Finn (18 page)

“Guys, this will only be a few more minutes. This client has been out of touch for a few weeks because of personal reasons. Help yourself to anything in the kitchen. There’s beer in the fridge.”

“No problem.” I sweep her hair over her shoulder, gripping the back of her neck. I run my lips across her cheek and nibble lightly on her ear.

“Promise to hurry.” She steps away and goes back to her call. “Guys, this may get a little dicey. Warning you now.”

Tripp and I exchange a look of confusion until Presley starts chatting again.

“Okay, Stace, I’ve sent you my notes. Once you read over them, we can discuss. Most of the concerns stem around your sex scenes. Graphic sexual content is acceptable in a romance, but some of your elements borderline BDSM. We have to tweak to the market you are targeting.”

She stops talking and scribbles on a notepad.

“I think I need a beer for this.” Tripp goes to the kitchen and comes back with two bottles, handing me one.

“Remember, you are paying me for content editing. This is only my opinion. You do what you want.” Presley crinkles her eyebrows and bites on the end of her pen.

Silence.

“Okay, I think you’re off to a good start. There’s some definite heat between these two characters. We just need to finesse the scenes. For example, I’m not an expert but, when giving a blow job, I’m not sure a man wants his balls to be bitten.”

Tripp and I both hiss and groan at the thought of someone clamping down on our balls with their teeth.

“Maybe take a softer approach. Something along the lines of caressing his balls with her tongue until he whimpers with need.”

Now, my dick leaps to attention in my shorts.

“Yes! That’s great. Take that gentle and sensual energy throughout the book. Soften the anal scene with more preparation and trust. Give the characters more sexual intimacy and less pornographic verbiage.”

Presley listens to Stace’s response and nods her head triumphantly. “Perfect! I love that! It’ll change the whole feeling throughout the book. So let’s re-group next Wednesday and see if we’re ready to move this one to the next stages.”

Presley and Stace talk for another minute before Presley hangs up and pumps her arms in the air. “That was great!”

“Do you have a secret life as a sex operator?” Tripp questions.

“Not at all, but I’m semi-familiar with what works in the genre, and this woman was open to suggestions.”

“Well, you’re right about men not liking our balls in a teeth clamp. The thought alone makes me want to hurl.”

Presley starts to blush right before she bursts into laughter and hangs her head.

“Seriously, man, what the hell is this perfect woman doing with you?” Tripp repeats his earlier question.

“I can’t fucking wait until I can throw your words back in your face one day.” I take his empty beer to the trash and grab Presley’s overnight bag from the table as she shuts down her laptop.

“All ready to go,” she announces.

“Babe, what the hell is in this bag?”

“I have a few treats for Blade and a bottle of wine for Ember as a hostess gift. And Winnie and I picked up a gift for Robbie’s birthday.”

“Jesus,” I mutter.

Presley sets the alarm and winks at me when I notice she hasn’t changed the code. I help her into the truck, kissing her quickly as she buckles in. There’s no doubt in my mind that if Tripp wasn’t with us, we’d be arriving at Robbie’s a few hours late.

“626 needs us to stop for ice,” Tripp tells me.

“Who’s 626?” Presley turns back to look at him.

“It’s our code from a long time ago. Each of us has a code based on our birthday. We originally made them up to refer to our parents, but they stuck through the years. 626 is Robbie,” I explain.

“That’s cute.”

Tripp chuckles, shaking his head. “Not cute if you knew what we were doing.”

“What was that exactly?” She raises an eyebrow at me.

“Let’s just say, we all survived a lot of mischief by using the codes through the years.”

“So your friends call you 410?” she refers to my birthday on April tenth.

“Sometimes.”

“That’s ingenious, but I like Hero better.”

I grunt at the same time Tripp snorts.

We pull into the convenience store for ice, and the second Tripp is out of the truck, I lean across the console and bring her face to mine. “I’ve fucking missed you.” I outline her lips with my tongue and nibble gently. “After we eat, we’re leaving the party.”

“We don’t want to be rude,” she murmurs against my mouth.

“It won’t be rude. Believe me. Every man that lays eyes on you tonight will wonder how we even made it out of the house.”

“What about Tripp?”

“Baby, Tripp and Max are staying at Robbie and Ember’s tonight. We have the whole place to ourselves.” I run one hand down her neck and chest, then outline the ‘v’ of her neckline. The material has shifted to the side, exposing the lace of her black strapless bra. “Fuck, knowing what’s under this will have my dick hard all night.” My thumb skims over her nipple.

“It’s a matching set, black lace…”

Images of peeling her out of this dress and giving full appreciation for my new love of black lace fill my head. I place her hand on my cock to show her how she affects me.

“When I say we’re leaving, you need to help me get out of there. Those girls can be ruthless.” I pull back and peck the tip of her nose as Tripp returns.

“Did I interrupt something?” He catches me adjust my shorts.

“Yes.” Presley fixes the top of her dress and then faces him. “Finn just dropped the bomb that the women at this party are ruthless.”

He howls in laughter, his whole upper body shaking. “Sweetheart, you have no idea. But I’ll rescue you if Finn isn’t around.”

I shoot him a death glare, which only makes him laugh harder.

Puppies, babies, parents… I think of anything to get rid of my hard-on. It almost works until she lays her hand on my knee, and her touch ignites the need to be inside her.

Shit, it’s going to be a long night.

“You cost me a fucking mint,” Max tells me, clinking his beer bottle against mine. “Couldn’t you have held out for a few more weeks?”

