“Don’t make me tickle you again,” he warns.
“What are you doing so far from New York?”
“Vacation. Preseason doesn’t start for a couple of months. My parents used to bring us here… Well, to the island, not the resort… when we were little, so it seemed like the perfect place to escape and relax.”
“What are you trying to escape from?”
“Life.” He laughs, but it sounds kind of sad.
We’re both quiet for a few minutes, during which time Hudson rolls onto his back and guides my head to his chest and my leg over his, entwining our bodies. I go with it, relaxing against him and enjoying the tranquility of the light breeze as the ocean waves lap at the beach.
“Tell me something about you,” he says after a few minutes, getting back to our original little game of getting to know each other.
“I have a rule against dating anyone famous.”
He laughs, but when I don’t join in, he lifts slightly, forcing me up as well, so he can look me in the eyes. “Wait, are you serious?”
“Yeah, but we’re not dating, so we’re good.”
He clears his throat and nods once, then lies back again.
“Tell me something,” I say through a yawn, the craziness of the night creeping up on me and hitting me hard. My head goes back to his chest, and my eyelids flutter closed. I try to pry them open, determined to stay awake, but I’m so tired. I tell myself I’ll rest them for a few minutes while we lie here and talk. It’s not as if we can fall asleep out here.
“I’m unemployed.”
This time, it’s my turn to snort out a laugh. “If that’s your funny attempt to prove you’re not famous so I’ll date you, it’s not going to happen.”
He chuckles under his breath, the vibration rattling me. “I’m actually not joking,” he says, running the tips of his fingers through my hair and down my back. I release a deep, relaxed breath as I continue to fight sleep. “My contract was up this season, and I have to sign a new one. I actually should’ve already signed it. It’s a good deal. Better than what most QBs my age are offered.”
“So, why haven’t you?” I ask, barely awake.
“That’s a damn good question.”
Buzz. Buzz. Buzz. Buzz.
The feeling of my phone going off in my back pocket has me groaning and stretching, not wanting to get out of bed but knowing I have to.
My arm hits something hard, and a masculine voice hisses, “Ow, shit!” putting me on alert because… why the hell is there a man in bed with me?
My eyes pop open, the sunlight nearly blinding me just as my phone goes off again. I fly up, taking in my surroundings as the events from last night come back to me.
“Morning,” Hudson says, his voice sounding way too throaty and sexy.
Buzz. Buzz. Buzz. Buzz.
“I think someone’s trying to get ahold of you.”
“Huh?” I ask, momentarily in a haze over the fact I just spent the night on the beach—literally—with a man I’ve only known for thirty seconds.
“Your phone.” He scrubs his hand over his face, and the movement causes his shirt to drag up, exposing his dark happy trail. “It’s going off.”
My phone… “Shit!” I pull it out of my pocket and find several missed calls and texts from Lisa.
Where are you?
You never came back?
WTF Sawyer!
If you don’t answer soon, I’m calling the police.
Seriously? You better be dead to not be answering me.
That’s it! I’m calling 911.
The last text was sent less than a minute ago. I jump off the lounger and quickly hit my sister’s name to call her before she seriously calls the police.
“Where the hell are you?” she screeches over the phone as I haul ass up the beach toward the hotel. “I asked you to let me know if you were staying out.”
“I’m sorry!” I huff, practically out of breath from sprinting through the sand. “I didn’t mean to. We were talking, and I must’ve fallen asleep. I’m on my way to the room now.”
Lisa sighs in relief. “I’m just relieved you’re okay. I mean, I figured you were safe since you’re with Hudson fucking Matthew, but I’m sure even five-time Super-Bowl-winning football players are capable of murder. Remember that one guy? What was his name?”
“Lisa!” I bark, speed walking down the sidewalk. The woman has a knack for getting off topic. She can start discussing brownies and end with talking about an orgy. “You know who Hudson is?”
“I didn’t at first, but Scott told me. That’s the only reason I let you go off with him. He’s way too well-known to kidnap and rape a woman.”
“Thanks for the heads-up, sis.”
“What?” she asks innocently as if she doesn’t know my damn rule about not dating anyone famous. Granted, I never thought in a million years I would ever meet someone else who’s famous, but still…