Haru’s Love (A Stepbrothers BL Harem) - Chapter 104

They weren’t close, huh? I thought as I stared at Mason and Elizabeth sitting next to each other while eating and chatting. Now and again, Elizabeth would touch Mason’s hand or arm or lean in close to him.

That wasn’t close? Onlookers would think they were dating. Not that it had anything to do with me, but…

But what the heck was with this achy emotion I was having? Why was I feeling so irritated just watching them?

Mason turned then and our gazes locked. Instantly, I felt heat rush to my face, and I hastily looked away, my heart pumping loud and fast.

What the hell?

“Haru, open your mouth please,” Isaac said.

I obediently did, without much thought, and Isaac popped a piece of crispy sweet and sour pork in.

“Eat,” he ordered.

I chewed.

“Nice, right?”

I nodded.

Elizabeth said from across the table, “If other people saw that, they’d think you two were dating.”

Isaac shook his head. “We’re not dating, but this is how I usually treat my bro.” He wrapped his arm around me and pulled me close against him. “Haru is so cute.”

Still chewing, my mind was on Mason and Elizabeth.

Were they really dating? If so, how come Mason hadn’t told any of us?

The thought of that only riled me up, and I removed Isaac’s arm from me.

Isaac raised a brow. “What’s wrong? You okay?”

“Yeah,” I said evasively. “Just…tired.”

Aiden, sitting on the other side of me, said, “You want to go back first?”

I gave him a small smile and then nodded. “Yeah.” I was tired, after all, since I didn’t get much sleep last night.

Aiden turned to Jess and asked, “You staying behind or coming with us, Jess?”

Jess said, “I’ll stay with everyone.”

A few minutes later, Aiden and I left. Outside, I picked up Aki as Aiden unfastened the leash from a pole since dogs weren’t allowed in the restaurant.

As we strolled to the car, Aiden said, “You seem a bit down. Something wrong?”

“Huh?” I turned to look at him. Like usual, he was perceptive. I shook my head. “It’s nothing.” I sighed. “I can’t wait to get into bed and sleep the night away.”

He chuckled as he wrapped his arm around my shoulders. Then he pulled me close, his face against my head. “I guess last night was a bit too much for you.”

I had to agree with that by nodding. “Mm-hmm. But I admit it was really good.”

“You enjoyed it then,” he said. “Which is what matters.” He kissed my forehead and then whispered, “You were so erotic.”

I felt my face flushing hot at hearing his dark, sexy voice. “So were you,” I stammered. “And Noah is a demon in bed.”

He burst out laughing. “Yes, he is.”

When we arrived back at the cottage, I quickly gave Aki his food, which Mason had brought along. I ruffled the pup’s fur fondly as I said, “Sorry for the late dinner, Aki.”

The pup gave me a friendly bark; I guessed to tell me it was fine. While Aki eagerly dug into his meal, I headed out of the kitchen and up the stairs. Inside the bedroom, Aiden was busy getting things out of his luggage.

He asked, “You want to take a shower first?”

“Yeah.”

After retrieving my underwear and pajama pants and a T-shirt, I headed across the hall into the bathroom. Stripping myself naked, I got into the shower and stood there, just taking my time and cleaning myself. Suddenly, that achy, irritating feeling came again, and I saw Mason’s and Elizabeth’s faces in my mind’s eye.

I shook my head as I worked on brushing their images away. If they were dating, it had nothing to do with me. I had my hands full with studying. Not to mention my poly relationship with Aiden and Noah. I didn’t need another distraction in my life right now.

I turned off the shower and then headed out. When I returned to the bedroom, Aiden took one look at me and said, “Come here.”

I stepped toward him and asked, “What?”

He took the towel from around my shoulders and started rubbing it on my head, drying out my hair. “Dry your hair properly before going to bed; otherwise, you’ll catch a cold.”

“Thanks,” I said, liking the feeling of being pampered by Aiden. When he was done, I kissed him on the lips, which made him smile, his eyes twinkling.

“Is that a reward for drying your hair for you?” he teased.

I smiled. “Yes.”

He ruffled my hair, chuckling. “Get into bed. I won’t be long.” He went out the door.

Alone, I climbed into the queen-sized bed and made myself comfortable. Aki joined me and took up a spot at the end of the bed where he, too, made himself comfortable. I was surprised the pup was so chill about his new surroundings since this was his first trip away from home.

I was about to doze off when Aiden returned, looking fresh and smelling wonderful. I watched him as he climbed into bed beside me, and the moment he was close, I wrapped my arms around him, hugging him tight.

“Mmm… This is nice,” I said.

He planted a kiss on my forehead. “Let’s enjoy the moment while we have the place to ourselves.”

I looked at him and said, “Just kissing, okay? Because I don’t have the stamina for anything super erotic and sexy tonight.”

He chuckled. “Yep, just kissing.”

That said, he claimed my lips and gently and softly kissed me. I closed my eyes, savoring the moment, just enjoying the feeling of having Aiden’s flesh against mine, not to mention his hard body and his heat.

I opened my mouth for him, inviting the man to seduce me. Aiden eagerly obliged, plunging his tongue into my mouth and proceeded to slowly and lovingly ravish mine, tasting me. When he finally pulled back some minutes later, I was dazed and more than a little breathless.

“Right, that’s enough,” he said. “You need your sleep. I’m not about to deprive you of another good night’s rest.”

I smirked. “You’re always so caring and understanding.”

