Yesterday when he had been faced with having to drive cross-country with her, he had been less than enthused, but after spending the day with her–and he wasn’t even taking tonight into consideration because this was a temporary reprieve from reality–he found he genuinely liked her. Hell, he wanted to get to know her as a person, as a friend, and as a woman. But if she came to the realization that she needed to go home and get her life in order sooner rather than later, he would take her to the airport in the morning and wish her well.
And then miss her for a really long time.
Maybe forever.
Don’t go there…
“Is this your way of saying you want to get rid of me?” And for the first time since he’d met her, she sounded insecure.
He caressed her cheek because he couldn’t not touch her right now. “That’s not what I’m saying at all, Grace. I’m just trying to make sure you’re okay.”
Her blue eyes stared at him for so long that he wanted to squirm, and then a slow smile appeared on her face. “Just okay?”
He chuckled softly. “Well…maybe a little more than okay.”
She nodded. “What’s a little more than okay?”
It was clear to see she was relaxed and back to her sassy self–ready to play and tease him again, and he figured he was more than ready to go along with that as well. “Hmm…more than okay would be…good.”
Her grin turned a little wicked. “You want me to be…good?”
That was a loaded question.
“Because good sounds a little…boring,” she said, her voice taking on a breathless quality.
Finn’s hands skimmed past her jaw, her throat, and landed on her breast, where he used one finger to tease her nipple. “That does sound boring.”
“Mmm…”
“How about…I want you to feel good,” he asked, his own voice going low and gruff. Honestly, he was done playing and talking, but he wanted Grace to be a little desperate and needy for him. “Really, really good.”
She purred and squirmed under his touch. “I do. I do feel good, and you have no idea how happy that makes me.”
“Happy is good,” he agreed, lowering his head and placing a gentle kiss on the nipple he’d just played with. “I really want you to be happy, Grace.” He paused. “And naked. I really want you to be happy and naked with me. All the time.”
Now he was really done talking. Moving over her, he knew she was feeling the same way because she wrapped herself around him and kissed him with a desperation he knew well because it matched his own.
“Why Albuquerque? Why is that the next stop?” Grace was studying the map on her phone and trying to see what other options there were. They’d been on the road for an hour and Finn was driving the first leg–which was good because all she wanted was another eight hours of sleep. She’d even tried to hammer the point home with today’s snarky t-shirt that read “All You Need is Sleep,” but no. He hadn’t taken the hint. No matter how much she begged for them to stay another day, it didn’t work. Besides needing more sleep, she was mildly disappointed since there was still so much she wanted to see and there wasn’t time for it. Who knew when she’d ever come back to Vegas, right? And for a brief moment this morning, she’d thought she had convinced him to stay. But then sanity prevailed.
One night, he’d reminded her. Last night had been it. Now they had to get back to reality and back on the road. She’d totally turned down his suggestion of flying home. It would have been super easy, and part of her was a little anxious to see her family and friends and get a little comfort and sympathy from them, but she was also a little anxious to spend more time with Finn and maybe convince him to have at least one more sexy night with her.
Possibly two.
Last night had been…well…it had been a real eye-opener for Grace. Never in her entire sexual life had she felt so thoroughly consumed and satisfied. Not only was Finn an amazing lover–giving and generous and oh-so-yummy–but he showed her just how lacking her sex life had been up until now.
And he thought she was going to be willing to give that up after only one night?
Was he not aware of how freaking good he was in bed?
Something she’d told him repeatedly after every orgasm he gave her and yet he still seemed to cling to the theory that last night was enough.
We’ll just see about that, she thought.
But for now, she had to push all sexy thoughts aside and focus on their route. The way he had them going was taking I-40 almost the entire way. It was a twenty-eight-hour drive from Vegas to Atlanta and she knew if they put in some serious time, they could realistically do the drive in two days with both of them alternating every few hours. Something she had mentioned to Finn, but he explained how he didn’t want to do more than six to eight hours per day because it was too much time on the road.
And she wasn’t completely certain if that was a rule he normally lived by or because it meant being confined in the truck with her.
“You know, I’ve never done anything like this before,” she said, figuring she’d start a conversation.
“Like what? Drive in a truck?” he teased.
“Ha, ha. Very funny. But…yeah. Sort of. We didn’t do road trips when I was growing up and any time I’ve ever traveled, I’ve flown.” And that reminded her… “You know, last night you asked me why I didn’t want to fly home from Tahoe, but you never said why you didn’t.”
She could see the slight tick of his jaw and knew he was fighting with whether or not to answer her.
Which meant it was a story that was either painful or wasn’t going to make him look good.
To push or not to push…
“I know you’re not afraid of heights,” she went on. “We ziplined, rode a roller coaster on top of a hotel, and went on the tallest observation wheel in the country, so…what is it? Hate airport security? Your ears pop too much? C’mon, what’s your deal?”
And push it is!
He let out a long breath and didn’t take his eyes off the road. “When I was five, my parents took Dave and me on vacation,” he began, his voice somber. “We were living up in New York and were flying to Florida to visit my grandparents.”
