Total pages in book: 166
Estimated words: 157273 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 786(@200wpm)___ 629(@250wpm)___ 524(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 157273 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 786(@200wpm)___ 629(@250wpm)___ 524(@300wpm)
“I’d already let you down in the worst way.” His voice lowered. “I knew it wouldn’t make up for it, that you’d never see me, but I was there.”
“How did you even know I had that role?” My brain tried to make sense of it, but my heart was quickly shoving logic out the door.
“I have . . .” A flush crept up his throat. “I have an alert set to email me if your name is in the same headline as Giselle, but I didn’t know that you were still out, how bad the injury had been, until Juniper told me you were at the beach house.” He searched my eyes. “I didn’t know you’d see me, and I sure as hell never thought I’d distract you. I’m so sorry.”
“It wasn’t your fault. The turns didn’t cause the tear. It would have happened whether or not you’d been there.” I stepped forward, between his knees. “You’ve really had an alert for all these years?”
He nodded.
The silence grew thick as my heart continued the battle with my head, then finally won. He’d been there. He’d come. Juniper hadn’t forced his hand, he’d come to New York for me. “The middle seat of the last row is always empty. It’s in my contract.”
Two lines creased the area between his brows.
“And if you’d gone to will call and given them your name, they would have handed you that ticket. That’s in my contract too. It’s always your seat. Every venue. Every performance. I don’t even know why I did it, except I guess I never gave up hope that you’d walk in one day.” There, I’d said it.
“All these years?” His voice came out like it had been scraped over the campfire embers.
“All these years.” My gaze dropped to his mouth and my pulse quickened. I wound my arms around his neck and accepted the simple fact that I would always want him, and for this moment, I could have him. “Hudson?”
“Allie?” His hands moved to my hips.
“I need you.”
He didn’t hesitate, not even for a heartbeat. Our mouths collided, and I melted at the first thrust of his tongue, surrendering completely as he kissed me breathless. Heat and need exploded between us like a match tossed into a vat of gasoline.
His hands slipped to the backs of my thighs as he stood, lifting me against him. I wound my legs around his waist, locking my ankles at the small of his back, then knocked his hat to the ground so I could sink my fingers into his hair.
My back hit the wall, and I used it as leverage, breaking the kiss so I could get his shirt off. Watching him walk around shirtless the last two days had been torture. I lowered my mouth to his throat, his two-day stubble rough against my lips, and I savored every one of his indrawn breaths as I reached the curve of firm, warm skin where his neck met his shoulder.
Before I could demand another kiss, he took hold of my hoodie and started to tug it upward. “As delicious as you look in my clothes, I need it off.”
Me too. I lifted my arms, and he made quick work of removing it. It hit the floor and I grabbed the bottom of my tank top and hauled it over my head, then threw it so I could feel his skin against mine.
Our mouths fused, and I kissed him long and hard, running my hands down his arms, his back, across his chest—anywhere I could reach—as he kneaded my hips and thighs, growling when my shorts blocked the access he sought.
He speared his hand into my hair, banded his arm under my ass, and then we were moving again. The room spun momentarily, and I felt the bed at my back, then the perfect weight of him above me.
I let my ankles fall from his back, leaving my knees bent so my thighs bracketed his hips. His hands skimmed over the fabric of my bra, and I whimpered in frustration. That needed to come off too. Right now. I tugged at his bottom lip with my teeth, pushed at his chest, and rolled.
He got the message, flipping us so I sat astride his hips.
“You want me.” I grinned against his mouth, then ground my core against the hard ridge of his cock, gasping at the jolt of pleasure. His answering groan was absolutely everything.
“Every day since I met you.” He sat up and kissed me until I wasn’t sure what day it was. Time began and ended with him. “You are the subject of every fantasy I’ve ever had.” His mouth moved down my neck, and I rocked my hips when he found that sensitive spot. “Fuck, you’re killing me.”
“Good.” I reached behind my back and unfastened my bra, then slipped it off my arms and tossed it.