Hudson (11 page)

Tapping one nail on the table, she added, “You know what
else?  I don’t need you telling me what
I
need when it is obvious you
don’t even know what the fuck
you
need…and neither does your B.F.F.  I
don’t need someone to give me the best orgasm of my life – while fully clothed –
then watch you show up to fuck him.” 

Enough.
 

She stood and threw tip money on the table.  “Hudson said
he’s a taker so I assume you are as well.  Enjoy your lives – however you
choose to live them – and leave me the fuck out of the equation.  Whatever
you’re looking for, you are looking in the wrong place.  You might want to
start with both of
you
.” 

Her backpack went over her shoulder.  “Thank you for the
coffee.”

The cool spring air felt wonderful on her overheated skin.  A
block away, she was furious at the tears on her cheeks. 

She was fucking
tired
of being expected to be good
all the goddamn time.  Tired of everyone acting as if the fact that she was
nice
meant she didn’t know anything or that she didn’t have
needs
. 

When would someone see her as a grown woman?

The only thing that shocked her more having her hand
grabbed, being spun around, and shoved against the side of a building in a
narrow alley was the insanity of Natalia Roman claiming her mouth in a kiss
that was just as destructive as Hudson’s had been. 

The first ten seconds were fierce as the other woman gripped
her head in her hands and devoured her lips.  When she realized Brie wasn’t resisting,
she gentled the sensual attack but didn’t stop.

Blood roared in her ears…and then she kissed Natalia
back. 

The taste of
her
mixed with coffee was rich and
smooth.  Her tongue was small and silken, wrapping over and around Brie’s until
she felt it in her breasts and clit. 

When Natalia pulled back a long time later, she whispered,
“You are a surprise, Brie.  I’m sorry I hurt your feelings…that I hurt
you
,
even unknowingly.”  Her thumbs wiped away the tears Brie had forgotten.  “I
think you have a lot more passion inside you than anyone gives you credit
for.” 

Her lips tugged at Brie’s and she licked across them before
she deepened into another kiss.  Gentle hands drifted over her shoulders and
down her back, pulling their bodies together. 

With a soft sigh, she broke the kiss.  “If your mouth tastes
this good, I can only imagine how the rest of you tastes, pretty Brie.  I hope
one day you’ll allow me to answer the question.” 

Natalia’s thigh pressed between her legs, against the cleft
of her body, and Brie
wanted
to work herself on it.  To climax right
here in this alley, just a few feet from the busy street.  Her heart pounded in
her chest. 

“Have you ever been with a woman?” 

She shook her head and Natalia pressed her thigh more firmly
against her mound.  A moan escaped that wouldn’t be held back. 

“It is very different than with a man.  I would crawl all
over you, licking every inch of your skin, and sucking your little clit until
you begged me to let you come.  I would let you.  I would want to taste you as
you found release.” 

Natalia’s hands were on her ass.  She pulled, pushed, and
worked over Brie’s clit as she spoke.  The tension climbed until she felt like
she was coming out of her own skin.  She’d been celibate for most of her adult
life if one really looked at the rare sexual encounters she’d experienced. 

Right or wrong, all she wanted was an orgasm given to her by
this woman.  “
Please…
”

Sliding one hand around and under her shirt, Natalia flattened
her palm on Brie’s belly, and slipped beneath the low band of her jeans.  Her
fingertips pushed her panties aside and found her clit with skillful ease.  As
her fingertip made small circles, Brie thrust her hips against the pressure. 

“That’s it…god, you’re so wet and hot.  I want to feel you
come.  Come for me.” 

Rocking more quickly against her fingers, she drew in air as
the climax slammed into her.  Natalia sealed their mouths together to capture
the sound.  She continued to stroke and slid further back to press two fingers
inside her, launching her into a second orgasm on top of the first. 

As she came back to herself, Natalia lifted away and took
her hand from under her clothes.  While she watched, the woman slipped both
fingers in her mouth and sucked her release from them. 

