by Raina James
An exquisitely placed kiss followed his husky whisper. Serena fell apart with a cry that came from her soul. It was long moments before she'd collected herself enough to realize that Finn had moved up beside her. He cradled her close to his chest, his lips mouthing the sensitive spot just under her ear.
"Serena, thank you."
She gave a breathless little laugh. "I think that's my line."
She sensed there was some deeper meaning behind his words, but she couldn't guess what it might be. Not wanting to look any deeper—to "make more of this than it is," as he'd once accused her—she changed the idle stroking of her hand on his chest to a more determined course. She found his nipple, sharp and pointed, and circled it with the pads of her fingers. Now it was his breath that hitched.
Serena smiled. Even through the denim of his jeans, she could feel his penis throbbing hard and heavy against her bare thigh. He caught her hand, stilling her teasing, but didn't push her away. Deliberately, she draped her thigh over his and rubbed against him. He pulsed forward, as if he couldn't help himself. Then he stopped with a muttered curse.
"Not on the couch, baby." His teeth sank roughly into the tendon on her neck, pleasure just short of pain. He laved the tiny hurt with his tongue. "We need room to move."
Finn surged to his feet and she shivered at the loss of his warm flesh on hers. Face tight with want, he swept her into his arms with easy strength. Startled, Serena gasped and wrapped her arms around his neck. He turned to head for the hall and stumbled a bit over the pile of clothes. Serena couldn't choke back a low cry that quickly turned into a relieved laugh when he found his balance and stalked towards his bedroom.
"Think that's funny do you?" His eyes glittered with humor.
"My hero."
"I can guarantee, you won't be laughing for long."
He effectively silenced her with a deep kiss, distracting her so much that she didn’t notice they were beside his bed until he lightly tossed her onto the thick quilt. Serena shook her tangled blond hair out of her eyes and propped herself up on her elbows to watch him. Finn, shucking the last of his clothes, straightened to stand before her. Serena caught her bottom lip between her teeth. Arms at his sides, he let her look.
His frame seemed bulkier, though still lean and rangy. Each muscle in his chest and stomach was sharply outlined, his arms firm and well defined. Freed from the restraint of his jeans, his penis stood sharply out from his body, curving slightly upwards. It jerked, reacting to her glance like it was a physical touch.
Serena pushed up to her knees and reached for him. He put one knee on the bed to join her, but she caught one hip, her thumb tracing the bone and muscle as she stopped him.
"Wait. It's my turn now."
Finn's lips quirked. "I thought you already had your turn."
"Funny man," she purred. She pushed at his knee until he moved back off the bed to stand before her. She watched him for a moment, noting the tension that made his muscles flex in sharp relief. He jolted when she touched his belly, her hand grazing the head of his penis. Serena smiled as he took a deep breath. His hands fisted at his sides, then eased open in forced relaxation.
Satisfied he'd hold still, she used both hands to follow a path up his chest. Fingers splayed, she gently tugged at his chest hair. Not too thick, the tendrils were black and slightly curled, springy but soft against the sensitive pads of her fingers. As she traced his nipples in ever-shrinking circles, his anticipation was as palpable as her own. Just when she would have reached the centers, she leaned forward to take one of the diamond-hard tips between her teeth.
Finn lost the battle to keep his hands to himself. One rose to cradle the back of her head, kneading. Serena dropped her free hand to his cock and gave it a long, slow stroke. A groan rumbled from his chest. His head fell back and his eyes screwed tightly shut. She sucked and lapped at his nipple, matching the rhythm of her hand. Then she freed the nipple to move to the other one. This time when she nipped him, she slid her hand lower to cup the tight sac of his balls. He shuddered.
"Serena," Finn said, groaning her name. "Please, baby, I can't take much more."
"Then don't." Abruptly, she let go and lay back on her elbows, chin tucked low as she watched him through her lashes. Finn blinked, his eyes fogged with passion.
When his gaze cleared, his answering smile was distinctly feral. He fell on her with a growl, nipping and biting her as she'd done to him. She loved it.
