Fixed on You (23 page)

Whoa.
Did that mean that there were other moments when I wanted
to be really with him? When had that started?

I shot
a glance at Hudson who seemed to be heavy in his own thoughts. What would it
take to get in there? I tried to guess what he could be so absorbed with. “What
were you doing in Cincinnati?”

“Business.”

I
pinched the bridge of my nose. It was so much easier to have sex with the man
than to get him to share anything real. “That’s not very much of an answer.”

“I
wouldn’t talk to my girlfriend about business.”

“You
wouldn’t be my boyfriend if you didn’t.” Despite finally believing that Hudson
was indeed out-of-town that week, insecurity nagged at me still. I pushed for
more information. “Didn’t your mom and dad talk about business with each
other?”

“My
parents don’t talk about anything. If Dad’s at the house when we get there, he
will not sleep in the same room with Mother. Loveless marriage, remember?”

“Not a
good example then.” I tried a different tactic. “Look. I’m a business major. I
like to know about these things.” I licked my lips purposefully. “Doesn’t my
smart mind turn you on?”

“
Your
smart mind, not mine.” But he was hiding a smile.

I
slipped my hand down his thigh. “Come on. I’ve shown you mine. Show me yours.”

He
couldn’t resist me in full flirtation mode. He sighed. “There’s been some
outside interest in Plexis, one of my smaller companies. But I’m not keen to
sell to this particular buyer. The other members of the board feel
differently.”

Hudson
furrowed his brow and I thought he’d finished, but he went on. “Actually it’s
been quite stressful, fighting to keep Plexis together when so many are
opposed. Many stand to gain a sizable profit from a sale. I know that this
buyer would run the place to the ground. The company would be torn apart.
People would lose their jobs.”

I sat
mesmerized. In his brief divulgence, I saw something besides his passion for
his companies and the people that worked for them. I saw him relax and maybe
even enjoy telling me about something that weighed heavily on him. Did he have
anyone he shared these things with? It didn’t seem likely.

He
noticed me staring and he shifted.

I was
sure he’d be disturbed to discover how much I’d discerned from such a brief
conversation. So I deflected and lightened the mood. “Thank you! Was that
really so terrible?”

His
mouth tightened into a straight line, but I saw the gleam in his eyes. “I’m not
answering that. It’s not your turn.” He only paused a second before he said,
“Fine. It wasn’t that terrible. That’s what I’m offering for my turn.” 

“Hudson?”
I asked softly, hoping he didn’t see the full extent of my adoration in just
the speaking of his name.

“Yes,
precious?”

“You
aren’t really an asshole.”

He
brought one finger to his mouth. “
Shh
. You’ll ruin my reputation.”

We
continued the game through dinner at a clam bar in Sayville, covering a variety
of topics from favorite movies to worst dates to first kisses. Hudson and I had
very few things in common, but that only intrigued me more, and I had the
distinct impression he felt the same. Most of our differences seemed to come
from our backgrounds rather than our tastes. I didn’t know if I loved the opera—I’d
never been. And my favorite pastime—buying one movie ticket and sneaking into
several movies after—was born of a lack of funds that Hudson had never
experienced.

Underneath
it all, we both knew we shared one very vital commonality—our destructive
pasts. Though we seldom spoke of it, it shadowed many of our confessions. But
unlike with other men when I went through the routine of talking about myself,
I didn’t feel like I was holding back the truth. I wasn’t lying, like I had to
so many others. We didn’t talk about it, but it didn’t lie in the deep recesses
of ourselves, threatening to be revealed. It made the simple exchanges between
us easier and more poignant.

After
dinner when we returned to the road, we played the game at a relaxed pace,
letting long moments of comfortable silence fill the spaces between turns.
Finally, Hudson turned off Old Montauk Highway onto a private drive. At the
gate midway down the entry, he entered a code that opened the wooden doors and
allowed us to continue past the high hedge to the circle driveway. He stopped
the car in front of a traditional two-story estate.

