Page 25 of The Sweetest Cruelty: Hudson (A Sawyer Brothers Story #1)

Wet students, reeking of warm chlorine, walked past me, but I was trapped in a daze. Then Hudson’s eyes met mine and tangled. His head tilted as he studied me, almost like he was looking at something strange and unexpected. And then a smug, knowing smile tugged at the corner of his mouth.

Don’t let him get in your head!

Shit, he’d caught me checking him out! The sexy bane of my life continued to smirk and dashed a hand through his hair to remove some water.

His brothers surrounded him. They all at once, glanced at him before transferring their gaze toward where he was looking.

As one of them said something in his ear, his lips twisted, and annoyance flashed across his features.

Hudson’s jaw began to tick which suggested he was pissed off.

I pulled away and dipped my toe in the water; it was so much warmer in there.

As I looked back, Hudson was still staring. A stare that was strong enough to suffocate. How I wished I could slip back under the radar at that moment.

Meaningful smiles and fist bumps flowed between his brothers as we continued to watch each other.

I vaguely heard one of the girls from behind me say something, and was aware of a body coming close to my side, but I couldn’t pull away.

Hudson’s gaze had pinned me in place during that one, long, charged moment and then I recognised that look. He liked what he saw.

I could feel the weight of that look on my skin, and part of me wanted to drop the towel wrapped around my body to see how he reacted. I knew I had a good body .

And then that invisible thread which connected us was gone as he turned away, his broad back flexing as he bent to retrieve his towel.

And then the rug was quite literally ripped away as I felt the flat of someone’s hand against my back, shoving me, hard.

FUCK!

It was like the entire world had glitched, and I lost all sense of reality.

I plummeted forward, my arms flapping as I hit the water head-first. It felt like I had been hit in the face by a hundred needles.

Before I could register anything else, I went under, and panic set in. It roared through me like a lightning storm. A feeling of suffocation pumped into my gut.

My heart was in my throat. I kicked my legs, my arms flailing, finding the surface for a couple of seconds, allowing me to drag in a gulp of air and some water, which caused the oxygen to spew back out.

Clawing at nothing, the pool swallowed me again, and I could see a crowd of students standing on the poolside from under the water, some with their arms outstretched, but I couldn’t quite reach.

My mother’s words rang in my ears: You’re strong enough to deal with whatever life throws at you.

Managing to surface, I gasped for breath again before being yanked back down, my legs tangled. It almost felt like there were hands on my ankles, dragging me under. The rushing of water, bubbles fizzing, muffled cries and screams and that buzzing sound were deafening.

“Help,” I managed to shout as I surfaced again. Chlorinated water flooded my mouth.

As the realisation that I was going to die washed through my senses, I felt a pair of strong arms wrap around my body, my back jarring against something like concrete. For a split second, I thought it was the bottom of the pool, but then I realised it was a person.

Before I could process what was happening, I felt myself being raised to the surface.

The barrier, which was now firmly wrapped around my ribcage, drew me up, and I took a huge gulp of air as my face broke the water. The shouts and yells from the other students echoed around the space.

Struggling, my arms scrambled forward, grasping for some air, and I heard a voice at the cuff of my ear, “Stop fighting me. Calm the fuck down. ”

My pulse skipped, as a burst of adrenaline shot into me, and my body went limp. My muscles suddenly felt heavy.

“That’s it, shh, relax, baby girl. I got you.”

It was Hudson’s voice; I wasn’t so far gone that I didn’t recognise it.

And then the sense of what had happened hit me.

Shit, I had almost drowned and he me must have dived into the pool to save me.

The thrill of pleasure that thought gave me pushed away a healthy portion of my earlier panic.

Gratitude raced through me. “Hudson?” I questioned, even though I knew it was him.

“I’m here,” he said softly.

Leaning my head back against his chest, students dotted around the pool with shocked faces, all eyes on us. They were all so still, like statues. I found it ironic that there were still some kids in the water, yet it had been Hudson who got to me first.

“Do you have her, Hudson?” the Coach shouted across at us.

“Yeah, Coach. I got her.”

“OK, everyone, show's over. Hit the showers,” the teacher barked.

“Miss Miller, are you OK?”

“Yes,” I rasped. Mr Sheldon nodded and then turned to two girls, one of whom was holding her wrist.

Everyone continued to climb out of the water, and chatter filled the air, like nothing had just happened.

I still held on for dear life, my hand curling into the strong barrier wrapped around me.

The muscles of Hudson’s forearm flinched.

“Stop digging your fucking fingers into my arm,” he hissed gruffly in my ear.

I relaxed my death grip. “Sorry,” I panted.

Hudson’s rock-hard chest was pressing into my back, and his arm was under my breasts. I could feel each powerful contour of his body as he swam us towards the shallow end, and my bottom bumped against the junction between his thighs.

“That’s it, English. Work with me.” His words were calming, but left his mouth roughly, like he was ordering me to be fine, when he could see I was anything but.

