Chapter 11

11

Hudson

Hudson’s Words To Live By:

When all else fails, get naked.

The heat in Charlie’s eyes was unmistakable.

Definitely on board with the naked plan.

“Do you want to get on the bed, Hudson?”

The way he said my name made me shudder. My pants strangled my throbbing erection, and I knew “get on the bed” might mean I’d be able to take my pants off and finally get some relief.

“Yes. God, yes,” I sighed. “Are you… I mean, is that okay with you? I don’t want to make you do anyth—”

He shut me up with a quick kiss before pulling back with a grin. “You are sexy as hell and clearly enthusiastic. That is most definitely okay with me, Mr. Wilde.”

After kicking off his shoes, Charlie led me toward the large bed in the middle of the room. How I made it across the small space without tripping remained a mystery since I couldn’t take my eyes off the way Charlie’s small tight bottom flexed and shifted in his jeans. All I could think about was how that ass had probably had some other man’s hands on it at some point. The thought of someone else’s touch on Charlie’s naked ass made me fucking crazy. It was a bizarre combination of lust and extreme jealousy.

I didn’t want anyone else’s hands on him.

At the same time, it was hard to picture my own hands on his bare ass. And wasn’t that just ridiculous?

“Hudson?”

I looked up to see him staring down at me from where he knelt on the edge of the bed. I was frozen at the edge of a cliff. This was really happening.

“Yeah, good,” I said, clearing my throat and attempting to smile. Shit was getting real. “Lead the way. To the bed. Well, you’re already on the bed. Which means all that’s left is me… me getting on the… the, ah…”

I swallowed.

Charlie’s face softened, and a teasing glint reached his eye. “The bed?”

Instead of being mortified by my stupid nerves, I was comforted by his sweetness.

“I’m sorry,” I said with a sigh, stepping up the final two steps until we were nose to nose. I knelt onto the bed in front of him and then reached out my hands to pull his hips toward mine. Once our lower bodies were pressed together and he could feel my excitement against his belly, I told him the truth. “I’m not going to pretend I’m completely at ease here. I’m obviously not. This is new to me. But you’re the sexiest human being I’ve ever met, and I want to get you naked more than just about anything I’ve ever wanted in my entire life.”

I leaned in and pressed my lips to the edge of his mouth before moving to kiss him on the cheek and then below his ear and down his slender neck into his collar. While I slid my lips along his skin, I asked him to be patient with me and told him how much I wanted to touch him and kiss him.

By the time I pulled the loose neck of his sweater down to reach his collarbone again, he was panting.

“Christ,” Charlie gasped.

Climbing onto the actual bed made what we were doing more real, but instead of flipping out, I was revved up and nervous all at once. My hands were shaking, and I worried about saying or doing something stupid.

“Get naked,” I blurted.

Charlie snorted as his eyes crinkled. “You don’t fuck around, do you?”

I shook my head. “I’m sorry… I didn’t mean it like that. I want to see you… want to touch you.”

“Are you sure about this?” His hands were clutching the bottom of his sweater, and I willed them to lift it up and off.

“Uh-huh. Very sure. Take that off.”

Charlie’s nostril’s flared. “I think I like bossy Hudson. Didn’t know he existed, but I have to say… it’s working for me.”

His grin was adorable and made his lips look even more like ripe cherries than they already did. Within seconds, his sweater was off, revealing a soft threadbare concert tee underneath.

“You like One Direction?” I said in surprise.

He lifted an eyebrow and crossed his arms in front of his chest to hide the faded band logo. “Shut up.”

“For real? Or are you wearing that ironically?” I couldn’t help but tease him. He was so fucking cute. “Wait… are you gay?” I gasped the last word and put my hand in front of my mouth in feigned shock.

“Just for that, I’m going to keep it on and make you look at it.” He unfolded his arms and held them out to the sides in a Rose from Titanic move. His arms were pale and slender with small but noticeable muscles. I wondered if they were from lifting kegs and equipment for the breweries and pub.

I stepped closer to him. “What if I don’t want to look at it?” My voice came out huskier than normal, and it seemed to make the green of his eyes deepen. Another move closer and I reached for the hem of his shirt and skimmed the back of my fingers along the bare skin of his abdomen underneath. Charlie’s breath hitched, and his muscles shifted beneath warm skin.

