FinsFantasy

by Jocelyn Dex

Raimee looked around, then asked, “Did you bring a date or come with Baden? I don’t see him.”

  Navine continued perusing the food, not looking at Raimee. “I came with Baden.”

  “Cool. Fin has two dates tonight.”

  Fin almost choked. What the hell had gotten into Raimee? It was almost as if she was jealous of Navine. Was it possible Raimee actually wanted more than friendship from him?

  “I see that,” Navine said and moved around the display to the baked stuffed apples he’d made. Raimee followed her.

  He hadn’t intended to say a word to her unless she got the stick out of her ass and spoke to him first but he’d made a batch of the stuffed apples with her in mind even though he hadn’t expected her. “The ones on top are stuffed with plums and cherries.”

  Navine glanced at him, grabbed one of the apples from the top and said, “Thanks.” Then she walked off.

  Baden slapped Fin on the shoulder. “Hey.”

  “Hey,” Fin returned. “You got the night off from slinging pizza?”

  Baden laughed. “Sure did. You make all this food?”

  “Sure did.”

  “Well, I’m gonna grab some of it. And hey, if you ever want to make some pizza, I have a job for you.”

  “I’ll leave the pizza to you,” Fin said.

  Raimee walked up. “Hi, Baden.”

  “Hi, Raimee,” Baden said.

  Fin almost laughed out loud at how low Baden’s voice dropped when he greeted Raimee.

  She stood uncomfortably close to Fin and Baden’s eyes eyes narrowed. “You two come together?”

  “No,” Raimee answered. “He came with Lymirie.” Lymirie looked up, smiled and went back to filling her plate.

  Baden’s eyes darted back and forth between Raimee and Lymirie a couple times. “Cool.” Baden turned and loaded his plate with food while Raimee dragged Fin back outside to the patio. Navine sat chatting with Araya. He tried not to stare but she was so fucking beautiful, it was hard not to. He’d like to whisk her away, hike up her dress and plunge into her until she wanted nothing more than to be with him always. Always? When had he begun thinking in those terms?

  Kiberry and Xena trotted over to Araya, Kiberry nudging her leg, then sitting up on his back legs and begging. Araya giggled at his antics and fed him a couple blueberries from her plate. Xena wasn’t interested. She noticed Fin watching and motioned for him to bring food.

  “I’m going to get the Tengurs some snacks. I’ll be back.” He went inside and filled two plates with various food items. Mostly fruit for Kiberry and mostly meat for Xena.

  He set the plates on the ground in front of the Tengurs. Being so close, he chanced a look at Navine but her eyes narrowed.

  Fin jumped when Raimee said, “Hungry little devils.”

  He hadn’t realized she’d followed him.

  “Thanks, Fin,” Araya said. “Navine and I were chatting about finding our passion.”

  Fin smiled at that. He remembered when he’d asked Navine what her passion was and what had happened after. Her cheeks flushed and he knew she remembered it too.

  Kean, Rydin and Valia made their way to the table and sat so Raimee and Fin sat too. Baden and Lymirie came to join their party but there was nowhere left to sit.

  “You can have my spot, Baden,” Raimee offered. “Fin was just taking me to dance.”

  She grabbed his hand and led him to dance. He’d had no idea he was about to dance with her but okay. Why was she acting so weird? So…possessive?

  Navine pretended not to notice the way Raimee hung on Fin but oh, she noticed. It took every ounce of her willpower to not run over to the dancing couple and rip the bitch’s hair out—handful by handful. She told herself it angered her because Baden had a thing for Raimee, but truth be told, she didn’t like seeing her hands on Fin or Fin’s hands on her. And Fin had come with feathery-haired female too? Two dates? Her jaw ached as she ground her teeth.

  But why? What did she care? She didn’t want him anyway. Right?

  “Something wrong, Navine?” Valia asked.

  Crap. Was she able to read Navine’s aura right now? Judging by the smug smile, that Navine wanted to punch off her face, yes. But she kept her cool and answered, “No. I’m great. You?”

  Valia rolled her eyes and dragged Rydin off to dance.

