“Yet to be seen.” He set the kerosene on the dirt and reached for the key ring clipped to his belt. Then he unlocked the shed door and propped it open. “I’ll talk to her in the morning. Depending on what she tells me, I’ll give her the same choice I offered everyone else.”
Rylan blinked. “Shit. You’re going to let her stay?”
God help him, but he was leaning toward that option. Hudson’s knowledge of the Enforcers’ operation gave him an advantage he wasn’t sure he could ignore.
“I might,” he said absently. “What do you think?”
“I think she’s smart. Well trained. Has medical knowledge. Any one of those skills would make her a good addition to our merry little gang.” Rylan shrugged. “But only if we eliminate her as a threat.”
“Don’t worry. I’ll figure it out before I reach any decisions.”
They quit talking and started working, storing supplies in the shed before carting food and ammo into the lodge. By the time Connor trudged back to his cabin, it was three in the morning and he was dead-ass tired.
He sensed the intruder the moment he opened the door.
His hand snapped to the gun tucked in his waistband, then relaxed when he found Hudson cross-legged on his bed. She’d changed into an oversize T-shirt that left her knees bare, and her golden hair fell over one shoulder. She always wore it down. Which annoyed him, because it made his fingers itch to stroke those long, silky strands.
“Can we talk?” she asked softly.
“Do I have a choice? You already broke into my cabin.”
“I didn’t break in. The door was unlocked.”
“But you weren’t invited, now, were you?” With a mocking smile, he dropped his gun on the table by the door.
Many of the cabins that made up the resort were equipped with living rooms and kitchens, but Connor had chosen one with the simplest layout. Bed, table, armchair, and bathroom. He didn’t need much more than that, but right now he regretted his choice, because the cabin felt too damn small. Three steps and he’d be on that bed with Hudson. Three steps and he could be buried inside her.
Shit. Clearly his time with Nell tonight had done nothing to erase his attraction to this woman.
Irritated by his own lust, he settled in the chair and folded his arms. “Talk.”
“I’ve been doing some thinking and…”
Connor waited.
“I want…” She trailed off again, digging her teeth into her bottom lip.
His annoyance grew. “You want what?”
“As long as I’m here, I want everything. I want to be free.” She stumbled over her next words. “I want you.”
It was precisely what he’d expected to hear. Freedom was a drug, one that grabbed hold of you the second it entered your bloodstream. It made you giddy and reckless if you didn’t know how to channel it. The hungry glint in Hudson’s eyes revealed the addiction had already taken root inside her, and it wasn’t all that long ago that Connor had seen the same expression on Kade’s face.
“You know the deal,” he said with a shrug. “You want everything? Then you’ve gotta give me something in return. Starting with the truth.”
Hudson drew a breath, preparing herself for what she was about to do. The truth? No, Connor could never have that. Not all of it, anyway. But she could offer him parts of it, just enough to make him believe she didn’t pose a threat to him. Just enough to convince him to let her stay.
Permanently.
“You’re right. I’m not an outlaw.” Then she shook her head to correct herself. “I mean, I haven’t been one for long.”
“You’re from the city.” It wasn’t a question.
She nodded.
Sharp hazel eyes probed her face. “How did you get out? How did you get past the main checkpoint?”
“I had certain… privileges,” she admitted. “My father was an important man before he died. He had ties to West Colony’s council members. I guess you could call him an adviser.”
The real story played in her head as she spoke, as she carefully edited out the details she knew would spur Connor to reach for his gun and blow her head off.
My father wasn’t an adviser to the council – he was Arthur Lane, one of the founding members of the GC. He was alive for the war. He was the one who implemented the new system.
He was your enemy.
“I didn’t have a city job,” she went on. “I worked in the council sector.”
“Doing what?” he demanded.
“Mostly nursing. You know about the clinic, right?”
Connor’s lips curled. “You mean the only medical facility in the city? The one that exclusively treats Enforcers and council members while letting everyone else rot from injury and disease? Yeah, I know all about it, sweetheart.”
His bitterness polluted the air, and Hudson didn’t bother defending the accusations. Medical treatment wasn’t available to the masses, if you could call the meager human population a “mass.” The people in charge, however, reaped the rewards of the advanced medical technology in the council sector. Council members were given all the treatments or medications they needed. So did their offspring, the ones being groomed for council seats when the older generation passed on. And, of course, the Enforcers earned the privilege because of their upstanding work protecting the Colonies.
Everyone else was shit out of luck.
“I worked in the clinic, patching up Enforcers.”
Connor’s frown told her he didn’t like that one bit, but he didn’t comment on it. “Did you ever visit their compound?”
She shook her head.
I didn’t have to visit it. I lived there. I am your enemy.