“You referring to the stupid fucking bet?”

“Yep.”

“Would you have waited a few more weeks?” I tip my head to Presley sitting with the girls on the floor with Blade in her lap.

“Not a chance in hell. Happy for you, man.”

The front door opens, and I groan when Charlie walks in followed by her boyfriend, Blake, and the rest of the band. Raven and Declan come in last, without the babies.

“Here we go.” Robbie points to Charlie. “Did you warn Presley?”

“Nope. Better go see how this plays out.” I head toward the living room and stop dead when Presley gets up and slips back as people greet each other. The hair on the back on my neck stands when Raven gives her an impassive look and then hugs my mom warmly.

Presley’s eyes go to the floor, and she scoots further away, almost hitting the wall, when Raven drops down and rubs on Blade. The room is full of activity, but I meet my mom’s eyes and know she’s aware of what’s happening. She gives me a look of warning, and I cuss under my breath, wondering what the hell is going on.

“Hey, man,” Declan greets me with a slap on the back. “Good to see you.”

I nod slightly and go to Presley’s side. “Babe, you okay?”

“Absolutely,” she lies. “I was moving out of the way.”

Before I get a chance to make introductions, Charlie is in front of us. She openly rakes her eyes up and down Presley and then speaks.

“Are you the new girl?”

Presley’s already stiff body goes rock solid. The chatter around the room dies, and every eye is on us.

“Charlie, don’t start.” I stand behind Presley and lock my arms around her waist.

“Calm down. Ember’s been singing her praises for weeks. I’ve been dying to meet the girl who gave Finn Black the disease. It’s about damn time.”

“Charlie!” Ember huffs, throwing her hands on her hips.

The room is silent for about four seconds before everyone erupts in laughter. I hide my own amusement by burying my head in Presley’s neck, feeling her relax.

“I’m not sure about the whole wretched disease thing, but yes, I’m the new girl.” Presley giggles. “My name is Presley.”

Charlie narrows her eyes and looks between the two of us, focusing on me. “You think you can let her go so I can give her a hug?”

“Not a chance.”

“Whatever.” Charlie gets close and throws her arms around both of us. “Nice to meet you, Presley.”

“Oh, group love. Let me jump in on this.” Blake comes up behind Charlie with his arms extended.

“You touch my girl, I’ll cripple your arm, or hand, or voice… whatever makes your living.”

He steps back but gives me a shit-eating grin. “Oh yeah, this is going to be fun.”

Charlie moves to his side.

“Babe, this is Nate, Cooper, and Blake. They’re in the band with Declan.” I point to the rest of the men watching us.

“Nice to meet you.” She gives a small wave.

Cruz and Alex walk in with trays of drinks, and Presley accepts some sort of pink concoction, moaning with her first sip.

“This is delicious. What is it?”

“Secret recipe. I like to call them pantry-droppers. A few of these and Finn better watch out.” He winks at me, and Presley giggles, tilting her head back to me with a gleam in her eye.

“Babe, with an endorsement like that, you drink as many as you like.” I kiss the corner of her lips and drop my voice. “Although, I already know you’ll be dropping your panties.”

She gives a little squeak and tries to wiggle away, unsuccessfully. “Finn, your mom is across the room. Stop.”

“She can’t hear me, babe. And if you don’t stop wiggling your ass against my dick, we’ll be heading straight to one of the guest rooms, and then everyone will know exactly what we’re doing.”

She stops and twists around. Cruz is still standing in front of us with a wide smile. “You can thank me later, Hero.” He walks away, mumbling something about strong sexual vibes.

Jimi, Abbi, Harper, and Gabe walk in right as Robbie gives a loud whistle to get everyone’s attention. Ember goes to his side, and even Blade trots over to sit at his feet.

“Before we start dinner, Ember and I want to put together a camping and rafting trip at the end of the month. I’ve already talked to an outfitter, and we can do a two-day excursion. One day will be a half course and then the next the full course. Thought the men could take the bikes and then load a few of the SUVs with the supplies. We’ll be gone Thursday through Sunday.”

“Hell yeah!” Tripp slaps his hands together.

“And, so all the ladies know, I’ve checked out the campsite and it’s modern. They recently did a remodel on all the bathrooms and locker rooms. That was the only way I’d agree to this.” Ember gives Robbie a smug look.

“If we can work out childcare, we’re in,” Raven tells them.

“James and I will work with Dave. Between the three of us, the kids are taken care of.” Jenna points between her and James. “You two go and have fun.”

Everyone else speaks up in interest. Everyone except Presley, who hasn’t moved or said a thing.

I sidestep from behind her and twist her into me. “Presley, what’s wrong?”

“I’ll need to check with Dad and Johnny. I’m sure it’s fine, but we always discuss our trips to make sure Winnie is taken care of.”

“No problem. We’ll confirm it’s okay before we commit.”

“No, you should definitely plan on going. Don’t let me hold you back.”

“You’re not holding me back.”

“Black, you two in?” Robbie asks. Ember turns to focus on us, her smile fading instantly.

“We’ll let you know. Presley needs to check into a few things.”

“Winnie?” Ember assumes.

“Yes, I usually have her on Thursday nights and sometimes Fridays, too.”

“No problem. Just let me know when you can.” Ember gives her a reassuring smile.

“Who’s Winnie?” Raven’s tone is sharp as she look between Presley and me in confusion.

“She’s my niece.”

“And she’s the cutest little girl you’ve ever seen!” Ember gushes.

“She is, and so smart!” my mom agrees.