Finn (17 page)

“Finn,” I mumble as my mind grows fuzzy with lust. “Oh my God, Finn…”

“That’s it, baby. Let go. I’m right here with you.”

He speeds his movements, and I scream out his name again when black spots cloud my vision, and my heart plummets as I fly apart in his arms. I barely hear his own cry when he comes, his mouth biting down on my shoulder. He doesn’t stop moving, and one orgasm turns into two when his dick pulses against my sensitive inner walls.

I latch onto him tighter, scared to let go. His hands rub up and down my back, massaging gently as his heart beats to the same rhythm as mine.

“You’ve ruined me. It’s a good thing we already established you’re mine, because I’d never let you go.”

I grin against his neck, still unable to speak. After a few minutes, he lays us down and moves beside me, tucking me into him.

“Babe, I fucked up.”

I snap my face to see his pained expression. “What’s wrong?”

“I didn’t use a condom. I got caught up—”

“It’s okay,” I cut him off. “I’ve been on birth control for years, if that’s what you’re worried about.”

His face softens, and he runs his hand along my hairline, then along the column of my throat gently. “I’m clean, Presley. I’m not worried about anything, but if you want me to wear a condom, I will.”

“I think it’s safe to say we’re in a committed relationship. Therefore, it should be fine for us to forego the prophylactics.”

His eyes start to dance as he fights a grin. “My girl and her vocabulary. Yeah, it’s extremely safe to say we’re in a committed relationship. It’s also safe to say I’m not letting you go.”

His statement sends a warm and fuzzy feeling straight to my bones.

“I really, really like the sound of that.”

“Me too. Now, how do you feel about a shower before I feed you? That will be the only time we need to leave this bed today.”

“I like the sound of that even better.”

“Finn!” I swat at his shoulder and try to scoot away from his roaming hands. “I’m attempting to help you!”

“I can’t help it if you’re too sexy to stay away.” He nuzzles my neck and presses his obvious erection against my thigh. “Watching you do your thing makes me hard.”

“First of all, I can’t see how my editing your paper is remotely sexy. Secondly, should I worry that you’re always hard? Is that normal?”

He gives me a sly smirk and moves his hand up my leg, stopping at the hem of his t-shirt he insisted I wear after our shower this morning.

“Let’s see, how can I answer this? You editing my paper is sexy because I’ve discovered that, when you concentrate, you crinkle your eyebrows and nose in a seriously adorable expression. I can almost see the wheels in your head turning. And you should never worry about me being hard, because I’m constantly turned on when I’m with you. It doesn’t help that we’re lying in your bed, and the only things separating me from your body is a cotton t-shirt and my gym shorts. I could have us both naked in under ten seconds.”

“Mmm, that sounds nice.” I run a hand over his abs, feeling them contract at my touch. When I reach the waistband of his shorts, I tease him by dipping a finger inside and circling his head gently. “But I need a few more minutes to finish my notes.”

“Jesus, woman, keep it up and see what happens.”

I remove my hand and go back to focusing on my laptop. He rolls to his back and blows out a frustrated sigh, adjusting his shorts. His phone rings, and he groans when he looks at it.

“This should be interesting.” He swipes the screen. “What’s up, James?”

He gives me a gesture that he’s going to take the call in the other room, and I nod in understanding. While he’s gone, I finish my notes on his final paper and save them for him to review tomorrow. Then I answer some emails and confirm deadlines for the week.

It wasn’t the smartest decision to play hooky today, but I don’t feel an ounce of guilt. The minute Finn told me he was skipping class to spend the day with me, I agreed wholeheartedly. And to be honest, it was one of the best days of my life. Not because Finn and I spent most of the day naked, tangled up in each other’s arms, but because I got to spend the entire day with only him. No family or friends to distract us.

He shared childhood stories of him and the guys and told me about his time in the military. I pushed him to tell me what exactly happened in Iraq a few years ago and couldn’t stop the tears when he told me about his trip with Robbie and Max to visit the deceased men’s graves and families. With each word he spoke, I decided Ember was right. He is a hero.

The only downfall to our day was when he mentioned spending the summer in Paris with Raven two years ago. Envy bubbled inside, and I had to bite my tongue to keep from blurting out her hostile behavior on Saturday. It was clear they were extremely close, and a part of me understood her need to question my presence. Even if she did it with an attitude.

In turn, I told him stories of my childhood and growing up with two overly zealous brothers. He asked about my mom, and I talked openly about her beauty and love of life. He didn’t press me for details, but I briefly mentioned her death and the impact it had on my dad. Then I moved on to stories about Reese.

All throughout the day, he kept me close, always touching me in some way. Sometimes it was sexual, and sometimes it was just to have me near him. It was uncharacteristic of me to sleep with Finn after such a short amount of time, but for some reason, I felt closer to him than anyone I’d ever dated. Our connection was more intense, more solid. I trusted him completely and believed it when he said he wasn’t letting me go.

I’m so lost in my thoughts that when I glimpse at the clock, I realize he’s been on the phone for over twenty minutes. I knew he had someone take notes in his class today, but did he skip work as well?

I put away my laptop and go the living room to check on him. My stomach growls loudly, causing him to look up from his spot on my sofa and give me a lopsided grin. I giggle, slightly embarrassed, until he motions for me to come to him. He pulls me onto his lap and gives me a finger that he’ll be another minute.

