Hudson (20 page)

She didn’t speak, simply nodded.  Her trust in him was
written on her face as it had been the night he met her and walked her home to
make sure she arrived safely. 

He would always make sure she arrived safely. 

Standing, he slid her t-shirt up her body and tossed it to
the couch.  “Walk to the bedroom.”

She turned on her heel without hesitation and entered his
room.  His bed featured a wrought iron headboard and he planned to tie her to
it. 

“Get on the bed on your knees.  Grip the top rail.”  He
opened his closet and removed two ties.  Approaching her from the side, her eyes
flicked to his hands and back to his face.  “I won’t hurt you.  I would never
hurt you, Natalia.”

“I know.”  She faced the wall above the bed and held the
rail until her knuckles were white.  “I trust you more than anyone else in my
life, Hudson.  I hope you don’t think badly of me…after.”

He didn’t bother to respond to the statement.  It was
ridiculous to even consider that he would ever think badly of her.  He accepted
her unconditionally. 

He secured her to the frame and removed her panties.  He
took his time stripping away his clothes and watched her.  She didn’t move. 
From the bedside table, he removed lubricant.  He hesitated as he reached for a
rubber.

“Are you still on birth control?”  She nodded.  “Can I take
you without a condom?”  Her eyes met his and she nodded again, slower this
time.  “I’m clean and if you should ever end up pregnant, I’ll take care of
you.”

Swallowing hard, she turned back to the wall.

“Spread your knees.” 

She did and when he stood on the bed, she stared at his
cock.  Never in his life had he been so hard.  The shaft jutted from his body,
the head was almost purple, and his balls were drawn tight.

“Open your mouth.”

Her eyes lifted as her lips parted and he fisted her hair. 
Holding her still, he started with shallow thrusts, gradually increasing the
depth and force. 

When her eyes began to water, he slowed and pulled back. 
Gently, he told her, “Breathe through your nose.  I’ll be more careful.” 

The first climax took less than ten minutes.  Being able to
fuck her hot mouth had stolen control he hadn’t fully achieved yet.  When he
softened a bit, he thrust between her lips more firmly and she gained
confidence in the act. 

Over the years, she would perfect the art of taking his
cock.

Pulling from her, he went to his knees and kissed her hard. 
She whimpered against him and he allowed his hand to drift over both breasts,
down her torso, to her pussy. 

She was
drenched
and he broke the kiss. 

“You liked that?  You liked me fucking your mouth?”

“Yes.”

“You’re so wet.”

“Hudson…
more
.”

Positioned behind her, he was still hard enough to enter
her.  He pressed her and she leaned forward to rest her head on her tied
hands.  He pumped into her wetness slow and easy until he hardened fully
again. 

Allowing his thumb to trace the pucker of her ass, he asked,
“Has anyone ever fucked you here?”

“No…but I want to know what it’s like.”

He spent a long time preparing her ass with his lubed fingers
while he casually stroked into her wet heat.  When she was slick and warm, the
tightness eased a bit, he scissored them inside her. 

Natalia panted into the quiet room.

Hudson pulled from her body and went to wash his hands,
returning with a small bowl of soapy water and a washcloth.

“It might hurt.” 

“I know.”

“You haven’t come yet.”

“I’m letting it build.  I do that when I’m alone.”

Without another word, he climbed back on the bed and
positioned his cock at her anal star.  Carefully, he pushed forward and
listened to the sounds she made until he was buried to the hilt. 

Leaning over her back, he whispered at her ear, “Your ass is
squeezing my cock like a vice.  Are you alright?”  She nodded.  “Tell me if you
need me to slow down or stop.” 

He gripped her hips and pulled back, dripping more lube over
his exposed shaft.  Then he powered forward and she screamed.  Instead of
stopping, he set up a steady rhythm until she was moaning and pushing back to
meet his thrusts. 

“Feels so fucking good, Natalia.  So fucking good.”

“More.” 

With a deep breath, he took her harder and watched the
muscles of her ass flex with each thrust.  Reaching beneath her, he stroked
over her folds.  Pinching her clit between his thumb and forefinger, she
gasped.

“I’m going to come.  Don’t stop.” 

Stroking and pinching the little bundle of nerves, she went
over the edge with a muffled scream and shoved her body back to take his cock
deeper. 

