Hudson dropped his arms, then did a check of his watch. Right on time Allie rounded the turn, heading home via the farm and pond at the south end of the Lincoln Park Zoo. He watched for a second, the sight of her hypnotizing him to the point where the city around them receded into the background and the traffic bled into white noise. His body responded immediately in a way that translated straight down to his cock and it thickened, straining both the fabric of his track pants and his self-control. Christ, he was going to be pitching a fucking a tent in the middle of the park if his hard-on didn’t bow out.

But God, he wanted her; wanted her naked and underneath him, her legs locked around his hips and her breath panting his name. And he couldn’t stop thinking about the quickest way to strip her out of those tight running pants and plunge his cock into her fast, hard, and deep.

He cracked his neck to loosen it up as he timed her approach . . . three . . . two . . . then broke into a jog to close the distance between them until he was literally “running” into her.

Allie halted in front of him. Her cheeks were flushed and a sheen of sweat glistened across her skin. “This wasn’t a good idea.”

Hudson stood farther back than he would have liked, his body coiled tight and the muscle in his jaw flexing. No one was close enough to hear what they were saying, but their body language still mattered. “I’m supposed to be trying to win you back. He’s banking on the fact that I will pursue you like last time.”

“Don’t you mean stalking?” The corners of her mouth turned up. “If I recall, you were quite good at it.”

“Don’t smile—you’re not supposed to like me, remember? Besides, when you’re pissed off, it is unbelievably hot.”

Allie looked off toward the lake and pressed her lips together, stifling what he knew without question was a mind-blowing smile. “You’re not helping.”

Hudson shifted closer, doing his best to suppress a grin of his own. “Then I’ll step up my stalker asshole game and we can go back to my place and have angry sex.”

Allie covered her mouth in a fake cough. “Still not helping.” She bent over and braced her hands on her shins, giving her hamstrings a good stretch and Hudson a good view. His gaze fell instinctively to her ass, and he groaned.

“That’s not helping, either.” He scrubbed a hand down his face as if that would wipe away the utterly filthy image he had of her on her hands and knees, perfectly aligned to take him. He knew how slick, hot, and fucking amazing it felt to slip the head of his cock between her folds, teasing her before he fucked her.

Allie straightened. “Don’t even think about it.”

“Too late.”

She shook her head. “What would you like to talk about?”

“Why, Alessandra, are you at a loss for words? Hell just froze over.”

“Funny.” Allie rolled her eyes. “Oh! I saw Nick yesterday.”

“Going from angry sex to the subject of my brother is not the direction I had in mind,” he said in a dry, deep tone.

“Believe me, I’m right there with you. But I’m trying to work with what we have.”

“So where did you see him?” he asked in an effort to toe the line.

“Harper and I had coffee at the Starbucks on Division.”

“Ah yes, my brother the barista. Did he take good care of my girl?”

“He did. And my best friend, the recent coffee connoisseur, as well.”

“Does Harper take twenty minutes to order a coffee, too?” His mouth curved into a wry grin.

“She spent twenty minutes at the counter all right, but not debating her order.”

He raised his brows and crossed his arms over his chest. “Is there something I should know about?”

“Seems your brother and my best friend have become something of an item.”

“What? When did this happen?”

“While we were in Europe. One all-night conversation led to a movie and that led to—”

“I get the idea.” Hudson cut her off. He didn’t need that image sitting front-and-center scratching against his visual cortex. Shit, the notion was already singeing his retinas. “Fuck.” He ran a hand through his hair. “I already told him not to pull his crap with your friend.”

“I don’t think he’s pulling any shit. From what I saw, they really like each other.”

Hudson looked up at the sky. The forecast was for more snow, which was going to give those pigs that must be flying one hell of a time. “This should be an interesting topic of conversation at dinner tonight.”

“You can’t say anything.”

“Why not?”

“Because you can’t tell him that you know. We’re broken up, remember? And even if we weren’t, they asked me not to tell you.”

He cursed under his breath. “This is ridiculous.”

“After everything he’s put you through, Nick wants nothing more than to make you proud, Hudson. Surely you can see that. And he’s worried that breaking the no-dating-during-recovery rule is going to disappoint you.” Her voice softened. “Just let him tell you about this when he’s ready.”

“Fine. Is there anything else I’m not supposed to know?”

“I think that’s it.” She fought the grin he knew threatened to spread across her face, but the sentiment was definitely in her voice; the kind that told him she was enjoying his reaction to this news flash perhaps a little too much. God help him, he loved seeing her happy, even when it was at his expense.

“The rest of the time was pretty much their version of an intervention,” she said.

“Intervention?”

“Mmmhmm. They don’t understand why we’re not together. Can’t say I blame them, really. After seeing how happy we were at Christmas, I’m sure they think I’m a raving bitch for suddenly breaking things off.”

“We can’t tell them what’s really going on. For now we have to play it out. It’s for their own protection.”

“I know.” Allie looked down at the ground. When she lifted her head, he could see the despair in her eyes that came from being in a crappy situation that had no foreseeable end. But hell if he was going to let it settle there. This, them being apart, was temporary. He knew that without question, but it was still a head-fuck.

“I want to touch you.” On impulse he stepped forward, and at the same time Allie shifted back. “Goddamn fucking hell.” The words came out with sharp edges. “I know that was for the watchful eyes, but it’s killing me, Allie.” He ran a hand back through his hair and fisted the dark waves at the base of his neck.

“Me too,” she whispered, blinking back tears.

He let out a resigned breath. “I’m going to work at Chase HQ as much as possible this week.”

Allie nodded. “Of course. I’m sure you’ve got a lot to catch up on there with the holidays and then all this.”

“Well yes, but mostly if we’re seen together all week, Julian will wonder why you haven’t laid out your terms.” Also because it was torture to see her and not be with her. Even though her cold indifference was a farce, it was too close to the reality he never wanted to experience again in any form.

“Right.” She dropped her stare once more and toed a small patch of ice with her running shoe.

Hudson cleared his throat. “We need to afford Max a bit of time for his team to work.”

Allie’s head snapped up. “Who does he have working on it? Does he think they can find something to connect Julian?” There was a flicker of hope in her eyes that went from spark to full-on blaze in no time flat.

“The less you know, the better.” She was already in this mess far deeper than he had ever wanted. And if Max was blurring the lines of the law at his request, Allie didn’t need blow-by-blow intel that could pin her to the wall as an accomplice.

“Don’t give me that crap, Hudson. We’re in this together.” The words slingshot out of her mouth, and he couldn’t stop the slight grin that tugged at his lips.

“Agreed.”

“Then tell me what’s going on. I’ve had enough people keeping me in the dark for whatever reasons they felt were justified.” Her eyes clouded. “If Max has any leads, I want to know about them.”