by Kylie Scott
Their bristly babe frowned, thought it over a moment, then nodded. “Okay.”
“Good.” Finn’s eyes drifted closed.
“Suck up.” Dan muttered at the kid, then finished getting undressed and crawled onto the bed. He settled in flush against her, threading her fingers through his. Ignoring his ever hopeful dick.
Ali squeezed his fingers lightly, letting him know she wasn’t set to castrate him over the gun issue right here and now. Later, when she had her energy back, he might be wise to worry. But for now they were good.
Her skin was cool like the sheets and the smell of the antiseptic cream lingered. Beneath the soap and the shampoo came the scent of her. Warm and lovely and his.
His and theirs. Whatever.
They had pulled the curtains, locked the doors. Well-wishers and the curious alike could take a flying fuck. They were not home to visitors.
“Close your eyes,” Finn ordered her without opening his own.
She did not.
“I don’t think I’ve ever been so awake in my life.” Al stared at the ceiling, placed a hand on the arm the kid had thrown across her chest.
“You’re safe, babe. Everything’s fine,” Dan told her, wanting to believe it. Needing to believe it. Because he was more than willing to throw himself off cliffs for her, but that wasn’t stopping the bullshit from happening. It wasn’t keeping her safe. That had to change. Ali appeared to have gone ten rounds with the champ and not emerged the winner. “No more adventures for you. Either Finn or I will keep you company for the foreseeable future. You need to stick close to home for a while.”
She said nothing.
In days of yore, circa late last week, her silence might have been cause for concern. He knew her better now, knew she was mulling things over, choosing her words with care.
Finn broke first, rising up on one elbow and dealing Daniel the death glare. “You could give her some space to recoup.”
“You disagree with me?”
The kid’s pretty face drew tight, and he shook his head. “No. I just wasn’t going to lay it all out on the line at this particular point in time.”
His honey snorted. “You were going to attempt to manage me, you mean.”
“I was going to attempt to protect you. Not that you make it easy.” Finn put his hand to her face, and her focus shifted off the ceiling and onto him. Neither smiled. “You’re not stupid, Al. The situation isn’t right. You’re at risk. We need to know why.”
“Oh please, I’m at risk over my sleeping arrangements. Kind of obvious since it’s the only standout thing about me right now, given the state of the world. Also, I don’t want to be a job for you.” Her bottom lip trembled, gray eyes shone.
Daniel stared, spellbound. He loved it when her mouth did that. The stern set of her jaw, however, didn’t alter in the least.
“Can’t you understand?” she asked. “Or are you too far gone on your serve and protect bullshit to figure it out?”
The kid frowned, surprised. “My serve and protect bullshit?”
“Yes,” she said.
And then in one smooth move Finn rose up over her. He nudged her legs apart with a knee and settled between them, an arm set beside her head to take his weight. Daniel scooted over to make room, curious about the kid’s plans.
“Finn.” Her brow furrowed as she pushed at him. “Get off me.”
“No,” Finn said. “We’re talking.”
“We can talk without you lying on top of me.”
“No, we can’t.”
“Finn—”
“See, I’ve got all sorts of warning bells going off in my head, Al. That statement you made sounds far too similar to the last time we had one of these talks. After that talk, I ended up sleeping somewhere else. Remember?” Finn’s voice was all reason as his hand burrowed down between their bodies.
It was the first time the kid had touched her in an overtly sexual way in front of Dan. They were covering new ground here and it felt right, hell, it felt good. His blood raced. Voyeurism just might be a field sport he could get right into after all because it certainly wasn’t jealousy rising to the fore. Ali’s mouth opened on an “oh”, her hips kicking upward. The bed shook as the kid found his target. Dan’s cock stirred against her thigh.
“I hated that,” said Finn. “Hated fighting with you. Hated being away from you. Then, I was partly at fault. But this time, I’m not. So I’m staying put.”
His girl growled and squirmed and got nowhere.
