Page 65 of Cruel Steps

Damn. I hadn’t noticed the shower running. How out of it was I? Holden picked up my loofah and squirted his body wash on it.

“I have my own,” I whispered.

“I know. I want you to smell like me. Just give me this one thing, Emerson.”

My insides heated, and I tried to tamp down the warmth that crept in at those words. With tender movements, Holden washed me. He took extra care with my wrists, kissing each mark. Delicately, he washed my hair and massaged my scalp, releasing the terror that had gripped me earlier.

With each brush of his fingers, he washed away the memory of Ricky and erased his touch from my mind, replacing it with his. It meant more to me than he’d ever know.

Holden turned off the water and smirked. “I’d towel you off, but apparently, I only need a washcloth.” He gestured down at his impressive dick hanging between his legs, lifting an eyebrow.

“Hmm, maybe a hand towel,” I said.

He laughed, a real one that filled my heart and gave me the air I needed. Smiling, I stepped into my room and grabbed two towels. He stayed in the door, his eyes tracking over my space. I handed one to him and moved to use mine, but he took it too and knelt to dry my legs.

The act wasn’t lost on me—the great Holden Adler on his knees, drying my legs. If only Hope could see him, that would steal her thunder.

The reminder of his sister, my arch-nemesis, sobered me, and I stopped his hands, taking it back. “Thank you.”

“Already going back to hating me?” he said.

“Still believe I bullied Hope?” I volleyed back. Holden’s jaw tensed, and his eyes were conflicted, but he said nothing. “That’s what I thought. Thank you for before, but I’m good.”

Holden stood, towering over me, and I swallowed. The ink on his ribs flashed before I could peek at it, adding to the allure he held. He was too damn gorgeous. Every muscle was sculpted and hard, not an inch of fat on his body. I wished I had the skill to replicate it, but I didn’t even think the world’s greatest artist could get Holden’s body right. Holden’s jaw twitched, and he flexed his fingers, letting out a big exhale.

“Was Hope the one who sent out the video?”

His question shocked me. I hadn’t expected him to come out and say it, much less know about the video. I opened my mouth but nothing came out, so I closed it and turned my back to him to dry my hair and willed my body to stop shaking. Holden’s hands landed on my shoulder, stilling my movements.

“I want to believe you, Wildcat. I do. But I need something if I’m going to accuse my sister of lying.”

Against my better judgment, I answered. “Yes.” My voice was small, but I’d said it, and that was what counted.

“Fuck.” The word came out in a hiss, and I braced myself, preparing for his wrath. Instead, he wrapped me in his arms and finished drying me off. “What else do you need before you sleep?” he asked.

“I need to brush my hair, or it will be a mess.”

He moved and plucked a brush off my dresser. “This one?” he asked.

I nodded, and he pulled me to the bed and sat me on the edge. Then Holden Adler brushed my hair, shocking the hell out of me. I didn’t know how to take sweet Holden. Had it really been that simple? Tell him the truth, and he’d believe me?

When he finished, he dried himself off, running the towel through his hair, and then hung both on the back of my door. He held out his hand to me, and I took it.

“Let’s sleep. We’ll figure it out in the morning.”

With that, I let him pull back my covers and climb in behind me. His warm body cocooned me, and I fell asleep wrapped in his arms, praying that this time, when we woke up, it wouldn’t end in tears.

CHAPTER

TWENTY-THREE

EMERSON

Waking up with my hands fisted in the sheets and Holden’s head between my legs was the best thing ever. The things this man could do with his tongue should be criminal. Gasping, I tightened my fingers in the bedding, my head rolling from side to side from the sensations.

“Holden,” I whined. My thighs trembled, and every ounce of concentration centered on the bundle of nerves between my legs. His tongue licked up my center, sucking my clit into his mouth. His long fingers curled in, hitting a spot I didn’t know existed. Stars burst behind my eyes, and everything went white as my body detonated into a million pieces.

Opening my eyes, I found a smug Holden lying on my stomach, his face wet with my release. “You shouldn’t be allowed to be that good at that,” I whispered, my voice raw from shouting.

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