“He doesn’t. Not yet. But I’ve asked them to use any means at their disposal.” He fixed her with a hard stare. “I won’t involve you with the details of their methods, but I assure you, if they yield any results I will notify you immediately. Now, as much as I hate to say it, you need to leave me standing here, hat in hand. Fortunately your expression is already the perfect mix of frustrated exasperation.”

Allie rubbed her gloved hand over her face, and he knew it was to hide the smile she’d failed to fight.

“One more thing,” he said. “A courier will deliver a package tomorrow. It will contain an encrypted phone. Speaking might be too risky given we don’t know who is on Julian’s payroll, but we can text each other any necessary information.” He smirked. “Or Shakespeare.”

She shook her head. “You’re lucky you’re cute, Chase.”

Hudson lifted a brow. “Cute? Not the adjective I would have chosen.” He kicked his chin toward the Chicago History Museum. “Now go on before I drag you into that building and show you just how cute I can be.”

Her cheeks were already red from the chill of the wind, but when the color deepened he knew without a doubt she was blushing. And when Allie turned and took off toward her brownstone as he broke into a run in the opposite direction, he knew she had taken a piece of him with her.

*   *   *

The run back to his penthouse had nearly put Hudson’s balls into hibernation. Nearly. Toeing off his shoes, he stripped naked and let his longsleeve T-shirt and sweatpants drop to the floor in a wet heap. He walked to the shower, cranked on the dual heads, and stepped under the spray. Closing his eyes, he faced the onslaught and was immediately hit with a poignant sadness and a bone-splitting emptiness.

He tried to concentrate on the heat of the water beating against his chest and rushing over his tired, chilled muscles. Fuck him, it wasn’t happening. Allie and this mess occupied every corner of his mind, and the fact that Max hadn’t turned up shit on Julian was throwing his mood even further into the crapper.

As he started to run through the various scenarios that could nail the connection between Julian and the Sinclair murders, he felt a soft feminine hand on his shoulder, then felt the warmth of naked skin at his back.

Hudson turned, and as he did, Allie’s hands drifted over the hard ridges of his stomach. “How did you get in here?”

“You gave me a key card, remember?” She leaned forward and pressed her lips to his chest.

“An excellent move on my part.” His hands gripped her waist, then slid up her delicate rib cage. “Not that I’m complaining, but address the how.”

“I took the tunnel under Lake Shore and cut through the Drake, then came up through the garage.”

The pads of his thumbs circled her nipples and he felt them tighten under his touch.

Allie drew a breath before continuing. “Last time I saw the black SUV, it was stuck in gridlock. Now, do you want to discuss the traffic on Michigan Avenue, or do you want me to suck your cock?”

He cupped her cheek and brushed a thumb across her bottom lip. “I want your perfect lips wrapped around my cock. And when I come in your mouth, you’ll remember who you belong to.”

“As if I could ever forget.” Her smile was absolute wickedness as she dropped to her knees and into every man’s shower fantasy in flawless HD.

Water hit the back of his neck, sluiced over his shoulders, and dripped off the head of his cock as it jutted out from his hips, begging for attention. Anticipation shot down his spine, going straight between his legs and making him painfully hard. Goddamn, the bastard was pounding.

Allie kept her eyes locked on his as her fingers curled around his thick shaft. She licked her lips, then leaned forward and took the wide head into her mouth—so slick, warm, and wet. The sensations of her drove him half crazed. His stance widened as her hands slid up his thighs to his ass. Her fingers splayed, pulling him deeper until she’d taken all of him.

“Fuck,” he hissed. The sight of her, on her knees before him while she deep throated his cock, almost had him losing it.

Hudson’s palm slapped against the marble and his hips flexed, thrusting himself in and out of all that silky wetness. She pulled back, her tongue stroking his length and her teeth grazing his tip, then her cheeks hollowed as she sucked him back in again.

“Rougher.” His breath punched in and out of his lungs, and when she cupped his heavy sac, a groan ricocheted off the walls.

Fuck him, he could spend eternity working her mouth. Her skill was downright deadly. His arms dropped, his hands seeking, finding, and fisting Allie’s hair. Need surged in him, and he thrust himself even deeper, the drive to fuck overriding all else. An approving hum escaped Allie’s lips as if she were savoring every inch of him, and the sound vibrated up his length. He knew how wet it made her to suck him off, and Jesus Christ, what a turn-on. He wanted to return the favor and go down on her, to taste her and feel her pulse around his tongue as she came. But her punishing rhythm and the graze of her teeth yanked him back into the present.

She fluttered her tongue along the underside of his cock, then her lips closed around the head and she sucked. His grip on her hair tightened and the muscles in his neck chorded. He was dangerously close to the edge, but she didn’t ease up in the slightest. And like hell if he was going to slow things down.

He stole a glance at her as the water beat down around them. No makeup, her skin flushed, her lashes fanned against her face—she couldn’t have been more beautiful. Add to that the visual of him moving in and out of her mouth, her cheeks hollowed, her hands gripping his thighs . . . his breath caught and his body locked as his orgasm shot down his spine. Allie moaned as his release filled her mouth in spasms. “Swallow it,” he grunted. “Take everything.”

Her throat worked his cock while her hands milked him, and damn it to fucking hell, even as his orgasm barreled out of him, he wanted her again. He wanted to press her tits against the cold glass and fuck her hard and fast, pulling her hips back and driving into her until she was shouting his name. And he would. He’d spend the rest of the day inside her. She was there, in his house, and every damn surface would be used without apology.

He had no idea what tomorrow held. But for now, she was his.

Chapter Eleven

Allie looked up from her computer as Colin plopped a brown paper bag on her desk. Whatever was inside smelled delicious and her stomach growled in agreement.

“What’s that?”

“It’s called lunch,” he deadpanned. “Traditionally served somewhere between breakfast and dinner.”

“I know what lunch is.” She rolled her eyes. “I meant why is there a bag of it on my desk?”

“Because when two o’clock rolled around and you hadn’t so much as poked your head through that door, I figured you weren’t going out for lunch. So,” he said, snapping a paper napkin open with an exaggerated flourish and spreading it out in front of her, “lunch came to you.”

“That’s very sweet, but you really didn’t need to do this,” she said, although he was right about her skipping lunch. Again. In an effort to take her mind off Hudson, she’d spent the past week working round the clock. And while her frantic pace hadn’t done anything to lessen the emptiness she felt inside, it had managed to make her forget a few meals.

“Oh, but I did. You’re wasting away to nothing right before my eyes.”

Allie snorted. “Hardly. And flattery won’t get you a raise,” she teased. “You haven’t been here long enough.” While it was true Colin had only been her assistant for a little over a month, he actually did deserve a raise. He’d already proven himself to be a trusted and invaluable member of her team. The scope of his duties seemed to expand almost daily to matters far more important than arranging lunch, although his thoughtfulness, not to mention the food, was certainly an added bonus. She made a mental note to speak to Ben about offering Colin a contract, something that would not only increase his salary but also secure his position. At the very least, she wanted to insure he was given adequate severance should push come to shove. Regardless of what lay ahead in terms of her future at Ingram, Allie wanted to make sure Colin’s career wasn’t affected by any fallout from corporate maneuverings.