Hudson (19 page)

Her eyes had once been very blue, easy to see despite the
cataracts that clouded them now.  One hand trembled when she lifted the fragile
cup. 

“Food for my family.  I’ll also pay a little on the gas so
when it starts to get cold, we don’t have to worry.  The rest will be set aside
for rent next month.”

She stared at him without speaking for a long time, rocking
softly in her chair. 

“When I was newly married, we were in the middle of the
Great Depression.  Have you learned about that in school?”  Hudson nodded.  “I
had two little ones and another on the way.  Times were hard and everyone
worked.  Everyone pitched in to keep families afloat.”

He didn’t interrupt or fidget.  Over the years, many people
would remark on his ability to remain perfectly still. 

“My husband worked almost twenty hours some days.  I took in
laundry and sold eggs from our chickens, canning from our garden, and made
every penny stretch as far as I could.”  Mrs. Connelly sipped her tea.  “After
the war, things were suddenly prosperous again.  Work was easier to come by,
building started up again, and food was once again plentiful.”

Her rocker stopped.  “No matter how well my darling Walter
took care of us, I always kept a little back, saved what I could, and made the
most of every penny.  Hardship teaches a lesson you never forget.  You keep
coming here to help me, Hudson.  You do your part to keep your family afloat
and when you’re grown, you’re going to be more successful than you ever
dreamed.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

“Adversity makes you hungry.  I think
you
may be
hungrier than most.”

Every week for many years, she paid him to do odd jobs
around her home in addition to lawn work.  He did her grocery shopping and
often bought seeds with his own money so he could plant flowers around her
porch in the spring. 

They always spent a little time talking before he had to go
home.  It never failed to move him when she asked about his mother and his
brother and sister.  She knew Sister Dana from the soup kitchen where they both
volunteered. 

Mrs. Connelly was a good woman from the first day he knew
her until the last. 

When he returned to the Romans’ home, Natalia was waiting
for him in the driveway.  Beside her was a bike that looked brand new.  His
eyes widened.

“Before you say anything, my brother had this bike for
years.  He just took good care of it is all.  Mom says you’re to take it and
she’ll see you next weekend.”

Hudson took in the lanky girl.  They were almost the same
height but she was very narrow.  Usually, girls didn’t talk to him.  He thought
he maybe even scared them.  That was why he was shocked when she said, “We
should be friends.”

“I’m not…I mean, I don’t have friends.”

“Is it because of your family?”  He bristled and she rushed
on.  “No, I don’t mean it that way.  I don’t have friends either.”  She
shrugged and Hudson relaxed.  “I don’t like most other girls and I make boys
nervous.”  She tapped her temple.  “I’m super smart.  Boys don’t like that
much.”

“I don’t mind that you’re smart.”

Her grin was huge and he noticed her front teeth were
crooked.  She planned to push the bike while he pushed his lawn equipment. 
Part of him worried about her seeing where he lived.  Part of him figured if
she withdrew her friendship
now
it might be for the best. 

The neighborhood he lived in was less than a mile away but
it might as well have been in another town.  The differences were stark. 
Houses were in need of repair, yards were choked with weeds, and the few cars were
rundown, if they worked at all.

Natalia chatted non-stop while they walked.  He didn’t think
he’d ever talked so much at one time. 

“I like your name.  Is it special for something?”

“My…my dad’s last race in college was on the Hudson.  He was
the captain of his rowing team and they won by a huge margin.  My mom drove
behind the school’s team bus the whole way to New York.  After they won, she
said he picked her up and swung her around, that they couldn’t stop laughing.” 
Hudson cleared his throat.  “He asked her to marry him and she said yes.”

They walked a little way in silence.  “Back at school, his
friends were so impressed that they’d won – they were estimated to place third
or lower – that they started calling him Hudson.  He graduated and moved to New
York to work.  He planned to come back to get her when she was done with school
but then he died.”

Natalia said quietly, “I’m sorry.”

“My mom found out after his funeral that she was pregnant
with me.  Her family won’t talk to her.  His family blames her for his death.”

“But…why?”

“He was killed in a plane crash going to see her.”  He
walked up the broken sidewalk and turned at his house.  They did the best they
could to keep things up but he knew it needed paint.  “My mom is probably
sleeping but I need to check my little brother and sister.  Sister Dana
probably made a snack if you want to come in.”

“I’d love to, thanks.”

Sister Dana welcomed the young woman into their lives and
Natalia fell instantly in love with Scott and Sylvia who toddled around looking
adorable.  After they ate oatmeal cookies and he put all his stuff away, he
insisted on walking her back home. 

