Total pages in book: 27
Estimated words: 24933 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 125(@200wpm)___ 100(@250wpm)___ 83(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 24933 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 125(@200wpm)___ 100(@250wpm)___ 83(@300wpm)
He doesn’t let go as we walk up the steps. Each stride eats up the distance, his presence so massive it feels like he’s blocking out the rest of the world. My brain scrambles for something biting to say, but I don’t really have anything left.
At my front door, I fumble with my keys, but Hudson takes them and unlocks it. Then he turns me, pinning my spine to the door frame, his eyes darker than I’ve ever seen them.
“Night, Tinsley,” he says, voice low.
My heart jackhammers in my chest as he leans over. His mouth covers mine. Not soft, not tentative. Hot, firm, and so intense my brain forgets how to function. My whole body just dissolves. I’m not even sure where I begin and where he ends. The only things I know for sure are the heat of his mouth, the rough scrape of his jaw, and his hands braced on either side of my head, pinning me with that massive, caged-in energy. I want to be angry. Honest to God, I try, but my traitorous brain short-circuits, and all I can do is arch up into the pressure, every nerve ending lit up like Vegas in July.
Hudson tilts my chin up and deepens the kiss. He tastes like sugar, spice, and falling rain. I let go so hard it feels like I’m falling. My fists ball in his shirt, crushing that starched fabric like I’m afraid he’ll pull away.
Which, of course, is exactly what he does.
He pulls back just enough to look down at me, mouth wrecked, breathing heavy. There’s this tiny, knowing smirk hiding in the corner of his lips.
“Go inside, Tinsley, before I lose my mind.”
My voice is MIA, so I just blink up at him, still backed against my own damn front door.
He taps his finger on the door frame. “I’ll text when I hear about your car.”
Then Hudson turns to walk away, leaving me shaking against the wood, drowning in the taste of him, and one hundred percent sure I’m completely, totally in over my head with Hudson Carrington.
CHAPTER FIVE
HUDSON
I had a plan to woo Tinsley until she couldn’t resist me. And I’ve been failing at every turn. Fucking hell. Then I went and made things worse by kissing her. I never should’ve kissed her. It was a tactical error, a clumsy move by a man who usually plays three moves ahead of the board. Now, my brain is a chaotic loop of her taste and the feel of her soft, curvy body pressed against mine. I want her more than my next breath, but I can’t get her to give me the fucking time of day.
Goddammit.
The laptop on the massive oak desk pings, a sharp, digital intrusion that echoes against the high, vaulted ceilings. I check the time on my watch. Four o'clock. The weekly council is just about to start. My assistant, Morgan, sticks her head in the door. “It’s time for your call.”
“Thanks for reminding me.” Usually, I look forward to these video meetings with my siblings, but today, I don’t feel like dealing with their shit. “You can head out. I’m going to give up for the day once my call is over.”
“Sounds good.” She smiles and breezes out the door as I settle into the high-backed leather chair and hit the join button. Instantly, the screen tiles with the faces of my siblings. It's the usual Carrington circus, broadcast in high definition from everyone’s home offices. Tanner’s leaning back, boots on his desk, looking like he hasn't a care in the world. Cole is sitting at his desk back in Montana, a backdrop of snow-capped mountains visible through the window behind him, looking far too relaxed for a Tuesday. Silas is in his office in the main barn, and Maggie is curled up in her favorite chair, a mug of tea in her hand.
"Look at that face," Tanner says immediately, leaning in so close his nose fills the frame. "That’s the face of a man who just had his ass handed to him by a woman who just isn’t into him."
"He looks like he swallowed a lemon," Silas pipes in.
I lean back, crossing my arms over my chest, the silk of my shirt tight against my shoulders. “Are you assholes ready to actually work?”
"Why do something so boring?" Cole chimes in, his voice smooth and teasing. “The Carrington Corporation is running smoothly. I want to discuss you losing your mind over Cash Montoya’s receptionist.”
Maggie shifts in her chair, her bright blue eyes narrowing as she studies me through the screen. She's the youngest, the baby of the family, but she's always had the most terrifyingly accurate read on all our emotions. “The Grapevine has been buzzing ever since you started stalking Cash’s new receptionist.”
I feel a muscle in my jaw jump. “Her name is Tinsley, and it isn’t stalking. I’m wooing her.”