She nodded and waited for him to continue.
“I was pretty excited about the whole thing–first time on a plane and all. And what little boy doesn’t want to fly, right?”
She smiled.
“Halfway through the flight, we hit some really bad turbulence. I was so scared that I got sick.”
“Oh, no.” Reaching out, she patted his hand. “That’s not unusual, Finn. It happens all the time. Surely you know that. And you didn’t get sick on the coaster last night so…maybe it wouldn’t happen if you flew again.”
“Yeah, well, I wish that was the end of the story.”
“Oh.”
“It wasn’t one of the big planes, but there were three seats on either side of the aisle. Dave had the window on one side and my mom sat next to him while my dad and I were on the other side so I could have that window seat. An elderly gentleman was sitting next to my dad. He laughed when I got sick, called me a wimp.”
Damn, now she felt bad for making him talk about this.
“Anyway, my dad told him to shut up and helped me get cleaned up. And I remember thinking how much I hated that guy for making fun of me and I hoped he got sick. So when we hit another patch of turbulence, I glared at him and almost willed him to get sick.”
“And did he?”
Finn nodded grimly. “Had a heart attack and died right there in the seat.” He shuddered. “It was a full flight and we were already making our approach to the airport and there wasn’t anything anyone could do. We just had to sit there next to him. I freaked out–like majorly freaked out. When our vacation was over, I refused to get on the plane to go home. My mom and Dave flew, but my dad rented a car and drove us home.” He paused. “I haven’t flown since.”
“Holy shit.”
He nodded. “Yup.
”
“I…wow…I don’t even know what to say, Finn. I’m so sorry.” And she truly was. Not only because it happened to him at such a young age, but how it was clearly still affecting him today. And honestly, how could it not? That sounded pretty traumatic. And to have it happen on his very first flight? Um…yeah. She could totally understand his hesitation to get on a plane. “Have you even tried…?”
“Nope.”
“Would you ever try…?”
“Nope.”
Okay, then. He was clearly a man of conviction–or completely stubborn–depending on how you wanted to look at it. And rather than debate that with him or even keep him thinking about such a traumatic event in his life, Grace knew she needed to change gears.
“So yeah, no road trips for me,” she said cheerily. “I guess we could say I’m a road trip virgin, huh?”
He didn’t acknowledge that.
“Who knew I could be a virgin of anything at twenty-eight, right?” she asked with a laugh.
Nothing.
With a sigh, she returned her attention to her phone to try to see if there was going to be anything exciting to see when they stopped in Albuquerque for the night. Finn’s rigid driving schedule would put them stopping for the night at around five–which could realistically give them at least a few hours to explore. And if she was going to do this whole road trip thing, she wanted to see more than just the interstate.
“Oh, my gosh, Finn!” she exclaimed, slapping a hand against his arm. “Did you know Albuquerque is known as the Hot Air Ballooning Capital of the World?” She looked over at him. “Do you think we could ride in a hot air balloon tonight, maybe before dinner or something?”
He merely glanced over at her and shook his head. “Grace, you realize this isn’t a vacation, right? We’re trying to get home.”
And something in his tone seriously irked her. “Really? Are you sure? Because if you were so anxious to get home, you wouldn’t have us stopping for the night at five in the afternoon. I mean, that’s the time senior citizens go to dinner, Finn! They consider that to be late even though they’re called early bird dinners! You realize you’re essentially a thirty-year-old senior citizen, right?”
His knuckles were white as he gripped the steering wheel harder and it just made her want to poke at him a little more. “I get that you don’t want either of us feeling sleepy behind the wheel, but if we’re going to stop so early, I don’t see why we can’t go out and explore a bit. These places are all new to me and I just thought it would be a fun way to pass the time, that’s all.”
“Really? That’s all? I don’t know about you, but I don’t have a bottomless budget for this trip. I don’t believe in just throwing my money away. I work very hard for what I have, and last night was as frivolous as I want to be on this return trip, so…no. I don’t think we can ride in a hot air balloon tonight. At least I can’t. If you want to go do it, then be my guest.”
Grace thought her jaw just might be on the floor because…wow. Talk about extremes. What happened to the man who rocked her world last night? Where was the guy who was wild and playful and downright wicked on the High Roller?
Then it hit her–this was all part of his plan to put them back on track. She would have appreciated it if he wasn’t being such a colossal jerk. It was one thing to try to keep the conversation neutral; it was quite another to just be rude. Fun Finn was gone and in his place was the boring and practical guy that no one would want to hang out with.
No wonder Dave stole his car.
“Can I ask you something?” she said after a minute and realized this was becoming a thing with them. Most of their conversations started with that same question.
“Sure.”
“What did you and Dave argue about before he borrowed your car?” She purposely said borrowed to get a rise out of him.
“Stole, not borrowed. Stole. Dave stole my car,” he corrected, and Grace had to fight a grin.
“Yeah, whatever. To-mato, to-mahto. He has your car and you don’t. Why?”
