Hudson chuckled as he hit Play. With the push of another button he dimmed the lights. “No difference, still one hundred and forty-three minutes in the dark.” He set the iPad on the vacant seat next to him and leaned toward Allie. His voice was a low whisper. “You know, I would have made out with you the moment the lights went down.”
“You mean you would have tried to make out with me.”
“And succeeded.”
“Shh,” she hushed him. “It’s starting.”
About the time Elizabeth Swann yelled “parley,” Hudson gave an exaggerated yawn. He stretched his arms high above his head, and when he lowered them, one managed to land smoothly around Allie. She glanced down to see his hand resting on her shoulder and gave a small smile as she popped another piece of candy into her mouth.
After a few minutes Hudson’s hand moved toward her breast. Not taking her eyes off the screen, Allie reached for his hand and discreetly placed it back on her shoulder. But even with her eyes forward, she caught a glimpse of his amused grin. Clearly he was a man who enjoyed a challenge, and something told her he’d just declared “game on.”
Sure enough, after a few more minutes passed, his hand once again began to wander. But this time he stopped halfway and waited. He watched her out of the corner of his eye, and when she made no protest, he slowly extended one finger, leisurely drawing a circle around the taut peak of her breast. Allie remained impassive, merely covering her hand with his and sliding it back to her shoulder.
Hudson leaned closer and let his lips drift up the column of her throat. “I know what you’re doing,” he whispered against her ear, grazing the lobe with his teeth.
Still not taking her eyes off the screen, Allie inclined her head towards his. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
His tongue traced the shell of her ear. “Fine. If that’s how you want to play it.”
Allie felt the knuckles of his free hand brush the bare skin just above her knee. She glanced down to see the fabric of her borrowed shirt inching higher as his broad palm glided slowly up the inside of her thigh. Her breath hitched and yet, like any good girl would, she pressed her legs together to halt his progress.
Hudson groaned in protest as he sucked on the sensitive skin below her ear. He was driving her positively mad—licking, sucking, nipping—but she was determined not to give in to his advances. This movie was about enjoying something they’d never had the chance to experience in the past. Seventeen-year-old Allie would have never let nineteen-year-old Hudson feel her up in a movie theater.
But he was damn well going to try.
His hand was back on her knee in minutes, leaving a trail of goose bumps in his wake as his fingers traced the hem of the linen shirt. Featherlight touches moving back and forth. Back and forth.
“Hudson.” His name came out on a breathy whisper.
“Yes, Allie?”
“I want . . .”
She felt his rough stubble on her skin as he smiled against her neck. “Want what?
“Popcorn.”
Hudson’s hands and lips stilled. He lifted his head and the expression on his face had her biting the inside of her cheek to keep from smiling. After a few shell-shocked beats he got up, cursing under his breath as he adjusted the erection so obviously straining against the fly of his jeans. Allie waited until she heard the opening of cabinets before peeking over her shoulder to spy on him through the space between the seats. In the flickering light she saw him rip open the plastic wrapper on the popcorn before tossing it in the microwave and jabbing at the buttons. He waited impatiently, running his hand through his hair before leaning down to watch the carousel through the glass. He popped the door open the minute the microwave chimed.
“Fuck!” He dropped the steaming bag on the counter and shook his fingers. “Shit!”
Allie clasped her hand over her mouth to contain her giggle. She watched Hudson pick up the offending bag with a napkin and then straightened in her seat so as not to be discovered. He’d just made it to their row when he halted midstride and made a quick U-turn back to the concession area. She heard the sound of a refrigerator door open and then close, and a moment later he was back at her side.
“Had a feeling you’d ask for this next,” he said, holding out a can of Diet Coke.
She took the can from him, genuinely concerned but unable to hide her smile. “Are you okay?”
“Nothing a skin graft won’t fix,” he grumbled, tearing open the bag and offering her some of the popcorn.
Allie helped herself to a handful, then turned her attention back to the movie in time to catch one of her favorite shots of the handsome Will Turner.
“I don’t see the appeal,” Hudson said.
She rolled her eyes and reached back into the bag of popcorn. “You’re a guy, you wouldn’t understand.”
“Try me. It’s the leather pants, isn’t it?”
She whipped her head around to look at him. “Why, do you have a pair?”
He grinned. “No, but consider it my first order of business.”
His arm draped across Allie’s shoulders once again, only this time she snuggled against him. For the next two hours Allie watched sword fights between pirates and skeletons while Hudson continued his amorous assault. One step forward, two steps backs. He was relentless and she loved every minute of it.
The moment the credits rolled she was tugged across his lap. His mouth found hers and he kissed her fiercely. As if he had to. As if the past one hundred and forty-three minutes had been the longest of his life. And despite her game, she kissed him back.
Her fingers wound into his hair, holding him close as he deepened the kiss. His hand slid over her bare thigh and she felt the prod of his erection digging into her behind. He gripped her waist, shifting her so she straddled him, and with a flex of his hips pressed himself against her. Oh yes, just like that.
His lips moved lower, nibbling her neck, and she let her head fall back on a soft moan as he flexed up once more. She closed her eyes, reveling in the delicious friction as he slowly rubbed her through the worn denim of his jeans. If he kept it up, she’d be reaching for his fly in no time. It would be so easy. A few popped buttons, a subtle shift of her hips . . .
“Hudson?”
“Hmm?” he answered against her skin.
“What’s for dinner?”
He lifted his head. “Dinner? Now?”
“Yes.” She tried her hardest to keep a straight face. “Movie dates usually include dinner.”
“Christ, woman, you’re making my balls bluer than you did ten years ago.” He flashed her a hopeful grin that made him look every bit the horny teen she remembered. “Can we eat in bed?”
She laughed. “In bed? On a first date?”
The noise he made was somewhere between animal and human. “Way past first dates, Allie.” Moving her off his lap, he reached into the pocket of his jeans and pulled out his cell phone.
“Who are you calling?”
“Any place that will deliver in thirty minutes or less.”
Chapter Nineteen
Allie couldn’t remember the last time she had pizza for dinner. She lifted a second slice out of the cardboard box and took a bite. Mmm, delicious. Her eyes drifted shut for a moment, and when she opened them Hudson was staring at her, one brow slightly raised.
“No placemats, plates, or fine silver? When did you become the type to eat straight out of the box?”
“Are you forgetting the picnics we used to have when your shift was over?” Eating greasy food out of takeout cartons was something Allie had never done before she met Hudson. In fact, she’d done a lot of things with him that were outside her norm. And yet, they always felt so right.
“That was a long time ago.”