Savage Bliss (Corona Pride Book 5) Page 5

  “Nope,” she said. “Nothing. We’re fine.”

  He caught up with her and they walked in silence. Eventually he spoke again. “Your friend, Fraze, he said something about you yesterday.”

  Viviana stopped walking and looked up at Hudson. “What did he say?”

  “He said you never go anywhere. What does that mean?” His face was so earnest, his eyes wide with curiosity.

  She wanted to spill all of her secrets. Confess everything to this man with the earnest eyes and the body of a protector. He’d keep the secrets—and her—safe. But this secret was too confusing, too difficult. “Oh. That.”

  She started to walk but this time, he grabbed her arm. Not hard, but enough to tell her he really wanted to talk. He wasn’t going to let her walk away from this one.

  “Please?” he asked.

  Viviana sighed. “He’s, well, he’s talking about how I stay home. I don’t have many friends. Just Fraze, really, and we only started talking a few months ago, when Nina left. We don’t hang out much.”

  “Why don’t you have friends?” Hudson asked.

  She gave a dark chuckle. “Well, the ice princess of the Corona Pride doesn’t exactly warm up to people, you know what I mean? They don’t like me, and I don’t like them.”

  “That can’t be true,” Hudson said. “Although, at the party, you were trying to sneak off…”

  She tried to shrug as if it didn’t matter. She’d been pretending it didn’t matter since she was a kid. But Hudson touched her shoulder.

  “Hey,” he said. “You don’t have to talk to me if you don’t want to, but I’m here. I’m willing to listen. Hell if I know why,” he said, giving a soft chuckle of his own, “but I am.”

  She looked up at him. Those guileless light brown eyes, his strong jaw. The power of him standing right in front of her—it surprised her. How close they were. If she leaned forward and stood on her tiptoes, she’d be able to kiss him.

  Instead, she stepped back. He was still waiting for her to answer his question.

  She didn’t know how, not yet. So instead she turned and walked farther into the woods. By now they were well out of sight of the house. Completely alone.

  Instead of pressuring her to answer his question, Hudson was quiet and watchful. His footsteps were as careful as hers on the forest floor. She’d expected a bumbling human, unable to keep quiet, but she should have known better.

  They reached an area she especially liked, near the edge of the property. The stream was nearly dried up for the summer, just a trickle of water attracting birds and butterflies, tufts of yellow flowers growing at its edge. Nobody came this far out on the property unless they were doing a large pride run.

  She cleared her throat. “It’s that Marlana has been grooming me to become the alpha for years. She never let me go out when I was younger. The other people close to my age—Mateo, Rafe, Laura, Nina, Fraze, Dristan—they always used to invite me places. To the movies, when we were teenagers, or out on group runs. But my mom always said no. Every single time. She never said it in such a way that it was, ‘no you can’t hang out with your friends,’ but it was clear, after quite a few attempts, that she’d never agree to it. It broke my heart every time, so I stopped asking her. Made excuses to my friends, which I’m sure they could figure out were lies. I mean, we can all tell. So then they stopped asking me to go out. And here I am. Alienated from everyone. Works out well for Marlana. She keeps me close, keeps me obedient. Works out well for me, because now I have the time to follow my own pursuits. Learn what it takes to be a good alpha. Learning how to train—”

  She broke off. He didn’t need to know all her secrets.

  Too late. “Train?” he asked. “Like with the Guardians?”

  “No,” she said, slowly. Now that it was out there, she didn’t want to lie to him about it. “I train like them. I watch what they do, and then I mimic their movements in my room.”

  “So you know how to fight, then,” he said.

  “Yeah, I guess so. I don’t get to practice it much.”

  “Just last night,” he said, smiling.

  “Don’t laugh at me,” she said. “I’m still pissed about that. I should have been able to come out here.”

  “You know the danger,” he responded, and once again his eyes were guarded. “There’s something out here that could very well hurt you. You can fight, that’s great. But can you fight a vampire?”

  She gave him her best glare. “I don’t know. Can you?”

