Total pages in book: 49
Estimated words: 46967 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 235(@200wpm)___ 188(@250wpm)___ 157(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 46967 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 235(@200wpm)___ 188(@250wpm)___ 157(@300wpm)
“He’s not going to come here.”
No sooner are the words out of my mouth than Lilian nudges me. “Oh, you don’t think so? Look who just walked in. Shit, he must have been on his way already because that’s a record.”
Ally smirks and takes a drink of her wine. “Or he was sitting outside stalking her.”
I see Hudson walk in, and his eyes find me immediately. The whole way, he’s watching me until I’m squirming in my seat.
He stops next to me and looks at Lilian. “Hey, sis.” And then at Ally. “Hey there, Ally.”
The women both nod and look at him with smirks on their faces.
He sits heavily next to me. “Hey, Ellie.”
His eyes are burning into me, and I turn to look at him. “Hey, Huddy.”
He leans closer. The gold specks are gone, and his hazel eyes are a deep brown. His jaw is pulled tight, and I swear I’m not sure what the look is he’s giving me, but it feels at least ten degrees hotter since he sat down. “You look beautiful.”
“Thank you,” I tell him, my voice sounding way huskier than it should be. I pick up my glass of water and take a sip.
Austin and Ally walk away from the table, leaving Huddy, Lilian, and me.
Lilian makes a big to-do of stretching her arms and fake yawning. She’s not fooling anyone. “Well, I’m going to head home. Elle, you want me to take you to your car?”
I get up. “Sure, that would be great.”
Huddy stands up too. “I’ll take her.”
I shake my head. “No, you just got here. Stay.”
He grunts and puts his hand on my lower back. “I came for you. I’ll take you home.”
I swallow, and when I look at Lilian, she’s smiling ear to ear. “Uh, right, so I’m going to get home to Ford and Ollie.”
“We’ll walk you out,” Huddy tells her.
“No, you guys stay—”
Huddy cuts her off. “Do you know my brother? He’d rip me a new one if he knew I didn’t walk you to your car. Do you want to stay here or are you ready to go home?”
I clear my throat, unsettled by the way he says home. “I’m ready to go home.”
We say our goodbyes to Ally and Austin and make our way outside. After Lilian is in her car, Hudson helps me into his truck and then gets into his side.
“Uh, my car is parked at Blaze.”
He grips the steering wheel tighter. “We can get it tomorrow.”
I want to argue with him, but I don’t. It’s not a big deal. Right now, I’m ready to put some distance between Huddy and me. He runs hot then cold then hot again. I don’t want to play these games with him because I know I’m going to be the one to get hurt.
We’re both silent the whole way across town. It’s not until we’re inside his house and I’m halfway to the stairs that he stops me. “So were you on a date with that cowboy?”
I almost tumble on the steps. “What cowboy?”
“The man you were in the picture with.”
“No, of course I wasn’t on a date with him.”
He comes toward me, crowding me against the wall by the stairs. “That’s not what the picture looked like. Did you send—”
I cut him off. “I didn’t send it. Ally did, and she thought…” I let my voice trail off. “Forget it.”
I turn to go, but he stops me with his hands at my waist. “She thought what?”
I lean my head back and close my eyes, taking a deep breath. I try to ignore the fact that when I inhale, my breast brushes against his chest or the way his hands tighten at my waist. I’m tired of all the games and the back and forth. I unclench my eyes. What have I got to lose? “She thought that maybe you’d be jealous, that seeing me with another man would convince you that you like me.” I blurt out a laugh. “What a joke, right?”
I try to pull from his hold, but it’s impossible. He steps in, his leg fitted against mine as he presses me flush against the wall. His voice is deep. “I do want you.”
I startle at that, but I’m still not convinced. “Really? So when you like a woman, you don’t finish, is that what you’re saying?”
He leans down until our noses are almost touching. “Oh, honey, you finished. I’ve got the stain on my sheets to prove it. Fuck, I can still taste you on my lips.”
I put my hands to his chest and try to push him away. “What? So you made me come. I wanted more.”
He growls almost in a snarl. “You don’t think I do? Fuck, I want you so bad, you’re all I think about. I can’t think of anything except about you finally coming on my dick.”