Hunger (A Stepbrother Romance Novel) (17 page)

Now it was his turn to make a choice.

Luke, Clara, and I were all holding our breath as we watched him slowly sink back down into his armchair and lean forward, burying his face in his hands.

“I’ll send you school,” he finally said with a resigned sigh. “But I’m not paying for an apartment so you two can—can—
whatever
. I’ll pay for a dorm room if you need it, otherwise you can figure it out yourself.”

“Are you serious?” I asked in disbelief. I honestly couldn’t say I had been expecting such an offer. I hadn’t been expecting anything really, except lots of yelling.

“Yeah. Yeah... It’s pretty clear that I’m not going to be able to change your mind,” he admitted as he looked up at us. “But let me be clear. I do not support this and I don’t want to see it, especially at the wedding. Those are my terms.”

“Just to clarify, you mean you want us to not act like a couple at the wedding and around you in general?”

“Exactly.”

“Done,” Luke answered as he dropped my hand. I gave him a dry look and he shrugged. “Don’t be upset. The terms are fair, everyone is happy.”

“I wouldn’t go that far,” dad muttered.

Clara’s mood wasn’t dampened by my father though. “Oh, you two! I’m so happy!” she exclaimed as she rushed over to give us both an awkward hug. “I can’t wait for the wedding. I’m not having bridesmaids, Jen, otherwise I’d ask you to be one. But it’ll be so great to have everyone there and getting along!”

“Don’t push it.”

“Oh, don’t be such a grump, Bill,” she said with an exaggerated eye roll that reminded me of Daniel. “They agreed to keep the PDA away from you.”

Dad grunted. “I’d be happier if my daughter’s neck was free of those... marks.”

Clara turned to me and gasped when she noticed. I clasped my hand over the skin, a blush rising to my cheeks at the same time as hers did.

“Oh—Oh my. Well, can you, um... tone that down until after the wedding?”

Luke laughed as I nodded my head, clearly mortified.

“We, uh—we should get going. Frieda’s making dinner for us, so...” I trailed off, wishing the embarrassment would come to an end.

“Do you need a ride?” Clara asked.

“No, Daniel’s coming back. We can head out whenever.”

I could tell by the look on her face that she wanted us to stay, but I was pretty certain that Luke agreed with my thoughts of not pushing our luck by overstaying our welcome. My dad was still quietly scrubbing his face and I figured it would be better for us to go and give him some privacy to process everything.

Clara walked us to the door and gave us both individual hugs and I couldn’t help but look hopefully over her shoulder to see if my dad had followed.

He hadn’t.

I sighed sadly and Clara cupped my cheek, shaking her head as she whispered, “Just give him a little time. It’ll all work out.”

“I hope you’re right.”

“I am. Trust me.”

With a strained smile, I gave her one last hug before letting Luke lead me down the steps and onto the sidewalk. We began the short walk to the intersection, waving at Clara before stepping out of sight of the house.

Once we were alone again without the eyes of either of our parents on us, Luke grabbed my hand and pulled me close to his side.

“That went far better than I expected.”

“Same here. No lamps or punches were thrown, everybody left in one piece—”

“Very funny,” Luke said with a chuckle. “But I wouldn’t have hit your father even if he swung at me first.”

“Why not?”

He shrugged. “Because he’s your father? I don’t want to hurt him, even though he is seriously pissing me off.”

“You and me both,” I grumbled as I dug my cell phone out of my back pocket and sent Daniel a text requesting to pick us up. After it was sent, I shoved it back in my pocket and continued my original thought. “But I can’t be too angry. He is sending me to school after all.”

“True. And with me starting work tomorrow, I can just save up the money I make for an apartment close to campus. I’ll have to spend some of it on the motel room though.”

I scrunched up my nose. “You want to go back to the motel?”

“It’d be cheaper and easier than staying in an apartment for two months,” he pointed out. “They’ve got a really good monthly rate. I know it’s a piece of shit place, but we don’t have many options.”

“We could stay with Daniel.”

He let out a low laugh and stopped walking, tugging me flush against his body as he whispered, “I don’t know how much he and his mother would appreciate hearing us fuck all the time.”

“Mmm, that’s true,” I agreed as he lightly trailed his fingertips down my arms. “But maybe you’ll be so tired from working all day that we won’t even—”

He placed a finger over my lips and shook his head. “Stop right there. If you honestly think that’s going to happen, you’re fucking insane. It’s called a ‘
second wind
’. I’ll come home tired, see you lying naked on the bed, and it’ll hit me.”

