Stepbrother Broken (The Hawthorne Brothers Book 2) (7 page)

“
Well, I can do without the GPA
boost,
”
I grin back,
“
But I
’
m not done with you just yet,
Professor Hawthorne.
”

“
Come on then,
”
he murmurs, taking my hand in his,
“
This feels more like a one-on-one meeting to me
…”

His
fingers tighten around mine as he parts the crowd surrounding us, leading me
away from the jam packed bar to somewhere a little more private.

Look
at that, I think to myself,
my body buzzing with anticipation,
Looks like I can let someone else lead
after all.

Chapter Three

I
suck in a huge breath as Luke snaps open the clasp of my bra with a flick of
his wrist. He runs his hands along my eager body, cupping my breasts with a
firm, expert touch. I let my fingertips brush along the muscular v of his
waist, eyes fixed on that incredible length straining against his boxer briefs.
Bracing myself against the wooden door, I run my hands along his massive cock,
groaning as I feel how hard he is.

“
Fuck, that
’
s good
…”
he murmurs, grabbing hold of
my hips.

“
Yeah?
”
I
smile breathlessly, tracing the outline of his swollen head with my thumb.

“
Yeah,
”
he
grins,
“
Here. Let me show you
…”

I
swallow a cry as he slips a hand up under my red skirt, his knowledgeable
fingers brushing against my inner thigh. He lets out a low groan as he traces
along the length of my slit, barely covered by my favorite black panties.

“
You
’
re
already wet for me
…”
he breathes, kissing down
along my neck.

“
Can you blame me?
”
I laugh, working my hands up and down his cock.

“
Not even a little,
”
he smiles, kissing me hard on the mouth as he strokes
my aching sex.

Our
lips move together as we work each other up. Two flimsy layers of cotton are
all that separate us from taking the other into our eager hands. I can feel my
knees begin to tremble as Luke touches me. I don
’
t
know how much longer I can wait to have him, feel him the way I
’
ve wanted. The way I
’
ve
dreamed of. I tug down his dark jeans, steadying myself against the door.

“
Well?
”
I
gasp, chest heaving,
“
I know I said I wanted you to nail
me to the wall
…
but I think a door will do the
trick.
”

“
Yeah, I think I can work with that,
”
he grins ravenously, pushing me hard against the
flimsy bathroom door.

My
heart skips a beat as I feel this controlled hint of his true strength. With
that body, those perfectly formed muscles, he could probably curl me with one
hand behind his back. I
’
ve always wanted to be with a guy
who was strong enough to take me on. Someone who
’
s
not afraid to be a little physical. A little rough. That
’
s a side of my desire I
’
ve
never been able to explore with anyone. Until
…

A
sharp hammering knock on the door makes me jump. Someone
’
s been pounding away out there, refusing to be
ignored. Sounds like somebody must really need to break the seal. I
’
ve been so wrapped up with Luke that I almost didn
’
t notice before. But now they
’
re yelling above the music
…
Yelling for
me
.

“
Sophie!
”
someone calls desperately,
“
Sophie, get out here!
”

“
Expecting visitors?
”
Luke asks, brow furrowing slightly.

“
Sophie please,
”
the voice entreats me,
“
I
think Danny
’
s in trouble.
”

It
’
s only then that I recognize the voice as the guy my
friend was chatting up not a moment ago. He sounds absolutely terrified.

“
Shit,
”
I
mutter, hurrying to clasp my bra and straighten my clothes.

“
What
’
s
going on?
”
Luke asks as I break away from him.

“
My friend needs me,
”
I reply.
“
I
’
m
sorry, I have to
—”

Luke
nods silently, struggling to do up his jeans despite his enormous erection. We
put aside our case of collective blue balls as I wrench open the bathroom door,
coming face-to-face with Danny
’
s new friend. The poor guy has gone
completely white, his eyes as wide as dinner plates.

“
Where is he?
”
I demand.

The
frightened man points toward the main room of the bar. I turn to see a group of
guys forming, closing in around something. Or rather, some
one
.

“
Danny,
”
I whisper, taking off at a run. 

I
tear through the crowd, shoving and shouldering people out of the way as I rush
to my friend
’
s side. I come up against a wall of
solid muscle as I try to reach him
—
a perimeter of burly dudes holds me
at bay. Through the forest of their beefy torsos, I see Danny standing at the
center of it all, blond head held high as some asshole sneers at him, jabbing a
finger into his chest.

“
We don
’
t take kindly to your type around here,
”
the man snarls, his shaved head glinting dangerously
in the low light.

“
And what type is that?
”
Danny challenges him, his fists clenched.

