Thankful For Her Read online

Dad shrugs like he doesn't care. I clench my teeth. I know the woman could burn money and we’d still never run out, but it still pisses me off.

  I chug my drink back before standing and slamming the empty glass down onto his desk. I can feel the buzz flowing through my body. I open my mouth to speak, but he cuts me off.

  “Porsha’s daughter is here. I want you to meet her.”

  “One money-sucking leech is all I need for one night. I don’t want to meet her mini-me.”

  “Hunter,” my dad barks. I look up at him. It’s the first flash of temper I’ve seen from him in a long time. It reminds me of when he thought my mom was getting hit on by someone and he lost it. “You don’t talk about Autumn that way.” His jaw is hard. “Ever.”

  “You know what, Dad? Why don’t you enjoy your new family? You seemed so eager to replace the old one, might as well make use of them.”

  Pain flashes across his face. I know the feeling. I study him for a second and he looks tired. His hair is even grayer than the last time I saw him only a month ago. I should feel bad, but I’m too angry.

  “Son.” He speaks softly this time, and I know that voice. It’s the voice he uses when I’m about to learn a lesson. But I don’t feel like it right now. I don’t want to feel anything at the moment and the liquor is helping me with that. In fact, I think I want to go find more.

  “Not tonight, Dad.” I turn to leave and I stop at the door. “I love you,” I say without turning around to look at him. I take a breath and walk out, leaving the door open behind me.

  I may be pissed, but my mom would roll over in her grave if I didn't say those words before I walked out of the room. Even when we were mad, we always had to say it to each other. We never walk away without it.

  I stumble out and down the hallway in search of the bar I know my stepmonster has to have close by. I dodge people as I make my way through the crowd. A few try to stop and talk to me, but I keep on going. I even ignore the mayor when he tries to grab my attention.

  “Scotch,” I tell the bartender when I finally find it. He pours me a drink and I swallow it back. I turn around and look around the living room. The warm liquor has gone straight to my head on an empty stomach, and the room is beginning to look fuzzy. I don’t remember how much I’ve had, but it’s too much too fast.

  I need to get some air. I glance over at the door that leads outside and I see Sarah standing there. My stomach protests the sight of her, so I turn and go the other way. She’s a friend of Porsha’s and always tries to attach herself to me. When I see Porsha at the end of the hall talking close to some man I don’t recognize, I head up the stairs, going for my old bedroom. It’s the only clear escape I have right now, and I just need a second to get it together before I get out of here. This was a terrible idea.

  I haven't been inside my room in forever, but when I reach it, I turn the knob and walk in. I don’t pay attention to the room to see if it’s any different. I just let myself fall onto the bed and close my eyes.

  Chapter Three

  Autumn

  When I step into the office Neil is standing behind his desk, and I’m guessing he thinks Hunter might come back.

  “Do you think that about me?” I ask him. My voice is soft. I hate the idea of Neil thinking I’m some gold digger. I know my mother is and maybe that makes me one, too. I never say anything to contradict it, and technically, I use the money she gets from Neil for school. I guess that makes me just as bad as she is.

  “No, sweetheart, and neither does Hunter. Come in here.”

  I do as he says, stepping into his office and shutting the door behind me. “I wouldn't be so sure of that,” I mumble.

  Hunter’s words hurt. I know I shouldn’t have been eavesdropping on them, but I couldn't help myself. When I saw Hunter get out of the car from my bedroom window I found myself leaving the room in search of him. I had to have a better look.

  His voice was even deeper than I thought it would be, but so was the cut of the words. He didn't even know me, but he’d already made up his mind about who I am.

  “He’s hurting and he’s lonely. People like that lash out.” Neil comes out from behind his desk. “Not you, though. You don’t lash out.” I look up into Neil’s dark eyes. He has a sad smile on his face.

  I shake my head. No, I’m not the type of person that says hateful things when I’m upset. I don't have it in me. At times I wish I had a backbone, because I could really use it.