“Exactly as I thought. 
Delicious.
”  She pressed the
length of her body against her.  “The next time I make you come, it will be
with my mouth.  I will drink you down like fine wine.”

Taking a single step back, she straightened Brie’s clothing and
took her hand.  Distantly, she registered being led to the sidewalk.  There was
a sharp whistle and a cab pulled along the curb. 

Natalia opened the door and gently nudged her inside.  The
cabbie took the twenty-dollar bill she held out.  “Take her to the address she
gives you.”  Fingers smoothed over her head.  “We’ll talk again.  I hope you’ll
allow me to help you stop hiding, Brie.  It was a true pleasure to meet you.” 

“Wait!” she shouted and Natalia turned back.  “Do either of
you know how to simply ask someone to
dinner
?” 

She looked shocked at the question. 

In a daze, she shook her head and slammed the door.  As the
cab pulled into traffic, Brie wondered if she was losing her mind. 

All signs pointed to yes.

Hudson moved to stand beside Natalia and wrapped his arm
around her shoulder when the cab disappeared.  With a sense of urgency, she
pulled his head to hers, and kissed him deeply to share the taste of Brie from her
lips and tongue. 

Growling, his fingers dug into her waist.  He sampled the
essence of the woman she knew he wanted until he was
insane
with it. 

When they separated, she said quietly, “She’s so much more
open than even she probably realizes.”

He pulled her back into the alley and shoved her roughly against
the wall.  “Tell me.  Tell me what happened.  Every second, Natalia.”  He kissed
her neck and she moaned softly.

“I kissed her.  I had to sample those lips.  They’re
perfection.  I want to feel them on my pussy.  To watch them sucking your
cock.”  He slid his hands up to cup her breasts, pinching her nipples firmly
between his thumbs and forefingers. 

“She was surprised but not disgusted.  Hudson…
oh god
.” 

He ground his cock against her clit and she knew she would
have no control.  Not this time.  Brie had already pushed her to the limit. 

“She kissed me back, pressed her body against me.  I showed
her how to work herself on my thigh.  I could feel how hot her pussy was
through our clothes.  She was ready and needed to come.  I slipped my hand
inside her clothes and played with her clit until she came.  When I pushed two
fingers into her tight pussy, she came again.  I sucked her cream from my
fingers and put her in a cab.”

Hudson ground hard against her and she felt him come; a first
in all the years she’d known him and it was
too much
.  She rocked
against him and let go, coming harder than she ever had without an edge of pain
or full penetration. 

They held one another, gasping for air as their hearts
slammed in their chests. 

“I haven’t come in my clothes since I was fifteen,” he
murmured at her neck.  “Jesus.”

“I
want
her Hudson.  If you don’t share her I will
take
her
for myself.”

Her best friend, her only
true
friend, chuckled and it
was warm on her skin.  “You’re the only person who could snatch her from my
grasp.”

The tears shocked her into utter stillness and she held her
breath.  Hudson pulled back to stare at her, brushing them away with his
thumbs, a frown between his eyes. 

“
Natalia…
”

“I need her goodness to touch me.  I need to absorb it and
feel what it’s like to be in her skin.  All these months, I’ve listened to
everyone talk about her.  I watched her before you asked me to.  I’ve been
getting attached but until she told me we were takers and to wallow in our
existence, I didn’t understand exactly
what
she was and what she could
be to us.” 

She pushed away from the wall and straightened her
clothing. 

Raking her fingers through her hair, she stared at the
brick.  “We are so fucked up, Hudson.  We have no balance.  If we were happy, I
could understand but we are two of the most miserable human beings I’ve ever
met.  I see it in myself as clearly as I see it in you.”

“I don’t know how to fix it.  Tell me how to fix it,
Natalia.”

“You called me to fuck you after giving her an orgasm.  I
thought
I passed her.  She almost ran from the building so I wasn’t sure.”  She closed
her eyes and shook her head.  “Before the cab pulled away, she asked if we know
how to simply ask someone on a date.” 

One shoulder lifted in a shrug.  “We don’t.  Fucking means
nothing
to you and me, Hudson.  It is no more important or special than closing a deal
or reviewing quarterly financials.” 

