“Louisa, I’m fucking sorry,” Hudson grinds out. “I was a prick last night. After everything you said about your mum. The state I was in, I’m so fucking ashamed. I wanted to come to you just like Bryce and Max did. I wanted to come to you this morning…”

“It’s okay,” I say, wincing a little.

Hudson loosens his grip on me, standing back slightly. “He hurt you bad. I’ve never wanted to kill a man as much as this since Beth…” He is shaking with anger, and something else. Something that is killing him inside. “That’s why I came down here, to try and run off this fucking rage before I spoke to you.”

“Hudson, I’m okay. I’ll be okay.” I place my hand on his arm. “Do you want to talk about it?” I ask gently. I want to know who Beth is, but I won’t force it.

“I can’t, not right now. One day I will, Louisa, just not yet.”

He brings his hands up to my face, cupping my cheeks, and leans his forehead against mine. “I want to kiss you, but I don’t want to hurt you,” he whispers, his thumb pressing gently against my bottom lip.

“So kiss me,” I say. I don’t care if it hurts. I don’t care if it bleeds. Right here, right now, I want his mouth on mine.

He moves close, his beautiful green eyes drinking me in, and slides his lips over mine. I feel a slight sting against my lip, but he is gentle, so very gentle as he slips his tongue inside my parted mouth.

My hands slide up the sleek skin of his chest, over his pecs and wrap around the back of his head. The short, buzzed hair is soft against my fingers. I want to deepen the kiss. I want him to devour me with his mouth, with his hands, but my lip is hurting, and I can taste the metal tang of blood.

“Shit, Louisa I’m sorry,” he says, wiping his finger against my mouth. “The cut has opened. Kissing is probably not the best idea at the moment.”

“It should heal in a few days.”

Hudson groans. “I’m not sure I can wait that long.”

“Me neither,” I agree.

“There are other places I can kiss,” he grins.

“Is that so?” I smile, but instantly regret it when I taste more blood.

“Fuck, come with me. Let’s get you cleaned up.” Hudson takes my hand and guides me out of the gym. He pushes open the door to the pool area.

“Are you taking me for a swim?”

“Not unless you want to,” he says, pointing to a lounger. I sit down upon it. “I think there’s a first aid kit in the cabinet over here. Hold on a second.”

He slides open a door to a hidden cabinet and pulls out a green box. “Here it is.”

Bringing it over, he places it on the lounger next to me and flips open the lid. Inside are plasters, antiseptic wipes, and bandages. He pulls an antiseptic wipe out of a sealed packet. “This will sting a bit,” he says, holding it near my lip.

“That’s what Bryce said to me yesterday. Just do it,” I add.

Hudson presses the wipe against my mouth. I wince.

“I’m glad Bryce was there, and I am sorry I wasn’t.” He looks at me, a dozen emotions passing over his face.

“Hudson, I’m sorry I left the way I did. Can we start again?”

“Baby, we were never finished.” Hudson drops the wipe and draws me close. This time he avoids the sore spot on my back and moves between my parted legs. I draw his head against my chest and we hold onto each other, two broken people finding comfort in each other’s arms. I am aware of how erratic my heart is beating, of the warm flush of my skin, at the way Hudson’s fingers caress the base of my spine. Eventually he pulls away, the black of his pupils large with desire.

“Will you come in the pool with me?”

“I don’t have a swimming costume.”

“When has that stopped you before?” He smiles a little, and the tense mood lightens with the spark in his eyes. Standing, he holds out his hand for me to take. “The warm water might do you some good.”

“I’m no expert but I’m not sure swimming will help heal a cracked rib.”

“You don’t have to swim, just come in the water with me…”

“Are you trying to seduce me, Hudson Freed?”

His eyes drop to my bare legs. “No, I’m just trying to get you naked.”

“I will oblige, but only if you get naked too,” I say, taking his hand. He pulls me upwards and plants a kiss on my cheek.

“It’s a deal.”

Stepping back, Hudson kicks off his trainers then slides his running shorts down. He isn’t wearing any underwear. Why am I not surprised? He stands before me like some kind of stone statue with perfectly defined abs, and that beautiful v muscle heading to his groin.

“You’ve lost weight,” I say. He is still beautiful, very much so, but he’s lost some of the bulk he had before.

“Yeah, I guess so.”

“Hudson, I’m…”

“Don’t. It isn’t your fault. It’s no one’s. I was a stubborn prick. I should have tried to find you. I wanted to, but my pride got in the way, as did my past. It doesn’t matter, you’re here now. I won’t let you go again.”

A lump forms in my throat as my heart defrosts a little at his words, at the conviction behind them. I can feel the ice dripping away.

