by Jean Oram
His dance was a seduction and she moved closer, intrigued. Every time he prolonged their eye contact beyond a casual, comfortable glance she felt herself flush with heat. And every time he used his body to gently block someone from honing in on them, she fell a little deeper for this version of Finian. She felt safe, protected. Wanted.
Hailey saw a flicker of discomfort in his eyes when wandering female hands brushed his body. He flashed the offender a smile as he spun to slap her on the ass, hard enough to send her back into the throng of other dancers, giggling and with eyes that were filled with excitement and a hint of lust.
These women would rip him to pieces if given the chance. How could he stand it? Hailey’s temper was getting the best of her on his behalf, and she didn’t even really like the guy.
The band broke between sets, and feeling tired from the tension of watching everyone fall all over Finian, while fighting her own desire, Hailey went to the bar to get another drink. The band was good, but she really needed Finian to do something asinine. And soon. Before she began to think he was human, or began reassessing her no-sex-with-summer-men rule.
With a hand on her lower back, Finian drew her up some stairs that led to an outdoor balcony. He nodded to a bouncer, who drew back a folding screen, revealing a wrought-iron patio table for two.
Yep, she was screwed.
She smiled as Finian offered her a chair in the private, sheltered corner.
“Wow. The bad-boy has some manners, after all. Thank you.” Although maybe his manners came out only when he had an agenda, such as getting up her skirt.
“Funny, my mother gave me a lecture on my manners only a few hours ago.” He took the seat across from her, and before she could ask about his mom, he said, “So? What’s your dream shot? For photography?”
A head popped around the screen. “Hey, guys. Did I hear you want some shots?” Austin held up his camera. “Hailey, you could straddle Finn. Finn, you could put your mouth over her—”
Finian was up in a flash, fists raised.
“Austin, go jump in the falls!” Hailey snapped.
Finian turned to face her, eyes assessing. “You know him?”
“Yeah. Unfortunately.”
“Ex-girlfriend, actually,” Austin said with a grin.
Finian gave her a disbelieving look that was also full of reassessment. She didn’t like it. At all. As her mother used to say, Who you associate with reflects on you. And Hailey was associating with trouble, times two.
“It was high school,” she said. “Science proves the teenaged brain isn’t fully developed until kids are in their twenties.”
Austin clutched his chest as though holding a dagger, and grinned when Hailey shoved him back to the bouncer’s side of the curtain.
“If you kiss her, Finn, just remember I kissed her first!”
Finian’s right hand was still curled into a fist, his jaw tight as he yanked the brown curtain across, just about knocking down the temporary structure. He scowled at the bouncer. “I said nobody.”
“Sorry, he said he was with you.”
Austin shouted through the curtain, “Way to move in on the target and get the good shots, Hailey. I hope it’s worth selling your soul.”
“I’m not like you, Austin. I photograph turtles, not egocentric jerks!”
“I’d screw him for a money shot, but would you?” he called back.
Hailey moved to the curtain, ready to hit Austin with all she was worth. Finian guided her gently back to the table. “Don’t let him get you riled up or he’ll have you in the tabloids faster than he came on prom night.”
Hailey choked on her laughter. “Good one.”
She allowed Finian to seat her again, before realizing what she’d said. “I’m sorry. I don’t think you’re an egocentric jerk.”
“That’s fine. You do, and I am.”
Hailey studied her hands.
“That’s my image, right?” Finian tipped her chin up and gave her a weak smile.
She sent him a grateful one. “I’m sorry about Austin. He’s never brought out the best in me, especially since we grew up.”
“Me, neither. In California I had a restraining order against him.”
“Seriously?” Hailey leaned forward. She’d always thought Austin’s stories of ruthlessness were blown out of proportion.
“Yeah. But apparently it doesn’t work up here in Canada. Oh, and it expired.” Finian cringed. “Think the Mounties would restrain him?”
