by Tia Siren
“I think you and Dad simply thought I was settling. It’s hard, being a woman who wants something traditional in a society that expects a woman to no longer want that. If I want a traditional house life, people think I’m settling. If I want to be in the workforce for a while, I’m suddenly looking down on stay-at-home mothers and being a selfish woman. Everyone’s been so focused on the persona my life will give off that I don’t think anyone stopped to think to ask me what I wanted.”
“And Kason did?” he asked.
“Not only that, but he’s the one that found a way to talk some sense into me. This wasn’t planned—not by a longshot—but I’m still happy. And Kason, he might be overwhelmed, but he’s on board,” I said.
“You’ve really thought a lot about this, haven’t you?” Marcus asked.
“I haven’t had much of anything else to do. Not many people are talking to me,” I said.
“You know you’d have Mom’s support, too” Marcus murmured.
“When it comes to shopping for baby items, yes. But I’ll also have all her unsolicited advice on how to raise this kid.”
“Hey, you’re the one who got pregnant.” Marcus smirked.
“I know,” I whispered.
“So…you said you and Kason have talked? And he’s sticking around?”
“Yep.. I’m leaving with him tomorrow so I can start early. He’s got a room ready for me in his home so I can have my own space to study and work. I’ll also be there so he can keep an eye on me. He says he wants to stick around and support me and be a good father to our child, like his father was to him. And I believe him, Marcus. I really do.”
“Hold on a second,” Marcus said. He got off the couch and shoved his hand into his pocket. He dialed a number as he walked out of the room. I sighed in relief and felt my eyes flutter closed just as Marcus’s voice wafted in from the room down the hall. I was so relieved to have my brother on my side, even if he still wasn’t fully on board with the fact that Kason and I had slept together. I needed my big brother to tell me this was going to be all right and that he was going to be an incredible uncle and would be there when I went into labor.
But then, just before my mind stopped racing and I fell asleep on his couch, I heard Marcus exclaim “you better step up!” from his bedroom.
And I knew he had finally called Kason.
Chapter 34
Kason
When Marcus called and told me Hanna was at his place, I hopped in my car and got on the road. I was shocked he had returned my calls, much less informed me of the whereabouts of his sister, but after yelling at me to step up and be a man and do right by his sister, he wanted the whole breakdown of what had happened between us. He said he’d got a bit out of Hanna but he knew she was still hiding shit. I told him that if she was keeping something from him, that said more about his character than hers.
That made him angry, but I told him I was on my way to have this conversation with him in person.
When I got there, I half expected Marcus to not let me in. It would be like him to leave his sister in his apartment and talk to me outside just to show us he could separate us. When I knocked on his door and he let me in, I was surprised. I saw Hanna on the couch with her hair mussed and her voice deep with sleep. I figured she’d probably fallen asleep on his couch. I couldn’t blame her. She was in her first trimester, growing a child, and her family was falling apart around her.
I’d be tired, too, if I was volleying all she was.
“Sit,” Marcus said.
I sat between Hanna and Marcus in order to keep her shielded from what was about to happen, and Marcus took notice of it. He sat on the couch and rested against the armrest. Then he crossed his arms over his chest.
“Now, Kason, what happened when you first got into town?”
“We went out to that speakeasy,” I said.
“I mean what went down between you and Hanna after you promised to keep your hands off her.”
“Marcus,” Hanna warned.
“Do you really want to know all this?” I asked.
“Obviously not the parts I shouldn’t hear about Hanna. Dude, she’s my sister. But the story? Yes.”
“Well,” I said, “it started with Hanna—”
She elbowed me and I shot her a glance. If she was trying to be subtle, she had completely and utterly failed. Marcus shot her a glance before he whipped his gaze back to me.
“See!? I knew there was something she was hiding! The fuck happened, Kas?”
“Marcus, come on. Is this really—”
“Don’t you think I have a right to know?” Marcus exclaimed.
