SYNOPSIS
Alayna Withers relationship with Hudson
Pierce has tested both her and his ability to trust. They decide that the only
way they can move forward together is with open doors and transparency. It
won’t be easy for the scarred lovers, but they’re committed to each other more
now than ever. Alayna, in particular, has grown through their trials, and has
emerged more confident and faithful to the man she loves.
But while the pair is focused on the
future, their past shows up again to threaten their fragile bond. Promises that
were made are broken, and Alayna learns that Hudson still has very potent
secrets—secrets that will tear them both apart. As much as she feels for him,
her ability to forgive and forget is tested beyond her limits.
Even though she found the only man who
could fix her, a forever with Hudson seems more and more out of reach.
PLAYLIST
EXCERPT
We spent the evening in the bedroom, only
leaving to make sandwiches from the supplies that the property manager had
dropped off before we’d arrived. We made love late into the night and woke with
a morning round as well.
Though we were in the middle of nowhere, I
discovered we still had wi-fi. It was almost a disappointment—part of the
beauty of the cabin was the remoteness of it. Yet it was nice for listening to
music. After a breakfast of yogurt and fresh berries, I set up Spotify on
Hudson’s laptop, logging in as me, and turned on one of my favorite playlists.
We lounged naked on the sofa, my head at one end, his at the other while he massaged
my feet.
Phillip Phillip’s So Easy came on. I hummed along for a bit, occasionally singing
some of the words.
Hudson watched me with admiration. “You
have a nice voice.”
I blushed. It was funny to realize that I
hadn’t ever sung in front of him. Oh, the firsts we still had between us. Since
I was already embarrassed, I admitted, “This song makes me think of you.”
His nose wrinkled in surprise. “You have a
song that makes you think of me?”
“Several. A whole soundtrack.” We were
listening to the playlist I had titled H,
after all.
“Hmm. I didn’t know that.” He tilted his
head and I could tell he was trying to catch the words.
I sang along, helping him hear the
important parts, getting louder at the chorus where Phillip sang about making
it so easy to fall so hard.
It was Hudson’s turn to be embarrassed. He
looked down at his hands working the sole of my foot, a small smile playing at
his lips. The song ended, and he moved to my other foot. “How about a shower?”
I stretched my arms over my head and
pointed my toes, noting the soreness of muscles that I didn’t even know I had.
“Yes. Definitely.” A hot shower sounded good. But I didn’t make a move to get
up. Not moving sounded good too.
“Do you have any specific plans for the
day? Besides the shower.”
I groaned as his thumb worked at the knot
in the ball of my foot. “You have me kidnapped in the mountains—I think I’m
kind of at your mercy.”
“That you are. In which case, I was thinking
I’d like to spend the day inside you as much as possible.”
I grinned. “I’m totally okay with that.
Anything else you have planned?”
“I’d like to take you for a walk around the
property. And perhaps some online jewelry shopping. I believe a new necklace or
earrings for Mira’s event might be nice.”
Instead of automatically arguing about the
idea of a gift like I usually did, I weighed the idea in my head. “That might
not be bad. I don’t have anything nice, and I have been through the wringer
lately. Maybe I deserve a present of some sort.” I smiled coyly.
“Alayna!” Hudson exclaimed. “I’ve never
heard you care about any of that before.”
I stared at my hands and shrugged, wishing
I hadn’t said anything.
Hudson abandoned my feet, crawled up to my
face, and covered my body with his. “I’m very pleased. And a whole lot
aroused.”
Well, he was somewhat aroused. The new
position made it evident.
“Why does my acting like a greedy bitch
turn you on?”
“Because I love giving you things. It’s
something that I’m good at. I wish I could give you more but you never seem
interested.” He ran his fingers through my hair. “So anything you want, I’ll
give it to you. A shopping spree? A week in Nevis? A car?”
I rolled my eyes and tried to push him off
of me. “You’re making fun of me now.”
He held his ground, both physically and
conversationally. “I’m dead serious. Do you want me to buy you a company? Or an
island?”
“Stop it.”
“No. I won’t.” He tilted my chin up to meet
his eyes. “Anything you want, Alayna. It’s yours. And since you don’t seem to
know that, I’ll have to work even harder to make sure you take advantage of my
wealth.”
Again, I tried to push him away. “I don’t
want or need to take advantage—”
“Now stop.” He moved his hand to caress my
cheek. “I know you don’t. You never have. But I’ve told you before that you own
me. Whether you take advantage of it or not, I’m yours.”
I started to protest again, but he
continued. “And thereby, all I own is yours.” He met my eyes with stone-cold
sincerity. “There are contracts that can guarantee that, you know.”
I swallowed. Gulped, actually. The kind of
contracts he was talking about…joint ownership…those were hints at wedding
bells if I’d ever heard them. Petrified and a little bit thrilled, I tested the
waters. “That’s some pretty serious stuff you’re implying.”
“I’ll do more than imply if you let me.”
His voice was quiet but genuine.
My heart pounded in my chest. He couldn’t
say I love you, but he could promise me the moon? He got intimidated when I
expressed my feelings through a song, but he could offer a lifetime?
We weren’t ready for that. I wasn’t. He
wasn’t, even if he thought he was. “I think I’ll just take a nice piece of
jewelry for now,” I whispered.
I waited with bated breath for his
response, hoping I hadn’t hurt his feelings.
It took a second, but he smiled. “Then it’s
yours.”
Wanting to lighten the mood more, I added,
“Also, some more books. And did you really say a car?”
He shook his head in disbelief. “You don’t
want a car. You don’t like to drive.”
It was true that I wasn’t fond of being
behind the wheel of a car. But there were other places that driving occurred.
“No, I like to drive. You just never let me.”
He narrowed his eyes. “You’re not talking
about cars anymore, are you?”
“Nope.” I reached my hand down to circle
his cock that was still semi-aroused. I stroked him, once, twice.
He groaned and
flipped me so that I was on top of him. “How about you drive right now?”
I straddled him, positioned myself over his
cock and slid down. “It kind of seems like I already am.”
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ABOUT LAURELIN PAIGE
USA Today Bestselling Author Laurelin Paige
is a sucker for a good romance and gets giddy anytime there’s kissing, much to
the embarrassment of her three daughters. Her husband doesn’t seem to complain,
however. When she isn’t reading or writing sexy stories, she’s probably
singing, watching Mad Men and the Walking Dead, or dreaming of Adam Levine. She
is represented by the wonderful Bob Diforio of D4EO Literary Agency.
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