There was only a slight hesitation as he gripped her firmly
and fucked her harder than he’d ever taken another woman. 

In moments, he was filling her with his come as her name
echoed through the room.

They stayed like that for a long time.  Getting their bodies
under control so they could think. 

“Hudson?”  He kissed her shoulder.  “I liked that a
lot
.”

Now, it was sixteen years later and they’d just experimented
with the unknown once again. 

“Natalia?”

Her fingers traced his brows but she didn’t speak.

“I liked that a
lot
.”

She made a sound that was a combination of laughing and
crying.  Then they were hugging each other tight as he stroked her hair and
whispered that it was going to be okay now. 

He knew she didn’t believe it yet. 

He would convince her.

The first thought Gabriella had when she opened her eyes was
that she’d never hurt in so many places at the same time. 

“
Gabriella…Gabriella.
” 

The shock of hearing her mother’s voice beside her an
instant before the strongest woman she’d ever known burst into tears
scared
her to death
.  She tried to speak, to reassure her, and realized there was something
over her face. 

Full out panic.  She was suffocating…

A nurse leaned over her and whispered, “Miss Hernandez, ssh,
there’s a tube down your throat.  I’m going to remove it now.  It’s going to be
okay.” 

She worked quickly and efficiently to loosen the tape and
pull the plastic out.  The gagging and eventual vomiting embarrassed her.  The
thin fluid went in her hair. 

Confused and in pain, tears fell freely. 

“The doctor is coming.  There, there.”  The woman had a soft
accent.  With gentle hands, she wiped her face and helped her rinse her mouth. 
“We’ve been keeping a close eye on you today.  The doctor said your vitals
indicated you might wake up.”

She tried to talk but nothing came out.  After a small sip
of water that burned all the way down, she tried again.  “
Day…?
”

“You’ve been with us for almost four weeks.”  She knew the
shock must have been written all over her face.  “Don’t worry.  You’re very
much on the mend.  You have quite the fan club.”  She winked and started
cleaning the bile from her hair.

A warm and calloused hand stroked her head and she turned
slightly to see her father.  Cabral Hernandez was Superman to his daughters.  Anything
he put his mind to, he managed to accomplish.  He’d instilled a willingness to
work hard, every day, to accomplish their goals.

“My Gabriella.  How we have worried for you.”  He bent to
kiss her face all over then reached to pull her mother closer. 

Still lovely in her fifties, Tallila Hernandez wiped away
her own tears.  She was brilliant and people in the business world tended to
underestimate her because English was not her first language and she’d been
born in a poor village with no running water or electricity. 

She turned a firm look on her youngest daughter.  “What have
I
told
you about letting anything happen to my little one?  Hmm?  You
are one of my two most precious possessions…you cannot allow even the tiniest
scratch.  Not the
tiniest
.” 

With their cheeks pressed together, she added in whispered
Spanish, “You are
never
to scare me so badly again.  I wouldn’t survive
losing one of my girls.”

Izzy worked her way between their parents.  “I go to the
damn bathroom for five minutes and you
finally
wake up!  Oh my god,
Brie!  You never do anything halfway.”  Tears of relief poured down Isabella’s
face.  She kissed her then rested her head on Brie’s shoulder and sobbed
brokenly. 

Brie struggled to speak.  “
…happened
?” 

Her older sister pulled back.  “You don’t remember?”  Brie
shook her head.  “A car hit you as you were crossing an intersection.”  She
lifted her hand and kissed the back.  “You have broken bones…everywhere.  It
was the internal injuries that worried your doctors.”

“
Walk…?
”

“You aren’t paralyzed, Brie.  No, honey.  They have you on
an epidural to hold back the pain so you can heal.  They put you into a
medicated coma to let your body rest.”

A hundred things flew through her mind but she was unable to
capture any of them.  She drifted back to sleep and wondered if Hudson knew
about her accident.

The days passed like a dream.  She often saw and heard
people in her room but she had to struggle to stay awake, to focus, and her
body demanded rest.  Riya and Tawny may have come many times or it might have
been one day. 

Late one night, she dreamed she heard Hudson’s voice on one
side and Natalia’s on the other, whispering that they needed her to get
better.  They kissed her and stroked her hands, the only places on her body
that weren’t casted or bandaged. 