This time when he lifted from her, it was only to press his clever fingers against her, rubbing exactly where she needed him the most. Gasping, she stared into his intent face.
"Not yet, not yet," she breathed, the words shaky. Her fingers clutched his biceps, and he seemed to understand exactly what she wanted. Positioning himself, Finn thrust into her with one long, hard stroke. They both groaned and Finn stilled, giving them both a chance to savor his possession.
Almost too quiet for her to hear, Finn said, "God, I've missed you."
After that, he set a fast pace. Serena was only too eager to match it. She met him on each down stroke, lifting to take him deeper. His face contorting with pleasure, Finn pulled her against him until their damp bodies rubbed against each other with every thrust. Their slick flesh slid and stroked in a cell-level caress that left them both on the edge. Barely aware of what she was doing, Serena sank her short nails into the flexing muscles of his buttocks. Finn's thrusts became broken, wild, the short, fast jabs of his hips pressing him against the bud of her clitoris. The hard spheres in his sac slapped against her, pushing her higher.
Serena couldn't hold it back anymore. Didn't want to. The tension in her belly and sheath exploded into jerky thrusts as she melted around his hardness. That set him off. With a hoarse shout, Finn throbbed in his own release until he collapsed on top of her.
For a long moment, they both lay there, gasping, shaking with aftershocks of pleasure. Finn nuzzled her ear. Clumsily, he tugged the blankets from beneath them and spread them out. Boneless, she let him maneuver her until she was covered and tucked into the curve of his arm. She smiled sleepily as he pressed his lips to her sweaty forehead. Dimly, she heard him whisper something before she drifted off in the deep sleep of the satisfied.
"Thank you, Serena."
* * * *
Riff played with the damp curls framing Serena's face as she slept. His touch was gentle; he didn't want to wake her. He couldn't have stopped the satisfied grin that tugged at his lips if he'd wanted to.
A few days ago, he wouldn't have believed he'd be here like this with Serena. He could almost be grateful—no, make that he was grateful—to whoever had leaked the story about his Beautiful Girl. If they hadn't, the media wouldn't have started baying after her, and he wouldn't have been able to force his way back into her life. The only thing he regretted was the trouble this was causing her. His arm tightened around her with a protectiveness that was gut-level. At least she wouldn't have to face this alone.
Oh, he knew she wasn't quite ready to fall back into his arms, no matter what her body wanted. He'd been cruel to her. She wouldn't easily forget that. Still, he couldn't help but see their exile to the cabin, the place where it all began, as the opportunity it was. Serena still wanted him. That was more than a good start. Now he just needed to win back her heart and mind. It was only fair. She'd owned him body and soul for fifteen years.
Chapter 12
The side of her face felt very warm. Even through her closed eyelids, Serena sensed the room around her was brilliant with sunlight. Strange. Her bed wasn't anywhere near the window. Her thoughts were too fuzzy to wonder about it, though. She couldn't have felt more relaxed if she'd spent a couple of hours lounging in a Jacuzzi, followed up by a head-to-toe massage by the most talented masseur in the world.
Several strands of hair tickled her cheek, but the irritation stopped before she could muster the energy to brush them away. A moment later, the hair trembled against her skin again, soft as butterfly wings but just enough to wake h
er a little more. The hair moved again, and with the movement came the sound of a deep exhalation of air. Ah. Breathing. Someone's sleep-deep breaths were ruffling the loose hairs that straggled around her face.
Half asleep, Serena sighed and rubbed against the firm, lightly furred flesh beneath her cheek. The spicy scent of warm male mingled with the earthier one of shared sex—which must have been mind-blowing, considering the way her body still throbbed in certain places. Her fingers lazily trailed up her lover's lean ribs. Then froze.
Her eyes snapped open and awareness rushed in. She was in Finn's room at his cabin in Wolf Lake, not her bed at home. Worse, it wasn't some phantom lover's arms that were even now tightening around her. More alert with each passing second, she realized she was wrapped around Finn like an electric blanket on a cold night. Whoa.
