Yes, home. That was what Hudson was to her, and that was where she needed to be. She nodded and he exhaled a sigh of relief as he pulled her into his arms.
Chapter Eighteen
Considering the hardball convincing he’d attempted to get Allie to hang at his place that night, Hudson couldn’t believe he was letting her out of his sight. There was an unknown variable out there targeting the Sinclair family and probably gunning for Allie next. He needed some modicum of control over this sitch, along with a shit-ton of security cocooning her from harm. A man in his position had the corporate version of Blackwater at his disposal: ex MI6, FBI, Special Forces, even Israeli Intelligence. He’d utilize the fuck out of them if it meant keeping Allie safe. But at the moment all he had to offer her was Max, and while he trusted the man with his own life on a daily basis, having Allie beyond the penthouse walls put him on edge.
The elevator let out a discreet bing. Nick stepped off, not bothering to look up from texting on his cell phone as he strolled into the foyer. “Yo, bro, gotta do something about that new door dude. The dipshit wanted to play a game of twenty questions and who-the-fuck-its.” Nick’s thumbs rapid-fired over the phone screen. “Asshole,” he muttered under his breath.
“He’s doing his job, Nick.” Hudson slid Allie’s coat over her shoulders at the same time she tugged her hair free from the collar. “And quit putting so much effort into looking like shit,” he added after getting a better look at his kid brother. Forget about the long overdue haircut, the clothes he favored needed to bypass a thrift shop and head straight to an incinerator.
“Like your sorry ass looks any . . .” Nick looked up and halted midsentence as Allie breezed past him toward the elevator.
“Hi Nick, bye Nick.” She glanced over her shoulder at Hudson. “Don’t decorate that tree without me.”
“I wouldn’t dream of it,” Hudson said with a dry exhale. “Let me walk you out.” He strode past a stymied Nick. “Not a word from you, feel me?”
“Ah, shit, bro, you make it too easy.” Nick shoved his phone into the pocket of way overwashed jeans with holes splitting the knees.
Hudson stopped in front of Allie as she wrapped the cashmere scarf around her neck. He could feel his brother’s eyes on them. “Don’t you have a fridge to raid or something?” he asked him.
The smart-ass grin on Nick’s face as he strolled out of the room would have pissed Hudson off if he weren’t so fucking glad to see him smile. udson poff of her werenmt so fucking lgald to see him smil
Still, he waited until Nick was in the kitchen making himself at home before launching a last-ditch effort.
“I can’t strengthen my case on why you should stay here?” He popped a button on her coat, and just as she finished doing it up, he’d freed another.
Allie laughed. “Quit.” She batted his hand away and made quick work refastening the button. “I told you, I’m not intruding on ‘boy’s night.’”
“You won’t be. This place has three floors, for Christ’s sake. Watch a movie in the theater or . . .” Hudson’s lips curved into a sinful grin. “Lounge in my bed naked, waiting for me. Whatever you want. Though I prefer the latter.”
“I’ll be fine. Besides, it will give you a chance to miss me.”
“I’ve spent a lifetime missing you.” He dropped a kiss on her lips.
She smiled. “Then you’ll survive one more night.”
“Max is driving you and will wait at your brownstone until morning.”
“Hudson, that’s not necessary.”
“It’s non-negotiable, Alessandra. If you’re leaving my place, he’s going with you. Here.” Hudson handed her a key card with carte blanche access.
Allie raised a brow.
“This way you won’t have to call up tomorrow. Of course, if you wanted to come by later, I certainly wouldn’t object.”
“Ah, settin’ up a booty call,” Nick said as he cut through the foyer. He had a bag of Doritos in one hand and a box of Swedish fish in the other.
“Shut up, Nick.” Hudson glared in his direction, but Nick was already bounding up the stairs two at a time.
“Oh, I can tell tonight is going to be one for the books,” Allie said. As she backed into the elevator a slow smile curved her lips. “But who knows, maybe I’ll surprise you with a wake-up call.”
