Without Claire: The Hastings Brothers Series Read online

  They are all looking at us pretty seriously, so we stomp outside like children and clean up the mess.

  “I can’t believe they beat us at our own game!” Liam says grumbling.

  “If Thomas wasn’t so fucking cool, I would be kicking his ass right about now,” Derek grumbles.

  “He could probably fucking take you. That dude is twice as big as you,” Trevor laughs.

  “And in better shape,” Cole points out.

  “I own a gym! He can’t be!” Derek yells. I don’t even argue because I know they are right. Thomas is built like a brick fucking house, and you can tell that he knows how to fight. He may be fifty, but that doesn’t slow him down one bit.

  “Dude! Have you seen his arms? He’s fucking built!” Kyle exclaims.

  Derek stares at Kyle hard. “Quit checking him out while he’s not even on our team! And he’s old!”

  Kyle laughs. “He may be old, but the girls are right. He’s good looking. Even you have to be stupid not to see it!” Kyle tells him with a smirk.

  Derek huffs out a breath. “I don’t even know how to answer that.”

  “You could probably start by wishing you were built like me, being old and all,” a deep voice says behind us.

  We all jump, and turn around. Thomas and the girls are standing there with smug smiles on their faces.

  They all heard us. I look at Kyle, and I swear he’s fucking blushing. I don’t think he meant for Thomas to hear that he thought he was good looking.

  “I will see you all later. Always nice to protect you ladies.” Thomas winks at them and walks home.

  Chapter Fifteen

  Claire

  A couple months go by, and I have definitely fallen in love with Sam. I’m pretty sure that he is the perfect boyfriend. I have seriously written books about guys like him.

  I still spend three to four nights at his place a week. My house seems lonelier every time that I go home. It has become a place where I don’t really want to be anymore. I love Sam, and I love everyone else. All the other guys I think of as brother’s now, and I think of the girls as sisters. They have welcomed me with open arms, and made me a part of their family. I love not being alone anymore. Before, I would have preferred it. Now that I spend a lot of time at Sam’s house, and it’s always busy, I hate the quiet of home. I wonder why Sam hasn’t asked me to move in since a lot of my clothes and bathroom products have made it over there.

  We still have only gotten as far as oral, but I know that I am ready for the next stage. I think it’s because I know that I am in love with him and, if the looks that he gives me are any indication, I know he loves me too. I can see it in his eyes.

  We have played small pranks on each other here and there as a group or individually, but nothing crazy. Cole has made cake pops on his own now. Since I taught him, he has done it once a week and hasn’t screwed up once.

  Today I have decided to get out there, and go to the local coffee shop and write. Since my home seems so lonely and empty now, I find it hard to write there. I tend to write better when I am at Sam’s house. Shit. Get him out of your head for a few hours. Otherwise you will end up telling him that you love him, and it will be at the wrong time. With my luck, it would be while we are eating dinner, and I would casually slip out the words, “So, I love you,” and then I would keep eating.

  I shake my head at myself, and try to concentrate on writing. You think because I am now in a relationship and in love that I would be able to just whip up a book in no time.

  Wrong. I can’t get Sam out of my head, and it’s messing up my stories.

  I get somewhat of a good pace going with my writing. I have a couple of chapters written in my book when someone sits in front of me.

  I tear my eyes away from my screen, look up, and see a young guy that I have never seen before.

  I give him a look of confusion when he chuckles.

  “Hi, I’m Vince. I saw you sitting here, and I think you are the most beautiful woman I have ever met. I had to stop by and say hi.”

  I try really, really, hard to not roll my eyes. Do not roll your eyes.

  Don’t do it.

  Fuck.

  I just rolled my eyes.

  I know he sees it when his smile fades.

  “Do you use that line on all the girls, or just the special ones?” I tell him in an annoyed tone.

  “You should feel lucky to have someone like me come and talk to you,” he tells me narrowing his eyes.

