Hooked: A Stepbrother Romance (10 page)

The sweetness of her lips.

The curve of her ass.

She’s driving me crazy.

Like she always has.

She was in my veins, taking over all the space that kept me from going insane. From acting like a wild thing, an ape that only knew how to do things beginning with the letter
f
. Her hand was on my chest, and that alone set me back at a good million years of evolution.

“Don’t,” I said, glancing down at her delicate fingers. The same fingers I’d always imagined touching me, just like this, leading their way down and down until they made contact with my waiting cock….

“Or what?” she asked, staring straight at me. Deep in her eyes, I could see the same. The animal within her. Except hers was different, waiting to be claimed and conquered by a hunter. She was practically daring me to drag her back to my cave, to—”

Suddenly, someone behind her pushed to get through the bar, shoving her unceremoniously against me. And just like that, the moment was lost.

“Learn some manners, bloke,” I growled angrily. The guy got one look at me before glancing down at his shoes, mumbling a drunken apology and scuttling off into the crowd. Emilia’s head was against my neck, the sweet smell of her hair wafting up and taking control of my senses. I rarely lost my cool anymore, but this felt different. She was too good, and I wanted nothing more than to protect her. To keep her safe, happy, sheltered, and fed.

The feeding part had been easy, actually. My daily trips to Johnnie's were a habit now, bringing a paper bag full of warm muffins to the rec center every day. Watching her eat breakfast, a meal she’d always skipped, always filled me with a strange sense of pride.

Of course, the rest was another story. Safety, happiness, I was out of my depth there. I’d never provided for any woman, save for the redhead I was visiting daily. It’d taken me many years to become a good son for her, but I was finally getting there.

Grabbing Emilia’s arm, I pulled her with me across the crowded bar. The crowd was a little thinner in the back, and she followed me there with abandon. Her hand curled against my wrist, making my head and heart pound the beat of a thousand drums.

An old, damaged booth sat in the corner, dingy and forgotten. Putting down our beers, I slid into the one good bench it had. I filled the space, and Emilia eyed the other side of the table with confusion. Drunks had ripped up the upholstery long ago, leaving it as little more than a frame.

I smiled, gesturing downwards with my chin.

She could sit on my lap.

Her face lit up with embarrassment and awareness, but she didn’t hesitate before starting to squeeze in. She was conservative, just placing herself on the edge of my thighs, but it was enough. The feeling of her body pressing against mine was a rush, her sweet smell intoxicating. The blood rushed to my belly; if she put just a little more weight on me, she’d know
exactly
how I felt about her.

How I’d always felt.

“You’ve been driving me insane,” I whispered, and I felt her back stiffen. I couldn’t restrain myself, hand flying towards her neck, down her shoulder and arm until it came to rest around her feminine hip. I bent my head forward, resting it against the nape of her neck and inhaling her scent deeply.

We were both breathing slowly, my cheek rubbing against her skin and her hand traipsing its way up my other thigh. She didn’t need to sit there to know my reaction after all, the outline of my hard cock made it clear as day.

“Emilia—” I began, only to be interrupted by the vibration of her phone. It was pressing into both of us, buzzing away. We both froze, waiting for the ringing to end so we could finally talk.

This had been a long time coming. It could wait another minute.

I ran my mouth along her cheek, feeling the soft dampness of her perspiration against my lips. Finally, the buzzing stopped.

“Emilia, I— ” I tried again, only for another round of buzzing to begin.

“I guess someone can’t take a hint,” she whispered, pulling out the phone from her pocket while looking at me with glazed-over eyes. I could feel myself burning up, the warmth building and building with no end in sight.

And then suddenly all the weight and pressure were gone as she launched herself to her feet, pacing next to the table.

“Where is he?” she asked, staring at me with a sudden alertness. “I’ll be there right away. Wait for me,” she snapped, hanging up the phone and chugging her beer faster than I ever imagined she was capable of.

“What’s going on?” I asked, the heat suddenly replaced with a cold fear. Something was clearly very wrong here.

