Hunger (A Stepbrother Romance Novel) (14 page)

“You can stay here as long as you need to, honey,” Frieda said the moment she saw me standing in her living room with a duffle bag.

“Thank you so much.”

Daniel’s mom had been sort of like a mom to me ever since middle school. My real mother had passed away long before I even met Daniel and I had spent enough time here that she began to fill the role without even intending to. I could still remember when I had my first period. My dad had awkwardly stuttered through his sentences as he attempted to explain what was happening to my body before he miserably said,
‘Maybe you should call Frieda.’

Wrapped up in memory lane, I didn’t even realize that Daniel was taking my duffle bag from me and leading me towards his room. I had cried during most of the car ride and he let me without question, knowing I wouldn’t be able to explain what happened until I was able to calm down.

Now that I was fairly calm and able to speak without losing my shit, I knew he deserved an explanation. The second his door closed behind him, I paced back and forth and launched into the whole story about what happened from the moment he dropped me off up until my call to him. By the time I was finished, my throat was raw and I could feel myself crying again.

How many tears can one person have?
I miserably wondered.

“I can’t believe he kicked you out,” Daniel said, clearly shocked.

“It wasn’t like that. He was just trying to call my bluff. Trying to control me. He never expected for me to actually
go
.”

“Do you have any idea where Luke is?”

The tears flowed freely as I shook my head. “No, and I don’t have any way to contact him.”

“Oh, honey. Come here,” Daniel said, opening his arms and pulling me in for a hug.

It was already late, so when Daniel suggested that I get some sleep, I didn’t argue. He let me take the bed and offered to sleep on the couch to give me some privacy, but I politely declined. It wasn’t like we had never shared a bed before and I didn’t need privacy.

What I
really
needed was to know that I wasn’t totally alone.

~*~*~

Waking up the next day was painful. I could sense a presence beside me—not touching, but close enough for me to feel—and I instinctively knew it wasn’t Luke. I closed my eyes and wished that it had all been just a nightmare, but wishing never did anything for me.

I sighed and sat up, going through the motions of my morning routine even though I had to borrow a toothbrush from Frieda, who offered to let me use her shower so I wouldn’t have to spend the day smelling like Daniel after using his soap.

Washing my hair made me sad when I remembered how Luke had done it, but I tried to turn my sadness into something more productive.

I tried to think of how I could possibly find him.

Throwing my house key at my dad and Clara had been kind of my way of giving them the finger, but now I was deeply regretting it. We didn’t have a spare lying around and breaking in and looking for Luke’s number amongst Clara’s stuff would have probably been my best option.

So much for that.

By the time I was finished with my shower, Frieda had finished breakfast and Daniel was shoving down a stack of pancakes. I readily joined him, my stomach reminding me that I had skipped dinner the night before.

I was on my second plate when Frieda casually stated, “I texted your father.”

The fork I was holding fell to the plate and clattered loudly. “You what?”

“I’m sorry, sweetie. I was worried. He’s worried about you, too,” she said carefully, watching my reaction. “He’s relieved to know that you’re alright though and made me promise to ask you to go back home.”

I hardened my eyes and shook my head. “I won’t. I don’t need to go home, I need—”

Luke.

I left his name unspoken and looked down at my plate, knowing that Daniel knew what I was saying. I just wasn’t sure how much Frieda knew about everything that was going on.

Like some kind of mind-reader, Daniel finished his bite of food and told me, “I gave her a PG move trailer rundown of what’s going on.”

“So, this boy... You must really care about him.”

I nodded and washed down my food with the glass of orange juice she had poured for me. “I really do. And while our situation is... complicated, I still want to be with him. I won’t let my father stop me just because he thinks it’s inappropriate.”

Frieda nodded and gave me a small smile. “Good for you.”

Shocked, I looked up at her with wide eyes. “What?”

“You heard me. I’m proud of you for standing up for what you believe in. And you clearly believe in him or else you wouldn’t be here right now, would you?”

“Right,” I said slowly, wondering where exactly she was going with this.

She stood up and walked to the counter, pulling a pink sticky note off the surface and coming back to sit down across from me.

“Here.”

I took the paper and looked down at it, frowning at first before my eyes widened with recognition. “Is this—”

“Luke’s number? Yes. I also spoke to Clara, and even though it took a while for her to agree with me, she eventually caved. If you really think that he’s the one you should be with, then you shouldn’t let anything stand in your way.”

