Hudson Read online

  He kept himself from smiling. There was always a way to get information from a person who didn’t want to give it. He was going to have to go through the back door. He took another bite, thinking he should’ve ordered what she had. It looked delicious, and smelled pretty good too.

  “I don’t travel much, but when I do, I make the most of it. When I’m not working at home, I love to fish and do some hunting in the fall. I’ve been so busy lately, though, that I haven’t gotten to do much of either the past couple of years.”

  “I’ve never understood hunting,” she said. “Fishing I get more, but hunting seems so violent.”

  “I think you have far more respect for food if you know what it takes to produce it. I have a lot of respect for vegetarians who practice what they preach, but I get slightly irritated with meat eaters who hate on hunters. Meat doesn’t magically appear. All of it was once an animal.”

  She put down her fork as she gazed at him with sad eyes. “I know that, but to actually talk about it makes me feel bad.”

  “Hey! I’m not trying to ruin your dinner. Hunters are kind. Our goal is to give the animal a healthy, happy life in the wild, then take their life quickly and as painlessly as possible. Trust me, when animals kill each other they aren’t so considerate. If we didn’t hunt, nature would get out of control. I’ve seen a bear and a cougar attack. They aren’t worried about a quick death. It’s heartbreaking.”

  “I’ve never thought about that. The entire animal kingdom, including humans, is pretty vicious isn’t it?”

  “Yeah, we can be when we need to survive. But for the most part I think we all work together as one cohesive unit.”

  “Most of the time. Sometimes, everything gets out of whack and then we need a reset button,” she told him.

  He laughed, enjoying this woman.

  “Are you ready for dessert?” the attendant asked.

  “For sure,” Daisy said with a huge grin. “Can I get ice cream with my cookies? I saw someone over there with it,” she said, pointing like an eager child.

  “Yes, of course, what flavor?”

  “I have choices?” Daisy asked.

  “Of course. We have vanilla, strawberry, Oreo, and rocky road for this flight.”

  “Ohh, I want . . . hmm, Oreo,” she finally said.

  Hudson could see the attendant fighting a smile. She was probably wondering where Daisy was putting all of it just as he was.

  Their dinner dishes were taken away, and in less than ten minutes dessert was brought out. Hudson wouldn’t mind seeing her look at him the same way she was looking at her ice cream and cookies.

  He picked at his pie and vanilla ice cream while she pulled her cookie apart and set it on top of the ice cream, taking bites of them together. He laughed in wonder as she polished it off.

  She shrugged when she found him staring at her plate. “I was really hungry,” she said. “I think the last meal I ate was twenty-four hours ago, maybe longer. I had a few nuts and pretzels but that’s not nearly enough to sustain me. Now I think I could sleep for a solid twelve hours. My stomach hurts sitting up.”

  The thought of lying next to her instantly refocused his mind, and it had nothing to do with food or how much either of them was eating. He was ready for the lights to go off. He was also wishing they were on a private jet. But then he never would’ve met her, so beggars couldn’t be choosers.

  “Do you know how to change the seats?” she asked, suddenly not able to look into his eyes.

  “Yes, I can do that. Why don’t you go change into your sweats while I get both of the beds ready?” His words made her blush.

  “I do need that sponge bath. I’ll never be able to sleep while super full and grimy. Maybe one or the other, but not both,” she said.

  She grabbed her bag then shuffled away. He was left with images of her naked and wet and he had to sit in his seat a few minutes longer before he could move. He wanted her bed ready before she returned. He didn’t feel the least bit guilty as he went to work lowering the wall between their seats and converting them to beds. They weren’t totally alone, but they did have their own little cocoon.

  “Is there anything else I can help you with for now?” the attendant asked just as he was finishing.

  “No, we’re good. Thank you,” he told her. She didn’t even glance at the beds before excusing herself and walking away.

  As he grabbed his own bag and headed toward the restrooms, he watched multiple reading lights go out. People flew redeyes from one country to the next to help prevent jet lag by landing in the morning after sleeping some of the long flight away. Unfortunately that was difficult to do on this flight. Between the time difference and the distance, a whole day passed in the fifteen-hour trip from Australia to America. It was a day he’d gladly give up to be with this woman for fifteen hours straight.

  He hurried through his night routine as best he could in the small restroom. She was right; it was bigger than the coach section restroom, but not big enough for a six-foot-two man with wide shoulders and size twelve shoes. He did the best he could before rushing back to Daisy. He didn’t want to give her time to figure out she could put that wall back up.

  She was lying in the bed when he arrived, but slightly out of breath. Damn, he’d missed seeing what she was wearing. Her blanket was up to her chin, hiding her from his view. She was lying on her back as if she wasn’t sure which way to turn. He could understand her predicament. This might be a sleepless night for both of them. He could think of a lot more fun things to do than sleep.

  He climbed in beside her, their bodies instantly touching. There was no way to avoid it in the little space. She might have some extra room in her bed, but he overlapped his. While that worked for him with this woman, it was why he never had someone sitting in the seat beside him.

