Page 55 of When the Time Is Right
I only had two items of clothing on, so I returned to him to even the playing field.
Hudson stood a few feet from the end of my bed, rigid and tall, but his eyes were on me like a predator observing his prey as he unbuttoned his pressed, white dress shirt.
I slipped my hands inside and ran them down his sides to pull the bottom free, and then I pushed it off his broad shoulders. Newly taken with the sight of flesh I’d seen thousands of times, I pressed my lips to his chest atop his oh-too-perfectly-snug undershirt. Hearing his breath catch, I continued by dipping my fingers into the waistband of his slacks and tugging the ribbed tank up his stomach.
With both hands, he reached behind his head and in one swift motion yanked it off and threw it somewhere to the side.
I’d dated a few guys in the past who were shredded, but they’d had gym muscle. Hudson Bradley had work muscle, and believe me, there was a big difference. From the lats flexing at his sides with his arms over his head to the traps flanking his neck, he had a body shaped by years of hard, laborious work, and for some reason, that made it all the more masculine and sexy.
He wasn’t just fit—he was strong.
I licked my lips and spread my fingers across his abs like I’d been given the keys to a magical kingdom. Under my hands, he tensed, but he didn’t stop me. After running the ridges from his pecs to the mouth-watering V rising like a phoenix from his hips, I grabbed the buckle of his belt and pulled him back with me as I sat on the edge of my bed.
“Alexis.” His voice was low and there was a new edge to it that caused a shiver to skate up my spine.
I lifted my gaze up his body and fuck what a sight he was. His chest heaving. His jaw tight. His bottom lip pinched between his teeth.
God. Damn.
“Before this goes any further—because I’m not sure I’ll be thinking as clearly in a few minutes and I’m damn sure wild horses won’t be able to drag me out of this bed once I’m in it—we need to talk about your safety.”
My safety? Maybe my head was foggy, but I was certain no man had ever said that to me before sex.
“I have insurance,” I said, not entirely sure why. Although I wasn’t worried about getting hurt. Wait. Fuck. “How big has your dick gotten over the years?”
He chuckled, and the amused sound made my stomach flutter. “No. Not that. Like the condom in my wallet.”
I was so dumb. “Oh. Yeah. Don’t worry. I have a contraceptive implant. Nexpla-something. I’m good. No need for your ancient rubber here.”
Jesus. He had me thinking I was about to deep-throat a fucking aircraft carrier. Then again, if it was attached to the man before me, I’d have given it the good old college try.
No condom was a novel thought, one I’d never had before and one I’d certainly never entertained, but I didn’t want Hudson to wear one. I just wanted him. Wanted to feel all of him.
I added, “And I’m clean, I promise, and besides, I trust you. You don’t have to wear it. You don’t need to protect me. Especially not from you.”
He took my face in his palms and leaned down to kiss me, but before our mouths paired, he said, “Don’t you get it, Lex? I’ve had this relentless need to protect you nearly half my life. I have no plans of stopping now.”
That was the moment I realized how much he meant to me. How much he’d always meant to me.
He’d been the guy who’d told me my high school boyfriend had been messing around with another girl, and then he’d taken it upon himself to take me to homecoming so I wouldn’t have to go alone. He was the guy who picked me up from the first house party I went to when I’d had too much to drink. Only now had it become clear he’d stayed sober that night for me, just in case. He made sure I’d never been taken advantage of by a car salesman, a contractor, or a realtor. Shit, even my vet had been vetted by Hudson.
And when I’d needed him to protect me from the vast pit of agony I’d fallen into after Brenden’s accident, he’d been there too. Driving me to and from the hospital at all hours, when he had a one-year-old and a brand-new business. He made sure I didn’t starve or fall into a never-ending sleep when Brenden finally passed. He even went as far as rationing out the sleeping pills I’d been prescribed to make sure I didn’t take too many “by accident.” Without me even telling him, he somehow knew how low I’d gotten and what I’d considered a time or two to ease the pain.
