Hunger (A Stepbrother Romance Novel) Read Online Free PDF Page B

was left with the guilty feeling that I shouldn’t have provoked him.
    With a heavy sigh, I flopped back into the water and floated around, losing myself in my thoughts as the sun beat down on my skin.
    ~*~*~
    Almost two hours later, my tan had considerably improved, but my mood was still pretty sour.
    The guilt that gnawed at my stomach wouldn’t go away and the urge to chase after Luke and apologize was still strong, even as the hours passed by. I flipped onto my stomach when the timer on my phone went off and sighed into my arms as I folded them under my chin.
    A few minutes later, I felt the warmth from the sun suddenly stop and I looked up with a frown. Luke was standing above me, blocking some of the sun with his shadow. I squinted and noticed he was now dressed in a white tank top and a pair of loose-fitting basketball shorts. I propped myself up on my arms but he shook his head, gesturing for me to stay where I was.
    “I just came out to apologize for what happened earlier.”
    I was reluctant to say it, but I couldn’t stop my mouth from forming the words. “I don’t really understand what happened.”
    He was silent for a long moment before he sighed and flopped down beside me in the other lounge chair. I twisted my neck to look at him curiously as he stared seriously at the pool.
    “Do you know why I was in rehab?”
    “Your mom told me.”
    “Then surely you can understand how... difficult it is for me to be around women so soon after my... treatment.”
    This wasn’t a conversation I wanted to have without actually being face to face, so I pushed myself up even as he protested. I sat sideways on the seat to look at him, frowning when he turned his body away from mine.
    “Could you— Could you cover yourself or something?” he choked out, making a wild gesture with his hand to my chest.
    I nodded and wrapped the towel around my chest, twisting it at the front so it’d stay in place. “I’m decent.”
    He turned back to me and sighed with relief, shaking his head afterwards as if to clear it of his thoughts. “Thanks. So, yeah. It’s not exactly easy to be around women for me right now. Seeing you practically fucking naked didn’t help.”
    I couldn’t stop the words from pouring out of my mouth. “Your mom said you don’t know how to interact with women who aren’t your family.”
    He grunted, obviously displeased that Clara had told me that, but not denying it either. “I guess that’s true enough.”
    “But we’re about to become family.”
    His head turned so fast that it gave me whiplash.
    “Don’t say that,” he whispered harshly.
    I frowned, totally confused by his anger. “Why not? You said it last night. You said—”
    “I know what I said. I also know that I’m a fucking liar.”
    I couldn’t respond. I had no idea what to say. My mouth dropped open to speak, but no words would come out. I was rendered speechless.
    Daniel had been right all along. He totally called it.
    Luke wanted me. I wanted Luke. It was going to happen.
    The only question was when .
    “Luke, I—”
    “Don’t,” he stopped me, holding up his slightly shaky hand. “Just don’t. I can’t do this. Not with you; not now, not ever . I just can’t. I’m going out for a while. Tell my mom not to worry about me.”
    Before I could protest or question where he was going, he abruptly stood up and jogged into the house. I thought about following him, but the sound of a car horn blaring outside told me that it would be a useless effort. I heard the car screech as it spun its tires on the road and knew he was already gone.
    What the hell do I do now?
    ~*~*~

Chapter Five
     
    “You were right to call me. This is a tricky one.”
    I rolled my eyes at Daniel as he paced back and forth in my bedroom, tapping his lips thoughtfully with his finger. After the talk with Luke by the pool, I had been desperate for advice. So I called the one man who I knew could help me with my problem.
    But now, I was kind of