“You don’t have to, Hudson.  It isn’t far.”

With a firm shake of his head, he insisted.  “It’s too far
for you to walk alone.”  He gave her a rare smile.  “You’re my only friend and
you’re a girl.  Bad things happen to girls more than boys.  I’ll walk you
home.” 

Only when she was safely inside did he climb on his new bike
and return to his house. 

It was the first day of their friendship and it was rare,
even after three decades, for them to go a full day without talking.  He used
that bike day in and day out for
years
and the work Mrs. Roman and her
neighbors paid him helped keep his family safe. 

Elderly Mrs. Connelly changed his future. 

Only Natalia knew that before she died, the old woman used
the “nest egg” she’d been saving since World War II and paid for his college
education.  Her children didn’t know about the money so no one questioned such
generosity to a young man they’d never met. 

She also left him several suits, ties, and accessories from
her late husband with a note that said, “To get you started.  You’ll be buying
your own suits soon enough.”

Sister Dana, Mrs. Roman, and Mrs. Connelly were the three
adult women who had saved him when he was too young to save himself.  Natalia
had often saved him as a grown man.

When he started making money, he returned the favors he’d
received by helping every person who had a part in keeping him alive. 

The loss of Sister Dana a few years ago hit him hard.  In
many ways, she’d been his real mother when Camille was too broken to assume the
role.  Until her death, he ensured she wanted for nothing. 

Natalia’s mother was still alive, living in Boca Raton since
her father’s death.  He shared responsibility for her needs with his best
friend. 

He replaced the small stone that once stood on Mrs.
Connelly’s grave with one that was a work of art.  An intricately carved marble
angel held a plaque inscribed with the words, “
A devoted wife, mother, and
friend.  She always remembered her struggles and strived to help the hungry
.”

There was no end to what he would do to keep Camille and
Natalia safe and happy. 

His younger brother and sister lived under his umbrella of
protection from birth.  Ensuring they had food, shelter, and clothing drove him
as nothing else could have.  He often forgot they were his siblings and not his
children. 

Now Gabriella would find herself in a very small group.  He
hoped, eventually, she would be glad of it.  He hoped she would let them love her,
as she deserved.

First, they had to keep her alive. 

Brie’s family arrived within hours of the accident.  Eleanor
contacted them per Hudson’s instructions.  He stepped back, unwilling to
interact with them while she was unable to tell him what she wanted. 

The day after the surgery that saved her life, Gabriella was
placed in a medicated coma. 

He spent that day organizing his professional life with Lola
and made sure nothing would take him out of New York while Brie was still in
the hospital. 

Less than twenty-four hours after a car struck and almost
killed her, Hudson’s phone rang. 

“Winters.”

“Hollow.  Can you talk?”

“Yes.”

“Winters, this needs to be beyond private.”

A sense of foreboding settled over his body.  “I’m alone. 
Tell me.”

There was a long pause.  “You already know.  You know
exactly what I found out because you already suspected.”  There was silence for
almost ten seconds.  “Fuck.”

“Say it.  I need to hear you say it, Hollow.”

“The car that hit Gabriella Hernandez was paid for in cash
the day before.  We tracked him using the toll cameras.  The license plates
were bogus but the prints left behind when my guys found the car match Scott
Truing’s.  He wiped the interior down but forgot the trunk and inside the
doorframe.”

Hudson remained silent, processing the fact that the brother
he’d loved from birth and always tried to be there for had tried to murder
someone he loved.

“He was living with Christina but there hasn’t been any sign
of her in almost two months.  Not at her apartment and not on her credit
cards.”

“Christina would sell out her own mother to save her skin. 
Scott would have known that about her.”  He pressed his thumb and forefinger
into the bridge of his nose.  “How the fuck did I miss the fact that my brother
is a sociopath?”

It was a rhetorical question and Hollow didn’t answer.

“I need him picked up and taken to a secure location.  I
don’t care what it costs.”

“Consider it done.”

“Hollow?”

“Yes?”

“Don’t hurt him if it can be prevented.”

“I understand.  I’ll call you with the location when it’s
done.”

For an hour, he stared out at the magnificent view of
Manhattan from his office.  There was so much to consider.  At the top of his
mind was Gabriella’s care and safety. 

After all, his brother had already tried to kill her once.

He called Natalia. 

“Have you heard anything?”  Briefly, he told her about his
call from Hollow and she whimpered in pain.  “I hoped you were wrong.  I
wanted
you to be wrong.”

“I want you to move into the penthouse.”

“Why?”

