Break Me (The Summer Series) Read online

  “Never.” She leaned forward and kissed him deeper than before. She pulled back just enough to whisper, “I’ll never stop. Promise.”

  Eleven

  “Abe?” Gemma leaned up on her elbow and looked down at him after a solid twenty minutes of kissing.

  “Yeah?” He reached up and slid her hair behind her shoulder, kissing it before looking back into her eyes.

  “I”—she swallowed her nerves—“I want to see your room.”

  Clearly stunned, he looked up at her and searched her eyes for her meaning. Not getting any more detail, he finally asked, “Baby, I need more information so I don’t do something stupid or make assumptions.”

  Loving him a little more for clarifying and not assuming, she smiled down at him before standing and holding her hand out for him to take. “I want to see your room. I want to spend tonight with you just as we have all the others out on the beach. Please.”

  He stood with her help and straightened his shirt before kissing the top of her head and then pulling her behind him down the hall and toward his bedroom. “Bathroom.” He pointed to a door on the left side of the hall. “Laundry.” He gestured to a set of sliding doors that looked like a closet on the right. “And this”—he opened a door—“is my bedroom.”

  Suddenly nervous, she let go of his hand and took a minute to walk around the tidy room. She had expected all guys to live like her little brother with piles of dishes and clothes strewn about. Abe’s bed was made, his clothes were in the hamper or put away, and the dresser and desk in his room were orderly. The only thing she noticed that was even remotely messy was his bulletin board. It was covered in sketches of the beach and his Gramps and his friends, all pinned up sporadically. About to turn back to face him, she noticed a small stack of papers on the shelf below the corkboard. When he saw where her eyes had landed, he started to step forward and intercept her. Knowing it must be something to see by his hasty reaction, she placed her body between him and the stack and pulled it out to look. A part of her feared this had something to do with Megan and they were about to start the fight all over again, only now her heart was completely involved. What she found instead shocked her.

  It was as if he had been watching her every minute of every day. There were pictures of her on the beach at night, reading or looking at the stars. Some were of her on the beach, laughing with the girls or lying in the sun. Her favorite, the one she pulled out of the stack before placing the rest back where they had come from, was of the two of them. He was sitting behind her, arms wrapped around her, and she had her head leaning back against his chest. Her eyes were closed, and the wind was pulling her hair out to the side while he stared down at her. The love he had proclaimed earlier was so obvious it made her feel silly for doubting it.

  “I draw a lot from memory. The first night I saw you I couldn’t get you out of my head. I drew a couple that night . . . I don’t know. Every night, I came home with more to get on paper.” He pulled her into his arms and against his body, “That one is my favorite because it’s a memory from the other day. That was the moment I knew you were it for me. I had to have that on paper forever. I needed to put it down to prove to myself it was real.”

  She turned, still in his arms, and placed the picture on the desk before facing him again. “I love you.” She looked up into his eyes and brought her arms around his neck.

  “You too. So much, Gem.” He leaned forward, and their lips connected in a way they hadn’t before. The urgency they fought each night was gone. It was as if they both knew the other wasn’t going anywhere, finally. He ran his hand up her arm to her neck and then brought his fingers around to the front before running them slowly, so sensually, down her middle. She fought it but was unable to avoid jolting forward into him and moaning as he drew his fingers back up and connected with her cleavage.

  “Abe.” She moaned as she started walking forward, inching them toward the bed.

  He turned them and had the back of her knees pressed into the mattress, not bending but so he could have her on the bed easily with one simple push. Letting his fingers tease her stomach for a moment, he felt her quiver just before he lifted her shirt and pulled it over her head. As she began to lower her arms again, he stopped her and ran his fingers from her still-extended hands, down her arms and then teasingly touched her. She slowly lowered her now-shaking arms and wrapped them around his neck. Her head fell back as his lips sucked her neck and then her ear.

  “Gem,” he whispered huskily, “may I?” He continued to ask permission, driving her crazy with want.

