Eventually, she realized she wasn’t getting anywhere with her demands and changed tactics. God help him.
Releasing her death grip on his hair, her fingers slowly dragged down the back of his neck making a shiver rock through his body. She made a triumphant sound deep in her throat.
Oh, it was on.
And he was looking forward to enjoying every minute of what was coming next.
Her hands trailed along his shoulders, back and ribs. Teasing caresses that barely skimmed over his skin. Strong fingers digging into tight muscles, releasing knots he didn’t even realize he had.
And through it all, the more she explored the more his cock throbbed, begging for the relief of being buried deep inside her.
Not yet.
He wasn’t done with her yet.
Tangling their legs together, Tucker bucked her hips up, pulled down and somehow had him flipped onto his back before he could pull his next breath.
He hadn’t expected that.
But he should have.
She stared at him, triumph laughing down at him from her deep blue eyes.
“Whatcha think about that?”
“Kitten, you can put me on my back anytime you want if you promise to look at me just like that every time you’re above me.”
Her hips ground against him, dragging a deep groan from his parted lips.
“How am I looking at you?”
“Satisfied.”
“Not yet.”
Minx. “Satisfied with yourself. And ready to lick me from head to toe like your favorite Popsicle.”
Finn’s hands settled on either side of her hips and urged her to keep sliding against him. The friction of their shorts was torture. He wanted her naked. He wanted to push deep inside her. Needed it. More than his next breath.
Any notion of taking his time evaporated.
Urging her onto her knees, Finn helped her pull the shorts down and off. He pushed his own hips up from the bed and enjoyed the slight tremble in her hands as she helped him do the same.
Stretching over him, she fumbled in the bedside table. He hoped to God she was getting a condom, but he really didn’t care. Not when the pert little knot of her nipple was dangling in front of his face. Torturing her had tortured him just as much.
Leaning forward, he pulled her deep into his mouth and sucked. Hard.
She gasped and her thighs clamped around his hips. The taste of her exploded across his tongue. Sweet, with a hint of spice running beneath the flavor. Just like Tucker.
On the outside she looked like the adorable girl next door, but on the inside she was one of the toughest women he’d ever met.
Her brain fascinated him just as much as her unbelievable body. More, actually.
And right now he wanted all of her.
Grasping her hips, Finn picked her up and settled her back to the mattress. Her golden curls spilled across the bed. Somehow he managed to rip open the condom and roll it into place.
His fingers found her sex, delving deep to find her slick and hot. She bucked beneath him, whimpering. “Not enough.”
“No. Not nearly enough.”
A driving need pounded through his brain, deep inside his chest, out to every extremity on his body. The need to be connected to her. With her.
Hooking his arms beneath her knees, Finn pushed her legs up and out, leaving her wide open to him.
Another time he wanted to feast on her, just like this. Spread out beneath him and helpless to do anything but take what he wanted to give her.
But for now...his vision was already graying at the edges, becoming hazy with the single-minded obsession over her.
Tucker watched as he lined their bodies up together. Her hungry, glazed expression was one of the most erotic things he’d ever seen. Or it was until her eyes closed in utter bliss when he thrust forward to fill her.
Blazing heat shot up his spine. “So damn good,” he murmured, finding any little section of her skin to kiss and suck.
Her fingers clamped tight onto his shoulder. His hip. His ass. It was like she couldn’t get enough of him either, even like this, buried so deep.
After several seconds Finn began to move, pulling out and thrusting back for more. Over and over again. The drag and plunge of skin. Her little whimpers. The way her body undulated beneath him, chasing after every last drop of pleasure.
She quivered, her entire body racked with tension and bliss. He could feel her winding tighter and tighter, so ready to explode. And he wanted that. Wanted to feel her clamp hard around him, shuddering with the release he gave her.
Reaching between them, he found the tiny knot of nerves buried between the soaked folds of her sex. Two, three hard swipes of his thumb and Tucker completely lost it.
Her mouth opened on a silent cry that never actually found voice. Her entire body strained against him, muscles clamping tight around his cock and making him see stars. It was too much.
His own release exploded up from the base of his spine, avalanching out and burying everything except the way being with Tucker made him feel.
Collapsing onto the bed beside her, Finn rolled, grabbing the edge of the comforter and throwing it over both of them.
He’d deal with the aftermath in just a minute.
Whenever his brain came back online.
9
FINN’S ARM AROUND her waist felt...good. The weight of it was grounding, something she’d needed after he’d made her soar into the stars.
Even now, minutes later, she couldn’t quite manage to catch her breath. Maybe that was just a sign she needed to spend more time on the treadmill. Yeah, that must be it.
Her brain was urging her to get up, get away. But her body was still reeling, unable to follow the simplest of commands.
Her guest bed was torn to pieces. Her pillows were on the floor. Her head was at the foot of the bed, resting on the hard shoulder of a man who was more often frustrating than endearing. Not that she hadn’t seen the softer side Finn McAllister tried to conceal.
