Stepbrother Broken (The Hawthorne Brothers Book 2) (15 page)

Luke
hands me a mug of coffee as I sit beside him on the flat rock, and I happily
accept. Our bare shoulders touch as we sit side-by-side, nursing our black
coffee as we look out across the expansive forested landscape.

“
So,
”
I
say, giving him a playful nudge with my shoulder,
“
Is this where you used to bring all the local girls
when you wanted to score?
”

He
lets out a bark of laughter, laying a hand on my knee as he replies,
“
It would have been, if any other girl could keep up
with me. You
’
re not as dreadful a runner as you
led me to believe.
”

“
You say the sweetest things,
”
I drawl sarcastically.

“
You love it,
”
he teases, edging his hand ever-so-slightly up my
thigh. My back arches as a shot of desire races up my spine.
“
But for real, Sophie,
”
he
goes on,
“
You are the first and only girl I
’
ve ever brought up here.
”

“
Really?
”
I ask, softly, leaning against him as he runs his hand
along my thigh.

“
Really,
”
he replies, turning his face toward mine.
“
I didn
’
t have a lot of time for girls,
back when I was a kid
—
collegiate escapades
notwithstanding.
”

“
All those hometown girls must have
been heartbroken,
”
I laugh.
“
But what do you mean, you didn
’
t have time?
”

Luke
pauses for a long moment, his hand stilling on my leg as he sips his coffee. I
can tell we
’
re leaving his conversational
comfort zone. I
’
ve never heard him mention his past
before. I wonder how often he talks about that time in his life to anyone, even
his family?

“
Let
’
s
just say that there was a lot of slack to pick up around here, back then,
”
he finally allows.

“
I see
…
And
who was the one slacking off?
”
I ask, seizing the
opportunity to learn more about Luke
’
s shadowy past.

He
gives a gruff laugh, rubbing his sharp, stubble-studded jaw.

“
The real question is, who
wasn
’
t
?
”
he replies.
“
I guess my mom was the original slacker. She bailed on
us before my brothers and I were in the double digits.
”

So
that
’
s
what happened to Mrs. Hawthorne. I
’
d been too nervous to ask, up until now.

“
She just left?
”
I press gently, laying my hand over Luke
’
s.

“
Yep,
”
he
sighs,
“
Decided she didn
’
t want to
‘
rough it
’
out here in the woods with Dad anymore. Wanted the
cosmopolitan life or whatever-the-fuck. We weren
’
t
living as well back then as we are now. Dad had only just started his
construction firm, and things were tight. She just couldn
’
t take it. Didn
’
t have any faith that he could make
it work. The funny thing is, business started picking up just after she bolted.
Dad
’
s company has been thriving ever
since. This house here? That
’
s what we was able to make for our
family. That
’
s what she missed out on.
”

“
Where is she now?
”
I ask him,
“
Your mom.
”

“
East coast,
”
he says shortly,
“
Didn
’
t
waste any time starting a new family out there. Has a couple kids with her new
husband and everything. We don
’
t really hear from her much.
”

“
Damn,
”
I
breathe,
“
That must have been so hard for you
and your brothers.
”

“
Not as hard as what you and your
sisters have been through,
”
he replies, his hard gaze
softening,
“
I had no idea about your dad,
before the other night
…”

“
How would you have known?
”
I shrug, taking a long sip of hot coffee,
“
It
’
s not like we took each other
’
s family histories before deciding to hook up.
”

“
Yeah,
”
he
says with a small smile,
“
But I
’
m
…
I
’
m sorry you had to go through that,
Sophie. That you
’
re
going
through that. I
know that kind of pain doesn
’
t ever fully go away.
”

A
hard knot starts to build in my throat. I
’
ve never talked about my Dad to
anyone, besides my drama school classmates. But even then, it was only in terms
of how his death was holding me back as a performer. The raw intensity of Luke
’
s understanding is so new, so total, that it
’
s almost overwhelming.

“
You know. It
’
s hard,
”
I say vaguely,
“
But so are lots of things. Like growing up in a house
full of dudes, I
’
d imagine.
”

“
It could be
…
challenging,
”
Luke laughs roughly,
“
Dad
’
s not exactly what you
’
d call the
‘
nurturing type
’
. Most of his ideas about discipline involve a smack
in the face, or worse. I was only seven when he became my only parent. Cash
tried to shield me and Finn from the worst of it, but he and my dad butted
heads so much that he was gone the second he turned eighteen. Didn
’
t want anything more to do with us, so he went off and
joined the army. Dad had always assumed that Cash would take over the business
and everything, being the oldest. But, it became pretty clear, pretty fast,
that it wasn
’
t gonna happen like that.
”

“
So it all fell to you
…”
I say softly.