  “What was that about?” Kean asked.

  Navine lifted one shoulder in a half shrug. “Who knows? Your fiancé’s sister is weird. No offense, Araya.”

  Araya grinned. “None taken.”

  “C’mon, Navie. Let’s boogie,” Baden suggested.

  “Sure.”

  Baden’s phone rang just as they started dancing. His brow furrowed as he looked at the screen. “Damn. I gotta take this. Sorry.” He walked into the house leaving her standing there feeling stupid.

  “Oh hey,” Raimee said to her. “I need a bathroom break, can you take over for a minute?”

  Raimee led Fin to Navine and hustled off. They stood staring at each other until Fin reached out for her. She instinctively stepped back but he snagged her hand before she got away.

  He pulled her in close and whispered. “This is an important night for my sister. Don’t you dare upset her.”

  “Upset her?”

  “She loves me and it hurts her to see you be an ass to me. And she’s watching.”

  Ass? Her? Well, okay, she supposed she’d been ass-ish to him. “Oh.”

  “You don’t have to talk to me or even look at me, but for her sake you can pretend you’re not totally disgusted by dancing with me.”

  Disgusted wasn’t the word she’d use to describe the feelings coursing through her at the moment. As soon as he’d pulled her into him, her stomach fluttered, her skin heated and her heart slammed in her chest. If they were alone, she’d probably be on her knees right now. Damn him for making her feel this way. She needed to feed. She told herself that’s all it was. She seriously needed to ditch the party soon and find a male. That would straighten out her traitorous body.

  She closed her eyes as they swayed to the music. Accidentally rubbing against him, she felt the stiff appendage in his pants and instantly went wet between her legs. Knowing he’d been able to smell her need at the cabin, she opened her eyes to see if he noticed her arousal now.

  He met her gaze and pulled her closer, his eyes lust-darkened. Yep. He knew. Her body sank into his, his masculine scent, his strong embrace making her yearn to experience his touch one more time. She jumped when Raimee chose that moment to tap her on the shoulder.

  “Okay, my turn again,” she said, prying them apart and practically shoving Navine aside.

  Navine barely squelched a growl. She had to get out of there. Like now. She said her goodbyes and thanked Araya and Kean for having her and ported to the cabin. She needed a little time to shake off the feelings Fin had stirred, change and go hunting for a male.

  * * * * *

  Talith declared it time to open gifts so they all gathered around the table piled high with colorfully wrapped packages.

  Araya and Kean tore into the gifts as if they were human children on Christmas morning.

  “Oh, this one’s for you, Fin,” Araya said, setting the obviously heavy box on the ground.

  Why the hell would a gift be addressed to him at his sister’s engagement party? He took the gift from her and set it aside. This was her moment, not his.

  Once the last gift had been opened, Fin took his gift into one of the guest bedrooms. He looked at the card that simply said, “Thank you.”

  He slowly tore the paper away to reveal an industrial smoothie blender that rivaled his in quality. Could it be? Was this the thank-you gift Baden mentioned Navine had intended to buy for him?

  He left the room and cornered Baden, who was being very chummy with Raimee. “Is the blender from Navine?”

  Baden smiled. “Yeah, she said smoothies as good as yours deserved the best blender money could buy.”

  Fin frowned.

 
“Hey man,” Baden said. It’s okay if you don’t like it. Take it back and get something else.”

  “No, it’s not that. It’s better than mine. I just…don’t understand. Why bother?”

  Baden shrugged. “Why don’t you ask her? But you better hurry. She’s at the cabin getting ready to hit the town.”

  He went to apologize to his cousin but she said she was happy looking at the eye candy. He didn’t know who she meant but whatever.

  Fin wanted nothing more than to see Navine, alone, in a secluded place, but judging by her coldness toward him tonight, she didn’t want the same thing. If he went, he’d only be setting himself up for more insult, more injury.

  Although, before Raimee had interrupted their dance, she’d wanted him. He’d smelled her sweet arousal and felt her pulse quicken. Then she’d looked at him with those golden eyes and they’d been dilated.

  Raimee startled him out of his thoughts. “Go, Fin. You really need to go.”

