Page 109 of Abyss

Could we?

“I have something for you.”

His husky voice makes my toes curl, even though I’d just been thoroughly fucked not even ten minutes ago. I swear my body is a twenty-four-hour diner when it comes to him. Apparently, it believes he’s allowed tocomeinside anytime. Pun intended.

I tilt my head to gaze up at him curiously. “What?”

He shifts to open the drawer of his nightstand, finding a little box and handing it to me.

Sitting up in bed, I inspect the box in my hand with asurprised look, noting the way his eyes blaze as they drag down my bare body.

My mouth drops open when I peek inside. “Hudson . . .” I swipe my tongue over my lips as if I’m parched. “Wh-when did you—”

“This morning.” He watches my expression intently. “You like them?”

“I . . .” I’m still scrambling for words as the prick of tears meet the corners of my eyes. I inspect the delicate cherries with golden stems hanging off shiny studs with the tip of my finger. “They didn’t have a gift shop. Where did you find them?”

He steeples his fingers over his broad chest. “I had them made.”

My eyes freeze on him.He did what?

“You had them made? Are these . . . are these real?” I indicate what looks like diamond studs.

He chuckles. “Yes, baby girl, they’re real. Now tell me, do you like them?”

My brows twist together. “Hudson, I love them. How did you—”

“I knew I was taking you cherry picking before the season was over, and you’d said you always purchased earrings at the gift shops when you were younger so you’d remember the day.” He shrugs as if he’s not causing my heart to expand tenfold inside my chest. “So I ordered them a while ago. Wanted you to remember today when you looked at them.”

Somewhere inside my chest, my heart sings, telling me what I want to hear—perhaps speaking on his behalf. That a gesture like this isn’t something you’d do for a woman you had no long-term plans with.

And somewhere in my head I decide I like what my heart’s singing about, and maybe I accept that as the truth, too.

“Somehow, they got delivered this morning,” he continues. “Thatwas all coincidence, though; I couldn’t have planned that better if—”

I don’t let him finish before I lunge at him.

Placing the earrings on the nightstand, I press my mouth to his before I straddle his waist.

His thoughtfulness, his ability to make the most special moments even more memorable, and the colossal heart he keeps hidden under that gruff exterior has tears ripping from my eyes as our lips fuse.

Destined without a destination.

Chaos and harmony.

Tender and raw.

No matter where I go, no matter the distance or time between us, this man who I love with every ounce of me will forever be etched on my soul.

My fingers bury inside his hair as I taste the cherries on his lips. I might have said I never wanted to think of another cherry again, but that was before I’d tasted them on him.

Shimmying my body sensually over his broad and heavy one, I feel him harden under me again.

My tongue demands entrance into his mouth and Hudson obliges, his hands cupping my bare ass as he glides my core over his erection, groaning.

His scruff tickles and scrapes the skin around my lips as I angle my face to let him explore deeper, dragging my tongue against his and moaning into his mouth. I kiss him until I’m breathless before I rip my mouth away and trail it down his jaw. I pepper it with kisses before licking and sucking his neck.

“Do you know how sexy you are?” I breathe, running my mouth over his chest. “Sexy and sweet and perfect.”

---