“Many reasons, Natalia.  Some are urgent while others are
preference.  Christina is missing.  I’m having Scott picked up.  I’ve already
assigned security to Brie in the hospital but…I don’t know.  Was he doing this
for himself?  Did he work with someone else?  Until I can trust myself to
question him…I don’t know what we’re dealing with.” 

“What about Camille and Sylvia?”

“Mom won’t leave the building.  Sylvia isn’t speaking to me
right now.”

His best friend was quiet as she thought about his offer. 
“I’m not sure what to do.  I want you to be comfortable, to know I’m safe.  I
know that’s important to you.”

“But…?”

“I worry about Gabriella.”

That went around in his brain and he closed his eyes against
the possible landmines the relationship he wanted could present.  “You think
she’ll feel second.”

“Second to you.  Second to me.  Yes.”

“Natalia, I absolutely understand and can only say we’ll
deal with that particular problem when we get to it.  Her doctors say they’ll
keep her under for at least two weeks.  Possibly longer.  The damage to her
skull…”

Calming the pounding of his heart, he started again.  “That
is too long to spread my attention in so many directions.  I’ve had someone
watching my mom for a while now.  Since my initial conversation with
Gabriella.  I wanted to know if Scott visited.  If he tried to twist her up.”

“I know you’re not leaving Sylvia in the wind.”

“Hollow is tracking her.”  He was prepared to pressure her. 

“Alright.  I’ll pack some things and be over tonight.”

He exhaled roughly. 
Thank you.
  “I’ll send the car.”

Hudson and Natalia’s first night living together started
awkwardly. 

Over the past decade, when Natalia arrived at his place
after dark, she was his submissive from the moment she stepped off the
elevator. 

This time, he greeted her.  One of the valets carried her
bags to the spare bedroom he’d prepared for her.  He held her hand and led her
to the kitchen. 

When he handed her a glass of wine, she gave him a careful
smile. 

“I don’t…know what to do.  I’ve been away from traditional
relationships too long.”

Hudson lifted his hand and stroked her black hair away from
her face.  “I’m afraid to frighten Brie.”  She nodded in understanding.  “I get
so pent up.  So stressed.”  He shrugged.  “I don’t know how to relieve it
without tying someone up and taking complete control of them and I know she can
never match what you give me with your submission…”

“She isn’t me and you would not want her if she was,
Hudson.  In comparison, I would never think to make you roast beef and comfort
you with gentle words and a soft touch.  I would bring the box and wait for you
to take my body in the way that suited you best.”

“Why am I like this?  Why do I tie the one person I trust in
all things?”

“In your sexual life…much like your business life…you are
the king of all you survey.  You have earned your alpha status with
intelligence and hard work.  You do not cause me pain for your pleasure.  You
know I need the edge.  I need the freefall.  You don’t
injure
me and you
don’t disrespect me…you push me higher than anyone else is capable and you
bring me back safe.”

She raked her fingers through his hair.  “Then there is the
side of you that adores women and wishes nothing more than to protect us.  Your
trouble, my darling Hudson, is trying to keep them in two separate realms. 
Both of those sides are
you
.” 

“I don’t know if I can merge them.”

“We’ll practice.  So we’re ready when we bring Brie home
from the hospital.”

Starting that night, they ordered food and waited until they
received a call from the hospital that Gabriella’s parents had returned to
their hotel. 

They walked to the building a few blocks away and no one
stopped them from entering her room.  First she was in intensive care, then
critical care, and finally in long-term care. 

Words whispered at her ears as they held her hands helped
them forget how close she’d come to death.  They ignored the swelling, the
bruising, stitches, the bandages, the casts, and talked to her about the life
they would show her.

They kissed her goodbye before the shift change just after
dawn and walked home.  Sometimes they walked the entire way without a word but
they always held hands. 

Several days after being placed into a medicated coma, Brie’s
brain began to swell a few minutes before their nightly visit.  She coded twice
before they were able to stabilize her. 

Hudson and Natalia stood shell-shocked outside her room. 
The nurses and doctors frequently glanced nervously into the hall. 

The two of them understood that it was Hudson’s recent
history of threatening administration making the hospital staff uncomfortable
and he wanted them focused on Brie. 

A cab returned them to the penthouse. 

Ragged emotionally and physically, they crashed in his bed. 
Natalia sobbed and they talked each other through fear that was unfamiliar.  They
fell asleep hours later, still wrapped tightly together, taking comfort from a
trusted source. 

Something roused Hudson in the hour before dawn and he
stared at Natalia’s sleeping face. 

Her eyes were swollen from crying.  Her lower lip was red
where she’d bitten it to keep from screaming when the nurse wheeled a crash
cart into Brie’s room. 