  Baden nodded in agreement.

  Did they know something he didn’t?

  He strode to where Araya and Kean were gushing over their gifts, shook Kean’s hand, then hugged Araya.

  “Are you leaving?” she asked, a mischievous twinkle in her eyes.

  At his nod, Kean said, “Thanks for the great grub. You’re my favorite almost brother-in-law. Oh and good luck.”

  Araya elbowed his ribs.

  Okay, something was going on but he wasn’t going to stick around and try to figure it out.

  * * * * *

  Fin stood outside the cabin, nervous as all hell. What was he doing here? Okay, she’d given him a gift but it didn’t mean he should be stalking her. He felt like a fucking idiot now that he was here. Really Fin? Desperate much? Blender does not equal eternal love.

  He almost ported away but decided as long as he was here, he might as well get closure on the whole thing. What better way than to have her spew her venom in his face? Have her tell him one last time how he is an abomination and not worthy of her.

  Gritting his teeth and steeling his resolve, he stiffened his spine as he knocked on the door. Banging and clanging met his ears, moments later, the door flew open. Navine stood brandishing a butcher knife and a cast-iron frying pan.

  Blinking a couple times, he then burst into laughter. She lowered the knife and pan and stomped her foot, which sent him into another bought of laughter.

  “What the hell is so funny?” she demanded.

  Grabbing his gut and doubling over, it took him a good two minutes to recover. “Sorry,” he said, wiping tears from his eyes. “That was one of the funniest displays I’ve seen in a long time.”

  He sobered as he took in her appearance. Raven black hair, piled on top of her head, exposing her graceful neckline. Skintight, black skirt molded to her hips with a complementing black lace-up halter top. “Although, it was also one of the sexiest.”

  She flushed at his compliment. “Come in and shut the door. Bugs getting in.”

  He stepped inside, closing the door behind him, watching her put the knife and pan back into their respective places. His breath caught in his throat as she bent to place the pan in a lower cabinet, the bending giving him a brief view of the red panties adorning her pussy.

  “Who were you expecting?” Fin asked.

  She straightened, shoved her hands on her hips. “I wasn’t expecting anyone, which is why I grabbed weapons. I’ll be damned if I’m getting nabbed again.”

  He sobered at that and felt like an ass. He should have known she’d be on edge after all she’d been through. “I’m sorry, Navine. I wasn’t thinking. Didn’t mean to startle you.”

  “Then what are you doing here?”

  “I…just wanted to thank you for the gift,” he said lamely. “It was thoughtful.”

  She stared at him as if expecting more. When he said nothing else, she said, “Seriously? You left your sister’s engagement party early and scared the crap out of me to thank me for a blender?”

  He thought she was about to go off but then her expression softened. “Did you like it?”

  He nodded. “I did. I—thank you.”

  “Well, good. We never did have that celebration and I figured you assumed the worst about me not showing up.” Her gaze dropped to the floor.

  “How about we celebrate now?” he asked.

  “I, uh. I was about to go out. I have to—it’s time. I need to feed. Tonight.”

  Lightning struck Fin’s gut and ripped it asunder. He never should have come here. The thought of her feeding from another male crushed him, broke him, infuriated him. He strode toward her. If this was the last time he’d see her, he’d at least make certain she thought of him when she sought out another tonight. Grabbing her arm, he pulled her into him, a small squeal escaping her lips.

  “I wish I was good enough for you,” he said before his lips crashed into hers. Surprisingly, she didn’t fight him or push him away. He wrapped one arm around her waist, one hand tangled in her hair, crushing them together. The faint sweetness of cherries greeted him as his tongue slipped past her lips to tangle with her tongue.

  God, she felt so good, so right. Why couldn’t he make her feel it?

  It took all his willpower to push her away from him. They both staggered at the abruptness. “I want you more than I’ve ever wanted another,” he admitted breathlessly. “I wish I could be what you want.” He shook his head and gazed at her longingly one last time. “I wish you the best, Navine.” Then he ported the fuck out of there before the water spilled over his lids and he made a bigger fool of himself.

