Before I know it, half a bottle is gone, and I’m feeling it swirl in my bloodstream, tingling under my skin.
Hudson’s voice cuts through, low and rough…parental.
“Ivory, I think you need to take it easy on the wine.”
I look up, meeting his dark and serious gaze, remaining steady as always. But tonight, there’s something else in them, too. A restlessness, an edge.
Fuck, he looks so hot right now. I wonder if he’d let me lick his belly button.
I tip the glass toward him, a half-smile playing on my lips. “Why? Are you going to tell my daddy?”
“Ivory,” he says my name as if it’s a warning.
“Hudson,” I say his name back, mimicking the same tone. “What?” I giggle. And this time, I warrant myself a stern look, from Mr. Hot Bodyguard, nostril flare and all. “Oh, Hudson, don’t be such a party pooper. Besides, aren’t you supposed to celebrate when you get engaged? Not that the idea of becoming Mrs. Damian Crest makes me want to do anything except throw myself off the nearest balcony.”
His jaw is working hard now, I can almost hear his teeth grinding together.
“That’s it. No more wine for you,” he says while reaching for the almost empty bottle.
I shake my head, snatching it before he does.
“I tell you what,” a strange boldness pops up out of nowhere, and I can’t stop myself. “I’ll stop drinking… if you kiss me.” The words tumble out before I can catch them, letting them echo between us, impossibly loud.
Shit, I can’t believe I said that.
It has to be the wine. I’m typically not this brave. Not this reckless. Not sober.
Oh well! What’s done is done.
Hudson’s eyes snap to mine, a flicker of something dark and dangerous in them.
“Don’t joke about that, Ivory.”
“I’m not joking,” I whisper, voice barely audible. “I mean it. I want… I want to know what it’s like, before…before I have to pretend with Damian. Pretty please, Hudson.” I stick out my bottom lip, pretending to pout.
He shakes his head, while his mouth is a flat, hard line. “Ivory, you’re drunk. You don’t know what you’re asking.”
I set the bottle down with a trembling hand, trying my best to hold his gaze.
“Want to know a secret, Hudson?”
“No, I don’t.” He stands up from his chair, rounding the table toward me.
“Let’s go.” He pulls me up by my arm, but he’s gentle. “You’re going to bed before both of us do something that we’ll regret.”
He tries to lead me, but I don’t budge.
“Wait. I didn’t tell you my secret.”
He eyes me for a second before letting my arm drop. “Fine. Then bed. I’m serious, Ivory.”
Looking up at him, I lean in close, like I’m about to share a piece of top secret information.
I rest my hand on his chest, feeling his muscles tense under my touch. “I’ve never been kissed before. Not once.”
“Okay,” he says.
“I don’t want Damian to be my first. I want…” My voice breaks, but I force myself to finish. “I want it to be you.”
