Caged (The Defiant Kings Book 1)

“Ithought Daphne was exaggerating when she told me how codependent the Kingston siblings are.” She’d just married Hud’s oldest brother, Max, and couldn’t get over how often they all stop by each other’s houses or how much time they spent texting each other. “I was wrong.”

Carys Sinclair closes her mouth and tries to hide her laughter over my rant. She’s used to them by now. We’ve been friends for years. And lucky for me, she and her husband, Cooper, live next door to Hudson.

Hud and Cooper are currently in the home gym, doing whatever Hud’s allowed to do for now, with strict instructions from Cade and the physical therapist at the gym to not put weight or stress on his leg. Meanwhile, Carys and I sit on the couch in front of a fire, working on the social-media presence for the holiday push for her company, Le Désir. She designs the most beautiful lingerie I’ve ever seen. I’ve splurged on a ton of it, even if no one has ever seen me in it.

It’s dinner time on a Friday, and I’m still working.

I guess that could be one of my issues.

You’d think Hudson’s siblings would be busy running their freaking empire because King Corp definitely falls into the empire category. But no . . . Not these people. “Becket and Lenny swung by at lunch to check in,” I continue my rant, deciding I’m fired up and not even close to done yet. “And . . . I may have also overheard a conversation earlier between Hudson and Sawyer. And I know that there’s been a group text happening because he’s either grumbled over it or laughed about it all day. All day, Carys. All freaking day. How do they get anything done?”

She peers over the top of my MacBook, trying hard not to laugh at me. “Mads, you and Daphne look at this differently than I do. I come from a big family. This is what we do. I’m used to it. We may not be as . . . involved in each other’s lives as the Kingstons, but my family chat blows up on a daily basis.”

“Says the woman who married her stepbrother.” I can’t help but tease her.

“Best move she ever made too.” Cooper walks into the room and drops a kiss on top of his wife’s head. “Right, baby?”

She rolls her eyes before tilting her head back to kiss him.

And that’s when I melt.

That . . . That’s what I want.

That easy kind of love.

The kind you work your butt off to get, then bask in for the rest of your life.

“Whatever you say.” She sighs, then sips her wine. “Where’s Hudson?”

Coop takes the glass from her for a sip, then hands it back. “He’s on the phone. Sawyer called.”

“Told you,” I laugh as the man in question shuffles gingerly into the room, grumbling, with his crutches tucked under his arms. I don’t miss the tension holding his body hostage before he sits on the arm of the couch next to me.

He tugs a strand of my hair until I turn around to face him. “What did you tell them, sunshine? Are you giving away all my secrets?”

“I don’t know any of your secrets.” Even if I wish I did.

And damn him for that.

“Carys . . .” Hudson turns his attention her way. “Sawyer just told me Six Day War is doing a surprise set at Kingdom tomorrow night.” He lifts his brow. “Happen to know anything about that?”

Her smile grows a mile wide. “I wasn’t allowed to say anything until they were sure they were coming.” Six Day War is one of the biggest bands in the country right now, and Carys knows them well.

She lived with them and sang with them back when she was in college.

The lead singer’s sister manages the band and is one of Carys’s best friends.

They’re also my favorite band.

I squeal like a lunatic and look between Carys, Cooper, and Hudson. “Oh my God. Please say we’re all going Saturday. I’ve been dying for them to come to Philly again.”

“Since my brother owns the bar they’re playing at, I’m pretty sure I can get us in, sunshine.” Hudson’s being sarcastic, but I don’t care because I want to see them again so badly. They played at Cooper and Carys’s wedding last year, and to see them in that small venue was all it took to make me a fan for life.

The doorbell rings, and Cooper steps out of the room to grab what’s hopefully our dinner and not another Kingston sibling. “Do you think you’ll be okay to go to the bar this weekend?”

“You worried about me, Maddie?” His words are a step above a whisper, which does crazy things to my body.

I stare into the depths of his cobalt eyes, lost for a second.

Of course, I’m worried about him. He’s my friend. Even if this feels like more.

Carys stands with her empty wine glass and clears her throat. “More like she’s worried Cade will kick her ass if you screw up your leg any worse, Hud.” She holds her glass up to me. “You sure you don’t want any?”

I shake my head and wait for her to go into the kitchen, so it’s just Hudson and me still in the room. “How are you feeling? You guys were in the gym for a while. You’re supposed to be taking it easy.”

“It’s sore, but I’ve had worse. I took it easy, and we just worked arms. The damn stairs were worse than the workout.” He reaches toward me, like he’s going to touch my face, but I pull away. Hudson drops his hand, and the look in his eyes turns glacial. “Don’t worry about me, Maddie. But we’re going to talk about that one of these days.”