I stared at the note and teared up at the thought of Frieda fighting for my right to be with whomever I chose, regardless of the situation. She had experience with situations kind of like this before. I remember watching her stand up for Daniel’s right to take a boy as a date to our end of the year dance in eighth grade.

I also had to silently thank Clara for caving in. She was such a good person, but I could only imagine how it must have felt for her to learn about Luke and me. Especially after the conversation we had on his first night at the house. Her reaction wasn’t out of spite—it was out of shock.

But all that mattered was that she came around.

I wasn’t sure how long, if ever, it was going to take for my dad to do the same.

“Thank you so much, Frieda.”

“Anytime, sugar. Now, why don’t you give him a call and find out where Daniel needs to take you? No time like the present.”

“Gee, thanks for volunteering me to play taxi driver,” Daniel said dryly, ripping off a piece of his pancake and playfully throwing it at his mom.

I chuckled and took the note to Daniel’s room, plugging the numbers into my phone and pressing the phone to my ear as my heart pounded wildly.

Please pick up, please pick up, please—

“Hello?”

“Luke,” I breathed out in relief.

There was a long pause then—“Jenna?”

“Yeah, it’s me. Where are you?”

There was a shuffle on his end and I could tell he was sitting up in bed. “A motel. Where are you?”

“At Daniel’s. I left.”

“Why?”

“Because my dad told me to. He said if I wanted to keep seeing you, I knew where the door was. So I used it.”

I was hoping that telling him what happened would make him proud or happy or something—but he just let out a tired sigh.

“You shouldn’t just throw away your life for me.”

“What if I don’t want a life without you?”

Another moment of silence and I was beginning to worry that he was thinking of a way to let me down gently, to tell me to go back to my dad’s house and resume my life the way it was before I met him.

But I couldn’t do that. I had been struggling to get out of my cookie-cutter life for years—following Daniel around and hoping some of his free spirit would rub off on me—but I had never truly felt like I was free until I met Luke. I didn’t want to go back.

I wanted to go forward.
Together
.

“Can you get a ride here?”

“Text me the address and room number,” I said without a second thought.

“Okay. I’ll see you soon.”

“Okay,” I said softly, wishing I could say the words that I felt but knowing it was still too soon to do so.

I never unpacked my bag so it wasn’t a chore to get ready to go, and by the time I made it out to the kitchen, I had the text containing the address to the motel he was staying at. I tossed Daniel his wallet and keys and said, “Let’s go.”

He shoved a slice of bacon in his mouth before saluting his mom and marching out of the room behind me.

~*~*~

“I didn’t think to ask, but do you need some condoms or something? I can’t even imagine the amount of fucking you two are going to do alone in a motel room,” Daniel commented as he followed the directions his GPS was giving him.

“I think I’ll be alright. Just keep going.”

“Eager, are we?” he jokingly asked.

“You know I am,” I said dryly, not even bothering to deny it. “Thanks again for the ride.”

“Not a problem. If you two need to go somewhere, just give me a call. But try not to make it a freakin’ habit. I do have other things to do, you know.”

I gave him a sly smile. “
Things
? Do you mean things like
Greg
, by any chance?”

“Girl, unless you want to hear all the gory details, don’t even start.”

I scoffed. “You act like I’ve ever complained about having to hear the details of your sex life. Besides, even if I had, it wouldn’t have stopped you.”

“True, but we don’t really have time to get into it,” he said as he clicked on his turn signal. “We’re here.”

I looked up, surprised that the motel had turned out to be so close to Daniel’s house and felt myself start to shake in excitement. He pulled into the lot and rolled to a stop, turning to wink at me before he said, “We’ll talk about Greg another time. But for now? Get the fuck out of my car so I can go home and finish eating.”

I reached over the center console to give him another quick hug and said, “Thank you.”

“You’re welcome!” he called back as I climbed out of the car and went around to the trunk to grab my duffle bag.

I waved to send him off but he simply shook his head and pointed towards the motel, signaling that he would wait until seeing I was safety inside before leaving. I gave him a thumbs up and made my way towards the room number Luke had texted me.

I raised my fist to knock, but never got a chance. The door swung open and revealed Luke, standing at the door clad only in a pair of well-worn jeans that hung low on his hips. His hair was unruly—a sure sign he just woke up—but his tired eyes lit up when he saw me.

