“I have no idea,” he murmured.”I have a picture in my mind, but I’m not sure if it’s accurate. My mom stopped putting it out after my dad was gone. She stopped celebrating Christmas altogether.”
Allie’s chest tightened at the thought. Hudson had never mentioned his dad, much less why he wasn’t in his life, but clearly that had been the case for quite a while. It was hard enough to imagine two little boys growing up without their father. But picturing them with a mother so despondent she couldn’t bring herself to celebrate the holidays caused tears to prick the backs of her eyes. She was about to go to him, to wrap her arms around him and tell him he’d never be alone again, when he surprised her by saying more than just those few initial words.
“Nick and I would sit at the table, watching, while my dad built it,” he said. “He’d let us play with the little guys until he was ready for them. Nick would cry if he didn’t get to hold Santa Claus, even though my dad told him the most important one was the baby in the manger.” He gave a half smile. “But that baby wasn’t the one bringing presents, so Nick couldn’t care less.”
One by one Hudson began adding the thin propeller blades to the top of the pyramid. Allie held perfectly still, not wanting to interrupt the moment in any way. Hudson was talking, sharing a memory from his childhood, and a happy one, no less. Which only made her all the more curious as to what had happened to so devastatingly alter their lives.
“When he was finished he’d let me light the candles.” When the last blade was in place, Hudson gave them a gentle push and the levels began to spin in alternating directions. He sat back in his chair, watching it turn.
The oven timer chimed and Allie jumped. Hudson looked up and all traces of the young boy vanished. “Better not let them burn,” he teased. “The woman in charge around here is a real nightmare.”
“Only when her elf is slacking on the job,” she shot back, relieved to see his mood hadn’t taken a dark turn. “But since he’s completed everything on his list, he’s in the clear. Might even get a reward.” She grabbed a hot mitt and bent over to pull the last tray of cookies out of the oven.
Hudson was suddenly behind her, his hands cupping her backside. “I can think of a few rewards I’d like to claim.”
Allie gave her hips a little shake and he smacked her on the ass. She yelped as she stood. “You’re lucky I didn’t drop these,” she said, setting the tray on the counter to cool.
“They smell delicious.”
“Thank you. But don’t be too impressed, I only baked them.” Allie had never been much of a cook, but she’d found a box of pre-cut, ready-to-bake Christmas cookies at the store that were allowing her to fake her way through it quite well. At least so far. She’d baked half of them with colored sugar and left the other half plain for decorating with icing. It had seemed simple enough at the time, but now that she was faced with covering a dozen or so cookies with decorative icing—and having them resemble something slightly appetizing—she wasn’t so sure.
Hudson reached past her to steal a cookie off the tray, but she batted his hand away. “Those are too hot to eat.” She turned and offered him one from the cooling rack. “Here, try one of these.”
He took the cookie and settled back against the counter. Crossing his ankles, he watched her as she arranged several cookies on a piece of parchment paper. Pulling off a Martha Stewart routine was going to be hard enough. Doing it with Hudson watching her every move was going to be damn near impossible.
“Don’t you have an empire to run or a football game to watch?” Something. Anything.
“Nothing more entertaining than this.” He finished the last of his cookie and brushed the crumbs from his hands. “Can I help?”
“You want to decorate cookies?
“Yes.” His expression was sincere.
“Okay.” She placed a piece of parchment paper in front of him and set a star-shaped cookie on top of it.
“Lacking confidence in my abilities?”
She laughed. “Start with the star and we’ll work you up to the snowman.”
He stared at the tubes filled with various colors of frosting for a moment before reaching for the blue one.
“Just hold it with both hands and squeeze,” she said, without looking up. Beside her Hudson stilled and she had to bite her lip to hide her smile. If she played her cards right, perhaps he wouldn’t notice her lack of culinary skills after all.
Allie reached for the green icing and began piping it onto a cookie cut into the shape of a tree. When she finished she added a few multicolored sprinkles. Not too bad, she thought. It actually resembled a Christmas tree. And not one decorated by a four-year-old.
“How did I do?’ Hudson asked.
Allie gaped at his cookie, perfectly decorated with an intricate snowflake pattern covered with sparkling sugar crystals.
