Page 111 of Cruel Steps

He’s not interested anymore. Get over it.

Colter gave Holden a one-arm bro slap, opened the door, and lifted me into the truck. “Now you’re the right height,” he teased and stepped between my legs and kissed me deeply.

It was long and full of heat. His tongue swirled with mine, and his hands squeezed me tight. Heat built between my legs, my clit throbbing with each pass of his tongue. Moaning, I pulled him closer to me, and he sucked on my neck, leaving a new mark. A door slammed, jolting me out of the kiss, and I remembered we were in Holden’s truck. I blushed and Colter winked at his friend, and I realized he’d done that to rile him up.

Colter finally said bye and let us go. It was quiet in the cab, and I leaned against the window, the glass cooling me down. While we’d mended parts of our relationship, we hadn’t talked about anything personal. And if we were ever going to bridge the gap between what we were and more, we needed to. I just didn’t know if I could be the one to do it.

After an hour of only soft music filling the cab, I’d warred with myself enough and finally convinced myself to take a chance. Turning in the seat, I studied his profile. His eyes flicked over to me and simmering heat hit me in the gut from that one look.

“I know you have questions about my dad and your mom. I don’t know everything, but…” I took a breath and let it out slowly, steadying myself. “I’ll answer two questions if I can.”

Holden’s body tensed, and I wondered if I’d said the wrong thing. Had I misinterpreted things?

“How generous of you, Wildcat.”

“Fine. Be an ass.” I crossed my arms and turned toward the window. “And you wonder why telling you things is so hard,” I mumbled, like a petulant child. This was what I got for trying.

I watched his jaw tick in the reflection of the windshield and his hands tense on the wheel before he let out a breath. I kept my eyes turned away, though. If he wanted to know, he needed to make the effort this time.

“Fuck. I’m sorry. I knew something was going on. My mom has the worst taste in guys.”

“Hey! That’s my dad you’re talking about.”

He winced. “Sorry. For what it’s worth, your dad has been the best. I can tell he actually loves my mom.”

“He does. And your mom has a big heart. I didn’t want to like her, but she makes it hard not to.”

“That’s usually her problem. She draws all the creeps in, and they use her. Please tell me your dad is different.”

My heart plummeted. He had used Rose in a way, but I didn’t think it was the same as others. “Is that your question?” I asked, needing to know.

Holden’s jaw flexed, and he nodded. “Is your dad using my mom for something?”

“Yes, and no.” Holden opened his mouth, but I held up my hand. “When I returned home in May, my dad dropped a bomb on me. He was broke. He’d invested in some bad deals, and he lost a lot. Well, everything, actually, including my college fund. The house and cars were protected, but it meant I couldn’t return to Brighton.”

“Shit, Wildcat. That sucks.”

I nodded and looked at my hands. Brighton seemed so far away now. Initially, I couldn’t wait to leave Hayward, but now it felt like I was meant to be there.

“Did my mom know he was broke when they got married?”

“Yes. My father isn’t a bad man. He was upfront with your mom. It was your mom’s idea to get married, actually. All summer, I’d been so furious at my dad, expecting him to fix the money stuff, that I hadn’t done anything but wallow and avoid Hope. I should’ve been applying to other schools and looking for scholarships. Your mom suggested to him that if they were married, I could attend Hayward. So, I’m the reason they got married so quickly.”

Holden exhaled, but didn’t say anything for a while. “That’s why we had to live at the house?”

I nodded. “Yeah. My tuition took the rest of her budget. I’m sorry you had to get a job to afford to live with Colter. That’s why I got one, too, so I could have my own money.”

His eyes flicked over. “I don’t blame you, Wildcat. I don’t even blame my mom or your dad. Out of all the things men have used my mom for, it’s never been something for their kids. I’m not surprised my mom offered. If your dad was upfront with her, that’s more than any other man has ever done. I can respect that.”

“Thanks.”

“So, you’re not really a rich girl anymore?”

“Nope.” I laughed. “Though, I wasn’t ever really a ‘rich girl’ per se, but I can’t deny I’ve had certain privileges. I always believed I was above it until I no longer had it. Turns out, I might have been a little spoiled, just not in the ways most people picture. I didn’t care about the things other girls did.”

“That’s one of the things Hope hated about you: that you had all these resources and didn’t use them.”

“It never felt right.” I shrugged. “I wanted people to like me for who I was, not how much money my dad had. I knew one day I wouldn’t have his money to protect me, so I didn’t want people to only be my friends for it.”

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