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Filtering my fingers through his hair, I give the ends a slight tug to change the angle of the kiss. He groans, doing the same until we keep challenging each other to take the kiss deeper and deeper, my heart happily pitter-pattering away in my chest. His solid hand on my hip keeps me in place as he arches into me, his cock hard even with the layers of bulky clothes between us. Whoever thought jeans was a good idea is a damn bastard that I’d throat punch right now if I could. All I want is to feel him against me.
Instead...I feel something else.
I pull away as Maxie attacks my cheek with kisses. “What the...?” I sit up, and the dog pounces between us, kissing Finn first, then me. “Hey, little guy,” I coo. “This isn’t a threesome.”
Finn chuckles, but when he gazes up at me, his face falls. He quickly and gingerly moves me off him until he’s sitting on the edge of the bed, his head in his hands. I’m so taken aback by his abrupt stoppage that I just frown at him while the dog nudges my hand. Absentmindedly, I tangle my fingers in his fur and watch Finn struggle.
My heart pinches. At the same time, my lips still buzz with need. I’ve never been kissed like that. Never been taken so quickly into a haze I didn’t want to take a breath from.
Standing abruptly, Finn wrenches me out of my happy thoughts. He spins to face me, running his hands through his hair. His pants still tent in front of him as he frowns. “I can’t do this, Leenie. I’m so sorry.”
He may as well have knocked me clean out. I bite my lip to keep from showing the complete betrayal smacking me hard in the forehead and the lump growing in my throat.
“It’s not that I don’t want to. Fuck, I want to. That kiss...” He groans, rearranging his pants briefly. Calming himself down seems to take real effort, and he squares his shoulders afterward. “I have a job to do right now, and I’m taking it very seriously. I can’t watch over you and fuck you at the same time.”
I lick my lips, glancing away. “My brother put you up to this.”
“He may have threatened it, but it’s me saying it because I agree with him. I can’t protect you if I’m so lost in you. Not to mention that I’m sure my brother wouldn’t speak to me again if I fuck up our life.”
I swallow hard. My pride is taking a big knock, I’m not going to lie. If it weren’t for the adorable dog cozying up to me, I’d be lost. That’s not to mention the man saying these words to me is one I’m seriously attracted to both physically and mentally.
“Say something,” Finn pleads, opening his palms up with his hands at his side.
I let out a protest. “I don’t think there’s anything to say. I can’t take your room though, Finn. I want to sleep on the couch.” Talk about torture. Pining after the guy whose bed I’m supposed to sleep in.
He moves in front of the door like he’s going to block me. “Just let me do this one small thing. I’m so fucking sorry, Leenie.” He rests his hand on the door, takes one last look at me with tortured eyes, and leaves, closing the door behind him.
I fall back on the bed. Maxie places his head on my stomach. Of course I have to like the nice guy who won’t let go of his morals since he thinks he’s saving me. And actually, fuck, that might actually be a turn-on.
I pull out my phone and text my brother.Here. The place is actually really nice. Reminds me of home. Also, don’t worry, not getting laid tonight.
His response is a bunch of smiley faces with halos over them. So, I do the rational thing and send him a slew of middle fingers.
Afterward, I tiptoe out of the room toward Finn’s bathroom. Low voices drift up from downstairs but I don’t stop to snoop. Instead, I move into his bathroom. He must have picked it up before he went downstairs because there’s nothing to be embarrassed about in here. Everything is tidy. Clean towels lie on a metal shelving unit. The bathroom counter is clean of any gross number of things. The air, however, does suspiciously smell like Lysol.
I quickly brush my teeth, clean my face, and get ready for bed. When I return to Finn’s bedroom, Maxie isn’t there. He must have abandoned me, too. I end the night talking to Jaz on the phone and telling her the whole sordid story, which only reinforces her decision to have me seduce him.
Looks like that’s going to be more difficult than she planned.
* * *
Maxie jumpingup on the bed wakes me the next morning. I turn over to find the little guy’s tail swishing up a storm. Running my hand over his head, I give him a good pet, but then my fingers brush against something solid. I push up onto my elbows and stare down at the paper wedged into Maxie’s collar. I take it out, smiling when I read the note.I made pancakes. Don’t get your hopes up, but they’re probably edible. -F
“Why does he have to be so damn charming?” I groan to Maxie, but he just rolls over, offering me his belly, so I figure he won’t be of any help.
Despite the fact that I’m sure the pancakes are already done, I get ready at a normal speed because I absolutely refuse to go downstairs in my skimpy pajamas when he rejected me last night—and I’m trying to work up the nerve to face him anyway.
Fog still clings to the mirror in his bathroom as I brush my teeth. Today, I dressed in a plain black V-neck and jeans, glad I brought something other than clubbing clothes and lingerie to wear. Maxie is at my feet, following me everywhere and then bounding ahead of me as I head toward the stairs.
With the daylight shining through the windows, I have the same reaction as I did last night. The house is clearly nice. Old school charm but friendly and open. When I walk through the dining room-slash-office this morning, I notice a new small, square table with a gold linen tablecloth thrown over it off to the side.
“You got my message.”
I whirl around. Finn’s standing in the kitchen doorway with a stack of pancakes. He wears a hopeful smile along with his normal outfit of an MMA shirt with a pair of joggers. Lingering embarrassment from last night hits me, so I glance at the floor. “Yeah. Cute.”
Walking toward the table to place the pancakes down, he passes right next to me, so I take a step back. I’m not sure I trust myself to be super close to him. He pretends not to notice and watches me from the corner of his eye. “I wasn’t sure if he’d do it, but as soon as I told Max to go find the beautiful girl in my room, he bounded away.”
A smile creeps over my face, and I look everywhere but at his face.