  “What happened to that wall thing?” she asked, refusing to look his way.

  “It came down to get the beds converted,” he told her. He was telling the truth, just not adding that it didn’t have to go away. Though he could see her with the tiny wall in place, he couldn’t touch her as easily, and that wasn’t acceptable. He wasn’t going to do anything she didn’t want, but he wasn’t going to push her away, and he certainly was going to give it a try.

  “I’d think they’d be a little more careful. I mean we aren’t on this flight together, and this seems intimate to me,” she said. He could hear the breathiness in her voice. It turned him on even more. He turned so he was facing her. He had to clench his fingers to keep from reaching for her. It wasn’t time yet. People were still awake, and he had a feeling once they shared their first kiss, it was going to get heated pretty quickly.

  “Having trouble keeping your hands off of me?” he asked, making her head snap in his direction so she could glare at him in the dim light. “It’s okay. You can touch all you want,” he added with a wink.

  “I’m fine not touching you,” she assured him.

  He couldn’t help it anymore. He reached out and brushed her hair off her brow, taking his time to tuck it behind her ear, enjoying the softness of her skin. Then he looked in her eyes as she gazed at him with a bit of wonder and a lot of lust.

  “Maybe I can’t keep from touching you,” he said.

  She gasped. He could lean in and take her lips. He knew she wanted it just as much as he did. But he didn’t want to scare her off. And for some strange reason this buildup was turning him on unlike anything he’d felt before. He didn’t want it to end too soon. He didn’t want the magic to go away.

  He wanted to seduce her with his words, with little sweet caresses, with his wit. Their first kiss would happen, and it would happen soon, but he’d drag it out for as long as they could both handle it.

  He wished they’d get caught in the Bermuda Triangle, even though they weren’t flying anywhere near that area of the world, and really stretch this night out. He didn’t want it to end. He knew it had to, but he didn’t want it to.

  Before she could say anything
about his last comment he began talking about nothing important in low soothing tones. He watched the tension ease from her body as she slowly turned and faced him, probably without realizing what she was doing. Their legs were brushing together, and her breath was hot against his lips. They kept chatting as the rest of the lights in the cabin went out, leaving them in the glow of the emergency exit signs.

  Hudson might not believe in fate, but he did believe in opportunity. And that had been thrown at him in a beautiful way the second he’d met this woman in that busy airport terminal. He wasn’t going to throw a gift like that away. He’d regret it for the rest of his life if he did.

  Chapter Five

  Daisy didn’t know which way to turn. Though the first-class seats were large, they seemed pretty small lying next to Hudson. She finally turned, facing him, half her body hanging off of her seat as she tried to put a bit of space between them. If that wall was there she wouldn’t be able to see him, but there was a part of her that liked that they were this close. Should she feel bad about that?

  If she felt nothing toward the man, it would be a different story. But that wasn’t the case. He was handsome, witty, and more than charming when he wanted to be — not that he needed to put too much effort into that.

  But this was a one-time encounter. People like her didn’t hang out with people like him — not in the real world. While she was from a perfectly respectable middle-class family, it was clear he was in the top one percent. She had nothing in common with his type; her entire adulthood had been about fighting people like him who wanted to ignore the past and pretend it had never happened. He might be entertaining for a flight but not worth an investment of her time or emotion. His true colors would show before too long. She was sure of that.

  “You seem to be thinking pretty hard.”

  Daisy startled at the low timbre of Hudson’s voice. She opened her eyes and looked at him, their faces only inches apart. She took a deep breath and his cologne made her head fuzzy.

  “I’m not thinking, just trying to rest,” she said. There was no way they could keep talking in this position. It was far too intimate. Come to think of it, she’d never lain with a man before and chatted. She’d had sex, but she hadn’t done that after-sex cuddling or talking thing. Her college boyfriend had been as dedicated to his schoolwork as she’d been.

  Their sexual encounters had been scheduled on a calendar, and they hadn’t once spent the night together. Then she’d been busy with her missions in life and her jobs. She’d been too controlled to fall for something as silly as romance. Sex hadn’t been bad, but it hadn’t been great either, so why should she bother wasting her time with it?

  “I’m not tired so you’re going to have to talk me,” he said in what she imagined was a bedroom voice. She opened her mouth to tell him no when he continued. “What did you do in Australia?”

  She almost told him before she remembered she wasn’t talking about her failures anymore. “I already said it’s not something I want to discuss,” she said a bit more prudishly than she liked to speak.

  “Sometimes it helps to talk about things with a random stranger who doesn’t know anyone you know and won’t disclose your secrets,” he said.

  She’d been ready with a snappy comeback, but his words stopped her. Maybe he was right. Maybe it would feel good to talk about all of it. Maybe it would take the weight off of her chest if she did. He was a stranger she’d never see again, so why not use him? Didn’t men use women all of the time? She was sure this man did. He definitely appeared to be the love ’em and leave ’em type.

