Until You Loved Me

2

When the waitress brought Ellie another drink and explained that a gentleman in a booth not too far away had sent it, she almost refused it, especially when she twisted around and saw that he was wearing sunglasses. What kind of guy was so clueless or affected that he wore sunglasses in a dimly lit bar, especially at nighttime?

She found that behavior slightly ridiculous, but what she could see of the rest of him was appealing. A snug-fitting T-shirt revealed broad shoulders, a solid chest and well-muscled biceps. He seemed tall, even though he was sitting down, and his face wasn’t unattractive. Matter of fact, she liked the square shape of his jaw and the strength of his chin. Don had a weak chin, now that she thought of it—not that she meant to. This guy looked like someone who might be in the military, a pleasant association since she’d always admired the men and women who fought to keep America free.

Besides, she’d come here to take her mind off her troubles, hadn’t she? It wasn’t as if her girlfriends were doing much to help. Every time they came back to the table to check on her, the two men they’d met would drag them off again.

So, after taking the drink from the waitress, she lifted it high to show her gratitude to the man who’d purchased it for her. If some stranger wearing sunglasses in a bar wanted to buy her a drink, let him, she told herself. At least she was starting to relax, to enjoy herself. No doubt the alcohol could take full credit for that. She still felt like crying whenever she thought of Don. But she wouldn’t think of Don. Like everyone else here at Envy, she’d lose herself in the strobe lights, the music and this fresh margarita.

* * *

The woman didn’t seem to recognize him. She gave him a smile that said “Thanks, but I’m not interested.”

Hudson wasn’t used to that reaction. Maybe he’d underestimated the power of a pair of sunglasses. Right now his Ray-Bans seemed to be acting a little like Harry Potter’s invisibility cloak.

Or was it possible that she did realize who he was but simply didn’t care for football players?

Either way, now that he’d seen her more clearly, he was interested in engaging her again. She was pretty and had an abundance of creamy skin to go with that rich, dark hair.

As soon as she finished her drink, he sent over another one—which she sent back without a moment’s hesitation. He could hear her explaining to the waitress that, while she was grateful, she’d had enough. Something about not being irresponsible, which confirmed his first impression. She wasn’t the typical clubber.

When she turned and waved—her way of being polite, thanking him in spite of her refusal to accept the drink—he waved back. Surely, once she got a good look, she’d recognize him. Usually buying a drink for a girl meant she’d be on his lap by now.

This one merely returned to watching the dance floor.

Hudson didn’t want to venture out of the booth, but he did want to talk to this woman, and she wasn’t coming to him. Even more intrigued, simply because she didn’t seem excited about meeting him, he hauled himself out of the booth and eyed her as he approached her table.

Since he came mostly from behind, he startled her when he folded himself into the chair closest to hers. Now she’ll figure out who I am, he told himself. But it was apparent that she had no clue when she introduced herself as Ellie and asked for his name.

Did he have to reveal who he was? He liked blending in for a change. Liked being no different than anyone else. He considered making up a fake identity but couldn’t bring himself to go that far. “Hudson.” He felt certain that would rip away his anonymity—his name wasn’t common—but it didn’t seem to change anything.

“To what do I owe this pleasure?” she asked.

She wasn’t being coy. She really didn’t care if he joined her or not. He could tell. “Looked like you could use some company. That’s all.”

She thought that over for a moment, then nodded as if she agreed. “I guess I could. Beats sitting here alone, in any case.” She extended her hand. “Nice to meet you.”

“Same here,” he said as they shook.

“Do you live in Miami?”

He wondered if she was being facetious. Could this be for real? Everyone knew he played for Los Angeles, so chances were slim that he’d live clear across the country. But after studying her expression, he decided his first assessment had been correct. She had no idea who he was. “No. Just visiting,” he said. “You?”

“Born and raised in Doral. Now I rent a house in Cooper City.”

“Which is...”

“A suburb not too far from here.”

He gestured at her empty glass. “You turned away my drink. It’s not too late if you’re regretting that decision.”

“No. Alcohol is so unhealthy. I’ve had enough.”

“Isn’t a little alcohol supposed to be good for you?”

He was teasing, but she took him seriously. “You mean red wine. They say that, but you’re killing brain cells in order to help your heart. Doesn’t make a lot of sense. If you’re exercising and eating right, you’re better off without it.”

He held the hurricane he’d brought over loosely in one hand. Since he was into health and fitness himself—he had to be if he wanted to remain at his physical peak—her words didn’t fall as flat as they might have. He was used to hearing cautions like that from his various trainers. “What are you, some sort of doctor?”