He looked like pure sex.

I was vaguely aware of the sound of Daniel’s car pulling away, but most of my focus was on the way Luke reverently whispered my name, like he couldn’t believe I was really here. Before I could say anything, he pulled me against his body and buried his face in my hair, taking a deep, shaky breath as I hugged him back.

“Can I come in?” I whispered into his neck.

“Please.”

Before he closed the door behind us, he hooked the ‘do not disturb’ sign on the outside handle and I grinned at the implication.

~*~*~

“I really want to know what went down after I left, but it’s gonna have to wait,” Luke told me as he stalked towards me.

“You’ll get no complaints from me.”

When he reached me, his hands immediately pulled my shirt over my head and he smashed his lips against mine, kissing me like we had been separated for months. It hadn’t even been a full day, but the severity of everything that had happened made it feel far longer.

His hands glided across my back and he expertly popped the clasp of my bra, tugging it down my shoulders and arms without ever breaking the kiss, then throwing it carelessly to the side. I pressed my bare chest against his and moaned into his mouth as my nipples instantly hardened, the friction slowly driving me insane.

Luke gripped my hair and pulled me back a fraction, just enough for him to reclaim control over the kiss. He slowed it down to a speed that felt far more intimate yet just as heated, then drew my bottom lip between his teeth and bit down. The pain and pleasure bled together seamlessly and I felt myself shudder in his arms.

He pulled back just enough to mutter, “Bed.”

I was going to nod my consent when he abruptly lifted me off of my feet and carried me there. He broke the kiss to lay me down, watching me with hungry eyes as he brought his hands to my jeans and slowly peeled them off.

“You’re so fucking gorgeous, you know that?”

Luke ran his hands all the way up my legs, paying special attention to my inner thighs, before completely bypassing the place that ached for him, instead travelling up to my navel. He caressed my soft stomach for a moment before trailing upwards and circling my breasts, cupping their weight in his hands while purposely avoiding my nipples.

“Luke, please,” I whimpered pleadingly.

“Please what?”

“Touch me.”

He gave me a crooked smile. “I am touching you, baby.”

I groaned in frustration as he continued to tease me, his hands roaming over every part of my body except in the places where I wanted it the most.

I was writhing helplessly on the bed when he rumbled, “You know, if there’s somewhere specific you want to be touched, you could always do it yourself. I won’t stop you.”

Even though I knew it was just a ploy to get me to masturbate in front of him, I would willingly take the bait if it provided me with the relief I desperately needed. Besides, even though he smirked victoriously as I started to bring my hands to my breasts, I knew I was going to come out the real winner here.

He was still lightly caressing me when my hands finally got to my chest, but I could tell his attention was solely focused on watching me. I cupped them in my hands like he had done, then used a single finger to curve around the shape of them up to my nipples. Once there, I pinched them between the pads of my fingers and rolled them lightly.

Once I felt little tingle of pleasure going through me, I tightened my grip and gasped at the sensation. Luke’s hands stopped moving over my body and he leaned back to sit on his knees and watch the show.

I knew what he wanted to see, but I completely ignored his wishes. I ran my fingernails lightly down my stomach then bypassed my pussy, instead going over my inner thighs much like he had.

It wasn’t as much fun now that the table were turned. He shifted on the bed and unzipped his jeans as he ground out, “Touch yourself.”

“I
am
touching myself,” I said, fighting back my smile as I threw his words back at him.

He growled like a wild animal. “Touch your
cunt
.”

I shivered at his command, then trailed my hands up to obey his order. I wasn’t surprised to feel how wet I already was, but I was surprised when Luke jerked his jeans and underwear down enough to pull out his thick cock and begin stroking it.

“Show me how you do it. Show me how you played with your pussy that night when you knew I was listening.”

My eyes widened with surprise and he let out a gravelly chuckle.

“What? Did you really think I didn’t know you were doing it on purpose? Putting on a little show for me?” he asked, curling his tongue behind his teeth as he watched my fingers running over my slit.

“I- I can’t.”

“You can’t show me?”

“No. I don’t have my vibrator.”

Luke’s eyes rolled closed and he stroked his cock a little bit faster. “Were you thinking of me? Pretending it was my cock in you?”

“Yes,” I gasped, dipping two fingers into my searing heat and wishing it was enough to take away the ache.

