"I miss you," I admitted in a soft whisper. "It seems silly, considering we never really... I dunno. I just thought we were starting something and then..."
Steele grimaced. "And then we went and fucked it all up. Your dad—"
"Is a prick," I cut him off, my eyes hardening, "but he wasn't acting out of his own concern for my mental health, was he?"
Steele's eyes turned sad. Regretful. "Hellcat..." He sounded pained, and I shook my head.
"It doesn't matter. I know you guys—or Archer—have been pulling his strings. But what I want to know is how?" I kept my tone calm and non-confrontational because deep down I already knew I'd get nothing out of Steele. This was Archer's circus, and we were all his monkeys. "How did you make him threaten me like that? Why?"
Steele's brow furrowed, his mouth twisting down, and I sighed.
"Forget it," I muttered, shifting my gaze away and dropping my arms from around his neck. He caught my wrists, though, and placed my hands back on his shoulders.
"Don't do that, Hellcat," he told me in a soft, tortured voice. "I want to tell you everything so badly. You have no idea. But..." He trailed off with a frustrated sound.
I nodded. "But Archer, right?"
Steele gave a small nod, his frown deep. "It's his story and his secrets, babe. I can't betray his trust before he's ready."
A small stab of disappointment shot through me, even though logically I understood where he was coming from. "Right. But it's okay to stomp all over mine." It came out more bitter than I'd intended, and Steele flinched like I'd hit him.
I tried to pull away from him again, but he tightened his grip, crowding me against the counter with the coffee machine at my back.
"Madison Kate," he said with a thread of iron in his voice. "It's never okay to betray your trust. Ever. It's something I think the three of us will spend a long time making up to you... but I owe Archer my life. When he asks me to keep his confidence, I can't—"
"It's fine," I interrupted. I was being combative simply for the sake of it. I knew all of this. It was abundantly clear to anyone who paid attention; Archer, Kody, and Steele had a bond forged in fire. It ran deeper than blood, deeper than family. To expect any of them to prioritize me or my fragile feelings when they barely knew me from a bar of soap... it was preposterous and arrogant. "I don't want to argue, Steele. I just..." I sighed and rested my forehead on his chest. "I just want this to all be over, okay? I want my stalker to disappear. I want whoever tried to kill me to die in a plane crash. I want to walk away from Shadow Grove, and everyone in it, and never look back." I was whispering the words, but I knew he heard me from the way his arms tightened around me. He pulled me in close until I was surrounded by his scent, his warmth.
"I don't want that," he murmured back, "because then I might never see you again."
Pulling back slightly, I tipped my head back to meet his gaze again. "Steele—"
Whatever I was going to say... who fucking cared? His lips met mine, and suddenly my mind was blank to whatever bullshit I'd been about to spin.
Flutters of desire lit me up from the inside, and I leaned into his kiss, meeting him eagerly and tangling with that delicious tongue stud in the way I'd been craving for weeks.
A small, insecure part of me had been hurt by the space he'd given me after that night we'd spent together... even though it'd been me pushing him away. Part of me had bought into Archer's crap that Steele was no longer interested, even after our “talk.”
His kiss now, though, erased those last, lingering worries.
A deep shiver ran through me, and Steele broke his lips from mine with a small chuckle.
"Any chance we can take these coffees back up to my room?" he asked, his voice low and husky. My brows shot up, and his eyes widened. "Oh, no. I didn't mean..." He shook his head with a laugh. "I mean, sure, that too. But I meant where it's warmer, seeing as you have my hoodie. Also, I was working on something..." His gaze shifted away, and he twisted his lips in a nervous movement. "I thought maybe I could play it for you?"