Well, if he left, I’m back on my own, so the house would be empty. Down the steps I tiptoe, then decide if he’s still around, it’s better to announce my presence by stomping. The dog barks, and as I round the steps, I see Hudson lying on the couch, the dog sprawled over him. My heart flutters. He is still around, and I wish I were that dog.
“There’s coffee in the pot,” he says, never taking his eyes off the TV.
“Thanks,” I mutter and pour a cup in the kitchen. I sit at the table and watch the TV from here. At first I think it’s a documentary or a reality show, but soon I realize some of the places look familiar, and when the gate comes into view, I see it’s our gate.
The date at the bottom shows three weeks earlier, and Hudson is leaving the house. The small screen at the corner shows me standing at the door. Hudson pauses and zooms in on my face. I’m not sure what he’s looking for, but I’m sure of how I felt about his leaving so soon after we got married.
We had exchanged barely two words:I do.
Hudson presses Play, and the next screen shows men dressed in black leaving and other men replacing them. I presume it’s security and recognize some of the men as my dad’s. Daddy provides security for me.
Brando is entering the gates by punching in codes and waving to the man in the security booth. I frown. Why does he have the codes? He’s not on security detail. It dawns on me that the times he visited, I didn’t let him inside the gates, but of course I never let anyone inside any gates. Other people vet who comes and goes from the house, both at Daddy’s and here.
Brando speaks with Hudson’s chauffeur. I can tell Brando’s getting agitated, and I shift in my chair, my heart pounding. Brando grabs the man by the throat and pulls out a stack of pictures, then waves them in front of the man’s face.
Hudson zooms in. It’s clear Brando is threatening the driver with something he’s got on him. The confrontation lasts a few minutes before the driver leaves. My cousin fusses with his hair and fixes his clothes, then walks up the steps and rings.
Gerald opens, and Brando enters, then waits for me in the foyer.
There’re no cameras inside, but from the outside, I can see myself walking down the steps to meet him.
Hudson fast-forwards through some other images and pauses again when Brando returns a few days later. Same drill. He’s got the security pass for our front gates, and all the men on the property are my dad’s. And I’m pretty sure the two cars permanently parked on the street are also Daddy’s.
My cousin comes inside again, visiting with me. Hudson fast-forwards to when Brando leaves. I’m walking him out this time, and we hug goodbye. Hudson zooms in again on my face. I lean in. I look uncomfortable, my hands hovering over Brando’s shoulders but not touching him, and my head is pulled back a bit as if I’m trying to keep my distance.
Hudson presses Play, and the image of my cousin in slow motion hits the screen. On the other side, he’s closing his eyes and burying his nose into the crook of my neck, one hand fisted at my back as if trying not to touch me the way he shouldn’t in the first place.
I sip my coffee, waiting for Hudson to move on, but he doesn’t. The leather of the couch squeaks, and I hear my husband pad to the kitchen.
I stand and back away.
Hudson proceeds to the sink and drops his coffee cup in, then turns to me. There’s something feral in his gaze. I back up some more, plastering my body to the cupboards. He’s wearing black pajama bottoms and bare feet, but what really stands out is how hard he is. The silk of those pajamas shows off his impressive size. He stalks toward me and places both hands on the counter, caging me in.
“I didn’t do anything wrong,” I say firmly, swallowing because I’m scared he might get violent. Men are violent.
“I know.”
“You do?”
“Mmhm.” He’s watching me, his eyes taking on a darker shade. I find his pent-up aggression sexy. I find his self-controleven sexier. A man who can control himself is a man who controls everything else and everyone around him.
When Hudson left, Brando took over the house security, my security, threatened Hudson’s staff, and walked all over Hudson’s property as if he owned it, and that must feel like he pissed on Hudson’s territory. Hudson won’t stand for it. I just know he won’t.
“I’ll take care of it,” I say the way my Daddy taught me. He smiles, and I push on. “Daddy won’t do it.”
“Because Brando is family?”
I nod. “That and because it’s not that important.”
Hudson presses his body against mine, and his lips linger on the top of my head. I use the opportunity to wrap my arms around his waist and pull him closer to me.
Good Lord, he smells enticing and his body feels great. All hard muscle and maleness, and I sniff his chest before pressing my face against it. His heart beats steadily in my ear.
Hudson trails kisses down my temple to my cheek, then to my ear, where he whispers, “Do you want to talk about this later and go upstairs now?”
I nod.
“I can’t hear you.”
