by Zoe York
She looked around at the clearing, a quiet little spot they’d stumbled upon one night after a shift at the shelter. A small pond—one they’d swum in too many times to count—and an old, long-forgotten barn were the only interruptions in an otherwise giant swath of fields as far as the eye could see.
“Me too.” It’d always been their special place, which was why she’d never shared its existence with another soul. Mac didn’t even know about it.
Finn’s eyes darkened and dropped to her lips as he licked his. “And what made you want to come all the way out here tonight?”
She lifted a shoulder. She couldn’t explain it, really. She’d just been feeling the urge to…be with him. Not sex—though that always crossed her mind—but be in his presence. Talk to him, learn the things she didn’t know, fill in the huge gap of time for which she had no reference. Not knowing how to put that into words, she said, “Just wanted to say thank you. For the cupcakes.”
“Swinging into the bakery and grabbing them for you hardly constitutes all this fuss.”
“Finn…”
He mocked her tone. “Willow…”
“C’mon now, don’t do that.” She reached out and wrapped her fingers around his wrist. “I know it was a bigger deal than you’re makin’ it out to be.”
For a long moment, he stared at her thumb rubbing tiny circles along his inner wrist. Finally, he asked, “Are they your favorite?”
“You know they are.”
“Then it’s no big deal at all.” He stepped closer and wrapped an arm around her, bracing his hand at the small of her back. Lord, she got tingles every time he touched her. Tingles that zipped all through her body, pinging this way and that, before settling low in her belly. Building. Growing.
“Why’d you ask me out here, Willowtree?”
“I…I already told you. To thank you.”
With his other hand, he cupped her neck, his thumb brushing maddeningly along the underside of her jaw. “Coulda done that in the text you sent tellin’ me to come here. Or you coulda stopped by the bar after work. You coulda done it a dozen different ways, but you didn’t.”
She couldn’t very well tell him that besides wanting to be in his presence, she’d also hoped they could take advantage of the secluded location to sate the lust that’d overtaken her. While they’d gotten in some heavy making out and had rounded a few bases during all their sneaking around, the last time he’d been inside her had been that day in his bar. When he’d made her lose her mind right up against the wall. Made her lose her mind and crave him tenfold. The bastard.
“I just… I—” She snapped her mouth closed, swallowing back the words. Saying all that was too much, made her feel too vulnerable when that was the last thing she wanted to feel around him. If this was going to work between them, she needed to stay one hundred percent in control.
Something about her body language must’ve tipped him off, because instead of pressing, he simply dropped a soft, sweet kiss on her lips, then wrapped his arm around her shoulders and guided her toward the truck. “Sweet as this invitation was, I didn’t figure you planned to do much in that tiny toy car of yours.”
“Hey, I like that tiny toy car.” She elbowed him in the side then glanced at her little Prius. It was perfect for tooling around town and getting her where she needed to go, but it wouldn’t serve Mr. Six-Foot-Two very well. And, truth be told, she hadn’t thought much past getting him out here so they could be alone. Some planner she was. “Though I guess you’re right…”
“Good thing I thought ahead.” He dropped his arm from her shoulders and pulled down the tailgate. The bed of the truck was piled high with blankets and half a dozen pillows, a perfect, cozy nest. “What’d you say, Willowtree? Wanna look at some stars with me?”
The words made her pause, made her heart skip a beat. They’d been the exact ones he’d said to her, in this exact location, more than a decade earlier. It’d been their first date, and she’d been such a mix of nerves and excitement, she’d been worried she’d throw up her lunch.
Finn hadn’t had much money, and Willow hadn’t cared if they’d gone out to eat or to a movie like all her friends tended to do on their dates. Instead, he’d driven them around in his beat-up truck—one so decrepit, she’d prayed it would run long enough to get them back home safely—until they’d found this place. That decrepit truck had lasted dozens of times, taking them from town out to their little pocket of paradise and back again.
