Finn hissed a breath, approaching her in two strides and gripping her shoulders. God, she was beautiful. Every curve, every line…perfect. She smelled of raspberries and pears, her skin flushed, her lips plump and the color of ripe strawberries.
“What are you doing in here?”
She didn’t speak, rather she stared up at him, her eyes glassy and bright from sleep, he suspected. Driving her arms up under his, Cozy tucked herself close to his chest and inhaled like she used to do, swaying against him.
Instantly Finn went rigid, his body craving hers just like the days of old. Damn, damn, damn. He wanted to fight this sudden curiosity she appeared to be experiencing, knowing full well it had to do with her adrenaline and vulnerability crashing together, but he no longer had the will.
Letting his chin rest on the top of her head, he pulled her close, finding himself swaying right along with her. They’d done this a hundred times, usually naked, and usually while they listened to soft jazz. It was sometimes the precursor to their lovemaking. Simply enjoying each other’s bodies before making love.
Cozy used to say it was her favorite form of foreplay—she’d called it their special brand of making love. Holding off until neither could stand to wait any longer.
“You should be sleeping. You had a serious scare, Cozy. Your body needs to mend.”
“You saved me…”
Closing his eyes, he swallowed hard, tightening his hold on her. “Just by coincidence.”
She burrowed deeper, pressing against him until he thought he’d explode. His hands wandered with minds of their own, roaming over the swell of her hip, smoothing the soft curve of her spine.
Cozy moaned against him, rising up on her tiptoes until her lips were at his jaw and she was nipping his skin. Her teeth sent chills riveting along his spine and straight to his shaft, pulsing against his jeans.
“Make love to me, Finn,” she whispered, raw and husky before she pressed her full lips to his.
And suddenly, nothing mattered but being with Cozy again.
Nothing.
* * *
Her arms wound around Finn’s neck like they’d always done, and she sighed, just like she’d always done. The familiar, yet still exciting sensation throbbed throughout her body.
Finn’s arms went around her, pulling her close, curling her body into his until they were almost one entity. The ripple of his stomach brushed her ribs as she struggled to get as close to him as possible.
She shuddered when his lips finally found hers, brushing them with a light pass of his tongue before enveloping his mouth with hers and driving his tongue against her own. The hot rasp of it, the silky swipe of it, left her knees weak.
His hand went to the front of her bathrobe, pulling at the tie and parting it, unbuttoning the top of her pajamas and cupping her breast as he kicked off his shoes.
Cozy shuddered against him, her nipple rising to meet the palm of his calloused hand, the sensation sharp and sweet, tugging at her core.
Finn kissed her more deeply, picking her up as she straddled his waist with her legs and walking backward until they fell onto the small bed. Sitting up, she gazed down at him, smoothing her hands over his wide chest, kneading the hard muscles, rolling her hips against the heat of his shaft, still encased in his ‘70s pants.
God, he was beautiful, perfect, everything she’d remembered night after agonizing night since he’d left. Tugging his shirt upward, she suddenly had to see him naked, as though if it didn’t happen that very second, she’d die of longing.
Lifting her lower body, she yanked at his pants, pulling the button open and unzipping them to shrug them over his hips.
Finn kicked them off when they reached his knees until he was naked, his hot flesh searing her through her thin pajamas.
But she didn’t waste any time. She wanted him now. Pushing out of her bathrobe, Cozy lifted the edges of the pajama top and pulled it upward over her head, to a hiss of breath from Finn. She stretched upward, her aching muscles protesting from the fall she’d taken.
Impatient hands dragged her bottoms and panties down, scraping them over her hips as she wiggled them off and sat back up. Her breathing hitched when Finn’s hands cupped her breasts, pulling her down to his mouth, where he ran his tongue over each nipple.
She bucked above him, the heat swelling between her thighs, his cock irresistibly hard and thick, pressing at her clit, making her mouth water. Slipping her hand between them, she gripped his length and began to slide her way down along the rigid flesh when he stiffened and thickly said, “No. Not yet, Cozy. I need to taste you. It’s been too damn long.”