But I knew it wasn’t enough. The only thing that could satisfy me was in his hand. Literally.

“How’d it measure up to the real thing?”

I swallowed hard and shook my head. “It didn’t. Nothing does.
Please
, Luke.”

He leaned forward, placing one hand on the mattress next to my head while the other continued to furiously jerk his cock. “Tell me what you need.”

“I need you. I need your cock inside of me. Fuck,
please
. Please give it to me,” I begged.

“Since you asked so nicely,” he murmured, letting go of his cock to swat my hands away from my sex.

He aligned himself with my opening and pushed all the way in with a quick, hard pump. We both simultaneously sighed with a combination of pleasure and relief once he was buried balls deep inside me.

Luke rested himself on his forearms and began rolling his hips, easily rocking his hard member in and out of my slick heat. I wrapped my arms around his neck and pulled him down for a kiss, just barely able to keep up with the pace between my frequent gasps of pleasure.

He pulled his lips away but pressed his forehead to mine, looking deep into my eyes as he said, “I want you to get on the pill.”

“Huh?” I questioned breathlessly, unable to make sense of his words through the fog of lust.

“Birth control. Get on it. I’m dying
to come inside of you.”

Just the thought of feeling him pulsating inside of me was enough to make my eyes roll back and my pussy clench with need. He felt it too and grinned down at me.

“You like the sound of that, baby? You want to feel me fill you up with my cum?”

“Fuck yes,” I panted, moaning loudly when he ground his hips down against mine, rubbing his pelvis against my clit. “
God
!”

Being the teasing kind of man he was, he leaned down and whispered into my ear as he continued to alternate between thrusts and grinds.

“I can just imagine what it’d feel like. I’d rub your clit to make you come with me so I could feel this tight little pussy milking every drop of cum out of my balls. Think about how it’d feel to have my cock throbbing inside you, how much wetter it’d make you and how hot my cum would feel shooting up inside you.”

“Faster, faster,” I begged, feeling myself on the brink of orgasm. “
Oh my god
, I want it.”

“So do I,” he groaned, propping himself up so he could better oblige my request. “You have no fucking idea how much I want it. I want to cum in you so many times that no other man will get near you because they’ll fucking
smell
me on you.”

He was pounding into me hard and fast, grunting out his filthy words and driving me up the wall with ecstasy. I came hard, digging my nails into his back as I squeezed his cock and screamed his name. My body tensed then violently jolted as I squirted on him.

His eyes widened when he felt it and he choked out, “Fucking
shit
—I—”

With a hoarse gasp, he pushed himself up and out of me, just barely managing to make it before he blew his load inside me. I felt him spurt on my thigh and he ground his dick against it, unable to even get his hand down to his cock with the abruptness of his orgasm.

“Holy hell,” he breathed out. “That was close.”

“I’ll get on the pill,” I offered breathlessly. “It’s now my first priority.”

Luke laughed and leaned down to kiss me, our sweat mixing together and making the kiss taste salty. He rolled off of me a moment later, but tugged me until I curled up against his side.

“So we’re really doing this, huh?”

“I hope so,” I answered honestly, looking up at him through my lashes. “The ball’s in your proverbial court.”

He nodded solemnly, staring off into space for a long moment before his gaze refocused on mine.

“I guess we’re doing it then. Because I’m in far too deep to let go now.”

“Same here.”

We stared at each other in silence and I wished this moment could last forever. But the reality of everything wouldn’t leave me alone and I knew I wouldn’t even be able to fall asleep if I tried. Not until we figured out what we were doing.

“How long do you have this motel room?”

“I’m paid up through the week. I’ve got enough left in my bank account keep it for one more week before I’m completely broke,” he said with a harsh sigh. “But a friend thinks he might be able to get me a job on a construction site next week. If that pans out, we should be good for a little while longer.

Even though the situation seemed rather dire, the fact that he didn’t even seem to consider asking me for money gave me a small smile. Some women might take offense to it, but I thought it was incredibly sweet and chivalrous that he considered it his job to provide for me.

“I have some money saved up from—”

“That won’t be necessary, sweetheart,” he said, cutting me off and pressing a kiss to my forehead. “This whole thing is my fault, I’ll take care of it.”

The ‘
I’ll take care of
you
’ was unspoken, but I heard it loud and clear.

~*~*~