  As if he could sense her weakness, he reached out and touched her arm. “I can be very persistent if I want to be.” She couldn’t turn away from him as his finger caressed her bare arm. A shiver ran through her. She was losing track of what they’d been talking about. She had a feeling he was speaking of something other than what she’d been doing in Australia anyway.

  “You’re not used to people denying you, are you?” she asked in a breathy whisper she couldn’t control.

  “No,” he answered honestly. “Some people are born to lead and others to follow. I’ve always been a leader. I’m learning to be a good listener too.”

  Maybe he was a good listener. On a long flight, trapped in a seat next to a stranger, maybe he’d be an excellent sounding board. She started to talk.

  “I just failed at saving a historic church that’s now going to turn into another needless shopping mall. I’m worried I’ll never save anything again, and I’m wasting my time in a cynical world that doesn’t care about what I’m doing or why I’m doing it,” she said. “Then I ran out of money, lost my place, and discovered the people I’d been calling friends actually worked for the corporation I was up against and were spying on me. I was basically chased out of Australia with a swift kick in the ass and a don’t bother to visit again.”

  He looked shocked for a second, but he quickly composed his features as he smiled at her. She’d been trying to scare him away from wanting to hear her story, but she felt slightly better letting it all out. She was a hot mess right now.

  “I’d say that’s a bad day,” he finally said.

  Daisy smiled, then she chuckled. She had to hold her hand to her mouth to suppress the sound. She could already hear people snoring in front of them, and she didn’t want to wake up everyone with her pathetic story.

  “All I’ve ever wanted to do from the time I was a little girl was preserve the past. I wanted to travel the world, put an emphasis on buildings and the history surrounding them, and maybe write Pulitzer Prize-worthy stories to enlighten mankind. Without a past there can’t be a future.”

  “I don’t know about that,” he said after a second. “I think if a person focuses too much on the past they can’t have a future.”

  “I hear that all of the time, and I don’t buy it. We wouldn’t exist if not for the past,” she pointed out.

  Hudson chuckled. “That’s a good point, but if you live in the past how can you grow?” he asked.

  “You can grow while reflecting,” she insisted. He didn’t respond this time and she let out a long sigh, deciding she might as well continue.

  “I’m going home with my head hanging low and nothing to show for the seven years I’ve put into places all around the world. I’ve been everywhere and my victories are one out of twenty. Most people would’ve quit a long time ago.” He wouldn’t look at her the same after this conversation. She couldn’t stand herself right now, let alone expect anyone else to have empathy or respect for her.

  He paused for so long she wondered if he’d fallen asleep. Maybe that was a good thing. She might’ve poured out her entire life story in the next breath.

  “What will you do now?”

  He was still gazing at her with that same wanton expression in his eyes. How could he still be interested in her when she was telling him how much her life was in shambles? She shrugged. Then again, it wasn’t as if he wanted her for more than this one night. Her life story wouldn’t make a difference to him.

  “I don’t know. I’m a little lost and feeling like it doesn’t matter anyway,” she admitted.

  “You don’t appear to be the type of person without a plan.” His words made her smile. He was right. Even though she felt like a failure, ideas were brewing in her mind. “Come on. You’ve already opened up, you might as well bring it home.”

  “I might try to write a book about some historic place and try to open more eyes that way,” she said with a shrug. “I don’t know. It’s just an idea and it’s a long shot. If they aren’t listening now, why would a book make them listen?”

  He seemed to think about it for a second. “If you’re this disenchanted with methods you’ve already tried, then writing a real story might be a wise course. What place are you considering?”

  “I don’t know. I just had the idea. I have notebooks full of historic places all around the world that matter to me, but I dive into one project at a time, so I’d have to re
search and decide which one really makes me feel inspired to tell its story. I used to write short stories all of the time when I was a kid. I’m sure my gramps still has them. Maybe I could find them and see if I had this idea even when I was little. Maybe that would help me figure out my next path.”

  “I’d love to see your stories. I bet they tell a lot about you, your dreams, and your future. What we do when we’re young reflects what we’re going to do as adults. When we’re kids, we don’t have limitations like adulthood puts on us,” he told her.

  It made her stomach clench to think of him coming home with her. But that was just something people said. As she uttered the words out loud for the first time, though, she realized she really did want to give more thought to this. She wasn’t ready to give up on saving the world one place at a time.

  “Would you write the story as fiction or nonfiction?”

  “Fiction,” she said with conviction. Then she smiled. A plan was solidifying the more the idea settled in her head.

  “Besides the idea of saving a place, what plot would keep the reader interested?” He seemed genuinely captivated by what she was saying. It made her heart thud. Could she do this?

  “Murder,” she finally answered with a waggle of her brows.

  “There’s an evil light in your eyes. Should I worry about being alone with you in our little cave here?” he asked while caressing her arm. Fear and murder were the last things on her mind — and she had a feeling on his too.

  “You should be very worried,” she said, the words far too husky to be threatening.

  “I want to kiss you right now,” he told her.

  His words sent a thousand-watt bolt of electricity through her entire body. She felt her core pulse and her legs tingle. How could such a simple sentence make her feel as if she could orgasm on the spot?