“Austin can take a good shot from over a hundred yards away. He’s like a seagull, and knows exactly where his crap is gonna land. So even if the Mounties did restrain him, your shoulders are still going to get messy.”
Finian laughed, rich and deep. Hailey smiled, feeling a bond with him. Someone who finally understood just how much of an annoying burr Austin really was.
“What’s your favorite song?” Finian asked. “Of the band’s?”
“‘Drooping Flags’,” she said, feeling embarrassed. It was a silly song, but the depth of the lyrics got her every time. “And you?”
He paused. “Yeah. Me, too.” He leaned on the table, arms stretched toward her. All she’d have to do was place her hands near his and he’d grasp them. Long fingers, wide palms, ready to touch her. Caress her. Lead her into sweet temptation.
She leaned back in her chair. “Same favorite song? You can’t do better than that in your quest to get me to like you?”
“You don’t like me?”
She swallowed hard. “I mean, we don’t really know each other. And the odds of us prefering the same obscure song are pretty out there.”
His eyes held a mischievous glint and she had no clue whether she could trust him. Hailey leaned forward and tipped up her jaw in challenge. “Prove it. Sing ‘Drooping Flags’.”
“I’ll do one better.” He got up and went to talk to the bouncer on the other side of the curtain. Finian returned a moment later, grinning.
“What did you just do?” she asked.
“You’ll see.” He gave her a wink over his rye and Coke, lifting it toward her. “Cheers, Hailey Summer.”
* * *
Finn left Hailey in the crowd by the stage. He both loved and hated her discomfort and the way she was wrestling with her attraction. She’d just about swoon, then catch herself and cross her arms, giving him a stern look. And now he was about to take it over the top. He’d either crash and burn and never see her again, or he’d have her naked body panting under him in a matter of hours.
From his spot in the wings he could see Austin at the back of the crowd, his camera at chest level, ready to take aim. Yep, this could get good. Finn could smash the guitar at the end of the show. Jump off the stage into the crowd and bodysurf his way to the bar, where he could drink right out of the keg. That would be tabloid worthy.
He cut a glance to Hailey. Hailey.
The way her soft dress was hugging her like a long-lost lover… The way her hair, straightened and glossy, curved over her bare shoulders… She was a vision of simplicity and understated beauty. Someone you could easily miss because of a lack of flash, but when you looked closer, you got drawn in, became lost. There was something undefinably sexy about Hailey Summer, and he wasn’t the only one who’d noticed. But it wasn’t the cocky jerks, it was the nice guys. Men he hoped to hell wouldn’t put the moves on her, because in a contest against a nice guy there was no way Finn would ever win.
And she was his.
Well, no, she wasn’t. But he wanted her to be—at least until he figured himself out, and where she fit into his life. Which was stupid. He did flings and relationships that lacked meaning. Hailey wasn’t that kind of girl. Hell, she might even have a steady man in her life, and Finn was leaving in a week—even earlier if he couldn’t get new dirt out into the gossip rags. He needed to push Hailey into action somehow. Which meant he needed to stop thinking and feeling.
His shoulders slumped as he stared out at her. Somehow this had become a real date, w
ith him trying to impress her enough she’d decide to stick around rather than get her to expose his dark side to the world. The woman didn’t even have a real camera on her. Finn had lost his focus. Again.
He gave himself a shake and ground his teeth. He could do this. He could get back in the game. She had a camera phone, right? And there were others with cameras in the audience, including Austin, who was better than nothing—which was what Finn currently had.
He could muck this up, like skydiving without a parachute, and it would still turn out fine. That was the best part of having a persona that was out of control: he had the freedom to do whatever he wanted to woo the object of his affections.
Object of affections? Woo? What was happening to him?
He dragged his hands through his hair, then down his face.
“You okay, man?” asked the lead vocalist.
“Yeah, of course. No problem.”
“You sure?”
He gave a short nod.
