I look up at my mom’s face, and there’s no lie there. She really does believe that, and I hadn’t realized how much I needed that. The last days—the last months, really—I’ve been so twisted up in my own head that I assumed that everyone else was just as disappointed in me as I was in myself, when in reality, I was the only one who was measuring.
Tears prick my eyes, and my mom sits next to me to wrap me in a hug. “We love you, Erin. And we really do want you to be happy.”
“I know,” I whisper.
“And because of that,” she says, pulling back with a smile, “I’m leaving. I would stay longer, but I don’t want to get in the way of anything.”
“What are you talking about?”
She just smiles and waves, pulling open the door and striding out. “Mom?”
The door floats shut for a second behind her. But only for a second. Because then it’s opening again, and it’s not my mom standing there.
It’s Hudson.
14
Hudson
It wasn’t a hard thing to convince Erin’s parents that I want her. Hell, it wasn’t a hard thing for anyone to tell, given the way I fought to go after her. Even though I knew that Asher was right, it still took him nearly pinning me to the ground to get me to stop.
And when I knew she was gone, I stopped. Her parents told me to give her time after I’d explained everything. In front of everyone. That I wanted her, and I couldn’t explain why, but that it wasn’t a lie for me anymore. They were eager to help, but they knew their daughter, and she needed some space to breathe.
It wasn’t easy. That new protective instinct that she’d pulled out of me had driven me nearly to madness, and there wasn’t anything that made me feel better without being able to make sure that she was okay, because I knew that she wasn’t okay. And the thought of her not being okay pissed me the fuck off.
Asher and Leo—the bastards—had done a piss-poor job of hiding their amusement over it. They told me that they knew this would happen sometime and they were reveling in the fact that it was now happening to me so I could know what they went through.
Fine, they had their revenge. That didn’t keep me from fucking climbing the walls waiting for when I could see her again. From sleeping in her guest house just so I could smell her on the sheets. Reliving the moments between us that wove a connection that I can’t fully explain.
But now I’m standing in the doorway of her apartment, and she’s looking at me like I’m not real. Her hair is damp, and she’s wearing clothes that are too big for her. I can see the strain of the last days on her face, and she’s still the most beautiful thing that I’ve ever seen.
I barely stop to shut the door behind me, crossing the room and kissing her like I’ve wanted to for days. Showing her exactly how real I am. I’ll be real for her as long as she wants me to be. Forever.
The tiny sound of shock that she makes when my lips meet hers makes me hard. But that can wait. I gather her into my arms and lift her nearly off the floor, devouring her mouth. I curl around her tongue with mine and taste her. Weave one of my hands into her damp hair and pull it out of its ties so it spills through my fingers.
Erin wraps her arms around my neck out of instinct. I can feel her shock, but also that she can’t help herself. The shirt she’s wearing is thin enough that I can tell she’s wearing nothing underneath it, which does nothing for the state of my cock. But we need words before I can fuck her into oblivion.
And yet I can’t seem to stop kissing her long enough for us to have a true shot at any words. The feeling of touching her again—of having her in my arms—is the sweetest relief that I could ever ask for. I only pull back when we’re both desperate for air.
“Hudson.”
I always want my name on her lips. Every time she says it, it sounds like something new that I’ve never heard before.
“What are you doing here?” she breathes. But she’s still holding onto me like I’m the only thing that’s anchoring her to the world, and I don’t want her to ever let go.
“Don’t you know?”
Erin shakes her head, or tries. My forehead is pressed against hers, green eyes so close and so vivid. Fuck, I’m in love with this woman. Time and space be damned. Asher was right. When love hits, it hits hard and it doesn’t hold back.