Hudson

Mari stepping through the FLW house that night feels nothing short of surreal at this point, but after everything that’s transpired, I’m glad she’s here.

“Wright was known for horizontal lines and wide open floor plans,” I say. “Everything is supposed to feel organic, and as you’re standing outside, the house is meant to blend in with the flat, Midwestern prairie. There’s this sense of unity with his homes. Everything works together. Everything fits. It’s all very natural and a lot of people feel that this type of harmonious design—”

“—it’s beautiful,” she says, gushing as she moves from space to space, room to room. “I always thought this house looked so dark from the outside, but it’s not at all. There are so many windows.”

“The linear frames on the top half of the walls let in more light than you’d think.” I follow her. “Oh. Before I forget, I have to go back to the city tomorrow. I’ll be here every other week and any other time you need me. Why don’t you come with? We can go back and forth together.”

“That’s a lot of traveling.” She glances down, her hand on her stomach. “Maybe sometimes?”

“Why don’t you just move back with me?” I propose a greedy solution without so much as thinking it over, but it doesn’t matter. I want to be with this woman, and I’ll move heaven and earth.

Mari locks eyes with me, sucking her lower lip. “I don’t want to raise the baby in the city.”

“And why not?”

“I love the city.” She spreads her hand over her chest. “New York is everything. But it’s a different way of life, and I want this baby to grow up close to family, in a cozy little town that lives life a little slower. I don’t want to shuffle this kid up and down Manhattan from preschool interview to preschool interview and then wonder how the hell I’m going to afford rent and tuition.”

“Mari, it wouldn’t be like that,” I say, head tilted. “I’d take care of you. Both of you.”

“It’s kind of you to offer, but my mind is made up. I’m staying here.” Her eyes hold a mix of both sadness and hope. “I hope that doesn’t change anything … between us.”

Pulling her against me, I press my lips to the top of her head. “Never.”

Cupping her face, I lift her chin until her lips align with mine, then I taste their sweetness.

“In that case, there’s one room I wanted to show you.” I say.

Taking her hand in mine, I lead her past the kitchen and through the reading room, down a hallway and around a corner until we find a cozy bedroom on the east side of the house next to the master suite.

“Might be hard to imagine it now, but I thought this could be your nursery.” I look to Mari, waiting for her reaction and watching as disbelief registers on her face. “These windows are high enough so daylight will start to peek through just after sunrise in the morning. The sun sets in the west, so the room should be nice and dark in the evening. I don’t know much about babies or how they sleep, but I assume those things might help when you’re trying to establish some kind of bedtime routine.”

“Hudson …”

“The room’s big enough for a crib and a rocking chair,” I say, moving about. “You could put a changing table here. The closet is good-sized too. And you’re just a few steps away from the master.”

“I can’t live here,” she says, fighting a smile that tells me she’d do it in a heartbeat.

“I want you to,” I say. “I thought about selling it. And then I thought about donating it to some local historical society. But I decided earlier today that I want you to have it.”

“That’s too generous. I can’t. I’d love to. But I can’t.”

“Why not?” I scoff.

“You can’t just give me a house,” she says. “That’s insane.”

“It’s my gift to you,” I say. “Besides, you can’t live with your parents the rest of your life. You need a place to call your own—you and the baby. This house is perfect for a family. There’s a huge yard out back and a huge oak tree just waiting for a custom fort—which I’d be happy to design. Plus, you love this street. And you can’t put a price on history.”

“You don’t have to sell me on this house,” she says. “I know it’s going to be incredible by the time you’re finished. But you can’t just give it to me.”

“I can. And I am.”

She saunters up to me, playfully slapping my chest before rising on her toes and pressing her sweet mouth against mine.

“I don’t even know what to say right now.” Her eyes are lit from within, and she can’t stop grinning. “You’ll live here, too, right?”

“Do you want me to?”

Mari nods quickly, lips pulling wide as she slips her arms over my shoulders and rises on the balls of her feet.

Sliding my hands down her outer thighs, I pull her up and against me, carrying her to the next room where I’ve been sleeping when I’m here. There’s a queen-sized air mattress on the floor and canvas painter’s cloths covering the windows. A small lamp in the corner gives off just enough light, but I’m not concerned about the ambience or amenities right now.

Mari slides down my body, her fingers tugging at her clothes then mine before she falls to her knees and takes me in her mouth. Her free hand travels up my lower stomach, then higher, her nails digging into my flesh as she swirls her tongue around the tip of my aching cock, tasting the bead of precum as it forms.

Taking her time, she indulges me as if the pleasure’s all hers, but my impatience gets the better of me, and the craving of her taste on my tongue forces me to interrupt.

“Lie on the mattress,” I tell her, dropping to my knees and pumping my cock in my hands. The mere sight of this woman gets me hard as a fucking rock.

Mari lies back, and my fingers skim the soft flesh between her knees, rising higher until I reach the apex. Sliding a finger between her slick folds, I lower my mouth to her glistening pussy to taste her arousal.

Soft moans leave her lips as I slip my tongue between her seam and circle her tender clit. Sliding my left hand up her soft belly toward her swollen breasts, I feel her quiver as I help myself to a handful.

Her body, her heart … it all belongs to me now.

And mine to her.

Rising over her fevered body, my eyes catch the wanton gaze in hers, and I position the tip of my cock at her wet pussy, pushing myself inside her with one fell thrust.

Mari lifts her arms above her head, sighing and wrapping her legs around my sides. Her hips rock as I thrust, settling into the perfect rhythm.

Slowing down, I take my time so we can both enjoy this. Too many times over the years, I’ve taken my greedy fill and shown the woman the door the second it was over, biding my time until my next lay. I always needed to be the one to say goodbye, the one to cut the ties first. It was an assembly line void of emotion, with just enough satisfaction to meet my feral needs.

But it’s different now.

I want this to last.

And I want it to last forever.

“I love you, Mari,” I whisper, our eyes meeting. I said it to her outside her house earlier, but she never said it back. Granted, we were both a bit worked up, but I think she needs to hear it again. And I want to tell her. I want to tell her how special she is to me. “You’re the second woman I’ve ever said that to, but this is the first time I’ve ever meant it. And I know that because you’ve shown me what it means to look into the eyes of a woman who doesn’t want anything from me but … me.”

With a slow, gentle smile, she cups my face in her hands. “I love you too.”

She loves me.

Maribel Collins … loves me.