Rylan’s neck had stopped bleeding, but the bullet had taken off a nice chunk of skin. More of a burn than a cut, and it would definitely leave a scar.
“I don’t think stitches are necessary. All we can do is bandage it up,” she concluded, reaching for more gauze and a roll of medical tape.
Kade returned, followed by Connor, who still wore a scowl on his handsome face. Hudson gathered up her bloody shirt and iodine-stained gauze. “What should I do with these?”
“I’ll take care of it. Here, this is for you.” Kade took her items and handed her a flannel shirt.
She accepted it gratefully, quickly slipping it over her shoulders and doing up the buttons. The worn fabric hung down to her knees, but it was better than nothing.
“How you doing?” Connor asked Rylan.
The other man grinned. “All better. Hudson fixed me up and kissed all my boo-boos.”
Connor just frowned.
She cast him an apprehensive look. “Why aren’t there more people here? You’ve got so much space, and the place seems secure. People could have a nice little community here.”
His features sharpened. “We don’t take people in.”
“Why not?”
“Because we don’t.” His voice brooked no argument, and she decided not to keep pushing.
“Where do you get your electricity?” She awkwardly gestured to the glowing light fixtures on the ceiling.
“Generator,” he said curtly. “There’s a well on the property, and the plumbing works, but we try not to use hot water unless we absolutely have to, because heating the water tank drains the genny. There’re a few outhouses too, and every cabin has a shower and a bathtub.”
Her breath caught. A bathtub. Holy hell. The thought of sliding into a tubful of water, even cold water, made her shiver with pleasure. She’d been traveling for seven days, so eager to put distance between herself and Dominik that she’d barely had time to sleep, let alone bathe. She’d passed streams and lakes along the way, indulged in quick dips, but she still felt dirty and unkempt.
She sensed Connor’s eyes on her. They were more green than hazel, she realized. The color of the dark leaves on the trees outside.
“You want to take a bath,” he said with a sigh.
“More than anything else in the world.”
She thought she saw the corners of his mouth twitch. “Fine. I’ll take you to one of the cabins.”
Happiness danced through her. “Really?”
“I just said it, didn’t I?”
“Thank you —”
But he was already stalking off, forcing her to hurry after him.
They’d reached the door of the lodge when he spoke again. “One night,” he said brusquely, his big hand landing on her arm. He squeezed her wrist as he stared at her. “One night, and then you’re gone.”
She nodded weakly. The response seemed to satisfy him because he released her arm and walked out the door.
Hudson trailed after him, glad that he was in front of her so he couldn’t see the determined set of her shoulders. Her show of agreement hadn’t meant shit, because she had no intention of staying for one measly night.
She needed to find a way to convince Connor to let her stay.
3
“Bath’s ready.” Connor stepped out of the bathroom and found Hudson on the edge of the double bed, bending over to unzip her leather boots. She kicked one off, then the other, while he stood there trying not to check out her endless legs.
He was getting tired of the lust surging through his veins. He’d been sporting a hard-on since the moment he’d met her, but he was determined to ignore his dick and start using his head.
He’d given her the cabin closest to the lodge, the one right next to his, mainly because he wanted to keep an eye on her, but also because the cabins in the forest were in shambles. He’d asked Kade to bring some clean sheets, fluffy pillows, and a thick duvet, and he’d even set the water temperature in the bath to lukewarm instead of frigid. Not out of the goodness of his heart, though. Oh no, he wanted her to lower her guard, to trust him, and once he lulled her into a false state of security, he would go in for the kill and get the answers he needed.
Hudson stood up. “Thanks again.”
“You’ll find soap and shampoo in the cabinet under the sink,” he said graciously.
She disappeared into the bathroom and closed the door behind her, but Connor made no move to leave. He stood outside the door instead, waiting, listening. He heard rustling, fabric sliding over skin and softly hitting the tiled floor.
His mouth grew dry as he envisioned her naked body, imagined kicking open that door and yanking her into his arms, feeling her tits crushed against his chest, her hot pussy clamped around his cock.
The carnal image did nothing to put out the fire building in his groin. Didn’t help that he couldn’t remember the last time he’d fucked a woman. Months, maybe. Yeah, at least four months. He’d gotten wasted and allowed Rylan to drag him to the whorehouse in the mountains. It was no wonder his body was so out of control. Put a beautiful woman in front of it and he was bound to get worked up.
He wandered over to where Hudson had left her jacket. Curious, he picked it up and investigated the inner pockets. His eyebrows rose when he found the arsenal hidden in the various sheaths sewn into the material. He counted six sharp-as-fuck knives before dropping the jacket and unzipping the duffel bag she’d been carrying.
