Madly Yours (Nora Reed) novel Chapter 40

Hudson's eyes flickered with an unreadable emotion. "You had a dog?" he asked, his tone deceptively casual.

Nora nodded enthusiastically, a fond smile lighting up her face as she drifted into the memory. "He was a German Shepherd, just like Bane. When I found him, he was covered in dirt, and a piece of his ear was missing. He grew up to be incredibly fierce, but he only ever listened to me."

Hudson watched her face light up as she spoke, a dark, turbulent storm brewing in the depths of his eyes.

He remained silent, simply staring at her.

After a long pause, he finally asked, his voice noticeably softer, "What happened to him?"

"Later..." Nora's smile faltered, the light fading from her eyes.

That man sold him to dog traffickers...

She never saw him again.

Seeing the pain flash across her face, Hudson didn't push for more details. He reached out his hand to her. "Let's go inside. It's getting cold."

As Hudson led Nora away, Bane let out a miserable, dramatic whine. Feeling bad for the beast, Arthur stepped forward, intending to give the dog a comforting pat on the head just like Nora did.

But the second Arthur reached out, Bane snapped, baring his teeth with a vicious snarl before storming off to his kennel.

Arthur stood there, completely dumbfounded.

That ungrateful mutt! He had been feeding him for years!

...

As soon as Nora stepped into the foyer, she noticed a pair of fluffy pink bunny slippers waiting for her.

She blinked in surprise, turning to look at Hudson.

"Are these... for me?"

"The housekeeper bought them," Hudson lied smoothly, his face a mask of total indifference. "She said girls like this kind of stuff."

Nora was speechless.

She glanced down at his sleek, black leather slippers, then back at the fluffy pink bunnies.

The housekeeper certainly had... youthful taste.

Dinner was a lavish spread of food prepared by the staff, filling the long dining table.

Exhausted from the day's events, Nora ate with intense focus.

Nora stopped dead in her tracks.

Were they... sleeping in the same bed again?

She knew he was supposedly impotent, but the memory of that suffocatingly hot kiss from last night made her knees weak.

She stood frozen by the bathroom door, her fingers nervously twisting the hem of her nightgown.

Hearing her approach, Hudson looked up.

His predatory gaze slowly dragged over her damp hair, down to her flushed ears, and then lower.

Her silk nightgown was practically paper-thin, ending mid-thigh. The damp tips of her hair had soaked a small patch of fabric right over her chest, making the material translucent against her luminous skin, practically begging him to rip it off and claim what was underneath.

His dark, ravenous stare made Nora's heart skip a beat.

She quickly averted her eyes, a surge of panic and heat flushing her entire body.

This man... he was unbelievable.

How could someone who supposedly couldn't perform possess such an overwhelmingly seductive presence?