Page 32 of My Grumpy Boss
“Why?” I snap, stepping back and swiping at my tears as I glare up at him.
Hudson meets my glare with one of his own. He closes the distance between us and bends down, his nose almost brushing against mine.
“Why?” he growls. “Because I’ve finally convinced you to be mine! I’m not letting anything bad happen to you. Do you know what it would do to me if you were hurt? Fuck, Hazel! You didn’t answer my texts for three hours, and I just about lost my mind. I can’t let you be sick or in pain or?—”
“I’m not!”
“You said you were sick!”
“I lied!”
I suck in a deep breath, realizing that we’re standing in a peaceful park, shouting at each other.
“Hazel,” he groans, rubbing at his forehead. “Please, baby. Just let the doctor take a look at you.”
“I’m not sick. I just need to go home,” I tell him, trying to sound calm.
“Why?”
I look up into his dark eyes, wondering how much I should tell him. A storm swirls in those blue depths, and I bite my lip, deciding that I have nothing to lose.
“I love you,” I rasp.
He freezes.
I’m debating how far I can run before he catches me again when he grabs me and slams his mouth down onto mine.
NINE
Hudson
Women are so freaking confusing.
Hazel’s hands fist in the front of my shirt, holding on to me like she’s afraid I’ll disappear. That thought alone damn near destroys me.
I slide my hand around the back of her neck, angling her closer as I kiss her harder. She tastes like tears and peppermint and something that is completely, irrevocably Hazel.
Mine.
A needy sound slips from her throat when I deepen the kiss, and I swear my entire body lights on fire. Every ounce of panic and fear and fury from the last few hours twists into something desperate and overwhelming. Relief.
She’s okay. She’s here.
I grip her tighter, my other hand settling on her waist as I tug her flush against me. Hazel gasps softly when her hips hit the metal, and I take advantage of the opening to sweep my tongue against hers.
“Hudson,” she breathes against my mouth.
My name sounds wrecked coming from her lips. I kiss her again because I can’t seem to stop. I don’t think I’ll ever be able to stop touching her now that I know she’s mine too.
Her fingers slide into my hair, tugging slightly, and I groan low in my throat.
“Jesus Christ, Hazel,” I mutter against her lips. “You scared the hell out of me.”
Her expression softens instantly, and guilt flashes across her face. Before she can apologize, I kiss her again. Slower this time. Thoroughly. Like I’m trying to memorize her.
She melts against me, her body fitting perfectly against mine, and I swear there has never been a woman made more perfectly for me than this one.
Hazel stumbles back a step, and I reach out, steadying her with a hand on her elbow. We’re both breathing hard as I stare down at her.