“We’re
here,” he said in a sing-song voice not typical of Hudson Pierce.

My
mouth fell open as I stared up at the mansion, clearly lit with bright
torchlights like the fountain in the center of the circle drive. I’d tried not
to think too much about Hudson’s money, not wanting that to be the focus of my
attraction to him, but if there was ever a time to be appreciative of his
wealth, this was it. The stone house was breathtaking and extravagant, the kind
of thing I’d only seen in movies.

“It’s…wow.”

Hudson
laughed. “Come on. You’ll love the inside.”

I
opened the car door, immediately overwhelmed with the smell of the ocean air
mingled with a variety of early summer blooming flowers. The front doors opened
and an older balding man in a light gray suit approached us.

“Good
evening, Martin,” Hudson said, slipping his arm around my waist. “This is my
girlfriend, Alayna Withers. Martin is our household assistant.”

“A
pleasure, Ms. Withers,” Martin said, taking my hand. After he released it, he
spoke to Hudson. “Mr. Pierce, I’ll set your bags in the guest suite in the west
wing.”

Hudson
frowned as he handed Martin the keys to the car. “Is everyone in the west
wing?”

“Yes,
sir.”

“Then set
us up in the master of the east wing.”

With
his hand still at the small of my back, Hudson escorted me through the double
doors into the entryway of the house. The entry was bare except for an ornate
table set into the curve of the wide staircase.

“Hudson,
we’re in the kitchen,” Mirabelle’s voice called from the back of the house.

“I know
it’s late,” Hudson said to me, his tone full of apology, “but we should at
least say hello. Do you mind?”

I
wasn’t tired in the least. This was my time of day. If we hadn’t left town, I’d
just be starting my shift at the club. “It’s not late for me.”

For
some reason, this made Hudson smile. “Good.”

The
sensual promise in his tone made my thighs tense. God, with his endless
flirting in the car and the intimacy of our get-to-know you game, I was more
than seduced. All I needed was a bed and Hudson alone. And the bed was
optional.

Hudson
directed me through the back hallway of the entry toward the back of the house,
his fingers at my hip not providing nearly enough contact. At the kitchen, he
dropped his hand, and I sighed at the loss.

Fortunately,
I was able to disguise the sigh as one of awe at the room we’d entered. The
kitchen was larger than my apartment. Hell, the entryway had been larger than
my apartment. The walls were a light yellow cream, and the counter tops a brown
and white flecked granite. All the appliances were stainless steel, a striking
comparison to the hardwood floors. Even as someone with no interest in
kitchens, I admired its beauty.

We
found Adam and Mira leaning over the center island, scraping out what seemed to
be the final crumbs in a pie dish.

“I’m
pregnant,” Mira said before anyone could ask. “I don’t know what Adam’s excuse
is.”

“Was
that one of Milly’s pies?” Hudson asked.

Mira
nodded.

“Then
there’s his excuse right there. No one makes better pies than Milly. I can’t
believe you didn’t save any for us.”

“There’s
more for tomorrow,” Adam piped up. “We were strictly forbidden to touch them.
Milly’s our cook,” he said for my benefit. “She’s amazing.”

“Now
that the little one’s been fed,” Mira said, rubbing her belly, “I can give a
proper greeting. Laynie!” She wrapped her arms around me. “I’m so glad you
came!”

“Thank
you,” I said, stunned by her exuberance.

“How
was the trip? Did you get anything to eat?”

“Are
you offering to fix them something?” Adam put his hand near his mouth and mock-whispered,
“Mira doesn’t cook.”

She
narrowed her eyes at him, playfully. “I know how to use the microwave, though.”

“No
need to prove anything. We stopped in Sayville,” Hudson said.

“The clam
bar? Ooh, I’m jealous.” Mira moved to her brother and hugged him, giving him a
light peck on the cheek. “I’m still glad you’re here. It’s been ages since
you’ve come out.”

