Haru’s Love (A Stepbrothers BL Harem) - Chapter 54

When he next woke up, it was to feel a body against him, arms tight around his middle and face snuggling against his chest. A familiar sweet scent lingered about his nostrils, and Noah flashed his eyes opened. Swallowing hard, he then shifted his gaze down to find Haru hugging him tight, using him as a body pillow.

Fuck!

He looked around the room and realized that Aiden, Mason, and Reo were gone, leaving only him and Haru. Well, Isaac was still there, too, talking in his sleep, sprawled on the other side of the line of futons.

He squinted his eyes against the bright light shining into the room, wondering what time it was. He reached for his smartphone he had left on the floor next to his pillow and saw that it was well past nine in the morning.

Damn, he had never slept in this late before. His usual routine was six in the morning where he’d be out of bed and off running for an hour before taking a shower and then having breakfast. He must have been that tired after the move.

He rested his head back on the pillow and then flicked his gaze to Haru again. The boy was damn cute, and Noah found it hard to control himself from leaning down and kissing him. Shit.

He hesitated for a moment before moving his hand to Haru’s head where he gently stroked the boy’s silky dark hair. The strands were soft against his touch, and Noah found he liked it, wanting to do more.

He trailed his fingers down to the boy’s face next, lightly as a feather caressing Haru’s cheek, marveling at the beautiful face that never ceased to fascinate him.

Haru fluttered his eyes open, and Noah froze, his heart racing. When Haru’s dark eyes met his, Noah reacted by taking a firm grip on the boy’s chin and said, “I’m not your body pillow.”

He saw the innocent face turn red as those dark eyes widened in realization. In a flash, Haru moved away and out of his embrace, leaving Noah feeling cold and empty despite his callous behavior.

“Sorry,” Haru said, rubbing his hand on the back of his neck. He searched around the place, looking quite lost and confused.

Noah admitted the boy was adorable when he looked bewildered at his surroundings.

He said, to remind the boy, “We’re in our new apartment, airhead.”

“Oh,” Haru said. “Yeah. Right. Where’s Aiden?”

So, the first person that always came to his mind was Aiden? Fucking typical.

“No clue,” Noah said, picking up his smartphone again. “Probably at the gym on the thirtieth floor. He did say he was excited about having a gym in the apartment building.”

“Yeah,” the boy said. “He did.” Then without another word, he got up and left the room.

Guilt-ridden by his cold behavior and harsh words toward Haru, Noah swore under his breath.

“Bro, what’s gotten into you?”

Noah jolted at the sound of Isaac’s sleepy voice. Was the boy sleep talking or was he fully awake? Noting the bright eyes staring at him, he concluded that Isaac was wide awake.

Sitting up, he asked, “What is that supposed to mean?”

Rubbing his eyes, Isaac said, “You seem to be picking on Haru a lot these days. Like, are you pissed at him or something? You know it hurt him like shit, right?”

Noah raised a brow. “And how do you know that me picking on him is hurting him like shit?”

Isaac opened his mouth wide as he yawned. When he was done, he said, “He confided in me. It might not look it, but Haru and I are best buddies, you know. We share our deepest and darkest secrets.” He grinned as if he was proud of that.

Noah hadn’t a clue both Haru and Isaac had deep dark secrets or that they shared those with each other. Now he felt a bit left out. He had no doubt, too, that Haru shared a shitload of personal secrets with Aiden. The boy had always confided in their eldest brother, after all.

“Really now?” he said, pretending he didn’t give a fuck.

“Yep,” Isaac said. “So, why are you picking on him? What did he do to you?”

“Nothing,” Noah said. He got up, and on his way to the door, he ruffled Isaac’s bed hair, messing it up even more. “Mind your own business.”

In his large lavish room, which was one of the two master bedrooms in the apartment, he went about searching for clothing from one of the many boxes still needing to be unpacked. Afterward, he headed into the en suite to take a shower. When he was done, now wearing a pair of jeans that fit his long, muscular legs perfectly and a sweater that defined his well-formed torso, broad shoulders, and muscular arms, he headed back into the open-plan living area to find Reo already dressed and in the kitchen, preparing breakfast.

