Release Me by Ann Marie Walker, Amy K. Rogers Read Free Book Online Page A

d’oeuvres and an open bar? You’re right, that does sound miserable.” Harper rolled her eyes. “You can’t uninvite me. It would be rude.”
    “Watch me. I’ll take my new assistant. Technically it’s a work event anyway.”
    Harper cocked her head to one side. “Are you sure?”
    “Absolutely.” She pulled Harper into a hug.
    “If you change your mind about the sleepover . . .”
    “Go.” Allie pushed her friend out the door and closed it.
    “Fine, be that way,” Harper said with a laugh from behind the door.
    Allie waited till she heard the outside door open and close before making her way back to her bedroom. It was barely nine o’clock, but after the day she’d had a hot shower and an early bedtime sounded like heaven.
    On her way to the bathroom she noticed the duffel bag she’d taken to Lake Geneva still sitting in the corner of her room. With all that had gone on since the night she’d returned, unpacking a bag of hiking clothes had been last on her list of things to do.
    No time like the present.
    She hauled the bag onto the bed and began dumping items of clothing into the laundry hamper. The bag was almost completely empty when she pulled out a pink lace nightgown.
    “
This is definitely making the trip. A survival necessity.”
    Hudson’s words echoed in the very room where he’d first spoken them. Allie closed her eyes and just like that, unbidden and unwelcome images flooded her mind. They were in the bedroom of his cabin and he was behind her, sweeping her hair to one side as his lips found the curve of her neck.
    “Put this on.” He held out his arm and her baby-doll nightgown dropped down from his hand. “And when you return, I want to tie you to my bed.”
    A soft moan escaped her lips as he ran the tip of his tongue up the column of her throat.
    “Look at the bed, Allie.” Her heart raced with a mixture of excitement and anxiety. “Imagine yourself completely at my mercy. Now go change.”
    Turning, she met his heated gaze, so full of dark, delicious promise that her knees went weak.
    “Don’t make me wait.” His voice was gentle but commanding.
    Allie took the lingerie from his hands and made her way to the master bathroom. She changed quickly, her fingers trembling from the thought of what lay ahead. She would have never considered it a turn-on to surrender control, but there was no denying she loved it when he was like this.
    When she stepped into the room, she paused at the doorway, taking a moment to enjoy the view. Through the French doors Lake Geneva shimmered in the distance, but that wasn’t the sight that held her totally spellbound. It was Hudson, standing with his back to her wearing only his faded jeans, that held her gaze. His stance was relaxed as he stared out across the water, and in that moment Allie realized that this cabin was more than just a vacation destination—it was the one place he considered home. Hudson was a man of few words when it came to his feelings and emotions. But the fact that he’d brought her here, that he wanted to share this side of himself, told her all she needed to know.
    Hudson turned and his lips parted on a sharp intake of air. “Allie . . .”
    Her mouth watered at the sight of him, lit only by the moonlight filtering in through the arched windows above the doors. Everything about Hudson Chase set her blood on fire, from the way his blue eyes burned bright with excitement to the way his impressive erection strained heavily against the fly of his jeans.
    “Do you trust me?” he asked. His voice was gentle but firm.
    Her pulse raced but her breathless answer was honest. “Yes,” she whispered, because it was true. She trusted Hudson not only with her body, but more and more with each passing day, her heart.
    He approached, pulling something out of the back pocket of his jeans and holding it up for her to see. Allie recognized it immediately as the airline sleep mask Hudson had used on her the day she’d been cuffed