Chapter 2

• Hudson’s POV
• People feared me in the boardroom.
• I liked it that way. Fear made the money flow smoother. Fear made shareholders stay in line. Fear was power, and I’d built my empire on it—Cross Global didn’t need charm or empathy. It needed me: Hudson Cross, the man who never flinched, never stumbled, never second-guessed.
• But lately? I was flinching like a rookie.
• “She’s moaning again,” I muttered under my breath, gripping the edge of the conference table.
• “What was that, Mr. Cross?” my CFO asked, flipping through the quarterly reports.
• “Nothing.” My jaw clenched. I could still hear it, faint in the back of my skull—Collette’s laugh, that throaty sound she used to make after she’d finished ruining me in bed. Except she’d been dead for months, and I was starting to look insane in front of people who signed my checks.
• By the time the meeting ended, I had a headache, a stiff cock from sheer frustration, and the kind of rage only money and whiskey could cure. Or a woman. Preferably one who didn’t remind me of Collette.
• That’s how I ended up back in my penthouse suite with a brunette from the gala. She was sleek, curvy, and more than willing to spread her legs on my silk sheets. Exactly what I needed: mindless relief.
• She moaned as I pressed into her, nails clawing at my shoulders.
• I almost felt normal.
• Until
• she
• showed up again.
• The air shifted. Cold fingers traced down my spine. I gritted my teeth and drove harder into the brunette, determined to block it out.
• But then I heard it.
• “Harder, Hudson…”
• My blood iced. That voice. Her voice.
• “Did you hear that?” I growled.
• The brunette blinked up at me, panting. “Hear what?”
• I swore under my breath. She didn’t hear a thing. But I did. God help me, I did.
• I tried to ignore it, thrusting harder, my grip bruising her thighs. But then nails—phantom nails—dragged across my back. Sharp enough to sting.
• “Fuck!” I jerked, nearly collapsing onto the poor girl.
• “What the hell?” She shoved at me, wide-eyed. “Are you okay?”
• No. I wasn’t. I was being haunted by the woman I killed.
• “I’m fine,” I snapped, pulling her hips back down against mine, desperate to regain control. “Shut up and ride me.”
• She straddled me hesitantly, bouncing on my cock. Her tits jiggled, her moans high-pitched. But behind her voice was another—low, sultry, familiar.
• “Miss me, baby?”
• “Collette,” I groaned before I could stop myself.
• The brunette froze. “Who?”
• “Shut up.” I grabbed her waist, slamming her down on me. She whimpered, but my mind wasn’t on her. It was on
• her
• . The ghost. The woman I swore I’d buried in the ground.
• She laughed—loud, echoing, like the sound was coming from the walls themselves. My sheets chilled beneath me. The brunette screamed, bolting off my cock and grabbing her dress.
• “I’m not into freaky haunted-house shit,” she spat, yanking her clothes on.
• “Get out,” I barked, my voice breaking around the edges.
• She didn’t need telling twice. She stormed out, slamming the door behind her.
• Silence. Except not. Not really.
• Because she was still here.
• “You’re not real,” I muttered, gripping my cock in frustration, stroking myself with brutal force. If no woman could give me peace, I’d do it myself. “You’re not real.”
• “Not real?”
• Her whisper slid over my ear, her phantom lips curling into a smirk I could almost feel.
• “That’s what they said about your heart too.”
• I bit back a groan as my climax built. My hand pumped harder, slick with sweat. But just as I was about to come, icy fingers wrapped around my wrist, halting me.
• I froze, panting. My cock throbbed painfully against my fist.
• “No,” I whispered. “No, no, no—”
• “Yes.”
• Her laugh shook through me.
• “If I can’t finish, neither do you.”
• I slammed back against the headboard, roaring in frustration. My orgasm fizzled, leaving me aching, humiliated, and furious.
• Her laugh echoed through the penthouse, bouncing off glass and steel.
• I gritted my teeth, raking a hand through my hair. “What do you want from me, Collette?”
• The answer came instantly, dripping with venom and amusement.
• “Everything.”