by Rye Hart
“With the way Lauren’s been eyeing us all night? Probably not the best idea,” she said.
“Then let me get you outside and hail you a cab. It’s already dark. You don’t need to be out there alone,” Liam said.
“I’ll be okay, I promise,” Sam said.
“You’re not going out there by yourself,” I said. “So, pick who you want to go with, and we’ll deal with Lauren. I’m sure she’ll be able to respect someone safely putting you in a damn cab.”
Sam nodded before she leaned over, and I thought she was going to kiss me. But she wrapped her arms around my neck before her lips fell to my cheek. My eyes darted over to Lauren, and I breathed a sigh of relief when I saw she was turned. But it didn’t do anything to quell the heat throbbing in my cock. I pulled Sam into a hug and helped her to her feet, then watched her turn to Liam and take the arm he offered her.
“I’ll be right back,” he said.
“Thank you, guys, so much for a wonderful night,” Sam said.
Sam walked over to Lauren and gave her a big hug, explaining that she needed to rest. She said a few words to Liam, who waved her off and then took Sam’s elbow to guide her outside. I wanted to follow her. To wrap my arms around her and pull her in for a decadent kiss. But I knew we needed to leave her alone. I knew I needed to leave my urges for when we weren’t being watched like a hawk by our sister.
“We could go back to her hotel room with her, you know,” Luke said as he stood.
“I thought we said we were going to let her breathe tonight,” Logan said.
But before anyone could say anything else, Liam came walking back into the reception.
And he didn’t look happy.
CHAPTER 22
SAM
Liam was so kind to hail a cab for me, but I knew he wanted to come with me, to get some alone time with me. But I didn’t want to be around anyone just then. I had strong feelings for all of the guys, but my interaction with Luke kept tumbling around in my head.
The way he’d said that he loved me.
I couldn’t stop repeating the moment in my head.
Lauren’s wedding day had been a whirlwind of events and being pregnant didn’t help matters. It took the rest of the energy I had to get up to my hotel room, and by the time I opened the door, I was ready to fall asleep in my clothes. The cool air of caressed my hot skin as I slid my dress off my body. It was soaked with sweat, and I could feel how dirty I was, so I decided on a bath.
I ran water into the jetted tub and poured some bubbles into it. Relaxation was already combing over every inch of my skin. I grabbed a towel and hung it near the bathtub, so I could easily grab it once I was done. Before I could get in, however, a knock came at the door.
“Who is it?” I asked.
“It’s Luke, Sam.”
I felt my heart stop in my chest as I looked down.
Not that he hadn’t already seen me naked, but I was trying to have some modicum of decency. “Um, could you give me a second?” I asked.
“Are you okay?” Luke asked.
“Yeah, I—”
I could hear the water rising in the bathroom. I ran through the room and skidded into the bathroom, then lunged at the faucet to stop the flow. I reached for the towel and wrapped it around my body, then sighed before I went back to the door. I unlocked it and cracked it open, poking my head around the corner and keeping my body concealed.
“Hey there,” I said.
“Hey?” Luke asked. “Are you busy?”
I sighed and closed my eyes before I stepped out from beyond the door.
“I ran myself a bath, and you kind of caught me before I got in,” I said.
The way his eyes ran along my body, made me shiver. It puckered the skin on my legs and rushed heat up my back. He took a step toward me, and I could see something in his eyes. Some sort of mixture of sorrow and fear.
“Can I come in?” he asked.
I stepped off to the side to let him in before I closed the door behind him.
“I’m sorry,” Luke said.
I turned around and furrowed my brow at him as I leaned against the door.
“What are you sorry for?” I asked.
“I’m sorry for showing up at your place drunk that night. For laying that all at your feet when you are already going through and processing so much,” he said.
“Luke, you don’t need to apologize for that. Yes, this whole thing has been stressful, but that didn’t add to my stress. If anything, it made me feel a little less confused.”
