“Do you like?” Her hazel eyes focused on him and her soft blonde curls fell against her pale skin. A juxtaposition of the innocence she still possessed and how incredibly uninhibited she could be with him.

Only him.

“Do I like?” His brows shot up as he moved closer to her. “I love.” His fingertips brushed the top of her breasts, tracing the edge of the satin cup. “Damn, Allie, you’re the most beautiful woman I’ve ever laid eyes on.”

Allie smiled and a gentle blush colored her cheeks. “Well, it was either this or the slutty Mrs. Claus.”

He chuckled. She could have sauntered out in sweatpants or even a damn potato sack and he would have loved it, because it was her. He wasn’t a guy who was hung up on all that expensive lingerie, stockings, and bra’s that pushed what he wanted to unleash up to a woman’s chin. But he was also a red-blooded male who wasn’t about to complain. Jesus Christ, she was perfect. Blowing out a harsh breath, he told the hard-on behind his fly to cool it. “I have a present for you.”

“I don’t need anything else, Hudson, I have everything I could possibly want under this roof.” Her arms slid around his waist.

“I disagree.” He pulled the leather box out from behind his back. It was tied with a red bow, the signature of a Cartier Christmas, and although a black bow would have normally fit his mood around the holidays, this year the cheerful red suited.

Allie opened the box and gasped. Nestled inside was an anklet like none other, custom made with Hudson’s distinct specifications. Delicate white-gold ropes intertwined and were anchored in the middle by a single seashell charm set with flawless diamonds.

“It’s beautiful,” she breathed. Tears welled in her eyes, and he wondered if she was remembering a similar exchange ten years prior when he gave her the carnival trinket.

“I thought this would be more appropriate than that cheap thing you’ve been wearing tucked inside your boots.”

“I love that ‘cheap thing,’” she said. “And the fact you kept it all these years . . .”

Hudson closed the distance between them. He brushed his lips against hers once, twice, then kissed her deep and slow. He was gentle and careful, tilting his head and stroking the inside of her mouth with his tongue.

Christ, every time he kissed her, it was better than the time before.

Allie’s hands slid underneath his sweater. They were soft and cool against his hot skin. He shifted back and in one motion yanked the cashmere over his head and pitched it to the side.

“Hey, what’s wrong?” His hand cupped the side of her face and his thumb wiped a tear from beneath her eye. “Why are you crying?”

“Because tonight couldn’t have been more perfect. Because I love you.”

“I love you, too, Allie. More than anything.” It was true. He loved her more than the company he built from the ground up. More than any future that was spread out in front of them. He loved her more than himself.

With that, Hudson dipped his head and kissed her again, a slow, intense, full-mouthed seduction that had her fingers raking into his hair. He gathered her into his arms and laid her out on his king-size bed, then stretched over her with a tempered control that was a complete contradiction to the pounding erection in his pants. His hands brushed her hair away from her face, his thumb lingering to caress her cheekbone.

“I love the way you feel on top of me.” Allie slid her foot along his calf.

Hudson’s hand smoothed down her thigh and curled her leg over his hip. “How do I feel?”

“Hard.” She rocked her hips against him and smiled. “Very hard.”

“Fuck, Allie,” he hissed.

She pressed her lips to the straining muscles in his neck, running her mouth up until she got to his jaw. It was a matter of seconds before he needed more, so much more. He needed all of her, every inch of her flesh, hot and writhing against his. He needed to make love to her with the starved desperation of a dying man in search of God.

He swept the sheer fabric of the baby-doll to the side and up her ribcage. Her body arched and her nipples strained through the thin fabric. With an impatient hand he tugged the satin down and the tip of her breast tightened further from the cool rush of air. Unable to stop himself, but like he would if presented the choice, he curled his tongue around the peak, sucking it into his mouth. His tongue swept in and out, flicking then sucking while his hands roamed and her body undulating under his. Impatient fingers curled around the edge of her lingerie. “I want this off.”

Allie stripped the fabric from her shoulders, then pulled it over her head. When she tossed it, the material floated to . . . the bed? The ground? Hell if he cared. His eyes were locked onto every inch of her perfect skin. His hands caressed from her neck to her hips and he followed their path with his open mouth. He moved over her, leisurely pressing kisses to her skin, letting his lips linger longer the lower he went. When he’d finally settled between her thighs, he swept a hand up her leg, gripped the back of her knee, and lifted it over his shoulder.

Dipping his head, he ran the flat of his tongue right up the center of her. Allie’s breath hitched and the air rushed out of her lungs. He stroked her in long, slow sweeps, then dragged his tongue deeper, getting a perfect taste of her.

“Oh, God . . . Hudson . . .” Allie moaned, and her fingers twisted into the sheets.

“Feel good?” He flicked over the most sensitive part of her.

“Yes . . .” Her voice trembled just like her body.

“So sweet, you kill me.” A dangerous lust took hold of him, and with a deep rumble in his chest he locked his hands onto her thighs, splitting her wide and penetrating her with his tongue. He thrust into her with deep, sensuous laps, and in no time she was shattering apart under his mouth and glistening his lips. Her head fell back and her spine arched as she bowed off the bed. And shit, the sound of her crying out his name made his cock kick behind his fly, dying to get out. He reared up and nearly ripped his zipper off as he yanked the thing down, pitching the pants to the side with the same urgency.

With a shift, he settled his weight back onto her, his biceps flexing as he propped himself up on his elbows. The tip of his cock brushed against her hot core, and a fresh wave of need crashed into him.

She gazed up at him. God, if she spent the rest of her life looking at him that way, he was liable to spend the rest of his inside of her. “Make love to me, Hudson.”

“Always.” He dropped his mouth to hers as he surged inside her, her nails digging into his shoulders. He drew his hips back, then the base of his spine flexed as he pushed into her again. Allie’s slender hands drifted down his back to his bare ass, pulling him deeper.

Hudson’s head shot up and a groan broke free of his mouth, his muscles chorded and tight from the pleasure that coiled up from his lower body. His broad back flexed and released with each thrust of his hips, the rolling penetrations gliding him in and out as he found a rhythm that had his body on the perfect type of autopilot.

“Ah, God . . .” Allie arched, her chin lifting toward the ceiling and the tips of her breasts brushing against his chest. Fuck, the sight of her beneath him about made him come right then and there. He closed his eyes, but this time he wasn’t plagued by the contaminating thoughts of the past. No nightmares threatened the pureness of his pleasure. It was just the two of them straining against each other, their panting breathes mingling with the sounds of their lovemaking.

Allie locked her legs around his waist, a throaty version of his name rolling off her tongue as her body began to tighten around his cock. He crushed his mouth against hers and began to really move, his hips swinging of their own volition. His thrusts became shorter, faster, and tighter with each relentless drive.