  He threw his head back and laughed. Surprised by his response, Viviana felt her cheeks get hot again. His laugh was a beautiful thing. Low and melodic, and rough at the edges, just like she imagined he was.

  “Good point, Viviana.”

  She pouted at him. She didn’t want to be laughed at; she wanted to be respected and understood.

  He looked at her seriously. “There’s more to you than I understood at first. Now I get why Fraze thinks so highly of you.”

  Viviana didn’t know what to think of that. She wasn’t special. She was just…lonely. But the way his face had changed, with amusement, respect—something about it, coupled with the dream she’d had the night before, made something crazy happen in her body and suddenly it felt painful that she wasn’t touching him right now. So, she stepped forward and ran her hand over the scruffy part of his cheek, like she’d wanted to do a while ago. It felt exactly like she’d imagined it would—soft and spiky.

  She wanted more contact. He wasn’t stepping away, but his eyes were open, lips slightly parted. Did he want her as much as she wanted him? Could he tell how much she wanted him? His body was stiff, like he was afraid to move.

  And then, as if he’d come to a silent decision, he leaned into her touch. She looked down, feeling shy all of a sudden. Why had she touched his cheek? It had been crazy, she thought. A moment of insanity. She started to lower her hand, but then he grabbed her wrist and held her in place.

  Her heart thudded in her chest. The spark of their bodies connecting was turning into a flame. More than a flame—a bonfire. He turned his head slightly, leaning into her palm, until his mouth was pressed up against it. He pursed his lips and planted a kiss there.

  Viviana had never been turned on by such a simple touch before. True, her sexual experience was limited to Ben Channing—those fumbling, awkward, embarrassing moments when he’d finished and she just couldn’t get there. This was so completely different from that. Viviana couldn’t understand it. It felt like her dream, like she had always imagined it should feel. And all he was touching was her hand.

  He slowly let go of her wrist. His eyes dared her to do something. She could step away, take the coward’s way out, and pretend that this moment wasn’t happening. Or she could step forward, into the warm circle of his arms, and take what she wanted.

  She gazed at him. His unblinking eyes, curiously taking her in. His nonjudgmental face, completely different from the one he’d worn in her mother’s office or when he’d been arguing with her after the party. This wasn’t a man who despised her. This was a man who cared.

  Maybe the first man to ever care.

  With that thought buoying her courage, Viviana stepped forward and slid her arms around his neck, pulling his face down to hers for a kiss.

  Immediately that bonfire she’d sensed turned into an inferno. So good, the way their mouths fit together. He parted his slightly and licked along her lips. She opened her mouth to allow him in, and then their tongues were rubbing together, stroking each other. It was the most passionate kiss she’d ever experienced, and she never wanted it to stop.

  But then, of course, Hudson’s phone started buzzing in his pocket.

  Just like that, it was over.

  Ten

  Hudson pulled away from her with a start and swore. He fumbled in his pocket for his phone. Gregory, the Evergreen Pack alpha.

  He sent an apologetic look to Viviana, whose cheeks were flushed. Her lips were dark from their kiss. All he wanted was t
o dive back into her arms and taste her again.

  But it was Gregory, and he shouldn’t ignore the alpha’s call. “Sorry, I have to get this,” he said to Viviana, then he swiped his phone screen. “Yeah?”

  As Gregory asked for an update on Hudson’s mother, Viviana was already turning around to walk back to the estate.

  Hudson followed her a few paces behind, answered Gregory’s questions, and then ended the call.

  “I don’t know what I was thinking,” Viviana said, her voice uncertain.

  Hudson wanted nothing more than to look at her face while they had this conversation, but she was still ahead of him. “Yeah, it was…”

  “It was really nice,” she said.

  Nice. Nice? It had been fucking spectacular.

  Spectacular, and forbidden. He wouldn’t be doing it again, not if he wanted to keep his job. And he needed to keep this job.

