“I think he’s more perceptive than you give him credit for.” She shrugged. “And I think he’s right – I’ll figure you out once I put the effort into it.”
“I think you should focus your efforts elsewhere.” He crossed the cluttered room, settling onto an old torn-up sofa and reaching for the bottle he’d left on the table next to it. They’d scored an entire case of cheap whiskey during the raid, enough to keep him happy for a while. And he was feeling pretty damn happy at the moment, enjoying the hot buzz of alcohol traveling in his blood.
“So, anyway.” Hudson stood in front of him, her body language conveying some serious unease. “I came out here to ask you something.”
“All right. So ask.”
Her cheeks turned pink. “Um… do you have condoms?”
His hand froze before the bottle reached his lips. “Why would you ask that?”
She hesitated, then spoke in a resigned voice. “Because we’ll need them if we have sex.” A pause. “I’m not sterilized.”
Connor’s breath flew out in a hiss. “What?”
“I can bear children,” she said awkwardly.
“I fucking know what ‘not sterilized’ means, Hudson.”
He was just shocked to hear it. Ninety percent of West City’s women were sterilized the moment they reached childbearing age. It was another way the GC controlled the population. But the other ten percent…
“You’re a breeder?” he demanded.
She nodded, visibly embarrassed. “I should have told you yesterday when we talked about my life in the city, but I didn’t think about it. Not until today, when I realized that if we had sex, then…” She sighed. “I’m sorry. I honestly wasn’t trying to keep it from you.”
He believed her. And as the shock wore off, he realized it made sense that she’d been chosen to breed. Only men and women with desirable genes were allowed to procreate in the city, and with her role as both a fighter and a nurse, Hudson possessed a rare combination of strength and compassion that could definitely be considered desirable.
“Um… so yeah. If we’re going to have sex, we need protection.”
Damn right they did. He always used protection – the thought of bringing a child into this screwed-up world made him sick to his stomach. There weren’t many children running around in outlaw territory. They existed, of course, but their parents tended to keep them well hidden, because if the Enforcers discovered a child outside the city walls, they carted it back to West City and killed its parents for breaking the population laws.
“Don’t worry. I’ve got it covered,” he muttered.
“Oh. Okay. Thanks.” Hudson turned to leave. “Anyway, that’s all I wanted to say.”
“Where do you have to run off to, sweetheart? Come here.”
She moved closer, pausing when she was two feet away from him. He didn’t miss the flicker of excitement in her eyes.
He patted his lap. “No. Here.”
Her eyes narrowed. “You’re drunk.”
“Maybe a little.” Drunk enough to not care about anything but his cock’s demands. Drunk enough to not give a shit about the consequences. “But that doesn’t mean I don’t know what I want.”
She hesitated. Then, without a word, she slowly lowered herself onto him, positioning her thighs on either side of his. The heat of her core seared right through his cargo pants. He’d driven himself crazy today keeping her at a distance, but he’d wanted to teach her a lesson. To show her what happened when she ignored his rules. The downside to that was having to walk around with a hard-on all fucking day.
“Yeah?” Her voice was throaty. “And what do you want?”
He answered by yanking her head down and molding their mouths together, eliciting a squeak of surprise from her. The sound transformed into a soft sigh as his lips brushed hers in a lazy kiss. She wasted no time driving the kiss deeper by parting his lips with her tongue, and her passion caught him by surprise.
When she sucked on his tongue, his balls drew up so tight, they damn near disappeared.
Connor broke them apart with a groan. “Jesus, baby. Watching you suck Rylan today got me so hot. I haven’t stopped thinking about your tongue.”
He dove in for another kiss, slicking his tongue over hers in a slow, possessive glide. Then he bit it, and her whole body jerked.
“It didn’t make you jealous?” she said breathlessly.
“No,” he mumbled. “Just made me horny.” He nipped at her neck, then kissed his way to her collarbone. When his tongue skimmed down the valley of her breasts, she shuddered in his lap.
“I don’t understand this,” she whispered.
He lifted his head. “This, as in what we’re doing now? Or what happened earlier?”
“Earlier.” Her face grew flushed again. “The men I’ve been with haven’t liked to share.”
“I don’t blame them for wanting you all to themselves.” He slipped his fingers under her tank top, stroking her flat belly.
“You let Rylan touch me.” It wasn’t an accusation. She sounded genuinely perplexed. “Why?”
“Because it turned you on.” Conner drew the material up but didn’t bare her breasts.