  Chapter Thirteen

  Navine stood there, trying to catch her breath. His kiss inflamed her desire. Had he not pushed her away, she’d have been putty in his hands, and not only because she needed to feed. No, she wanted him. Wanted him with a desperation that left her knees weak.

  He was sweet, caring, passionate, strong, brave, protective. He was everything she could ask for in a male except for what he was. When she’d seen him with Raimee and feather girl tonight, she’d been jealous beyond reason. She’d tried to ignore it, pretend it wasn’t so, but it was a lie. She’d wanted to kill the bitches, snatch Fin and throw him to the floor. Show him he was hers.

  She sank to the kitchen floor, knees pulled to her chest, letting her head fall forward. Fin made no bones about wanting her, wanting to be with her. Could she put aside her disgust at what he was? Was she truly even disgusted by it anymore or just holding onto it out of fear? Fear of what? She knew he wouldn’t taint her. He’d been inside her in every possible way and she’d loved it.

  Pushing herself off the floor, she opened the fridge and grabbed a beer, downed it in three gulps, burped, grabbed another and did the same. Forty-five minutes later, she’d downed seven beers, was dizzy and giggly and was still undecided as to what to do.

  She pulled out her phone to call him and give him a piece of her mind but the numbers blurred and wavered. Instead she ported to the mansion to give it to him face to face. Stumbling on the steps, she laughed at herself. It’d been years since she’d been this drunk. Righting herself on the top step, she rang the doorbell.

  Moments later, an unknown guard opened the door.

  “Yes?” he asked, scrutinizing her.

  “Caffin. Need to see him.”

  “Who’s calling?”

  She hiccupped. “No call. Couldn’t see numbers. Mmm here.”

  The guard’s lips twitched as he opened the door wider for her to enter. He took her arm and guided her to the couch in the hallway. She flopped down, grateful for the support.

  He motioned to another guard and said, “Get, Fin.”

  She didn’t know how long she sat there with gigantor making sure she behaved, she assumed, but her belly fluttered uncontrollably when Fin appeared before her. His taut body only clad in a pair of black workout shorts. No shirt. Skin glistening with sweat. Holy ass monkeys, he was a sight to behold.

  “Navine?” The surprise in his voice
and shock on his face made her giggly again.

  “Thas me,” she slurred.

  His brows furrowed when she tried to stand but fell back on her ass. Thank god the couch had a lot of cushion.

  He stepped forward and took her hand, helping her stand.

  “Can you walk?” he asked.

  “Pfft. Of course.” She took a step and stumbled. He grabbed her around the waist and swung her into his arms.

  “Yeah, of course,” he mocked, carrying her up the stairs.

  She started getting a little seasick as she bounced in his arms and thankfully, the ride was over before too long.

  He carried her through a door and sat her on a bed. A very, very comfortable bed. She crawled into it and dragged a pillow under her head. It smelled like him.

  “Nice,” she mumbled.

  “What are you doing here? What’s wrong with you?”

  “You’re wrong, Caffin, Fin, whoever,” she said.

  “How much have you had to drink?”

  “Not enough,” she sighed, rolled onto her back and stared at the ceiling. “Gotnything to drink?”

  He chuckled, walked to a mini fridge in the corner, and brought her back a bottle of water.

  She grumbled but took the water anyway, struggled to open it and spilled half the contents down her shirt. “Fuck ass!” she shrieked, and began taking off her shirt.

  Fin disappeared through a door at the far end of the room and returned seconds later with a towel and a robe. She chucked her wet shirt on the floor, not caring that her breasts were completely exposed, carelessly wiped her chest with the towel he handed her and fell back on the bed.

  “Navine, put this on.” Fin’s strained voice tickled her ears, sending shivers down her spine.

  With much effort, she pushed herself up, held her arms out and waited for Fin to dress her. He pulled her arms through the arm holes.

  “Istoobig,” she complained and started shrugging out of it.

  “It’s fine,” he said, tying it around her waist.

  She reached out and grabbed his cock. “You’ve a hard-on.”

  He hissed and jumped back. “Navine, what the hell is going on with you.”