I blink, shocked by the tone in his voice just as Cooper announces, “Dinner’s here.”

“There’s nothing to talk about, Hudson,” I murmur as I get up, ready to hurry from the room before he can push harder.

And thank goodness, he doesn’t push.

Just waits for me to walk in front of him, then follows me into the kitchen.

“Hey, Carys . . .” She spins around to face me. “Want to pour me a glass of wine too?”

“Oh damn.” Carys looks between Hudson and me, silently questioning the uncomfortable look on my face. Then she settles on him. “What did you do?”

Hudson drops down onto a chair at the kitchen table and props his leg up on a second one across from him. His knee is still swollen and bruised, so I grab the peas again and lay them over his knee, refusing to make eye contact.

“I didn’t do anything,” he answers her while he watches me.

Cooper hands Hudson his to-go container of grilled chicken and steamed vegetables and laughs. “Sure, you didn’t. When they say they’re not mad . . . that’s when you know you’re really in trouble.”

I level Cooper with a glare as he passes my salad to me.

“I’m not mad, Coop.” My voice comes out sharper than I intend, and he laughs at me.

Ugh. They all suck.

Hudson

My little sunshine spent the rest of the night pissed.

Not loud and yelling like any of my sisters would have done. No. This woman got quiet, and that was somehow worse. I watched it happen. She didn’t shut down, not in an obvious way. And she covered it well.

Maddie still smiled and laughed when she needed to over dinner, but that smile was forced, and her words were quiet. She was making herself smaller, and I fucking hated it. Almost as much as knowing something, at some point in her life, caused her to pull away from being touched.

Not by everyone though.

Carys hugged her goodbye, and Maddie embraced her with no problem.

But that look in her eyes earlier . . . Even if it was just for a split second, I saw it.

And I wanted to fucking eviscerate whoever put it there.

Then I realized I put it there.

“Maddie.”

She finishes drying the wine glasses, then turns around, but doesn’t make eye contact. “Listen, Hud. I’m exhausted, and I need to sleep in a bed tonight. Do you have any preference which room I take?” She dries her hands and carefully hangs the towel back up, busying herself.

“Madison. Stop.” The words come out sharper than I intend, and I cringe at her reaction.

She wraps her arms around herself and continues to look anywhere but at me. “Let’s not do this, Hud.”

“Maddie . . .”

Finally, she lifts her pretty eyes to mine. Her golden hair frames her face like a halo. “Please . . . Can we just not?”

I stand very fucking carefully from the table and grab my crutches, knowing I overdid it today and I’m paying the price tonight. Fuck. Slowly, I move across the kitchen and lean back against the counter next to her, taking care not to touch her but positioning myself barely an inch away. “Why don’t you like when I touch you, Madison? Is it me? Are you scared of me? Do you think I’m going to hurt you?”

She closes her eyes, and damnit, I think she’s gonna cry.

But that’s not Maddie.

This tiny woman is stronger than that.

She steps in front of me, with her eyes locked on my chest. Then with a shaky exhale, she flattens her palms over the cotton of my shirt against my pecs.

I suck in a sharp breath, my hands aching to wrap around her. To hold her. To comfort her. To soak in just a little bit of her light and warmth, but I don’t. This is her show now, and she needs to be in control of it.

This is the first time in three years this woman has ever willingly initiated any kind of physical contact with me. And the jolt of electricity it sends coursing through my veins is better than any adrenaline high I’ve ever gotten.

Finally, she lifts those long lashes and gives me her eyes. “It’s not you, Hudson. I know you’d never hurt me. I swear to God, I know it. It’s just . . .” She runs her teeth over her bottom lip, composing herself, then traces the ink that’s visible above my shirt.

“You’ve touched me over the years, Hudson. Maybe not as much as you’ve touched everyone else, but you’ve still done it. If I was scared of you, you’d have known it, and you would have stopped.”

“I’ve always wanted to touch you, Maddie.” The words slip out quietly, and there’s so much truth behind them. Not the smartest thing to say. Not the smoothest or most practiced. But it’s the honest truth.

Maddie drops her hands and takes a step back, breaking our connection. “You shouldn’t, Hud. I’m broken.” Another step takes her further away, and I miss the connection immediately. “Do you care which room I sleep in?”

I shake my head because words fail me for the first time since my dad died.

“Good night, Hudson.” She walks away, leaving me alone with my thoughts.

“Night, sunshine.”