“Is your arm okay?” he asks, his heavy pants blanketing the room.
I turn slightly so I can rest my head on his chest. “Arm is fine. Ass is fine. My man isfine.”
He laughs a booming, belly-deep sound that makes me smile. He kisses the top of my head, then wraps his arm around me, holding me close.
After a moment, his laughter fades, and he squeezes me just a little tighter. “I’m thankful you’re still here, Hud,” he whispers.
I entwine our legs, wanting to knot our bodies together like we’re actually one and kiss his chest.
“Me too.”
Chapter nine
Cullen
My arm curls around Hudson instinctively as I blink awake into my quiet room. I just lie there, warm and heavy with sleep, listening to the soft sound of his breathing against my chest.
Late afternoon sunlight spills through the window in long golden stripes, stretching shadows across the tangled sheets. We fell asleep wrapped in each other, both of us still butt-ass naked.
A low yawn leaves my lips. I can’t remember the last time I slept this hard.
I just wish it had helped.
There’s a fury simmering under my skin lately, hot and restless, and every day it gets a little harder to keep it from boiling over.
When Hudson showed up and apologized, it momentarily eased. It was hard not to contact him the last few days, but he asked for space, so I gave it to him.
Ironically, my stalker tendencies still took over. I don’t know how many times I drove past his house, hoping to catch a glimpse of him. Every time I saw his Bronco in the driveway, I exhaled, the fear that he could try again all-consuming, which only feeds the anger growing inside me.
It doesn’t help that this psycho is still out there.
The flowers sent to Hud at the hospital were delivered by an actual florist employee, so there were no fingerprints to trace. The order had been placed online using a prepaid card, which basically killed any chance of finding the stalker through that.
It’s just one dead end after another.
Thundering footsteps echo down the hallway, and before I can warn Hud, Dad comes barreling through myopendoor.
“Cullen, I have some news—oh, shit!” Dad stops dead in his tracks, eyes wide, before whirling around and giving us his back. His shoulders are up to his ears, his hands covering his face.
“What the hell, Dad!” I whisper-shout, trying not to disturb Hud. I notice the blanket is sitting just below his pelvis, so I snag it, pulling it up to cover his naked sleeping body.
“I’m sorry. But to be fair, your doorwasopen.”
I sigh and rub my forehead.
Hud stirs beside me, oblivious to the awkward tension in the room. “Mmm, I missed waking up like this.” His voice is thick with sleep, but his hand is wide awake as it makes a slow trek down my stomach.
I stop his descent before he embarrasses us both.
“Uh, Hud… we have company.” He tenses before his eyes snap open. He scans the room, and when he sees my dad standing just inside the door, his back to us, he burrows into my side, pulling the blanket over his head.
“Oh, fuck,” he mumbles into my ribcage. “Um, hey, Dr. Anderson… fancy meeting you here.”
I snort, rolling my eyes. Glad he’s making jokes because I’m pissed and mortified.
“Hello, Hudson. It’s good to see you—I mean, not good toseeyou… damnit—I just…” Dad stammers, shifting his weight from foot to foot.
Okay, we gotta end this torture session.
