Page 47 of Bear
Mason rakes his hand through his hair and points to the table. “I’m gonna sit in there.” Once again, his nonverbal message comes across crystal clear.Talk to her.
Why? Have they been talking about me? What about, specifically?My jaw works to the side, and I rest my forearms on the kitchen island, watching her while I try to decide what the fuck I should even say. I have so many options.
Sorry—I wish my father wasn’t a complete handsy asshole this morning.
I shouldn’t have jizzed on you for the fourth anniversary of my girlfriend’s death.
Didn’t mean to put my gay AF attraction to my friend on display for you either.
She begins making an assembly line of sandwiches, and her eyes flick to mine. “Do you want one?”
I incline my head. “Yeah.” I let loose a deep sigh at the thoughts running through my head. Worst fucking day ever. My chest clenches as a flash of Lennon and Juliette working in that diner infiltrates my mind’s eye. I pull in a ragged breath, fighting to keep my emotions under control.Juliette, why didn’t you tell me you were struggling?
As Lennon works, she peeks up at me from under a thick fringe of lashes. “I-I haven’t had a chance to thank you.”
My brows dart together, my attention grabbed as she draws me back to the present. “For what?” I bite out before I have a chance to think about it.
“What happened this morning with your dad.” Her mouth pulls into a frown as she assembles the sandwiches and turns to put two of them on the small frying pan. Facing me again, she busies herself digging into a drawer and comes up with a spatula. “I was—” My brow raises as she hesitates. “I was shaken. And when he left, I focused on what he meant about you lying for me—still don’t understand that, by the way—but I should have said thank you right then for…”
Protecting her. From my own douchebag father. After everyone else left for class, I’d met him in the office, as per his demand. He’d been unhinged, pacing the damn room. He’d given me fucking hell for interfering with how he was handling Lennon, then on top of it, as he was raging, he’d made some snide comments about me being way too comfortable with my stepsister. The eye roll I’d given had bought me a bone-jarring backhand from the old man. I reach up, absentmindedly probing with my fingers as I work my jaw.
That side of my mouth twitches up. If only he knew… He might be right about that last bit, but I’m never going to be okay with him putting his hands on her. What was he trying to do? Scare her? Hurt her? I don’t fucking know what was in his head.
I shake my head. “Not fucking necessary.” I brace both hands on the counter looking down at them while she flips the sandwiches over to cook the other side.
My father’s pitiful excuse about why he’d shown up today has me on high alert. After calming ever so slightly, he’d said he was there to make sure someone would be home to let the set-up and catering crew in on Saturday for the auction, but I don’t buy it. Shoot me a fucking text. I have an awful feeling that the real reason behind his visit was Lennon. I don’t know why, exactly, but he’s way too fucking interested in what she’s doing.
She transfers both sandwiches to plates, then takes one over to Mason. When she returns, she slides the other sandwich across the counter to me. Our eyes lock, and the stare down that happens between us is one for the record books. We’re unmoving, and I find it hard to breathe with her gaze scanning every nuance of emotion crossing my face. I hate it, but I think she reads me pretty well. The way she seems to know me makes my chest tighten. It makes me fucking ache for the one girl I can never fucking have.
And that’s why my father’s fucking hands on her had been too much for me to take… She may not be mine to touch. But she’s sure as fuck nothis.
She wets her lips, pure frustration leaching from her features. “Duke, why won’t you talk to me? What’s wrong? Is it your dad or…?” She grits her teeth.
So many fucking options…My entire fucking life is blowing up.
With a deep sigh, she picks up the final sandwich and puts it on the pan. She stands with her back to me as she stares at that fucking sandwich, her breaths heaving in and out, like I’ve upset her.
On a groan, I push away from the counter and close the gap between us in three steps. With my hands firmly planted on her hips, I yank her back against me. Tucking my head near hers, my voice comes out raspy when I whisper, “There’s a lot going on today, but if you really want to know what's wrong with me right at this moment?This.This is at the forefront of my mind.” I shove my stiffening erection up against her ass. A tiny gasp falls from her lips. I grind myself against her, my heart frantically thudding in my chest. Like dragging words over gravel, I grit out, “I shouldn't fucking feel like this about my goddamn stepsister. We shouldn't have done any of that today. I never should have let it happen.”
“Duke…”
My fingers clamp down on her hips and jerk her back onto my cock one more time. “No. I shouldn’t have fucking touched y—”
She wrestles free of my grasp and turns around, her confusion boring into me through fiery-blue eyes. All we seem capable of doing is staring at each other as our chests rise and fall together. We’re practically nose to nose, and my brain misfires. I want nothing more than to take out all my anger and guilt and grief on her plump lips.
So, I fuckin’do.I cover her mouth with mine in a soul-wrenching kiss, my tongue sweeping boldly into her mouth, my cock thick and hard against her belly. I thread my hands into her hair on either side of her head, and I use it to control her. But the part that twists inside my heart is that I don’t need to. She clutches me to her, meeting me stroke for greedy stroke.
The sound of a throat clearing has me tearing my mouth from hers and my head whipping around to the source of the noise. Lennon sucks in a gasping breath.
Bear has paused on the threshold of the kitchen, taking in the scene. He blinks, looking first at me, then at Lennon, and shakes his head. But a moment later, he frowns. “What the fuck are you two doing?” He lunges forward, reaching behind us to grab the pan off the stovetop. He immediately drops it to the side with a clatter. “Goddammit,” he bites out, grimacing as he nudges us out of the way and turns off the burner.
I study him while he takes in several gulps of air. I can see the pain etched into his features and scramble to piece together what’s happened. At first, I thought he was growling about walking in on the kiss, but maybe it was just the burning sandwich. Fuck, don’t kid yourself, it was probably both.
Lennon’s eyes are wide, and she makes a pained noise. “Oh my god, I’m an idiot.” She steps in to try to help, but Bear gives her a frustrated shake of his head.
With his right arm clamped to his side, he hurriedly flips on the exhaust fan with his left, then waves it over the blackened sandwich to dissipate the smoke.
Mason looks up from his food. “You all setting the house on fire over there?” He tucks his tongue inside his cheek, eyeing Lennon and me before he glances at Bear with a tinge of concern in his gaze. “You okay, man?”
