Page 54 of The Sweetest Cruelty: Hudson
“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 ifyourparents 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 deadto 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. Youscared?”
“No,” I replied flatly.
