Six
Hudson got directions to his room. Viviana’s was right next door. He wondered if he’d be able to rest in there, knowing she was nearby.
Because if there was one thing he knew about the daughter of his new client, it was that she was beautiful. It had been hard not to stare at her during breakfast. Her golden hair was held back in a ponytail, and her soft blue eyes made him think of tropical beaches. She had curves he’d be happy to explore for the rest of his life, the swells of her breasts tempting him beneath a soft-looking t-shirt.
He shook his head—he was being ridiculous. But she’d been so beautiful, just sitting there, chewing her cereal.
And who ate Lucky Charms who wasn’t six years old?
Despite himself, he found it endearing…even though she’d pouted and glared at him the entire time she ate.
There was her birthday party tonight. Somehow Hudson would have to find some time to rest, visit his mother, and check out the Corona-McKennon house and property to see where weak spots might be located. If the alpha wouldn’t listen to reason, Hudson would have to work even harder.
But Gregory had warned him about Marlana, and Hudson needed the work. He’d keep his mouth shut and do the job.
His room was pretty big. Bed, dresser, closet. Giant picture window looking out over the back yard. He even had his own small bathroom. He sat on the bed and tested the mattress. Not too soft. It could be a little harder, but it would be fine for now. This was work, after all. He checked the blinds. They were light filtering, so sleeping during the day might be kind of rough, but he’d manage.
He pulled his phone out of his pocket and dialed Heritage Pines. Dr. Powers had said he could call anytime to check on his mom. She’d even given him her personal number.
“This is Dr. Powers.”
“Hi, it’s Hudson. How’s my mother?”
“She’s…well, she’s doing all right. Physically. She’s eating. She’s sleeping. But she’s not responding to talk therapy, because she just won’t talk. I’m not even sure that she’s registering what I’m saying to her. You said she was like this with you?”
“Yeah,” Hudson said. “What are the next steps?”
“I’m glad you asked. We have some medication that I’d like to try.” Dr. Powers listed off a couple of different options. “Does she have any allergies?”
It was all in the forms he’d filled out, but he answered anyway. “Just penicillin.”
“That shouldn’t be a problem. Thanks for calling, Mr. Hudson.”
“Thank you, Dr. Powers.”
He ended the call and stared at his phone. Anxiety for his mom wormed all through his gut. He couldn’t allow her to throw her life away like this. She still had so many years—she was the picture of health. Or she had been, before she allowed everything to go to shit.
He stood up. There was a lot of time before his first shift started at dusk. He should explore the property.
When he reached the foot of the stairs, Frasier was standing there, toying with his phone. He looked up when Hudson started to go by. “Hey, we didn’t get properly introduced,” he said. “I go by Fraze.”
“Hudson.”
“Is that your first name or last?”
“Does it matter?” Hudson allowed the ghost of a smile to play on his lips.
Fraze shrugged. “Nope.”
“I’m going to walk around the property. You busy?”
Fraze looked at him. “Not at all. My landscaping client just asked me to come tomorrow instead. You want a tour of this place?”
Hudson nodded. “If you don’t mind.”
“Right this way,” Fraze said, sweeping his arm out toward the door.
From behind Fraze, Hudson caught a glimpse of Viviana. She was leaning against the kitchen island, popping a strawberry slice into her mouth. She looked so sweet, so innocent.
Too bad she was a little brat.
Fraze kept up a running monologue as they walked the front perimeter of the property. “Sometimes the rest of us lowly pride members have to do perimeter checks, but that’s usually on the Guardians. Did Marlana say why she hired you instead of a Guardian? Seems kind of odd, is all. You’re a human.”
“I’m aware of that, thanks,” Hudson said.
Fraze shrugged. “Not pointing out the obvious, just wondering about it.”
Hudson nodded. “So Viviana comes outside, and…what? What else do I need to know? I’ll accompany her on runs, of course.”
“Dude, you’re not going to be as fast as a mountain lion.”
“No. I’m not. But she’ll have to adjust for that. My job is to keep her safe, but I can only do that if she cooperates.”
They’d come around to the back of the house. A sparkling pond bordered by boulders and tall grasses took up the rear of the yard. Fraze led Hudson away from it, though, and toward the house.
Hudson gave him a funny look. Why were they going this way? He’d wanted to tour the property, not to go back inside.
“You said you need her to cooperate,” Fraze said. He surreptitiously pointed to one of the balconies on the second floor.
Hudson looked up. He couldn’t see anything but gauzy white curtains blocking anything else from view. He nodded to Fraze to show that he’d seen the balcony, and then Fraze led him out past the pond.
“That was V’s room,” Fraze said. “Look, I’m friends with V. I want her to be protected. She’d kill me if she knew I told you, but she sneaks out from her balcony. Drops onto the lawn, goes for a run when she can’t sleep. Her mom doesn’t know how she gets out.”
“Thanks,” Hudson said. “I’ll pay attention to that.”
They walked a little farther into the woods, Fraze pointing out some of the more established trails that the pride members took. He showed Hudson the caves. By now it was past lunch time, and Hudson was famished.
“Where does Viviana go in town? Any favorite restaurants, bars?”
Fraze laughed so hard, it startled some birds in a nearby tree.
“What’s so funny?”
“It’s just that V never goes out.”
Hudson looked at him. He was kidding, surely. But Fraze just wiped some tears from his eyes and said it was time to head back to the house.
Once inside, he made himself a sandwich. He’d lucked out that room and board was included in his pay—the motel where he’d been staying had been draining the last of his cash. After eating, he went up to his room. He’d need to rest before the party.
He heard water running from the room next to his—Viviana’s. Below the sounds of the water, he heard soft singing.
His cock got hard. At the sound of a woman singing?
“Unprofessional,” he muttered, berating himself. He adjusted his pants and sat on his bed, then leaned back to go to sleep.
But the sound of her singing—it was some old song. “Paper Moon.” Hudson had grown up listening to some of those old songs, but Viviana made it new, somehow.
He tried to block out Viviana’s voice, but then the sound was replaced by images of her naked body under the shower water. He wondered what she looked like, naked. Those legs. They were long and tanned, poking out from her cut-off shorts when he saw her this morning. She’d been wearing a long-sleeved shirt, too. Favoring one of her shoulders. An old injury? He should have asked.
For work purposes, obviously.
Not because he cared about some bratty rich shifter girl.
All the questions flew out of his head when he heard the water turn off. She was getting out of the shower. Drying off, rubbing a towel over what he was positive would be pert little nipples.
He looked over at his door, noting that he’d remembered to lock it. He could take matters into his own hands, of course. He wasn’t technically working right now.
But what the hell kind of creep would that make him? Ignoring the temptation, he willed his cock to relax. Nothing was gonna happen here, he told himself. It took a few minutes, but he finally got comfortable.
He nestled his arm up behind his head, closing his eyes for a quick nap.
Next door, Viviana continued to hum. After a minute of listening to her, he was already sporting another semi.
Dammit.