“
You know full well,
”
his aggressor goes on, backing Danny across the
circle,
“
I seen you talking up that other
little guy. Battin
’
your eyelashes. I know what
you are.
”

The
men around the circle shove Danny forward as he reaches the edge of the circle.
I see his jaw pulse with fury as he straightens himself up, unwilling to back
down.

“
Well, you know what they say,
”
Danny shoots back, leveling his clear-eyed gaze at the
pathetic man before him,
“
It takes one to know one.
”

Time
slows to a crawl as I watch the man
’
s eyes blaze with ire. His hands
tighten into punishing fists, and I watch in horror as he cocks back a thick
arm.

“
No
,
”
I
shout, bursting through the wall of men trying to box me out.

I
throw myself into the circle, my shoulder colliding hard with Danny
’
s attacker. I catch him in the ribs, knocking him off
balance. He rights himself as I plant my feet firmly on the sawdust-covered
ground, standing between Danny and this idiot that would do him harm.

“
Look at that!
”
the man crows,
“
He
’
s
got himself a little guard-bitch!
”

A
raucous laugh goes up around the circle at my expense, but I couldn
’
t care less.

“
You think ten on one is a fair
fight?
”
I snap at him,
“
Needed all your buddies here to take on my friend? Why
don
’
t you just deal with me instead,
you prick?
”

“
Step aside before you get hurt,
little girl,
”
the bald man growls back at me,
taking a menacing step forward.

“
Sophie, get back,
”
Danny urges, grabbing hold of my arm.

“
He won
’
t hurt me,
”
I say, my voice raised so the
whole bar can hear,
“
Will you, buddy?
”

“
My beef ain
’
t with you,
”
he snarls, coming to a stop
before me,
“
It
’
s
with your queer little friend, here.
”

“
Is that why you needed all this
backup?
”
Danny laughs, looking at the men
looming around us,
“
You
’
re
too afraid to deal with the Big Bad Queer yourself? You homophobic little
chicken shit
—”

With
a roar of outrage, the burly skinhead charges at Danny, ready to draw blood.
Adrenaline highjacks my body, and before I know what
’
s happening, I
’
m letting out a shrill scream and
driving the heel of my hand up against the man
’
s
nose. A sickening crunch sounds out as my hand makes contact, and the furious
man goes reeling away. Blood streams down his face as he clutches his broken
nose, staring at me incredulously. I stare back, amazed at what I
’
ve done. Guess those self-defense classes at Sheridan
really paid off.

“
Oh, shit
…”
Danny whispers, staring at his attacker.

Without
flinching, the man grabs hold of his busted nose and works it back into place
with a gut-wrenching pop, his eyes blazing with malice. A wild, deranged smile
spreads across his bloody face. Something tells me he wouldn
’
t object to hitting a woman now. He lowers his center
of gravity, every muscle coiled with irate energy. I brace myself for impact as
he bellows out a bloodthirsty wail, lunging toward us across the circle of men.

The
skinhead
’
s head snaps back as a thickly
muscled arm clotheslines him across the throat. I swing my gaze around to see
Lukas Hawthorne
’
s broad back, rippling beneath his
charcoal tee shirt. Among all the people looking on, he
’
s the only one who
’
s
stepped forward to help Danny and me. His shoulders are raised as he settles
into a fighter
’
s stance, waiting for his opponent
to pull himself up from the floor. The disgusting man manages to come to
standing, eyes going wide as he takes in the sight of Luke standing before him.

“
You wanna fight someone?
”
Luke growls, towering over the bald man,
“
Well, here I am.
”

“
This has nothing to do with you,
Hawthorne,
”
the bloodied man snarls.
“
It
’
s these two I
’
ve got a problem with
—
Nancy
boy and his lipstick-wearing pit bull.
”

The
circle of men edges back as Luke grabs the bald man by the front of his shirt
and hoists him off the ground. I gasp as Luke throws his opponent back to the
floor, standing over him with pure contempt blazing in his dark green eyes.

“
You know I could beat the shit out
of you, right Thompson?
”
Luke barks.

“
All right, all right,
”
the man at his feet moans,
“
You
’
ve made your point.
”

“
It
’
s
not all right, you fucker,
”
Luke spits, rolling the man
onto his back with one steel-toed boot.
“
How
’
s
it feel, getting the shit kicked out of you when you know you don
’
t stand a chance?
”

“
Lay off already,
”
the man goes on, blathering pathetically.

“
Not
’
til
you apologize to my friends,
”
Luke tells him, laying his
heavy boot on the man
’
s chest.

“
They
’
re
the ones who should apologize!
”
the skinhead roars, shooting
daggers at me and Danny,
“
Coming in here with their
hipster-ass skinny jeans and their big ideas, shoving their pervert ways down
our throats. They need to
go
.
”