Another time, with anyone else, these things would have bugged the hell out of her. But Finn seemed to crash through all her defenses.
He was a whirlwind.
Whatever.
Groaning at the twinges of protest her body eked out, Tucker made an attempt to roll out of bed. Finn’s arm around her waist tightened, holding her in place.
“Where do you think you’re going?”
Anywhere he couldn’t make her lose her ever-loving mind and give in to his desires...whether it was a smart idea or not.
“The bathroom.”
Finn eyed her, his lids narrowing as his gaze dragged over her face.
“Nope.”
“What do you mean, nope? You’re in my house, Finn McAllister. I’ll go wherever I want.”
“If that’s what you were doing, fine. But we both know it isn’t. You’re going to hide. To slink off and convince yourself this was a monumental mistake that will never happen again.”
“Slink off? Not on your life. I don’t slink anywhere.” Slinking suggested that she’d done something wrong—something to be ashamed of. And she hadn’t. “And this was a monumental mistake. I don’t need to lock myself into the bathroom to know that.”
“The only problem with what just happened, Tucker, is that we both have things we need to do today and can’t immediately do it again.”
Tucker harrumphed. There was something about Finn’s attitude that both rubbed her the wrong way and inexplicably set her at ease.
With him, she knew exactly what he was thinking. Where she stood. He didn’t hold anything back—good or bad. There was something comforting about that.
Especially considering most of her life she’d felt like she was standing on
quicksand, never knowing when everything was going to collapse and change. Again.
Although, that didn’t mean Finn needed to know that. In fact, it would be better for her if he had no idea. Because something told her, the man wasn’t above using whatever advantages he could get.
“Do you always get your way?” she huffed.
“Nope.”
“Could have fooled me. Do you have any idea how maddening you are?”
A smile tugged at his lips. “I’m pretty sure you’ve said that before.”
“Because it’s true!”
Rolling them both, Finn tucked her beneath him, pressing up onto his elbows until he was staring straight into her gaze. Straight into her.
Tucker tried to look away, but his fingers, buried in her hair, held her in place.
“Tucker, I’m not unaware that our current situation is unconventional. But you fascinate me. And it’s been a damn long time since anything or anyone has fascinated me.
“Your fire. Intelligence. Stubborn independence. You do realize that you’re just as frustrating, right?”
God, what was she supposed to say to that?
Something very close to bliss bubbled through her veins. The sensation was...tempting. She liked it. Wanted more of it.
But that wasn’t safe. Or smart.
Wrapping her hands around his wrists, Tucker pulled until he let her go. “Whatever. This was just sex, nothing more.”
“Keep telling yourself that, kitten,” he whispered, his mouth ghosting along the edge of her jaw. An involuntary shudder rocked her, outing her as a big, fat liar.
He chuckled. Tucker rammed a fist into his shoulder.
Rolling them both, Finn lifted her up off the bed and planted her feet on the floor. Pointing her in the direction of the shower, he swatted her rear. “Go get ready.”
A perverse part of her wanted to stomp in the opposite direction just for spite. But that would have been counterproductive since she really did need a shower.
And coffee.
“Make yourself useful.” Pointing a finger at the door, she issued an order of her own. “Make me some coffee. And stop calling me kitten!”
The edge of his lips twisted into a grin. “You see, kitten, the difference between us is that it bothers you when I tell you to do something—even if you know I’m right. Whereas I would do absolutely anything you asked of me.”
Without waiting for a response, Finn slipped through the door and downstairs.
“The difference is you don’t ask!” she yelled.
From down the hallway she could swear she heard the low rumble of his chuckle. So frustrating.
* * *
“DON’T LOOK AT me that way,” Finn said, glancing over at Duchess. Curled up in the corner of Tucker’s kitchen, the dog stared at him with calm, steady eyes.
“Yeah, I know she’s going to make this difficult, but maybe that’s part of the appeal. She’s going to make me earn every piece she shares, which will only make them sweeter to savor.”
Pulling open drawers, Finn searched for the spatula he needed to flip the pancakes he was making. In another pan, bacon popped and sizzled.
“Yes, I will give you some bacon. Don’t I always?”
“Are you carrying on a one-sided conversation with a dog?” Tucker asked from the doorway.
Giving Duchess a wary stare, she skirted to the far side of the kitchen, walking the long way around the island to avoid the dog.
This was a problem they needed to solve right now.
Not only was Duchess a major part of his life, but he needed her at the bar and after Tucker’s home had been broken into...he didn’t have the time or space to back down or take this slowly.
Setting the bowl of batter aside, Finn pulled the skillet of bacon off the burner and set it to the back of the stove.
Grasping her hand, he led her into the living room, calling behind him, “Duchess, heel.”
“What are you doing?” she asked, tugging her hand.