  “You remind me a lot of her.” Neil’s eyes go to the picture of him and his wife, hanging over the fireplace behind his desk.

  “Really?” I ask, not believing him. We look nothing alike. I have dark brown hair and gray-blue eyes. She could have been a model.

  “Her spirit.” Now the smile reaches his eyes. It always does when he talks about her. “She was sweet to the core. We were a perfect fit. I used to be a grumpy ass who worked too much and yelled even more.” He’s still smiling as he says the words. “Her softness softened me and I in turn made sure no one ever hurt her. We needed each other.”

  I wish I could have seen that Neil. With my mother he's nothing like that. They barely talk. Not that I blame him. They don't even sleep in the same room. It's so odd. Even more so because when I see Neil look at pictures of his deceased wife I would never think of him marrying again. I want someone to look at me the way he looks at her pictures.

  “She always said Hunter was just like me, but now…” He lets out a deep breath. “Since we lost them he's worse. He's adrift and I can't pull him back. I'm losing him, too, and I can't stop it. No matter how hard I try.” I hear defeat in his voice. The anger I felt at Hunter’s words fades away.

  “Will you go find him for me?” My breath catches for a moment. “I want you to make sure he’s okay. He stormed out of here and I don't think he wants to see me right now.”

  I glance down at my clothes. I'm in my pajamas—a long sleep shirt that falls to my knees. He does the same. “I'm sorry. I forgot. Are you feeling better? Porsha said you didn't feel well.”

  “I'm fine,” I reassure him, and he leans forward, kissing me on the top of my head.

  “Goodnight,” he tells me as he leads me toward the door.

  “’Night,” I tell him. He shuts it behind me, leaving me in the hallway. I glance to my left when I hear a noise and see Hunter going up the stairs. I can't help but follow him. It’s like I’m being pulled along by his presence.

  When I get to the end of the hall I see him enter a room. It’s the one I know is his. I walk up to the door and see it’s ajar. I stand there and I watch him fall onto the bed. Silently I step into the room and shut the door behind me. I walk over to the bed and climb onto it, wanting to check on him.

  When I lean over him, his eyes fly open and land on me. There isn't a ton of light in the room, only what is coming from the full moon through the expansive windows that line the wall.

  “Fuck. You're beautiful.” He reaches up, tangling his fingers in my hair. “Are you an angel?” he asks me as a smile pulls at his lips.

  I shake my head, lost in the way he is smiling at me.

  “Liar,” he growls as he pulls me down to his mouth.

  Before I even know what’s happening he’s rolled me over and got me pinned under him.

  Chapter Four

  Hunter

  I roll over and feel the softness of her under me as my lips taste hers. I groan when her legs spread, and I sink even further between them.

  Clothes. I need to take off all these fucking clothes.

  I’m drunk, and my arms and legs aren’t doing what I tell them to fast enough. This dream is so real, and I never want to wake up.

  “Take it off,” I mumble against my angel’s lips, my voice thick with need.

  I pull on the dress she’s wearing, and for a second I wonder why it’s so short. And somehow so soft. When I tug it out of the way, naked breasts are exposed and I don’t think as I lean down and latch onto one. Dear God, this is heaven on earth, and I h
ope I die in my sleep tonight. There can’t possibly be anything better waiting for me when I wake up.

  She’s pulling at my clothes, and before I know it, I’m completely naked and my hard length is being rubbed, both her hands gripped around it. I try to blink, but the alcohol has made me too fuzzy and I can’t control it. I can only look down to where I’m nestled between her legs and she’s stroking my cock.

  The wide tip is covered in cum, and I wonder if at some point I came on myself already. Either way, my dick is as stiff as a fireman's pole and ready for her to slide down it.

  I groan when she wipes the head of it against her naked pussy lips and I clench my fists in the pillows. When did she get naked? How does she have the prettiest cunt I’ve ever seen? Oh god, I have to fuck this angel. I don’t care if it sends me straight to hell.