Seriously?
“Umm, not too bad.”
“Hmm. Once I found the right spot to exert the perfect amount of pressure, it came quite easily.” His description made every nerve in her body come alive. And judging by the smirk on his face, he knew it, too. “Am I ready for the next level?”
Complicated household appliances like overpriced espresso machines might have been more than Hudson could handle, but clearly he harbored some previously unknown, at least to her, artistic ability. Allie tucked that bit of information away to ponder at another time. Right now her competitive streak required she focus all of her attention on cookie decorating.
Hudson lifted a brow as she placed a snowman on each of their parchments. “I do believe I sense a challenge.”
“Just frost your cookie,” she muttered.
He chuckled. “Keep it up, Alessandra, and I’ll take you on the kitchen floor. Although if memory serves, you quite enjoyed it the last time.”
Ignoring his comment, Allie set about the task of decorating her snowman. But her mind was far from thoughts of corncob pipes and button noses. All she could picture was their first morning together and, more specifically, how they’d ended up a sweaty, panting mess on the kitchen floor. She was so consumed by the thought, she forgot all about keeping an eye on the competition.
When she finally stole a sideways glance, an involuntary giggle escaped her lips. On the counter in front of Hudson lay a very voluptuous snow . . . woman wearing a red bra and panties. “You did not just draw boobs on a Christmas cookie.”
“I most certainly did.” He gazed at her impassively for a moment before sucking a bit of frosting from his fingertip. “And they’re quite delicious.”
Hudson’s eyes flicked down to where her nipples pebbled beneath her thin sweater and then to the tube of icing he held in his hand.
Allie narrowed her eyes at him. “You wouldn’t dare.”
He didn’t answer, but the wicked gleam in his eyes told her he absolutely would.
She took a step back. “I’m serious, Hudson. Don’t even think about it.”
His lips twitched into a lascivious grin. “Oh, it’s much too late for that, Alessandra.”
A frisson of exhilaration ran through her as Hudson took a slow, predatory step forward. Allie chewed on her bottom lip, trying to anticipate his next move. She shifted to her right and he followed, mirroring her movements, all the while never taking his eyes off hers. With one more step she was past the breakfast bar. The dining room table was in her peripheral vision. Two or three strides and she’d make it.
“Well, you’ll have to catch me first,” she challenged, knowing full well she was raising the stakes of their game.
“Count on it, baby.” Quick as a flash, he lunged for her. Allie squealed as she turned and made a run for the table, only pausing once it stood between them. Hudson shook his head, his eyes blazing with excitement. “And you know what will happen when I do.”
Adrenaline spiked in her veins. She watched him, pacing the length of the table as she shifted back and forth along the opposite side. He wanted her, and damn if she didn’t want him, too. In fact, right there on the table would do just fine. But she’d started this thrilling game of cat and mouse, and now she had to finish it.
She backed toward the living room, her smile growing wider as she dashed around the couch. “Bring it on, Chase.”
Hudson’s eyes flared. “Taunting me?” he asked. But he didn’t wait for an answer. Instead he lurched forward in a few powerful strides, palming the back of the couch with his free hand and leaping over it.
Shit.
With her heart pounding, Allie took off in the only available direction. When she reached the stairs, Hudson was right behind her, taking them two at a time. She gasped as his fingers grazed her hip before dropping to catch her ankle.
He yanked her down as he prowled up her body, his hips surging against her backside as he lowered his mouth to her ear. “I’ve caught you, baby.” He buried his hand in her hair and pulled her head to the side. She moaned when his lips found the spot on her neck that never failed to drive her wild. Pleasure shot through her as he sucked on the sensitive skin and she writhed beneath him, her sex clenching and releasing in response to his hardening arousal. “Now, what shall I do to you?” he growled, grinding against her.
Her lips parted on a ragged breath. “Whatever you want.” And she meant it. In that moment she was on fire for him, desperate to have him anyway he wanted.
Turning her on her back, Hudson leaned in with one hand pressed into the stair behind her head. When his eyes met hers they were full of dark intent. “I believe there is the matter of some decorating.” She watched as he squeezed a small bead of red frosting onto her bottom lip.