Damn. This was bad. So bad. She could actually feel her walls crumbling. Cracks and fissures on every surface she’d erected around her heart. Trouble was, even though she knew it was bad, knew it was happening, she had no desire to stop it. She’d spent years feeling nothing more than a mere blip of attraction to a small handful of men. With Finn, it was different, a single star compared to the whole galaxy. It was intoxicating to feel this mix of desire and chemistry again.
As long as she kept things on track, it’d be fine. As long as she kept reminding herself this was temporary, that Finn wasn’t there to stay—that their affair would end, again—she’d be fine.
So she smiled up at him, dipping her chin in answer.
“Attagirl.” He lifted her straight up into the truck bed before jumping in after her.
“Awful cozy up here, Griffin Reilly.” She settled back against the pillows stacked along the cab of the truck, her legs stretched out in front of her. “What, exactly, were you plannin’ on gettin’ up to back here?”
He lay next to her, the arm closest to her folded behind his head, as if offering his chest for her to snuggle into. Not that she was going to do that. Snuggling was something couples did, and that was one thing they definitely weren’t.
“I’m not sure what you’re insinuatin’, Miss Haven. I’d only planned to look at the stars.” He pointed to the sky and twirled his finger in an unknown pattern. “Thought we might try to make some dirty pictures out of what we see.”
She laughed and followed where he pointed. “That sounds more in line with what I know of you.”
He gasped, dropping his hand to his chest as if he were affronted by her words. “Me? You’re the one who came out here with plans to…what? No blankets in your car, no pillows, no picnic basket, or iPod to listen to.” He leaned close, dipping his head down to whisper into her ear. “Were you hoping I’d fuck you up against that tree, or that I’d send you to your knees in the field and take you from behind?”
Sweet Lord in heaven, his words did nothing to abate the burning low in her belly, the ache that’d settled permanently between her legs. She tried not to let her reaction show when she said, “Actually, I thought we might go for a swim.”
Finn hummed, not moving his mouth from her ear, and the sound sent ripples of need down her spine. “Pity. I didn’t bring a swimsuit.”
Funny. Neither did she. They never did—hadn’t since the first time they’d done it.
She turned her head so they were nose-to-nose, his warm breath whispering across her lips. “Since when has that stopped you?”
He reached up and brushed her hair away from her face, then trailed a single finger from her temple to her jaw. Leaning in, he nuzzled her neck. “You know what’s funny? Everyone thinks you’re so innocent, but really you’re a terrible influence on me.”
She laughed, and he joined along, his puffs of breath tickling her collarbone. When he didn’t respond to her original request, she pulled back so he’d lift his head, their noses once again brushing. “So? You gonna let me be a terrible influence on you and drag you skinny-dippin’ with me?”
The look he pinned her with said if they did this, they’d be doing a whole lot more than skinny-dipping when they got in that water.
Which was exactly what she’d been hoping for.
It was almost midnight before Willow got home, so late the thought that she needed to sneak in to the guesthouse didn’t even enter her mind. She slipped out of her car, shut the door, and stepped onto the front walk, head down
as she smiled to herself, remembering the feel of Finn’s arms around her, his whispered words as he’d taken her in the water under the moonlight.
“Awful late night, honey.”
Willow jolted, her head snapping up. Her grandmother sat in one of the beat-up rockers she and Mac had purchased for their tiny excuse for a porch, wearing her housecoat and a pair of scuffed slippers.
“Gran! You scared the livin’ daylights out of me.”
“Mm-hmm, and I’m sure you bein’ jumpy has nothin’ to do with you bein’ up to no good tonight, isn’t that right?”
Willow’s face heated, not only from the thoughts that’d just been running through her mind, but from what she’d gotten up to in those thoughts. “What? I wasn’t—”
“There a storm somewhere in the county I didn’t hear about?” Gran scanned Willow from head to toe, making her feel like she was standing there naked instead of fully clothed. “Better question, if there was, how are your clothes dry, but every other part of you is soaked to the bone? Your hair is positively dripping.”
