Madly Yours (Nora Reed) novel Chapter 536

Hudson froze. He pressed his lips together, his voice dropping an octave. "Why bring this up all of a sudden? Just because Luna is pregnant?"

He let out a low chuckle, reaching down to tap her nose. "Do you really want a kid that badly?"

Nora pouted, lightly poking his chest in retaliation. "Don't you want one?"

"No. Kids are too loud."

"Is that so?"

As she spoke, her slender fingers trailed down from the corner of his mouth, tracing his jawline until she brushed against his Adam's apple.

Hudson swallowed hard. He instinctively reached up to catch her wandering hand, but Nora easily slipped out of his grasp, letting her touch wander lower, mapping the hard lines of his stomach.

His body went entirely rigid.

Nora looked up at him, her eyelashes still damp. Her gaze was sultry yet piercingly clear. "Hudson, give me a baby."

Hudson's breathing grew noticeably heavier.

He finally caught her teasing fingers, intertwining them with his own. "Nora..." his voice was incredibly husky.

Nora didn't wait for him to finish. She lifted her chin and silenced him with a kiss.

It was like tossing a lit match into gasoline. The temperature in the room instantly skyrocketed.

Just as things were completely spiraling out of control, Hudson reached out and yanked open the drawer of the nightstand.

But the second his fingertips brushed against the small, square foil wrapper, Nora flipped them over, pinning him beneath her.

Hudson stared up at her, a burning undercurrent surging in his dark eyes, as if the last shreds of his restraint were shattering piece by piece.

Soon, the massive bed began to groan under the rhythmic weight.

Outside the window, the night was thick. Moonlight spilled through the gap in the curtains, washing over the tangled silhouettes moving on the mattress.

It went on for a very, very long time.

...

The next morning, Nora was woken by her alarm.

The space beside her was already empty.

Hudson had told her last night that he needed to head to the office early. They had wasted quite a bit of time in Chicago, and work had undoubtedly piled up.

She rolled over, burying her face in the pillow as she lay there for a few more minutes.

The position naturally brought back vivid memories of last night's intense intimacy, making her ears burn slightly.

It was rare for her to take the initiative like that, but in the end, he had still pulled out.

Penelope stumbled back from the force. When she realized it was Olive who had blocked her, she scowled deeply. "Are you blind?! I am your Madam's mother! How dare you lay a hand on me?!"

Olive's expression was grim. "I don't care who you are. Back off!"

"You—"

Penelope was absolutely furious. She immediately turned her gaze toward Nora. "Nora, aren't you going to discipline her?! Look at how your employee talks to your mother!"

It was only then that Nora really got a clear look at her face.

It had barely been a week, but Penelope had withered into a shell of her former self. Her cheekbones jutted out sharply, her eyes were sunken, and there were faint, lingering bruises mottled across her skin. A dark, crusty scab sat at the corner of her mouth. She truly looked wretched.

She was wearing a faded, worn-out coat, her hair haphazardly pulled back. She was utterly unrecognizable from the perpetually flawless and perfectly styled Penelope Reed of Nora's memories.

"Do you need something?" Nora asked, her voice completely detached.

Hearing that icy tone, Penelope's eyes instantly went red, and tears started streaming down her face. "Nora... Mom was wrong... Mom was so, so wrong..."

She tried to step forward, but Olive's arm blocked her like a steel beam.

She didn't get angry this time. Instead, she leaned over Olive's arm, her face twisting in pure desperation. "Nora, I know I didn't treat you right in the past. It was my fault. I thought if I just doted on Jade, I could secure my place in the Reed family, and then I could give you and Xavier a good life... I thought you wouldn't hold it against me. We're mother and daughter, Nora. You're my own flesh and blood, how could I not love you..."

She sobbed hysterically, snot and tears smearing across her bruised face. She looked genuinely heartbroken.

"Nora, I know I was wrong. Please, just give Mom one more chance. Let me make it up to you, okay? I swear I'll treat you well from now on..."