But no, damn it, she wasn’t his enemy. She was never going back to that compound, to the city, to the brother who’d betrayed her. She could be Connor’s ally, if only he let her.
“Sometimes the medical staff are given a pass out of the city, usually when an Enforcer gets hurt and can’t be transported to the clinic. They get us out there on a chopper, or by truck if it’s nearby, and we treat the injured Enforcer on site.” She took a breath. “That’s what happened the day I escaped. The doctor and I were called out to treat someone, and we drove out of the city in one of the response trucks.”
“How’d you get away from the group?”
“When we got there, there was only one Enforcer injured, but two other men were with him, and one of them was apparently his close buddy. After we patched him up, I told the buddy that he should ride with his friend and I’d come back with the remaining soldier. So they drove back to the city with the doctor, and I was left with the other Enforcer.”
“Did you kill him?” Connor asked gruffly.
“No. I knocked him unconscious when he turned his back.” She swallowed the lump in her throat, but it wasn’t one of regret. It was one of lingering relief. “I stole the truck and got the hell out of there. Dumped the vehicle about five hours later and traveled on foot after that.”
Connor fell silent for several seconds. Then he said, “Why?”
She frowned. “Why what?”
“Why did you escape?”
“Because I had no choice.”
“That’s not a good enough answer.” He leaned back in his chair, but the casual pose did nothing to hide the waves of distrust rolling off him. “What made you run?”
“Dominik,” she whispered.
Connor’s entire body tensed, the way she noticed it always did when Dominik’s name came up. His hatred for Dom seemed to run deeper than the typical outlaw attitude toward the Enforcers. There was something unsettlingly personal about his hostility.
“You know him?” Connor said sharply.
I know him better than I know myself. He is part of me.
He’s my twin brother.
She choked down the confession. “He came to see me at the clinic.” He came to my bedroom. “He brought a marriage contract with him.” He brought me a death sentence.
Connor hiss
ed out a breath. “You were supposed to marry him?”
She blanched at the thought. “No. It wasn’t his name on the contract. It was Knox’s.” She felt even sicker now. “Knox is Dominik’s lieutenant.”
“I know who he is.”
“Then you know he’s a monster,” she said angrily. “He’s a rapist and a killer and the most sadistic bastard I’ve ever known. I’m not scared of a lot of people, but Knox…” Even saying his name sent a cold shiver up her spine. “He terrifies me.”
“Dominik ordered you to marry him?” Suspicion darkened Connor’s eyes. “How old are you?”
She understood why he’d immediately gone there. Before the age of thirty-five, citizens were free to date and court to their heart’s content, to seek out a partner they wanted to make a life with. It didn’t even matter if they chose someone of the same sex, since procreation was strictly monitored, anyway.
But if a citizen remained single by the time they turned thirty-five, the council stepped in and arranged a marriage for them. Whether they wanted it or not.
“I’m twenty-four. And before you ask, no, it’s not normal to have a marriage arranged for you when you’re twenty-four. And it wasn’t Dominik’s decision.” She swallowed the taste of betrayal in her mouth. “My father arranged it before he died. I guess he didn’t think it was important to tell me.”
Her insides twisted into knots, anger and hatred tangled with sorrow and guilt. She didn’t want to hate her father. She’d loved him. But she’d also trusted him, and discovering what he’d been planning behind her back had stripped away a lot of that love and left resentment in its place.
“Dominik told me that the GC is forming a new colony,” she started.
Connor’s gaze flew to hers. “Where?”
“On the southwest coast. They’re calling it the Coast Colony. West City is beginning to get overcrowded, so the council members decided it’s time to branch out. Once that happens, they’ll need an Enforcer to lead the new colony. Knox is being groomed for the job.” Bile coated her throat. “I wasn’t about to link my fate to that twisted bastard and get shipped off to a whole other colony. I’d rather die than marry him. I figured it was better to try my luck out here in outlaw land than tie myself to someone like Knox.”
“Did Knox know about the marriage contract?”
She nodded weakly.
“So he probably wasn’t happy when he found out you escaped.”
An ironic laugh slipped out. “No probably about it. He’s not the kind of man to let something like this go. In his eyes, I’m his possession. It doesn’t matter that the marriage wasn’t finalized. He’ll never stop looking for me.” A sense of urgency overtook her. “That’s why I need to stay hidden. This place is safe, Connor. Knox won’t find me here.”
“There was never an outlaw group, was there? That story you fed me about everyone getting killed?”
She met his cloudy gaze head-on. “I lied.”
“What about your arsenal of weapons? Where did that come from?”
“Stolen from the Enforcer truck I rode out in.”
“And your training?”
“My father made sure I knew how to defend myself.” A part of her wondered if he’d done that deliberately, trained her along with the boys because he’d always planned on sending her to the coast one day.