  She pulled him against her and rose onto her toes to kiss him again. He leaned forward and eased her onto the bed, stopping the kiss only long enough to allow them to scoot further back on the bed. After much more kissing and discovering of one another, she found herself at a point of desire she hadn’t discovered. She wanted him with every ounce of her being. It was as if she wanted something so much more and she had no idea what. She found herself in a constant mental battle. When to stop. Wanting to go on. Knowing it wasn’t the time. Fighting the conviction that told her it would soon be time to stop.

  “Gem.” He panted. “I don’t want to stop yet, I promise we’ll draw the line. I just want to do something for you. I won’t go too far. But, can I . . .” He couldn’t even finish the sentence. She was pretty sure he didn’t even know what he wanted next, besides her, just more of her.”

  “I don’t know, can you?” She moaned as he teasingly bit down on her shoulder in response.

  “Not funny.” He took her joke as approval.

  Her thoughts became a blur and then ceased. The only thing she could focus on was the way Abe made her feel. Her eyes drew together tightly and one thought ran through her mind. I love Abe North.

  Later she lay next to him in the bed, her head resting on his shoulder as he held her close.. “Gem, that was . . .” He let out a heavy breath. “Even tasting your lips is enough to drive me crazy.”

  “Really?” She was smiling up at him, and he looked at her with complete adoration.

  “You know it is, you compliment slut.” They laughed, and he leaned over and put his lips to her ear. “That was perfect. You’re perfect. I love you.”

  “By the way, that was a cheap move, introducing me to Gramps when I wanted to remove one of your testicles.” She yawned and he smiled to himself.

  “That was pure coincidence.”

  “Bull. You didn’t have to take me to meet him tonight. What? Were you saving him for our first fight?”

  “No, but it did work out to my advantage we hadn’t made it over here yet.”

  “Yeah, well, you’ve used your secret weapon. You’re screwed next time.”

  Laughing, he pulled her closer and kissed her head. “I think I may have found a brand new secret weapon tonight.” They both laughed, but he noticed hers slow into deep breaths. Neither one spoke after that, and he soon heard her softly snoring. He leaned over to his phone and set the alarm for three in the morning, which would allow them just enough time to get her home as he did every other night.

  Twelve

  When Gemma crawled through the window, she noticed Kate’s bed was still empty. A part of her was still anxious for her sister, but it was becoming more and more obvious that Kate could and did take care of herself. Her lack of fear when leaving with Simon the day they met only proved Kate was a little bit further along with this intimate stuff than Gemma. She took her time getting ready for bed, hoping Kate would crawl through the window before her head hit her pillow, but there was no sign of her. Finally giving up, Gemma crawled under the sheets and was almost instantly asleep.

  A loud knock at the window woke her not much later. She rolled first toward her clock, seeing it was five in the morning, and then toward her window where Kate looked at her with a pleading expression. Gemma crawled off her bed and, only when she went to lift her window, realized she had accidentally locked it after coming in earlier that morning. “Sorry,” she whispered as s
he helped Kate in, “habit.”

  “No big deal.” Kate shrugged as she dropped her shoes and walked toward the bathroom.

  Gemma stood frozen for a moment and then came to her senses as she hurried after Kate, just in time to see the shower curtain close as she stepped into the steam. “That cannot be it.”

  “What?” Kate leaned her head out of the curtain and looked at Gemma in confusion.

  “You don’t go home with a guy like Simon the day you meet him and then just walk into the shower as if nothing happened when you show up at the crack of dawn.”

  “Technically”—Kate stepped back out of sight—“it’s before the crack of dawn.”

  “Kate!”

  “Shhh. Fine. He’s amazing, okay? We went to his place, hung out, and fooled around a little, grabbed some dinner, fooled around a lot, and then fell asleep. I just woke up and bailed so I could get here before Mom and Dad woke up.”

  Gemma shook her head, processing everything, and then her head snapped up to the curtain. “You bailed as in you didn’t even wake him up?”

