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MADDIE
“Are you already there?” I ask Hudson whose handsome face is smiling back at me through FaceTime.
“Yeah. We got here a while ago. I’ve got to start stretching soon.” He lowers his voice and licks his lips. “You got your bag packed?”
Apparently, he wasn’t quiet enough because Cade comes into view, scowling. “Off the phone, King. Get your head in the fight.” He smacks the back of Hudson’s head, and I smother a laugh.
“I’ll see you after,” I whisper, not liking the idea that everyone can hear us.
His image bounces as he walks away from his team bustling around the room. “Text Coop when you get here. I want to see you before the fight.”
I bite down on my bottom lip with heady anticipation. “Are you sure?”
My bedroom door swings open, and Carys and Chloe walk in with Le Désir bags in their hands. “Is that him?” Chloe asks, sticking her face in front of my phone. “Don’t suck tonight, Kingston.”
“Hang up the fucking phone, King,” Cade yells, and Hudson laughs.
“He’s never going to get used to the fact that I thrive in chaos. I’ll see you soon, sunshine.” Hudson ends the call, and I toss my phone on my bed.
“Holy shit. Look at your face,” Carys gasps as I feel my flush growing. “You’re so red.”
“Mads, red is not your color.” Chloe hands me a bag. “But lucky for you, blue and gold definitely are.”
“What are you talking about?” I peek into the bag filled with boxes. “What did you two do?”
Carys flops down on my bed, already dressed and ready for tonight’s fight. “Nothing.”
Chloe simultaneously replies, “Everything. Now look at the goodies we’ve brought you.”
I pull out three separate boxes, all wrapped in purple ribbon with the black-foiled Le Désir labels glinting in the light. Once I open the first one, my fingers trace the royal-blue silk and gold lace tucked between tissue paper. It’s soft and decadent against my skin, and they’re the same color as the shirt Hudson wears when he walks into the cage for each fight.
I hold the bra and panties up, dangling them from the tips of my fingers and flush. “These are beautiful.”
Carys opens the second box and pulls out a gorgeous blue silk corset. “We thought you might want to wear this tonight. You know... to the fight.”
I hold it in front of myself and look in the mirror. It’ll show a little more skin than I typically go for if I’m not in the gym, but I can’t ignore the tingles I get at the thought of Hud seeing me in this top. “What would I pair something like this with?”
“Tight, dark jeans and sky-high heels,” Carys tells me with a flair. “They need to hug your ass, Mads.”
Chloe snags the panties from my hands and flips them around to show off the high-cut lace on the back side. “That man has a thing for your ass, Mads. So, Brazilian panties all the way. Just enough to cover. To tempt and tease.”
“How would you know what he has a thing for?” I question, and she laughs at me.
“Because I’ve watched him watching you teach your class. It’s obvious to anyone who’s not you. Besides... you’ve got a great ass. I’d do you.”
“Aww... If I swung that way, I’d totally be down.” I open the other boxes and find two more sets of lingerie and two nighties. “It’s one night, guys.”
“It’s the first night, Mads, not the only one.” Carys grabs my overnight bag from the floor and adds the additional lingerie to it. “Now, go get dressed. I told Cooper we’d be there in thirty minutes.”
* * *
Carys lied.We don’t make it to the convention center in thirty minutes. By the time we’re escorted to our seats, it’s closer to an hour later, and Coop has been blowing up Carys’s phone for the past ten minutes.
Hudson’s family is seated already, spanning the row in front of us and talking among themselves as the three of us move to take our seats. But before we have a chance to sit down, Cooper appears and kisses his wife.
“So much for half an hour, babe,” he kids. Coop’s dressed in a royal-blue Crucible shirt, which I’m assuming matches the rest of Hudson’s team and everyone representing our gym family. Supporting Hudson.
He reaches out for my hand. “Hudson wants to see you before the fight starts, Maddie.”