“Your logic escapes me. Get your fucking fingers out of me.” Her hands shoved at the kid’s thick shoulders, not moving him at all. “Finn!”
“My fucking fingers aren’t in you. Yet. Be patient.”
“Daniel…”
“He does have a point,” Daniel said, relishing the whole scene more than a little. “You do seem to be starting a fight for no reason.”
Her mouth twisted and those familiar twin spots of red lit her cheeks. So pretty.
He sighed, dramatically. “Hon, it’s not really fair to expect me to get involved in a fight between you and your other boyfriend.”
“Get him off me,” his girl gritted out.
Finn looked at him, eyes fierce, daring him to do it.
“Easy, tiger. This is between you two.” Dan held up a hand in surrender, grinning broadly. “So long as you’re not hurting her, I’m not interfering.”
The tirade this set loose from his babe was mighty. They both ignored it.
“I would never hurt her,” Finn snapped, fingers still busy between her legs.
“I know,” Dan said, shifting his hard-on to a more comfortable position. “That’s why I’m not interfering. So … what happens next?”
CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX
Frustration had her fit to fight.
She wanted to stay mad. Mad felt safe. Instead she was moving against his hand, ostensibly to get away, but it wasn’t working. Her sex was slick and far too willing. A moan escaped her, and she almost sobbed at the betrayal.
Being wet didn’t play into her mood. But she was panting, out of breath and overexcited.
And the real problem was that she was going to cry, fuck it.
Her eyes were gritty. Her heart going rabbit crazy in her chest. The fluffy white menace was going to break a rib in its bid to run away this time.
“Don’t. Finn, please.” Her voice caught, which she hated even more. “Stop! Just stop.”
“Stop what? This?” His hand stilled against her pussy, cupping her sex. Oh man, the ache it left behind. The bastard. “You don’t want this?”
“I don’t want you touching me when you’re angry at me.”
Finn smiled. It wasn’t comforting. “I’m not angry at you, Al. You’re angry at me. Doesn’t matter though. I’m not going to play this game with you anymore.”
“What game?”
His beautiful face dipped, firm lips aiming for hers.
She turned her head aside. There Daniel lay, twirling a strand of her damp hair around his finger. His face was impassive, concentrating on her damn hair without meeting her eyes.
She was on her own as promised. The wanker.
Finn rested his forehead against her cheek, his breath warm on her skin. The heat of his body pressed her into the mattress and everything became good and right. He made breathing an effort.
“Look at me.” He rubbed the tip of his nose against her cheek, waited. Sighed and kept on when she didn’t comply. “The game I’m referring to is the one where you start a fight when you’re scared. The same game where you don’t say what you mean. Those kinds of games, Al. Do you love me?”
“What?” Ali tried to turn her face back to him. She needed to gauge his feelings, figure out where he was going with this. But now he didn’t let her move. His face pressed against hers, lips sliding along her skin, stopping near her ear.
“You heard me,” he prodded. The feel of his mouth moving against her skin sent shudders through her. Resisting him was doom
ed to failure, she should have learned that by now.
“Finn.”
“Answer the question. Truthfully.”
Her mind reeled. The rabbit fought harder than ever, rattling the bars of its cage like a lion. “You know I do.”
Finn said nothing, lifted his head. His face eased and he nodded. Nothing more.
She swallowed hard. Stared back up at him. “I mean it.”
His angel’s lips curved into a smile. “I believe you. Now tell me what the real problem is.”
She turned her face to the other side, eyeballing the bulge of his bicep. He was so strong, willing and able. His strength set the perfect example. They both were perfect, and they were far more than she deserved. Not that she would give them back.
The rabbit kicked hard, frantic. Letting them down terrified her. It was a nasty little knot inside herself. Being petrified of everything all the damn time made her sick to her stomach. Up on the roof she’d sworn to sort all this out and she would. Right about now.