  I thrust my hips and I push past her folds just a little, dipping my cock inside her. “Oh fuck,” I hiss as my bare cock is surrounded by her wet warmth. I don’t have to wear condoms in my dreams. I’m fucking this little naked pussy with nothing wrapped around my dick.

  “Hunter,” her voice whispers as her legs spread wider and she helps guide me inside her.

  How does this goddess know my name?

  I selfishly take more, pushing forward, needing to have every inch of me inside her. I press my face to her breasts and lick her there as her body opens. Her hard nipples are tight and I tongue the tips of them as I slide all the way to the root of my cock.

  For a moment I just hold her, wrapping my arms around her body. My vision is fuzzy everywhere, but when I look at her, her face is in full focus and I want to memorize every line. My heart beats so hard I think it’s going to come out of my chest.

  “Make love to me,” she whispers as I lean down and kiss her softly.

  I want to take her in a frenzy of hard fucking, but something tells me to be gentle and so I slowly rock my hips. I kiss her neck and nibble on her ear as I tell her how beautiful and perfect she is. I’m sure she already knows, because an angel like her is special. She’s delicate and soft, and I want so badly to make her love me. I want her to know that when she fell from heaven she didn’t choose me in vain. That I’m the man that’s supposed to be the one to care for her.

  I drag my cock in and out of her, letting her feel every thick inch of me. Her hands are on my chest and then in my hair as I turn my head to the side and kiss her wrist. I want every part of me on every part of her, and through my hazy fog, I know that once won’t be enough.

  My dream may only last tonight, so I’m going to make the most of it until the morning comes.

  “Hunter!” she cries out as her body clings to mine.

  I kiss her lips, swallowing her sounds of pleasure, wanting to taste her as she cums. Her release warms my cock, and so I give her mine with it. I hold myself as deep as I can, spilling every drop I have into her waiting warmth. Her pussy welcomes me as it pulses around my cock and I grunt my release.

  I look into her eyes, seeing the light that glows around her beginning to blur. My time with my angel is ending, and I don’t want it to.

  “Don’t go,” I plead, but my words sound like they’re far away.

  “I’m not going anywhere,” she whispers.

  My heart aches for her, but my eyes are heavy and I can’t keep them from closing. I don’t know how I found her in my dreams, but I can’t let her get away.

  Chapter Five

  Autumn

  I wake to warmth surrounding me, and I smile as I remember all the magical things Hunter did to my body. Last night was wonderful. More than I could have ever dreamed of. I roll over to look at him. He looks so peaceful in his sleep. He made such sweet love to me last night. It was full of passion and need. For the first time in my life I felt like someone really wanted me. That I meant something to someone. He made me feel things I didn’t even know were possible.

  My smile widens. Even the ache all over my body can’t diminish my happiness. It’s a reminder of what we did last night and on into the morning.

  Hunter reaches for me, pulling me closer to him. He hasn’t let me get far from him since I landed in his arms.

  I knew the moment I saw his picture we were meant to be. I could feel it deep down and now I know it’s right. Still, a part of me wonders how everyone will take this. He’s technically my stepbrother, even though it doesn't feel like it. Last night was the first time I’d ever met him.

  I reach out and touch his full lips with the tip of my finger. He kisses the end of it, still fast asleep. He’s nothing like what I’d heard in his father’s office last night. This Hunter was sweet and loving. It’s hard to believe the two men are the same. I get excited thinking about how I have almost two full months until I have to go back to school. That gives Hunter and me so much time to be together.

  Doubt creeps slowly into my thoughts, and then I wonder what if last night was a one-night stand to him. No. I push away that bleak thought. Men don’t make love to a woman like that unless it means something. Right? He had to have felt what I felt last night. The things he said and did. It had to mean something to him. He couldn’t fake that.

  Yet a nervous feeling takes hold. I lean in and place a kiss on Hunter’s lips. I know my mother will come looking for me soon and I don’t want her to find me naked in Hunter’s bed. She’d probably lose it. I want to tell our parents together in a calm way. Something tells me Neil isn't going to have a problem with it. In fact, I think he might like the idea. My mother won’t, but she doesn’t care for anything I do, so why does it even matter?

