Stepbrother Broken (The Hawthorne Brothers Book 2) by Colleen Masters Page B

and
onto the bed nearly overwhelms me.
    “ There you are, ” he grins, “ Come on. Let ’ s go. ”
    As
he passes me, I see that his well-loved running shoes are already laced up. For
the first time, it occurs to me that Luke was a star athlete at Sheridan as an
undergrad. Particularly when it came to track and field. His specialty, if I
recall correctly, was long-distance running. Oh god … what have I gotten myself into?
    “ Luke, ” I
whisper, following him down the stairs, “ Are we … actually going for a run? ”
    “ Of course, ” he replies, glancing over his shoulder at me, “ What did you think? ”
    “ Oh, nothing, ” I mutter, feeling my excitement slam into a brick
wall.
    We
make our way out into the crisp morning, stepping onto the wide verandah. I
have to admit, I don ’ t mind seeing this place so early
in the day. The quiet that envelops us is unlike anything I ’ ve ever experienced before.
    “ OK, ” Luke
says, moving through a series of light stretches, “ I ’ ll take you out on my usual path.
Five miles good for you? ”
    I
can already feel my muscles tightening in protest. Though I ’ m no stranger to cardio, I ’ m much more of a yoga girl myself when left to my own
devices. But there ’ s no way I ’ m backing down from this outing now.
    “ Sure, ” I
say to Luke, giving my shoulders a roll. “ Sounds great. ”
    “ Cool, ” he
smiles, taking the porch steps two at a time, “ I ’ ll take the lead. ”
    I
watch as he sets off down the driveway, his muscles working together in perfect
unison. Hurrying to follow, I let a wry smile play across my face. If only my
movement teacher Gary could see me now, huh?
     
    Despite
my reservations about this little excursion, my body is thrilled to get a bit
of exertion. My lungs fill gratefully with cool mountain air as I dash along in
Luke ’ s wake. His form is perfect as he
leads me along back roads through the dense forest. With every long stride he
takes, the muscles of his back and shoulders ripple deliciously beneath his
tanned skin. His calves are cut to perfection, and his ass is positively rock
hard. If his gorgeous form could always be my view while running, I ’ d be a marathoner in no time.
    Little
by little, we ascend up toward the tree line. A runner ’ s high washes over me as we climb, and I forget that
there ’ s anyone else in the world besides
Luke and me. I lose track of the time, the miles, and the effort it takes to keep
up with my all-star companion. I ’ m just happy for this moment out of
time with him — away from our families, our school,
everything. And just when I think this morning couldn ’ t get any lovelier, the thick forest around us
suddenly gives way to open space. We ’ ve reached the summit. My breath
catches in my throat as I skid to a halt behind Luke, who ’ s come to a sudden stop.
    “ What do you think? ” he grins breathlessly, sweeping out his glistening
arms.
    I
look past him at the rolling landscape, struck dumb by the gorgeous view. We ’ ve stepped out into a wide clearing overlooking the
turquoise lake and surrounding woods. A brilliant sky arches overhead, run
through with streaks of pink and orange clouds. A cool breeze brushes
deliciously against my flushed skin as I try and take in all this beauty at
once.
    “… Wow, ” I
breathe. It ’ s all I can manage.
    “ Worth the run? ” Luke asks, slipping an arm around my waist.
    “ Well worth it, ” I smile up at him. “ Thank
you, Luke. ”
    “ Just wait, ” he grins, shucking off his lightweight backpack, “ There ’ s more. ”
    I
look on as he unzips the pack, producing a gigantic thermos of coffee and two
tin mugs. A laugh escapes my throat as he hands the warm thermos to me.
    “ How did you know the way to my
heart was massive amounts of coffee? ” I smile.
    “ Lucky guess, ” he replies, sitting down on a wide, smooth rock
overlooking the view.
    I
hand the thermos back to Luke, who pours out two steaming