Serena lifted her head to look at him. The light streaming in through the gauzy curtains made her think it was quite late in the day. It made the stubble on his cheeks look even darker. Her breasts tingled as she remembered the feel of that stubble rubbing against her. Though she had one rumpled sheet pulled up to her neck, he'd kicked most of the covers off, giving her an unobstructed view of his muscled chest and stomach. His dark hair was a tangle of waves on his forehead. Her fingers twitched as she remembered how she'd added to those tangles when she'd turned to him—not once, but twice! —in the night. No matter how far gone she was in lust, she never seemed to be able to stop herself from running her fingers through his hair.
Serena stared at Finn's handsome face with an increasing sense of doom. Even in sleep, his lips curled up in what she considered a self-satisfied smile.
She felt a bit sick. Oh God, what had she done? Last night, she'd thought her rationalization for sleeping with Finn, no strings attached, was quite reasonable. But now, hours past the romance of a crackling fire, good wine and soft conversation, that argument seemed pretty thin. Her cheeks flamed as hot, sexy images of the night before flashed through her mind. He must think she was desperate for sex! She wished she could go back to sleep and wake up like the night had never happened.
Finn murmured something incoherent and shifted in his sleep. As he did, his growing erection brushed against her bare hip. Serena's pulse fluttered and an answering heat sparked to life in her belly.
She stiffened. No! She wasn't going to do this again. She started to ease away.
Finn grumbled, but loosened his hold enough to let her slip out from beneath the covers. She stood there, naked, as she absorbed the fact she'd have to walk into the living room to get her own clothes.
A sticky sensation between her thighs made her heart skip more than one beat for an entirely different reason. She felt light-headed as she put the evidence together. Finn hadn't worn a condom! It hadn't even occurred to her to suggest it. Not once. Stupid, stupid, stupid! Maybe he thought she was on the pill. Oh, God. She'd barely even dated in years, let alone had a reason to go on the pill. The few times she'd slept with Robert they'd taken other precautions. She'd been less than wowed and had come to the conclusion that regular sex wasn't worth the hassle of getting a prescription and popping a little pill every morning. So no sex, no pill, no protection. Crap!
Her mind scrambled to come up with today's date, then did a quick mental calculation. Her sigh of relief was shaky. She was okay. Probably. Damn! How incredibly idiotic could she have been?
And what about Finn? All of a sudden, her fears and self-recrimination found a new target. Yeah, what about him? Judging from the gossip pages, Mr. Stud probably had condoms shipped in by the crate. And he couldn't dig up one lousy box here?
She was glaring at him when his eyes opened.
Unaware of the danger, his faint smile spread into a wide grin.
"Serena, baby. Been up long?" He stretched, oblivious to the sheet sliding down on his hips until it was nothing more than a token swatch of fabric covering him. Finn leaned up on one elbow and looked at her with sleepy satisfaction. She forced her eyes away from what the position did for his torso.
"Uh, no."
His total ease reminded her that she was standing there without a stitch on. She suppressed the urge to cross her arms over her chest. As if he didn't know exactly what she looked like, especially after last night's refresher. If he could treat his nudity so casually, so could she. Mornings after were probably business as usual for Riff Logan. That didn't mean she could fake it enough to resist surveying the room for rescue. His discarded jeans didn't offer her much hope of modesty. Other than that, there wasn't so much as a dirty shirt tossed on the chair in the corner. Did the man have to be so freaking tidy?
"I don't know about you, but I'm starved," Finn said, drawing her attention back to him. A new wariness had entered his eyes, but he gamely continued, "You did dinner last night. Why don't you take the shower while I throw something together?"
"Actually, I was wondering if I could use your car," Serena said abruptly, surprising herself with the request. "I need to, uh, go into town for something."
Finn frowned. "I thought we were all stocked up here. If there's something missing, I can call the service and have them deliver it."
"No, no. That's okay. It's … personal."
He looked skeptical, but agreed anyway. "Sure. The keys should be hanging by the door."
"Great. Thanks." Serena barely waited for the last word to leave his lips before fleeing the room. She detoured through the living room to snatch up her clothes and raced upstairs to the master bedroom.