“Then I guess you’d better take it off,” he breathed.

I felt the warm air of his breath at the base of my throat and was reminded of our height difference. His thick red hair was a glorious, sexy mess from pulling his sweater off, and I wanted to mess it up even more.

Before lifting his T-shirt up, I leaned in for another kiss. Charlie let out a soft moan the minute our lips met. His were so soft and plump, I wanted to suck them into my mouth and toy with them for hours. I let go of his shirt and cupped his face, surprised by the feel of his evening scruff but not in a spooked way. Just… different.

He smelled different too. Not artificial or full of beauty products but earthy and… and somehow alluring in a way I couldn’t put my finger on. Something that reminded me of home. I moved my lips down his jaw to his throat and inhaled the crook of his neck.

“Mm, that feels good, but I’m sure I still smell like a pub,” he murmured, half kiss-drunk and practically humming with need. “I should shower again. Shave and… ahhh.” When I took his earlobe between my teeth, Charlie melted against me with a whimper. “Fuck, right there. That’s the spot, Hudson.”

My hands had made their way under his shirt again to the warm, smooth skin of his back. I pulled him close to me until I could feel his erection against my inner thigh. Good god, I wanted him so badly—it scared me how much I wanted him. But I was terrified of rushing my one wild night—the single moment of crazy I’d planned on allowing myself.

What if I let it pass too quickly and then it was over forever? I couldn’t even fathom how much regret I’d feel if I looked back at my night with Charlie and decided I took things too fast.

I moved my mouth back to his and was surprised when he took the lead as soon as our lips touched again. He must have thought I was moving too slow, and I was 100 percent on board with him setting the pace.

I moved my hands down to the waistband of his jeans and wanted to slide my fingers into the back of them to feel the cheeks of his ass, but I hesitated. What if instead of moving too slow, I was moving too fast? How fast did guys move? I wouldn’t be that forward with a woman, so did that automatically mean I shouldn’t be that forward with a man either?

Instead of grabbing his ass, I rested my hands on his waist as if we were slow dancing at prom. Stupid. My head began to spin with all kinds of random thoughts. The alcohol buzz had worn off, but the buzz of how-awkward-am-I-right-now remained strong.

Where the hell should I put my hands? God, his tongue feels amazing in my mouth. What if guys don’t kiss this long and I look like an idiot for wanting to kiss him so much?

Charlie pulled back and gazed at me. He looked so incredibly hot and thoroughly kissed, my dick jerked hard at the sight of him.

“What’s wrong?” I asked, sure that something in my stupid brain had been broadcast to him. “Is it the kissing? Too much kissing? Or my hands? Was that weird? That was weird.” I clasped the offending objects together behind my back.

“You okay, Hudson?”

“Yeah, of course,” I said, leaning back in to pick up where we left off. Charlie dodged me and moved back, pulling out of my reach. I knew I should have stuck my hands down his pants earlier. Then he wouldn’t have been able to get away as easily.

“We should slow down,” he said. His hands found his hair again and clutched thick hanks of it while he blew out a breath. My eyes went straight to the exposed strip of pale skin between the hem of his tee and the low waist of his jeans.

And then my eyes went even lower… to the prominent bulge fighting with faded denim. My heart banged like giant tribal drums in my chest.

“You’re really hard,” I said without thinking. Of course he was hard. And I already knew that from feeling it against my leg. Why was I stating the obvious?

Charlie barked out a laugh. “Ah, yeah. Yeah, Hudson, I’m hard as fucking nails. And you?”

I pulled at my own uncomfortable crotch. “Harder than I’ve ever been in my entire life,” I admitted. “So why’d you stop?”

His entire face lightened with relief. “Thought maybe you needed a break.”

I nodded. “Yeah. Okay.” I looked around the room as if assessing its decor. My fingers clasped each other again hard enough to turn my knuckles white. “This is nice. I like the… ah… wall color in here.”

My cool act needed a little work.

I looked back at those incredibly green eyes. “Break over,” I declared in a rush. And then I tackled him onto the bed.