“Want some help?” he asked.

Reo nodded. “That’d be great.”

The two had breakfast ready by the time Aiden entered the room, also freshly showered and wearing a pair of jeans and a sweater. His blond hair was still wet as he stroked his fingers through the strands.

“Smells good,” he said.

Suddenly, laughter erupted from above, followed by noise of stomping feet.

“What the heck are they doing?” Noah muttered, staring at the ceiling.

A moment later, the laughter became louder as Isaac came racing down the stairs, followed by Mason, with Haru on his back.

Fuck, Noah thought, they were chasing each other and playing piggyback like kids. He’d understand if it were just Isaac and Haru, but Mason, too? Though he must admit seeing Haru laughing with joy made his heart swell with delight.

He found himself smiling, his gaze following Haru around the room as Mason continued to carry Haru and chase after Isaac at the same time.

Reo said, “I know you’re damn excited about living in our new apartment and all, but be considerate to our neighbors.”

The trio came to a stop then and joined them on the other side of the room where the kitchen was located. Mason turned and plopped Haru on the countertop where the boy sat, his legs dandling over the edge, while eating breakfast. The rest of the brothers stood since their new dining table and chairs hadn’t yet arrived, along with their beds and other furniture.

Breakfast done, the brothers headed to their respective rooms and started unpacking. Noah was quick and efficient in getting his things sorted, and by noon, he had his clothing neatly arranged in the walk-in closet, along with his other stuff. Getting hungry, he left his room and popped across the hallway toward Aiden’s, intending to ask the eldest brother what they should do about lunch. He was about to enter when he came to a stop at the sight before him, his heart wrenching with envy.

There in Aiden’s room, Aiden was hungrily ravishing Haru on the lips. Aiden had his back to the door while Haru was facing it, being pinned against the wall by Aiden, which meant Noah could clearly see Haru’s erotic expression as his lips and tongue were being devoured by Aiden.

“Ngh…” Haru groaned softly. “Mmm…”

Noah couldn’t look away from Haru’s beautiful face relishing in the heat of the sensual moment, his eyes closed and his face flushed.

“Fuck,” he swore quietly under his breath. He should walk away, pretend like he hadn’t seen anything, like usual but…

Haru opened his eyes then, and Noah stared at the boy, his gaze dark.

Haru stood there, frozen in place for a moment, just staring back at Noah. Then he tapped his hand on Aiden’s shoulder to get the man’s attention.

Noah turned and finally walked away before Aiden saw him. He went into living area, a sickening feeling in his stomach, a feeling he knew would never go away unless he had gotten this mess with Haru sorted out, a mess he felt he just didn’t want to sort out.

He raked his fingers through his hair as he took in a deep, depressing sighed.

“Are you going to do something about it?” Reo’s voice came from behind him, causing Noah to jolt in surprise.

“About what?” Noah asked, quite perplexed.

Folding his arms across his chest, Reo said, “About Haru. How long are you going to keep torturing yourself and him? It’s damn hard to watch.”

Noah raised a brow. Turning a little pale, he said, “You know?”

Reo chuckled. “Of course I know, like Aiden knows.”

“Well, yeah, I know Aiden knows, but you?”

“I’m Haru’s older brother,” Reo said. “I keep my eyes on him. Same as you, always keeping your eyes on him.”

“Fuck,” Noah said.

“Is it that hard to tell him?” Reo asked.

“He’s in a relationship with Aiden,” Noah said. “It’ll only confuse him.”

“So it’s not confusing him now?” Reo asked. “With your hot and cold behavior toward him?”

Noah opened his mouth to say something but shut it again.

“What are you two up to?” Mason’s voice came from the door at that moment.

Noah was only too pleased for the interruption and said, “Nothing.”

“Oh, okay,” the younger brother said, though he looked suspicious. “What’s happening with lunch?”

Reo said, “How about we go down to one of the restaurants on the first floor of the building?”

“Are we going out for lunch?” Isaac’s voice came as he raced down the stairs.. “Yeah! Awesome.”