I raised an eyebrow. “Is that your way of asking me to wait for you to come home naked?”

“Maybe. Did it work?”

I rolled my eyes and kept walking, dragging him along with me. “I don’t know. It’s a surprise.”

“Oh, I like surprises.”

“I know,” I said dryly, giving him a withering glare. “I’ve figured that out by now.”

He swung our hands through the air together and I couldn’t stop myself from letting go of the glare and starting to smile.

“You want to know what
I
figured out?” he asked, his voice light and playful.

“What?”

Luke stopped walking again and I nearly protested—opening my mouth to say that Daniel was going to beat us to the bus stop if we kept fooling around—but then I noticed the look in his eyes. Something... edgy and serious. Something that lured me towards him like a moth to a flame.

He rested one hand on my lower back and caressed my cheek with the other, leaning down to place the gentlest kiss he’d ever given me on my lips before pulling away just enough to stare into my eyes.

“I love you.”

My heart felt like it momentarily stopped before kicking back up, pounding hard against my ribs as I sharply inhaled. I could see and feel his sincerity and it thrilled me to realize that I wasn’t alone in my intense feelings.

“I love you, too,” I whispered, grinning from ear to ear as a smile stretched across his lips.

He lifted me off the ground and started spinning me in circles, stopping only when I brought my head down to kiss him. We were so entranced in the moment that neither of us realized when a car pulled to a stop beside us until the horn blared, tearing our attention towards the sound.

“You
motherfuckers
!” Daniel shouted through the open passenger side window. “I thought you said to pick you up at the bus stop! I was circling the block for like five minutes! I’m pretty sure the creepy hobo that hangs out on the corner thinks I was cruising him!”

Luke and I laughed hysterically as Daniel continued to berate us, the laughter continuing long after we slid into the backseat together. Daniel began to gripe about really feeling like a cab driver then, but neither of us heard him, too lost in each other’s eyes to think about anything else besides the moment we shared on the sidewalk and what was in store for us.

~*~*~

Three weeks later...

“Well, don’t you look...” I trailed off, tapping my chin with my finger as I thought about it.

“Dapper?” Luke questioned as he readjusted his tie with a frown.

“You know, I was thinking that at first, but I changed my mind. I’m going to go with uncomfortable. Like,
massively
uncomfortable.”

“Well, you wouldn’t be wrong,” he muttered as he tried to look down and see if his tie was straight. “I’m not exactly a ‘formal wear’ kind of guy.”

“I can’t see that,” I chuckled. “Come here.”

He made his way to me in his rental tux and I pulled the knot out of his tie, preparing to redo it completely.

Luke raised an eyebrow and said, “You know, we’re running late as it is. We don’t really have time for that.”

I rolled my eyes. “You’re such a perv.”

“You love it. But seriously, we could have a lot of fun with this tie later tonight...” he lewdly stated, curling his tongue behind his teeth as he watched my face flush at the thought.

“As good as that sounds, this tie is a rental. If we fuck it up, we have to pay for it.”

“If you’re up for it, I’ll buy a fucking tie after the wedding.”

I laughed, then smoothed down the redone tie before pulling his jacket closed and doing up the buttons.

“All done. And yes to the tie.
Later
.”

The sound of a car horn honking outside drew our attention away from the talk of sex games and I rushed over to grab my purse as Luke shoved his wallet and phone into his pockets.

“You ready?”

“All set,” I confirmed. “How do I look?”

His pupils dilated with desire as he said, “So fucking good that I’m considering ripping that dress right down the middle and having my way with you right now.”

“Okay, well, we should probably go before you lose control.”

He opened the door and said, “Way ahead of you.”

As I breezed past him, he slapped me playfully on the ass and I groaned. “Isn’t this night going to be hard enough without you teasing me?”

“You tell me,” he said, grabbing my arms and hauling my back against his chest. He pressed his pelvis forward and I clenched my teeth as he lowly whispered, “Is it hard enough?”

The horn honked again and I turned my head to up see Daniel’s less-than-amused face staring at us from the driver’s seat. Instead of waiting for the shouting that was bound to come, I pulled myself out of Luke’s grasp and turned back to stick my tongue out at him.

“Cock tease,” he hissed.

“You love it,” I parroted back to him.

“Sorry I’m late, guys,” Daniel apologized as we loaded into his car.

“Not a problem. Where’s Frieda?” I asked curiously.