“No…”

She stepped close, put her fingers over his lips, and looked
deep into his eyes. 

“Touching
that woman
, making her
feel
, it
matters.  We hurt her badly.  I think we need her, Hudson.  I think you need to
pull your head out of your ass or we’re going to lose her.”

Natalia left him standing in the alley, staring at the street
beyond but not really seeing it. 

Three months later…

A rewarding Friday night soak with a good book was the
only
plan Brie had for the evening.  She’d been in the tub for over an hour,
periodically refreshing the hot water, when her phone rang.  Leaning out of the
tub, she answered, careful not to put it along her face.

“You’re soaking and reading again aren’t you?”

She grinned.  “Guilty.  Hey, Riya.”

There was a dramatic sigh.  “When are you going to come out
and have
fun
with us?  You’re too calm when the sun goes down!  Tawny is
dying to corrupt you!  She said Zach and Quinn have the perfect duo to fix you
up with.”

“Um, no, Riya.  I don’t think I could handle two men.  I
promise to go out a few weeks after the surgery.  I’m too self-conscious to
dance in public and you know I
love
to dance.”

“You’re going to do it then?  You decided on the
procedure?”  Riya was nervous on her behalf.

“I have to.  My low back hurts all the time now that I do
more walking.  I’m just not big enough to carry all this weight up front.” 

She heard Max or Micah call out hello to her.  It made her
smile. 

“You go have enough fun for both of us and tell the M’s I
said hello.  Once again…no, Tawny is
not
to fix me up with anyone.”

“I’m not telling her that.  She’s
mean
,” she said in
a loud whisper. 

“I heard that, bitch!” Tawny yelled from the background. 
“Brie, don’t make me come over there.”

“After your surgery we’re going shopping.  You’ll need a completely
new wardrobe so you won’t have a choice.  Don’t fall asleep in the tub.” 

After they hung up, Brie stared at the ceiling for a long
time and let her thoughts wander.  Their ultimate destination was Hudson
Winters…and very often his lover. 

The few occasions Brie had time to observe him, she was
reminded of European gypsies described in fairytales. 

Mostly because you are a complete and utter idiot.

More than once, she’d witnessed his abrupt rudeness.  He
said and did things without thinking.  Her overall impression was that of a
person who found it difficult to connect and didn’t think it was very important
anyway. 

A man who fucked women but maintained no lasting
relationships with them.

The one exception was Natalia Roman. 

She was the only woman who could consistently pull emotion
from Hudson.  They were lovers but mostly, they seemed like friends who found
something in one another that the other people in their lives didn’t provide. 

After they spent the night together, Hudson was visibly
calmer.  The barely suppressed rage that seemed to live just under his skin
settled for a few days. 

For that reason, Brie liked the other woman. 

The fact that Natalia had played her body so easily made her
wonder what more time with her would be like. 

Perhaps Hudson was too arrogant for a woman like Brie but
something about him tweaked the part of her that picked up strays on the side
of the road and talked homeless people into a hot meal. 

There was no doubt that knowing she thought of him in such a
way would
infuriate
the man. 

She knew this despite the fact that they had rarely spoken
since Christmas Eve seven months ago.  She was embarrassed that she’d been so
easy, so willing to have sex with a man who hadn’t touched her since. 

What he
had
managed to do was awaken a sexual side of
her she hadn’t known existed.  She’d been so good at suppressing her sexuality
that she’d begun to wonder if it existed.  Hudson brought it roaring to life
and it was becoming hellishly inconvenient.

Before him, lovers barely made her warm but she convinced
herself that the emotional relationship was the only thing that truly mattered.

That, she now realized, was total bullshit.

She didn’t ask questions about Hudson, never said his name
in front of Riya or the M’s, nor did she make an effort to speak to him
directly. 

After he mentioned Googling him, unable to contain her
curiosity, Brie did. 

Prior to college, there was almost no information about the
obscenely wealthy man.  Not where he’d grown up, who his family was, or what
kind of a childhood he’d had. 