  Slowly I try to pull myself from Hunter.

  “Don’t leave me,” he mumbles.

  My eyes go to his, but they’re still closed. He holds me tighter, so tight I almost can’t breathe. He doesn’t want me to go and that fills me with excitement.

  “I’ll be back. I promise,” I whisper.

  He relaxes his arms a little and I slowly slide out. I stand up next to the bed, looking for my sleep shirt. I see it on the floor, grab it and put it on. For a moment I stare at Hunter in the middle of the bed, wanting to crawl back in it with him.

  I wonder if things will be awkward when he wakes up. We didn't talk much. In fact, I don’t even think he knows who I am. I didn't tell him I was his stepsister. I just hope that won’t bother him. And I also hope that he felt the same thing for me last night that I did the first time I saw a picture of him.

  I take one last look at him before I head toward the door. I open it quietly and slip into the hallway, tiptoeing toward my bedroom. I open the door and barely make it inside before someone has a hold of me by my hair.

  “You little slut,” my mother hisses next to my ear before giving me a hard push. Tears sting my eyes as I hit the floor. I stare up at her in shock. She doesn’t look like she’s gone to bed since last night. Her hair is still styled and her makeup is still on. She’s even wearing her dress from the night before. “How could you? You know he’s with Sarah.”

  She shakes her head at me and I start to tremble, not because I’m scared, but because of her words. He’s with someone else? Then why would he make love to me?

  “Men stray, you stupid girl. It comes with the power and money, but it doesn’t mean you have to be the whore they go to.”

  I can’t stop the tears that flood my eyes. It’s breaking my heart and I can’t believe it. I have to do something, so I stumble to my feet. She keeps throwing hateful words at me in a low, harsh voice. I ignore her as I go about the room finding something to wear. I dress as quickly as I can and get my bag. Thank god I didn’t unpack it when I got here. I push past my mother, and she tries to grab me, but I dodge her and rush out into the hallway, knowing she won’t make a scene out here.

  I jog down the hall trying to get away from her. I pause for a moment outside of Hunter’s room but keep moving. I need to get my head back on straight. I don’t want to burst into his room, crying my eyes out, while he’s sleeping. My mother's words rattle around in my head.r />
  I fly down the stairs and out the front door. I take off down the long driveway, but I don’t make it far before Neil’s driver is pulling up beside me. “Get in the car, ma’am,” he tells me. He puts the car in park and opens the back door.

  “I don’t want to go back home right now,” I plead with him.

  “Mr. Danvers gave me instructions when you arrived home that I am to take you anywhere you wish.” He nods to the open car door and I reluctantly step toward it. The driver hands me a handkerchief and I take it.

  “Thank you,” I mutter as I slide in. He shuts the door behind me, then hops in the driver's seat.

  “Where to?” he asks as he pulls out of the gates.

  “Is there a coffee shop nearby?” He nods and turns left. I close my eyes and let my head drop back. I’ll never understand how my mother could be so cruel to me. I can’t believe the things she said about Hunter. Or maybe it’s just that my heart won’t let me believe them because I know it will break me.

  “Does this look okay, miss?” I look out the window to see a small coffee shop. I nod. He steps out to open my door, but I beat him to it.

  “I won’t be long,” I tell him. I pause for a moment. “Thank you,” I add.

  He nods at me before getting back into the car and pulling away. I guess he’s going to find somewhere to park while he waits for me.

  I step into the shop, and I have no idea why I told him to come here. I don’t even like coffee, but I couldn't think of anywhere else to go.

  “Autumn.” I turn around at the sound of my name to see an older gentleman standing behind me. My eyes meet his and I freeze.

  I stare into his gray eyes—eyes that look just like mine. People always comment on my eyes because they’re an unusual gray, radiating to a light blue around the edges. I’ve never seen eyes like mine before and right now I’m staring at them.