For years she had protected her heart and avoided entanglements. But with Damien she felt the need to free herself and experience it all. No matter how much she tried to run from him, she found herself surrounded by him. He felt like a constant. An anchor for her. Having stood on her two independent feet most of her life, she liked having someone to lean on whenever she needed. And she had needed him today.
“Do you have to go into work today?” he asked, breaking into her thought process.
“In a few hours or so.”
“Would you like to have dinner at my apartment tonight then?”
Samantha was surprised. She had not been to his place yet and always figured it was because he was such a private person. It was usually the case with her. Over the years she had a tendency to see the insides of the guy’s apartment but not show her own. However, with Damien all things had reversed.
“It would be my pleasure,” she smiled, accepting the invitation.
She felt the fluttering in her stomach as his grin broadened and the corners of his eyes crinkled with her response. They pulled up outside her building and got out.
“I’ll see you tonight then?”
Samantha stepped closer until she was just a breath away from Damien and looked deeply into his eyes. The heat from their bodies dialed up a bit and she licked her lips unconsciously. Her body around his was always so hyperaware. It was like she could not get enough of him.
Keeping his hands to himself with great difficulty, Damien leaned forward and gently captured her lips. Someone saw them from the top window and catcalled but they just ignored the noises and kept kissing.
“I’ll see you tonight,” he confirmed with a hint of a smile and lust in his eyes when they broke apart.
“Thanks for agreeing to this,” Missy said, lifting up her glass of wine.
“Are you kidding? If you ever want me to be somewhere, all you have to mention is free wine and baby, I’ll be there,” Gina said grinning.
Samantha rolled her eyes at her friend and smiled at Missy, “You sounded like you needed us.”
Missy had called up Samantha just two hours ago asking if they could all meet up for lunch. She had sounded worried.
“So what’s going on?”
“Ah you know the company I work for? Well, it’s looking to relocate me. Here.”
“That’s great! Isn’t it?” Samantha asked, noting the frown on Missy’s forehead.
“I don’t know...this city hasn’t been a home to me like it has been for Finn. He’s comfortable here and he has you guys.”
“He has Samantha…not me,” Gina clarified and then turned slightly pink when the other two looked at her oddly.
“You don’t want to leave home. I get that. Change is never easy.”
“I guess that’s it. Also, I haven’t told Finn yet but I don’t think he would want me here.”
“Why not?”
“Big brother thinks I’m safer far away from him… go figure.” Missy rolled her eyes and signaled the waitress to take their orders.
“That’s ridiculous,” Gina exclaimed.
“We’ve worked on some crazy cases but nothing that would put our families into immediate risk,” Samantha said. “He’s just being para…cautious.”
“You were going to say paranoid. You’re right. He’s being paranoid!”
“Or maybe he’s just afraid of change like you are,” Gina put in.
“It’s not like I’m going to be living with him.”
“True.”
“You should talk to him. I’m sure he’ll be fine.”
“And so will you. Move here! We’ll have so much fun. If you can’t find a place, you can stay with me. I’ve an extra room,” Samantha offered.
“Why hasn’t your ad brought in more offers?” Gina asked.
“Umm…because people tend not to notice invisible ads?”
“You told me you posted an ad!”
“I was going to. I just got caught up in work. If Missy doesn’t want to come live with me, I’ll post one.”
“What happened to your last roommate?” Missy asked Samantha curiously.
“Oh, he died,” Gina replied bluntly.
“What?” Missy’s eyes widened in shocked.
“Stop making matters so dramatic, Gina,” Samantha scolded her but could not stop her lips from quirking up in amusement.
“Where’s the fun in that, sweets?”
“I never had a roommate in this apartment. I used to live with Gina until she moved for work. Then few months back, I got this place. The only living being to see the inside of the other room was a stray cat who ran away and then got hit by a car.”
“Oh no, the poor kitty.”
“Yes, it was very sad. She was all broken up about the messy critter no longer tearing up her sheets,” Gina said sarcastically.
“Hey, the cat was starting to grow on me,” Samantha defended herself. “And we’re getting completely off topic. We’re here for Missy, remember?”
“So do you think I should take the job?”
“Is it what you want?”
“The job? Yes, I want the job. It was my dream to get to that position. But I’m scared.”
“Have a drink and banish the fear,” Gina advised, sipping on her wine. “This city is great. The people are great. You’ll flourish here. Take a chance.”
“It’s true that you’ll be leaving old friends behind but think of it as progress. You won’t be entirely losing them. We’ve technology to keep the people we care about close nowadays. It’s your dream job. If I were you, I’d take it,” Samantha inputted.
Missy stared at both the woman and then smiled. “Thank you. I guess I needed to hear someone else say that. First thing after this lunch, I’ll call my boss and let him know I’m taking the job.”
The women cheered her and wished her good luck.
“Call Finn up too. You’re due a proper talk with him.”
“I guess that’ll be the second thing to do. You know Gina, you’re lucky you’re an artist. You live by your rules. The most important of which is drinking at lunch. I so badly want to have a drink to settle my nerves but I have a meeting with a client soon,” Missy said sadly.