“She’s meeting us there. She asked her new boyfriend to be her date and he drove.”

“New boyfriend?” I asked, both eyebrows raised high with surprise. “When the hell did that happen?”

“Maybe a week or so ago? I don’t know. I only met him once—he seems alright. Not enough time to really form an opinion on him though, which is why I haven’t mentioned him yet.”

“Makes sense,” I concluded, then allowed Daniel to change the subject.

“So, you two ready to be stuck with me all night? I make an excellent buffer.”

I nodded as Luke groaned from the back seat. “I know you do—and yes. Stay between us, keep us from accidentally doing any PDA, shit like that. I really can’t thank you enough for doing this.”

“Oh, it’s my pleasure,” he said slyly. “But—this is for you Luke—if I happen to not be paying attention for a moment and you two slip off somewhere totally unseen, well... whoops?”

I glanced into the backseat to see Luke grinning like a fool.

“Message received.”

I rolled my eyes and shook my head, unable to believe that Daniel was actually condoning us sneaking off into a corner to have a quickie during our parent’s wedding.

How fucking awkward would that be?

~*~*~

Apparently, it wasn’t awkward enough to keep us from doing it.

We made it through the entire wedding—Daniel seated between us—and the opening of the reception with no issues. We hadn’t even shared a dance, even though it was killing me not to do so. I danced with Daniel and my dad, who had been in a far better mood than the last time we saw him, and Luke danced with his mom and once with Frieda.

Overall, we were having a great time even though we had been forbidden from acting like a couple. And even though my dad was in a considerably better mood, I noticed right away that he was keeping a very close eye on us. Luke had noticed it, too.

Which is why I was so surprised when Luke pulled me to the side during the middle of the reception. I noticed Daniel giving us a quick nod and realized that the two of them must have been planning this together. My dad was completely distracted, not noticing as the two of us slipped down the hallway towards the restrooms together.

“Where are we going?” I whispered as he bypassed the bathrooms and took a right turn down a hallway that was clearly meant for employees of the vineyard. “Luke!”

“Shhh, just trust me,” he whispered as he continued to drag me behind him.

We passed a number of doors until Luke reached the one he was looking for, glancing behind us before twisting the knob and guiding me inside with the hand he had on the small of my back. He flipped on the light switch in the room as he closed the door behind us and turned the lock.

“A stock room,” I said dryly as I glanced around and noticed the piles of empty boxes littered around the room. “You dragged me to a stock room. Why?”

“Why do you think?” he asked with a smirk, and he reached for me and started to drag my dress up my body.

“No. I don’t think so,” I declined, batting his hands away from me. “Have you not noticed how closely my dad is watching us? If I go back out there and any part of me is out of place—he’s going to know.”

Luke sighed and ran a hand through his hair. “You’re right, I’m sorry. I’m just... I get hard every fucking time I look at you.”

A solution popped into my mind and I felt a wicked grin curl across my lips. I put my hands on his chest and backed him towards the door, pressing my body against his as I seductively nuzzled his neck.

“And this isn’t helping,” he whispered, his voice pained. “Jenna—”

“Shhh. Just trust me,” I said as I grabbed his hands and lifted them over his head, planting them against the wall. “Keep your hands there.”

He nodded and grinned, looking down to watch as I undid the buckle of his belt and worked his cock free of its restraints. Once there, I toed off my high heels and hiked my dress up so it was above my knees before I gently kneeled down before him, careful not to get my dress dirty.

“Do you think this will help?” I innocently asked as I gripped the base of his cock and brought the head to my lips.

I knew it must have looked obscene from his angle—my dark red lips stretching out over his cock as I began to slide down on it. I was
sure
it looked obscene—and Luke loved it. His pupils immediately dilated as he watched, his jaw ticking as he fought to not thrust into my mouth.

“I’d rather be in your tight pussy, baby, but I think coming between those sweet lips will be enough to keep me satisfied until we get home,” he breathed out, some of the words coming out in strangled grunts as I began to work his shaft with my fist and suck at the same time.

I hummed around his cock and he bucked forward, apologizing and reaching for me after he did it. I pulled back and shook my head.

“No touching the hair,” I warned. “Reach for me again and I’ll leave you like this.”

“You wouldn’t.”

“Try me.”

We stared at each other for a long, tense moment before his hips thrust towards my mouth a little and he whispered, “I’ll be good. Please don’t stop.”