  *

  Several days passed. Hudson visited his mom at Heritage Pines, but she still wouldn’t speak to him or any of the staff. He tried to rest as much as possible during the day so that he could be awake and guarding Viviana at night. His shifts as her bodyguard were spent walking through the hallway outside her room and making frequent trips to the back yard. The Guardians took care of monitoring the yard, but Hudson didn’t want to take any chances.

  No matter what he did—whether he saw Viviana going over paperwork and discussing other prides and packs with her mother, or whether he watched her give him one of her lonely, heartbreaking smiles from the dining room table—he couldn’t forget the kiss they’d shared in the woods.

  It was especially hard to forget it whenever he and Viviana passed each other in the hallway. It had become a game, to walk as close to each other and touch while walking in opposite directions. Touch once, a brief press of arms or hands, a fluttering of fingers against skin—and nothing else.

  It was driving him fucking crazy.

  One morning, a few days after their kiss in the woods, Viviana and Hudson were left at the breakfast table. Marlana and Jeff were in the music room, Jeff playing piano. Jeff wasn’t too bad, Hudson thought, although Hudson wasn’t much of a judge. His idea of great music usually involved electric guitars and lyrics screamed from a throat sounding so hoarse the singer probably needed a cough drop or ten.

  Although Viviana sat across from him, they weren’t speaking. She looked lost in thought. Hudson stood to clear his dishes and started to take Viviana’s as well.

  “I got it,” she said, standing.

  He frowned. He wanted to do something for her. Something besides standing outside her room and watching for danger. Something that showed her that he cared, even though technically he shouldn’t care, shouldn’t be having these feelings.

  They walked into the kitchen together. Faint strains of some melancholy piece of music reached his ears. He loaded his plate and silverware into the dishwasher, then reached around Viviana to grab a hand towel to wipe down the counter. She turned, suddenly, and was directly in his space.

  Her blue eyes were startled. “Sorry, I—” she started to say, but she stopped when Hudson didn’t get out of her way.

  He couldn’t move. He was transfixed by her eyes, by her partly-spread lips, by the sweet scent of her.

  The piece of music ended, and it was if a spell had been broken. Hudson cleared his throat, ran a hand through his hair. “Sorry.”

  Another piece started, this one faster and complicated, the melody alternating between the higher and lower notes.

  Viviana leaned forward and kissed him.

  He wanted more of her, all of her. To hell with what he should or shouldn’t be doing. He grabbed Viviana by the hips, pressed her against the counter, and deepened the kiss. He tangled his tongue with hers, tasting, taking.

  She pulled away. “We shouldn’t be doing this here.”

  They shouldn’t be doing this at all. But Hudson was going to explode. Staring at her, he didn’t know what to say.

  “Go for a walk with me?” she asked.

  He nodded.

  They walked through the great living room and out into the back yard.

  “Do you mind if I go as a lion?” Viviana asked.

  Hudson shook his head and decided to try talking. His voice came out in a low croak. “No, it’s fine.”

  She stripped completely, and Hudson didn’t know if he’d ever be able to talk again. Her body was like some kind of painting. Pink nipples, the flare of her waist to her hips. Her navel, the edge of her shoulder, hell, the back of her knee enticed him.

  She folded her clothes and set them on a bench next to the house, then closed her eyes. The air around her shimmered, and after a few seconds, a mountain lion stood in her place. She nudged her shoulder playfully against Hudson’s side, and they started to walk.

  He’d been telling himself for days that he shouldn’t want her, but damn if he’d be able to stop himself from taking anything she offered—whether it was a kiss, an embrace, or even a high five.

  Eleven

  As soon as they’d reached the edge of the property, Viviana stopped and listened. No sounds except birds, the movement of the tree branches, the hum of insects.

  Her own heartbeat, too fast in her own ears. Hudson’s heartbeat, solid and comforting. He stood at her side, looking down at her with an easy smile on his face.

  They were back at Viviana’s favorite spot, near the dry creek bed. The scene of their first kiss, which had been days ago. Days of thinking about Hudson, dreaming about him, imagining his lips on her skin.