  When I hear some snickers, I look across the café and see a table with three other guys looking over at us. I’m pretty sure they are his friends. Hmm… the asshole probably lost a bet on who had to hit on the chubby girl.

  “Luck has nothing to do with it. Maybe it was bad luck that I have to sit here and listen to reasons why you think that you are so much better than me; but, trust me, I can do so much better than you.”

  “Who else would waste their time on you?” he tells me with a sneer.

  Just then, I hear a voice that has me instantly smiling. I look up to see the man who is constantly in my thoughts.

  “Hey, baby. What are you doing here?” I say, looking behind me, and seeing Derek, Noah, and Luke, with Sam.

  The asshole turns around, sees who I am talking to, and I swear that he pales a little.

  “Just came for a coffee, and then we are headed to the hardware store. Thomas asked us to fix a couple things for him,” Sam says as he comes over and kisses me hard on the mouth.

  Then he turns and looks to the guy sitting across from me.

  “Who the fuck are you?” he growls at the asshole.

  “Vince… Who the fuck are you?” I can see the guy trying to stand tough in front of Sam. His friends are looking over in interest. The other guys come over and kiss me on the cheek saying hello, and asking me to come over for dinner.

  “Her man, ass wipe. What are you doing talking to my woman?” Sam stands tall crossing his arms over his chest.

  “There’s no fucking way that you are her man. I mean fucking look at her.” Vince points at me like Sam doesn’t know who he’s talking about. I hide my smile behind my hand because he said the wrong thing, and he said it in front of the wrong people. These guys are over protective of me, and wouldn’t let anyone call me names.

  I know I’m not skinny, but I know I’m not ugly. Over the past few months, I have realized that Sam and the guys sure know how to make a woman feel beautiful. They admitted that they all took an interest in me when they first saw me, but Sam ended up calling dibs and they stepped back.

  Dibs. That still makes me laugh. These guys are fucking adorable.

  Sam steps closer to the dumbass while his friends stand up and come to the table. Derek, Noah and Luke see this, and stand in front of them.

  “I am fucking looking, asshole. She’s fucking beautiful, and way too good for an asshole like me. It’s pricks like you who don’t appreciate women like her. Yes, she has curves, but I will tell you that will give me something to hold onto when I’m pounding into her later while she’s screaming my name.” Holy fuck, he did not just say that. Sam, really? I’m going to kick his ass later. He’s acting like we have actually had sex.

  I hear a couple of snorts from this guy’s friends. They are wearing amused expressions on their faces. I shake my head and pack up my stuff. I know this isn’t going to end well.

  “If you pieces of shit bother my girl again, I will not hesitate to deal with you, do you get me?” Sam asks in a growl.

  I put my hand on his chest. “Come on let’s go, baby. Let’s get started on that screaming you promised me.” I wink at the guys, and they just roll their eyes.

  “Could you guys at least be quiet this time? I actually need some sleep tonight,” Noah grumbles playing along since he doesn’t actually live with Sam.

  Sam looks down at me, and immediately his hard eyes soften. “Sure thing, baby. Thomas can wait.”

  The guys follow behind him. Once we get to my car, Sam opens the p
assenger door and motions for me to get in, holding his hand out for me to give him my keys.

  The guys already take off in the truck they were driving in. Sam gets in the driver’s side of my car.

  We sit there in silence for a few minutes until I can’t take it anymore.

  “Did you really have to say that to him?” I ask, my voice rising.

  He shrugs. Fucking shrugs.

  He doesn’t say anything until we pull up in front of his house. He turns off the car, and turns towards me.

  “What did you want me to do? Continue to talk about you like you’re not as beautiful as you are, or that you’re not good enough for me even though you clearly are. You’re way too good for me, but I’m a selfish asshole who wants you to himself, and doesn’t ever want to let you go. I’m not going to stand there, and let some prick talk about you that way,” he says, his chest rising and falling with each breath.

  “Of course not, but you didn’t have to tell him that you were going to pound into me while I scream your name,” I say glaring at him. I get out of the car, run into the house, and up to his room. I know that he’s following behind me. I can hear his heavy footsteps after me.