“You like the frosting, do you?” Her chest heaved but her voice was nothing more than a whisper.
He licked his lips. “I might need another taste, just to be sure.” The tip of his tongue traced her lower lip. “Hmm, even better on you.”
She lifted her head in an attempt to deepen their kiss, but he reared back.
“Would you like to try some?” he asked.
“Yes,” she breathed. His eyes flared when she added a breathy, “Please.”
“As you wish.” He arched over her, sealing their mouths. She moaned as his skilled tongue slid over hers, hot and velvety and tasting of a delicious mix of sweet sugar and Hudson Chase.
Allie heard the tube of frosting drop on the stairs, and then his hand was beneath her sweater. He wrenched it up and over her head before tossing it aside, then jerked down the lace cups of her bra. One of the straps broke, but she didn’t care. She was too busy watching with coiled anticipation as Hudson reached for the discarded frosting. A moment later a thin line of icing circled one of her nipples. “Even better this way, I’m sure,” he said in a husky voice.
She arched her back. “Perhaps you should take a taste.”
Hudson groaned his agreement against her skin as he latched on to her nipple, sucking it gently before releasing it and blowing a stream of cool air across the glistening tip.
Allie’s hips began to move of their own accord, gyrating against him as he dragged his tongue across her chest, leaving a smear of red icing in his wake. His teeth closed around her nipple and it was almost more than she could bear. She couldn’t wait any longer. She needed him to take her, right there on the stairs. Her fingers twisted into his hair, tugging his head up to hers. “Hudson . . .”
He gazed at her with hooded eyes. “Do you want me inside you?” he asked. The rasp of his voice sent a shiver of awareness down her spine. His hand smoothed up her ribcage, caressing the side of her breast. She glanced down at the heavy rise and fall of her chest as he brushed his thumb back and forth across the swollen nipple.
“Yes,” she panted. “Hudson . . . please.”
She felt his rough stubble on her skin as he dragged his tongue down the center of her stomach in a sleek, wet glide. “Slow and easy or fast and hard?” he murmured against her skin. His hands glided up her thighs. In one smooth movement he pushed her skirt up and swept her panties down her legs. They fell open, shamelessly offering him more room to maneuver. “Which is it, Alessandra?”
Allie’s head dropped on a frustrated groan, her body sinking back against the hard and uncompromising stairs. “Either . . . both . . .” She knotted her fingers in Hudson’s hair as a barely audible whimper escaped her lips. “I want you.”
He settled his shoulders beneath her thighs.”Mmm, hard and fast then. I want to feel you come against my mouth.”
Her lips parted on a silent gasp as his tongue, slick and warm and right on target, tortured her, flicking and stroking her sensitive flesh. His arms looped under her legs, holding her in place as she tilted her hips to match his strokes. Then his lips closed around her, sucking in an unrelenting rhythm, and a single finger pushed inside.
“Is this what you wanted?” he asked, although he didn’t need to. Hudson knew her body so well, he knew without asking that she needed more. But he wanted to hear her say it. The realization made her skin tingle with anticipation.
“More,” she pleaded. “I need more.” She rocked against his hand, near mindless with the need to come.
He eased a second finger inside. “Does it feel good, Allie?”
“God, yes . . .”
His mouth was on her again, his fingers and tongue stroking her rhythmically, driving her hard and fast to the release her body so desperately craved. She glanced down, and the sight of him, his head moving between her thighs and his fingers moving inside her, sent her over the edge. She cried out, spiraling unexpectedly into an orgasm that stunned all her senses. Hudson’s hand shot to the small of her back, holding her tight to his mouth. Only when the last convulsing wave of pleasure wracked her body, did he position himself between her thighs. Lifting her leg, he entered her on a solid stroke, shoving her further up the stairs. Almost immediately he began an unyielding rhythm that had her insides quickening once again.
“That’s it,” he coaxed, his words and body driving her to the clenches of another orgasm. “Give it to me.”
Allie’s hand curled around the lip of the stair as a second orgasm rolled through her, no less devastating than the first. Hudson followed a moment later. He came growling her name as his hips jerked in one last powerful thrust.