Harlow (The Hastings Series Book 2)

by Vanessa Sienna

  “I’m gonna come.” Her voice cracked and I needed to hurry up. I was keeping her from coming, but I wanted to come at the same time as her. I slowed down a bit but kept my thrusts hard.

  “Fuck!” I growled and gripped her ass tightly with one hand while the other cupped the side of her face, making her look up at me.

  The orgasm hit us both hard, making her shake and shiver and pressing her legs together. That only made it feel better and I stopped moving, coming inside of her and feeling her wet heat around me.

  “Oh, my God,” Harlow murmured as she came down from her high. I stayed inside of her, lowering my head to kiss her cheek before pressing my lips against hers.

  “I love you so fucking much,” I mumbled and didn’t expect a response, since I already knew what it was.

  Chapter Thirty-Two

  Harlow

  We were both lost in what we were doing that we forgot one important thing. Protection. Before he pushed into me, I did think about it for a second, but then I thought Hunter would probably remember to pull out. We had sex without a condom before when I got on birth control, but I had to stop taking that specific pill because I got major chest problems and headaches as side effects. I asked my gynecologist if that was normal and she told me that some girls needed to test different pills before they found the one that wouldn’t be problematic. Since I couldn’t just start taking several pills at once, I had to take breaks each month before trying a new one. And this month, I was taking that break. The last brand of pills I tried wasn’t doing my body any justice either. I felt sick several hours after taking it and I puked, getting it out again. And the other thing was, by taking just one pill, you wouldn’t be protected from getting pregnant. We knew that, though.

  I wasn’t sure how to tell Hunter. He wasn’t really keeping up with my pill problem and I was now feeling a little guilty not talking about it. I should’ve remembered not being on the pill. Yet, I remember telling him about the new pill I was going to take a week ago.

  It was all a little confusing and I was already overthinking everything and trying to talk myself into believing what I thought was right. Frankly, I had no idea why I was trying so hard when I knew exactly when the last time was that I took a pill and I knew for a fact that I was not on birth control.

  “Can’t sleep?” Hunter asked as he pulled me tighter against his chest, keeping his eyes closed and pressing his hand to my lower back to make sure I wasn’t going anywhere. I looked up at him, studying his face to make sure he was awake and not just talking in his sleep.

  “It’s just a little warm in here.” That was not an excuse since it really was hot in the room. “Mind if I open the window a bit?” I asked, kissing his jaw softly. He shook his head, letting his arms fall open for me to get up. I walked over to the big window and opened it, letting in some fresh air. I felt soreness between my legs, and I knew it was from Hunter slamming into me with a force that wasn’t just making it hurt down there afterward, but also feel very good throughout.

  “Something’s on your mind,” he mumbled as I climbed back into bed. He was now laying on his back, looking up at me as I sat there next to him and pulled the cover over my legs. I smiled at him, cupping his cheek in my hand and running my thumb over his stubbles.

  “I was just remembering our night. It was perfect.” I lied about what I was thinking of, but what I said was fully true.

  He watched me closely for a while before running his fingers along my thigh. “Are you sore?”

  I nodded, taking his hand in mine and lifting it to my mouth to kiss the back of it. “But I can handle it,” I whispered and then cuddled up to him.

  He pulled the cover up to our hips and put his arms around me again. “Of course, you can. You can handle anything.” He stopped but I knew he was going to say more. These were his sentimental moments where he just spoke from deep inside of him, letting me know all his thoughts. “You’re like…Superman. But, like, a girl. Supergirl,” he said slowly, and I couldn’t help but grin. I didn’t say anything, knowing he had more to say. I loved listening to his thoughts.

  “You’ve been through so much and you’re still here. You’re strong and your mind is incredible. You fascinate me each day with what you do and say,” he said, his voice a little hoarse from sleep and probably also the humidity in this room. I smiled, lifting my hand again to play with his hair at the back of his head.

  “Do you even realize what you’ve been through? Most people would break from shit like that but you…” He let his eyes wander all over my face before a smile spread on his lips. “You just grow from it all and you just turn into this incredibly kind and wonderful woman with each thing that comes at you with a force most people couldn’t handle.”

  This time, he took my breath away. God, how did I even deserve him? With all the negativity surrounding us at the moment, Hunter was all I needed to make it all better. He often told me how perfect I was and how I’d inspire him to be a better person, but what he didn’t know was, that he was the one helping me through the hard times. And he had no idea just how much I felt the same way about him.

  I wanted to say something next, but I couldn’t form words. Instead, I pushed myself up and steadied myself to hold my upper body up, then leaned down to kiss him passionately. I felt his smile get bigger, then he returned my kiss, cupping the back of my head. “I love you,” I murmured, wanting everything that was happening around us with Dean to just end and disappear from our lives. This wasn’t just about me or Jagger. Hunter got dragged into it all because of me and I hated the thought of him having to be careful whenever he went outside.

  “And I love you. So fucking much.” He broke the kiss to look at me again and the wrinkling of his nose told me he wasn’t happy about something. “I’m turning into some corny idiot because of you.”