Hudson groaned and pushed a hand through his hair. The look she gave him made his cock twitch, but when the doors hushed closed the ache he felt whenever she left set up shop in his chest. His brother better fucking appreciate this, he thought as he turned on his heel and stalked up the stairs.
“Well, well, well, how the mighty have fallen,” Nick said the moment Hudson walked into the game room. He’d already stripped his jacket off and flung it on the leather chesterfield. “That’s a new development. Finally relocated your balls and called her, huh?”
Hudson cut his brother a sharp look. “Don’t start, Nick.” God help him, tonight was going to be an eternity without her, not to mention painful if his brother kept up this shit.
“Well, I’ll be damned.” Nick shook his head, a shit-eating grin on his face and a not-letting-this-go gleam in his eye. “You’re even more pussywhipped than you were back in the day.”
“Zip it, Nick.”
“Come on, bro, lighten up.” He laughed. “You’re like the pussy whisperer. You usually got them lined up.”
Hudson came to a halt. “Don’t push me on this. She’s just . . .” He thought about Allie and all her quirks. That it took her ten minutes to order a damn coffee, the way she had fifty questions lined up after he said a single sentence, and how the only way to shut her up was to kiss her senseless.
“She’s just what, got you by the balls?”
“The heart, man. The fucking heart.” He exhaled and cocked a slight grin. “I love her.”
“Hey, sorry for poppin’ shit. But that’s what little brothers do, ya know?”
“Yeah, I know. Now can I school your punk ass in a game of pool?”
“As if.” Nick flopped over the back of the couch and stretched out on the tufted leather. “I think I missed this room most of all.”
Hudson chuckled. “This is what you missed the most?” The game room was a dark, luxurious space that kept in time with the era of the building, but with a modern spin. The place had it all: poker and pool tables, flat screens and surround sound, couches to comfortably seat ten, a fireplace to take the chill off or to set the mood, a bar with every conceivable liquor, beer, or beverage of choice, and of course, the infamous dart board. Nick always said the only thing missing was a peanut warmer and permission to toss his shells on the floor. But after thirty days locked up with nothing but basic cable and institutional food, Hudson wouldn’t have thought the game room topped Nick’s list.
“Shit, yeah. Your house is Disneyland for adults. And not Anaheim Disney, but frickin’ Orlando Disney.”
Hudson smirked. He and Allie had certainly turned the room into their own Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride, rattling a few chains, so to speak.
“Then there’s your ‘Black Book,’ which is Magic Mountain. You know they have an app for that? A stripper pole would make it heaven, icing on the cake.”
“Not a chance in hell.” Hudson hit the switch to the Art Deco Tiffany chandelier spotlighting the table’s red baize.
Nick sat up and dragged a hand through his hair. Damn, the two of them were more alike than he’d ever admit. “Ah, come on. Don’t go soft on me. You’re like, shit, I don’t know, the god of Penthouse.”
“Playboy.” Hudson corrected. “The place was the headquarters of Playboy. And I excel at never being soft.”
“TMI.” Nick collected the balls from the pockets and racked them up. He gave them a quick one-two rollup and back and they clacked together. “My bad.” He hung the triangle back on its designated hook. “Dudes in rehab were like, when can I come over and kiss the wood Hefner walked on? You could charge admission.”
Hudson grabbed a coup
le of cues off the wall. “Admission and stripper poles, huh? Any other plans you have for my apartment?”
“Nah, that about covers it. And apartments are rinky-dink in the size department. This is a penthouse. An apartment is what I live in.”
“Wouldn’t know it with how much time you’re parking your ass over here.” Hudson tossed a cue to Nick, who caught the stick in midair.
“I like being here.”
“Go ahead and break.” Hudson walked over to the fridge behind the bar and gripped the cool steel handle. “Something to drink?” Fuck, the question was as ritualistic as brushing your teeth in the morning. He looked through the glass into the fully stocked stainless box. He was an asshole, he thought, for not cleaning the thing out. “Shit.” His hand dropped, and he did a one-eighty to face his brother. “I’m sorry, Nick.”
