Madly Yours (Nora Reed) novel Chapter 26

Chapter 26 

Lost in her spiraling thoughts, the bathroom door suddenly clicked open. 

Hudson stepped out with nothing but a towel slung low on his hips. His hair was damp, heavy water droplets tracing the deep ridges of his chest before disappearing into the towel. 

His body was truly a masterpiece. 

Broad shoulders, narrow waist, his musculature crafted to absolute perfection-adding an ounce of bulk would make him too heavy, losing an ounce would make him too lean. 

Nora’s cheeks flushed crimson, and she instantly glued her eyes to the floor. 

“Go wash up,” Hudson said, rubbing a towel through his damp hair, his voice carrying a dark, lazy rumble. “There’s nightwear prepared for you in the bathroom.” 

Nora practically bolted into the en-suite. 

The second she shut the door, she leaned her back against the heavy wood, her heart hammering against her ribs like a trapped bird. 

The bathroom was massive. On the expansive marble vanity sat a pristine, unopened set of luxury skincare, and hanging elegantly from a hook was a silk nightgown. 

It was blush pink with delicate spaghetti straps. 

Nora held it up against herself. The hem would barely graze her mid-thigh. 

She took a deep, steadying breath and turned on the shower. 

Hot water cascaded down, quickly filling the glass enclosure with thick steam. 

She stood under the spray, praying the heat would melt away the suffocating knot of anxiety in her chest, but the longer she stayed, the faster her heart raced. 

After stalling for nearly an hour, Nora finally stepped out wearing the blush-pink silk. 

The fabric was dangerously thin, clinging to her like a wisp of fog. It felt like wearing absolutely nothing. 

The soft pink perfectly complimented her radiant complexion. The impossibly thin straps highlighted her delicate collarbones and the soft curve of her shoulders. 

Her wet hair cascaded down her back, the damp ends dripping water onto the silk, making the fabric stick to her chest and revealing the flawless skin beneath. 

Her face was flushed from the steam, her dark eyes wide and glossy. 

When she stepped into the bedroom, she froze. Hudson was standing by the floor-to-ceiling window. 

He had changed into a dark-gray robe, the belt tied loosely at his waist, exposing a dangerous expanse of his pale, sculpted chest. 

He held an unlit cigarette between his fingers, staring out at the San Francisco skyline. The moonlight spilled through the glass, outlining his towering frame in silver. 

“Where are you looking?” Hudson’s tone dripped with dark amusement. 

Her ears practically on fire, Nora stubbornly lied, “Nowhere.” 

Hudson didn’t tease her further. He finished drying her hair, tossed the towel carelessly over a chair, and wrapped his hand around her delicate wrist, pulling her toward the bed. 

“Time for sleep.” 

Nora scrambled onto the mattress, sliding under the heavy covers and pulling them all the way up to her chin, leaving only her head exposed. 

Hudson watched her defensive little cocoon, the corner of his mouth twitching upward, before he pulled back his side of the blanket and lay down next to her. 

The mattress dipped beneath his weight. 

His body heat bled through her thin silk nightgown, scorching her skin. 

Nora kept her body rigidly straight, inching as far toward the edge of the mattress as possible, but she was running out of space before she would plummet to the floor. 

Hudson shifted onto his side. A heavy arm swept across the bed, effortlessly pulling her flush against his chest. 

“What are you running from?”