Hudson’s voice was deep and she wanted to crawl inside his
warmth and stay forever.  “You’re strong, Brie.  Fight and we’ll be here
waiting.”  He kissed her neck and added, “I’m so sorry, so very sorry.”

“Come back, Brie.”  It was impossible that she felt
Natalia’s tears. 

She wanted to comfort them, angry that she couldn’t open her
eyes.  “It’s alright.  Alright...”

The next day, she knew it had to be a dream.  It was the
first day she managed to stay awake for more than a few minutes at a time.  She
was shocked to learn she’d lost another week of her life.

Her mother held her hand.  “Gabriella?”

“Yes, mama?”

“Who is
this
Hudson Winters?”

She turned her head.  “How do you know about Hudson?” 
Concentrating, she added, “He isn’t the same man.”

“This I know.”  Tallila’s brows raised dramatically.  “It
would be impossible to not know about him since he is paying for your care
despite our insistence that we are perfectly able to do so.” 

Brie was unable to hide her complete shock.  “Hudson knows
I’m here?”

For a long time, her mother said nothing.  Then she sat
forward on the chair.  “Gabriella.  You’ve been more out of it than I realized
the last few days.  Hudson beat the ambulance to the hospital the day you were
hurt.”

“What?  I don’t understand.”

“Your father and I didn’t either.  When we arrived that
night, we assumed there would be papers to sign and insurance to present.  The
hospital informed us that your entire bill was being covered by Hudson
Winters.”  She shook her head.  “We were confused.  More so when we realized
you work in his building and live in an apartment he owns.”

“Mama, I work at the building where Hudson
lives
.”

Tallila blinked once.  “He owns the building, Brie.  It is
his corporation that signs your paychecks as well as every other employee
there.”

“My…the apartment?”

“He owns that as well.  His mother was kind enough to let us
in when we went to pick up a few personal things to bring for you.  Camille
said so many lovely things about you.”

“Camille…is Hudson’s…
mother
?”  The world tilted
sharply.  Gabriella’s brain said, “
Nope.  Too much conflicting information.
” 

Then it shut her off like a light.

It was dark when she startled awake.  The jarring movement
aggravated the broken vertebrae in her neck, the broken ribs, the fractured
pelvis, the broken bones in her wrist and both of her legs.  She managed to
muffle the whimper of pain.

Her head was pounding against her skull.  When the doctor
showed her the x-rays, she was reminded of a boiled egg that had been dropped. 
It was the worst of her injuries.  The one that would take a very long time to
heal. 

She was lucky the driver hadn’t killed her.  Lucky she
wasn’t paralyzed.  Grateful she still had brain function and remembered how to
tie her shoes, create a logo, and cook.  Gabriella knew she remembered these
things because she quizzed herself on them regularly.  

As she lay staring at the ceiling, the conversation with her
mother resurfaced. 

“I don’t understand.”  The words sounded too loud in the
private room…the room
Hudson
was paying for.  The air immediately cooled
hot tears as they slipped into her hair. 

“Gabriella.”  Izzy’s voice came from the side of the bed but
she couldn’t look at her.  “Brie, I spoke with Hudson…and Natalia.” 

“I don’t care.  I don’t want to know.”

“Why?”

“I’m the stupidest person on the planet.  How could two men
manage to fool me so completely?”  She closed her eyes and Izzy moved closer. 
“I’m tired, Izzy.”

Hands that had comforted her many times over the years
smoothed back her hair.  “Brie, put things in the right context.  Stop for just
a moment.  You told me how you met Hudson.  You said it was a horrible first
impression.  What are the chances you would have accepted his help?”

“After all this
time
…”

“I imagine that telling you he was responsible for finding
you a place to live and a job when you were at your lowest would have derailed
any chance of a relationship…with
either
of them.”

Brie’s eyes shot open and met her sister’s in a panic.

Isabella smiled.  “I don’t care, Brie.  You’re a grown woman
with a huge heart.  You deserve to find happiness wherever you can.”  She
leaned on the railing.  “If he told you after you’d been living there…don’t you
think it would have sounded like he expected payment in gratitude?  He’s very
abrupt, your Hudson.”

Turning her head, she said, “He isn’t
my
Hudson,
Izzy.”

“Maybe, maybe not.”  Her sister reached out and turned her
face.  “Do you know he and Natalia visit you every night?” 

“What?”  She knew her eyes were huge.