It had been the tidbits she’d found that made her look at
him differently.  Tiny snippets of information that no one – not even Hudson’s
public relations people – thought were newsworthy. 

A first name or simply initials to attest to his visiting a
children’s home or spending the day with Habitat for Humanity.  Only photos
taken and uploaded by the charities themselves announced that he’d been there,
that he’d helped. 

Brie admitted her strange fascination with the man.  Rapidly
gaining ground was her fixation with Natalia.  All she could hope was that she
was good at hiding it.  Her rising sex drive made her receptive to both of them
in ways she never would have considered. 

The few photos of Natalia were at society events but she was
certain the dark-haired woman in several charity photographs with Hudson were
his best friend. 

Despite the fact that her hair was scraped back in a short
ponytail, she wore a baseball cap pulled low, and casual clothes – something
about the way she stood reminded her of the club owner. 

She reclined in her claw-foot tub and imagined him as he’d
been photographed on a yacht in the South Pacific.  He came out of the ocean
nude.  At first, she imagined herself nude with him…then put her own clothes
back on and made it all about Hudson. 

As her fingers drifted down her stomach and over her mound, the
most incredible series of thoughts popped into her head.  Once there, they
would
not
leave. 

What did he look like when he fisted his cock?

Did he move fast or slow? 

Did he concentrate on stroking the shaft or rub his palm
over the head? 

Did he cup his balls while he jacked off? 

Would he let a woman watch him do it?

She took her time stroking herself, rubbing her clit, and let
the climax build slowly.  She imagined herself in a chair, touching herself like
this for him, her legs over the arms so she was completely open. 

Hudson would stand over her while he fisted his cock and
watch her play with her pussy.  Maybe he would tell her what to do – he seemed
like the type. 

Why that turned her on, she had no clue. 

He’d move closer when he sensed she was about to come.  The
sound of his voice in her head was becoming common while she masturbated.  She
neither questioned his presence nor felt ashamed of the sexual response it
caused. 

“Your little clit is so hard and red.  Slip two fingers
inside.  Fuck, yes.  I can see how good that makes you feel.  Keep going.”

His eyes would lock on hers, filled with too much power and
it would make her breath catch in her throat an instant before her body
snatched away her control. 

The climax would be extreme, almost painfully so. 

Triumph would be clearly written on his face.  Then he would
let his own pleasure go, pumping stream after stream of warm semen on her belly
and the folds of her pussy with a primal growl.  Maybe he’d lean over her, with
his hand on the back of the chair, and let her take the final drops left on the
tip with her lips and tongue. 

With a whimper, Brie came so hard she was lightheaded.  When
the image of Natalia massaging Hudson’s come into Brie’s skin as she helped suck
his cock clean popped into her brain, it slammed her over the cliff again. 

She wasn’t sure she maintained consciousness throughout. 

When her breathing returned to normal and she was sure her
legs would hold her, she stood and drained the tub.  Pulling the shower curtain
closed she quickly showered and washed her hair. 

Since it was Friday, she’d let the heavy mass air dry to
give it a break from being tightly bound. 

Standing in front of the mirror, she examined her body.  She
was her toughest critic but she tried to see the good things.  Her hair was
thick and healthy; her eyes bright and clear. 

Her skin was golden all over and it was soft from regular
sugar scrubs and moisturizers her mother made and sent her.  Her stomach was slightly
rounded, no matter what she tried.  She’d never been able to flatten it. 

Her hips and thighs flared out but if her big ass didn’t
have hips to go with it, she’d look ridiculous.  Going up on her tiptoes, she
pronounced her calves thick but shapely.  Her legs looked so much longer and
leaner in heels. 

Then there was the bane of her existence. 

Enormous breasts too big for her body, too heavy to hold
back the effects of gravity.  They drooped as if she’d breast-fed children.  Her
brown nipples were lost in what looked like partially filled water balloons. 

Her mouth firmed as she banned any lingering objections to
the surgery.  Pulling on her cotton pajama bottoms and two tank tops with
built-in bras, she crawled under the covers with her book. 

