Page 27 of The Sweetest Cruelty: Hudson (A Sawyer Brothers Story #1)

“Yeah, care to test that theory?” Hudson smirked, glancing towards my nipples.

“No.”

“Coward,” he goaded before adding. “So, little Molly Miller thinks we’ll never fuck?”

I took a much-needed deep breath to calm my nerves. “Yes, although I wouldn’t use that word,” I huffed.

“Of course not. Fuck is too honest and raw to be used by the principal’s sweet virgin daughter. Let me give you another piece of advice, and this time, it’s for free.”

“What?” I uncrossed my arms and lowered myself into the pool, the water covering my breasts .

Hudson moved into my personal space, his thighs bumping close to mine. “Never challenge an American male, sweetheart.”

“I’m not challenging you. All I said was that there is the possibility that I don’t fancy you.”

He chuckled. “Bullshit. If I put my mind to it, I’d have you on your back in no time,” Oh my God, the boy talked about sex so casually, like he was ordering a fricking pizza.

I must have been bright purple from embarrassment.

Hudson pushed me so far out of my comfort zone.

I should have remained mute in the presence of his sophisticated manliness.

He made me feel like a green, thirteen-year-old girl.

I did attempt to claw some control back.

“I must say you’re awfully presumptuous,” I remarked, planting my hands on my hips.

I was determined not to shy away from the subject, which was probably idle chit-chat to this boy.

He was way too comfortable speaking about fucking.

I wondered how many girls he had slept with at the school.

I imagined he polished his man-whore crown regularly.

And the worst thing was, it didn’t put me off, and I had always hated players.

“Presumptuous about us fucking?” he questioned with a lip curl.

“No. That I’m a virgin.”

Hudson’s mouth then spread into a wide smile, openly amused by what he would no doubt consider general banter. He thought he had all the answers and it pissed me off.

He lifted a finger and flicked my nose with the tip, “It’s stamped all over you sweetheart.”

I snorted, tipping my head back into the water to re-wet my hair, pushing it off my neck. My scalp had started to itch. As I straightened, I blurted, “So, I’m that transparent?” Part of me wanted to say I had a boyfriend in the UK, maybe throw Cassius’s name out there, but I bailed.

Hudson’s face darkened with annoyance, and he moved in the water. It forced me back a step. The poolside was now digging into my shoulder blades. “Clearly not. Or I wouldn’t have misjudged you that day in the library.”

“What does that mean?”

“You lied to me,” Hudson stated, his eyes narrowing as he closed the space between us. It was very much a push-and-pull scenario. I retreated, and he advanced. Hudson must have been on his knees as our heads were now level .

Glancing around the empty poolside, I was confused. Firstly, why was I still in the water having this conversation with him? And what had I lied about?

“How did I lie to you?”

Hudson raised his arms and placed them on the poolside on either side of me, caging me in, and my heart almost stalled. “You didn’t tell me who you were.”

His nearness was evoking a range of emotions. I needed to get a grip. “What?”

“That you’re the principal’s daughter.”

Oh, that.

So, he was pissed that he’d found out I was Principal Miller’s child through someone else?

The muscles on his arms flexed as he kept me trapped, and I felt a surge of helplessness. It brought with it a burst of pleasure for some weird reason. I enjoyed being cornered by this boy, but I knew his behaviour wasn’t acceptable by normal standards.

I pressed the flat of my palm against his chest and pushed, making him drop his arms. He only did so because he wanted to.

I was like the lamb to his lion and was no match for his towering strength.

“I don’t define myself by who my father is.

Why would I?” I then pushed past him in the water, and he turned to watch my movements.

We circled each other in the shallow end, our eyes latched together, and I added. “Especially if he’s as disliked as some have made out?”

“It’s called being up front,” Hudson replied, moving around me. It was a clear game of cat and mouse.

The air felt heavy and thick as it pressed down on me. “What if your parents worked at the school? Would you shout it from the rooftops?” It was a foolish thing to say. And then I cursed my stupid mouth.

“Not possible. I don’t have any.”