“Every single night.  One of the nurses calls to let them
know Mom and Dad are gone and they show up twenty minutes later.”  Her smile
was huge.  “That’s how I busted them.  I overheard the night nurse telling them
our parents had returned to their hotel so I waited.” 

“They…visit me?”

“Every night, Brie.”

“I don’t…I don’t remember.”

“You get heavier medication at night.  It doesn’t stop them
from coming, from talking to you, from kissing your face.”

“I wish I’d known.”

She looked at her watch.  “Are you awake?  Really awake?” 
Brie nodded.  “Good.”  She leaned over and kissed her cheek.  “I’m so glad
you’re alright.  I was out of my mind with worry.”

“I love you.”

“I love
you
, Brie.  You scared years off my life.”

“Off all our lives,” a deep voice said from the door.  Brie
glanced passed her sister and saw Hudson and Natalia standing in the
threshold. 

“I’ll see you in the morning.”  She kissed her and
whispered, “Give them a chance to explain.”

Isabella stood and smoothed her hair, grabbed her bag, and
left the room.

Without a clue what to say, Brie stared at the two people
she thought about most often when she was coherent.  Both of them were wearing
jeans, t-shirts, and sneakers.  She’d never seen them in outfits that wouldn’t
be appropriate at any board meeting.  Not in real life.

“You look so young in those clothes.”  Her voice was shaky
but she couldn’t seem to stop it. 

They approached the bed on either side and took her hands. 
Natalia had tears in her eyes.  “You’re awake.  For the first time since we’ve
been here.  Your eyes are so clear, Brie.  So pretty.”

She leaned to hug her carefully and then she was crying. 
“So worried.  I’ve never been so worried.”

“It’s alright.  Don’t cry, Natalia.  I’m going to be fine,
the doctors said.”  With a slight turn, she kissed the soft skin just below the
other woman’s ear. 

Natalia leaned back and stared at her, warm fingers traced
her face.  “There are many things to talk about, Brie.  The one thing I want to
tell you…while you’re awake…is that I think you are one of the best people I’ve
ever known.  I made a mistake not telling you before.  You could have died and
you never would have known how important you are to me.” 

Gabriella opened her mouth to speak and Natalia put a finger
over her lips.  “Not now.  After we talk, you can tell me.”

“You think I’ll be angry.”

“I think we’ve made mistakes you might not forgive us for.”

Hudson squeezed her hand and she looked at him.  His face
was tense.  To an outside observer, they’d think he was angry but she’d spent
months watching him before he kissed her.  She knew his face better than she
knew her own. 

He was afraid.

“Tell me, Hudson.”  She needed to hear all of it from him. 
“No more lies, no deception.”

He put one palm above her head and leaned over her body. 
The palm he slid along her face and into her hair was so warm.  Her eyes
drifted closed for just a moment to absorb the sensation. 

“The day I met you, when I learned what had happened to you,
I knew you already thought badly of me.  I handled everything wrong.  I had to
get to the bottom of what brought you here but I needed to know you were safe. 
It was my responsibility.”

“It wasn’t…”

“My
name
.  Your con artist brought you to New York
using
my
name.”  He sighed heavily.  “I keep the first building I ever
purchased because I’ve seen people lose everything with one bad investment. 
It’s my insurance policy.  My apartment there sits empty…just in case.” 

Calloused fingertips made tiny circles at her temple.  “I
didn’t know if you’d stay or run back home to your parents.  I didn’t know if
you’d take a menial labor job.  Knowing you now, I realize you never would have
tucked your tail and run away.  You would have done any job to stay here.”

She nodded.

“I didn’t want you to know I was helping because I was such
a dick at first, I knew you wouldn’t accept it.”  Hudson gave her a small
smile.  “I wouldn’t have, in your position.  Then time passed and I didn’t know
how to tell you without it seeming like I expected something from you.  You
earned
every dime my company paid you.  You pay your rent
early
every month. 
You don’t owe me a fucking thing, Brie.”

Her eyes stayed on his for almost a minute and he didn’t
look away.  “Thank you for helping me.  I didn’t want to run home to my
parents.” 

He gave her a careful smile.  “If I hadn’t, you would have
taken an apartment you hated, a job you hated, and you still would have made
it, Brie.  That’s how you are.  You’re a fighter and you were
hungry
for
a new life.  Nothing would have stopped you from getting it.”