understand was that if Victoria Ingram Sinclair felt her family’s image was at stake, there was no telling how far she’d go to protect it. On the surface her mother might have appeared the flighty socialite, but in reality, she was a shrewd and powerful player among Chicago’s elite. Allie’s reaction to tea with her mother had run far deeper than a simple mother/daughter test of wills. She also worried what would happen to Hudson if he became the target of her mother’s rage.

  Allie shoved her hair dryer and hiking boots into the duffle bag and quickly zipped it closed. She hoisted the bag off the bed and carried it into the living room just in time to see Hudson putting his phone back in the breast pocket of his coat. Without even asking she knew he’d been calling his brother again.

  They’d woken that morning to find Nick had left sometime before dawn, and Hudson had been trying, unsuccessfully, to reach him ever since. He’d even gone by Nick’s apartment while Allie was at work, but said from the looks of things, Nick hadn’t been there in days.

  “Any luck?” she asked, dropping the overstuffed duffle bag on the couch.

  Hudson ran a hand back through his hair before pulling his tie loose. “Voice mail again.”

  “Are you sure you don’t want to cancel?” she asked him for at least the tenth time.

  “I’m sure. Nick’s probably coming down. He’ll be sleeping his high off for a couple days.”

  She considered his response for a moment. Part of her still thought they should postpone the trip so he could look for Nick, but Hudson was probably right in assuming he’d crashed somewhere. The poor kid looked exhausted. And besides, if Nick was ready to get help, he wouldn’t have snuck off in the middle of the night.

  Hudson picked up Allie’s suitcase. “Ready?”

  “Almost; let me just finish packing.”

  His brow shot up. “You have more?” The amusement in his voice was obvious, and for the first time all day he cracked a smile. He’d been so quiet and withdrawn since discovering Nick had bailed on their deal. But now, as he looked at her in feigned dismay, his frown lines relaxed into a genuine smile that touched his blue eyes.

  “Just two.” She turned back toward her bedroom and gazed at him over her shoulder, trying her best to look innocent as she held up two fingers. “They’re small.”

  As she scurried back down the hall, she heard her duffle bag drop to the living room floor with a thud. A moment later Hudson was standing in the doorway of her room.

  “Christ, Allie, we’re only going away for the weekend.”

  Her hands settled on her hips as she surveyed the clothes spread out all over her bed. “I don’t know how many outfits I’ll need.”

  Catching her by the waist, Hudson wrapped his arms around her and hauled her back against him. “I don’t plan on letting you stay dressed long enough to consider other outfits.” He nuzzled her hair. “I want this body ready for me at any time.”

  His words were intoxicating, and everything below her waist suddenly clenched with need. If he kept up what he was doing—tracing her ear with his tongue, tugging the lobe between his teeth, oh yes, just like that—they were never going to leave her bedroom, much less Chicago.

  “Hudson, I’m serious. I don’t know where we’re going or what we’ll be doing.” She wriggled out of his arms and into her walk-in closet. When she emerged a moment later with an armload of sweaters and jeans, she found Hudson lounging across her bed. He was leaning back on one elbow, wearing that sexy smirk of his, and looking all kinds of tempting. The sight of him stopped her in her tracks. She couldn’t help but picture the last time he’d lounged on that bed . . . naked . . . with the moon casting shadows across the hard contours of his chest as he moved over her . . . under her . . . inside her. . . .

  “I think you know what we’ll be doing, Alessandra,” he said in a low drawl, interrupting her delicious memories as if reading her mind. “As for where? My bed, the hot tub—”

  “Oh, hot tub! I need my swimsuit.” Allie dumped the pile of clothes on the bed and headed for the dresser. She pulled a bikini out of the bottom drawer and shoved it in her bag, only to have Hudson promptly pull it out and toss it to the side.

  “You won’t be needing that. In fact, you won’t be needing half of this,” he said, pulling articles of clothing from her bag one at a time until something of interest caught his eye. “Is this what you envision wearing in the woods?” He sat up, a black lace garter stretched between his thumbs, and flashed a wicked grin. “It would look remarkable on the back of my bike.”

