Page 64 of Truth or Dare

“As long as you avoid the downstairs. His mother is a gun lover. During the summer, Evan showed me a couple of them. She has a locker in the den with all her toys. You would think his father would be the one to have them.”

“That’s some fucked up shit. How many?”

“Like eight or nine. She likes handguns. She even has one with a pearl handle, a twenty two.”

Hudson froze. His face tight with tension. Something was wrong.

“Hud?”

“My father was killed with a twenty-two,” he said quietly.

I reached for him, but he shirked away. It must have been gut wrenching to lose his father that way. Some unfeeling asshole didn’t care and made a big deal out of a fender bender. It was crazy.

“I’m sorry,” I whispered.

I was nothing but empathetic for his loss. I wish I knew when it happened. He needed me and all I was worried about was him not writing to me. It was such a small thing now that I knew the reason. My vision grew blurry as tears filled my eyes. I sniffled and Hudson looked up.

He wiped my tears with his thumb. “Don’t. It was none of your doing.”

“I should’ve been there for you,” I cried.

“You were a kid just like I was. There was nothing you could do.”

This time when I reached out, he didn’t pull away, letting me curl against him. I wanted to offer him comfort. I wound my arms around his waist and buried my head in his chest.

“I love you, Hudson. I never realized how much until you came back.”

His body was coiled tightly and the tension eased as he sank into me. He leaned against the wall with me in his arms and our lips bonded together. I moaned as he palmed my breast. On my nightstand, my phone vibrated, and I slipped it off to look at the screen.

Staying at Sylvia and Joel’s for the night. Take care of Neil.

I got it.

It wasfine because my parents would lose it if they found out what happened to my brother. I wanted to handle it and I would. We would. Evan would pay for what he did, more than he realized.

“My parents are staying in the city tonight,” I said.

Hudson stood, sliding his damp jeans down and kicked them off his ankles. While he tended to Neil, I changed into sweats without asking if he wanted to change. I assumed he would go home.

“What are you doing?”

“I’m staying over. Neil is asleep and your parents are away. I’m taking the chance that you’ll accept me in your bed for the night.”

I grinned. “Suppose I say no?”

He dove on the bed in his boxers. “Then at least take pity on me and let me sleep on one side. It’s pouring out and I don’t want to drive home.”

I fingered the muscles of his chest. His skin was cool from his damp clothing. His hand circled my wrist, stopping me.

“Just sleep.”

I met his gaze to see if he was lying but all I found was sincerity.

“Let me hang these,” I said as I rose from the bed, swiping his clothing from the floor and draping them over my desk chair. I shoved my sweatpants down my hips before I slid back into bed.

In all my life,I’d never felt this way about anyone. Sure, I’d crushed on Deke once, but reality had dulled the fantasy fast. With Hudson, though, everything felt different—deeper, more intense. I found myself pressing against him, burrowing into the solid warmth of his body, wanting him close in ways that almost hurt.

Half-asleep, he was already hard, his arousal a slow, steady burn against my stomach. I shifted, letting my hips roll against him, my breath hitching as I moved, and the quiet of the room only made my pulse sound louder in my ears. His body responded, his grip tightening around my arm, and I gasped, not expecting him to wake.

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