“
It all fell to me,
”
he echoes, looking up at the brightening sky,
“
By the time I started high school, I was already
carrying the weight my family
’
s future on my shoulders. I was
busting my ass to make straight A
’
s, training like crazy to get
myself a track scholarship, and working part time at my dad
’
s firm to learn the ropes. He
’
d already decided that I was going to take over the
business instead of Cash. I was only fifteen years old, but my whole life was
already set in stone. Has been ever since.
”

“
You never wanted any of it?
”
I go on,
“
Being the favorite son, the star
athlete
—”

“
Well, being an athlete is the only
thing that
’
s kept me sane this whole time,
”
he says wryly,
“
As long as I could take out my
stress and anger on the field, or the track, I was good to go. If I had any
choice in the matter, I
’
d probably be looking to get into
personal training or physical therapy or something.
”

“
But
…
You
know you
do
have a choice, right Luke?
”
I
ask. He turns to look at me, his square jaw clenched.
“
I
’
m sorry
…
I
’
ve said something wrong.
”

“
No, it
’
s fine. You
’
re fine,
”
he says, pulling me against his side,
“
It
’
s just not as simple as all that,
Sophie. I have certain responsibilities to my family, no matter what they
’
ve done in the past. He may have his flaws, but our
Dad raised us all on his own. That
’
s not nothing, you know? I think
that
’
s why I came down so hard on you
about wanting to be a performer.
”

“
When you kept me after class, you
mean?
”
I ask. It
’
s crazy to think that that happened only two weeks
ago. It feels as though it
’
s been years.

“
Yeah,
”
Luke
says, running his hand along the dip of my waist,
“
I mean, there you were
—
showing
up to my lecture every week, clearly the smartest person in the room, but hell
bent on following your dreams instead doing something conventional with your
life. You were so sure. So solid in what you believed in. Maybe I was just
jealous of how free you seemed. It was shitty of me, trying to tell you how to
live your life.
”

“
I was kind of shitty,
”
I mutter, a grin breaking across my face,
“
But I have a feeling you
’
ll
find a way to make it up to me.
”

Luke
lets out a burst of laughter, and the heavy mood is dispelled at once. But as
his hand comes to rest on my bare side, something else rushes in to fill the
air around us. Something urgent and electric, something I
’
ve been holding at bay the whole time I
’
ve been here at the lake house.

“
I definitely have a few ideas,
”
Luke murmurs.

He
takes the coffee mug out of my hand and sets it beside his on the ground. His
hands are still warm from cradling the hot mug, and I shiver delightedly as
those hands warm my breeze-chilled skin. Goosebumps fan out across my body as he
runs his hands along my bare torso. I let my head fall back between my
shoulders as he touches me, memorizing the shape of my body with his expert
hands. A deep, pulsing pressure starts to build between my trembling legs, my
breath coming harder and faster with each passing moment.

With
his hard, green eyes fixed firmly on my glistening body, Luke eases me down
onto the smooth slab of rock. Laying my body out before him, he swings his
staggering form so that it
’
s suspended above mine. I let my
arms fall over my head as Luke lowers himself to me, holding up his massive form
with two thickly muscled forearms. I moan softly as he catches my lips in his,
savoring the sensation of our flushed, bare torsos meeting at last. That
feeling of skin-on-skin is better than
anything
. My knees fall apart as
Luke presses his hips to mine, letting me feel his long, throbbing erection as
it rises in his running shorts. My back is pressed hard against the cool rock
as I hook my ankles around Luke
’
s hips, pulling his stiffening cock
firmly against my sex.

He
lets out a low, rumbling groan as I draw him closer, and kisses me hard along
my throat. His stubble brushes against my skin as he moves down my neck, across
my collarbone. Keeping his cock pressed hard against my aching sex, Luke pushes
up my sports bra, letting my firm breasts spill out into the crisp morning air.
I tug the garment up over my shoulders as he brings his lips hungrily to my
breasts. I suck in a breath as he takes my hard nipple into his mouth, and cry
out in surprised delight as he gives me a sharp bite there.