Page 41 of The Ex Project (The Heartwood #3)

WREN

I’m desperate for Hudson’s dick.

Over the last few weeks, I’ve been reminded of my repressed attraction for him.

And now that I have some closure, some explanation for the way he ended things?

Sure, it doesn’t solve everything, but having spent more and more time with him, I know he wasn’t intentionally trying to hurt me.

Hudson isn’t the type of man who could intentionally hurt anyone.

I have confirmation there was more to the story, and it’s the final thing I needed to hear to let go of my resentment. I’m positive now that Hudson isn’t my number one enemy.

Claire is. She has been and always will be.

It’s just how things are between us. I’m resolved to never let her prevent me from getting what I want, ever again.

In this moment, that’s Hudson, in bed, inside me, fucking me until I’ve made up for the orgasms I could have been having over the last decade. That I’ve missed out on because of her.

Those last few words are Hudson’s undoing .

Now can you please fuck me already?

They fill the few inches of air between our bodies, charging it, making it fizz and crackle . Like a palpable charge in the air right before a lightning strike.

“Oh, I’m going to fuck you, Miller. That’s a promise,” he drawls out, low and slow, ratcheting up the tension between us. “But first I’m going to make love to you the way I’ve wanted to for the last ten years.”

And then it snaps, and Hudson’s mouth collides with mine, his fingers tunnelling through my hair and tugging. He lets out a groan as our lips meld together. Our kiss is all lips and teeth and tongue. I’m desperate for him, but I can also tell by the way he kisses me he’s desperate for me, too.

Hudson unleashes, there’s no restraint, and I love it. I love him like this. It reminds me of our first night together. Our first time together. Our first times, ever. It was sloppy and messy and we were untethered, both discovering an untapped source of pure, carnal pleasure.

That’s what this moment feels like, although now we both know what we’re doing. It’s the same ravenous relishing of each other, but with more deliberate action, more purposeful movements.

I swear at a base level, it’s muscle memory, Hudson and I.

We haven’t been together—not like this—in many years, yet it feels like we’ve been doing it our whole lives.

Perhaps because it’s all I’ve thought about, and likely all Hudson has thought about, too.

I’ve spent all our time apart replaying those shared memories, recalling every inch of Hudson’s body, remembering how it fit so snugly against every inch of mine.

His body is different now. He’s bigger, broader; his skin pulls tight over harder ridges, dips into deeper valleys.

But his reaction to my touch is still the same.

He still shivers and groans as my lips find his neck, sucking the soft flesh between my teeth.

He breathes my name as my hand finds the thick bulge in his jeans, as if the very presence of the word in his lungs is vital to him.

Wren.

Not Miller. Not right now. Because this moment is no longer a game, us against each other. It’s a team-building exercise. It’s our official truce.

Hudson’s hands grip my waist as he pulls me back, so I’m straddling him as he lies back on the couch. Within seconds, our clothes are off, thrown into haphazard piles across the living room rug.

He kneads my breasts as I seat myself on top of him, eyes roaming over them and then trailing down my body, taking in my spread pussy. I could easily lift my hips, ease him inside me right now, but I stop. My skin prickles the way it does when you know someone is looking at you.

Hudson must feel it, too, because we both turn our heads at the same time to find Ruby lying with her chin resting on the rug, staring at us. Her tail is wagging. Adorable, sweet, innocent, dumb dog.

I let out a giggle, and Hudson sits up beneath me, so I’m seated on his lap.

“A little privacy?” he asks her, and her head pops up, cocking to one side.

“Let’s go to the bedroom,” I say, standing and tugging Hudson’s hand. I lead him to the bedroom and Ruby follows.

“Sorry, girlfriend. No dogs allowed right now,” Hudson says, closing the door.

By the time he turns back around, I’m on the bed, legs spread, my pussy on full display.

His eyes darken as he stands there taking me in, so I decide to give him a little show.

I reach my hand down, spreading my lips with my index and middle finger, and slide them up and down along my slit.

Hudson watches in rapt attention, cock at full mast.

“Are you going to stand there and watch, or are you going to come and join me?” I purr.

Before I can taunt him anymore, he’s crossed the room, kneeling between my legs, fisting his cock like it can’t get any harder. He positions himself on top of me and propping himself on his arms on either side of my head. His thighs shove mine further to the side, baring me fully to him.

“I’ve had a check-up recently, by the way,” I say, still kneading myself, rubbing my fingers in slow circles around my clit.

“Me too,” Hudson grunts out, as if it’s physically paining him to hold himself back long enough to get this part out of the way.

“And I have an IUD,” I add.

“The way you look right now, Miller, playing with your perfect pussy right in front of me, is making me think you’re dragging this out on purpose.”

“What are you going to do about it?” I say, and Hudson’s eyes flash with something that sends another rush of warmth down to the apex of my thighs.

I’m throbbing now, swollen with such intense need.

“I’m going to drag it out for you, too.” His eyelids lower now, as he plays with me, toying with my desperation by sliding the smooth tip up and down, coating it in my wetness. I moan softly as it slides over my clit, a delicious tingle zipping through me.

He nudges my entrance, waiting for a torturous moment before easing into me slowly, and the feeling of having him inside of me is overwhelming.

I take a sharp inhale of breath, every one of my senses sharp, stimulated.

The way he stretches me, fills me, runs his hand up and down my body as if I’m something sacred.

The way he looks into my eyes. I’m laid bare in front of him, emotions flooding through me.

It feels like I’m being split open, my whole heart on display.

There’s a vulnerability between us we’ve never shared before, and he brings his forehead to mine, cupping my jaw in his hand as he pushes into me.

Hudson kisses me as he finds his rhythm, his tongue matching the pace.

It’s tender, it’s slow, but it’s so ripe with passion it doesn’t take anything more for us to both come in quick succession.

We don’t separate from each other right away, both of us wanting to linger a little longer in the intoxicating bliss.

He kisses my face, short, feather-light kisses, and when he finally removes himself from me, it’s only to clean up before crawling back into bed.

Our bodies find each other again like magnets, like pieces of a puzzle.

Hudson’s arms wrap me in a comforting embrace; whatever remnants of panic, of anxiety, are now gone.

As the light fades to darkness outside, the moonlight casting long shadows over the room, I pretend Hudson and I are the only two people left on earth.

I let my mind imagine a world where we have no outside trials or struggles threatening to keep us apart, and I decide that’s the world I want to live in.

“So, now that you’ve effectively blown your life up,” Hudson says into the dark, “what can I do to help you put it back together?” He tightens his arms around my frame, his mouth resting on the top of my head, breathing me in.

“Nothing,” I say, because right now there isn’t anything to do but enjoy this moment. “Just be here.” Hudson nods.

“Easy,” he murmurs. “Do you have any idea what you might like to do now?”

I prop myself up on one elbow, turning to look at him. There’s a lot I want to do, and most of them now involve Hudson and I, naked.

“This,” I say, finding his mouth with my own.

This is all I need for now, and the knowledge that neither of us ever stopped loving each other.