Willow reached up and patted the wet strands. Soaked, indeed. That was because, as prepared as Finn had been, he hadn’t thought to bring towels. And as they’d already established, Willow hadn’t thought to bring anything but herself. She was a mess. A completely sated, blissed-out mess. “Umm…”
“Mr. Thomas must give out some excellent cupcakes to deal with all this nonsense.”
Willow choked on a laugh, her eyes bulging as she stared at her grandmother. There was little doubt cupcakes was a euphemism for Finn’s dick—something she definitely didn’t want to discuss with her grandmother, for heaven’s sake.
“Oh, honey, I’m old, not dead. And that’s one fine-lookin’ man you’ve got there.” She pushed to stand and shuffled her way to Willow, patting her arm as she passed.
The path between here and her parents’ house was well lit, so she wasn’t worried about Gran finding her way. Still, she said, “You want me to walk you over?”
But Gran just waved a dismissive hand over her shoulder. “Don’t worry about me. Go on in, now, before your daddy comes out lookin’ for me. And dry that hair before you catch a cold.”
Willow stood rooted in place, staring after her grandmother until she slipped into her parents’ house, and Willow was out there all by herself. Even though Mac and Avery—and, shit, now Nat—knew about this thing she had going with Finn, she couldn’t deny it felt kind of…nice…to have someone else in on it. Especially when that someone else encouraged the madness.
What was it her gran had said earlier? It was about time Willow had gotten up to some nonsense? She couldn’t agree more.
The long days were starting to wear on Finn. Not to mention the bullshit they continued to put up with thanks to the bastard of a mayor. They’d failed the inspections more times than he could count. So much even Nash, Mr. Easygoing himself, was starting to get pissed.
To make up for the missed time, they’d been busting their asses. Up and working by six a.m., if not earlier, and if he was lucky, he dragged his ass up to the apartment around eight in the evening. Fourteen-hour-plus days of manual labor really sucked the life out of a person. And he was cranky as hell about it.
He and Nash had cut out early since they’d be back later that evening for a quick meeting with Rory. It’d been divine intervention that he and Nola had run into her those weeks ago at the hardware store, because she’d taken it upon herself to help them out of the goodness of her heart. Bossy thing that she was, she’d turned out to be a godsend for them—not only did she know what she was doing, but she was helping them out for free. Which, in Finn’s book, made her damn near an angel, despite the fact that she was definitely a devil to work with.
An incoming text buzzed on Finn’s phone. Rory. Got the samples in. 8 still work for y’all?
Finn typed out a quick reply in the affirmative as he walked out of his bedroom. Drew sat on the couch, typing away on his laptop.
“Rory’s comin’ by at eight to show us materials or whatever.” Finn bypassed him and headed straight for the kitchen to throw together a sandwich. “If we still plan to have the soft opening right around the Fourth of July parade, we need to get our asses in gear pickin’ out this shit.”
Drew grunted. “We’d be a helluva lot further if Dick would stop with all the damn roadblocks.”
He wasn’t wrong. Every single one of them had about had it with the mayor. “Luckily, we’ve got Nash on our side. That guy can find his way out of any bit of trouble.”
“Trouble in the form of an asshole mayor with a grudge. If Dick had it his way, we’d have been long gone by now.”
Finn didn’t have to look up to know Drew was staring in his direction; he could feel it. There’d been an unspoken agreement to leave the whole when are we leaving conversation alone. And while Finn had made the decision that it’d take an act of God to get him to leave again, he hadn’t exactly filled his twin in on it. Though, with the connection they shared, Finn would be surprised if Drew didn’t already know, or at least have an idea of what was coming.
“Luckily Dick doesn’t always get his way.” He finished off his sandwich in four bites. “I’m gonna call Willow—see if she wants to come over.”
Drew narrowed his eyes as Finn strolled back toward his bedroom. “Tell me one thing.”
“Yeah.”
“Do I need to start figuring out how to get Momma and all our shit back here?”