My eyes widened as his lips pulled into a flat line. I came to stop by the poolside again and rested my arms on the tiled surface, stretching my arms out. The side rubbed against the back of my neck as I balanced there.

“I didn’t realise.” I knew he was fostered, but that didn’t mean his real family were totally out of the picture. Either way, I shouldn’t have gone there.

“I’m sorry.”

“You should be,” Hudson drawled

“Are they both…” I cut myself off, realising how rude I was being .

Hudson nodded slowly as he moved towards me, his hands circling my waist and pulling me against his body. “My mother’s dead and my father may as well be.” My hands slid off the poolside and clutched his shoulders for support.

And then it dawned on me that we had something in common. Not that I would say anything; it was still too soon to be talking about my mother, especially with a boy who was no more than a stranger.

“Your father may as well be?” I questioned.

“As in, he’s dead to me , and so it’s kind of the same thing.”

The tone of the conversation didn’t seem overly antagonistic. We were just talking now, and I enjoyed the warmth of his torso as he held me against his chest. “So, your dad’s alive?”

He slowly nodded, looking into my upturned face, and I could sense the sadness in him, “Unfortunately.”

My brow scrunched, and I knew I should quit with the twenty questions, but for some strange reason, I wanted him talk to me, to show me beneath his bullshit.

You hardly know this boy, so why do you even care?

The chlorine must have been going to my head. Either that or the near-death experience had made me ballsier. “I take it you don’t get on then.”

I could feel his hands caressing the bottom of my back, and it felt delicious. “He’s inside.”

“Inside what?” I said with a head tilt, moving my hands up around his neck. I felt the muscles flex. Our bodies were now flush together, our legs part-tangled.

“Prison,” he replied with a sinister smile.

Shit. “Oh.”

That reply took the wind from my sails, and I made to move away, dropping my hands. I pushed gently against his shoulders, but his hold tightened.

Hudson’s expression switched to ravenous. “Yes, Oh. You scared ?”

“No,” I replied flatly.

“You should be,” he warned with a glimmer in his eyes.

I ignored his taunt as I leaned back to see him better. My curiosity overcame any fear I had. “Why?”

“Why is he in prison, or why should you be scared?”

“I don’t know, both, I suppose,” I shot back, feeling flummoxed .

Hudson released me, and my arms fell to my sides as he stepped back. I watched, totally confused, as he cupped some water in his hands and splashed his face and hair.

My eyes dipped to his strong torso, where rivulets of wetness streamed down his perfect skin.

The wolf tattoo on his shoulder almost growled at me.

Hudson’s chest was lightly covered with hair.

As I looked down into the water, I could see that fine line of hair which led from his belly button down to his crotch.

OMG, Molly, eyes up.

“Hudson?” I repeated, seeing a myriad of emotions crossing his face.

This boy is tortured.

At that point, I wanted to know everything about him. Somewhere under that brooding hostility was a different guy, the true Hudson. This boy had a vulnerability he was hiding, and I wanted to find it—dig it out.

He surged in the water, snagging one of my hands and lifting it to his face.

I watched, feeling so far out of my comfort zone as he held me loosely by the wrist, inspecting my palm and finger tips, “Whilst I love a farcical debate as much as the next guy, I have places to be. Your skin is wrinkled and you look cold,” he husked, sliding his gaze back to mine.

“Now get out of the pool and get yourself dry.”

When he mentioned me getting dry, I realised the towel I had been wearing was floating behind him in the middle of the pool.

“I don’t have a towel.”

“There are spare ones. The coach keeps some in each room by the showers. Go now, you’re turning blue.”

“Fine,” I huffed at his bossiness, tugging my hand back, knowing the conversation was well and truly over now.

Hudson’s mask was back in place. I hated that sinking feeling that washed over me.

I turned away then, no longer wanting to look at his smug, fake face, irrespective of it being downright sexy.

As I exited the water, hoisting myself up the steps, I could feel his eyes drilling into my back.

That strange connection I had felt between us in the library had not gone away; if anything, it had become stronger.

