“Julian needs me. He can’t do anything to me or his whole plan goes up in smoke.” She cupped his face between her hands, forcing him to look at her. When his eyes met hers they burned with rage, but more than that, what she saw in them was fear. He was afraid for her, and that was an emotion she understood all too well. “He won’t hurt me,” she whispered.
His voice was hoarse when he spoke. “Last time he almost . . .”
“I know,” she said. “But he’s on his best behavior right now. He can’t risk blowing everything by being arrested for battery.”
“Fuck, Allie. Battery would only be the tip of the iceberg.”
She swallowed hard. “Hudson, I have to do this. It’s the only hope we have left.”
A few tense moments passed. Allie held perfectly still, letting him reach what was the only logical conclusion on his own. When he finally spoke, it was on a heavy exhale. “I don’t like this, Alessandra. Let me make that perfectly clear.”
“I’m not happy about it either, but it’s the only way.”
Hudson shoved a hand through his hair. “We do this on my terms. I don’t want anything left to chance.”
“Yes, of course,” she agreed without hesitation.
For the remainder of the ride Hudson laid out his conditions. The meeting would take place in public, Allie would wear a wire as well as a tracker, and Max would coordinate the entire operation. His team of trained professionals would not only coach her, they would have her under close surveillance at all times.
“I’ll begin making the necessary arrangements first thing tomorrow,” Hudson said as they rolled to a stop in front of her brownstone. He walked her to the door and said good-bye with a simple kiss to her cheek. “I fucking hate this,” he growled in her ear before turning and jogging down the steps. She didn’t know if he was referring to the plan or the chaste good night, but in all likelihood it was probably both.
She’d barely unlocked the front door when her phone began to ring.
“A kiss at the door? How sweet.” Julian’s words dripped with sarcasm. “I thought I made myself clear in regards to rutting with that mongrel.”
“It was a kiss on the cheek, Julian. He’s supposed to think I’m taking him back, remember? And it’s working. He’s agreed to have the papers drawn up.”
“Excellent. When will they be ready?”
“I don’t know. He said he would start the process tomorrow. I should know more soon.”
“See that you do,” he barked before hanging up.
“Well, good-bye to you, too. Asshole,” she muttered under her breath. She shed her coat and scarf before making her way to her bedroom. On the way she grabbed her laptop off the coffee table. There were likely a dozen or so e-mails requiring her attention before the work week began in the morning. With any luck they would distract her from the thoughts that robbed her from sleep most every night. It seemed the only restful nights she’d had since Europe were when she’d shared a bed, or couch, with Hudson at the lake.
But instead of the comfort of her husband’s arms, she would have to settle for a hot shower and a mug of her favorite green tea. She bent to pull a T-shirt and a pair of flannel sleep pants out of the dresser drawer, and when she turned toward the bathroom, she had to stifle a scream.
Hudson stood just inside her bedroom door. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to frighten you.” He’d changed out of his jacket and tie and now wore a quarter zip fleece along with a baseball cap pulled down low over his brow.
“You just . . . you changed . . . and I wasn’t expecting you . . .” Her heart and mind still raced from the shock. “How did you get in here?”
He tossed the cap on her nightstand and ran a hand through his unruly hair. “I came up the back. Julian’s guys aren’t hard to spot. Their car is right out front.”
“I think obvious is the point. He wants me to know he’s watching me, which is why you can’t stay.”
“The hell I can’t. I haven’t slept with my wife since our honeymoon, if you can even call it that.” He yanked both the fleece and his shirt over his head in one move, revealing the hard contours of his pecs and the ripple of his washboard abs. “Once this mess is over, I’m taking you on a proper honeymoon, somewhere warm and tropical. No clothing required.”
The sight of Hudson’s bare chest combined with the thought of lounging naked with him on a sandy beach distracted her, and before she even realized what was happening, he was completely naked. She drank him in from head to toe, her gaze lingering on the erection straining toward her in a mouthwatering display of virility and desire.
“See something you like, baby?”
She looked up to find his brow arched and his mouth curved into a wry grin. “You know I do, but . . .”
“I’ll leave in the morning after your tail has followed you to work. But for now, I want to make love to my wife and fall asleep in her arms.”
There was no point in fighting him. Not when what he was offering was exactly what she needed. “You’re a persuasive orator, Mr. Chase. A master of linguistics, one might say.”
He licked his lips as he sauntered across the bedroom. “Oh, Mrs. Chase, you have no idea.”
Chapter Twenty-six
Allie had never liked Monday mornings. Not as a little girl being chauffeured to school, and not as a grown woman commuting to work. But Monday mornings were especially brutal when you had to leave Hudson Chase asleep in your bed. Naked.
The image of him sprawled across her mattress had stayed with her all day. With one arm thrown over his head and one leg bent to the side, all six foot three inches of him were a sight to behold. But it was the nine inches laying heavy across his lower abs that had her wanting to crawl back into bed. She would have given anything to draw the curtains, turn off the phones, and spend the entire day showing her new husband just how much she craved him. But instead she merely pressed a soft kiss to his forehead as she was about to head out the door.
He’d blinked up at her, his gorgeous blue eyes cloudy with sleep. “Come back to bed,” he’d drawled.
“I need to head to work so the dynamic duo out front will leave their post.”
“What time is it?”
“Almost seven. I wanted to clear out so you’d have time to stop at the penthouse before your first meeting.”
A slow, sexy smile had formed on his lips. “Which isn’t until nine.” He’d reached for her but Allie held her ground, knowing if she indulged in even a moment, she’d have been there for the day. He’d reluctantly agreed when she reminded him that he needed to add a meeting with Max to his morning agenda, but made her promise they’d find a way to spend at least part of the evening together. The naughty words he’d growled on her way out the door had her counting the hours, and when the clock finally read six, she was more than ready for a secret rendezvous.
The phone on her desk rang as she was packing up her things. After the third ring she called out to Colin, but when he didn’t reply, she picked up the line.
“Alessandra Sinclair,” she said, her own name suddenly sounding all wrong. It had only been a little over a week since she’d married Hudson, and even though no one else knew, she already thought of herself as Alessandra Chase. Allie Chase, if truth be told. Hudson had told her he wouldn’t argue if she wanted to hyphenate, but taking his name suited her just fine. As soon as they went public with the news, she planned on changing it.
“We need to meet.” The sound of Julian’s raspy voice sent a chill down her spine.
“Fine,” she agreed. As much as she hated the idea of seeing Julian, she had been wondering what excuse she was going to give him for meeting. He was too clever to ever implicate himself in her parents’ murder over the phone. The fact that Julian was requesting a meeting meant there was one less piece of the puzzle that needed to fall into place. She cradled the phone between her ear and shoulder and opened the calendar on her laptop. “When?”