He rummaged through the bag, pushing aside random items of clothing, a pair of sneakers, until his hand connected with a 9 mm.
The final tally ended up being five guns and eight knives, not including the ones in her jacket. The woman was armed to the teeth. He wasn’t sure if he was impressed or suspicious. Probably both.
A splashing noise caught his attention. Hudson was getting in the tub. Good.
He squared his shoulders and made his move, striding into the bathroom just as her breasts slid beneath the water.
“What are you doing?” she squeaked. She’d been tying her hair in a knot atop her head, but she let the golden mass drop the moment he walked in.
He couldn’t help it – he took a good long look at her full, perky breasts with their rosy pink nipples, then the mouthwatering paradise between her legs. Her pussy was completely bare, and his cock was totally enjoying the view.
“Taking advantage of the situation.” He smirked. “I want answers, sweetheart, and you’re gonna give them to me.”
Dismay flashed in her eyes as she attempted to shield her nudity from him. One hand splayed over her mound, while the other folded over her breasts, and the self-conscious actions triggered another jolt of suspicion. Outlaw women didn’t hide their bodies – they were used to living in camps where privacy didn’t exist. Where modesty didn’t exist.
“Can you please go?” Her voice was tight with contempt.
“No.” He propped his shoulder against the doorframe and fixed a hard stare in her direction. “Who are you? Where did you come from?”
She met his gaze head-on, and though her cheeks were flushed with visible embarrassment, she didn’t look afraid of him. “I was living in the East with a group of people.”
“Who were all killed.” He recited her story back at her. “Tell me, how exactly did that happen?”
“It was during a sweep. The Enforcers ambushed us at night and dragged everyone out of their tents. I was walking in the woods when it happened. I heard the screams and gunshots and knew something terrible was going down. So I hid.” She paused. “Can I have some privacy now?”
“No.” He cocked his head. “Might as well soap yourself up, baby, before the water gets cold.”
Hesitation creased her face. Then, letting out a resigned breath, she dropped her hand from her breasts and reached for the bar of soap on the edge of the tub.
Connor was momentarily distracted by her tits, but he forced himself to concentrate on what mattered. “What happened after that?”
She worked
the soap into a lather without looking at him. Her skin was flushed, her hands ungainly as she moved the slippery bar over her body. Clearly she wasn’t used to being on display, but he didn’t give a shit if he was making her uncomfortable.
“Eventually the screaming stopped and the Enforcers left,” she said flatly. “I went back to camp and everyone was dead.”
She told the story in a faraway voice, as if the tragedy had happened to someone else. And all the while, she continued to soap up her body. “I left the camp early the next morning —”
“Yet somehow you managed to hold on to your duffel bag full of weapons,” he said dryly.
“I had it with me in the woods.” She scowled at him. “I never leave it behind.”
“Uh-huh. Okay. Then what happened?”
“I knew I had to get as far away from the area as possible, so I ran.”
One slender arm reached for the shampoo bottle on the edge of the tub. She unscrewed the top and dumped a generous amount into her palm, then dunked her head under the water. When she reemerged, she worked the shampoo into her wet hair, fingers gently moving over her scalp.
Christ, she was one spectacular-looking woman. There wasn’t an ounce of fat on her long, lithe body, and yet she wasn’t lacking in curves. His gaze lingered on her breasts again, saliva flooding his mouth as he imagined those firm tits filling his hands, hard little nipples straining against his palms.
She submerged herself to rinse off the shampoo, then popped up again. “I traveled at night and slept during the day, usually in the woods. I was planning on heading to the West Coast. Then I ran into a guy who told me about the bar. I went there, met you guys, and the end.”
He didn’t believe her.
Her story sounded like all the ones he’d heard hundreds of times before. Friends and families killed during sweeps, finding yourself alone in a world that wasn’t safe anymore. It had happened to him, to his friends, to strangers he’d met, and there was no reason why it couldn’t have happened to Hudson.
But he still didn’t believe her.
“And this training you claim to have?” he prompted. “The medical knowledge? How’d that happen, sweetheart?”
“Can you stop calling me sweetheart?”
Her annoyed reply caught him off guard. Or maybe he was shaken because she was getting out of the tub, making it impossible not to notice, well, everything. Droplets pooled on her smooth pale skin, glistening on her tits and sliding down those incredible legs. He wanted to reach out and touch her. Lick those drops off her.
“You say it like an insult,” she went on, “not a term of endearment. So unless you want me to start calling you something equally insulting, like babycakes or some shit, call me by my name.”