The band shifted from foot to foot, eager to get back on stage. “Ready?”
“Yeah. Just, uh, take it slow if you can. I’m a…beginner.”
Damn. What was he doing? These concert-goers had paid money to see the band they loved, not to watch him flounder and ruin a song.
The lead vocalist grinned as he caught Finn’s uncertain gaze going to the front row. “What’s her name?”
“Hailey,” he replied without thinking. He winced. How did he not know by now to keep his trap shut?
“We’re on. Oh, and don’t go smashing the guitar at the end of the song. It’s Josh’s favorite. Just in case you had any ideas.” The singer gave Finn a look that made him feel like a kid who’d been scolded for aiming his slingshot at the butt of a rival classmate. Finn pulled the borrowed guitar closer. No smashing of other people’s toys. Just like in kindergarten.
Well, they weren’t in kindergarten any longer, were they? And there certainly wasn’t a principal to keep him in from recess for not playing nicely.
The floodlights brightened as the group hit the stage, leaving Finn behind.
They stirred up the crowd, introducing him at the last possible second. He saw Hailey’s eyes fly open as if someone had goosed her good. His hands shook and he wasn’t sure he’d remember a chord, let alone how to rip one up with his uncertain digits. He downed the last of his triple rye and Coke, the burn making his throat ache, and then with a smile hit the stage, hand raised above his head. The band was already playing, and he had to concentrate to pick up the rhythm of “Drooping Flags.” Every once in a while he’d fall behind, but the band would slow, add a few extra riffs and let him slide back in as if it had all been intentional.
By the end of the song the adrenaline and energy from the crowd had him keeping up, his fingers moving faster than they ever had back in the cottage. Cell phone flashes blitzed the stage and Finn grinned. They let him take the lead vocals and he gave the lyrics a throaty, rough rendition that brought tears to the eyes of a special gal up front. Hailey looked awed, almost stunned, but her arms remained hanging limply at her sides. She didn’t take a single photo.
Damn it.
He wanted her to make money off this act, not Austin. She’d do him justice, whereas Austin would turn him into some fame-hungry monster—and rightly so.
Finn flicked Hailey a quick wink, hoping she’d snap to. Her face turned crimson and she slid her arms around herself protectively, toying with a lock of her long hair. The women around her, thinking the wink was for them, almost fell over themselves. This must have been what the Beatles felt like. Awesome. Indestructible. In control.
The band members crowded around him at the mike, belting out the chorus as if they owned it. Finn grinned. He was singing on stage in a concert. With a sweet group. Was being famous awesome, or what?
The song ended and Finn didn’t want to give up the mike. Pumped up from the high, he bounced off the stage, forgetting to crowd surf as he headed for the next best thing: Hailey.
He grabbed her in a bear hug and spun her around, knocking into several people.
“That was for you, Hails.”
“Hails?” she said, pushing him away.
“Hail Mary, full of grace, you make me do crazy stuff.”
“You can’t blame me for that.” She shrank against his chest as the crowd squeezed closer, people shouting over the music, congratulating him, praising him, snapping photos. Finn protected Hailey with one arm and smiled, then, snagging her hand, drew her to the back of the crowd. People were still snapping photos, slapping him on the back, making room for them to move. Royalty.
He stopped when he knew he was in line with Austin and his camera. Finn swept Hailey into his arms and planted a massive kiss on her lips.
New rumors would be starting tonight. And if she wasn’t going to play his way, he would push her until she realized there was no choice. This was his game and it was time he took control of it.
* * *
Hailey, warm in his arms, felt soft and right. In the midst of his fake movie-scene kiss, something twinged within Finn, and he drew her closer. Brought her right in. Nothing fake. Nothing held back. He caught her sweet mouth under his and deepened the kiss, putting all the emotions and excitement of the moment into what he was doing. Hailey trembled and drew back, sucking in air. In her blue eyes he could see her world spinning. It was all up to the universe. They were on a path that wasn’t their own.