“So what? Here,” Gina pushed her wine glass towards the other woman. “Have a sip. No one will know,” she whispered conspiratorially.
“You’re a bad influence, woman, but I love it. Oh my God. Now I’m excited about moving here!”
“Yeah, it’s going to be great.”
“Here’s to us and the big bright future,” they toasted with a laugh.
Chapter 4
Finn ran his fingers through the light mess of hair and sighed. Missy moving to the city was a good thing. So why couldn’t he feel more happy for his sister? It was not like Missy was moving in with him but she was still close. Close enough to learn his secrets. To know about the people in his life. His personal life. A life he never mixed with work until Gina.
His body tightened at the thought of the petite redhead. He remembered the first time he had seen her. She had been standing across the room, laughing at something some lug of a man was telling her. Her whole face was lit up with merriment and her red curls framed her face like a fiery bright halo.
Their next meeting had been in a closet room, hands frantically groping each other and tongues exploring the heat that was them combined. They had emerged thirty minutes later with disheveled appearances only to run straight into Samantha. The panic on Gina’s face had spoken for itself. She did not want her best friend to know about them. Or rather their extremely heated interlude. So he never spoke of it again. Until the next interlude and the one after that.
They met up in secret so many times and even though Finn loved the thrill of the forbidden, he feared their moments together were fleeting. He wanted more out of it. More than just sex. But Gina did not seem too thrilled about the idea. Not that he had out right asked her abo
ut it, but she dropped hints all over the place and that made him feel bitter.
He scolded himself for moping and throwing on an apron he started to beat together eggs. He had a few hours before he had to show up at work. He needed something sweet before that to distress. He had his hand in the flour when the doorbell rang. Hastily wiping his hands, he strode across the hallway to open the door and was surprised to find the woman tormenting his dreams standing there.
“Hi,” the redhead said nervously. “I wasn’t sure if you were home or not…”
Finn cleared his throat and said in a steady voice, “Well… here I am. Come on in.”
“You aren’t busy, are you?” Gina eyed the apron, hesitantly stepping inside.
“I’ll always have time for you,” Finn said softly and when she did not remark on that he continued, “Uh…I was just baking. A little sweet therapy.”
“Cookies?”
“Brownies actually.” Finn measured out the flour and added it to the mixture. “Have a seat,” he gestured towards the stool across the island before starting the beater. From under his lashes, he watched Gina watching him. Her face was a conflicted mess; emotions flooding it making her seem vulnerable under the kitchen light. The second he looked up, her face assumed its indifferent mask.
Frowning inwardly, he shut off the beater and tossed the dirty utensils into the sink. He poured the batter into a baking pan and delivered it into the oven before turning towards her.
“Want to lick it?”
He wanted to laugh at the way her green eyes widened and her mouth formed a shocked ‘o’. “What?”
Keeping a straight face, he gestured towards the bowl that had the remnants of the brownie batter around it. “The batter is even better than the actual baked brownies, you know.”
She silently reached for the batter covered spoon and made a slow show of licking off the chocolate while keeping her eyes locked with his. The temperature in the room rose as he took in the pink tongue that darted out to lick the metal clean. He stood in complete attention while she cleaned the spoon and then jerked out of it when it clattered into the sink.
Her green eyes were sparkling with mischief as she took in his stock still form and then travelled downwards slowly, rather deliberately, their destination quite clear. Unfortunately for her, the island between them hindered her view and she pouted.
Finn made a growling sound in his throat and in a single huge stride was on the same side of the island as Gina. His eyes zeroed in on her red lips and his pupils dilated. His arm flew out and pulled her flush against his body, his lips making a feast of her mouth. A rumble began in his chest as her clean cherry taste filled his senses and overpowered any rational part. His mind shut itself off the second his mouth met hers.
His right hand slid downwards to cup the lush jean clad bottom, pushing her body further into his. His erection strained against his pants, wanting free to feel the heat but he barely restrained himself from ripping it from its cage. Instead, he rubbed himself against her, the rumble in his chest intensifying.
“Finn,” Gina moaned into his mouth as his other hand pushed between their bodies to tweak her nipple through the shirt fabric.
“What do you want, love?” He palmed her breast, the friction of the shirt against the sensitive skin tightened the little nub into a hard pebble.
“More,” she said throwing back her head. “Give me more!”
He pushed the silky shirt material up and snapped open the bra clasp. His hot palm connected with her mounds of flesh and he squeezed the quivering muscles gently before pinching the erect nipple. It stood to attention like a proud soldier while he soothed the pain with his mouth. He nipped and teased both her breasts till she was crying out in desperation.
“Stop teasing, Owens. Just take me already.”
His dark eyes sparkled with lust and affection as he hoisted her petite body up by gripping her below the knees. “I thought you’d never ask.”
Dropping her gently on her bed, he stared at the vision in front of her. Gina looked like a goddess with her fiery red hair spread across his sheets, her eyes filled with hunger for him and her face glowing from the pleasure he was giving. Making quick work of his clothes and then hers, he covered her body with his and slowly thrust into her.
