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I reached for Sophie’s hand without thinking, taking it firmly in my grasp and feeling the little jump my heart made at the contact. We hadn’t had sex in a while, and even just the feeling of her skin on mine was enough to make my cock twitch. I led her to the office, putting enough space between us and Jamey that he wouldn’t overhear. Best to leave him out of the loop until Sunday otherwise I’d hear him complaining for the next forty-eight hours.
Sophie leaned back against the oak desk, and the temptation to corner her, kiss her, feel her made my chest ache. “I have a conference next week,” I sighed, my feet moving of their own accord and stepping just a little bit closer to her, a little too close. “I’ll be out of town from Monday until Thursday.”
Her eyes widened as she looked up at me, and damn if I wasn’t desperate for it to have just been because of my proximity. “Oh. Do you need me to watch Jamey?”
“No, I’ve sorted it with my mom. She’s going to take him,” I explained. I shoved my hands in the pockets of my scrubs, needing to keep them contained so I wouldn’t reach out and touch her. “You can call me if you need me. I’ll text you my mom’s number as well just in case. It’s only a few days, so it should be fine, but if you need anything at all I can come home.”
She pursed her lips, her gaze wandering away from me. Was there something behind her eyes that she didn’t want me to see? “I should be fine, Hudson. It’s just a few days. I don’t need you to watch over me like a hawk.”
“You know that’s not what I mean,” I said, taking another step toward her. I didn’t have it in me to stop my feet. I knew now that it wasn’t just an urge to fuck her, although that was lurking beneath the surface. It was more than that, it was deeper than that. “We both know you’re still in the danger zone.”
“Nothing should happen,” she nodded, and I wondered if she was telling me that or herself. “It’s fine. I can get a decent amount of work done, at least.”
“Okay, but seriously, Sophie. If you need anything, if you have a question, no matter how silly you might think it is or if you just want to talk to me, you can call me. Don’t feel like you can’t.” Her cheeks warmed as she looked up at me, the pinkish hue spreading beneath the smattering of freckles under her eyes. She looked so warm, so perfect. Tell her. Tell her. Grow a fucking pair and tell her.
“Thanks, I think?” The little chuckle that seeped from her lips made me want to touch them. “Didn’t realize you were such a worrier, Hudson.”
“I’m not a worrier,” I smiled, taking one more step toward her, the heat from her body emanating onto mine. “Stay for dinner tonight. I’ll order whatever you want.”
Her breathing became a little uneven, her lips parting. Does my closeness make you nervous? “Do you ever cook for yourself?” She joked, her throat bobbing as she swallowed.
“Occasionally. I’m not a particularly good cook, though.”
“Well, it’s a very sweet offer, but I think I’m going to go home,” she breathed, sidestepping my towering frame and escaping toward the door of the office. “Thank you. I’ll see you next Friday?”
What? Why won’t I see her until…? “Oh, uh, yeah. Okay. Next Friday.”
She pushed the door open, heading out without another word. I didn’t follow her, I couldn’t get my feet to move an inch. Despite her need to keep her emotions under a veil, it seemed like she was a little bothered that I was leaving, and I wondered if it was just the worry of being in her first trimester or if it was something more. God, I wanted it to be more. I needed it, craved it, and that was the most terrifying part of all.
Chapter 32
Sophie
Sunday Night
Iwished I’d stayed for dinner Friday night. The idea of not seeing him for a week sat heavy like a rock inside of my stomach, and not for a second did I think it was worry over the possibility of something going wrong. I was fairly confident in my body taking care of things, and now that I knew I could get pregnant, the idea of losing it was less daunting. Still a horrible feeling, and I’d mourn the loss every second of the rest of my life, but I knew now that I could try again.
I had to admit that part of me wanted ‘again,’ no matter what that looked like, to be with Hudson.
Trash television played from the screen in my living room as I fed fabric through my sewing machine, the pressure on the foot pedal so soft it was barely moving. I had to be careful with each stitch, and I should have hand-sewn it, but I was falling behind on orders. I had to finish it quickly.
A knock at the door nearly threw me out of rhythm, but I lifted my foot off the pedal before I fucked something up again. I was learning.
I hurried to the door, not bothering to check who was on the other side before opening it. It was either Lisa or a delivery man—no chance of it being Hudson, not when he’d mentioned over text that he was going to bed early to make his five-thirty a.m. flight. He had dropped Jamey off at his mom’s earlier so it wasn’t entirely impossible…
Needless to say, however, I was still taken aback when the aforementioned man stood on my doorstep, his dark hair pushed back from his face and his form clad in pajamas. I hated those gray sweatpants. They showed far too much, made me want to stare. “Uh, hi?” I muttered, dragging my gaze back up to a far more appropriate spot on his body.
He took a step toward me and I stepped back, letting him through. What the fuck was going on? “Couldn’t sleep,” he mumbled, and I glanced back at the time blinking at me on my stove. It was only nine.
“So you came here?” I asked, turning back to him as I shut the door. “You should just take some melatonin or something.”
The way he looked down at me stopped me mid-sentence. There was a hunger there behind his eyes, painting every feature of his face with hard lines and sharp edges. If he had come over simply to get his fucking dick wet and call it a mistake again, he could leave the way he came in.
“Hudson,” I said slowly, narrowing my gaze at him.
He moved too quickly for me to react, closing the distance between us. He placed one hand at the small of my back, planting his other hand firmly against my cheek, then pressed his lips against mine. I felt the swarm of stupid, mindless butterflies taking flight in my gut, the warmth spreading across my face, and this time, the way he held me was different. It wasn’t that same greediness of before, the cock-brained zombie getting what he could. No. This was soft, gentle, almost desperate.
I hated how easily I melted for him.
