Stepbrother Broken (The Hawthorne Brothers Book 2) (8 page)

“
No, Thompson,
”
Luke growls, his voice low and deadly,
“
You
’
re the one who needs to go.
”

“
Fuck you, Hawthorne,
”
the man spits,
“
What are you, one of them now?
”

“
I
’
d
rather be one of them than one of you any day,
”
Luke
replies, shoving the man away with his foot.
“
Now,
are you gonna walk out of here on your own?
”

“
I don
’
t
think I will,
”
the bald man says, puffing out his
chest as he pulls himself to standing.

“
Suit yourself,
”
Luke shrugs.

I
jump back as he lunges across the circle and grabs our aggressor by the scruff
of his neck. Instead of rushing to the skinhead
’
s
defense, the men around us clear a path the door, cheering Luke on. I guess
they don
’
t really care who
’
s getting beat up, as long as there
’
s a fight to watch. Someone wrenches open the front
door, letting in a burst of warm night air. Without a word, Luke drop kicks
Thompson over the threshold. A round of applause and raucous hollering goes up
around Luke as he slams the door behind that asshole, brushing off his firm,
capable hands.

“
Well shit,
”
Danny murmurs behind me, and Luke makes his way toward
us,
“
Looks like you caught yourself a
keeper, Sophie Porter.
”

“
Luke
…”
I
breathe, as he stops before us,
“
I
…
I
don
’
t know what to say.
”

“
I do,
”
Danny
cuts in,
“
Thank you, man.
”

“
Of course,
”
Luke shrugs,
“
Just keeping the trash out as best
I can. I like this place too much to see it overrun with idiots.
”

“
I
’
m
so sorry this happened Danny,
”
I tell my friend, lacing my
fingers through his.

“
It
’
s
OK. I
’
m all right,
”
he assures me,
“
I
’
d
just
…
I
’
d
like to get out of here now.
”

“
Of course,
”
I reply, squeezing his hand,
“
Let
’
s call a cab.
”

“
I could drive you,
”
Luke offers, nodding toward the door,
“
My car
’
s out front.
”

“
No, it
’
s OK,
”
I tell him, not wanting to
impose.
“
I think you
’
ve done enough for us tonight.
”

His
brow furrows as he looks at me, the expression on his sculpted face totally
unreadable.

“
Whatever you say,
”
he says evenly, tucking his hands into the pockets of
his jeans.

Between
our mind-scrambling make out session and the jarring conflict with that
asshole, I
’
m feeling totally disoriented. Part
of me wants desperately to stay here and see what happens with Luke, but the
rest of me is way too unsettled by what just happened to see this night
through. I
’
m sure that if Luke wants to see me
again after tonight, he
’
ll let me know. But for right now,
I just need to get out of here and get Danny to safety. I owe him that.

“
Cab
’
s
on its way,
”
Danny murmurs, after pressing a few
keys on his smart phone.
“
I should find Greg and say goodbye.
”

He
holds out his hand to Luke, who gives it a firm shake. Without another word,
Danny moves off into the crowd in search of his friend. I cross my arms tightly
across my chest, my eyes glued to the floor as I stand awkwardly beside Luke.
Just a couple of hours ago, he was just my handsome, arrogant teacher, all
ironed shirts and unwarranted advice. I knew how to handle myself around him.
But the Luke I met tonight
—
the man who knew how to turn me on
with a single touch, who was ready to jump to a total stranger
’
s defense because it was the right thing to do
—
he
’
s unlike anyone I
’
ve ever met. And suddenly, I feel like I
’
ve forgotten all my lines in the middle of a scene.

“
You
’
re
quiet all of a sudden,
”
Luke observes, laying a hand
on my arm.

“
Just a little rattled I guess,
”
I manage, keeping my eyes averted.

He
withdraws his hand, staring at me with that same indiscernible look.

“
That
’
s
fair,
”
he nods, looking away from me.

I
bite my lip, feeling as though I
’
ve said something wrong. He doesn
’
t think I
’
m upset about what happened between
us
, does he?

“
Luke, I
—”
I begin, but a waving arm catches my eye across the
room. Danny
’
s flagging me down to let me know
the cab is here.