“Scientist, but I specialize in immunology, so I have a solid understanding of how the body works.” She tucked a strand of hair that’d fallen from her messy bun behind one ear. “How long will you be in town?”

“A few days.”

“Are you here for work or play?”

“Um, I came to play,” he said, which was technically true. He just didn’t add that play for him was work.

“Have you ever been here before?”

“Couple of times.” He spoke dismissively, hoping to minimize the fact that he came here every two or three years to play the Dolphins.

“And? How do you like it?”

“It’s nice.” He took in her innocent-looking eyes and wide, expressive mouth. He found her attractive in a girl-next-door way. “To be honest, now that I’ve met you, I’m starting to like it even better,” he said with a grin that came naturally to him for a change. He hadn’t had an encounter like this—one that didn’t begin with some fawning statement about his looks, football ability or fame—in quite some time. The normalcy this woman offered felt like a life preserver, one he could grab to save himself from drowning in a sea of cynicism.

When her gaze cut to the dance floor, as if she might panic and go find her friends, he thought he’d come on too strong. But then the tension in her body eased. “After the week I’ve had, that’s good to hear. Even if you are wearing sunglasses.”

“Excuse me?”

She leaned closer. “Isn’t it a little dark for those?”

He nearly laughed when it registered that she was embarrassed for him. “My eyes are sensitive to the strobe lights.” That was the only outright lie he’d told her so far, and it wasn’t a big one—nothing she could get too angry about if or when she learned who he was.

“Oh. I guess that makes sense, then.”

Afraid her friends would return and recognize him, he checked the dance floor himself.

Luckily, he saw nothing to suggest impending discovery. “What was so terrible about your week?” he asked.

“Nothing I care to discuss,” she replied promptly.

“Is that why you were knocking back those shots? You’re trying to forget?”

Her expression filled with chagrin. “You saw that?”

“I found it a bit curious that you were doing it alone when it’s more fun with the support of a group.”

She shrugged. “Desperate circumstances call for desperate measures.”

He liked the delicate curve of her neck and her small, slender hands, which were devoid of the fake nails so many women wore, suggesting she possessed a certain practicality. “That bad, huh?”

“That bad.”

Stretching out his legs, he crossed them at the ankles. “Won’t you give me a hint about what went wrong? Did you lose your job? Get some bad news?”

The darkness of his sunglasses made it difficult for him to determine the color of her eyes, but he admired the thick fringe of lashes that showcased them. He was almost certain they were blue...

“I wish that’s all it was,” she said.

“What could be worse?” He hoped he wasn’t putting his foot in his mouth, that she hadn’t recently been diagnosed with cancer or some other disease. He’d feel foolish for pushing the issue then. But he figured that couldn’t be it. She’d said it was worse than “getting bad news.”

“I caught my fiancé in bed with another man.”

He froze with his drink halfway to his lips. “You did say man...”

“Yes. His ‘best friend’ from college. Apparently they’ve been together for some time.”

He put down his drink. “Wow. That sucks.”

“You have no idea. Speaking of sucking, what I saw will forever be etched on my brain.”

Hudson grimaced. He was no homophobe. As far as he was concerned, people had a right to live as they saw fit. He’d be the first person to fight for that. He just found nothing appealing about having sex with another man, so the image she’d created in his mind made him cringe. “Are you sure you wouldn’t like another drink?”

“I’m sure. I didn’t really come to drink. Well, I guess I did. But only because I was looking for some sort of diversion. I’m tired of seeing the whole incident over and over in my head.”

He considered asking her to dance. That would be a diversion, wouldn’t it? He craved some excuse to put his hands on her. It’d been so long since he’d held a woman against him—and this one seemed different, refreshing.

He didn’t dare take the risk of exposing his identity, however. At six foot five, his height was enough to draw attention. Once someone really looked at him, the jig would be up in spite of the dark glasses.

“The music’s so loud in here. Why don’t we go out and walk along the water, where we can talk?” he asked.

He’d probably made his move too soon, but he didn’t have a lot of time. If her friends didn’t come back, his would...

She seemed uncertain, so he lifted his hands to indicate that he hadn’t meant to put any pressure on her. “Or, provided you’re willing, I could get your number and take you out tomorrow night.” If it came to that, Teague could arrange for some private place where they could dine without being gawked at or interrupted.

She checked the time on her phone. “It’s only eleven-thirty.”

“What does that mean?”

“I don’t think they’re going to show.”

He felt his eyebrows go up. “Who?”

“My friend’s been expecting a few others to join us.”

“So...”

“I’ll take that walk with you,” she said. “Otherwise, I could be sitting here for another two hours.”

