Chapter 4
Chapter Four
Kreed
I never should have let him touch me that night.
I immediately should have shouted at him to get the fuck out of my room then gotten up and locked the door to prevent him from coming back inside.
But I hadn’t. After being caught out, my true desires revealed, I’d been frozen with fear, and then, when he’d touched me, I’d fucking fallen right into his trap.
He’d just felt too fucking good. All the things he said to me that night… The way he touched me… I hadn’t been spoken to or touched like that in so fucking long. Not since I met Bonnie and decided I’d save Hudson.
While I’d never regret giving Hudson a stable home, food in his stomach every day, a damn good college degree, and structure, I was beginning to regret not keeping a closer eye on his mental health.
Because clearly, he needed to see a fucking doctor if he thought his grand plan to make me his would work.
It wouldn’t.
One—I was married to his mother. Bonnie would rip out his throat before she ever lost access to my money.
Two—he was my stepson. It was forbidden and wrong, and I didn’t do either of those things.
And three—he was too fucking young. Nineteen goddamn years younger than me.
And four—I had no plan to come out as pansexual.
None. I was forty fucking years old. Too late for me to be doing the whole coming-out-the-closet shebang.
Leaning forward, I braced my elbows on my knees and scrubbed at my face.
Part of me wanted to tell Hudson he couldn’t stay here.
That he had to go back to campus for Thanksgiving.
But I knew that’d just make him push harder.
He hated being told he couldn’t have something, and that was saying something when the man rarely asked for anything to begin with.
He’d always seemed so content with what I gave him.
I mean, fuck—he barely even used the goddamn credit card I gave him. I think the most I’d ever seen him spend was about ninety-nine dollars. And it was just at gas stations, which probably had been him just filling up his car.
He’d fooled me damn good, because the whole time, he’d been biding his time for this.
“You look stressed,” Corvus said.
I damn near jumped out of my skin at the sound of his voice. Quickly, I turned my head to look at him. He’d taken up one of the other patio chairs and was turned around to lift the thing in the back to make it lay down. He was wearing nothing but swim shorts and flip flops.
That was the nice thing about South Florida, I guessed. It was usually pretty warm outside, which meant it was still possible to sunbathe in late November.
“I’m fine,” I muttered, dropping my hands and looking up at the sky. “I apologize for what you walked in on earlier today.”
Corvus snorted and waved me off. “My family is dysfunctional as fuck, man. That was nothing. Besides, her throwing something and Hudson being in the crossfire is pretty normal, too.”
I winced. The past several years, I’d tried so damn hard to protect Hudson from his mother.
I’d rushed to put an engagement ring on her finger and plan an extravagant wedding, since she would never settle for anything less.
Within a mere six months of meeting Bonnie, we were married and she and Hudson had moved in with me.
That wretched woman had never hidden how cruel of a mother she truly was.
And one look at Hudson back then had told me he was malnourished and not taken care of.
His clothes had been too small, despite his thin frame, his hair had been in desperate need of a cut, and when I met him, he couldn’t tell me the last time he’d seen a doctor or a dentist, despite his mother having Medicaid for him.
I’d never expected repayment from Hudson. I’d never ask him for it, either. But if this whole, you’re mine thing was his way of doing so… I’d pass. Hard fucking pass.
I couldn’t do this. No matter how attracted I was to him now that he was grown-up, filled out, and had come into himself. Knew who he was now.
Hudson was toxic and dangerous for my fucking mental health and wellbeing. If his mother found out about us…
She’d rip off my dick and choke me to death on it. And fuck knew what she’d do to Hudson. I couldn’t let her touch him. Never fucking again.
“You’re not fine,” Corvus disagreed as he kicked off his flip flops and laid back on the lounger. He propped his arms behind his head and closed his eyes, letting the sun beat down on him. “It’s Hudson, isn’t it?”
My heart stopped in my chest, and it was audible when I swallowed, my throat clicking.
“What do you mean?” I rasped.
He sighed. “I’m his best friend, Kreed.” It had taken him damn near three years to stop calling me Mr. Emerson. Now, it was a relief every time I heard him call me by my first name. “I know everything Hudson gets up to and everything he has planned.”
I clenched my jaw. So, Corvus knew about me, too? About me not being straight? About what happened between me and Hudson?
“I’m not going to tell anyone, if that’s what you’re worried about,” Corvus said.
“I’m not that kind of guy, Kreed. I was outed in middle school for being bi, and that shit still haunts me.
I won’t do it to someone else.” He turned his head and opened his eyes, looking at me.
“But you and I both know that when Hudson wants something, he gives it one hundred and ten fucking percent until he’s obtained his goal.
He’s hyperfixated on you, Kreed. It’s an obsession.
I suggest you buckle up for the ride because there’s no getting rid of him. ”
I shook my head. “We won’t work, Corvus. We’re nineteen years apart in age. I’m his stepfather. And then there’s the whole thing with his mother—”
Corvus snorted and turned his face toward the sky again, shutting his eyes once more. “You think Hudson can’t handle his mother? His mind is made up, Kreed. You can fight it all you want, but Hudson has had his mind made up for years. This didn’t just start four months ago.”
“Years?” I croaked, hating how strangled my voice sounded.
“Mm-hmm,” Corvus hummed. “Years, Kreed. There’s no getting rid of Hudson now. He’s bided his time.” He chuckled. “I love my best friend. He’s my fucking brother in every meaning but blood. But the man is a snake. You got caught right in his trap.”