Luke’s eyes lit up and it melted my heart. Sweet, sweet Luke.
“It did? I was afraid that it made things worse,” he said, looking down at me.
I shook my head and looked up into his beautiful green eyes. “No. You could never make things worse.”
He shrugged and looked around the room. “I didn’t mean to interrupt your bath. You look exhausted,” he said. “I should go.”
I reached out and grabbed his arm as he turned to leave. As tired as I was, I didn’t want him to go. I’d been thinking about him and his declaration for too damn long.
He raised his hand to my face and his thumb smoothed over my cheek, and I nuzzled into his touch.
“I love you,” Luke said. “And I need you to know that. Without the alcohol and without the distractions.”
I took his hand and led him into the bathroom.
Standing beside the tub, I let the towel fall in a puddle at my feet. Luke leaned in and pressed his lips to my forehead. I sighed and stepped into the tub, sinking below the water and pulling Luke down to kneel next to me. My nipples puckered against the bubbles as my hand slid up his arm, taking in the lean muscle and his strength. He pressed his lips to my eyes. The tip of my nose. My cheeks. His hand cupped the back of my head and cradled it gently, tike he was holding a porcelain doll.
His lips hovered over mine, and I could feel his breath pulsating against my tongue.
“Get in with me,” I said in a whisper.
Luke removed his clothes before he slid into the bath behind me. He gently washed my hair and my body, taking time to massage the tension and exhaustion from my muscles. I nearly came just from deliciousness of his touch. I felt his cock rising to life against my back as I instinctively ground into him. I pressed myself closer to him as goosebumps broke out along my skin.
I loved his touch.
It was intoxicating.
I turned around in the tub and straddled his pelvis, feeling my body become weightless in the water. His hands settled on my ass as my arms threaded around his neck, and suddenly our lips collided. Our tongues battled. My body sank into his. I breathed in every part of him. Took in the way he stroked my back and massaged my thighs. I rolled my pelvis into his. Felt his cock throbbing against my pussy. I cupped his cheeks as my head turned off to the side, and I rose up just enough for him to grab his cock.
He guided himself into me, and I groaned, filling his throat with my sounds.
He gripped my ass and picked us up out of the bath. With his cock growing against my dripping walls and my legs wrapped around him, our bodies trailed bubbles from the bathroom to the bed. We dropped to the mattress as our lips crashed together again, his hands pinning my arms above my head. His lips were everywhere, and his hips pounded into me. I rolled into him. Wrapped my legs around him. Met him thrust for thrust while pulling him deeper than I ever thought possible.
“I love you, Sam,” he said with a groan. “I love you so much.”
Electricity burst in my toes and colors sizzled at the edges of my vision. Every snap of his hips pushed me up the bed until his hand cupped the top of my head, keeping me protected from the headboard as it slammed against the wall. My fingertips dug into his back with his cock pulsing inside me. I was so close, teetering on the edge but unable to fall off.
“Luke. So close. I’m so close! Please, harder. Just a little—more.”
His hand rushed down my body and quickly spread my pussy lips. I fe
lt his fingers graze my swollen clit, and the sensations were too much. He pressed into it and my back arched. His lips wrapped around my nipple as my jaw unhinged. The stroke of his tongue. The circling of his fingers. The pounding sensation of his hips, and the way his cock filled my pussy perfectly.
My fingers wound into the tendrils of his hair as darkness overcame my vision.
My entire body convulsed underneath him. Shook and quivered while my toes curled so tightly my legs began to cramp. Every muscle was vibrating. Blood rushed loudly through my ears. Stars burst in the darkness that filled the corners of my vision as Luke held me close to him. I felt him stop. I felt his cock pulsing against my walls, filling me with hot spurts of cum that warmed my body. He wouldn’t stop kissing me. Wouldn’t stop holding me to him. My hands inched out of his hair and down his neck. Down his shoulders. Down his back.
I collapsed to the bed and gasped for air, feeling Luke’s body fall to mine.
