Read Online Hold Me Closer (Sea Island Brides Book 1) by Georgia Kelly - Free Book Online Page B

his handsome
features. “I didn’t mean it like that at all.”
    “I
understand what you meant, Hudson. You’ve been a very good boy
for the past year or so for the sake of this acquisition, but now
that everyone thinks you have a legitimate girlfriend, why not make
the most of it?”
    The
look on his face told her that she was closer to the truth than she
realized. The rat was actually trying to get her into bed now that
their relationship posed no threat to his business deal. She was
nothing more than a plaything to him. How very romantic.
    “Wow,
I’m actually right, aren’t I?”
    “If
I remember correctly, you were the one who showed up at my house in a
bikini, ready to put your career on the line,” he said. “Are
you telling me that you weren’t here to seduce me?”
    Annabelle’s
heart raced and her hands felt suddenly numb. She couldn’t very
well tell him the truth about why she had been coming onto him that
day. “I know what it must have looked like to you,” she
stammered. “But I was desperate to get a great story that would
open my boss’s eyes and promote me to full reporter.
Considering your past with women, I thought the best way to get a
story was to flirt and be sexy.”
    The
lie rolled off her tongue, gaining more confidence as she spoke.
    The
smile disappeared from Hudson’s face. “So,
you’re saying your performance here by the pool was all an
act?”
    He
rubbed his forehead and paced the tiled walkway.
    Annabelle
stood in silence, listening to the ocean as she watched him struggle
with his thoughts. When he stopped abruptly and turned to her, she
felt the seriousness in his blue-green eyes pierce straight through
to her heart. “Did you sell those photographs to the press?”
    “No,”
she said honestly. “I can promise you that I was just as
mortified to see those tabloid photos as you were.”
    “I’m
going to trust you, Annabelle. But let me make it clear that lying to
me would be a very bad idea.”
    Annabelle
felt as if the breath had just been knocked out of her. Her knees
weakened as the weight of her lies bore down on her. Eventually,
Hudson was going to find out the truth about those photographs, and
when he did, he would never forgive her.
    “I
hope you’ll excuse me, but I am so tired. I really should get
to sleep.”
    As
she turned to leave, she could tell by the line of his jaw that
Hudson was angry. Maybe he was doubting his choice to invite her into
his life. Or maybe he was just so used to getting what he wanted that
he couldn’t stand the thought of someone turning him down.
    He
didn’t call after her or try to follow her, and she didn’t
dare look back once she’d found the strength to walk away.

 

Chapter Five
     
    “If
you’ll follow me to the study, there are a few things I’d
like to go over with you.”
    Hudson
stood in the doorway of the breakfast nook the next morning and
waited for Annabelle to finish her orange juice. After last night’s
unexpected rebuff, he half expected all of his longing to disappear.
Instead, the opposite was true. She looked more delicious than ever
in a short jean skirt and black t-shirt.
    He
led her to an interior room lined from floor to ceiling with thick,
hardbound volumes. The study was his favorite room in the house.
Being in here reminded him of his father, who had worked long hours
here when Hudson was a child.
    He
motioned for her to take the seat across from the large antique pine
desk that had been in his family for over a century.
    When
he took his place in his father’s old chair, he was all
business. It was technically his older brother Jack’s chair
now, but in his absence Hudson had become the face of the local
operations.
    Usually,
anyone sitting in Annabelle’s position was immediately
intimidated by him. Annabelle, he was shocked to find, looked
confident and unaffected. He had to admit that her constant ability
to stand up to him as an equal was impressive.
    And
sexy.
    Most
of the women