“Is there something else you want to talk ab—”

I didn’t get to finish the question because Stella launched herself at me. Caught off guard, I stumbled back a few steps but managed to keep her in my arms. I’d heard the saying climbed like a tree before, but never actually experienced it. In one swoop, she jumped up, wrapped her legs around my waist and arms around my neck, and her lips came crashing down on mine.

“I want you,” she mumbled between our joined lips.

So much for being unsure where things were heading. Her eagerness was a total surprise, yet I fucking loved it. I would’ve gone slow, taken my time not to rush things. But this? This was so much better. We had all night for going slow. Taking long strides, I carried her through the living room and into the bedroom. Stella pushed her tits up against me and ground her wide-open legs up and down my already hard cock.

I groaned. “And here I thought you wanted romance.”

“I think I’d rather have you eat my face off right now.”

I set her down on the bed and dropped to my knees. “Sweetheart, that’s not what I’m about to eat…”

I was so fucking consumed with the idea of burying my face between her legs, that I couldn’t be gentle about getting her panties off. Reaching up, I gripped the flimsy material of her thong and tore it straight from her body. The gasp that spilled from her mouth was almost enough to make me come, and she hadn’t yet laid a finger on me.

I nudged one of her legs wider and tossed the other up and over my shoulder. Her pussy was beautifully bare and glistening, making me salivate. I couldn’t wait to devour her. Flattening my tongue, I dove in for a long stroke, licking from one end to the other. When I reached her clit, I sucked it into my mouth and drew deep.

“Ahh...” She arched off the bed.

The sound made me wild. I was so amped up that it wasn’t enough to have my tongue in on the action alone. So I pushed my entire face into her wet pussy, using my nose, cheeks, jaw, teeth, and tongue. And while I was in there, I stopped to take a deep inhale. Later, I’d have to remember to see if Stella could develop this as one of her custom freaking scents—for my private collection only.

Her hips bucked against me as I sucked and slurped, and when she cried out my name, I knew she was close to coming. So I slipped two fingers inside her. Stella’s muscles clamped down tight as I pumped in and out.

When her back arched off the bed again, I reached up and pressed her hips to the mattress, keeping her immobilized as I continued my feast.

She moaned. “Ah…I’m…ah…”

I began to be concerned I might finish at the same time as she did. And if that were the case, my finale would take place in a pair of three-hundred-dollar slacks and be reminiscent of a teenage boy. But the sound of her losing control was just that fucking good, and I actually didn’t give a shit if it came to that, because there was no way in hell I could stop.

Stella’s nails dug into my scalp. She yanked my hair as she moaned louder and louder and then…all of a sudden she let go, and I knew she was coming.

“Oh, God… Ohhhhhhh…God…”

I kept at it, lapping at her until every last quake had rolled through her body. Then I wiped my face with the back of my hand and crawled up onto the bed, hovering over her.

Stella had squeezed her eyes closed tight, but the biggest smile stretched across her face. She threw one arm over her eyes to hide them. “Oh my God. I’m so embarrassed.”

“What are you embarrassed about?”

“I basically attacked you.”

“And it was the best fucking thing that’s happened to me in as long as I can remember.” I peeled her arm away from her face, and she peeked one eye open. “Attack away anytime the mood strikes.”

She bit her lip. “You’re…really good at that.”

I smiled. “I’m really good at a lot of things. The night is just getting started, sweetheart.”

She opened her other eye and her face went soft. “You called me sweetheart. I like that.”

“Good.” I kissed her lips gently before pushing up off the bed.

Stella leaned up on her elbows and watched me as I slipped into my shoes. “Where are you going?”

“To my room.”

“Why?”

I walked back over and kissed her forehead. “To get the rest of the condoms. Two isn’t going to be nearly enough.”

CHAPTER 23

Stella

I never slept this late.