As our breathing finally returned to normal, Luke slid himself from my body and curled up behind me, pulling me firmly against him. And the last thing I heard before I fell into a deep, exhausted sleep, was Luke whisper once more how much he loved me.
CHAPTER 23
SAM
“Sam! You in there?”
A pounding knock came at my hotel room door that startled me awake.
“Sam. Open up. I know you’re in there.”
Lauren’s voice hit my ears, and my eyes flew open. I felt something tighten around my waist and looked down to see Luke’s arm. His hand cupped my stomach, like he was protecting my unborn child. And at any other moment, it would’ve been the sweetest gesture that would have woken me with a smile on my face.
But Lauren was banging down my door, and her brother was in my bed.
“Is that Lauren?” Luke asked.
“Sh-sh-sh-sh,” I said as I scrambled out of bed. “Hold on, Lauren. Just getting up.”
I looked around for some clothes and pulled on the first thing I could find. I looked back at Luke, and he sat up on the bed, but he didn’t make a move to go anywhere. In his defense, there weren’t many places to go. There was the closet or the bathroom, but nothing that would conceal him for a substantial period of time.
“Sam!” Lauren said as she thumped her fist against the door. “Open this door. I know you’re not feeling well, and I just want to check in on you.”
I couldn't hide this forever. And it seemed as if Luke had the same thought as me.
“What?” I asked as I opened the door.
I stood there trying to block her vision, giving us one last shot at getting out of this without an altercation. I knew we would eventually have to come clean, but I just wasn’t ready. I was still terrified that it would cost me my best friend.
“You left early last night because you weren’t feeling good. I just wanted to make sure you are ok this morning,” Lauren said, walking past me into my room.
Her eyes fell onto Luke in my bed, and it was clear he was still naked. The comforter barely covered his body, and his torso was bare. Lauren’s eyes slowly morphed from an overly-concerned best friend into something I hadn’t seen before.
And I knew this wasn’t going to be good.
“What the hell is this?” Lauren asked, her eyes sweeping back and forth between Luke and me.
I looked at Luke, waiting for him to jump in and help me with any of this.
“Lauren, it’s not as bad as—” I started before she interrupted.
“Not as bad as what?” she asked. “Because from where I’m standing, it looks like my best friend slept with one my fucking brothers.”
“Shouldn’t you be on an airplane for your honeymoon right now?” Luke asked.
“Is he the father?” she asked, her eyes growing wide.
How in the fuck was I going to explain this to her?
“It’s more complicated than that,” Luke said.
“How the hell is that complicated? Sam, did my brother knock you up?”
There was no going back now.
“Yes,” I said.
“Holy shit. I knew one of you guys fucked around with her in Vegas. What the hell were you thinking? What the hell were you both thinking? So, are you two a thing now? You know since you’re carrying his child?”
“I don’t know if I’m carrying his child,” I said quietly. If this was going to come out, then it was going to all come out.
My eyes whipped over to Luke, and he slid from the bed. He pulled some pants on and sat on the edge of it, and I scooted away from Lauren. The confusion and the anger in her eyes, it reminded me a lot of the look my mother had when she found out I was pregnant. I walked over to Luke but didn’t touch him. I leaned against the wall as Lauren turned and looked at us. Her silence gave me some time to gather my thoughts, but there was no way to delicately put any of this to her.
Shit.
“What does that mean? You just said he got you pregnant,” Lauren said.
“Lauren, it’s just really –” I tried.
“How the hell could you do this to me?” Lauren asked.
“Do what do you?” I asked.
“You ditched me in Vegas for Luke and got knocked up on the weekend that was supposed to be for us?”
“In her defense,” Luke said, “you were pretty wrapped up in Todd the entire time. We didn’t even get to throw him a decent Bachelor party because you wouldn’t relinquish him.”