Gripping her hips, Finn’s fingers sank into her waist as he lifted her, dragging her to his mouth, setting her over him with care.
He spread her flesh without pause, his fingers making her gasp as her head fell back on her shoulders and he slipped his tongue inside her, stroking the throbbing nub of her clit.
Heat, swift and sweetly sharp, crawled along her body, from the tips of her toes to the top of her head. Her cheeks flushed hot, the space between her legs needy, aching as Finn lavished her with his talented tongue.
Cozy’s hands went to his hair, thick and soft, and she clung to the strands, hissing her pleasure, crying out his name when she came, her breathing ragged, her heart thrashing in her chest.
Finn cupped her ass, riding out the storm of her orgasm until she fell against him, boneless and sated. The stirring of his cock, hot beneath her, made Cozy slide her way down along his body until she sat at his hips, running her fingers over the curve of the sharp slant in his hipbone before enveloping his shaft in her hands.
He jolted beneath her, grabbing Cozy’s wrist to thwart her strokes and settling beneath her until he was poised at her entrance.
Cozy didn’t miss a beat. She sank down on top of him, sighing her pleasure, feeling the stretch and swell of him inside her after so long without.
Finn thrust upward, the slick slide hot and wet, making her lean back on her hands, her nipples tight in the cool air, her body on fire.
And then he was thrusting, driving, pulling her deeper, taking her to the edge only to leave her wanting more, so much more. Her hands gripped his bulky thighs, reveling in the crisp hair and hot skin.
The tension, her body poised like an arrow in a bow, rose, snapping, crackling electricity, threading through her body. Their eyes met and locked, his shadowed and dark, scanning her face.
Her pulse raced, her chest tightened as Finn cupped her breasts and pulled her forward until they were flush to one another. Their bodies glued together, the sprinkling of hair on his chest rubbing against her, all led to the final swell of orgasm.
Cozy ground against him, their hips crashing as white lights flashed behind her eyelids and Finn’s hands gripped her ass, kneading the flesh, pushing himself deeper and deeper.
She fought the scream of completion, burying her mouth against his neck, her eyes tearing up as the scent of his cologne reminded her how much she’d missed him.
Finn’s body tightened and tensed, his muscles flexing as he gathered her close and took one last thrust, tightening his grip until she almost couldn’t breathe.
And then he was mumbling words she couldn’t decipher as she clung to him and he rolled her to her side and held her close, stroking her back, kneading her skin as she caught her breath.
But before she was once more swept away, she noted for the first time in months she felt safe again. As though someone had returned a limb they’d severed and reattached it to her body.
It was like a dream, finally in Finn’s arms after all this time, and she didn’t want it to end.
Rather than attempt words, Cozy burrowed close to him on the narrow bed and closed her eyes, her heart slowing until she settled and allowed the dark void of sleep take her away.
Chapter Seven
“OHHH, LOLITA-mamasita, it’s time to get up, mi corazon,” Jorge singsonged in a breathy whisper against her ear.
&
nbsp; Cozy rolled over and burrowed deeper under the comforter. “Just ten more minutes, Jorge, pleeeaase…” she mumbled into the pillow, her mouth dry, and her eyes so groggy.
“Are you a sleepy-weepy-head, mi pequeña sex kitten?” he asked in an uncharacteristically odd baby voice, nudging her with his cold nose.
Some of the fuzz in her brain cleared. “Your what?”
“Which part of the sentence didn’t you understand, sex kitten?”
“Why are you talking like that?”
“Like what?” he feigned innocence.
“Like I don’t understand the English language and you need to use small, cute phrases to get your point across.”
“I think it’s me who doesn’t understand the English language.”
She stretched her arms upward, noting she didn’t have her long-sleeved pajama top on. Huh.
“How about we don’t do riddles this morning, Riddler? Batman’s got a big fat tea hangover. Wow, that stuff packed a punch. So just explain what you don’t understand.”