Quietly setting my phone back on the nightstand, I recalled the many reasons I’d slept until almost noon. How many times had Hudson and I had sex? Three? Four? It had been years since I had sex more than once in a twenty-four-hour period. Even at the beginning of things with Aiden, I could only remember a handful of times we’d had sex twice—and it was certainly never anything more than that. A grin spread across my face as I remembered last night—and early this morning.

Hudson was insatiable. Actually, we both were. We’d done it with him on top, me on top, while spooning from behind… But my favorite had been early this morning while we were both lying on our sides and talking. I’ll never forget the connection we had as he glided in and out of me and we looked into each other’s eyes. It was quite possibly the most intimate thing I’d ever experienced. Even thinking about it now took my breath away.

Still smiling at the memory, I decided maybe I’d wake up Mr. Sleepyhead with my mouth. I turned over, expecting to find Hudson sound asleep, but instead all I found was an empty bed.

I leaned up on one elbow and called, “Hudson?”

No answer.

But now that I was awake, I needed to get up and answer Mother Nature. Climbing from the bed, my body ached. But I’d take a few aches and pains in exchange for the hours of pleasure any day of the week.

After I finished in the bathroom, I decided to get my phone to see if Hudson had left me a message. But as I rounded the foot of the bed, I noticed something laying on his pillow—a white box with a red bow and a yellow sticky note attached.

Had a conference call at eleven thirty. Didn’t want to wake you. I’ll be back when it’s over.

Stay naked.

H

P.S. Let’s start writing it.

Let’s start writing it?

What the heck did that mean?

I wasn’t sure, yet my smile beamed as I untied the red bow and slipped open the box. Inside was a beautiful, leather-bound book. It took me a minute to realize the significance, but when I did, my eyes welled up.

“Let’s start writing it.” Last night at dinner, I’d told Hudson I’d struggled to be happy because things hadn’t worked out the way I’d envisioned them, that I needed to let go of the past and write a new story.

God, first the most beautiful sexual experience I’d ever had, now a beautiful gift. A girl could really get used to this.

For the next half hour, I practically floated while I took a shower and got myself ready for the new day. Just as I’d started to do my makeup, I heard the door to my suite open and close.

“Hudson?”

“Stella?”

I chuckled. “I’m in the bathroom getting ready.”

Hudson walked in carrying two bags. He held up one and spoke to my reflection in the mirror. “Breakfast.” He lifted the other bag. “Lunch. I wasn’t sure what you would be up for.”

“If you have coffee in either of those, I’ll be your best friend for life.”

He opened one bag and lifted a Styrofoam container. “I guess Jack’s out. I’ll have to let him know.”

I smiled as I turned and accepted the coffee. “Thank you so much for the journal. It’s beautiful, and the sentiment really means a lot to me.”

Hudson nodded. He pulled a second container of coffee from the bag and lifted the plastic tab from the top. “They also had diaries. But I wasn’t sure if you wrote in one or just preferred to snoop in other people’s.”

“I’ve actually never written in a diary myself. Which is funny, because I bought that first one with the intention of writing in it. It just took me on an entirely different path.”

“Oh, you take a different path alright…”

I laughed. “Shut up. When did you get that anyway? You must’ve been up pretty early to go to the store and leave it there before I even woke up.”

“I picked it up after I went for a run this morning.”

“You went for a run? I’m lucky I made it from the bed to the shower.”

Hudson chuckled. “Well, get done in here and come out and eat something so you have some energy. I want to get on the road to show you the sights so we can get back to the hotel early.”

“Okay. I just need to dry my hair, so maybe ten minutes. Actually…better make that fifteen. I love it in this bathroom.”

Hudson’s brows drew together. “You love the bathroom?”

“Uhhh, yeah.” I waved my hands around to what I thought was obvious. “It’s about ten times the size of the one I have at home, has a bathtub, and look at all this beautiful lighting.”

Hudson smiled. “I think you’re going to like my house.”

“Are you saying you have a big bathroom with a tub?”

He nodded.

“You’re definitely my new best friend.”

***

A hand holder.