  Allie rolled her eyes as she snatched the garter out of Hudson’s hands. “That’s not supposed to be in there.”

  “Suit yourself. But this,” he said, smirking as he held up her pink lace baby-doll nightgown, “is definitely making the trip. A survival necessity.”

  “Give me that.” She tried to swipe the skimpy nightgown from him but he pulled it out of reach.

  “Oh no, this is coming with me. For safe keeping.” Hudson pulled Allie between his legs. His broad palms swept over her rib cage before cupping her breasts. “Unless you’d like to put it on now?”

  His hopeful grin made her insides melt like warm honey. She grinned back at him as she pulled away. “If we start this now, we’ll never leave.”

  “True. And the sooner we get there, the sooner I’ll have you naked.” Hudson stood and swatted her playfully on the ass. “Pack it up.”

  ***

  Allie leaned her head back against the black leather seats of Hudson’s Range Rover Autobiography. They’d been driving for about an hour, and the farther they got from the city limits, the more she felt herself relax.

  It had been so long since she’d been out of the world of concrete and glass that Allie had forgotten how beautiful the countryside was this time of year. A few of the trees were still green, but most had begun to turn despite the warm temperatures. Vibrant shades of gold, orange, and red dotted the landscape like Mother Nature’s own version of Monet.

  As they grew closer to the town of Lake Geneva, the rolling hills gave way to luxury resorts, lush golf courses, and riding stables surrounded by white wooden fences. The town itself was quaint with brightly colored shops and restaurants lining the water’s edge. It was the kind of place where city goers shelled out big bucks to “get away from it all,” and there were dozens of retailers more than willing to help them spend their money. Art galleries, antique shops, and jewelry stores filled both sides of the street, along with a few high-end sporting goods stores catering to outdoor thrill seekers. A sign advertising zip-lining hung in one of the windows. Allie’s stomach plummeted at the thought. She glanced at Hudson, hoping that dangling from a harness in the woods wasn’t his idea of enjoying the great outdoors.

  “Anything special you’d like to do while we’re up here?” she asked.

  Hudson raised a curious brow and cut his eyes at her. “Are you giving me carte blanche, Miss Sinclair?”

  She felt her face flame. “I meant something more along the lines of golfing or riding horses. That sort of thing.”

  Hudson chuckled. “I prefer my Harley
to a horse.” The Range Rover rolled to a stop at a red light and Hudson’s dark gaze met hers. “As for the rest of the time we’re up here, I believe I made my intentions clear back at your brownstone.”

  His eyes never left hers as he reached for her hand and pressed a soft kiss to her knuckles. The feel of his lips against her skin had her shifting in her seat. She wanted to feel that mouth on every inch of her skin; kissing her, licking her, making her come. Hudson’s eyes widened infinitesimally as she squirmed under the heat of his stare. He knew exactly what he was doing to her. But instead of being annoyed by his look of smug satisfaction, she found herself fighting the urge to slide his hand up the inside of her thighs so he could feel for himself just how right he was.

  The light changed and Hudson gave her hand a gentle squeeze before releasing it to place both of his on the wheel. His foot pushed down hard on the accelerator and the car surged forward, pressing her into the supple leather. She turned toward the window to hide her grin. If the speed of the car was any indication, she wasn’t the only one fighting urges.

  Allie gazed across the water as the SUV sped along the shoreline. The sun was just beginning its descent and the late afternoon rays made the surface of the lake sparkle like silver glitter. In the distance, the paddle wheel of a double-decker steamboat churned through the water. The old-fashioned riverboat looked like it would be more at home on the mighty Mississippi than a nine-mile lake, but it was charming nonetheless.

  “We’re here,” Hudson said. The Autobiography took a sharp left through a set of stone walls flanking either side of a winding drive that led to a clearing at the top of a hill. Allie peered out the window. A wood and stone house towered above her with a high-peaked roof and windows that soared over two stories. Hudson parked the car in front of the house alongside a wide staircase. At the top was a wood plank door with a glass inset. Allie leaned forward, her eyes following the lines of a wide deck that wrapped around the entire house. When she looked back, she found Hudson watching her expectantly.