  “Yes, okay.” Kate sighed from behind the curtain. “I didn’t want it to be awkward, and let’s face it: I gave it up pretty easily. I didn’t know how he would feel about getting his underage hookup home in time for Mommy.”

  “Oh, Kate.” Gemma felt sad for her. Only in the final self-deprecating words did she notice that hint of regret in Kate’s words.

  “It’s no big deal. We talked last night, and if we see each other again, cool. If not, it’s all good. We’re going to keep it casual.”

  “And you’re good with that?” Gemma knew she wasn’t.

  “Yep.” Kate popped her lips. “This is perfect. I mean it’s not like I’m already falling for him or anything. We spent one day and one night together. It’s cool.” Gemma chose not to mention to her that one night alone with Abe was all it had taken for either of them. Instead, she quietly agreed and headed back to the room for a little more sleep.

  ~~~

  Gemma woke to Gray shaking her at about nine the next morning. She was surprised she had been able to sleep with the way Kate was snoring. “Gemma,” Gray whispered, “wake up.”

  “I’m awake.” She groaned. “What is it?”

  “Some guy is here and he wants to talk to you.”

  “Oh”—she shot up—“let me brush my teeth and I’ll be right there.”

  Gray walked with her to the front door, which surprised her, but she didn’t say anything. The new family understanding seemed to be in effect, and she just guessed this was something he would do for Kate as well. When she rounded the corner downstairs, she was surprised it wasn’t Abe standing on the other side of the door, but Trey.

  “Hey.” He smiled down at her, and instead of being sexy as he was clearly aiming for, it was a bit intimidating. She inched closer to Gray instinctively. It wasn’t that it came off as evil or scary; there was just something insincere and desperate about it.

  “Hi, Trey, what are you doing here?”

  “Well, I knew that the group would be meeting up later, so I thought I would see if you were interested in coming down to the beach with me now?” He asked nervously, tucking his hands into his pockets.

  “I’m sorry, what?” she asked, confused.

  “I was just thinking we don’t know each other that well, so maybe—”

  “She can’t,” Gray interrupted, almost angrily.

  Loving her brother for sensing her feelings about the situation, she reached over and flung her arm over his shoulder. “Yeah, sorry, Gray and I had plans for this morning.”

  “Oh,” Trey said, clearly thrown off.

  “Yep, taking the best brother in the world here to the arcade.” She shrugged. “We need to start getting ready and see if we can get Kate out of bed. See you later, Trey.” She hurriedly shut the door before he could get another word out.

  “Baby bro”—she let out a breath—“right now, you are my new hero.” He laughed at what she could only assume was her confused expression. “Seriously, that felt weird, right?”

  “Yeah, it was even stranger when he got here. It was almost as if he was asking for you but hoping you weren’t around.”

  “Odd.” She shrugged and then started toward the stairs. “Shall we take Kate or just head out and let Sleeping Loudly get some more rest?”

  “Oh.” Gray suddenly looked a little nervous. “You don’t have to take me. I know it was just an excuse.”

  “Psh.” She scoffed as she started to head into her room. “Don’t try to get out of it. I have every intention of annihilating you at some outdated video game that is very loud and bright.”

  He smiled at her and his eyes grew wide. “Really?”

  “Duh, get ready and I’ll see if Kate feels up for an outing yet.”

  ~~~

  To say Kate wasn’t in the mood to get up for the arcade was an understatement. The bruise on Gemma’s leg from the punch Kate threw was proof. Gray told his mother where they were headed while Gemma waited with the rental bikes in the driveway. She had yet to talk to Karen since exploding on her, and she was completely fine with that. Just as they were pulling on to the road from their house, Abe pulled up in his car.

  “Hey.” Gemma smiled at him. “You remember Gray, right?”

  “Yeah.” Abe smiled at her brother. “How’s it going, man?”

  “Good.” Gray shrugged, noticeably calmer than he had been with Trey.