I smiled when he put his hands back up against the door and I gripped his shaft tightly, forcing a sharp gasp of pleasure from him. I didn’t bother to tease him. As much as I loved sucking his cock, I was really worried about my dad noticing we were gone and coming to look for us.

But as Luke started to groan as I brought him closer to orgasm, I stopped really caring. Every sound he made caused heat to rush between my legs and I suddenly couldn’t wait for this night to be over. I wanted nothing more than to go back to the dingy motel room and let Luke fuck me until I couldn’t see straight.

“God, Jenna—I’m close,” he grunted.

I moaned and sucked harder, increasing the speed of my fist and tongue until he was babbling incoherently above me, clenching his fists into tight balls as he resisted the urge to reach for me. His back arched slightly, driving a little more of his cock into my mouth and he let out a long, shuddering moan as he finally released, his warm cum rapidly filling my mouth.

I swallowed every drop greedily, loving the way he shivered when I did that. When I was certain I’d gotten every drop he had to give me, I pulled away and tucked his still semi-hard cock back into his slacks and zipped him up.

When I went to redo his belt, his hands covered my own and he gently shook his head. I let him help me to my feet, readjusting my dress once I got back into a standing position and wincing a little from the sharp pain in my knees.

Cement floors are terrible for giving blowjobs. Mental note added.

After Luke’s belt was redone, he crouched down and gently lifted my foot, guiding it into on of my shoes before repeating the process with the other. The special attention almost made me feel like Cinderella—well, a perverted Cinderella who gave head in stock rooms.

“Do I look okay?” I asked as he stood back up and looked down at me.

“You look beautiful,” he whispered lovingly as he trailed a hand down my face. “You always look beautiful.”

Even though my heart pounded from his compliment, I rolled my eyes at him. “Luke, look past the post-orgasmic haze. Do I look like I just gave head in a stockroom?”

His eyes seemed to refocus and he backed up, looking at me from head to toe for a long moment before shaking his head. “No, you look pretty together. What about me?”

“You’ve got that glazed look in your eyes, but that’s about it. I think we’ll be fine.”

He smiled and I reached for the door, unlocking it easily then frowning when he put his hand on it to keep it closed.

“What?”

“Where’s my kiss, baby?”

It still surprised me when he wanted a kiss after blowjobs. It’s nothing I had any prior experience with before, but Daniel had told me before that a lot of men—especially straight men—were super uncomfortable with it. So when Luke would readily pull me in for a kiss, it made me wonder if Daniel was wrong or if Luke was just odd.

Or maybe he just wants to kiss me so badly that he doesn’t care.

That thought was enough to make me breathless and when he pressed our lips together, I could practically feel the truth of my thought. Our lips moved together fluidly—effortlessly—until we were both struggling to breathe. When we pulled apart, Luke pressed his forehead against mine.

“Love you so much, Jenna.”

“I love you, too.”

With a final quick kiss, we started to make our way back to the reception. Luke hid in the restroom for a few minutes so we would look less suspicious, but when I came out I realized no one had even realized we were gone.

Except for Daniel, of course, who turned up at my side immediately.

“Have fun?” he asked as he handed me a flute of champagne.

I smirked after I emptied the contents of the glass and handed it back to him. “I think Luke had more fun than me this time.”

Daniel’s eyes lit up with understanding and he gave me a quick wink. “Gotcha. Well, no one noticed a thing and the party will be dying down soon.”

“What time is it?” I asked as I reached for his wrist and tried to look at his watch.

“Nine forty-five. Only fifteen minutes until they leave, right?”

“Thank fuck,” I breathed out in relief. “Yeah, they need to be out of here by ten or they’ll miss their flight.”

Daniel eyed me with amusement. “A little flustered, are we?”

“You have no idea,” I mumbled as I noticed Clara approaching us. “Hey!”

“Hi, sweetheart!” she greeted me enthusiastically. “Where’s Luke?”

“He’s around here somewhere,” Daniel cut in. “I just saw him.”

“Okay, well we’re about to head out to beat traffic, you know how it is. We wanted to say goodbye to you both before we leave.”

My dad came seemingly out of nowhere and clapped his hand down on my shoulder. “Can I have a minute?”

“Sure,” I said, frowning with confusion as he pulled me away. I looked back and noticed Luke approaching his mother with a frown that mirrored my own.

Weirdly enough, my dad led me to the hallway where the restrooms were and I flushed when I thought about what I had just done down there. Thankfully, my dad seemed to be lost in thought and didn’t notice the change in my demeanor.