He shot her another glare before answering. “My brother is a screwup,” he stated firmly. “He’s constantly going from job to job and none of them pay well, which means he’s constantly mooching off our parents. I’d like for them to have a little time to themselves and some financial security when it's time for them to retire, and that’s never going to happen unless Dave gets his shit together.”
Again…wow.
“He went to college, had every opportunity, and he’s still like a child who can’t decide what he wants to be when he grows up!” He shook his head. “He’s gone through so many jobs and most of them, I helped him get. Then he screws up and gets fired and you know who looks bad? Me! I mean, I keep trying to help him and he keeps screwing me!”
“And you took this trip with him…why?”
“I thought we’d spend some time together and could bond a bit, and maybe I could figure out where his head is at so I could help him find steady employment.” He shook his head. “But it’s impossible because all Dave wants to do is party and have fun and not have any responsibility! Why is it okay for him to be a slack-ass, huh? Everyone else works and supports themselves. Why does he think he doesn’t have to? I’ve been working since I was fifteen years old. Fifteen! I own a business. I own my house. My parents aren’t giving me any money and I wouldn’t ask them to!”
So…here was a can of worms she couldn’t possibly cram back where they came from.
“Finn, maybe he just…”
“No, he’s always been like this–like the rules of the world don’t apply to him! He’s the typical baby of the family. Everyone should cater to Dave. No one hurt Dave’s feelings,” he mocked. “It’s ridiculous. He’s a grown man and should act like one.”
“Well, sure, but…”
“Do you think I want to get up and work ten hours a day, six days a week?” he snapped.
“I…I don’t know. You seem like…”
“Because I don’t! Sometimes I’d like to just kick back and take a day off, but I don’t. You think I don’t want to just go off and ride in a freaking hot air balloon and just forget about all of my responsibilities? Because I would love to! But I can’t! This trip was the first vacation I’ve had in years. Years! And look what happened? I should have just minded my own business and stayed at the shop and let my parents handle Dave!”
That was it. She’d had enough.
It was time for someone to kick Mr. Martyr in the ass and knock some sense into him.
“I’m sorry, but why aren’t your parents the ones handling Dave?” she asked sarcastically. “Seems to me he’s their son, their responsibility, not yours, Finn! And you know what? Maybe it wouldn’t be the worst thing in the world for all of you to just let him fail at something! You should probably tell your folks that, too. Although this is all going to be a moot point when he gets back to Atlanta in a stolen car and gets arrested, so…problem solved.” She crossed her arms over her chest for emphasis.
Finn slammed on the breaks, and Grace wanted to think it was in outrage over her suggestion, but she realized there was traffic and everyone was suddenly at a standstill.
“Are you out of your mind, Grace?” he demanded. “That’s your solution to this? Have him arrested? Let jail teach Dave a lesson? Isn’t that a little heartless?”
It would be comical if his reaction wasn’t so damn sad. Twisting in her seat, she gave him a hard look. “You have to pick a side here, Finn,” she began calmly. “You want to teach him a lesson, but you don’t want him to face any consequences for his poor decisions. Then you’re mad at the decisions he makes and don’t like the punishment he gets. I mean…come on! Can’t you see how you’re just enabling the entire situation?”
He waved her off. “You don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“I may not know enough about your family dynamic to say with any kind of certainty, but I can tell by what you’re saying that you’re part of the problem!”
“Why not? We have nothing else to do! We’re stuck here in traffic and we’re having a conversation! It’s not my fault you can’t handle a little criticism!”
“I handle criticism just fine when it’s accurate,” he argued. “Don’t sit there and play armchair psychologist with me, Grace. You’re only making yourself look bad.”
Lucky for him she wasn’t a violent person because right now she was tempted to punch him in the throat. However, she also had two older brothers who taught her how to play a little dirty and retaliate without getting physical.
“Fine. I can handle that. Unlike you.” She paused for a second. “I mean, as an adult, I can sit here and take you disagreeing with my opinion. It’s a shame you can’t do the same.”
She thought his head was going to explode. But to his credit, he didn’t say a word to her.
Not. One. Word.
Fine. He wanted to block her out and pretend she wasn’t even here? Well, two could play this game.
He was stubborn, of that there was no doubt, but she was about to prove he was no match for her. Reaching into her satchel, she pulled out her iPod. If Finn wanted to be a jerk, then that was fine with her. It wasn’t going to ruin her day. Sticking her earbuds in, she was more than ready to listen to something other than his warped view of his family relationship. Scrolling through her playlists, she picked her most upbeat one, hit play, and began to sing.
Loudly.
Bruno Mars’ Uptown Funk was the first song, and not only was she going to sing along, but she was an expert at passenger seat choreography.
Out of the corner of her eye, she could see Finn sitting there fuming.
Good.
Game on.
6
By the time they pulled into the hotel parking lot at six p.m., Finn was ready to lose his mind. He thought chatty Grace was going to be a problem, but that was nothing compared to the spectacle of singing and dancing Grace he’d been stuck with for the last several hours. Once the traffic hit and she stopped talking to him, it was like nothing he’d ever experienced before.
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