Stepbrother Broken (The Hawthorne Brothers Book 2) (6 page)

“
I have to say, I don
’
t mind seeing your after-school side either,
”
he goes on, giving me a long, intent once-over. I can
feel trails of heat skirt across my skin as his eyes travel along my body.

“
Oh yeah?
”
I breathe. It
’
s all I can think to say.

“
Yeah,
”
he
smiles, letting his arm brush against mine on the bar.
“
But I
’
m curious
…
How is it you ended up at The Bear Trap tonight,
Sophia?
”

“
You can call me Sophie,
”
I say, edging closer toward him.
“
And I
’
m here because I couldn
’
t stomach one more college party this year, to be
honest.
”

“
Is that so?
”
Luke asks, his grin widening.

“
It is,
”
I reply, swinging my body around so that our knees
touch beneath the bar. With every tiny graze, electricity sears through my
nerves, ricocheting around my body like a lightning strike.

“
Funny that you
’
d pick a place like this,
”
Luke goes on, glancing around the bar,
“
It doesn
’
t exactly seem like your scene.
”

“
Until tonight, I
’
d say the same to you,
”
I
point out.
“
What, does this place have a
‘
no drama majors
’
policy or something?
”

“
I
’
m
just wondering if you didn
’
t have an ulterior motive, showing
up at my favorite bar,
”
Luke says, fixing me with his
intense gaze.

I
don
’
t know if it
’
s the gin, or the noise, or the closeness of Luke
’
s face to mine that has my head spinning. But I
do
know that he
’
s lost me, here.

“
First off, I didn
’
t know this was your favorite bar,
”
I tell him,
“
And secondly, what ulterior motive
might I have in mind, Luke?
”

“
Oh, I don
’
t know if I should say
…”
he
shrugs, taking a swig of his drink,
“
Come to think of it, I probably
need to leave Sheridan and
get
my ass handed to
me in the real world before doling out any more life advice
…
Am I right? Don
’
t want to sound like a prick, here.
”

I
have to grab hold of the bar to keep from toppling over as Luke
’
s words hit me in the gut. He
’
s quoting my own words back to me, repeating the
message I sent Danny earlier this evening, in response to his own email. My
breath lodges itself in my throat as I realize my mistake. And Luke lets out a
bark of laughter as he watches me realize
…

“
I think someone hit
‘
reply
’
when she meant to hit
‘
forward
’
,
”
he
laughs, reaching to lay a hand on mine. But I yank my hand away before he can
touch me, hiding my trembling fingers in my lap. Luke
’
s brow furrows as I shut him down.
“
Hey, Sophie
…
Don
’
t
be embarrassed. It
’
s not a big
—”

“
I have to go,
”
I say quickly, picking myself up from the barstool,
“
Thanks for the drink, but
—”

“
Hey, come on
…”
he says, standing up beside me,
“
It
’
s not a big deal. I
’
m actually
—”

But
I don
’
t stick around to hear what he has
to say. I take off across the crowded bar, ducking and weaving around countless
boozed-up locals. Humiliation colors my cheeks bright red as I dash away from
Luke. How could I have been so stupid? Now he knows exactly how much I
’
ve wanted him all semester. He must think I
’
m a ridiculous little schoolgirl with a crush, for god
’
s sake.

I
catch a glimpse of Danny
’
s amber hair by the front door. He
’
s standing very close to a strapping young bloke,
already deep in conversation. Knowing full well that I
’
m being the Queen of Cock Blocks, I rush up to my
friend, flustered and panting.

“
Danny, we have to go,
”
I breathe, shoving my mess of blonde hair out of my
face.

“
What happened to you?
”
Danny asks, cocking an eyebrow.

“
Nothing. I. It
’
s just
…
Can we please get out of here?
”
I plead,
“
I just made a huge ass of myself in
front of Luke, and
—”

“
Ooh, this sounds good,
”
says Danny
’
s new friend, turning his attention
to me.

“
How did you already mess things up
with Luke?
”
Danny demands,
“
I leave you alone for three minutes, and
—”

“
That email I meant to send you?
About how I want Luke to fuck me dirty? I sent it to
him
,
”
I say in a rush.