  I laughed this time, shaking my head at him. “I like it. I like it when you talk to me and open up. Your mind is an incredibly interesting place, Hunter. I’d love to hear more of your thoughts.”

  “I think you’ll get to hear more of them in the future,” he said, then his expression turned serious. “I want to get better. For you. I want to clean up my mind. Become a better man,” he whispered.

  To me, he couldn’t get any better than that. But I knew what he meant. He was still struggling with his mental health, even though he went to a psychologist a few weeks back. He said it didn’t really work for him, or that he needed a new one, but since then, he never actually looked for another one.

  I was thinking about asking him about it, or what his plans were about therapy. I just noticed that each time he opened up to me, something about him slightly changed and I started to think that I was his therapy.

  Chapter Thirty-Three

  Hunter

  We arrived back in Hastings around noon and Harlow was being quieter than usual. At first, I thought she was just tired from our night in Sutton, but something was on her mind. I stepped inside the house after her and put the duffel bag down.

  “All right,” I said. “Talk to me.” Harlow turned, surprised by my demanding voice. Her brows were pulled tight and the look on her face told me she was hiding something.

  “About what?” she asked, trying to sound innocent.

  “You got something on your mind. I need to know what it is, or I won’t stop asking. Now, go ahead. Talk.” She seemed worried, yet, I wouldn’t back down.

  She lowered her head and picked the skin on her thumbs nervously. She didn’t look back up and she wasn’t about to talk, either.

  “Harlow,” I said in a low voice. I didn’t want to scare her, but I needed to get whatever was inside her mind out of there. “I’ve told you before. You can tell me anything.”

  “I know,” she responded quickly, now looking up at me with a sad smile. Her eyes were filled with unshed tears and I suddenly felt pain in my chest. I hated seeing her cry and not knowing what was wrong made it ten times worse.

  I stepped closer to grab her hands and
hold them tightly in mine. “Did I do something wrong?” I was whispering now, and my body was tense. She quickly shook her head, which eased the tension a little. “Then what is it? Talk to me, Harlow.”

  She sighed, not taking her eyes off mine and letting the tears roll down her face. “I’m not on birth control,” she whispered, and I had to let that sentence go through my mind once more before realizing what she said.

  We had unprotected sex. And I came inside of her. I repeated those words over and over before running my hand through my hair and looking down at her stomach. “You told me you were on the pill.” And she did. I know she told me. Why would I not worry about protection otherwise?

  “You told me you were taking another pill. Why did you stop taking them?” My voice was getting louder and I was about to lose control.

  There are other ways to talk about this, man.

  “I forgot,” she sobbed and covered her face with her hands. “I’m sorry, I forgot.” It seemed almost as if she was protecting herself from me. She saw my anger building up on my face and that terrified her. She saw the worst of me when I got angry. Not this time. She didn’t deserve it.

  I took a deep breath, trying to calm myself and remember that we couldn’t turn back time anyway. So, what happened, happened. Besides, I was already overthinking it all. Thinking too much about something I wasn’t a hundred percent sure of.

  I reached for her hands to be able to see her face and luckily, she let me hold her hands in mine. I studied her for a while, then decided I was ready to talk normally without getting angry again.

  “It will be okay. I mean, it doesn’t mean you’re…” The next word didn’t sound right, so I just let it go. She knew what I meant. Just thinking about it was making me sick. Not that I wouldn’t want to have her baby, but…the time just wasn’t right. At all.

  “You can do a test, right? We’ll get you one. And…whatever the result is,” I took a deep breath, then sighed, “we’ll decide from there, okay?”

  I sounded like an asshole. She was obviously feeling bad for not telling me and I was just making it worse by my stupid try to make this a positive situation. What a dick I am.

  Harlow nodded, letting her head down again. “I’m sorry,” she repeated.

  I shook my head, lifting her chin so she would look at me again. “We’re in this together, sweetheart. Hell, this is life. Shit like this happens all the time and people still manage to go through life.”

  She stared at me with big eyes. Shit. I said something to make it worse again. “Shit like this,” she repeated, furrowing her brows.

  A groan escaped me and I decided in that very moment that I was indeed a huge fucking asshole. “I’m sorry. I’m being insensitive about this,” I told her in all honesty.

  “You wouldn’t want my baby,” she said, her sentence sounding more like a fact than a question. I quickly shook my head.

  “Fuck, of course I want your baby. Hell, I want ten if they’re yours, but life right now is fucking insane, Harlow. Your father is going crazy out there, I still work for Gunner, and I’m still battling with my damn mind. You being pregnant would be dangerous. But if any of those things I just listed wouldn’t be problems you and I must deal with right now, then, hell yeah, I’d be ready for a little girl running around, looking just as pretty as her momma.”

  Again, it felt like I was talking nonsense. I was just letting my mind and mouth run out and I hoped it somehow made at least a little sense. Harlow was studying me, letting me know she was unsure of what I just said too.

  “You’re right,” she whispered. Her arms came up and wrapped around my neck while her body pressed into mine. I waited for her to say more, but instead of talking, her lips touched mine and I immediately returned the kiss.

  “I think we’re overreacting,” she said after leaning back to look into my eyes. I nodded slowly, holding her close to me with my hands on her lower back. “But we need to buy a pregnancy test,” she added.

