Page 173 of Distress Signal

Now that I had my sister back, I wasn’t about to be separated from her again. Even walking out of the hospital and not having her directly in my sight took a Herculean effort.

In contrast to the one roach motel in Dusk Valley, Boise had a number of more upscale options to choose from, and Finn booked us a room at the one closest to the hospital.

When we entered, I flopped onto the bed, eyes drooping closed. Beyond the unconsciousness of being drugged, I hadn’t slept in over thirty-six hours. Now that the danger had passed, now that Lainey and Lane were going to be fine, all of my energy ebbed out of me until I was a puddle on the mattress.

“Are you sure you’re okay?” Finn asked.

I cracked my eyes open. “I’m fine. Great, actually, aside from being fucking exhausted.”

He reached for my feet, peeling off the slippers the hospital had given me and tossing them directly in the trash.

“Hey!” I protested, eyes flying open. “Those are the only shoes I have.”

Hell, I was still wearing my dress from the wedding, though Delia gave me the extra hoodie she had in their SUV, which had her family’s winery logo on the front. I’d cleaned up my face a bit at the hospital, swiping away the makeup that had streaked down my cheeks and crusted under my eyes, but the rest of me was rumpled and filthy.

“I’ll buy you new clothes,” he said, all of my protestations forgotten as he dug his thumbs into the arch of my foot. I groaned, eyes fluttering closed again.

“Don’t stop.”

“My two favorite words,” he murmured, and I could hear the smile in his voice.

I cracked an eye. “Thatis not happening tonight.”

Never did I think I’d see the day when I didn’t want to fuckFinn until neither of us could walk, but after everything that had happened, I felt dirty. Fatigue had settled so deep in my bones, I didn’t want to move from this bed for the foreseeable future.

“Didn’t say it was,” he agreed.

Dropping my one foot, I thought he’d move to the other and give it the same treatment. Instead, he came to my side and easily scooped me off the bed.

“Finn! What are you doing?”

“Thought you might want to take a bath.”

Now that the option had presented itself, I could think of nothing I wanted more.

The hotel was fancy enough to have a freestanding tub in the bathroom, pristinely white and large enough to fit meandFinn with room to spare. Finn propped me up on the counter, and the cold marble set goosebumps skittering across my skin. He crossed to the tub, twisting the handles and testing the flow until the temperature was how he knew I liked it—nearly hot enough to boil me alive—before he plugged it. On the vanity at my side was a collection of soaps and lotions, and he lifted one, inspecting it.

“How do you feel about eucalyptus?” he asked.

“Sounds fucking heavenly.”

He dumped the entire bottle in the water.

Once the basin was appropriately filled, he turned off the faucet and returned to me.

Reaching behind me, he lowered the zipper on my dress. “Arms up.”

I obliged, and he gripped the hem of the dress, lifted it over my head, and discarded it on the floor at his feet.

Though I remained clad only in a pair of panties, there was nothing sexual about the moment. We were merely two people who loved each other deeply, gazing into each other’s eyes, happy to be alive and sharing this moment.

I watched as he shed his own clothes, marveling at the strength of this man of mine—both physical and emotional.Being with him made me realize I’d only ever been with boys before. Even Troy, who was older than Finn, bought into bullshit gender stereotypes about remaining stoic in the face of adversity. To him, real men didn’t cry, and he would’ve been appalled by Finn’s earlier breakdown.

In my opinion, “men” who believed that weren’t men at all.

Once he was naked, Finn helped me down, then slipped his fingers into the waistband of my underwear and pulled them down my legs. I stepped out of them, but before I could get far, he lifted me into his arms and carried me to the tub, sinking in with me.

The steam and temperature weredivine, and I moaned as I settled back against Finn’s chest, resting my cast on the edge so I didn’t get it wet.