I set the phone down and met Hudson's eyes.
"Looks like our morning is over," I said.
"Looks like." He pulled on his shirt, then crossed to me, tilting my face up for one last kiss. "But this isn't over. Not by a long shot."
Chapter 6: Hudson
The meeting with Torres was brief and unsettling.
Lang and Briggs had gone dark. No sightings, no activity, no communication with their usual contacts. The FBI had surveillance on their homes, their families, their known associates, and had come up with nothing.
"They're planning something," Torres said, her expression grim. "Men like this don't just disappear unless they're preparing for something big. We've increased security at the courthouse, but I want you to keep Ms. Ramirez close. Don't let her out of your sight."
Like I needed to be told that.
Betty sat beside me in Torres's office, her hand clasped in mine beneath the table. She hadn't let go since we'd sat down, and I wasn't about to complain. After this morning, after feeling her come apart beneath my hands, I never wanted to stop touching her.
"What about the bar?" Betty asked. "I can't just abandon my business."
"We'll have plainclothes officers in the area," Torres said. "And Mr. Cole's team will maintain their positions. Just be careful. Both of you."
We left the field office and drove back to Betty's apartment in silence. I could feel the tension radiating off her, the fear she was trying to hide beneath a mask of composure.
"Hey." I reached over and squeezed her thigh. "We're going to get through this."
"I know." She put her hand over mine. "I'm just tired of waiting for the other shoe to drop."
"One more week until the trial. Then this is over."
"If I make it that long."
"You will." I lifted her hand to my lips and kissed her knuckles. "I'll make sure of it."
When we got back to her apartment, the atmosphere shifted. The fear and tension from the FBI meeting faded into the background, replaced by something else entirely. Something that had been building since this morning.
Betty locked the door behind us and turned to face me, her back against the wood. Her eyes were dark, heated, full of the same want I felt burning in my chest.
"Hudson."
One word. My name. And it undid me completely.
I crossed to her in two strides, my hands cupping her face, my mouth claiming hers. She melted into me immediately, her arms wrapping around my neck, her body pressing against mine.
"I've been thinking about this all day," I said against her lips. "About this morning. About the sounds you made when you came."
She shivered.
"I want more." I pulled back to look at her, making sure she understood exactly what I was asking. "I want all of you, Betty. I want to be inside you. I want to feel you wrapped around me while I make you scream my name."
Her breath caught. "Yes."
"Yes?"
"Yes." She grabbed the front of my shirt and pulled me closer. "I want that too. I want you. All of you. Right now."
I didn't need to be told twice.
I lifted her easily, her legs wrapping around my waist, and carried her toward the bedroom. Our mouths never stopped moving, kissing and biting and devouring each other like we'd been starving for years.
