She wanted forever.

Chapter Twenty-one

Sunlight streamed through the window, waking Allie from the most amazing dream. Snow and candles and vows and tears and whispered words of love. Except it wasn’t a dream at all. It was her life, and she would spend the rest of it with the wonderful man asleep beside her on the bed.

He was draped across her with his head on her chest, one arm wrapped possessively around her waist and his legs entwined with hers. Allie stroked her fingers down his back and a ray of sunlight caught the facets of the diamond on her engagement ring. She lifted her hand. The ring Hudson had given her was absolutely perfect. An understated yet flawless oval solitaire set on a thin platinum band covered with smaller stones. It was simple and elegant and exactly what she would have selected.

“Do you like it?” Hudson asked, blinking up at her.

Allie met his gaze. The love reflected in his clear blue eyes took her breath away, leaving her momentarily speechless.

“If you’d rather something else,” he said, propping up on one elbow, “we can go back to the store together and—”

Allie pressed her fingertips to his lips. “I love it.” She leaned forward, replacing her fingers with a soft kiss. “But I love the man who gave it to me even more.”

“Mmm.” A low sound of approval vibrated in the back of his throat and his arm tightened around her waist. “And I you, Mrs. Chase.”

Warmth bubbled up inside her and a soft giggle escaped her lips.

Hudson reared back to look at her, lifting one brow. “Are you going to have that reaction every time I say your name?” The amusement in his voice made her smile widen even more.

“I just might.”

“Then I will have to make a point to keep saying it.” He tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. “Every day for the rest of my life.”

“I like the sound of that,” she said, leaning into his touch. “So tell me, what’s the plan for day one of the rest of our lives?”

Hudson settled back on the pillow and pulled Allie across his chest. “I’m fine staying here all day.”

“Well, we have to eat at some point.”

He exhaled a heavy sigh. “Married not even twenty-four hours and already I’m second to food.”

“Hardly.” She laughed.

Hudson’s brow knit together. “To be honest, I hadn’t really given today much thought. I was so focused on the proposal and wedding, I didn’t plan anything for the rest of the weekend.” He smirked. “Aside from the obvious.”

“Sounds like the perfect honeymoon,” she said, her finger trailing over the defined slope of his pecs.

“Indeed. But you’re correct. We will need to eat something besides leftover wedding cake, which means we’ll need to go out.” He sucked in a sharp breath when she brushed over a particularly ticklish spot she’d recently discovered just below his ribs. He caught her hand and entwined his fingers with hers. “I’d take you into town, but—”

“But we can’t risk being seen.”

“Precisely.”

“Motorcycle helmets would make for a nice disguise, but it’s not exactly the weather for taking your bike out.”

“Enjoyed that, did you?”

“I did.”

An almost childlike enthusiasm lit Hudson’s face. “Get up,” he said, flinging the covers back. “Dress warm.”

With that, he climbed out of bed. The sight of his very fine, very naked backside as he strolled into the closet had Allie wishing she’d never mentioned food in the first place. And dress warm? What was that all about? Allie was positive Hudson wouldn’t risk a ride on his bike in the dead of winter. He’d been emphatic about safety when talking to Nick. So where the hell was he taking her?

A moment later Hudson emerged from the bathroom wearing a pair of dark jeans and a blue sweater that did crazy things to his eyes. “Meet you out back,” he said as he strode out of the room.

Allie scrambled out of bed and sifted through the closet for the warmest clothes she could find. Once she was dressed, she made her way downstairs and out onto the deck that circled the house.

The backyard, as Hudson called it, was acres of Wisconsin wilderness. Gently rolling hills stretched out as far as she could see, dotted with pine trees and covered with several inches of fresh white snow. Allie found her new husband at the foot of the rear staircase, just outside the garages that made up the first level of the three-story home. He was wearing a fitted black parka and a black motorcycle helmet with the tinted visor flipped down. If it weren’t for the fact that he was straddling a snowmobile instead of a motorcycle, she would have sworn she was living her very own Grease 2 fantasy.

“Where did this come from?” she asked.

Hudson flipped up his visor. His blue eyes sparkled in the late morning sun. “I purchased it when I bought the Harley. Wasn’t sure I’d have much use for it, though, until today.”

Allie smiled. “Guess it’s true what they say about boys and their toys.”

“That word evokes something entirely different in my mind,” he said, holding her gaze until the heat of his stare had her shifting on her feet. “Why Alessandra, is that the wind turning your cheeks pink, or have I made my wife blush?”

“You’re a naughty boy, Hudson Chase.”

“Hmm, you don’t know the half of it. Yet.” The rough timbre of his voice sent a shiver of desire through her. But instead of elaborating, Hudson merely reached for the extra helmet on the back of the Ski-Doo. “Here,” he said, as though he hadn’t just reduced her to a puddle. “These ought to keep anyone from recognizing either of us.”

She took a deep breath. “Where are we headed?”

“There’s a little ski town not too far north. We can follow the trails through the backwoods.” Hudson turned a key, and a second later the snowmobile roared to life. “Hop on,” he yelled over the engine. He held his hand out to help her climb on, then waited while she secured her helmet. “All set?”

Allie nodded, then squealed as the snowmobile took off like a shot, kicking up a plume of snow in its wake. With her arms wrapped tight around his waist, she snuggled against his back, partly to protect herself from the wind and partly just to be closer to him. She molded herself against his body, absorbing the hum of the engine as it vibrated through his frame. Everything Hudson Chase did was an aphrodisiac to her, but there was something particularly sexy about riding behind him on his bike. Turned out the same applied to a snowmobile.

After cutting through the field behind Hudson’s cabin, they veered into a more wooded area, zigzagging between trees and snow drifts until they reached the trails. The ski resort Hudson mentioned was bustling with tourists, none of whom paid any attention to one more couple on a snowmobile eating lunch in the lodge and purchasing supplies at the general store.

The sun was setting over the lake when they finally arrived back at the house. Hudson pulled alongside the front staircase and held her hand as she climbed off the back of the snowmobile. “Go on in and get warm. I’ll put this away.”

Allie pulled her helmet off, her loose blond curls cascading over her shoulders. A smile curved her lips as she scurried up the stairs, already knowing exactly how she planned to warm them both up.

*   *   *

The cold cut through Hudson’s clothes as he moved across the driveway. His heavy boots crunched into the layers of snow, and when he hit the stairs leading to the front door he stomped them against the wood to avoid tracking the nasty mess all over the floor.

A blast of heat hit him as he opened the front door. The house hadn’t seemed that warm before they left, but now it felt downright tropical. Hudson stepped inside and a lone female snow boot nearly tripped him. He caught his balance, and as he did his eyes locked on the shoe’s partner and the twin socks strewn just beyond it. Next were jeans, a black sweater, lace panties and a matching bra. All blazing a trail that stopped at the threshold of glass doors that led to the deck, and a hot tub where his naked wife sat waiting.