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“I’m going to tell my siblings first, then my parents. But everyone else can fuck off. They’ll figure it out when they see us together. I don’t care about anything else anymore. I just want you, Finn.”

“Fuck, I love hearing you say that.”

“Yeah? What else do you love?” I tease.

“The way you hate to drink cold water, the way your eyes squint in pain before a panic attack, giving me just a moment to help ease it back before you spiral, your love of Marvel, the way that you are so unapologetically yourself with me, the way you put your family first, how hard you love, the way you fight and challenge me, your heart, the way you fuck.”

My heart nearly explodes with emotion, tears springing to my eyes. I’ve never been spoken to like that before.

“Fuck, I love you, baby.”

“I love you more than anything.”

Our lips connect in a long, passionate kiss, just a firm press of our lips together, our hands held tightly between us before we break apart.

“Are you sure you’re ready for this?”

“More than ever. Why?”

“I walked in on my dad with Lexi bent over his desk, skirt around her waist.”

I jump up onto my knees, pushing Finn hard in the chest.

“Ow!”

“I’ve been here for twenty minutes! Why didn’t you start with this shit?”

“Needed to make sure you were fully in it.”

I can feel the rage building in my bloodstream, my fists clenching hard. Are we seriously taking ten steps back again? Before I register what’s happening, which doesn’t happen often, Finn has grabbed me, flipping me hard ontomy back, bouncing slightly on the bed as he pins my wrists above my head, his legs straddling me.

“Get those thoughts out of your head or I’ll fuck it out of you, and trust me, I won’t be sweet about it. I was joking. I was going to tell you, but I was so surprised to see you and enjoyed you being so needy.”

My breathing starts to settle a bit; I believe him, I just want to know how this is going to affect us.

“Tell me what happened.”

“Are you going to be a good boy?”

I practically growl at him, my dick throbbing under where he’s sitting on my lap, his warmth seeping into me. I know he can feel how hard he makes me without even trying.

“Finn . . .” I say in a warning tone.

“I’m going to blackmail him into letting me go silently. I want a clean break from him in every aspect of my life. I want the ability to work wherever I want without the fear of him leering over me like a puppeteer.”

His words stun me. I know his relationship with his dad is emotionally volatile, but the effort and courage it takes to fight back is immense. I couldn’t imagine the weight of having a toxic parent, of loving them purely because they’re your parents, constantly trying to make excuses and justify their behavior, convincing yourself that you’re the reason for it—that somehow you’re deserving of it. I’m going to spend my life healing every single wound and scar left by his piece of shit dad.

“Are you sure, Finn?”

“I’ve only ever been this positive about one other thing in my life. So, yeah, I am.”

I know the answer before I ask it, but I want to hear it anyway. “Which is?”

“You, lover.”

I smile up at him as he releases my wrists, and my handsmove to either side of his waist, gliding up and down the smooth expanse of his torso.

“So, what’s our plan?”