“No,” I said coolly. “But, out of respect for our friendship and you being Hanna’s brother as well as the uncle of our child, I’m willing to tell you. But you’ll also direct your anger at me. Yell at your sister again and we’re done. We’ll be gone in the morning.”
“At least you’re stepping up,” Marcus murmured.
“Hanna approached me and told me she wanted me to father a child with her.”
“Excuse me?” he said. “Are you serious, Hanna?”
“At me, Marcus,” I snapped.
He turned to me. “Are you serious, Kason?”
“Yes, but after a couple of lunches and one protected tryst, I talked her out of it. We flirted and intentionally wore things that would rile up the other at parties, but after I talked her down from her crazy tree—”
Hanna pouted. “Hey,” she said.
“It was crazy, sweetheart,” I said.
“I’m sorry…”
“I know.” I pulled her in and kissed her on her forehead, and for a split second, I thought Marcus’s face softened. I could tell he was coming around to his sister and her situation, but I knew he still really had his guard up with me.
And the only thing I could offer him in order to get him to bring down his guard was the truth.
Either that or threaten his job, but I wasn’t going to be that petty.
Yet.
“After that, we just kept meeting up. Her room and my room when the parents were gone. The greenhouse once.”
“Good grief,” Marcus said. “Kason, you’re an idiot.”
“Marcus!” Hanna exclaimed.
“I mean, look at you! I have one conversation with you about possibly settling down and you knock up a college senior? Never mind the fact that she’s my sister, but what if this had been any other college girl? You would’ve ruined her senior year and destroyed any chance she had at any higher education!”
“So you think I’ve ruined your sister’s life?” I asked.
“Yes! Med school’s going to be postponed, and she probably won’t finish her last semester even though she says she will with online classes and shit like that. That means she won’t walk in June and then she’ll be raising a kid and it’ll be a mess!”
“Marcus, we had a wonderfully productive conversation. Where the hell is this coming from?” Hanna asked.
“I have to mend things with you because you’re my sister,” he spat. “But I don’t have to mend things with him.”
“You do if you want to see you niece or nephew,” Hanna said.
“Oh, so now you’re going to keep me from my niece or nephew because I’m pissed that my best friend knocked up my sister and ruined her life? Sounds like the mindset of a well-matured mother-to-be.”
“Marcus, that’s fucking enough,” I commanded.
“No. Now you listen. You’ve been blowing up my phone trying to get me to talk, so sit there and let me talk. You should’ve never touched my sister. You got a fucking blowjob from some bunny with ruby red lips and big fake tits your first night back in town, and then you promised me you’d never touch my sister. Not in a million years. And here you are, sitting on my fucking couch, mad at me because I’m pissed you knocked up my sister?”
“This conversation is over,” Hanna stated.
“Sit back down,” Marcus commanded lowly.
“The
only person who gets to tell me what to do is Kason. And that’s only because he’s the only one I respect at this point.”
“What the fuck?!” Marcus balked.
“I’m pregnant, and this entire weekend I’ve been quietly vomiting in bathrooms from stress so no one can hear me, tip-toeing around people who are angry at the fact that I’m sick because I’m pregnant, and no one other than Kason has stopped to even think about what this stress is doing to the child I’m growing!”
“You’ve been sick?” I asked. “Why didn't you tell me?”
“Because I’ve had this issue with my brother at front of my mind all weekend!” She motioned to her brother, whose face was beginning to turn red again. The moment he opened his mouth, I knew he was about to say something that would rift whatever it was they had patched up earlier.
“If you didn’t want the bullshit, then you shouldn’t have gotten pregnant,” Marcus said.
Hanna stood there shaking, and I got up and wrapped my arms around her. Marcus turned his head like he was about to be sick, and I pressed kiss after kiss to the top of Hanna’s head to try to get her to calm down. The way she was so wound up because of her family and friends was going to do damage to our growing child, and I wouldn’t have it.