For a long time, he watched her sleep, remembering every
time she’d stepped up when others couldn’t or wouldn’t.  How she took his moods
and turned them around.  The way only
she
could keep him from losing his
mind. 

When her eyes fluttered open, he kissed her. 

It was different from every kiss they’d ever shared. 

Slowly, his tongue explored her mouth as his hands explored
her body.  He pulled the thin tank top over her head and pushed the soft panties
down her legs.  If she tried to speak, to question what was happening, he kissed
her again. 

This was no time for words.

Her hands lifted to trace him.  She rarely had the ability
during sexual play.  Short nails raked through his hair, over his nipples, down
his back, and her touch sank to his inner core. 

He held her hard and the kisses, the exploration went on and
on.  Then she pulled him and he moved willingly between her thighs.  She was
slick, ready for him.  The head of his cock found the heated entrance of her
pussy and he slid just inside. 

The skin of her back slipped over his arms where he hugged
her, connecting them as he worked his way inside a body that yesterday he would
have said was familiar. 

Fully seated, they stared at one another for a long minute. 
Sweat beaded on their skin, her face was flushed, their hearts pounded – their
flesh touched everywhere possible. 

Then Hudson
made love
to his best friend for the
first time.

Pressed as close as they could get, his strokes were slow
and deep.  He never looked away from her face.  He watched her watch him.  One
hand slipped around to brush her hair from her face.  His thrusts continued. 

Accustomed to being taken hard and fast, the first orgasm
built slowly.  As it broke over her, the flush staining her breasts, chest, and
neck, Hudson exhaled sharply and kept going, pushing her past the tightness of
her body and the milking of his cock. 

She sighed his name.

It could have been ten minutes or an hour but they
maintained the full body hugs as he showed Natalia in actions what had always
escaped him in words. 

The second climax stole her breath and it was the sight of
tears slipping from the corners of her eyes that took his control. 

He gave her his kiss as he filled her with his seed and it
was a moment unlike any that had come before.  When the spasms finally settled,
he continued to thrust lightly. 

“I love you.”

“I love you, Hudson.”

“Look at me.” 

Her eyes were closed and she slowly shook her head.  “I
can’t.”

“Look at me, Natalia.”

The light blue of her eyes shimmered with her tears.  He
kissed the corners, her cheeks, and at last her lips.  The touch of her hands
on his face, in his hair, was different from every other touch and he knew, in
that moment, that Brie had been right all along.

It was all about timing. 

The first time Hudson took Natalia to his bed had been after
he stopped her from having plastic surgery she didn’t need.  The beating he
later delivered to her boyfriend ensured their relationship was over for good.

He’d had several lovers by then and he found himself holding
back sexually with women who could not have handled what he wanted.  He dated
them, took them to dinner, and fucked them as hard as he could without the edge
he truly wanted.

He wanted
complete
control.  Over their experience
and his own.  He wanted to warm the surface of their skin to increase blood
flow and heighten the climax he provided.  To tie them down, perhaps completely
immobilize them, so they had no choice but to take what he gave.

His personal need started at nineteen with a random book
found on a forgotten shelf in a bookstore that no longer existed.  Images of
bondage – combining control with sexuality – sank into his brain and never
shook loose. 

Over the years, he visited clubs and found some were too
extreme while others were where older married couples walked on the dark side. 
He didn’t trust the women he dated with his secret.  He already had far too
much to lose if he confided in the wrong lover.

There was only one person he’d ever trusted in all
things.

During high school, they kissed, experimented, and laughed
about how being “boyfriend and girlfriend” was too
mainstream
. 

In college, they fucked around when they had too much to
drink.  A ready excuse was necessary back then.  A
reason
for touching
one another intimately without a commitment on either side.

The night everything changed between them, she stayed at his
apartment and he was twenty-four.  She came out of his shower barefoot in
panties and a t-shirt, toweling her hair. 

From his chair across the room, he watched her.  Gradually,
her movements slowed and finally stopped.  She held the towel in one hand as
she stared back at him. 

“Come here.” 

He still remembered how her eyes widened at the command in
his voice an instant before her nipples hardened sharply. 

She made her way across the wood floor and stopped inches
from his knees.

“I want to fuck you.”

Her eyes were huge in her face.  Her damp hair curled around
her cheeks.  “Alright.”  The words were said softly and he knew she was unsure
of what he was trying to tell her.

“I need to experience something with you tonight.  If you
don’t like it, we’ll never try it again.  If you aren’t happy, we’ll go on as
we have…with this between us.”  He took a deep breath.  “If you do enjoy it, we
need to talk.”