“Are you going to take those off?” Hudson asks.

I nod my head and without taking my eyes from him I slide my fingers under the waistband of my pyjama bottoms and ease them over my hips. I let them fall to the floor and step out of them. Then I allow the cardigan to slip down my arms. “I’ll need help with my top,” I say softly.

Hudson steps forward and I raise my arms, feeling the material of my t-shirt graze across my now hardened nipples. Hudson pulls up my top, easing it off gently, until I am as naked as he is.

“Goddamn it, that fucking bastard,” he says, shocked by the size of the purple bruise. He walks behind me, running his hands lightly around the bruised area. It doesn’t hurt. Instead, it ignites longing within me. As Hudson circles me, I am acutely aware of his touch and am reminded of Max and Bryce and how they held me close last night. A warm feeling fills my chest. These men, my men. God, I am falling hard. Hudson steps up behind me, pressing the length of his body against mine as he rests his cheek against my own. His breathing is heavy as he trails his fingers upwards from my wrists to the tips of my shoulders and back again. I can feel his cock pressing into my lower back. There is no doubt that he wants me as much as I want him.

Hudson presses a delicate kiss against my shoulder blade, his tongue snaking up my neck to the curve of my ear.

“Come with me, baby,” he whispers, entwining his fingers with mine. He leads me down the steps into the warm water and I instantly feel my muscles relax.

“Dim lights,” Hudson says.

We wade in up to our chests. I can feel the water lap against my breasts, the sensation pulling my nipples taut. The dimmed lights cast a subtle glow across the darkened water.

“I want to make love to you. I want you so much it hurts,” he says, rubbing the palm of his hand against his chest. He seems surprised by his words, confusion followed by a flicker of understanding rushes across his features.

“No one has ever got under my skin like you have, Louisa. It’s taking all my self-control not to take you here and now. But I won’t, I won’t do that until you are healed. For now, being naked like this and close to you is enough.”

Hudson pulls me closer, then slides his hand over the curve of my arse, lifting me upwards. I wrap my legs around his waist, the water and Hudson’s arms taking my weight easily.

“Lie back, baby,” he says to me.

I hesitate, trying to gage his intentions. “Why?”

“Do you trust me?”

“I want to,” I say honestly. “I want to trust you all.” I still feel unsure, despite their words, despite the way they all appear to care about me. That nagging doubt is intent on poisoning my thoughts.

“No one will ever love you, Louisa. You’re a worthless piece of shit.” I shake my mother’s hateful words from my mind. I won’t allow her to infect this moment between us.

“Louisa, I will never knowingly hurt you,” Hudson says, brushing his lips against mine. He walks with me in the water, cradling me in his arms. The palm of his hand rests against the bottom of my spine as he eases me backwards in the water. I allow him to lower me, my legs still wrapped around his waist. The water cocoons me, the muffled quiet lapping around us both. He doesn’t say a word, just stands looking down at me as I float in the water. My arms move out from my sides as his finger traces a trail across my cheek to my lips, over my chin and down the length of my neck. He doesn’t take his eyes off mine, and in their depths I swear I can see his soul staring back at me. I’ve never felt more exposed than in this moment. We are the same, he and I. There is a deep pain in him, one that reflects my own. I close my eyes against his gaze, not able to deal with what I am feeling, what I think I see hidden behind those sea-green eyes.

“Look at me, Louisa,” he says gently. I open my eyes as he places the flat of his hand between my breasts, leaving it there whilst my heart beats a faltering rhythm under his palm. “I’ve hurt many women in my life. I’ve used them and cast them aside. But I swear to you, Louisa, I will not hurt you, my beautiful butterfly.”

Hudson’s hand moves gently around my back as he lifts me up out of the water once more. Water trickles over my skin as he settles me back on the pool floor.

“Butterfly?” I ask.

“Yes, because of the way you’ve got in here,” he says, pressing his fist against his chest. “That feeling you give me.”

“Hudson…” My hand reaches for him, and he captures it in his, pulling it against his chest.

“Do you feel that?”

“Yes.”

“I don’t do this. Relationships aren’t something I’ve ever been any good at. People get hurt around me. I’m not even sure I know how to behave. Max and Bryce, they have a much better idea. Right now, what I can promise you is a place here in my arms, but you must promise me something in return.”

“What’s that?”

“That no matter what, however scared you may be, however uncertain of your feelings, of what is happening between the four of us, you do not run. Promise me, Louisa.”

I consider Hudson for a long while. He waits.

“I won’t run,” I say, folding myself into his arms. In this moment I am certain that no one and nothing will make me leave the brothers Freed again.