“How about we go home and pack some of your things, hmm?” I hummed.
“For your fun little internship that starts early?” Marcus mocked.
“If you don’t fucking shut that mouth of yours, Marc, you’ll be out of a job.”
He stayed silent, but he didn’t hide his glare, and that was when Hanna peaked out from around my arm. She took a deep breath and patted my chest with her hand. I stood behind her while she said what she needed to say.
“Take all the time you want to digest, Marcus, but know this: if you aren’t at the birth of your niece or nephew with a smile on your face and joy in your heart and this anger gone? You won’t step near that child. As for tomorrow, I’m heading back to San Francisco with Kason in the morning. I’ll be staying with him while working and doing online classes, and just because I’m there doesn’t mean you can’t come visit.”
“Whatever,” Marcus mumbled.
“I love you and I’m sorry you’re hurting, but now all you’re doing is hurting yourself while burning bridges you might not be able to repair,” Hanna said.
“Have you told Mom and Dad about the internship? About you leaving?” Marcus asked.
“Mom knows, yes, and she’s actually pretty happy about it, especially since I’m staying with Kason. Dad, not so much. He’s still not talking to me and probably won’t for a while.”
“Wish I would’ve made the same choice…”
“You ready to go?” I murmured in Hanna’s ear.
“Hold on,” she whispered. She walked away from my grasp, and the entirety of my body wanted to pull her back into it. If she was in my arms, I could protect her. Her and the baby. I could keep her heart beating and her stomach growing and her soul full of happiness, but when she slipped from my grasp and walked slowly toward Marcus, it was like watching her approach a dog poised to attack.
When she wrapped her arms around her brother and kissed his forehead, I knew then and there that she wasn’t just going to be a great mother. She was going to be a great life partner. If she could have this kind of unconditional love for someone who despised her existence right now, then god only knew the kind of love she would have for her own child.
“You ready to go pack now?” I asked.
“I love you, Marcus.” she said. “Come visit anytime.”
I grabbed her hand and we walked toward the door. Marcus didn’t budge. He was staring out the window with his head in his hand, and when we shut the door, we stood there to see if that would jog his body.
To see if he would at least come after his sister.
But when the door didn’t budge and there wasn’t a sound coming from behind the door, I scooped a crying Hanna into my arms and carried her to my car.
It was time to pack her stuff and get her to a place that made her happy.
Chapter 35
Hanna
We left my brother’s that night and Kason took me back to my house. I thought he was going to help me pack, but instead he kissed me on my forehead and told me he had somewhere he needed to be. I didn’t mind, though, because I knew I’d eventually be standing in the exact spot I was now.
I met him at his private jet on the tarmac Monday morning. My mom dropped me off with a massive smile on her face and kept telling me about all the wonderful things that were about to change in my life. She kept telling me stories of how Marcus and I had been growing up and how the sleepless nights had been worth it when the baby cuddling came in the morning because the child was tired. I enjoyed the stories until we got to the airport, because once I saw that neither Marcus nor my father were there, my heart sank.
I understood why they were angry. I just didn’t understand why they couldn’t put that anger aside to at least see me off.
“It’ll be all right. They’ll come around,” my mother said. “Just give them a little while.”
“And why should that be my responsibility, Mom? Why shouldn’t they just grow up and act like adults?”
“Because, honey, while this is beautiful and we are so glad this is with Kason, it is still a little…out of sorts,” my mom said.
“Thanks,” I murmured.
“Honey?”
“Yeah, Mom?”
“Message me when you land, all right?”
I leaned over and gave her a kiss. Then I was off. I rolled my suitcase full of stuff up to the jet plane, but Kason came out and started walking toward me. I couldn’t help but drop my suitcase and run for him. He took me in his arms and swung me around. I buried my head deep in the crook of his neck. He smelled like home, and I was ready to get in the air and leave all this behind. In his arms, I knew I was making the right decision. I was about to go live with the man who was fathering my child so I could start an internship as his secretary. I had a plan to call Stanford at the beginning of next week to talk with them about taking online classes, and I told Kason I’d simply be honest with them. It would be easier with the internship that way, and it came with the possibility of spending more time with Kason.