A sob left my mouth, and his arm flexed, squishing my ribcage. He was so strong; he could probably crush me to death.

My breath hitched, and I could feel the hair on his legs against my calves as he swam one-handed.

The reflection from the water made a pattern on the ceiling as I leaned my head back into the nook of his arm .

Finally, I felt him place his feet on the tiled floor of the pool.

Hudson then slid his arm from around my torso and turned me in the water. I instantly wrapped my arms around his neck, pushing my chest against his and burying my face against him, terrified he would let go and I’d sink again.

His hands dropped to hold my hips, and I snaked my legs around his waist. I could feel the muscles in his thighs as he waded towards the shallows.

“Easy, I’ve got you,” he said.

Clinging to him like I limpet, I pushed myself further against him, tasting some of the chlorine from his wet skin on my lips.

Hudson’s breath hitched against my ear as the junction between my legs pushed against his, “For fucks sake Molly stop rubbing against me or we’ll have even bigger problems to deal with,” he rasped, his voice almost pained.

I gasped, drawing my head back to look him in the face as I felt that tell-tale hard muscle straining against my pelvis. “Oh,” I panted, and he raised an eyebrow. His dick twitched against my lower belly.

“Yes, oh,” he batted back, his breath whistling through his teeth.

I loosened my arms slightly, releasing the pressure of my breasts, which were squashed against Hudson’s chest.

“Let’s stay in a minute to get our breaths back,” he suggested, stopping just shy of the poolside.

My back straightened as one of his hands slid around and dropped to my bottom, giving it a tap whilst instructing me in a firm voice, “Lower your legs. You should be able to stand now.”

Hudson didn’t release me until I got my balance. I was still cocooned against his warm, manly body.

“Are you sure?” I said breathlessly, my nipples were rock hard. And it had nothing to do with the temperature of the water.

“Yeah.”

“I’ve got a student with a suspected sprain. I’ll leave you to take care of Miss Miller, Hudson,” I heard a male voice say from the water beside us. “Miss Miller, stop by my office when you’re dressed.” Pfft, I found it annoying that Hudson was Hudson , yet I was Miss Miller ?

I agreed with a nod, and after one last cagey look between us, he turned away and went back to the two girls waiting for him .

My hair was matted against my cheeks, back, and shoulders as I unwound my legs from Hudson. My skin prickled as I glided down Hudson’s body and found my footing, the hard tile appearing beneath my toes.

Shivering, I glanced toward the biggest of his brothers, treading water to one side of us. He’d pushed the goggles he was wearing up onto his head, and I noticed he had a huge grin on his face as he prompted, “All OK?”

Hudson stepped away from me and washed a hand down his face. “Yeah. We’re good,” my saviour replied.

“Err, you might want to give it a minute before you leave the pool,” the big guy said with a snigger.

“You think?” Hudson shot back, unimpressed. And then I realised what they were referring to, and heat stung my cheeks. It took everything I had not to glance down at Hudson’s hard-on, which would be sitting just below the water line.

“You’re as pale as fuck. Take some slow, deep breaths, OK?” His eyes searched my face, concern etched into his features.

I exhaled, it was a ragged sound, and I rolled my neck to ease the aching muscles there.

“Did you hurt yourself when you hit the water?” Hudson asked, running his fingers across my collarbone. It was a brief touch, but I felt it everywhere. At that moment, there was no sign of dislike, although that devil-may-care energy still pulsated from his large body.

“I don’t think so,” I replied, feeling woozy.

“Hey,” he whispered, his hands coming to my shoulders. The contact sent another shiver across my skin, awareness of his closeness pooling into me.

As his fingers dug into me, I worried my lip, not knowing what to say, and Hudson glanced towards where my nipples were pushing against my suit.

“Cold?” he questioned, dragging his eyes back to mine.

“No,” I replied, rubbing my neck, feeling nervous.

“Then it must be something else,” he whispered against my ear. Hudson knew I was turned on.

The big guy was still treading water beside us with that huge grin on his face. Hudson dropped his hands from my shoulders and said, “When you’re dressed, talk to Storm and find out what the fuck happened.”

“I’m on it,” he replied, swimming towards the steps .

My teeth started chattering as I watched him pull his huge body from the water. As he got out, he turned to look back at us with a lopsided smile, walking backwards. As I twisted back, I saw Hudson flip him over my shoulder before his eyes cut to mine.

Using the hand that had given his brother the finger, Hudson grasped my chin and pulled my face towards him. It was gentle but firm. My eyes widened.

“Why the fuck didn’t you swim to the surface?” Hudson growled, now angry as he released my jaw and pushed some hair back off my face.

I didn’t know what to say.

“Well, what the fuck , English?”

Rubbing my arms and feeling miserable, I replied, “I can’t.” My voice sounded weak and pathetic.

“You can’t what ?” he barked.

“I can’t swim.”