“I’m sure that the next time we do this, we’ll have enough professional photos to fill your entire tablet,” he said. “But I wanted this one just for me.”
“Taking that picture reminded me of the one the paper ran back in September,” she said.
Hudson powered off his phone and tucked it back in the ass pocket of his jeans. “Made you think about how much you wanted me that night, too?”
This time she did roll her eyes. “Actually, I thought you were a pompous ass that night.”
He grinned. “But you still wanted me.”
She bit her lip. “Perhaps.”
“Well, I thought you were a spoiled, uptight bitch that night.” Allie’s mouth popped open in feigned exasperation but Hudson merely smiled and finished his thought. “And even more beautiful than you were when I first met you. Which, for the record, I wouldn’t have thought possible.”
“And now?” she asked
“And now I can’t believe I’m the lucky bastard who gets to see that look in your eyes.”
“What look?”
“The one that says you want nothing more than to have me buried deep inside you.”
A small gasp escaped her lips. “Well, if I’m that obvious, what the hell are you waiting for? Let’s consummate this already.”
Hudson’s head fell back and he laughed. “Ever the romantic, Mrs. Chase.” In a swift move he grasped her behind the knees and lifted her into his arms.
“What are you doing now?”
“We’ve been over this,” he said, striding toward the stairs. “I need to carry you over the threshold.”
“Of the bedroom?” A small giggle bubbled up from inside her. “I thought that tradition only applied to the front door.”
“Laugh all you want, but I believe you were the one who pointed out the need for superstition.” He grinned. “Or mojo, as you called it.”
Allie wrapped her arms around Hudson’s neck as he carried her upstairs to his bedroom. The team of wedding planning elves had apparently been busy on the second floor as well. Rose petals were spread across the white duvet, and a hurricane glass with a cluster of flickering candles rested atop the nightstand.
He lay her on the king-size bed, then joined her, and together they began to remove each other’s clothing. Frantic hands and fumbling fingers blended with anxious groans and soft laughter to create a scene more in keeping with the two teens in the backseat of a car than a couple on their wedding night.
When they were both naked, he moved over her body with a measured control that was a complete contradiction to the frenzied pace in which they’d undressed, not to mention the erection pressed against her thigh. All laughter faded and the only sound that remained was their deep, stuttering breaths.
Hudson brushed her hair away from her face, his thumb lingering to caress her cheek.
“If ever any beauty I did see / Which I desired, and got / ’Twas but a dream of thee.”
Tears welled in Allie’s eyes as John Donne’s words washed over her heated skin like a caress. Hudson wasn’t the type of man to quote poetry, which made the gesture all the more moving. And the words he’d chosen to whisper to his new bride were not only beautiful, but appropriate. To the outside world Hudson Chase had everything he could possibly desire, and yet he’d made it clear time and time again that Allie was the only dream that ever mattered. The poetic reminder that the man she loved cherished her above all else took her desire for him to an almost debilitating level. She couldn’t wait any longer. She needed his hands and lips and tongue on her. She needed to be one with him through the most primal connection. She needed her husband. “Love me, Hudson.”
“I do,” he murmured. His voice was thick with emotion. “Those words will never be enough, but God help me, I do.”
With that, Hudson lowered his mouth to hers. She moaned, and when her lips parted he deepened the kiss, his tongue claiming her with an undeniable possession. “I’ve been waiting for this all day,” he rasped. His body arched over hers as he sucked and licked his way down her throat. “The moment when I make you mine.”
He dipped his head and his tongue flicked across one nipple before catching it between his teeth. Her body shuddered as he tugged hard, the sensation echoing through her core. Then he kissed his way to the other side, laving the hardened peak with lazy circles before sucking it deep into his mouth.
Allie’s fingers trembled against his skin as they skated over his shoulders and across his chest. His stomach muscles tensed as she smoothed over the ripples of his abs, and when she took his hard length in her hand, he drew a sharp breath.
“I love touching you,” she whispered. Her fingers curled around him, gently squeezing and stroking from root to tip. The feel of him throbbing and pulsing in her hand drove her wild, and before long her hips began to move in a silent plea.
Hudson gazed up at her with dark, hungry eyes. “Not yet,” he murmured. “First I need to taste my wife.” The delicious promise held in his words made her entire body clench with need. Or maybe it was just the sound of Hudson calling her his wife that caused a soft whimper to escape her lips. Either way, anticipation thrummed through her veins as he shifted fast and smooth between her thighs. He lifted one leg over his shoulder, spreading her wide, and dragged his tongue up her center. Allie’s breath hitched and the air rushed out of her lungs as his tongue lashed across her most sensitive flesh. There was nothing gentle about the way he devoured her—licking, nipping, and sucking her as if consumed by a desperate need to bring her pleasure.
“Oh God,” she moaned. Her fingers dug into his hair, holding him against her as she began to quiver.
“That’s it, come on my tongue. Let me taste you.” His words vibrated against her and she cried out, splintering apart in a mind-blowing orgasm.
He kneed her legs apart. “Spread for me. I need to be inside you.” The weight of his body settled over hers and his erection lay hot and heavy just where she needed him most. He gazed down at her as he brought their bodies together. Once he was buried deep, he stilled. “Mine.”
“Yours,” Allie whispered in return, relishing the feel of him and knowing their connection was complete. He brushed his lips against hers as he began to slowly move, pulling back and then flexing into her with a deliberate, unhurried rhythm.
She groaned, needing more, needing him. “Please, Hudson . . .”
With a growl he slid deeper. Allie gasped, her swollen flesh tightening around him as he drew back. Their kiss deepened as he began to really move, his tongue fucking her mouth in time with each possessive thrust of his hips. Allie felt her insides begin to quicken as his body rolled against hers with measured determination. Her hand clutched the white sheet, her grip tightening with each relentless drive. She felt herself climbing higher and higher, then Hudson changed his angle, hitting a spot deep inside her, and a keening cry escaped her lips. Her head tipped back and her eyes drifted shut.
“Open,” he grunted.
Her gaze met his as a fiery orgasm rolled through her body, obliterating everything but the man moving hot and slick above her. “Fuck, Allie. That’s it. Look into my eyes as I come inside you.”
He came long and hard, his hips jerking in a powerful, unforgiving thrust as he poured himself into her. “I love you,” he whispered as he collapsed against her. The weight of him, pressing her into the mattress, soothed the aftershocks that racked her trembling frame.
“I love you, too,” she said. Her voice quivered as her body shuddered.
Hudson rolled onto his back, pulling her with him without ever breaking their connection. Allie nuzzled against his chest as he cradled her in his arms, and felt the pounding beat of his heart beneath her cheek. They lay in silence, neither one speaking as their collective breathing slowed, and all thoughts left her but one. Hudson was right: a lifetime would never be enough.