“
You
’
d
better get a move on,
”
Luke says to me, running a
hand through his short dark hair.
“
Get home safe, OK?
”

“
Um. Yeah,
”
I stammer helplessly.
“
But
…
Luke?
”

“
Hmm?
”

“
We
’
re
cool, right? I mean
—”

“
Of course we are,
”
he says with a placid half smile,
“
Have a good summer, Sophie.
”

And
just like that, turns and walks away. I stare after him, totally at a loss.
What the hell just happened here?

“
Sophie, come on!
”
Danny calls from across the crowded bar.

I
turn on my heel and hurry for the door, eyes prickling with sudden, surprising
tears. Am I angry at having my time with Luke interrupted by some ignorant
asshole? Or am I disappointed that he didn
’
t ask to see me again? Or am I
still just hopelessly turned on and in need of a major self-love session once I
get home?

Whatever
has me upset, I know I
’
ll be able to deal with it much
better once we
’
ve made it out of The Bear Trap.
Clasping hands, Danny and I hurry out the front door and into the waiting cab.
We ride along toward the relative safety of campus in silence.

“
I don
’
t
know about you,
”
Danny finally says,
“
But that
’
s enough excitement for me tonight.
”

“
Yeah,
”
I
murmur, still attempting to blink back my tears,
“
A
shitty Disney movie doesn
’
t seem too bad right about now.
”

“
I have
Hercules
on DVD and a
bottle of Merlot at my place,
”
Danny offers.

“
Done,
”
I
smile back at him, glad for a spot of levity. We could use it after the
intense, startling night we both had.

“
So
…
how
did you leave things with the Professor?
”
Danny asks after a moment.

“
I
’
m
not even sure,
”
I tell him,
“
But I
’
m pretty sure I managed to fuck it
up.
”

“
Wow. In just one night? That
’
s a new record for you,
”
Danny
laughs weakly.

“
You know me,
”
I sigh, sinking against the backseat as we race along
the highway,
“
Always gotta outdo myself somehow.
”

***

The
campus is nearly deserted the next morning when I finally make my way home from
Danny
’
s place. We fell asleep watching
cartoons and drinking cheap wine like we were wee little freshmen again
—
but then, we both needed a little bit of comfort after
the events of last night. Already, everything that happened at The Bear Trap
feels like a dream
—
a sexy, scary, unsettling dream.
For the first time, I find myself wondering whether I
am
ready to deal
with the world outside my cozy university walls. After all, there may not
always be a Luke Hawthorne to rush to my rescue.

Luke
weighs heavily on my mind as I arrive back at my dorm to find that my roommate
Kim has already moved her things out of our shared abode. Though we barely
traded more than a few niceties over the course of the year, I find myself
feeling unaccountably lonely here in my half-empty dorm room. But then, maybe
it
’
s not just anybody
’
s company I
’
m longing for now. Maybe it
’
s the company of a certain sexy professor
—
the man who saved me and my best friend from god knows
what last night. The memory of Luke
’
s hands, the way his body felt
against mine, comes roaring back to me, and I hurry to sit down at my desk
before I topple over with longing. 

I
eagerly open my laptop to see if he
’
s reached out to me since last
night. But when I scan my email inbox, there
’
s
no new message from Luke Hawthorne. My heart sinks as I sit back in my chair,
unreasonably disappointed. My fear that I bungled things between us last night
burrows deeper into my heart. It
’
s not like we promised to keep in
touch or anything, now that school is over. What was I expecting? What do I
even want from him, come to think of it?

As
I stare despondently at my computer screen, a new message appears in my inbox.
My heart leaps into my throat as I hurry to open it, sure that it
’
s Luke checking up on me
…
But
no dice. The email is from my mother, Robin Porter. I open it up and read a
short message, written in her typical scatterbrained syntax.

Hi
Sophie girl! Happy summer!! Can
’
t wait to see you for family vaca. Did I remember
to give you the address? The lake house is gorg, you
’
re going
to love it. Hmm
…
Actually need to LOOK UP the address first, but I
’
ll get it
to you eventually. See you in a week baby love you!!1 Mom

I
let my head fall into my hands as my mother
’
s
email jogs my memory. Of course. The family vacation. With all the hustle
around the end of the semester, I nearly forgot that my mom has planned some
big reunion for me and my two sisters in a week
’
s
time.