“That’s because I love you,” he said.

“I love you, too.” I moved in and kissed him on the lips lightly. “Night, Aiden.”

“Night, Haru,” he said.

I snuggled myself against him and then closed my eyes. Moments later, I was fast asleep. When I next woke up, it was seven in the morning and Aki was licking my hand, pleading for my attention. I opened my eyes and said, “Morning.”

The dog barked at me in greeting, and I quickly put my finger to my lips. “Shhh…” I glanced at Aiden next to me, his arms wrapped about my waist. “Be quiet or you’ll wake Aiden.” I looked to the door. “And everyone else.”

Come to think of it, when had they returned to the cottage last night? I bet they all had a great time just hanging out and going around a few of the bars in town, drinking. There were several of them, despite this place being a small town and an island. Not that Jess or Isaac and his friends were old enough to drink though, but they probably had a fine time just playing pool and stuff.

“Let’s get you some food,” I said to Aki.

The pup stuck out his tongue and wagged his tail, looking damn excited. I gently removed Aiden’s arm from around me and then leaned in to kiss him on the lips lightly. Done, I got out of bed and signaled for Aki to follow me.

I was just walking in through the door of the kitchen when I saw Mason across the room. He had already showered, since his golden-blond hair looked damp, and he had on a nice gray sweater and a pair of jeans. He was pouring hot coffee into a mug when Aki barked at him in greeting, which drew the man’s attention to the pup.

“Aki, morning,” he said. Then he looked up, and the moment he saw me, he broke into a bright smile. “Morning, Haru.”

My heart, weirdly enough, skipped a beat at seeing that gorgeous smile of his, not to mention those twinkling eyes.

“Morning,” I said as I walked into the room. I went about giving Aki his food and drink as Mason watched me, which made me feel very self-conscious, and more so, conscious of his presence and his gaze fixed on me.

Aki was lapping up his meal heartily, and while he was doing that, I started the kettle. I needed a cup of hot chocolate, so damn thirsty I was.

“Want a sip of my coffee?” Mason’s voice came my way.

“Huh?” I turned to see the man standing close to me, his tall, lean frame trapping me in the corner of the countertop. He offered me the mug in his hands, and because I had no idea what to do, I accepted it and wrapped my hands around the cup, too, our skin touching intimately.

My cheeks flushing hot and my heart racing, I lowered my face and touched my lips to the rim of the mug. I drank heartily, and halfway through, I lifted my gaze to look at Mason.

Shit! I shouldn’t have done that. Damn, but his face was so close to mine that I could feel the warmth of his breath on my skin. He was watching me so intensely, and his eyes were dark.

Holy shit! What the hell was this situation?

I swallowed the coffee, warm as it went down my throat, and then moved back. Licking my lower lip and tasting the bitterness of the drink, I said, “Thanks.”

Mason leaned his face closer, so much so that he could be kissing me, and I felt my heart skip a beat.

He said, “Can you spare me some time this afternoon after that lunch with the Princetons?”

I just stared at him, wondering why he’d ask me that so suddenly. It wasn’t like we hadn’t been spending time together, right? We had been living together like since forever.

Or did he want to tell me something? Like maybe he was dating Elizabeth?

That achy feeling about the chest came again, and I tried to tamp it down by telling myself, wouldn’t that be great? Mason was finally dating. Not that he had never dated before but…

But what the heck was with this feeling? Why did the thought of Mason dating Elizabeth bother me? No, not just Elizabeth, but the thought of Mason dating and going into a relationship with anyone vexed me. It was like I didn’t want him to date other people or something.

Why?

“Haru?” Mason asked.

I licked my lip nervously, my mind racing.

I had to give him an answer, didn’t I? But the thought of me standing there listening to him telling me of his love for Elizabeth and going into a relationship with her made me feel sick to my stomach. But it was Mason, and I couldn’t say no to him, could I?

I took a deep breath and then said, “Yeah. Sure.”

Mason smiled at the same time he let out a big sigh of relief. He looked pleased, which only made me feel guilty. Suddenly, out of the blue, I felt his lips on my forehead, which took me by surprise. My heart skipped and something inside me—something pleasant—stirred.

When he moved back, he said, “Thanks.” He finished drinking his coffee, every drop of it, and then asked, “What should we have for breakfast? I doubt Reo would be up any time soon to make us some.”

“Something easy to make,” I said as I went over to the refrigerator and opened the door. Checking the contents, I noted eggs, milk, apple juice, butter, bacon, and some other stuff. “Did you guys go grocery shopping last night?” Because I don’t remember seeing those in there yesterday when we toured the house.”

Mason nodded. “Noah and I did. And then we went back to join the others at the bar.”

I guessed it right. They had been at the bar last night. Chuckling, I asked, “Did you guys enjoy the night?”

He nodded. “It was fun. There were quite a few tourists there, too, though. Very rowdy.”

“It’s always rowdy in a bar, isn’t it?” I said, taking out the eggs, milk, and butter. “Hmm… Bread.”

Mason tilted his head to one side. “French toast?”

I chuckled. “Yeah.”

I was just breaking the eggs and adding the milk into a bowl when Aiden walked in through the door. He glanced at the stuff on the countertop and then flicked his gaze back to me and said, “French toast made by Haru; that’s going to be nice.”

I said, “Wait until it’s done first. You know I suck at cooking.”

He came to kiss me on the forehead. “Morning.”

“Morning,” I replied.