I stared at my father, meeting his unnerving gaze. “You did extend a dinner invitation,” Abaddon said with a shrug, making my stomach flip. “But He sent me with His apologies as He had a prior engagement. I don’t manage His diary, so I’m not sure where He is. However, souls often feel His presence and intent, resulting in a gathering of the deceased. They are drawn to the light, and He is the light.”
Oh shit.
The house was quiet.My family and friends had retreated to their rooms or returned to their homes. Hudson watched me clean the already spotless parlor. I had too much nervous energy. Everywhere we turned, there was another powerful being. I was surrounded by entities that played with our lives like we were pawns, and it was suffocating.
Hudson caught my wrist as I moved to go back in the kitchen. A spot of wood polish would help the dining table shine. He drew me to his chest and wrapped me in his arms, his fingers gently gripping my chin as he tilted my head back to stare into my eyes.
“It’s three in the morning, Cora. Time to come to bed.”
“But I’m not tired.” It was the truth. I had all this nervous energy bombarding my body, and it needed to be burned off. Maybe I should go for a run?
He pried the mop from my hand and placed it against the wall before threading his hand into my hair and tugging it back. His lips caressed mine and chased the icy dread away. “Come to bed,” he coaxed as he began unbuttoning the front of my dress while walking me backward toward the stairs.
“I have so much to do,” I whispered. The refrigerator still needed organizing and the pantry checking for outdated food.
My heels hit the stairs, and he guided my body back. “Come to bed,” he said again.
I shook my head. Bed is where sleep happened, and I had so much to do. The house needed to be perfect.
Hudson’s hands gathered the hem of my dress, and he sank to his knees as he raised it slowly. “Come to bed.”
“No.”
“Then I guess I’m going to do this here on the stairs where anyone can find us.”
“Do what?”
His hands yanked my knees wide, tore my panties in two, and pressed his tongue against my core. My hands threaded in his hair as my mind went blissfully blank.
“Yes,” I whispered as I raised my hips to meet him. I needed this. He gripped my waist and pinned me to the stairs as he teased me relentlessly. “I need to come.”
He chuckled against my inner thigh and nipped it lightly. “And I need you to come to bed.”
A door opened above us, and footsteps padded along the creaking floorboards. “Seriously? It’s not even a full moon,” Sebastian whined. “Get a room.” A door slammed closed. I stared at Hudson, and we both burst out laughing.
“Fine, bed.”
He didn’t need another invitation. He swiped my torn panties in one hand, scooped me under my butt with his other, and ran up the two flights of stairs, covering the distance in seconds. My body flopped onto the bed with a bounce, and he ripped off his shirt. Buttons bounced off the walls as he tore his jeans down his legs.
“Get naked, Cora. Now. It’s a beautiful dress, and I’d hate to ruin it.” My dress and bra hit the floor in seconds, and he climbed over my body with a lethal look in his eyes. “Time to show you how cats do it,” he promised. “You’ll need to funnel a little of Indigo’s power.”
I already was, because Indigo was wide awake and very interested in what he was doing. He kissed me deeply, his tongue tangling with mine, and I grew restless underneath him.
“Stop teasing,” I growled.
He grinned. All teeth. All male. All cat. “This is part of the package. Teasing is in our nature, so get used to it.”
I scowled at him. He chuckled, flipped me over onto my front, and put his hands under my belly to draw me to my hands and knees. Now we were talking. He nudged my thighs apart wider, a little wider still. Then his hand collared the back of my neck and pressed it to the soft pillow. I opened my mouth to protest the vulnerable position, but then his tongue did something magical between my legs and I lost the ability to talk coherently.
“Hudson,” I groaned as he pushed me toward the cliff edge with ruthless determination. He was done teasing, and all Icould do was hang on tight. My hands twisted in the comforter, and I raised my ass higher.
Heat raced down my spine, and pleasure burst from my core. A scream tore from me, and his teeth latched onto my clit, extending my release with a perfect bite of pain. His hand steadied my hip as he tore his mouth away and thrust inside of me, stretching me with a sudden force while I was still spasming, putting me right back on the edge. How did he do that?
I tried to rise up on my elbows, but his hand pinned my neck to the bed as he powered inside of me until I’d taken all of him. He paused, letting me feel the stretch.
“You good?” he checked. My mate was dominating, bossy, and impossible—but also loving and caring. It was intoxicating being the center of his world.
“I’m good.”