If his work allowed it, of course.
I waved good-bye to my mom one last time and then we boarded. I strapped in next to Kason’s seat while he stored my luggage, and when he came back, he took my hand in his and brought it to his lips to kiss. God, I was in for the ride of my life, and I was ready for every second of it.
“How’re you feeling?” Kason asked.
“Relieved. There’s a lot of stress here and I’m ready to get away from it,” I said.
“You looked a little better after we ate breakfast.”
“I felt a little better after eating something,” I said.
His hand was warm within mine, and a spark of desire ignited in my chest. His leg was resting against mine, and I could see his sleeve tattoo from underneath his rolled-up sleeves. My word, that tattoo was fantastic, and suddenly my mind was swirling with thoughts of tracing those outlines with the tip of my tongue.
“You all right?” Kason asked me.
“Yeah, yeah,” I said. The plane took off and I closed my eyes. Immediately, Kason started drawing comforting circles on top of my hand. I felt more relieved the further we climbed into the sky. I knew, deep down, that my family had reasons to be upset with me, but I was also ready to be in a place where no one was angry with me.
Specifically, Kason.
When I opened my eyes, the clouds were zooming beside the plane. Kason was reading a book, and I guessed I had fallen asleep. When I shifted, Kason promptly put his book down and unbuckled his seat belt.
“You look amazing,” he said.
“Thanks.”
He leaned over and pressed a kiss to my forehead, then one to my nose. My eyes hooked with his while his lips hovered over mine, and in an instant,
I was in his lap. I crashed my lips into his and tugged on his hair to get him closer to me. Before I could shift, his large palms cupped my ass and I was lifted into the air.
“Come with me,” Kason murmured.
I clung to him as his dick grew between my legs and he carried us into the bathroom of the plane. It was much larger than I envisioned it would be, and when he set me on the small sink counter, he pushed my knees apart and spread me wide.
“Fuck, I’ve been smelling you for the better half of an hour,” Kason said.
“I’m sorry.”
“Don’t be.”
Kason sank to his knees and made quick work of my shorts. He hooked his fingers into my clothing and quickly pulled it off my legs. I was bare to him and hanging by a thread on that bathroom counter. He grabbed my hips and tilted me back.
“Get comfortable, because I’m hungry.”
My body shivered at his voice while his skin tickled the inside of my thighs. I could feel my glistening slit that was bare for him. When his tongue started lapping at my pussy folds, I leaned my head back into the wall. His tongue felt so good against my skin, and his palms were warm against my knees. I would have this every night if I could.
His tongue slid deep into my dripping entrance, and I heard him swallow me down. My hips rolled into his face and my hands braced my body from behind, but his palms only pulled me closer to him, and it made me giggle.
“Someone’s greedy today,” I said.
He growled into my pussy and clamped down on my skin, and it took my breath away. His tongue slid up my slit and finally found my precious bundle of nerves. When the tip of his tongue went to work, I knew it wouldn’t take long. He flicked and flattened his tongue and then sucked the nub between his lips, and my legs shook. The warmth his body provided mine was pulled from my system and shot between my legs. I shook with pleasure and ice-cold electricity, and when stars began to burst in my vision, I clamped a hand down in his hair to gain more leverage.
“Yes. Fuck. Kason, oh shit. Right there. Right there. Right there. Right there.”
He hummed into my skin in approval, and it was all I needed. I tumbled over the edge and felt something squirt from my body. I felt Kason smile into my skin before his tongue started gulping down my juices. He was so hungry for me, and it made me feel so wanted. When my body finally collapsed, his strong hands slipped into the dip of my lower back and slowly pulled me to him.
