“Oh?”
“I was behind you. I saw nothing.”
“Damn,” I said. “That’s too bad.”
I started to walk into the bedroom and Finn put his arm across the doorway, blocking me. “Too bad for yourself. Enjoy the couch.”
“Really?”
“Unless…”
“Unless what?”
Finn eyed down at my chest then back to my eyes.
“Are you fucking serious?” I asked. “You want me to flash you? How old are you?”
Finn shrugged his shoulders. “It’s only fair. I saved your life.”
“Correction. I saved your life.”
“Correction. You’re in my cabin. Alive. Safe. With a warm fire.”
I curled my lip. I stepped back and grabbed the bottom of my shirt. “Fine.”
I started to lift and Finn let out a laugh. He hurried at me, putting his hands to my bare, exposed skin. He pushed at me, making me let my shirt go and grab his shoulders as I thought I was going to fall.
His hands slid up my shirt, his thumbs touching the bottom of my bra.
He grinned with the worst intentions that could end up being my best fantasy.
“Sleep in the fucking bed,” he whispered. “I’ll take the couch and make sure everything is good.”
“You don’t…”
Finn spun me around and let me go. He walked away with the butt of the gun hanging out of his back pocket. Christ, why was it so sexy to see? I’d dealt with men and guns for a long time being tied to Zander but Finn was…
I heard a door slam.
A second later water turned on.
I gripped the doorway to the bedroom and bit my lip. He was in the bathroom, naked. I casually reminded myself that this wasn’t some date or some kind of hookup. This was a serious thing.
I waited right there until he was done.
He came out of the bathroom in a towel and nothing else.
My eyes widened at the sight of his body. Smooth, cut with muscle, lines that climbed out of the towel and drew the rest of the magnificent sight before my eyes. Up to his perfect chest, cutting across to his shoulders… his right arm bare, his left arm - from shoulder to wrist - covered in the tribal design tattoo.
I couldn’t walk because I couldn’t breathe. I couldn’t breathe because of the deep surge within my core. My toes curled as a throb began between my thighs. A pulsing ache that ended up leaving my panties tugging against my body.
“You okay?” Finn asked.
“Yeah,” I lied.
I was not okay. Not at all.
Between the night and Finn… between my body and mind…
I was so fucking far from okay.
And I was going to make it worse because there was no way in hell Finn was going to ditch me.
He went into the bedroom and dropped the towel. His ass was perfectly cut, curved, and thick with muscle.
No way in hell he’s ditching me…
I wanted to do much more now than just flash him.
9.
(Finn)
The coffee tasted like shit. But it was coffee.
Night had come and gone without any problems. Nobody found the cabin and attacked us.
I was alone; Shayna was still in the bedroom, presumably sleeping.
I finished my coffee and walked to the window.
Nothing was supposed to be like this. That was the most fucked up part of it all. I was never supposed to get involved with Fiore. I was never supposed to turn into his prized fighter. I was never supposed to be wanted, demanded, showcased in underground illegal fighting. Some kind of outlaw celebrity with a clean cut face and a chip on his shoulder.
I had been straight, like Cormac. I had been right there, right at the cusp of it all. Standing in the corner of a ring, eyeing my opponent, studying his arms, legs, muscles, his scars. Knowing every fear and weakness of his that was about to step into the middle of the ring. And then I would exploit it. If they were lucky, they’d get knocked the fuck out. If they were tough enough to stay afloat, they’d still leave defeated, with a hell of a lot more wounds than they intended.
But it was all taken away. Stripped away. Ripped away.
Completely fucking destroyed.
I looked around the kitchen.
This was going to be a getaway. A place to hide from the busy world and busy life. A place to come and beat up on pieces of firewood instead of other people. A place to call home.
I sighed and knew none of it really mattered. The past was gone. Long gone. This was about reality now. I had to go face Fiore and figure out what to do next. If I didn’t go see him, he’d come looking for me. One thing I learned was that if you fucked up, you better tell Fiore. If he caught you hiding or lying, you were done. And Fiore wasn’t the type to just kill someone. He had some pretty gross techniques to keep someone alive for a long time before they ultimately let go.
I didn’t need that.
I walked to the bedroom and lifted a hand to knock on the door. Then I remembered it was my room and I just opened the door. Shayna was still in bed, curled up in my blankets, sleeping in my bed. I went to the bed with full intentions of kicking it, shaking the mattress, waking her ass up.
Instead, I slowly sat down on the edge of the bed.