  “I’ll text Bliss. She probably has one laying around at home,” I said, wishing I didn’t have that much information about my sister.

  Harlow bit back a smile. “Why’s that?” she asked. I shrugged and let out a deep sigh. “Don’t know. You can ask her when she’s here.”

  “Hmm,” she replied, sounding interested in my sister’s pregnancy test storage at her apartment. “I’ll make us something to eat.” She gave me one more kiss before walking over to the kitchen.

  I pulled out my phone and opened up Bliss’s chat. I reread my last text about talking about her and Jagger, and I decided, today was a good day to do so. Harlow could listen too. In the end, her brother was part of it all just like my sister.

  Hunter: Do me a favor?

  Bliss: Depends

  Hunter: Bring a pregnancy test over.

  Bliss: Why lol OMG HUNTER YOU DID NOT

  Hunter: Christ, relax.

  Bliss: Hunter…

  Hunter: Just get over here, Bliss. Please.

  Chapter Thirty-Four

  Bliss

  Having pregnancy tests around the apartment was normal. At least, for me it was. I did have protected sex, but I got paranoid as soon as my period didn’t come as expected. So, those little sticks filled a whole drawer in my bathroom. I also didn’t trust many guys I slept with. I just had them over for fun or to let out some frustration. In the last few weeks, though, only one guy came over regularly, and I was hoping not to see him when I arrived at his house.

  Hunter told me to bring a test for Harlow. They were probably overreacting, or Harlow was being paranoid herself. Yet, all I was thinking about was Jagger. The truth was; the thing between Jagger and I started way before Hunter started dating Harlow. We kept it on the down-low, not wanting either of them to find out and make things weird, but since they went for it right in front of our eyes, showing us their true love for each other, Jagger wanted to let especially Hunter know, that he could do just the same. Fuck his sister.

  That was the difference. Hunter and Harlow made love, while Jagger and I just fucked. That’s what he told me each time he came around, wanting to escape his sister’s new relationship.

  He told me many times about the way he felt about it. He was angry at first. Very angry, letting it all out on me between the sheets. He acted like a crazed man and I, like a good fuckbuddy, just went with it and let him fuck me as hard as he wanted to.

  Jagger also cried in front of me, wondering if Harlow loved him less, now that she had another guy in her life. I let him understand that Harlow’s love for him was so much different than for Hunter. Jagger was Harlow’s hero, protecting her since she was born and every time she looked at him, I knew there was no love greater than her love for him.

  After telling him that, he calmed down. It felt good knowing that he listened. At least, when it came to his sister.

  I realized I was sitting in my car in front of Jagger’s house for several minutes before I saw the front door open out of the corner of my eyes. I turned my head, watching Hunter walk down the few steps. He had a concerned look on his face and I quickly stepped out of the car, smiling at him. Before I could say something, he spoke.

  “You okay?” he asked, reaching me and eyeing me carefully.

  I nodded. “Yes. I just remembered something I gotta do later tonight. How’s Harlow?” I changed the subject and closed the car door.

  “Fine, I think. Come on.” We walked back to the house and the second I stepped inside Harlow came walking toward me with a genuine smile. That’s what I adored about her. Her positive aura was incredibly contagious, and you couldn’t help but feel just as happy as she was.

  “Bliss,” she exclaimed in her usual sweet voice and I hugged her tight, letting all the thoughts about Jagger fly away.

  “Hi, darling. It’s good to see you again,” I told her and then backed up to look at her. Her smile never faded.

  “It’s good to see you too. I’m sorry if we bothered you.”

  I shook my head and sat
down on the couch, lifting my handbag up on my lap and getting out what Hunter asked me to bring. I looked back up at Harlow and smiled. “Don’t worry about it. I wasn’t busy. Here.” I held the pregnancy test in her direction, and she took it slowly.

  After studying it, she looked back at me. “How long does this take?” she asked.

  “Just a couple of minutes,” I explained, then gave her an encouraging smile. “It’ll be okay, Low.” And with that, she glanced at Hunter, then disappeared in the bathroom. I sighed, putting my bag down and leaning back on the couch.

  “Was it last night?” I asked Hunter, who was still standing in the middle of the living room with his hands hidden in his pockets. His eyes shifted from the bathroom door to mine and his brows furrowed slightly.

  “Yeah,” he said slowly, not sure why I needed to know that.

  I lifted an eyebrow. “So, you do know that the test will come out negative, right?” I asked, wondering if he knew anything about a woman’s body.

  “And why’s that?”. Lord, he’d have been better off staying in school instead of becoming a criminal.

  “Hunter, you two just had sex some hours ago. Women take pregnancy tests when their periods don’t come, and for cases like this, there is the morning-after pill. So the sperm doesn’t even get the chance to impregnate her.”

  It felt like I was his sex-ed teacher.

  “And why doesn’t Harlow know that?” he hissed, suddenly annoyed with me.

  I rolled my eyes. “Because she’s panicking and stressed.”

  “Great excuse,” Hunter mumbled and ran a hand through his hair. Then, suddenly, relief came over him. “So, she’s not pregnant.”