  When we get into his room, he shuts the door locking it behind him.

  “Why wouldn’t I say that? Sounded good to me. Nothing wrong with it,” he says likes it’s no big deal.

  I throw my hands in the air, and start pacing the room.

  “Because! We have never even fucked yet, and you’re going around talking like we do!” I yell, and automatically put my hand over my mouth. Fuck, I can’t believe I just yelled that.

  He grabs me by my elbow, and brings me to his chest. When I don’t look at him, he grabs my chin bringing my face to meet his eyes. “Let me get this straight. You’re not mad because I said what I said. You’re mad because I said it when we haven’t even fucked. Baby, when I have you, it won’t be fucking. I will be making love to you, like I have been imagining for the last three months. Ever since I first laid eyes on you, I wanted you. I’ve just been going slowly for you, baby. I don’t want you to think that I don’t want you, because I do. I just didn’t want you to get scared, and think I was moving too fast,” he tells me, and then kisses me gently.

  “I want you too. I have for a long time, but I wanted to be sure that I was ready. I wanted…” I swallow hard. I can barely get my mouth to form the word. Just do it. Just tell him.

  “You wanted to what, baby?” he whispers softly. His lips are a breath away from mine. I know I whimper when he lightly bites my lower lip.

  “I… I…” I look into his eyes and I know he knows how I feel.

  “Tell me…Claire… say it,” he whispers softly to me.

  I swallow hard. This takes a lot of courage. “I love you, Sam.”

  He leans back and looks down at me smiling widely. “I love you too, Claire. I have for a long time. Probably since I first laid eyes on you.”

  After that, he kisses me hard. There’s so much heat and passion in his kiss that I’m actually breathless. We start tugging at each other’s clothes. I don’t think that we have ever been in a hurry to get naked before.

  Once we are both naked, he pushes me back until the back of my knees hit the bed. I lay down on the bed dragging myself into the middle with Sam following me. He is kissing me hungrily.

  “Claire, baby… Are you protected?” he asks me between kisses.

  “Yes, Sam. I’m on the pill,” I tell him honestly.

  He pulls back, and looks down at me. “Why are you on the pill if you’re a virgin?” he asks nipping on my bottom lip.

  “I got it the day after I met you,” I tell him while blushing. His eyes turn warm. He smiles at me like I said the right thing.

  “Good, because I don’t want anything between us. You understand, Claire?”

  I know what he wants and, honestly, I want it too. I don’t want anything between us. This is my first time, but our first time together. I know that he has never been in love before, so I know that this means something to him as well.

  When I nod, he smiles. He moves his hand to my pussy. His finger slides right in with how wet I am at the thought of finally having him. He groans when he finds out how wet I am. With his finger in me, he slides a second one in, and pushes his thumb on my clit. He already knows my body so well. It’s amazing how he can get me to want to come with the smallest touches.

  “I’ve never taken anyone bare before. You understand what that means?” he asks me. I do understand. He wouldn’t go bare with just anybody. The fact that he wants to with me means so much, more than he would possibly know. I never have to question whether he compares me to the women who came before me. He always looks at me like I am the only person in the room- like he has been waiting for me his whole life.

  “Sam, I’m close, but I want you in me when I come, and not with your hand,” I tell him, and I don’t care how desperate I sound. I want him.

  He kisses me hard. “This is going to hurt for a bit, but I will stop and let you adjust to me. You tell me to stop anytime, and I will stop. Okay, baby?”

  I nod my head. “Please Sam,” I beg.

  He places his cock at my entrance. When he looks up at me, I see the love and desire in his eyes. I put my hands around his neck and pull him down to kiss him. Slowly he slides in. Once he gets to the part where his cock hits a little bit of resistance, he pulls back from the kiss and looks down at me. I nod my head. I know it’s going to hurt, but I know I waited for the right man to give it to.