  Viviana shifted back into her human form.

  Neither of them needed to say a word. One of his arms came around to her waist and dipped to her ass, clutching her to him so their hips were flush. Viviana let out a soft moan. She wanted to be closer to him, with fewer clothes on.

  She rubbed against him, thinking that if she could purr, she’d be purring now. This was—this was amazing. She tugged on his t-shirt, so he lifted it up and over his head, revealing beautiful muscles, beautiful skin. She ran her hands over his shoulders and down his back, until they rested at his waist. But she didn’t stop there. She crept her hands around to his belt buckle. After unfastening it, she unbuttoned his jeans and forced her hand in, cupping his length. So thick, hard. She wanted to see it, taste it. She wanted it inside her—she imagined it felt just as good in real life as in that dream she’d had.

  No, without a doubt she knew it would feel better.

  “I’m on the pill,” she said. She’d started taking it shortly after her first time with Ben. “I want this.”

  His voice was husky. “Are you sure? I know I’m not…I’m not like you.”

  “Not a shifter, you mean?” she asked.

  He nodded.

  “That doesn’t matter to me,” she said. “I thought it did before, but it doesn’t. Besides, you’re just as strong. You bested me on the lawn, remember?”

  He grinned against her mouth. “I remember. That was when I first thought there was chemistry between us.”

  She felt bashful when she said, “I had a dream about you last week.”

  “Tell me.”

  “Oh no,” she said. “I’d much rather show you.”

  It seemed incredible to her that he was right here, in front of her, for the taking. She’d known he was watching her all week, and each time she’d caught his gaze on her, it had given her a warm sensation, all over her body.

  With a lot more confidence than she felt, she reached for his waistband and unfastened his jeans. He helped her push them to the ground and stepped out of them.

  Then he kissed her mouth, her cheek, her ear. His whisper was husky. “I want you on my lap, Viviana.”

  He said her name like an endearment, and it thrilled her. “Tell me what to do,” she whispered.

  He sat back on his crumpled pants and gestured her forward. “Stand over me, then lower yourself down—yeah, that’s right.”

  Viviana sat on his lap, her thighs against hi
s. His dick pressed against her thigh, but he wasn’t inside her yet. He rubbed his face across her breasts. She gasped at the scintillating feeling of his whiskers brushing against her skin. When he took one of her nipples in his mouth and sucked, hard, Viviana bucked against him, throwing her head back in pleasure.

  She was wet already. Several days of looking, flirting, and “accidental” touches had led to this moment. She couldn’t wait to have him inside her. She reached between them and grabbed his dick in her hand, then held it in place while she slowly fit herself over him.

  It was a tight fit, and she breathed against the full, stretching feeling. It was just on the good side of pain.

  “You okay?” he asked, his voice a low whisper.

  “Yeah,” she said, panting. She could take it. She only had to be still for a second.

  He didn’t move, allowing her to take what she needed. Slowly, ever so slowly, she inched off of him. The friction sent tendrils of desire growing through her body, vines of pleasure spreading through her limbs.

  He came up slightly to meet her when she came back down, and they worked in small, short movements while Viviana adjusted to his size.

  When she came down again, her wetness made it slicker, and she was now more comfortable. Her clit brushed against him. “That—feels good,” she gasped.

  Hudson kissed her neck, biting it gently, before trailing kisses down to her breasts. He held them in his hands while Viviana moved up and down on his cock. He tweaked her nipples, tugging gently, and she moved faster. The vines of pleasure were now forming blossoms, growing larger and stronger within her. Hudson moved one hand to her hip, guiding her up and down for a moment. Then he moved to her clit, brushing it with his thumb every time Viviana moved up.

  The friction was unbearable. The flowering vines within her were scattering, the blossoms bursting, and they had nowhere to go but out with her scream as she came. “Hudson!”

  He pressed his face against her chest and thrust upward inside of her a few more times before his muscles strained and he tensed up. She felt his seed emptying, filling her with warmth.