“Wasn’t it you who said you hated Finn’s ugly, stinky guts? Because that’s what I heard.”
Her heart tightened, but the words that came out of her mouth were still the same words she’d chanted since he’d left.
“Yep. That was me.”
“If his guts are so stinky, mi amiga, why were you in there twisting them all up into a knot last night like you were trying out for the Russian gymnastics team?”
Her pulse quickened as a quick flash of Finn naked came into focus in her mind’s eye, the backdrop a pink-and-purple room.
“I twisted nothing.”
Jorge planted his paws on her chest and tilted his head to the side. “Oh, you twisted. And then you twisted again. In fact, you twisted so much, Chubby Checker rang and said to tell you he calls ‘uncle’. So tell me again how much you hate him so I’m clear about the fact that we’re not on Team Finn.”
She bit the inside of her cheek. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Come now, Cozy. We’ve been together a long time, and while my bladder’s not exactly what it once was, my hearing is as good as the day I was born.”
“When were you born, anyway?”
“Not yesterday.”
She frowned as she glimpsed yet another vision of Finn’s body glued to hers, his face with all its chiseled lines and planes, hovering beneath her.
“You don’t have to tell me the details, because believe you me, I heard the details. I’m just wondering why this sudden change of heart.”
She pulled the sheet up around her chin, yanking it out from beneath Jorge’s bulky body and hiding her face.
Oh God.
She’d had sex with Finn last night.
Jorge pawed at the sheet until her face was exposed again. “Hola in there. Answer the question. It will help me determine how to advise you.”
Cozy groaned. “I don’t need advice, Jorge.”
She needed to have her head examined.
“Cozette Meadows, stop ducking the issue. Please. You’ve done enough of that since this all began. Now what possessed you to sneak off to Finn’s room and make the wooky-wook?”
The tea. It must have been the tea. “I think it was the tea.”
She paused for a moment as she remembered another blip of…oh…had they done that?
Her cheeks flushed hot at another memory, taking root in her mind’s eye.
“You’re going to blame some leaves and water? That’s rich.”
She had to blame her poor choices on something. “What else could it have been? What would possess me to—to—well, you know. What would make me forget how angry…” Cozy shook her head. “Look, I don’t remember a lot after drinking the tea. I mean, it’s sort of coming back to me now, but I don’t remember actually leaving this room.”
But she had, and she’d gone straight into the arms of the man who’d crushed her.
“Could it be that your heart led you there?”
“Nah. I think it’s just low self-esteem.”
“Cozy. Don’t joke. I know you don’t want to hear this, and maybe the tea did have something to do with it, but your core, the person you are, wouldn’t have allowed this to happen unless you really wanted it to.”
Pulling the sheet around her, she looked past Jorge—because she couldn’t look him in the eye—and toward the light lemon-colored wall, where pictures of Raggedy Ann with quirky sayings hung.
That was the part that tore at her the most. The part where she wasn’t nearly as strong as she thought she was. Was Finn so amazing, so compelling and charismatic, that she could just forget everything he’d done and drop her panties? Who was she?
“Why would I want this to happen, Jorge? What does this say about me?”
“It says your subconscious knows something you don’t know.”
“Like?”
“Like maybe there’s more to this thing with Finn than any of us know.”
“You always liked him and his belly rubs way too much. Your judgment is clouded, friend.”
Jorge’s ears perked. “No. I mean, yes. I did like Finn. Very much. He was rock-solid until the night he left. He made you giddy. I liked seeing you so giddy. It’s always bothered me, the stark difference between the two sides of him. I never saw an inkling, not a shred of the man who walked away without looking back. I know people, Cozy. I’ve been around a long time and I’m a pretty good judge of character.”
Lifting the sheet, she looked down the length of her body. Her very naked body. “How did I get back in here?”
“Finn brought you back and tucked you in, just like a real gentleman would. So no one would know you’d gone off to his room. Don’t worry, I covered my eyes, but he lingered a long time before he left. Something about this whole jail sentence is beginning to really bother me.”