  “Where are you guys going?” She could see the disappointment in Abe’s eyes. He hid it well, but after a week of staring at his expressions, she was getting a hold of them.

  “I’m taking Gray to the arcade.”

  “Oh, okay.” Abe smiled at them both. “Want to call me after? Maybe we can hang out.” Lucky for them both Gray was slightly out of eye shot because the hungry look he gave her was a bit too obvious. She eased herself to standing, considering blowing her brother off for what those eyes promised.

  “You can come,” Gray interrupted their mental back and forth.

  “Really?” They both spoke at the same time as Gemma looked over her shoulder to see if Gray was serious or disappointed.

  “Why not? At least this way I’ll have someone who actually knows how to play the games. He smirked at Gemma in a challenge.

  “Oh, it is on, you little brat.” She held up a finger to Abe, telling him to wait and then walked her bike back to the garage with Gray. “You sure you’re okay with this,” she whispered to Gray as they walked back to Abe’s car.

  “Yeah.” Gray kicked a rock and avoided her eyes. “I like him. I’m cool with it.”

  The drive was actually pretty fun. Though she had spent a little time with Gray since deciding to call a truce, Kate had always been there or they were always around a large group. Here, alone with him and Abe, she realized they had a lot in common. Gray was funny, like Kate, but he was a bit more serious too. He liked to read like his sisters, but he had the writing bug like Gemma and unlike Kate. He was also quick-witted and a touch dry too. She loved it. He would sit quietly as they talked and then subtly chime in and have Abe and Gemma cracking up. A part of her realized she hated how much she missed while the other was just glad Kate had talked some sense into her before it was too late.

  Gray kicked their butts and made them like it, or at least that’s what he threatened to do before they walked in and then succeeded in doing within an hour. Even he said it was getting boring at that point. Gemma had never played video games, and Abe had grown up in places where kids actually wanted to be outside, not stuck in front of a television. Gray suggested they text Kate to meet them and then grab some food. Before anyone could make any suggestions for lunch, Abe insisted on Hank’s hotdogs. They left with a brand new deck of cards because Gray couldn’t figure out what he wanted to do with his tickets and they figured at least with this they might have something fun to do later.

  When they made it to the beach, Abe offered to go get the food while Gemma and Gray
found somewhere to sit. Once they had a couple towels down from the back of Abe’s car, they sat side by side, facing the water. “I really do like him. I like you with him,” Gray said to the water, not looking Gemma in the eye.

  “I do too.” She looked toward him, surprised at how easy he was to get along with. “You’re pretty cool too.” She shoved his shoulder and he laughed quietly.

  “I’m glad we’re, you know, talking this year.”

  She snorted. “Yeah. You aren’t too hard to get along with.”

  “You know what’s weird?” He finally turned his head and then body to face her. She followed his cue and gave him her full attention. “All these years, with you being the disgruntled kid and Kate being the outgoing, somewhat crazy kid, I kind of fell into a certain role.”

  “All these years?” She raised a sarcastic eyebrow at him. “What are you, thirty?”

  “Okay.” He laughed. “For the past few years anyway, you two have been playing these over-the-top parts, so I kind of took on this persona around the house. I decided to try for invisibility. I didn’t want to get in your way.” He looked at her pointedly.

  “Because I was such a peach.”

  “Yep, that’s it. My big sister, the delightful peach.”

  “Anyway . . .”

  “Anyway, I kind of tried to hide out. I would stay downstairs when we were all together or ask to go to the arcade, whatever.”

  “But?”

  “But the arcade is boring. I’m not twelve; it isn’t exactly exciting to drive video game cars all summer.”

  “Oh.” She looked at him surprised.

  “Yeah, I just kind of had to do my own thing all summer, and I’m young enough that I didn’t exactly want to go to the beach and make friends as you have this summer. It just isn’t that exciting when I’m by myself, you know? So I guess what I’m saying is thanks for getting over yourself a little; it’s helped.”

  She laughed and pushed his chest. “Shut up, you little brat.”