How could he have made that decision without telling her, damn it?
Yet as quickly as the question entered her brain, the answer came just as fast. Her father had always put the Colonies ahead of his family. Hudson had learned that depressing truth at a young age, when her father stood idly by and allowed her mother to die from pneumonia. Only the children of council members could eventually join the council. Wives couldn’t. And Hudson’s father had refused to compromise the council’s ideals by providing illegal medical treatment to his wife.
Not even to save her life.
Connor was quiet again, his gaze hard and unyielding. The longer his silence dragged on, the more anxious Hudson became.
“Say something,” she pleaded.
He stood up, marching over to the table against the wall. He swiped the lone bottle of whiskey on the tabletop, unscrewed the cap, and took a deep swig. Then he turned to face her, his expression thoughtful.
“Just so we’re clear – you’re asking for my protection?”
“I’m asking for everything,” she repeated. “Your protection, your silence, your… body…” Her voice tripped over the last word.
“You’re a greedy little thing, aren’t you?”
“If you think that’s greedy, then fine, I guess I am. But I’m not going back to the city. I want to stay here in the free land.” She sighed. “I’m not stupid, okay? I’ve seen how dangerous it is out here, and I know I can’t survive alone.” She hopped off the bed and advanced on him. “But I’ve seen the freedom too. That house you took me to tonight… I liked being there. I liked what I saw.”
He cocked his head. “And what did you see?”
“No shame, no fear, just people letting go of their inhibitions and giving in to… everything.”
He chuckled. “So that’s the word of the night, huh? Everything.” He lifted the bottle and took another swig. “Suppose I let you stay. How do you envision your life here?”
She thought it over for a moment. “I see myself staying out of everyone’s way. I see myself contributing, doing whatever you ask of me.” Her gaze roamed his hard body. “I see myself in your bed.”
For the first time since she’d met him, genuine laughter rumbled out of his throat. It wasn’t mocking, wasn’t wrapped around a taunt. It was deep and husky and made her heart skip a beat.
Until he answered, and she realized she was indeed being mocked.
“I’m not going to fall in love with you, if that’s also part of your little utopian vision.”
Hudson shrugged. “It’s not your heart I’m interested in.”
She bridged the short distance between them, feeling bolder than she’d ever felt as she placed her hand directly over his groin. The bulge of his arousal strained against her palm. Thick and male and tempting. She wanted to feel him inside her. In her mouth, in her sex, everywhere.
Connor’s hips rocked slightly before he drew back, once again depriving her of what she so desperately craved. “There’ll be ground rules if you stay.”
She’d expected that. “Like what?”
“I call the shots.” He smirked at her. “And that rule extends to the bedroom. I decide how fast we go, what we do, where we do it, who joins us.” A wicked gleam sparked in his eyes. “I get total control.”
Whoa, this man was intense.
She wasn’t sure why that surprised her, though.
She also wasn’t sure if she could hand over control to a complete stranger. She hadn’t been raised to follow orders – she’d been raised to call the shots. The people in her family were born leaders.
She was about to answer, when her mind registered what else he’d said. “Who joins us? Do you mean… Rylan?” The prospect triggered an unexplainable burst of heat.
“You like that idea, huh?” Connor said with a knowing laugh.
It was hard to breathe again.
“I knew you would. And, yes, if you want him, you’ll get him. I’ll give you whatever you need, Hudson. I’ll do whatever it takes to get you off.” His eyes became heavy-lidded. “I’m very good at knowing what people need to get off.”
She remained apprehensive. “What about the others? Xander and Kade, and… Pike.” She swallowed. “I’m not comfortable around Pike.”
“For chrissake, you’re not obligated to screw someone you’re not attracted to. I know it looked like a free-for-all at Lennox’s, but believe me, it wasn’t. People fuck only who they want to fuck, in private, in public, whatever turns them on. We don’t force ourselves on anyone.” His mouth tightened. “That’s the way the bandits operate, not us, okay?”
The words brought a rush of relief. “O
kay.”
“You don’t have to worry about Pike. He won’t touch you unless you want him to. And Xan and Kade? Wouldn’t touch you even if you did want them. They don’t share with other men.”
“But…” She wrinkled her forehead, remembering the woman who’d been writhing between them earlier.
“With other men,” Connor emphasized when he caught her confused expression. “They only share with each other.”
It was so hard to make sense of that. To make sense of anything she’d seen tonight. She’d never heard anyone talk so openly about sex, at least not in West City. Sure, everyone there engaged in it, but it was done and discussed behind closed doors. At the Enforcer compound it was out in the open, but there’d been something filthy and violent about the way the Enforcers treated their women.