“Look, I’m cool.” Nick chalked up his cue. “Old habits die hard, huh?”
Hudson let out a short chuckle. “Case in point.”
“Have a beer, whatever you want. I’m good.”
“I don’t want to make it harder on you than it already is.”
“Part of the deal is learning how to cope with people drinking around me. So for fuck’s sake, bro, have what you want.” Nick took his shot and the balls cracked together and scattered. “Besides, I’ll still kick your ass,” he said as three balls sank with that one stroke. “Solids.”
“Jesus, Nick.” Hudson yanked open the fridge and grabbed two sparkling waters. Usually pool and the cold and frothy were synonymous, but tonight he was more interested in being with his brother than having a beer. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d simply played a game of pool or just hung out with Nick, listening to him spout off wisecracks. Although, he wasn’t completely at ease. Allie was outside of these walls, and his past kept showing up in his head like a goddamn slideshow. But he was no more ready to Dr. Phil those memories than he was to have a root canal. And he sure as hell wasn’t ready to lose this game.
Nick missed his next shot. “Ah, fuck. You’re up.”
“Luck only gets you so far,” Hudson said, walking around to the opposite side of the table before leaning over the felt. “Skill always prevails.” He took his shot and sank two stripes.
Nick cranked the surround with Volbeat’s “Pool of Booze, Booze, Booza.” Strong guitar riffs and the deep baritone of the lead singer’s Denmark accent pounded off the walls. Nick cocked a smart-ass grin. Leave it to his brother to find the humor and lighten the mood.
Hudson shook his head and smiled. “Nice choice.” As he sank another ball, all the shit he was stuffing down sank with it. But he was a bomb ready to explode.
Chapter Nineteen
Allie slid the elevator key Hudson had given her into the panel and pressed the button for the penthouse. Immediately the car began its smooth glide to the top floor of the Palmolive building. She took a deep breath and kept her eyes trained on the wood carvings that decorated the inside of the doors. As the numbers on the display above them grew higher, so did the level of her anxiety.
Her grip tightened on the shopping bag that held the baking supplies she’d bought the night before. And her clothes. And her panties. What the hell had she been thinking? She shifted restlessly from one foot to the other. The movement rubbed her bare breasts against the fabric of her coat in a not so subtle reminder. It was Hudson, and the fantasy he’d described the night before, that had her arriving at his penthouse wearing nothing but heels, a coat, and a smile. Well, at least the heels and the coat. The smile was beginning to waiver.
She’d come up with the idea when he’d given her his key. It had seemed like a fabulous plan at the time, and much less daring than strolling down Whacker Drive au naturel. But now that she was standing in his elevator, she wasn’t so sure she could pull it off.
A horrified gasp escaped her lips as another thought crossed her mind. What if Nick had spent the night and was still there? The image of Hudson offering to take her coat while his little brother sat eating his cereal at the breakfast bar had her reconsidering the entire plan. She’d decided a return trip to the lobby restroom was her safest bet when the elevator doors slid open. A low growl that sounded more animal than human echoed from the rear of the penthouse.
Hudson.
Without a second thought, Allie dropped the bag and hurried to the master bedroom. She found him in the throes of a nightmare, writhing on the bed. His neck was arched and his face contorted.
Bile rose in her throat. She couldn’t bear to see him hurting, and whatever haunted his sleep was causing him pain as real as any physical blow. “Hudson,” was all she managed to choke out.
He moaned and shifted restlessly, his legs tangling with the sheet.
“Don’t leave,” he groaned. For a moment she thought he was talking to her but then she realized he was pleading with someone in his sleep. His head thrashed back and forth.
This had to stop. She had to bring him back from whatever dark place he was in. She climbed onto the bed and knelt beside him. “Hudson,” she said, louder this time. Her hand went to his shoulders and she gave him a gentle shake. “It’s Allie. Wake up.”
Hudson jerked and his eyes opened. “Allie?” The sound of his voice, hoarse as if he’d been screaming, gripped her heart, and a hot tear slid down her cheek. He blinked up at her, confused, but after a minute it seemed as though a fog lifted. “What’s the matter, what’s wrong?”