Tomorrow, she’d walk the city and pick up some random art
prints for her little bedroom.  It was the last room to decorate and she wanted
to savor it.  Maybe she’d stop at that little book store she loved and see if
they had the one Robin Schone book she didn’t have in her collection. 

Turning her head, she stared at the small statue Hudson gave
her.  It was her favorite possession because it spoke to the hidden part of
herself. 

The part no one ever cared to see.

Brie wasn’t naïve.  There was no long-term future for her
with Hudson or Natalia.  The two of them were perfect for one another, already
shared a sexual relationship, and were hunting her separately for – what she
believed – was a coordinated strike.

They were too close to see they were meant to be together. 
It was the only explanation she could come up with.  She remembered reading
once that if you married anyone other than your best friend you were marrying
the wrong person. 

Though she hadn’t spoken to them personally in months, she
knew they watched her. 

Perhaps far more than that. 

Once every few weeks, she received tickets to something that
interested her.  They were left with Carlo at the front desk in a white linen
envelope with her name printed on the front.  When she asked him, he would shrug
and refuse to answer.

A tour of the historical district.  Visiting the Statue of
Liberty.  A show on Broadway.  Museums and art exhibits.  All designed to get
her out and exploring the city. 

She always went alone and enjoyed herself immensely. 

Then three weeks ago, an anonymous payment was delivered to
the detective handling her theft case.  The note inside the envelope said,
“Restitution for Gabriella Lenora Hernandez.” 

Every dime stolen was returned in the form of a cashier’s
check made out to her.  The bank could provide no information about the
transaction and the white-collar crime division considered her case closed.

“What about the other women?”

Detective Owen gathered her file together and closed it. 
“Miss Hernandez, they aren’t in our jurisdiction.  Consider yourself lucky to
get your money back.”

“But…wait, he’ll keep doing it!  Other women out of your
jurisdiction will be swindled.  You’re not going to keep working the case?”

“No, we’re not.”  The older black man gave her a gentle
smile.  “Miss, I know you want to see justice done.  I respect that.  The
reality is that you’re one of three people I’ve seen financially compensated
after a crime of this sort in my thirteen years in this division.  I believe
this is a case of a guilty conscience.”

“Only
three
?”

“Three.  I have to keep trying to crack the cases of all
those other people who were robbed – much like you – who will never see a dime
of their money back.  What would you do in my shoes?”

She sighed.  “The same.”

“You seem to have settled into the city nicely.”

Her smile was genuine and she nodded.  “I love it here.  I
don’t think I ever want to live anywhere else.  I think I’ve discovered
everything on a block and suddenly there is a tiny café I never noticed or a
bookstore no more than eight feet wide.  It’s wonderful.”

“Excellent.  Your story, as it happens, has a happy
conclusion.  Don’t waste it.”

Standing, she reached over and shook his hand.  “Thank you
for everything.  Truly.  You’ve been kind and understanding.”

With a loan and a recommendation from her sister, she hired
a private detective.  Only Izzy knew.  She didn’t deposit the check.  It was in
her fire-safe box in the bottom of her desk.  Until she knew it came from the
man who’d stolen from her, she wouldn’t use it. 

When she began to dose, she closed her book. 

Clicking off the light, she smiled at the crystal prism
mobile hanging in the corner of the room.  The room filled with sunlight made
the piece stunning but most people wouldn’t notice how lovely it looked in the
dark, with just the city lights outside her window to make it sparkle.

As her eyes closed, she thought about the picture of Hudson
pouring concrete at a women and children’s shelter.  He looked comfortable
doing manual labor.  Even more in his element than the expensive suits he
regularly wore. 

When she woke up nude from the waist down in the middle of
the night, she didn’t remember the dream that caused her to strip and touch
herself. 

Even without the memory, she knew the two people who
probably featured in it.

Saturdays in the city meant children, shoppers, and
tourists.  The flow was different from during the business week.  It was the
city that never slept but there was an ebb and flow Brie loved more every day
she lived here.