Hudson
slipped out of her grasp, but smiled. “I am too. Did Dad come?”

Mira
took the empty pie plate to the sink and filled it with water before leaving it
to soak. “Yeah, he’s already gone to bed for the night. Or he’s hiding from
Mom. He’s in the guest house.”

I
exchanged glances with Hudson, remembering our earlier conversation about his
parents’ loveless marriage.

“Where
is Mother? And Chandler?”

“I’m
here.” I looked behind me to see Sophia Pierce leaning against the arched
doorway. She wore a dressing robe and had a glass of something light brown on
ice. “Chandler’s out with the Gardiner girl. I don’t expect him until late.”

“Hello,
Mother.” Hudson walked over to her and kissed each of her cheeks.

“You
made it.” Sophia glanced at me. “Both of you.”

“Alayna
and I are seldom apart,” Hudson lied, pulling me to him.

“Good
evening, Mrs. Pierce.” I had been dreading seeing her again, but I made my
greeting as warm as possible. Hudson’s arm around me helped. “Thank you for the
invite. Your house is lovely.”

She
nodded. “I’m sure you want to get settled. I chose a room for you in the west
wing.”

Hudson
straightened. “I told Martin to set up the master suite in the east wing.”

Electric
tingles spread from my lower belly throughout the rest of my body. Hudson and I
sharing a master suite…the thought made me squirm. I’d tried not to dwell on how
we’d spend our nights in the Hamptons—whether they’d be filled with sex or considered
on-duty hours, I didn’t know. But now that the idea had been firmly planted, I
couldn’t stop thinking of the carnal possibilities.

Sophia
obviously didn’t feel the same way about her son and me sharing a bed. “Hudson,
that’s so far away from the rest of us.” Her ire was evident. Like Hudson, I
had a feeling she rarely had anyone oppose her. I imagined the shared trait
made for some pretty uncomfortable family meals.

And I
was about to share several of them before the trip was over. Lucky me.

Hudson
knew how to handle his mother. “We need the distance, Mother.” His tone was
final.

“Why?
We don’t bite.”

“Alayna
does,” he grinned wickedly. “And she can be quite loud.”

I
turned ten shades of scarlet. Did he actually believe every pretend girlfriend
wanted their sex life discussed with the mother? Though, I really could be
quite loud.

It was
Sophia’s shocked look that Hudson responded to, her expression likely the
intended outcome of his scandalous remark. “Oh, Mother, don’t look at me like
that. Neither Alayna and I have been virgins since we were sixteen.”

Sophia
pursed her lips and walked past us, finishing her beverage before placing it in
the sink.

Hudson
leaned into whisper in my ear, the warmth of his breath sending a shiver down
my spine. “Well, what do you know? That virginity fact did come in handy.”

I
elbowed him in the ribs, exasperated at being the victim in his poke at his
mother.

“Don’t
get pissy, Alayna.” He pulled me in front of him and wrapped his arms around
me, my backside to his chest. “Trust me—we want a room away from them.”

I
sighed into his touch, aware that we were on show, but enjoying the contact
nonetheless.

And
maybe he enjoyed the contact, too. Or he simply wanted to get away from his
mother because he excused us then. “We’ll see you in the morning. It’s late and
we’d like to get to bed.”

Or
maybe he really did just want to get to bed. God knew I did.

As we climbed the stairs and
turned toward the east wing, nervousness set in. I had learned that Hudson was
very intent on separating the fake from the real, and that left me to wonder
what would happen between the two of us at night when we were alone. It stood
to reason we’d have sex, and he had made sure our room was away from the
others. But did he want privacy so we could be intimate or so that his family
wouldn’t know we weren’t being intimate?

It was so confusing. He so easily
compartmentalized, but for me it was impossible. Everything I knew and felt
about him wrapped itself tightly around me at all times. There was no
separation of the pretend and the real except for how he reacted to me.