And one that would likely get him slapped if he listened to his cock. Instead of cringing and waiting for it, he blocked her by leaning in, setting off sparks in her eyes as he dipped in for another kiss. And another. Meanwhile, he ran his hands over the hot, smooth skin of her arms and shoulders, across the silkiness of her dress to the sides of her breasts, feeling her, getting to know her, letting her know it was all right to release her passion. That he would reciprocate.
Finally, she slipped her arms up his chest and around his neck, giving in. He spun the two of them so she was pressed against a wall, maximizing contact as he breathed her into him while they kissed. He was falling into a rabbit hole. One he hoped Hailey would enter, as well.
When would he find a knee in his groin?
He closed in, blocking her just in case. He could barely believe she was tuning out the blaring band, the crowds, the catcalls, everything, and letting herself go free. With him.
His body responded to all the potential a strong woman like Hailey could bring and he ground himself against her. She let out a moan as she pressed against him, asking for more.
Oh, this was getting hot. They were going to have to move somewhere private. Soon.
He ran a hand down her chest, and suddenly she was out of his arms, leaving him propped against the wall, forehead pressed to the paint. She was a female Houdini.
Turning, he pulled her back to him by her hips, cupping her butt cheeks with both hands. She shoved him away, and as he moved forward to catch her again, he walked straight into the slap he’d predicted five minutes earlier.
“Back off,” she said.
The women gathered around them gasped.
His hand went to the stinging flesh and he barked, “Hails, what the hell?”
Her hands were bunched into fists and she looked like a bull about to charge. At him. For going too far, too soon. Too publicly. For making her feel passionate and sexual. For being too much.
He didn’t know whether to run for cover or wave a red cape at her.
Standing tall, he cornered her again. “You deserve to feel sexy and wanted.”
She let out a twisted laugh. “Just because I’m not famous and fake doesn’t mean I suffer from poor self-esteem. I have boundaries, you know. And one of them includes not being groped and pawed in public.”
Shit.
He’d known that following his cock would get her walls up and maybe push her into revenge via some juicy tabloid photos, but damn. Seeing her look so hurt and disappointed in him was horrible.
She pointed a finger at
him. “I mean nothing to a man like you, so don’t play games with me, Finian Alexander, because I know when Hollywood calls you back I’ll just be a pleasant romp in your memory for about the five seconds it takes to forget me. Meanwhile, I’ll be here feeling humiliated for letting you treat me like a piece of meat in front of my whole hometown.”
He held out a hand, aware that the audience was hanging on to their every word.
“Hails, come on.”
“Don’t.” She whipped her arm away from him with a glare and stalked down the plank flooring, faster and faster, until she was outside.
Gone.
“Want a shovel? That’s a pretty big hole you’re digging with Hailey.” Austin stood beside him with a large smirk that Finn wanted to wipe off his face, knuckles up.
CHAPTER 5
Finian Alexander was a jackass. How could she have forgotten that? How could she have let him touch her, all hot and full of longing, and with a passion that made her muscles weaken? Right there in public, with Austin snapping photos. Hailey was going to be just like all those other nameless women with his paws all over her on the front page of Celeb Dirt! How had he managed to sweep her up and make her feel special and wanted, when he was so obviously a jerk? She was embarrassed. He’d turned her into a ravenous vixen who wanted to fling him down on the first available horizontal surface and use her teeth to pull the clothes from his body.
Was it the panic of losing everything? Or was he really that irresistible? No, it was his job to be irresistible and sexy, not live in reality where things like emotions mattered. She needed to remember who he was.
But Heaven help her, the way he’d sung her favorite song with that catch in his throat…it had made it that much more meaningful. As though he had grabbed everything from deep within her and pulled it up and used it to make her feel things she’d never felt before. Like he understood. She fought off shivers and chided herself. That was a silly idea. There was no way she had anything in common with a bad-boy movie star.