Danny
and his friend both clap a hand to their mouths, their eyes going wide in
unison.

“
See? This is why I don
’
t trust technology,
”
Danny
says sagely.

“
That is
such
an interesting
stance
…”
his friend replies, laying a hand
on Danny
’
s bicep.

“
Look. I
’
m calling a cab and getting the hell out of here,
”
I say, glancing over my shoulder to make sure Luke
hasn
’
t spotted me.
“
You can stay, but
—”

“
No no no,
”
Danny says, shaking his head,
“
You
’
re not going anywhere.
”

“
What?!
”
I laugh incredulously,
“
Says
who?
”

“
Says your best friend,
”
Danny replies,
“
Your best friend who has been
listening to you gush about this guy for months. So what if he knows you
’
re into him? Now all of your cards are on the table.
”

“
But Danny
—”

“
No
‘
but
Danny
’
s,
”
my
friend cuts me off,
“
You think this guy is sexy as hell,
right? So, go back there and see what happens with him already! Would he have
come over to talk you up if he wasn
’
t interested too?
”

“
I
…
I
don
’
t
—”
I
stammer.

“
I do,
”
Danny
says resolutely, laying his hands on my shoulders,
“
You were the one who wanted something exciting out of
tonight, right? Well, what could be more exciting than hooking up with a guy
you
’
re actually into, instead of just
going with whatever lame undergrad happens along?
”

He
has a point. I
’
ve never been one to back down when
I want something. And good
god
how I
’
ve
wanted Luke Hawthorne since the second he arrived on the scene. A slow smile
spreads across my face as I resolve to give this a try. What
’
s the worst that could happen? It
’
s not like we
’
re going to be seeing each other
once the year is out.

“
There
’
s
the game face I want to see,
”
Danny says, spinning me
around and giving me a little shove,
“
Now
march
.
”

I
take a deep breath and do just that, picking my way back through the crowd with
renewed purpose. Thank god for the liquid courage coursing through my blood
—
I
’
m gonna need it. Through a sea of
burly guys and busty girls, I see that Luke hasn
’
t
budged from his spot at the bar
…
But
my
spot has been
filled by an enterprising redhead who
’
s trying to catch his eye. She
perches on my vacated stool, fluttering her eyelashes in Luke
’
s direction. Looks like I
’
ve swung back around just in the nick of time.

“
Luke,
”
I
call over the music as I approach.

He
turns to see me marching in his direction, pleasantly surprised that I
’
ve come around. He swings that perfectly balanced body
around on his barstool, eyes gleaming as I zero in on him.

“
I was afraid you
’
d run off,
”
he says, standing to meet me.

“
Well, never fear,
”
I grin, stepping up to his tall, broad-shouldered
form.

“
Did you forget something?
”
he asks, taking a step toward me. Not an inch of space
separates our bodies now. I need to remind myself to keep drawing breath as the
hugeness of his presence threatens to overwhelm me.

“
Yeah,
”
I
breathe, reaching up to take his face in my hands,
“
I did.
”

With
that, I lift my mouth to his, laying a kiss on those full, firm lips. And
wouldn
’
t you know it? He
’
s is kissing me back
…
and
then some. He circles my slender waist with his arms, tugging my body to his in
the middle of the crowded bar. No one but the put-out redhead seems to notice
as we lock lips. But then again, I
’
d be hard pressed to notice if the
bar was burning down around me with the taste of Luke Hawthorne dancing across
my tongue.

I
rake my fingers through his short, dark hair, pulling myself flush against him.
The panes of his chest are hard against my breasts, which threaten to burst out
of my crop top with each heaving breath I take. We need to take cover before we
start ripping each other
’
s clothes off. Somehow, I imagine
that the other customers might just take notice of that
…

“
You
’
re
not just trying to snag some extra credit are you?
”
Luke growls, running his hands over the firm rise of
my ass.

“
Would you object if I was?
”
I smile back.

“
Fuck no,
”
he laughs.