Acts of Mercy: Part 1 – Chapter 6

I’m still shaking in Hudson’s arms, coming down from the highest of highs I’ve ever experienced when there’s a tap on my window.

“Ma’am. It’s the towing service you called.” A burley voice calls from outside the truck, and I don my best impression of an ostrich, burying my face into Hudson’s chest.

Shit. Fuck. Damn.

“Be right out!” I yell into a solid wall of muscle.

How could I forget the tow company! Taking in a deep breath, I smell Hudson’s signature scent and I remember. Ah, yes. I was lost in my dream man, letting him take me for the first and only time.

“No problem, ma’am. You take your time.” His southern drawl coming out strong as he chuckles.

Hudson kisses my forehead and smirks. “Think he heard us?”

Smacking his chest, I shove at him. “I’m mortified!” I whisper hiss, not wanting tow truck guy to hear any more than he already has.

“Don’t be. It’s perfectly natural what we just did.” I snort, thinking there was nothing natural about what just happened. It was otherworldly. Mind blowing. Something beyond my wildest dreams. He shakes his head but doesn’t respond to my obvious disagreement. “Don’t worry, Little Red. I’ll step outside and handle the tow. I’ll have one of my guys take your truck wherever you’re going and we can go for a bite to eat. Then maybe later, you’ll indulge me in seconds.”

My heart cracks, knowing it’s time I let him go. There’s no way I can risk him finding out who I am just yet. And that’s exactly what will happen if he steps outside and talks to our one-man audience.

Placing my hands on his masculine jaw, I pull him to me, giving him one last lingering kiss. He complies, letting me say all the things I can’t with this one last gift of affection.

Pulling away I see confusion riddling his face. “Why does this feel like goodbye?”

“Because it is.” I roll from under him, finding my shorts and sliding them on before turning to him. “There can’t be more. Even if I wanted there to be.”

“Bullshit.” He pulls off his dress shirt and places it around my shoulders, covering up my exposed flesh as he fastens each button. “This isn’t over, Little Red. If you need time, I get that, but this is long from settled.” He grabs my chin with his thumb and forefinger, pressing a hard and fast kiss to my lips. “You are mine and I am yours. Nothing will change that.”

Those are his parting words as he slides out of my blazer, without so much as a backward glance.

I laugh sardonically at how I know things will change once I knock on his door and he sees who I really am. The one bitter truth that changes everything.