“That’s so generous of him,” I said. “To be willing to give up an entire night of tits and arse just for us.”
He didn’t raise his head, but I saw Hudson’s nostrils flare.
Suddenly he raised his face to me in challenge. “There are plenty of straight women in those clubs. Don’t you worry about me.”
Good, now we were both annoyed. Perfect.
We said our farewells to the two of them before making our way back to the pub car park to retrieve Hudson’s truck.
We didn’t speak during the ride back to the ranch, which was unusual. I’d gotten into the habit of riding to and from work every day with him rather than drive the fancy SUV Bruce Ames had loaned me. The thing was huge, and I was convinced that driving a barn would be easier than driving that monstrosity.
“I had a nice time tonight,” I began in an effort to cut the silence on the final stretch of the long ranch driveway. “I really like West and Nico. I can see why you and your brother are so close.”
After a brief hesitation, he sighed. “Yeah. I’m thankful he moved back home to take over Doc’s practice. I was half-afraid he’d wind up across the country or something.”
“I didn’t realize Nico was from here too. He seems… I don’t know. He doesn’t seem like a small-town Texas boy, I guess.”
Hudson rubbed his thumb lightly over the center of his chest. It was a little subconscious gesture he did sometimes. I’d begun to notice he primarily did it when talking about his family. “He lived in San Francisco for many years before moving back. He owned a tattoo shop there. But his sister died and left him Pippa. When he moved back, he and West got together.”
I was sure there was more to the story, but I was also sure it would be better to ask Nico or West to tell it.
“Since the two of you are so close, was it hard for you when the two of them started dating?”
He pursed his lips in thought for a few beats. “I was happy for him. I mean, I still am. Nico’s a stand-up guy, and of course, he brought us Pippa.”
I lay back against the seat of the car and stretched my legs. “I remember when Cait and Donny got together. I was a pain in the arse. Resentful, jealous… annoyed. It took me a while to let go of always being her number one person, yeah?”
Hudson nodded. He seemed distracted somehow, and I wondered if the subject of his relationship with West was making him uncomfortable for some reason. “Yeah. There was a little of that. But I feel like I kind of abandoned him first when I decided to settle in Dallas instead of Hobie.”
“Why did you choose the city?”
When he didn’t answer me, I thought maybe I’d stumbled onto another forbidden topic. I was about to apologize when he suddenly whispered, “I can’t…” After pulling to a stop by the bunkhouse, he turned to face me in the dim cab of the truck. “I can’t just pretend that I don’t want to kiss you all the fucking time. It’s killing me, and I just wanted to tell you I’m sorry.”
I stared at him.
“Why are you sorry for wanting to kiss me?”
He rubbed his hands over his face. “Because it’s selfish and stupid. And we work together. It’s inappropriate, and—”
I didn’t let him get any further. I lurched toward him and slammed my lips into his before he could get another word out. The kiss was hard and unforgiving, almost punishing in its ferocity. Our teeth clacked and I almost gelded him with my knee while straddling his lap.
His cold hands hit the warm skin of my lower back under my shirt, and I bit back a squeak of surprise, arching into him to get away from the icicles. Hudson’s body was warmer than his hands, so I pushed closer to him while our mouths continued to compete for dominance. His teeth bit lightly on my lower lip before his hands clasped the sides of my face and turned it so he could move down to nip at the skin of my neck.
“Fucking creamy skin drives me batshit,” he murmured between nibbles.
I reached between us to feel the hardness straining against his zipper and couldn’t help but push hard against it with a groan. Fuck, I wanted to see that beast again.
“Please,” I whimpered like a horny kid. “Let me suck you off.”
Hudson’s teeth grazed my collarbone, causing a bit of damp in my shorts that was only going to get worse if he continued along in that manner. His cold hands had warmed up against my skin and found their way into the back of my jeans. I wiggled off his lap and reached for his fly, but his large hands clamped around my wrists to stop me.