Accidental Abduction (Masked Men of Sage Springs #1)

Chapter Twenty-Four

Charley

“Alright, you can come up for air now,” Annie laughed. Hudson let out a yelp as she cracked a bar towel against his bicep just inches from my face. “She’s gone. And I hope for the last time. But I do have footage of her cornering Charley and the fight with Hazel saved on your laptop if you need it.”

“I hope she’s gone too,” I murmured, studying the intense look on his face for signs of whether or not that kiss was just for show.

“She is,” he assured, leaning down to peck my lips, lingering to brush his tenderly across mine. “Long gone.”

“You might want to take this somewhere more private,” Annie urged, nodding her head toward the back.

The sound of the door of the bar opening and closing had Hudson pulling away from me, but my hand was in his and I was being tugged toward his office before I could react.

He didn’t stop as he passed his closed door, pulling me behind him and turning the corner to the back storage room.

“Where are you taking me?” I laughed, unused to seeing him so amped up when he wasn’t trying to LARP a masked kidnapper.

“Wherever I want,” he growled, then stopped suddenly and hoisted me over his shoulder.

“You know I can walk, right?” I giggled, the blood rushing to my head as I hung upside down over his shoulder.

“Not for long.”

“Oh, really? Sounds like a big promise. You sure you can handle it after your activities this weekend? Might need to take your vitamins and get some rest, old man. ”

“I think we both know my recovery time is accelerated the second your clothes start coming off. Or at least your panties. If you’re wearing any. Which you better fucking be.”

My body bounced as he headed up the back staircase to my apartment with a possessive hand on my ass, and I was thankful that Hazel had left earlier after we talked.

We were going to have to work out some kind of signal, so she didn’t walk in on another traumatizing coupling. While I knew she supported whatever was developing with Hudson, I doubted she’d want to hear things sisters aren’t meant to hear.

He stopped on the landing in front of my door and fished around in his pocket, pulling out his keys to the building.

“You know you’re supposed to notify us before you come inside the apartment. Just because you’re the bossman around here doesn’t mean you can do whatever you want.”

“Consider this your notification that I absolutely plan to come inside your apartment—and you. Multiple times if you’re up for it.”

“I think you’re the one who’s supposed to be up for it,“ I teased.

He kicked the door open, and it bounced off the wall with a thud.

“Hey! I’m not paying for that if you dented our wall.”

“I’m the one who fixes that shit anyway. If I want to dent the wall, I’ll dent the fucking wall. About to put a fucking hole in the one behind your headboard next.”

“Too late for dents,” I laughed.

“Yeah, tell me about it. Fucking lucky bastards.”

He tossed me onto the end of my bed before he crossed back to the door, flipping the lock.

“What is that supposed to mean?” I asked, leaning back on my palms.

He stalked toward me, pulling off his shirt and revealing his heavily inked skin. He didn’t stop when he reached me, bracing his hands next to mine, and leaning in close to my face.

“It means I know exactly how you dented your wall.”

“You were serious that you could hear it? ”

“Yes,” he whispered, leaning in to kiss me. “This bedroom is directly above my office. It wasn’t just a line when I said you deserved more than the one-night stands you bring up here.”

“I’m sorry. I thought you were just teasing me. If I would have known you actually heard...”

“Honestly don’t give a fuck, we both have pasts that we need to leave there. But I’ll be the only reason you dent that wall from now on. I may even fix it and then see how much damage I can do to it.”

“Sounds a little possessive. What if I want to give someone else a shot at it?”

I didn’t, but I also still wasn’t sure if this was more than a fling.

“Don’t fucking test me, Charley. You know you’re mine.”

“No, actually,” I whispered, cupping his jaw, and rubbing my thumb over the scruff on his cheek. “I don’t know. Because we never talked about what comes next.”

“You,” he breathed, pressing forward until I was flat against the mattress. “You’re what comes next.”

“Oh,” I moaned as his teeth scraped down the side of my neck, Hudson nipping at the teeth marks he’d left behind. “But what if you decide it was just temporary? What happens once the novelty of fucking your little sister’s best friend wears off?”

“Don’t bring up Haz while I’m trying to get you naked. But you don’t need to worry about that. You’re all I want in my future. And not just this fucking sinful body,” he whispered, lifting the hem of my tank top, and kissing my stomach, his tongue swirling in my belly button. “I want your smart mouth, and the way you challenge me. Those eyes that cut right through me.”

A moan was my only response as he flicked the button on my jeans open dragging down the zipper with his teeth.

“I want to spend my nights worshiping this pussy, and every morning waking up to your horrible alarms. I can hear those in my office too. ”

“Mmm,” I hummed as he peeled off my jeans, taking my thong down with them and blindly throwing them behind him. He leaned in, closing his eyes and inhaling deeply.

“I want to spend all my free time with you. I want to watch you throw unruly frat boys out of my bar when they touch what’s mine. I want to help support you when you need it, and even when you don’t. I want to find a place in here...” His palm covered my heart, and I sniffled, tears cropping up in the corners of my eyes. “And have Reid tattoo my name on your ass or maybe your tits. I haven’t decided yet.”

“Um. No,” I giggled, but the thought didn’t seem so unappealing at the moment.

“We can negotiate that later. Maybe I’ll just get you a necklace with my name on it.”

“What if it wasn’t real?” I choked out, trying not to laugh at the idea of him standing guard and glaring at his best friend while he inked Hudson’s name on my ass.

“I may have lost my shit when you walked out of my bathroom at the cabin,” he started, laying his head across my stomach.

“Just a little,” I whispered, combing my fingers through his hair.

“But once I got over the fact that I accidentally kidnapped my little sister’s best friend, I knew I didn’t want to spend another moment away from you. Things should have been awkward, but they weren’t, and I felt like you actually gave a shit about what I had to say when we talked. Playing games and laughing with you in the dark was the most fun I’ve had in years.”

“But you just dropped me off here and left without saying anything about where we go from here.”

“Because I was afraid I’d say something stupid, and you’d realize all of this wasn’t worth your time. But then when I walked through the kitchen and saw you ready to literally fight for me, and I couldn’t stay away from you anymore.”

“I don’t want you to. But I wasn’t sure if I was reason enough to stay. ”

He growled, surging forward, tucking his hands into my armpits, and hoisting me into the center of my bed. “You are more than a fucking reason. And I’m sorry it took me so long to see what has been right in front of me for far too long. You’re all I want now. You’re all I see. And it’s time I started showing you that.”