“Great.” Maybe that wasn’t the most exuberant response he’d ever received, but a yes was a yes. He stood and offered her his hand, and felt his pulse spike with hope the second her fingers curled through his.

* * *

The moon hung low in the sky, so big and full it appeared to sit on the water. Ellie thought it could almost be mistaken for another planet. “That has to be the most beautiful sight I’ve ever seen,” she said to Hudson, tugging on his hand to get him to stop long enough to let her stand and gaze at it.

“It’s gorgeous, all right,” he murmured, but he wasn’t looking at the moon. He was staring at her. She’d had his undivided attention ever since they left the club. Maybe it was the alcohol, but he was having quite an effect on her. Now that he’d removed his sunglasses and she could see his whole face, she had to admit that he wasn’t only large and well built but also stunningly attractive. She’d never had a more handsome man take an interest in her.

“Did you know that our moon is unique in the whole solar system?” she asked.

His gaze moved down to her lips before returning to her eyes. “No. What’s unique about it?”

He wasn’t thinking about the moon; she could tell. He was thinking about touching her, kissing her. That possibility made her heart race and her knees go weak, which was crazy. She’d just been totally eviscerated, in an emotional sense, by Don. And yet...the warmth of Hudson’s hand, the glint of his teeth when he gave her that sexy grin of his and the deep timbre of his voice seemed to bury all that pain and disappointment—and make her feel like she was flying.

She swallowed hard before continuing. “It’s disproportionately large, for one thing. If it wasn’t, it wouldn’t have sufficient gravity to hold the Earth steady on its orbital axis. That’s what keeps our climate relatively stable.”

“Interesting,” he said as his hand slid up her arm.

Ellie felt goose bumps break out on her skin. “And it didn’t form from leftover clouds of dust and gas, like most other moons,” she added breathlessly. “Astronomers believe there was a-another planet that collided with Earth nearly four billion years ago.”

His hand climbed higher. “Is that so?”

“Fortunately—” she cleared her throat “—it was just a glancing blow, or the Earth would’ve been destroyed.”

“How tragic.”

“Instead, the collision ripped off a huge chunk of the Earth’s crust, which began to orbit around us.”

“Eventually becoming our moon.”

“Yes.” She tried to keep her eyes on the huge white disk they were discussing. She was afraid she’d lose the small grip she still had on reality if she looked up into his face. They’d been walking along the beach, shoes off, for over two hours, talking about anything and everything except the mundane details of their lives. As they left the club, they’d agreed to forgo the usual small talk. Since they lived across the country from each other and would probably never meet again, there didn’t seem to be any point. But Hudson’s physical appeal and the excitement she was feeling were difficult to ignore.

“You know a lot about everything—except TV, sports, movies and any other part of popular culture,” he teased.

She opened her mouth to defend herself, but he was right. She was always involved in a book or an experiment. Anyway, she didn’t get the chance to say anything. He blocked out the moon by moving in front of it. Then his head came down and his mouth very gently met hers.

Ellie told herself to step back. She didn’t even know this man. But the conversation they’d had for the past two hours had been so easy and companionable. And the way he made her feel! She’d never had such an immediate, visceral reaction to anyone.

A tremor of excitement rolled from her head to her toes as his big hands moved up her back, pressing her against him as he parted her lips.

Ellie heard a groan—and realized the sound had come from her. She’d never been kissed quite so well. He wasn’t overpowering her, wasn’t forcing his tongue down her throat. He was tasting her and inviting her to taste him, with such expertise she felt she could trust him to treat her just as she wanted to be treated.

Before long, her head was spinning, and she couldn’t blame it on the shots she’d downed at the bar. She’d sobered up quite a bit since they left. She got the impression that Hudson had been biding his time, waiting until she was capable of knowing what she wanted and what she didn’t. She respected him for that. But his kiss was as intoxicating as any liquor, maybe more so.

* * *

When Ellie woke up, she knew exactly where she was. She just couldn’t explain the behavior that had led to finding herself in Hudson’s bed. It was so out of character.

She held her breath, listening to the steady sound of his. He was still asleep, thank God. Not only had they made love three times, they’d slept in each other’s arms. Why? Sure, she’d been hurt by Don’s pretense and, when she’d texted Amy to tell her she’d met someone and would find her own way home, Amy had jokingly responded that she deserved a little revenge sex. From a birth control angle, she’d been prepared for it. Leslie had shoved a fistful of condoms in her purse—and in Amy’s purse, too—before they’d arrived at the club. But the hours Ellie had spent with Hudson weren’t about her broken engagement. After he kissed her that first time, she hadn’t thought of Don once. Hudson had obliterated him...and everything else. She’d never been tempted to describe someone she knew personally as virile—that wasn’t a word that came to mind very often—but it fit Hudson. He was so perfect in every regard that there were moments she suspected Amy had set her up.