“Maybe he just brought me back in here to keep from having his privileges and those awesome clothes he’s been wearing taken away?”
Jorge grated a long sigh. “Believe what you want. I saw how he looked at you. Just like he used to. He wasn’t rubbing his hands with glee because he nailed you. There was no reason for him to put on a show. I pretended I was asleep.”
“So what are we saying here, Jorge?” Cozy yanked the covers upward and tucked them around her before slipping from the bed, fighting the anguish digging at her gut.
“I’m saying I’m going to do some digging and put an end to this once and for all. Digging you might not like, but I’m doing it nonetheless. I want answers, even if you pretend you don’t.”
Her eyes flew to the alarm clock by the bed, noting it was almost nine. “I have to get to the center to help Calla clean up and then I have to redecorate so we can be ready for the recital and the council of elders tonight. I don’t have time to dig for answers.”
She did, however, have time to avoid. Hopefully, the word avoid would apply to Finn, too. She didn’t think she could look him in the eye at this point.
Digging through her overnight bag for clothes, she noted how sore her legs were, pleasantly so, and it only reminded her of what she’d done.
Dirty, dirty whore.
When she got her hands on Winnie, she was going to wring that recipe out of her and make sure she never touched whatever was in that tea again.
As soon as she was capable of looking her friend in the eye, that is.
* * *
Cozy flew into the center, her heels clacking as she skidded around the kitchen’s corner and headed for the ruined rec room. A shiver ran along her arms as she made her way down the hall.
The weather had turned as predicted and an ice storm was on the way, leaving her hoping they could pull off the concert tonight before things turned bad.
Christmas music played softly from the speakers, the strains of Nat King Cole’s “The Christmas Song” floating through the air as she approached—then stopped short when she got a glimpse of the room in its entirety.
Finn was in t
he middle of it on a ladder, stringing up the last of some multicolored strands of lights and attaching them to the big fan in the center of the ceiling, making the room glow.
The door had shiny new glass, and replacing the scent of smoke was the crisp smell of pine trees and apple pie.
A fir tree stood off to the side of the fully reconstructed stage, gold, green, and red satin balls in clusters of three clinging to the full branches. Silver and gold garland roped its way around the limbs, and a glowing white star sat atop its peak as a snow machine puffed out confetti-like flakes, wafting softly to the floor.
A signpost that read “A Hallow Moon Christmas”, with a candy cane base and a bow, stood next to row after row of metal chairs. Each chair also had a red bow attached to it, and the gift bags she and the seniors had spent so much time putting together were set in the middle of each seat.
And the piano…all her fears about music and how she’d provide it faded when she saw it gleaming beneath the twinkle of lights. There was even a miniature Christmas tree with tiny ornaments sitting on top.
Cozy found herself trying to catch her breath as she took it all in. It was as if last night never happened. The entire room was right out of a scene from Santa’s workshop.
Finn climbed down from the ladder and rolled his head from side to side, stretching his strong arms. Arms that had held her last night, arms that she’d clung to without thinking twice.
She watched him for a moment, as though observing him without his knowledge would provide some secret he only revealed when he thought he was alone.
She’d loved this man deeply, almost desperately, and the idea that he was nothing like who she’d thought he was, that his heart wasn’t honorable, almost brought her to her knees.
This would have been their first Christmas together as a married couple, and the regret she was feeling as she saw how beautiful everything had turned out was sharply real.
“Hey,” he murmured from across the room, taking long strides to come stand before her.
“How?”
Dropping his hands into the pockets of his ‘70s-inspired perma-press flared jeans, he smiled. “The seniors came in here, wands blazing, and handled most of the heavy lifting. They’re off having their mid-morning snack right now.”
Alphas Unwrapped: 21 New Steamy Paranormal Tales of Shifters, Vampires, Werewolves, Dragons, Witches, Angels, Demons, Fey, and More Page 44