He could feel the tension in Tucker’s body as the dog brushed past her and moved to her place at his side. It bothered him. Maybe because he knew she had nothing to fear from Duchess. But possibly because it was just sad that she didn’t understand the companionship that Duchess—and all the dogs he’d handled over the years—had provided for him.
After learning more about Tucker’s childhood, he couldn’t help but think that if she’d had a dog growing up she might not have felt so lost and alone.
Stopping at the big wingback chair in Tucker’s den, he turned her to face him and placed his hands on her shoulders. “I’m going to introduce you and Duchess to each other.”
If he hadn’t been holding her, she would have bucked backwards and fallen straight into the chair.
“We’ve already met.”
Squeezing, Finn dipped down so he could look straight into Tucker’s dark blue eyes. “I promise, Duchess won’t hurt you. Trust me?”
Tucker squeezed her eyes shut, but that didn’t stop him from seeing the wheels spinning inside her head. Her body practically vibrated with the need to run, which only made Finn more determined to push her.
“I have every faith in you,” he whispered.
The shudder that rocked through her body nearly had him changing his mind. Until her eyes popped open again, this time fierce and full of determination.
“Fine. What do you want me to do?”
The enormity of the faith she’d just placed in him was humbling.
Pushing gently, he said, “Sit.”
Tucker’s body collapsed into the chair. Finn crouched down beside her, calling Duchess over.
Finn began to rub his hands over Duchess’s head, scratching right behind her ears just the way she liked. Bliss filled the dog’s eyes. Since she valued praise, this was like her dark chocolate and sea salt caramel treat. Leaning close, he rubbed his face along the side of hers and said, “Be careful with her, girl. She’s skittish and afraid of you.”
Turning his head to take in Tucker, he said, “Call her to you.”
“No.” Tucker’s gaze was wary and her answer immediate. But before he could say anything, she huffed and changed her mind. “Duchess, come here.”
The exasperated way she issued the command made him laugh. “Try it again, this time like you’re issuing an order to one of your employees.”
Pulling her mouth into a straight line, she said, “Duchess, come.”
The dog stirred and moved until her face rested on the edge of the chair Tucker sat in.
“Rub her head.”
Tucker reached out her hand. It was difficult to miss the slight tremble as she eased forward. Her fingers barely grazed Duchess’s head before she snatched her hand back, cradling it against her chest like the dog had snapped.
Duchess didn’t even flinch. She sat quietly, her steady gaze trained solely on Tucker.
“Again. Scratch her right behind the ears and she’ll be your best friend.”
A sound wheezed from Tucker’s lungs, a cross between a laugh and a groan. “I don’t know that I want her to be my best friend.”
“I think maybe you do. Try again.”
This time, Tucker’s hand was steady when she reached out and lingered a few seconds longer. She did it several more times before she finally felt comfortable enough to leave her hand there without pulling back.
“Her fur is so soft.” Tucker glanced in his direction for several seconds, but her gaze went straight back to Duchess. “She’s so...still. And steady.”
“Yep, that’s one of the reasons I love her. Each dog is like a person. They have their own personality. Some of them are more high-strung. They need energy and motion. Duchess has always been calm. She needs to have a purpose.”
“I can understand that.”
Of course she could. He’d been watching her for days and one thing was glaringly obvious to him. Tucker valued herself by the hard work she’d put into her business. And she had every reason to be proud.
Confident they were moving in the right direction, Finn stood from where he’d been crouched beside her chair and stretched. Looking down at both woman and dog, he said, “Stay.”
Tucker stared up at him, her dark blue eyes flashing fire. The fact that her hand still rested on Duchess’s head made something warm clench inside his chest.
“That better have been a command for Duchess.”
He tossed her an impish grin. “Whatever you need to tell yourself, kitten,” he said, before turning to walk away.
“Wait. Where are you going? Don’t leave.”
The slide of her jeans against the cushion of the chair followed him into the kitchen. He snatched a couple of the cooling pieces of bacon from the pan, paused long enough to pop one into his own mouth then headed back to the den.
He half expected to find Tucker standing across the room with Duchess still waiting patiently beside the chair. And that would’ve been okay. Baby steps.
But he was astounded to find Tucker sitting on the floor, her back against the side of the chair and Duchess’s head cradled in her lap.
Finn paused. The expression on Tucker’s face could only be described as part astonishment, part wonder as she looked up at him. “I fell.”
He hadn’t heard a commotion, but he didn’t doubt her since she was sitting on the floor. “Are you okay?”
“Yeah. I tripped trying to bolt after you. Landed inelegantly on my rear. And Duchess seemed to want to make sure I was okay before settling her head in my lap.”
Striding across the room, Finn reached down and picked Tucker up. Setting her back on her feet, he tucked her into the shelter of his body. “Sure you’re okay?”
She nodded, burying her head against his shoulder. Finn squeezed. Her reaction was endearing and only made him want to protect her even more than he already did. Which he was smart enough to realize she wouldn’t appreciate.
So, instead, he put a little space between them and held out the bacon he’d snagged.
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