Ali shut her eyes tight and opened her mouth. “What if this crap against me involves you two? What if they go after you, if they hurt one of you? I couldn’t … I can’t be the reason for one of you getting hurt. It was all I could think of last night. What if you tried to come get me while it was dark? You would have died.” She couldn’t look at them without her eyes going hot with tears. It felt like there was a stone in her throat, but she had to tell them everything. There was no turning back now. “And this place. I’m not sure I like it, but you two love it. You’re like local gods here. You fit right in. What if I never do? Some asshole here already wants me dead or infected. And what if I get pregnant? How do we protect a child? Let alone the lack of modern medicine. I’m not sure I could do that without drugs. Dan and I forgot to use a condom the other day. What if one of you decides you don’t feel like sharing anymore and opts out? What if…”
She pressed a hand against his chest, turned her face away again. Finn’s heart beat reassuringly against her palm.
“Actually, that’s it,” she said after a minute. “I’m all whined out.”
Silence. More silence. It was really quiet out there.
She dared a peek. Finn lifted a brow at her in response.
“I think I’ll wait for both eyes.” He took his hand from her crotch, set an arm on either side of her head. The tangy scent of her lingered on his fingers. “Still waiting.”
Ali opened her eyes, stared back at him. He was so beautiful. Her defenses were shredded, lying in tatters around them, but she put on a brave face. “What?”
Finn frowned. “Where to start…”
Dan cleared his throat like a pretentious bastard. “I find chronological order works best. Clear, concise, that kind of thing.”
She snorted. They ignored her.
“Right.” Finn shifted against her, getting comfortable. The heat of his cock rested against her inner thigh, hard and heavy. He made it near impossible to lie still. Fear and lust made for odd bedfellows, but lust was winning.
“Point one, Dan or I getting hurt? We’re both capable. We’re both on the alert. Point two, this town?” He turned to Dan, questioning. “Was it this place? Is that next?”
Daniel gave one judicious nod and got back to playing with her hair.
“Right, this town…”
“Hold it. You can’t just discount one of you getting hurt,” she said, her voice strained. “Not that simple.”
“Ali, I can’t promise you Dan or I won’t get hurt. I can promise you we’ll try our best not to,” Finn said. His throat worked and his pale green eyes searched her face. “We’ll be careful.”
“Absolutely. I hate getting hurt,” Dan interjected, all sincere. “Pain does nothing for me.”
The hint of a smirk on Finn’s lips became a full-blown smile, as beautiful as the rising sun. Heaven sent. A dimple flashed and he licked his lips, the gesture doing things to her nether regions, even if it did nothing to soothe her nerves. “See? All due diligence.”
“Great. I’m so glad my concerns amuse you both,” she bit out, sounding the bitch. And not particularly repentant. Egotistical wankers, the pair of them. “Thank God we’re done with that.”
Dan rolled onto his back, finger still entwined with her hair, tugging just enough to keep her attention. “Ouch. Babe, we just spent the night wondering if you were alive, unable to do a damn thing to help you. A little levity won’t hurt things. You haven’t told her you love her yet, either, moron.”
“Fuck’s sake,” Finn said. “I was getting there.”
Dan clucked his tongue. “You were taking too long.”
“Thought I was handling this.”
“Again, you were taking too long.” Dan rose up on one elbow, taking a strand of her hair with him. He stopped when she yelped and gently untangled it from his finger. “Oops. Sorry. Anyway, Finn loves you, babe. So do I. You already knew that, right?”
She held out a hand to him, and he took it, holding on tight. Yes, she knew it. Hell, she counted on it.
“Give me strength.” The voice against her neck was muffled. The tone, however, was perfectly clear. “I don’t suppose he’s a passing fancy?”
“Sorry.” Ali wrapped an arm around Finn, holding him close against her heart. Something she hadn’t been sure would happen again when she’d been stuck on the roof. It had been so dark, so lonely.
She clutched at him till the muscles in her arm ached, ignored the pain and hung on some more. A low rumble sounded his approval. She was so wet, pinned to the bed beneath him, her sex throbbing.