  He thrusts in breaking the barrier. Wow, I am no longer a virgin. There’s a sting of pain. It’s uncomfortable, and I can’t help the tears that form in my eyes. Sam kisses me softly, wiping away my tears.

  “I love so you much, baby,” he whispers in my ear.

  “I love you too, Sam. So much,” I whisper back.

  Once the sting is gone, I wiggle my hips to be sure that it doesn’t hurt anymore. When I start feeling pleasure instead of pain, I know that I am ready. “You can move now,” I tell him.

  “Are you sure?”

  “Yes, Sam. It doesn’t hurt anymore.”

  He slowly slides his cock out, and back in to be sure. When I moan instead of wince in pain, he does it again. He thrusts in slowly, then slowly moves back out, and repeats. He switches from kissing me on my ear, to my neck and shoulder. No matter what, his lips are on me like he can’t help but kiss me on whatever part that he can reach.

  He never picks up his pace, but I know that it’s because this first time, we are making love. I can feel my orgasm building. The burning in my stomach, the tightening of my muscles. I can feel myself clenching around him.

  He looks me in the eyes. He doesn’t break his gaze, but I can tell that he’s close. He’s clenching his jaw, and his thrusts have picked up. When I start moving my hips in time with his, we both start breathing hard and panting.

  “Claire… Fuck… baby… I can’t… oh fuck…” he curses, and I feel his release inside me.

  His release sets off my own, and I go off in my own orgasm. I dig my nails into his back, my legs squeeze his hips, and we are both slowly thrusting into each other until our orgasms subside.

  When we stop Sam, rests his forehead on my shoulder.

  “Holy fuck, baby. That was the best fucking thing I have ever felt. Fuck, you feel amazing. When you’re not so sore in a couple days, we are going to do it again. You’re going to be sore after this first time, baby.”

  “How do you know that?” I ask him curiously.

  He looks up at me looking a little embarrassed. “I googled it.”

  I can’t help the smile that takes over my face. “You googled it? For me?”

  He rolls his eyes. “Yes, baby. I wanted to make sure that I took care of you.” He tugs on my arm.

  “Now, come on. Let me run you a warm bath. It will help ease your muscles.” When I stand up I can see what he means. I already feel stiff. It doesn’t help me that my man isn’t small. I love t
his sore though, because I know that it means that I gave myself to him. I let him inside my body because I love him, and he loves me.

  He runs a hot bath and motions for me to get in. He climbs in right behind me, dragging me back into his chest.

  He kisses my shoulder. “Let’s just relax, and then we can have a nap and see what’s for dinner.”

  I nod, and rest my head back on his chest. I can’t help the sigh that escapes me. This moment couldn’t have been more perfect. He made it perfect and made me feel loved and cherished.

  Chapter Sixteen

  Sam

  I just woke up from our nap, and Claire is still fast asleep in my arms. I look up at the clock noticing that it’s almost six in the evening.

  Today didn’t go how I thought it would. I didn’t think that I would have been claiming Claire’s virginity for another couple months. Then, when she told me that she loved me, I knew I couldn’t hold back anymore. With the look in her eyes when she said it, I was a complete goner. I don’t remember a time when this girl didn’t have me wrapped around her finger.

  When she told me that she went on birth control after she had met me, I couldn’t stop the smile that came over me. I now knew that she has wanted me for as long as I have wanted her.

  I didn’t even think that she would be at the café writing. Usually, she writes at her apartment. Then I had seen some douche sitting with her, and I saw red. The asshole had the nerve to think that Claire wasn’t good enough for me when it is really the other way around. It took everything I had to let Claire pull me away, and not beat the shit out of him like I wanted to.

  I untangle myself from Claire’s grip, putting some shorts on to head downstairs. I need to see what everyone is doing for supper, or if I could just order for me and Claire.

  My brothers, Liam and Cole, are sitting in the living room watching T.V.

  “Hey bro! ‘Bout time you wake up from your beauty sleep,” Cole says grinning.

  I kick him in the leg, and sit down on the couch. “So, what did everyone do for supper?”