“You were having a nightmare.”
He sat up, resting his elbows on his knees and dropping his face into his hands. The muscles in his arms and legs corded with the tension that gripped his entire frame.
Allie waited until she heard his erratic breathing begin to slow. “If you want to talk about it . . .”
“I don’t.”
She knew he wanted her to let it go, but the image of him writhing in pain was too fresh. If there was any way to reach him, to help him through this, she had to try. “It’s not the first time this has happened. Maybe if you talk to someone . . .”
“I said drop it,” he barked. His harsh tone made her flinch. Immediately, Hudson’s features softened. “I’m sorry, Allie. I didn’t mean to snap at you.”
“It’s okay.” She reached out to touch him but, unsure if she should, dropped her hand. “I love you, Hudson. Whatever is doing this to you, I want to help.”
“I know you do.” He shoved both hands through his hair. “Just let me handle this my way.”
Allie nodded even though she didn’t agree. Clearly Hudson’s way of dealing with the issue wasn’t working. But Allie had only been back in his life a little over twenty-four hours. It would take time to get him to open up to her, time she was more than willing to give him. And when he was ready, she’d be waiting. Whatever haunted his dreams, they would deal with it together.
Slowly the last remnants of the nightmare left him and Hudson began to visibly relax. After several long, quiet moments, something else occurred to him. His head shot up and his alarmed gaze met hers. “How did you get here?”
“Max drove me.”
“Good. I’m assigning him to you full time until this situation is resolved.”
“Don’t you think that’s a little extreme?”
“No, not when it comes to your safety, Alessandra.” She opened her mouth to speak but he gently cupped her chin and closed it. “This isn’t up for debate,” he said. The decisiveness in his tone was impossible to miss.
On any other day, under any other circumstances, Allie would have had plenty to say about his need for control running dangerously into the Neanderthal zone. But he was obviously worried about her safety. It was etched in the lines that marred his beautiful face. And after what she’d just witnessed, the last thing she wanted to do was add to the stress he was already feeling.
“Fine, but just until the police close the case.”
He eyed her speculatively for a moment, no doubt finding it hard to believe she’d agreed without a fight, before flingin
g back the sheet and climbing out of bed. “Well, if that’s settled,” he said, standing up and stretching his arms high above his head. “Feed me, woman. If I’m to be subjected to elf duties, I can’t do it on an empty stomach.” It wasn’t until Allie stood that he noticed her attire. He cocked his head to one side. “Why are you still wearing your coat?”
She felt her face turn bright red, although for the life of her she had no idea why she was suddenly so embarrassed “Oh, um . . .”
Realization dawned and Hudson grinned from ear to ear. “Why Miss Sinclair, you didn’t come to my penthouse wearing nothing but your birthday suit and a cashmere coat, did you?”
Her hands went instinctively to the lapels, pulling them more tightly closed. “Well . . . I . . . you . . .”
His blue eyes glowed with mixture of amusement and astonishment, but that wasn’t what drew her stare. It was the hard ridge of his arousal straining against the front of his drawstring pants that commanded her full attention. “Why the hell didn’t you say something sooner?”
Before she could form an answer he pounced, tackling her to the bed.
Allie laughed as he rolled her beneath him. “I take it you approve?”
The buttons of her coat opened one by one under his dexterous fingers, and within seconds she lay exposed to his hungry gaze. “Damn right I approve.” He dipped his head and fluttered his tongue across her nipple.
Her breath caught as the sensation echoed throughout her core. “I thought you were hungry?”
His eyes flicked up to hers. The look he gave her could have scorched timber. “Starved,” he said, before sucking the taut peak into his mouth.
***
Allie sat on the floor amid rolls of foil paper, ribbons, and tape. She’d just added the finishing touches to the box that held Harper’s gift and was taking a moment to admire her handiwork.
“You know I had an entirely different idea for that ribbon when I bought it.”
Release Me Page 15