“Condom?” she groaned as he dragged himself out slowly and then forcefully buried himself to the hilt taking both their breaths away.
“Taken care of.” He held himself over her, plying her with kisses all over her face, neck and chest as he started a rhythm. He murmured to her as the pleasure started to reach its height. Applying just enough pressure on her sensitive nub, he had her coming hard over him and then he lost the rhythm. His moves became frantic and soon Gina experienced a second wave of pleasure at the same time Finn emptied himself with a silent groan in the crook of her neck.
“That was amazing. You’re amazing,” Finn breathed as his eyes drifted and smiled at the sound of her laughter.
They lay silently next to each other and may have drifted off for a bit, their bodies recovering from the love making session. Finn suddenly opened his eyes when he heard the rustling and peered into the dim room.
“What are you doing?”
Gina was standing on the other side of the bed and was frantically pulling on her jeans. She had a wild look in her eyes that were focused on anything but him. She shrugged out of her shirt for the second time after putting it on the wrong way. Instead of answering him, she asked as she bent down, “Have you seen my boots?”
Finn sat up and unabashedly got out of bed naked, displaying all his muscles in full glory as he stood straight like a wronged angel about to beat the crap out of something. “You’re leaving?”
“I’ve to go. I just remembered something. I really have to go,” Gina said still not looking at him. She found her boots in the hallway and zipped them up.
“So this is how it’s going to be? You just fuck me every time and then take off like the wild dogs are on your tail?” Finn said angrily.
Gina looked at him now, her green eyes flashing with anger. “You were a participant in the fucking too, Owens. Don’t pretend like I forced you to do anything.”
Finn strode in front of her making her take a step back, his eyes darker than usual with ire. “I’m not just a romp in the park, Gina. It’s not a one night stand anymore. That was eons ago. This is more. Why are you turning a blind eye to it? I know you can feel it too. So tell me, Gina. What’s scaring you so much that you go running out that door every fucking time?”
Gina opened her mouth and then snapped it shut. She shut her eyes like it pained her to say the next words, “I told you in the beginning if we were going to do this, it was on my terms. Nothing more.”
“And I guess I should’ve listened to you then,” Finn said bitterly. “I can’t do this anymore, Gina.”
She was silent and then asked in a voice barely heard, “This is goodbye then?”
Finn looked at her, really looked at her and swallowed the hard lump in his throat. He did not want this to end like this. Why was the woman being so goddamn stubborn? But if she was being stubborn, so was he. He wanted something and if he could not have it, he had no right just playing around. Maybe this was meant to be.
“It is. I want more, Gina, and you just want bed play. I can’t give you that when I want to give you everything. So it’s either all in or nothing at all. What’s it going to be, Gina?”
She stared at him for a full minute, both of them standing immobile in the middle of the room. He had never bared his soul to anyone before, especially not while he was completely bare. His heart thumped loudly in his chest as he waited for her to reply. Deep within himself, he knew it was going to hurt like hell but there was a small part of him that hoped it would not.
“I’m sorry, Finn. I never meant for you to get hurt,” Gina said with a tremble in her voice as she turned her back to him.
Finn felt like some
one had shoved a large piece of metal through his chest and his eyes teared up. Swallowing furiously, he blinked back the traitorous drops and put on a mask of steel. In a rather cold voice before shutting the bedroom door in her face, he said, “That’s it, then. You can let yourself out, Gina.”
Chapter 5
“Where are you off to in such a hurry?” Finn caught Samantha shoving papers haphazardly into her bag and took in her hassled expression.
“I’ve a date,” she huffed in frustration. “Which I’m running late to.”
“A date, huh? Is it with the same guy from that night?”
“If you mean Damien from the diner, then yes. It’s with him. And if I don’t get out of here in the next ten minutes, I’ll have to call to cancel.” Samantha’s expression soured at the idea of cancelling. She badly wanted to keep this date. She had a feeling it was going to be special.
“You won’t have to cancel. Tell me what can I do to help?” Finn offered.
“Oh, you sweet man. I could kiss you right now. Do you really mean it?”
Finn turned pink slightly and looked away. “Of course. Anything for my partner.”
“You sure Gina wouldn’t mind? I thought you guys had plans tonight,” Samantha asked curiously.
“No, she wouldn’t. Did she tell you we had plans?”
“Not in exact words. I just assumed…” Samantha trailed off as she saw the expression change on Finn’s face. Something was wrong between her best friend and her partner. “Did something happen?”
“No, of course not. What could happen?” Finn said with fake brightness. “Tell me what I have to do so that you can leave for your date?”
She would ask about Gina and him later. She should not be prying in their matters. She would have hated if anyone had interfered between her and Damien but they were her friends and her tendency to solve problems rose to the surface. She asked him to fill in a few reports and then took off. If she drove a little over the speed limit, she would only be thirty minutes late.
She had planned to bring a dress with her to the agency but in her hurry to leave for work had left it lying on the couch. Staring dismally at her drab work get up, she scolded herself as she rode the elevator up to Damien’s apartment. He lived in a better section of the society than her which was not that much of a surprise. Clearly working in the business field paid more than doing social service.
Promised Box Set Page 88