Maybe she had, Ellie thought, as she went over the sequence of events in her mind. Maybe Ellie would return to her regular life and learn that one of Amy’s friends had shown up, after all. Hudson. And that he’d only pretended to believe she was a complete stranger as a favor to Amy, to help rebuild Ellie’s self-esteem and teach her there were other men, other options.

If that was the case, she’d certainly fallen for it—not that she found that very flattering. Either way, though, she was encouraged. He’d charmed her to the point that she’d forgotten how pathetic her real life was and just...lived in the moment. There was something to be said for that. The whole night had been magical, including the time they’d spent on the beach. Once, when she tossed her shoes aside and darted into the surf, he’d followed and plucked her out with one arm to save her from a particularly large wave. After that, the water had crashed into him. Somehow, he’d remained steady in spite of that. Then, soaked to his thighs, he’d carried her out, and they’d fallen onto the sand, laughing.

Smiling at the memory, she raised her head. Sure enough, she’d spent the night with the handsome stranger from the bar. He was only inches away, covered by a sheet, but she knew he was naked underneath. How had she let it go that far? When he said he’d kept her out too late and offered to call a cab, she’d agreed. It was only after the taxi arrived, and he’d pressed her up against the car and kissed her for the second time—a deep, openmouthed kiss—that things went a little crazy. As with the first kiss, her head had started to spin and her heart had started to pound. But instead of letting him pull away, she’d grown bolder. When he’d finally opened the door to put her in the back seat, she’d been so hungry for more that she’d pulled him in with her. And instead of giving the driver her address, she’d whispered to Hudson that she wanted to know what it felt like to have sex with a man who truly desired her. A man who wasn’t attracted to someone else. And he’d immediately barked out the name of his hotel.

Ten minutes later, they were hurrying to his room like randy teenagers making sure they left nothing unexplored on prom night. But Ellie hadn’t been invited to prom. She’d established too much of a reputation as a bookworm by then, and that wasn’t the sort of girl who got many dates. So she felt she owed herself the experience. And as reckless as her behavior had been, she couldn’t bring herself to regret being with him. She’d never been shallow. To her mind, Don, with his narrow shoulders and weak chin, proved that. But Hudson... Wow! His body was a work of art—strong, sinewy and ideally proportioned.

She couldn’t help glancing down to where she knew she’d find other parts that were decidedly impressive. Even in that regard, he was far superior to anyone she’d ever known.

A fresh wave of heat flowed through her as she remembered how masterfully he’d taken charge of her body. He’d quickly found all her most sensitive parts, adapted to every sound or movement she made—read her easily—and made her vibrate with pleasure.

She covered her mouth at the memory of how she’d cried out at her first climax. She was embarrassed by that, and by the way she’d climbed on top of him later.

She had to get out of here, she decided. She didn’t want to face him. Before last night, she’d had sex with only two other men, both of whom had been long-term boyfriends, not strangers. So the question remained—how had she stepped outside her overly cautious, preoccupied-with-other-things self and let go like that? Made love with such wanton abandon?

She had no idea, but she couldn’t pretend that she hadn’t discovered how good connecting with a man she highly desired could be.

Ellie was afraid she’d wake Hudson as she slipped out of bed. It had to be morning. But with the drapes closed to block out incoming light and the alarm clock turned away from the bed, she couldn’t tell.

Thankfully, Hudson didn’t even stir.

As soon as she could move freely, without fear of bumping into him or causing the bed to shake, she hurried to pull on the skimpy white dress that lay in a small heap on the floor. While she was now glad of the Brazilian Amy had forced her to get—and the lingerie—she hated having nothing modest to put on. Anyone who saw her leaving such an expensive hotel would probably assume she was a high-priced hooker.

At least Amy would be proud that she’d quit being so conservative, that she’d actually cut loose...

She tried to take solace in that as she jotted her phone number on the pad by the phone. She thought Hudson might want to see her again. He’d seemed to have a good time, too. But after pausing to take one final look at him—the well-muscled arm flung out across a pillow, the tousle of dark curls against the white of the linens and those big, broad shoulders—she went back, quietly tore off the paper and shoved it in her purse. She didn’t want to risk having him not call. She’d been through too much, and it was still too recent. Besides, he lived across the country, so there was no reason to take the risk. It wasn’t as if what they’d started here could really go anywhere.

Last night had been a grand and memorable adventure.

She was going to leave it at that.