Finn rubbed his lips over the sensitive skin below her ear.
“You know you’d miss him if he wasn’t here,” she said.
It earned her a sharp nip to the neck. The sort of sweet sting she associated solely with Finn. “If you say so.”
Daniel squeezed her hand. The three of them together thrilled her all over, inside and out. Already the scent of sex seemed to linger in the room. Her head swam with it.
Finn’s cock rubbed against her. He swore fervently. “The only thing I can think about is being inside you bare. But you’re hurt.”
“Not that hurt.” Al pressed her short nails into his back in warning. “Don’t even think of stopping now, or I will definitely go for the guns.”
Daniel chuckled, sighed and rolled onto his back beside her. “So, children, are we making babies or sleeping? Just wondering.”
“Oh, we’re making babies alright.” Finn’s hand trailed down the side of her body with a happy hum. Fingers stroked the length of her thigh, then lowered to her knee where he dallied, delivering feather-light touches. She rolled her hips, rubbing herself against him. It felt so good, her heart racing for all the right reasons. “Put your legs around me and tell me again.”
“That you’d miss Dan if he was gone?” she said, smiling as Finn began to press into her. The slow stretch was perfect, the heat and hardness of him just right. A ragged groan slipped from her lips.
Utterly shameless.
“That you love me, and I can be inside you without a condom,” he corrected in a voice gravelly low beside her ear.
His hand glided up from her knee and cupped a butt cheek, bringing them closer together. “Never done that before with anyone. God, I love how wet you get. Love how…” Finn groaned against her ear, the sound vibrating through her as his cock did a long, slow slide into her body. “Fuck. There, right there, as deep inside you as I can get.”
“Finn.”
Ali didn’t know what to say while he gave her the full body tingles. It felt too good. He was all the way inside her, buried to the root, his pelvis flush against her and angled to rub just right.
She was still overexcited from his earlier touches and toeing the edge already. “I love you, Finn.”
“She’s blushing.” Dan chuckled, still holding her hand like they were on a date while Finn fucked her. The whole set-up made her dizzy with want.
“She’s being seen t
o,” Finn replied.
A bark of laughter escaped the big man beside her. “She certainly is.”
Ali ignored the both of them. It happened to be a simple enough task, given the sensations engulfing her.
Finn rose up above her, pale green eyes hazy and half-lidded, beautiful beyond words.
He pulled out of her, pushed back in, owning her heart with the force of his gaze. Being loved like this deserved sonnets, ballads—the most she could manage was a stuttered “oh, w-wow, Finn.”
“Yeah,” he rumbled. “You see? We fit perfectly.”
Having long since been converted to a true believer, she could only nod.
His cock stroked all sorts of magic places inside of her, places going crazy for the attention. Sweat pooled between her breasts, trickled over her belly. The heat made her insane. Her fingers slipped against the smooth, slick plains of his back. He was just as hot and overexcited as she was.
The connection was everything.
“Hold on,” he murmured, moving his hand from her butt, slipping it between their bodies and touching her. “Listen to me, Al. Are you listening?”
“Yes. Please, Finn, I need to come.”
“You will.” He circled her clit with the tip of his finger. Round and round till she couldn’t think straight, could only feel. The pressure nearly hurt, building to a pinnacle inside of her she couldn’t possibly contain. Overwhelmed, she clung to him. He played her so soft and subtle, but not quite enough. Then his words were there, making everything just right. “I would never leave you by choice. I will always want to be wherever you are. I love you. Do you understand that?”
“Finn…” Her climax hit her hard, stealing the breath from her, making her body shudder and shake beneath him. The whole world went away. She wasn’t the least bit scared, bound to him like this.
“There we go,” Dan murmured.
Finn swore profusely and held on tight, hips pressed hard against her. He was still there when her vision cleared. The tendons in his neck strained, pulse visible. Still hard and buried deep inside her. “That’s what I wanted, the full body blush. I can make her cheeks pink by talking dirty any time, old man.”