She wasn't nearly so finicky as Finn. She dumped what she'd worn last night in the corner to deal with later, then pulled a change of clothes out of her bag without really seeing it. The water was still cold when she stepped under the shower, but she welcomed it—she obviously needed something to help her get her head on straight. Once out of the shower, she roughly dried herself off and toweled her hair. That would have to do. Forgoing makeup, she was dressed and out of the house just ten minutes after she'd practically run out of Finn's room.
* * * *
Riff stared at the closed bedroom door and grimaced. "That went well."
Frowning, he cupped his hands behind his head and stared moodily at the ceiling. The sound of water running in the upstairs shower made it obvious Serena couldn't wait to jump in and wash away their night together. Shit. He'd known it wouldn't be easy, but he hadn't expected her to run like a spooked rabbit, either.
He wanted desperately to rekindle the closeness they'd found last night. There hadn't been any awkwardness then. After that initial resistance—which wasn't really resistance, as far as he was concerned, just the hesitance of two lovers coming together after too long apart—Serena was as easy, as uninhibited as he'd remembered. His body's reaction to the memory was predictable, if ill-timed. He tried to ignore the erection that rose beneath the thin sheet. Not now, buddy.
Riff stayed in bed until he heard Serena leave the house. No need to rub her nose in it if she was having second thoughts this morning. He'd be better off giving her some time to cool off. Despite that logic, he couldn't deny the disappointment he felt when the front door slammed. Within seconds, the Crossfire's engine growled to life, then prowled away into silence down the long driveway.
Throwing off the sheet, he went to have his own shower. It was clear he had a ways to go to win Serena back. That's all right. He'd never shied away from going after what he wanted, and he wasn't going to start now. Serena was worth the effort, considering he'd accept nothing less from her than everything.
Chapter 13
The gears ground out a protest and the sharp smell of burned carbon wafted through the sports car's cockpit. Serena winced, and forced the stick into the gear she wanted. Yeah, it had been a while since she'd driven a standard. Was it her fault the car was so sensitive? Admittedly, she was glad she was on the outskirts of Wolf Lake and there were no other drivers on the road to witness her automobile abuse.
Finn would likely have a heart attack if he could hear the way the Crossfire was c
hoking its way through the gears. He had a definite thing for cars. If he could have put baby oil in the crankcase of that old red Firebird of his, he would have.
Her muscles were so loose she could have slept the rest of the day away. Thinking about how her muscles had gotten that way immediately brought to mind an explicit image of Finn as naked as the day he was born, but much, much more … Just more, period. Whoa, mama!
Enough of that. She pulled her thoughts away from Finn and concentrated on her surroundings. She'd been asleep when they'd driven through Wolf Lake yesterday morning, so this was the first real look she'd had since the summer before she started college. Her parents had rented the place next door to Finn's grandparents for several summers after Serena and Michael's wedding, but she'd always come up with excuses about why they couldn't visit—it would be too much work with the baby, she was taking a course at the college and couldn't get away, Michael was too busy at work. It was all true. Just not all the truth.
Wolf Lake had changed a lot, but there were still touches here and there that she thought wouldn't change if another fifteen years went by. Like Hartmann's, the family-run grocery store they'd always shopped at. A new sign had been mounted above the entrance, and the asphalt in the parking lot was in better shape. Other than that, she could picture herself sitting beside her mom in the station wagon, heading to town for supplies. It was nice to see Hartmann's had survived the competition of one of those big-box grocery chains.
She drove by an expanded mall, a housing development that hadn't been there before, even an elementary school that was so new the paint hadn't had a chance to chip off the play structures. The blend of now and then stirred her nostalgia. Focusing on that gave her a brief respite from why she was really here, driving aimlessly through town.
Despite what she'd told Finn, her only purpose for coming into Wolf Lake was to get away from him for a while. She'd give him the credit of being smart enough to realize that, which was likely why he'd given up the Crossfire's keys without argument. Mission accomplished. Now what?