Her eyes fluttered closed, memorizing the feel of him moving hard and strong inside her—filling her, stretching her, possessing her—and a hot tear slid down her cheek. The intensity of their connection was almost more than she could bear.

He moved faster, pushed higher, until finally it became too much. Her back arched against the shelves and her body exploded in a violent rush.

“Again,” he growled, and with a roll of his hips drove her over the edge once more. Her head fell back on a desperate cry of his name as fierce tremors pulsed through her. Hudson was tireless, grinding into her with unrelenting thrusts until she came again and again, each orgasm rolling into the next as her core clenched and released.

With a long, deep groan he drove hard one last time, burying his face in her neck as he found his release. His breath was harsh and hot against her skin. “Never enough, Allie. It will never be enough.”

Her body shuddered on a silent sob and she collapsed against his chest. Totally exhausted. Totally sated.

Totally his.

Chapter Thirty-five

Shots rang out.

Like a fist out of the darkness, the nightmare seized Hudson with a fury. He couldn’t move and his heart was hammering in his chest.

Sucked into the vortex of terror, he was on his knees, unable to speak. Death encircled him as the metallic stench of blood coated the back of his throat. It was splattered on his shirt and dripping from his fingers in rivulets.

Flashing lights descended on the convenience store and the image sharpened. They’d come back in for something. What had he foolishly wanted? Crippling grief haunted every cell of his body.

Wake up, damn it . . . wake up. Hudson fisted the sheets under him in his rising panic.

A weak hand captured his and held on. Everything was chaos. People ran around him shouting commands. His mother skidded to her knees, slipping through the viscous liquid that stained her legs, and wrapped her arms around him, clutching him to her chest. She was so cold, yet the room was stifling hot and he was sweating.

And as quick as a last breath, the hand clutching his let go. The sounds of his mother’s scream ricocheted off the walls so loudly he thought the fluorescent lights above them would shatter.

He should be crying, shouldn’t he? With a scream lodged in his burning throat, Hudson squeezed his eyes shut, straining to force tears out for someone he should be crying for. Why wasn’t he crying? Why couldn’t he cry for the one person who meant so much to him?

This was his fault . . .

All his fault.

“Hudson.” Gentle cool hands landed on his chest. “Hudson, wake up.”

White-knuckling the sheets, Hudson thrashed his legs and his chest heaved with a panting breath.

“Hudson. You’re dreaming. Wake up.”

He bolted upright. “What? What is it?” His eyes darted around the room.

“You were having a nightmare.”

“Jesus.” Closing his eyes, Hudson scrubbed a hand down his face, the remains of his dream clinging to him like a physical blow.

“Are you okay?” she asked. He could hear the concern in her voice.

“Yeah.” Fuck no. “Yeah.” He looked at Allie kneeling back on her heels beside him and thought how convoluted and screwed up her life was because of him. She didn’t need someone like him fucking everything up the way he had with his own family, but the compulsion to be with her was like a madness.

In a series of smooth and swift movements, Hudson rolled her beneath him. She gasped as he yanked her T-shirt over her head, baring her entire body to him before taking her mouth with primal desperation.

“I want you.” He hooked his ankles with hers and spread her legs wide. With the nightmare still fresh in his mind, all he wanted was to be lost in the softness between her thighs, to feel her wrapped around him. For just one moment he wanted to be free of his past. To be free of his guilt.

“Wait, Hudson. Wait,” she panted, and pushed against his chest. “We need to talk. You were screaming.”

He pressed his lips to her throat, sucking gently. “I don’t need to talk. I need you. I need this.” She moaned, bowing into his hands as his cock stroked between the lips of her sex. Sealing his mouth over hers, his tongue dipped into her with deep, lush glides. He laced his fingers with hers and slipped her hand between them. “Feel me as I take you.”

With a necessity fueling what was already an almost debilitating desire, he entered her on a solid stroke.

Chapter Thirty-six

Allie tapped her foot on the lobby floor, glancing up at the descending numbers above the elevator doors, willing them to move faster. She was late, seriously late, and she was never late to work. Ever.

“What is taking so long,” she mumbled.

Wanting to check the time, she fished her phone out of her purse, only to realize she’d never turned it on. As soon as she did, it started to vibrate with missed calls and messages. The most recent was a text from Harper. Allie read it as she stepped into the elevator.

Meeting NOW. Where R U?

“Shit,” she cursed under her breath while shoving the phone in the pocket of her jeans. Jeans, at work! Another thing she never did, but desperate times and all that. She’d overslept—item three on the morning’s “never” list—and had barely had time to brush her teeth and throw her hair in a ponytail, let alone swing by her place for work clothes.

The elevator doors slid open. Allie bypassed her office and bolted straight for the conference room. Mr. Ellis never broke stride as she slipped into the room, continuing as if nothing was amiss while she quietly took her seat at the table. Allie ignored Harper’s raised brow, dropping her purse on the floor and powering up her tablet. An incoming message filled a chat box in the corner of the screen before she’d even had time to pull up the agenda.

When did we start Casual Mondays?

Leave it to Harper to not let the jeans go unnoticed, let alone unmentioned. But either way, Allie did need more suitable clothes for the rest of the week. She made a mental note to swing by her apartment after work and grab a few things. Clothes, shoes, underwear. Come to think of it, she might need to run out at lunch and buy more underwear, given the rate Hudson tore through them. The thought of his fingers shredding through satin and lace made a warm blush spread over her cheeks.

Within seconds another message appeared.

OMG, you spent the weekend with HIM, didn’t you?

Followed by another . . .

Don’t bother denying it. I know the walk of shame when I see it.

And then another . . .

You can’t avoid me forever.

No, but she could certainly try. Allie shot Harper an annoyed look, then turned her attention to the meeting’s agenda. She scanned the bullet points, desperately trying to decipher which item they were currently discussing.

“Could you and Harper handle that, Alessandra?”

Allie’s head snapped up at the sound of her boss’s voice. Handle what? Jeez, she was a mess. And it was only Monday. “Sure thing,” she said, wondering what in the hell she’d just agreed to. A message popped up from Harper, who had clearly read her mind. Or at least her panicked face.

Textbook budget.

Ah, okay. “Thank you,” Allie mouthed across the table. A yawn came out of nowhere and, embarrassed, she quickly covered her mouth with her hand. Harper’s eyes grew wide and she immediately began typing. Allie frowned. Great, what now?