She ignored Luke’s comment and turned to look at me. I saw the light of some sort of revelation dawning on her face. My comment was finally sinking in. “You didn’t leave with Luke last night,” she said. “You left with Liam. I watched you guys all night. All of you.”
“Ok, yes. Look there’s no easy way to put this,” I said.
“What the fuck’s going on? And I’m done with all of you giving me the runaround. I’m their fucking sister, Sam, and your best friend. You tell me what the hell’s going on, and you tell me right now.”
“Lauren, you need to calm down. Sam’s pregnant, and she’s been through enough this past couple weeks. She needs to rest and relax,” Luke said.
“You shut up Luke, I’m just as pissed at you as I am at her. How in the hell could you sleep with my best fucking friend? And why were you all passing her around like a goddamn party favor at the reception last night?” Lauren huffed.
“Nobody ‘passed me around’ Lauren. I was having fun. I thought I was allowed to do that,” I said, now angry at her tone.
“You are! But not with my brothers!” she paced around the room for a few minutes before finally turning around and pinning me with her gaze. “You said my brother knocked you up. But then you said you didn’t know if it was Luke’s. What does that mean exactly, Sam?”
I closed my eyes and drew in a deep breath as Luke got off the bed and moved behind me.
“The night you and Todd left the club early, the guys and I continued the party in my suite. We were drinking. A lot. And we ended up playing strip poker,” I said.
Lauren’s jaw dropped further open with every word out of my mouth.
“We were all so drunk,” I said. “And half-naked, and things got heated and out of control. I didn’t just sleep with Luke last night. That’s why I don’t know who the father is, Lauren. Because it could be any one of them.”
Even saying it out loud, I was angry with myself all over again. One moment of blissful lack of control and my entire world had toppled in on itself. My parents had disowned me. My body was carrying the evidence of my one lone act of insanity that made me so sick I couldn’t get out of bed most mornings. And now, I was looking into the eyes of an outraged friend, admitting to her something I should’ve told her the second we found out I was pregnant.
But reading her reaction over this? I wasn’t about to tell her I’d married one of her brothers as well.
“But I was there with you when we found out you were pregnant,” Lauren said.
“I know, and I should’ve said something
then. But I was in shock, and I had no idea what I was going to do or how I was going to tell them. I needed time to process and think.”
“Time to think about how you were going to tell me that you whored yourself to all four of my brothers? At the same time?” she snapped.
Her words stung, but I couldn’t exactly blame her.
“Lauren, I get why you’re upset. But you need to back off. Now. And don’t ever let me hear you refer to her like that again,” Luke said from behind me.
She scoffed and shook her head before her hand landed on the doorknob.
“Lauren, please don’t go,” I said.
“I need to leave for my honeymoon.”
“Please. We need to talk about this.”
I reached out for her to try and stop her, but she pulled away and looked at me like I was disgusting. Like I was someone she didn’t recognize.
Like my father had when I admitted that I was, in fact, pregnant.
She slid out the door and closed it behind her without a second glance.
I felt the rest of my life slowly crumble at my feet. My parents had turned me away. My best friend couldn’t even stand to be in the same room with me. My career was suffering because I could no longer travel for work because of my morning sickness, and I was missing deadlines for articles. Everything was on the line. My life as I knew it was slowly fading from my vision.
I felt lost.
Alone.
“Sam.”
Luke’s hand landed on my shoulder, but I shrugged him off.
“It’s going to be okay. You know you’ve always got us.”
“Get out,” I said without raising my voice.
I felt Luke stiffen behind me as I turned my head to look at him.
“Get out,” I said again.
“Sam, you shouldn’t be alone right now.”
“Please leave.”
“No.”
“Get the fuck out,” I said.
I picked Luke’s clothes up off the floor and threw them at him. I stalked behind him and pushed against him, forcing him toward the door. He turned around in my grasp and tried to hold me. Tried to wrap his arms around me and keep me close. But I couldn’t let him do that. I couldn’t give into his touch. Because if he got his arms wrapped around me, I’d never let him go.
