Page 27 of Cruel Steps

“Yeah, well, it happens.” I lifted one shoulder. “I’m used to it.”

“You shouldn’t have to be used to it, Merbear. It’s not right.”

“Merbear?” I asked.

“You’re my cuddly koala, but I realized how much of a mouthful that was, and not in a good way.” I giggled. “So Merbear.” He shrugged, and I noticed how nervous he suddenly seemed.

“I like it.” I cleared my throat, emotion clogging it. “And I appreciate you saying it’s not right, but that’s how things in my world work.”

“Your world?” The space between his brows creased, and the butterfly wings beat quicker at his concern. How long had it been since someone else cared about me?

“Some other time.” I didn’t want to ruin this sweet moment with Hope drama.

His frown deepened, and I could see the protest in his eyes, but he consented. “Okay.” He swallowed, his concern morphing into shyness. How he could be shy blew my mind, but I liked it. “I kissed you earlier.” This time, he was the one sporting the blush.

“You did.” I grinned. “It was nice.”

He smirked, his confidence returning. “I can do better than nice.”

Slower than a turtle, he lowered his head, almost like he wanted to give me ample time to stop him. Impatient, I gripped his shirt and brought his mouth the last two centimeters to mine.

The second our lips touched, the fire spread and consumed me. His hands pulled me flush against him, kneading my ass as he deepened the kiss. Long gone was the soft hesitancy, replaced by heat and lust. His lips pressed into mine, measured and commanding, as he stole my breath.

The earlier kiss had been perfect, and it was only a peck, but this kiss was mind altering. My whole body tingled as he took control, my mouth yielding to his as he slanted his tongue inside. The fire spread, and I was this close to combusting. Colter groaned, his hands tightening on me before slowing the kiss and pulling us apart, and saving me from melting into a puddle.

He leaned his forehead against mine, our breaths panting together between us. I stared into his eyes, searching one last time for any sign of deceit. I really wanted to fall for this guy, to believe he was exactly as he presented. But my battered heart knew better, so I separated our bodies despite everything in me, wanting to accept everything he gave. He didn’t let me go far, but not touching every inch of him did wonders for my self-control.

“I could easily become addicted to you, Merbear,” he whispered, brushing a fly-away hair behind my ear. His eyes searched mine, and it felt like he wanted to say something, but held back. Kissing my forehead, he finally let me go. “Text me later?”

“Um, yeah.” My voice cracked, and I swallowed to clear it. “Thanks for walking me to my car. It was the pick me up I needed.”

“Anytime.” He winked, then shoved his hands in his pockets and walked away. I stood stunned on the sidewalk, watching him go and hoping I hadn’t gotten myself in too deep already. Just before he disappeared around the building, he turned and looked back, giving me a sweet smile and wave.

My phone buzzed in my bag, and I sighed, knowing I needed to return home. Turning, I froze when I spotted a red rose lying in the crack of my windshield wipers. And this time, there was a note.

With shaky hands, I picked it up, glancing around despite knowing Hope wouldn’t be here.

I’m so glad you’re back, Princess.

Shuddering, I crinkled the paper in my fist and shoved it into my pocket. Fucking, Hope. It was so like her to remind me how long she’d been making my life hell.

Thanks for the reminder, bitch.

Lifting the rose off my car, I dropped it to the ground and stomped on it. Smashing my shoe into the petals, I released all the pent-up aggression onto the rose until the sidewalk was stained red with its destruction. Slightly out of breath, I picked up the mascot uniform and shoved it into the trunk. I couldn’t deal with it right now, so it was better to keep it out of sight until I had to wear it. Though, I should probably get it dry-cleaned before the first game. No telling the last time they had it cleaned.

My phone came alive when I started my car, and I saw notifications from Taylor, Rose, and my dad. Taylor asked how the tryout went, so I shot her a quick reply, telling her I’d call her later. My dad and Rose both wanted to remind me of family dinner, and Rose asked that I wear a nice dress.

The last thing I wanted to do now was go to this dinner, but I didn’t want to disappoint Rose or my dad. Rose and I had gone out to lunch once a week since the day she’d brought me to campus. Secretly, I loved having a mother figure to do things with, and it didn’t appear that Hope spent any time with her mom because Rose seemed just as eager to spend time with me. It made me want to do things like this dinner to make it easier for her—to be the easy kid.

On the drive home, I replayed all the ways Hope had screwed with me today, from canceling my housing to leaving me that note and rose. I wasn’t positive she wasn’t behind the mascot incident, but for my sanity, I wanted to believe I had the upper hand in that one.

The driveway was filled with cars when I pulled in, so I hurried up to my room, using the back staircase to avoid seeing anyone. Hope might have thought she stuck me with the crappiest room, but she’d done me a favor by putting me on the end, with two entries and exits.

Loud music poured from Holden’s room, and I smirked, wondering if he’d showered yet. Stepping into the bathroom, I didn’t notice anything out of place, so I locked his side and jumped into the shower to rinse the sweat off my body.

The music was off when I climbed out, and I leaned my ear against the door, attempting to listen for any sound of movement. A slap against the wood had me jumping, and I covered my mouth to muffle my scream.

“Back for round two, Wildcat? Should I use your red or black panties?”

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