Finn could lie to his brother, pretend he hadn’t already made up his mind. But what was the point? Drew would see through it in a heartbeat. Besides, they’d made it a point their whole lives to cut the bullshit and just go with the truth. “Probably.”
Drew hummed low in his throat, as if he wasn’t at all surprised. “Good thing I already got started, then, huh?”
“Knew I kept you around for a reason.” Finn smiled at the back of Drew’s head, then continued on to his room. A weight had been lifted off his chest now that his brother knew his plans. And though they’d never been more than ten miles apart their whole lives, he couldn’t deny how relieved he was to know Drew would move back to Havenbrook simply on Finn’s desire to do so. His brother could be a real pain in his ass some days, but the truth was Finn would be lost without him.
Once in his room, Finn dropped onto his bed, crooking his arm beneath his head as he dialed Willow’s number.
After three rings, she finally picked up. “This is Willow.”
He dropped his voice, letting it come out as a low rumble. “What’re you wearing?”
She gasped then covered it with a cough. “What can I help you with, Miss Mable?”
“Miss Mable, huh? Last time I checked, my dick was still attached.”
“I…I’m certain that’s true.”
He smiled at her overly formal tone, something she definitely never used with him. “You got someone with you right now?”
“That’s right.”
“Hmmm…” Finn’s smile grew. “This could be fun.”
“I’m not so sure about that.”
“No? Is it your daddy right there next to you?”
“Yes, ma’am.”
He chuckled low. She’d be pissed as hell at him for this, but the opportunity was too good to pass up. “Hey, sweetness. You remember the other night when you rode me in the cab of my pickup because you couldn’t wait to get to my place? Just straddled me right there and slid me nice and deep…”
Her breath hitched, loud enough that he caught it through the phone. “I…may recall that.”
He reached down and cupped himself through his jeans, rubbing his hand over his hardening cock. “Mmm…then you probably remember how you came all over me too, huh? Shuddered and shook and groaned right into my mouth while your pussy squeezed the life outta my cock.”
Her breaths panted into the phone before she cleared her throat. “I’m sorry, Miss Mable, but I’m going to have to get back to you on that.”
“Get b
ack to me about it tonight. Come over.”
“I’ll try.”
“Good, I wanna get your opinion on the stain samples for the floor.”
A short pause. “Oh, I see.”
His lips crooked up on the side. She loved his words as much as she hated them. “And, hey.”
“Yes, ma’am?”
“I want a replay of the other night. Need you again, Willowtree.”
The smile in her tone carried through the phone line. “I…I’ll see what I can do.”
Then the line went dead, and all Finn could do was hope she’d show a little mercy to him and sneak by his place for some fun.
Hours later, Finn didn’t even let Willow get through the door to his apartment before he pounced. Thankfully, Drew had made a quick run to the store so he could be spared their show, but Finn wouldn’t have stopped even if his brother had been sitting right in front of them. It didn’t matter if it’d been days or hours since he’d last had Willow in his arms; the urge to be with her again, to feel her under his hands, was too strong to do anything but take.
Willow dropped her purse on the floor just inside the door and looped her hands around his neck as he rained kisses along hers. “This isn’t exactly what I came over here for. Thought you needed my opinion on stain for the floors downstairs?”
He walked her backward to his bedroom, stumbling only a little along the way. Once inside, he kicked the door shut, then reached back to tug off his shirt. “I do. Later.” He peeled off her dress in one fluid motion and tossed it to the side, his eyes hungrily taking in every inch of her. Jesus, he could look at her every single day and never get tired of the view.
After shucking the rest of his clothing, he dropped to his bed. Lying on his back, he patted his chest. “Right now, I want you to come on up here and sit on my face.”
“Finn!” Her shocked declaration screamed offense, but it didn’t stop her from shimmying out of those barely there panties or slipping off her bra. Also didn’t stop her from climbing up the bed, her hands running up the length of his thighs as she went, her breath hot on his already aching cock.