“Theo’s been shot.”

Two years.

Jake died two years ago.

He trusted me, and…

Why couldn’t it have just been me?

Things would’ve been better if it had been me.

I tilted my head towards the ceiling and sighed, trying to avoid making eye contact with anyone. We’d been here for hours, kept company by the low-priority cases and all the other saps who were unable to lie about being family. Underfunded and understaffed, the emergency room was a depressing place.

Sitting across from me was a drunken man, who’d been cradling his hand and muttering to himself for quite some time. In the corner stood a beet-red man who was clearly exhausted but refused to sit down, while a lonely old woman sat to my left. She hadn’t made a single sound, staring at the clock as she rocked back and forth. Further away, a young couple were wringing their hands over and over as they leaned into one another.

The long, monotonous wait was broken occasionally by the arrival of high priority cases being rushed through, gunshot victims and overdoses taking precedence over less deadly concerns.

I wondered how long Theo had been in this barren room, hurt and scared, hoping a doctor would be available soon. My stomach wrenched at the thought and I looked back down, deciding that staring at the drunk wasn’t so bad after all.

As bad as I felt, Simon seemed even worse for wear. He was loitering with Adam next to a vending machine, white as a ghost. He didn’t look anything like the vibrant, flirty, slightly intoxicated man I’d been with a few hours ago. His forehead was creased with concern, and he had a harrowed look in his eye. He hardly knew Theo, but yet Simon was as haggard as if he was losing a family member.

Getting up and approaching the machines myself, I put an arm around Simon’s shoulder. “Did I ever tell you about the first time I met Theo?” I whispered.

Simon shrugged silently.

“I’d just started working at the center, and I showed up a couple hours early to settle myself in. I didn’t see him at first; he was just waiting in the dark. Scared me half to death when I turned on the lights and saw him staring at me. He didn’t even apologize, just acted like it was the most natural thing to break in so he could see ‘the new girl’ a little sooner,” I explained, chuckling.

“What do you mean by that?” Simon asked, his voice a little defensive.

“That I hope he’s okay. That he doesn’t deserve this shit. He’s always tried so hard to be good, even with everything he’s been through. If he—”

One of the doors swung open and a nurse came in, and the entire room turned to stare at her. I could feel Simon’s muscles tensing beneath my touch, and my own heart started beating faster with adrenaline.

It was for nothing, though. The nurse didn’t even look our way, walking straight to another door and leaving again without a word.

Adam and I exchanged disgruntled looks, Simon sighed.

The wait was unbearable.

“Coffee?” Adam asked gently, pulling his wallet from his pocket.

“Please.” Not that I expected cafeteria coffee to be as good as Adam’s, but at least drinking it would give me a little caffeine and something to do with my hands.
 

As Adam disappeared through the automatic doors, I could feel tears welling up in my eyes. I had no idea if Theo was even still alive, or if I’d ever see him smiling again. It never took much to make him smile; when you have so little, even a tiny thing is worth the whole world.

It wasn’t fair.

Simon turned, my hand falling like lead to my hip as it slipped from his shoulder. I could feel my frustration starting to spill over, the urge to lash out at him growing. Before I could open my mouth, though, I felt his arms wrapping around me and pulling me close. Feeling his body against mine, I finally broke down sobbing.

I’d never been a delicate flower, but something about his embrace made me feel safe enough to let go. To release the tears I’d been fighting since the call had interrupted our profoundly confusing, profoundly disturbing, profoundly arousing flirtation.

He still smelled a little bit like the alcohol that had fueled our indiscretion, though his touch right now was completely different. His skin was cold and clammy, and when he set his chin on top of my head, I felt an almost imperceptible tremor running through him that told me more about his past in a few seconds than I’d learned in months of living with him.

Simon had a history, and I knew nothing about it. Hell, I hadn’t even known I’d been living in his hometown until a few hours ago.

It was a strange thought, but it helped distract me. Returning his embrace, I slowly began to pull myself together.