Page 114 of Marry Me, Maybe?
“Baby…” I pulled him gently to his feet and moved him closer to me, my hand finding the back of his neck. He rested his forehead against my collarbone, and I kept him there. “Love’s never enough to make a relationship work. That’s something we think when we’re kids, but we’re grown now. You need money. And I have lots of it. If I’m going to be with you, that means taking care of you and Ivy.”
“But, Matt?—”
“No buts.” I tightened my grip just enough to make him listen. “There’ve been times I wanted to step in before, but I didn’t out of respect for your feelings. I’m done waiting.Brace yourself, because things might feel uncomfortable at first, but I’m going to take care of you. No more working yourself into the ground. I need you to be present for Ivy. And I need you with enough energy left for me at the end of the day.”
That got the faintest huff of a laugh from him, muffled against my shirt. “I don’t want to take advantage of you. Everyone in town already thinks you’re a fool for taking me back. I don’t want to give them more things to say about you.”
“Fuck what everyone else thinks.” I ran my fingers through his hair. “For God’s sake, they believe my dad and Law are having some kind of freak-off with Ozzie and Opie. Doesn’t that tell you enough?”
Hudson’s body shook with laughter, and he clung to me. “Well, that’s true.”
“Good, so we put this nonsense behind us, and you go back to working regular hours. Four days a week.”
He stiffened. “What? My regular hours are six days a week.”
“Yeah, and that’s not good enough. Everyone else works five, and you only take a day off so you can bring Ivy to her appointments.”
“So I’ll work five days, then.”
“Four days, Hud. Your two days off, plus a day for taking Ivy to her appointments. Paid.”
Hudson jerked back. “That’s not the terms of my contract.”
“I’ll rewrite it.”
“You can’t just do that.”
“Pretty sure I can. You know the ranch is in my name too, right?”
“Matty—”
“Don’t pout. I’ve made up my mind. Four days per week. If Dad doesn’t agree with those terms, I’ll pay you myself.”
“You’re crazy.”
I took his face between my hands. “I’ve always been crazy about you. Plus, this way I get more of you in my bed, not passed out cold from exhaustion before I even put the tip in.”
“That happened one time!”
“Yeah, still can’t believe you slept through it.”
“Well, thanks for being gentle because I only know you took me up on my offer to do it when I’m asleep because I woke up the morning with my ass crusty from your cum. Why didn’t you lick it up like you usually do?”
“Because I wanted you to know that it happened.”
“Yeah, well.” He bit the side of my neck gently. “My body remains at your disposal whether I’m asleep or awake.”
“Good. Let’s get you back to the house so you can fuel up. I can’t get you to finish early today, can I?”
“Ah, Matt, just let me finish the day.” He kissed my neck over and over. “Please, please. I won’t fall asleep later, promise.”
I tried to hold back my grin but failed. He was such a fucking delight. I yanked his hair back, and he gasped.
“Fine, but later, whether asleep or awake, I’ll still have you.”
Hudson’s nostrils flared, and his Adam’s apple bobbed in his throat. “You’re on.”
26