And I now knew one of the reasons he was so damaged.

His mother died, and he hated his father.

I didn’t wonder why, as there were countless reasons.

If his father were in prison, then he clearly did something wrong. But what?

I shoved that thought away as I entered the girls’ changing rooms and found the locker I had used, and fortunately, what appeared to be a fresh, clean towel.

The damaged parts of Hudson called to the broken ones inside of me. And that thing that Hudson and I had in common became more defined.

We were both hurting.

Coach Sheldon stopped me on my way out of the complex to grill me about what had happened. I played dumb.

I had enough shit on my plate without making things worse.

HUDSON

I was as confused as fuck. What the hell?

How did Molly Miller manage to get me to talk about my parents?

That shit never happened. The girl had unearthed some of my secrets without even trying.

I had every intention of taking those motherfuckers to the grave with me.

Not even my brothers knew about all the shit that had happened in my past and we were tight.

What was it about this girl?

Maybe she was sent to save my soul. The girl certainly glowed like an angel. Yeah. Good luck with that one.

I was surprised by her strength today. In the cafeteria and the boys’ locker room, I’d had her pegged as a crier, but nope, not one tear, even after her ordeal. I bet they’d taste so sweet, too.

The asshole in me had wanted to shake her for being so fucking dumb for not flagging up the fact that she couldn’t swim before the lesson.

When she placed her arms around my neck and pressed her sweet titties to my chest, ripples of desire swept through me down into my shorts. My cock had hardened instantly.

After I’d watched her walk away and enter the girls’ locker room, I collected her towel from the pool and dragged my body out of the water .

It was fucking freezing on the poolside. At least that helped to calm my raging stiffy. When I’d held her damp, warm body against mine, I had wondered what she would do if I kissed her. The thought alone had brought my hard-on back within seconds.

Fuck. Her ass had felt so fine riding my dick whilst I was saving her. The friction of her struggles almost made me blow my load in the fucking pool. Visions of taking Molly to Pound Town plagued my thoughts, almost sending me off the deep end, no pun intended.

What the hell was I doing? You’re not allowed to be attracted to her. She’s the principal’s spawn.

Also, how could I have such a juvenile obsession with a girl I just met?

My agenda to make said girl’s life hell also seemed to have backfired. When I saw her go under the water, something inside me shifted. She was the girl in the library again, my angel, and she needed saving. The thought of her being in danger almost made my heart stop.

After I showered, I spent the rest of the day with my head in my books. I needed to maintain my GPA. I was doing well in most subjects, but it didn’t come naturally to me. I had to work hard. Studying also took my mind off that dark place inside me.

When I got the results of my last math test back, it blew. I was screwed. I had been taking calculus classes to boost my GPA, but they clearly weren’t working.

When I got home later that night, I realized I needed a tutor.

What did Molly say that day in the library?

Math was her strongest subject? I wondered how different it could be, considering we came from two different countries and two different grading systems. But surely, math was a universal thing?

Little Molly Miller owed me one, and I would extract payment.

Maybe she could tutor me in private. Her dick of a father would hate that as it would force us closer together.

It would also allow me to mess with her.

Maybe I could make her fall in love with me and then walk away? That would be the ultimate way to fuck the girl over and get to her dear old daddy.

And that was something he couldn’t expel me for.

I lay in bed that night, feeling like an evil genius. And it’s not like I would fall into a trap of my making .

The girl didn’t belong anywhere near me. I was everything dark and dangerous, and she was like a bright rainbow painted across the sky. Molly Miller was the epitome of everything beautiful,

And whilst I appreciated beauty as much as the next man, I would never fall in love with it. How could I when I didn’t believe in the concept?

Those dark images from my past started trying to fight their way into my head. Everyone knew that I didn’t have a heart.

My father had killed it the day he murdered my mother.

I wondered fleetingly about Molly’s past. I was aware that her mother abandoned her, but from the sounds of things, she’d had a decent childhood up to that point.

There was nothing beautiful about my past, only suffering and death.