He fought a grin.
“Now, pass me a towel. I’m getting cold.” The pink splotches on her cheeks betrayed her blasé tone.
She wasn’t used to being naked in front of a man – Connor instantly sensed that. Which made him wonder… Shit, was she a virgin?
His cock twitched at the thought of being the first to slide into her tight, hot body. Jesus. He really needed to get laid. Soon. Before he did something seriously stupid.
He grabbed a thin towel from the rack behind the door and handed it over without a word. She wrapped the towel around her body, tucked it over her breasts to keep it closed, then marched right past him and left the bathroom.
Connor’s jaw hardened. “The training,” he repeated, his voice harsh.
“Some of the people I was with fought in the People’s Army before it was disbanded.”
Keeping her back turned to him, she pulled a few items of clothing out of her bag. Then her shoulders tensed, as if she were debating what to do next.
What she did next was let the towel drop to the floor, providing him with a torturous view of the sweetest ass he’d ever seen.
His dick pulsed with need.
Grow the fuck up, he told his attention whore of a cock.
“They taught me how to fight,” she added over her shoulder. “And one of them was a medic, so he made sure I knew the basics.”
She wiggled into a pair of red panties, yanked black leggings up to her hips, and slipped into a loose T-shirt. “When the Enforcers found us, fighting back didn’t get us anywhere. They have better weapons, better vehicles, better everything. My group didn’t stand a chance.”
It wasn’t the first time Connor had heard those words. Hell, he’d uttered them himself, knew firsthand what those bastards were capable of. Dominik and his men showed no mercy.
But goddamn it, he didn’t believe her.
“You’re lying to me.” His tone was hard, his expression even more so.
She took a step toward him, bringing with her the scent of soap and coconut shampoo. Connor held his breath, refusing to let the alluring fragrance cloud his judgment. Everything about her got to him. The way she walked, her determination, that odd paradox of fearless vulnerability.
He wanted to sink his cock inside her and fuck her blind.
“Connor —” she started.
“You’re lying. I don’t know why and I’m not sure I care. But you’re lying.”
No mistaking the flicker of panic in her eyes. “Damn it, what more do you want to hear?”
“The truth, for one.”
Her shoulders slumped in defeat. “Can’t you just be satisfied with the story I told you?”
He chuckled despite himself. The way she phrased it – the story I told you – was all but an admission of guilt.
“Sorry, sweetheart, but the truth is the only thing that’ll satisfy me.”
“What if the truth is too awful?” Her voice rang with uneasiness. “What if it’s unforgivable?”
He shrugged. “We’ve all done awful, unforgivable things. Myself included. Hell, talk to Kade about what he did in the city before he escaped. Only difference is, we own up to it. We don’t lie to each other.”
She hesitated, lips parting as if she wanted to say more. Change her tune.
But she didn’t.
“I’ll contribute while I’m here,” she whispered. “I can help you on that raid. Cook, clean, whatever you want.”
“Whatever I want?” He didn’t bother disguising the seductive note in his voice, but at the same time, he wondered why the hell he was toying with her.
“Is that it?” she challenged. “You want me to screw you in exchange for a roof over my head?”
He gave another shrug. “I don’t barter for sex. If I want to get laid, there are countless women who’d be happy to help me out – and they won’t ask for a damn thing in return.”
The relief on her face was hard to miss. But the disappointment… well, that was hard to see, unless you were looking for it. Which he was. He searched those silvery eyes, chuckling when he glimpsed the telltale gleam.
“You wanted me to say yes.” His head slanted thoughtfully. “You wanted to have the decision taken out of your hands, didn’t you?”
Her mouth tightened. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
Connor took a predatory step forward. “You’re aching for it.”
She edged backward, until her hip bumped the corner of the table next to the bed.
He moved closer, stopping when they were less than a foot apart. “I wouldn’t get a single protest from you, would I? If I bent you over this table and fucked you hard?” A dark laugh slipped out when he saw her shiver. “Oh yeah, you’d love every second of it.”
Her gaze found his again. “You’d make sure I did. You strike me as a man who knows how to make a woman feel good.”
Connor raised a brow in surprise. He hadn’t expected an answer from her, let alone one so brazen. “I could make you feel a lot of things, Hudson. Pleasure is one. Pain is another. If you bring trouble to my door, I won’t hesitate to throw you out on your ass. Or worse.”
She straightened her back. “There won’t be any trouble. Especially if this place is as secure as I think it
is.”
“Good.” With a nod, he stalked to the door.
“Connor.”
He stopped. Waited.