“Robbie, man, we got this. If it escalates, I can start a monitor on the outside perimeter. We’ll have footage of anyone coming and going. If the Governor wants, I can even lock in a few hidden cameras to watch his personnel. We can determine if anyone is acting suspicious.”

There’s some rumbling through the line that I can’t understand.

“Yeah, I’ll be in after class tomorrow, and we can finalize the outline. I’ll work up some options about looking into his staff without drawing attention.”

More grumbling.

“Okay, guys, see you tomorrow.”

This time, I hear distinct chuckles and a few loud remarks.

“Funny. Both of you should be fucking comedians. I’ll tell her you said hi, and we’ll both be there Saturday night. Tell Ember to calm down.”

He ends the call and tosses his phone to the other side of the couch then falls back and takes me with him.

“That sounded interesting.”

“More EMOP.”

“Jeez, how many emergency operation plans do y’all have?”

“Only a few. This is the same situation from last week.”

The hair on the back of my neck starts to prickle, and I push up to face him. “Can you talk about it?”

“A little. That was James and Robbie. We’re helping an old friend of James’.

“Helping him how?”

“Does the name DeSantis ring a bell?”

“The Governor of Louisiana?”

“Same man. He’s making a run for Senate, and he’s conservative to the core. Some people aren’t too happy, and he’s being pro-active about protecting his family.”

“Pro-active? Is he being threatened?”

“Not directly. He’s had a few leaks and some gut feelings, but nothing concrete.”

“Why not call the police?”

“Babe,” he raises an eyebrow and sighs, “you’re new to this, and I’ll try to explain without scaring you. But if you had the expertise of James Hayes, you’d ask him for help a thousand times over the local authorities. He’s a legend, and he’s sly. His knowledge supersedes most top officials in the world.”

“Wow, that’s both intimidating and incredible.”

“Yeah, he’s pretty cool. I’m lucky to be learning from the best.”

“Are you in danger?”

“Not now.”

His answer doesn’t sit well, and my body stiffens.

“Hey,” he says, threading his hands through my hair, forcing me to look at him. “I’m good at what I do, and I’ve got a team of professionals at my back. Right now, there is no real threat.”

I nod and try to appear calm, even with the uneasy feeling in the pit of my stomach.

“Presley, stick with me here. Don’t shut down. Trust me to do the right thing and stay safe.”

I nod again and lean into his hand.

We’re both quiet as he massages my scalp and searches my face for any sign of panic. But I force myself to do as he asks and trust he knows what he’s doing.

“I believe you,” I finally admit, truthfully.

“Presley, you’ve given me so many things today. I want you to know this has been the best day of my life so far. And not because of the sex, but because of you.”

My heart skips a beat at his raw sincerity. This is a relationship changing moment that will forever stay in my head.

“I feel the same way.”

“How about we order some dinner and then go back to bed? I believe I made a vow you’d think about me every time you move tomorrow.”

“I already will,” I say quietly, squeezing my thighs.

He stands quickly, lifting me with him. I give a small squeak when he moves his hands to grip my ass and turns toward my room.

“Change of plans. I think I’m going to have you as an appetizer, and then we’ll order dinner.”

My stomach does summersaults thinking about the way he devoured me last night until I saw stars. “Sex, dinner, and then more sex. A girl can get used to this.”

“Oh, baby, you have no idea. We’re just getting started.”

Finn

T
ripp’s a dead motherfucker. The whistle was bad enough, but his eyes haven’t moved off of Presley since we walked in her door. She currently has her cell to her ear as she runs around in a frenzy, throwing things in her bag.

‘
I’m sorry’
she mouths and gives me an apologetic look, pointing to the phone.

‘
It’s okay’
I mouth back.

She hustles to her computer and starts typing frantically, as I elbow Tripp in the gut.

“Get your eyes off my girl before I blind you,” I hiss.

“Man, how the fuck did this happen? What’s she doing with you?” he goads me then sidesteps out of my reach. “I mean, look at her.”

I don’t have to because the sight of her in the aqua blue halter dress and matching sandals is burned in my brain. If he wasn’t here, I’d have her pressed against the wall with her legs wrapped around my waist while my dick was buried in her wet heat.

“Tell me again why I agreed to let you ride with us?”

“Because Presley wouldn’t let us take the bikes.”

“I understand why now.” I refer to her outfit. No matter how hard I tried to get her to agree to the motorcycle, she argued that tonight was too important to show up in shorts with helmet head. Then she explained she was still a little nervous about my friends and wanted to make a good impression. And since I have no balls left, I conceded with no pressure.

It’s been three days since I left Presley in bed on Wednesday morning and forced myself to meet Robbie at the gym. She’s had Winnie Wednesday through Friday night this week, and we decided it was too soon for me to spend the night. Presley wants to talk to her dad and Winnie together, she explained nervously.

I wasn’t happy, but I understood, telling her to take her time and ease them into the idea. But damn if I’m not going to push her to have that conversation soon, because after having her in my arms when I fell asleep and woke up for those few days, I became addicted. Even when she called me after Winnie was asleep, it was no comparison.

“Stace, hold on a sec. My boyfriend and his friend just arrived.” Presley puts her phone down and comes to me. “Hi.” She lifts up and presses her lips against mine, then she reaches over to squeeze Tripp’s arm.