Page 4 of Flynn (Foxy’s Rent-A-Date #4)

Holy smokes , Batman! I always knew Flynn was lethal to the female population, but I’d forgotten what it was like to have his attention so focused on me and have him so close.

Despite knowing who he was, his connection to the family, and that he was not a safe option, I couldn’t help the way my knees turned shaky around him and the way my sex-drive began entering into negotiations with my brain to act on my desires.

I wasn’t crazy, was I? The way he’d looked at me when he had me pushed against the wall had been all kinds of hot.

He’d considered kissing me; I was almost certain he had.

What was crazy, was the idea to give in.

This situation was messy enough as it was.

Making things physical between me and Flynn was asking for trouble.

We managed the rest of the way to the resort building with no issues, and the elevator ride to the fourth floor was awkward and silent.

We walked quietly down the brightly lit hallway, and I fiddled with the room key, my nerves oddly on edge.

I was leading him to the hotel room we’d have to share for the next few days, and my sex-deprived body was suddenly happy to pull out every dirty fantasy from my old box of Flynn Fantasies I hadn’t opened since he’d left.

Forcing myself to concentrate, I unlocked the door and stepped inside, holding the door open for Flynn.

He hesitated for only a moment, his intense eyes searching my face before he followed me in.

I kept my gaze averted, shut the door, and dropped my bag onto a nearby seat.

“We’re not expected to be anywhere for another few hours, so that gives us time to put together our story and memorize the facts.

You also said something about photos?” Flynn set his bag down on the cushioned seat by the window and peeked behind the gossamer curtain.

“Yeah, I find people believe things more if we can show proof of our lives before the event. Being that this is a lot closer to home, we’re going to need to be very convincing and have all our ducks in a row.

” Be very convincing… My mouth went dry at the thought.

What was I even doing? I’d already been on edge hiring a stranger to save face, but it had never really sunk in that we’d have to act like a real couple.

Now here, with Flynn, I was realizing we’d have to be…

close. We’d have to act like a real couple to actually sell this .

It was pathetic how much I wanted that. I raised my gaze to find him already looking at me, his eyes studying.

“Are you okay?” “Mmhmm,” I hummed and moved to the mini fridge for a bottle of water.

“And you realize what I mean when I say we’ll have to be convincing?

We’re not sixteen anymore. This isn’t a lie we need to maintain to get through dinner.

This is an entire wedding getaway.” “I know,” I answered, fanning myself.

“And we’re adults.” “I know that, Flynn.” His dark eyes held a mischievous glint in them as he edged closer to me.

No, that wasn’t the right word. He glided, stalked, prowled.

The way he moved screamed of sex and sin, and the way his eyes trailed down my body left me little doubt as to what he was thinking.

The Flynn I’d known when he was eighteen had already been cocky and confident.

But this Flynn had years of experience to back him up, and the confidence behind him was intoxicating.

He knew what he was doing, and my stars , a very large part of me wanted him to just get on with it and take me there on the bed.

“We’ll have to get close,” he added as he came to a stop in front of me.

I had to tip my head back to keep my eyes on him.

As if to prove a point, his fingers brushed the back of my hand and slowly drew up my arm.

My breath was shaky, but I forced myself to stay.

“Obviously,” I returned, proud of the confidence in my voice when all I wanted to do was yank him against me.

“You won’t be able to tense up or pull away in surprise,” he added.

I cleared my throat. “I know.” “You sure? Because you look panicked,” he pointed out, his grin knowing as he leaned closer.

“I’m not panicked,” I lied with a nervous laugh.

What the hell was I doing? This was Flynn!

And I never slept with a man on the first date…

or fake date. God, this was already so messy.

He leaned closer, head dipping dangerously close to my face, his body squaring up with mine so that I felt the brush of his belt against me, and I forced myself to maintain focus.

“And if I kissed you? Would you panic then?” My body flushed hot at the idea of kissing him, and I couldn’t find the words to respond.

Was he flirting because this was his job?

Or was this heat between us real? Flynn had meant something to me once—he still did—but I didn’t want to be a job to him.

I knew we’d have to act the part, to be close and even kiss, but I needed to square away my feelings and expectations first so when he left at the end of his contract, I wouldn’t be crushed.

When I didn’t respond, he pulled back and sighed softly, eyes concerned.

“Should I have turned down the contract?” I swallowed hard and thought about it for a second before shaking my head.

“No.” “Are you sure?” he asked. “Because you look ready to cry or laugh manically, and if you want this to work in a way that doesn’t blow up in your face, you need to get your head around this.

I just thought with me already knowing you and the rest of the family, we could be several steps ahead of where one of the other guys would be in this situation.

” I lifted the water bottle to my mouth to wet my suddenly dry mouth and forced myself to really think.

Flynn being here had serious advantages, yes, but also disadvantages.

There was a lot of history, family drama, and conflicts we’d have to navigate.

Our timelines would need to be perfect, and we’d have to explain why we were keeping our relationship a secret for so long.

Well, that one wasn’t too bad. We were worried how Ellis would react.

But having to deal with the fallout for a fake relationship might be too much.

“No, we’ve got this,” I said and dragged in a deep breath.

“This will work.” Flynn didn’t look like he fully believed me, but thankfully he let the subject drop.

“Okay, first, let’s take some photos, then we’ll work on our backstory and test each other to see if we can remember what we’ve come up with.

Keeping as close to the truth as possible will help with remembering facts,” he said, pulling a laptop of out of his bag and placing it on the small desk.

I stepped closer and he tugged his phone from his pocket before looking at me.

“Ready?” “What are we doing, exactly?” He grinned and looked around the room.

“We need to make these look like they could be from any time in the last three months. So, we’ll require a few outfit changes and hair style changes.

I’ll work on altering our backgrounds and the lighting.

Anything I can’t change here in the room, I can do with photoshop.

” “I have no idea where to start,” I confessed, beginning to feel overwhelmed.

There was still time to get out of this.

There was still time to confess to my best friend that I’d drunkenly misspoken and I had no boyfriend.

Feeling sick, I realized I had to come clean.

I had never been good at lying, it made me feel ill.

If I could just say the truth now, then I could save face later on and avoid a huge amount of drama.

Flynn being here was going to piss off a few people, the groom, namely.

My phone pinged, but I ignored it, wondering how to tell Flynn.

It pinged again, signaling a second text, then a third, a fourth.

I frowned and pulled it out to see Sofia’s name on my screen, showing several texts and an incoming call.

Crap, what now? “Sofia, hey—” “ You’re dating Flynn?

” she squealed so loudly I had to pull the phone from my ear.

My wide eyes flew to Flynn who stood staring at me with surprise, obviously overhearing.

“Uh—” “Is this why you didn’t tell me you were seeing someone?

Cause I gotta admit, hearing you had a boyfriend for the last few months—but who you had told me nothing about—stung.

But I get it now. It’s Flynn! But babe, seriously, you don’t have to worry.

I’ve always loved him, and Ellis will get over it,” she blurted excitedly before I could even say a word.

“Sofia, how—” “Check your messages. My mom saw you two together and wanted to know when Flynn and Ellis had made up,” Sofia explained before I could get the question out.

I put her on loudspeaker and opened my texts to see several photos of me and Flynn together at the coffee shop.

Some had us laughing; others had us looking serious with his hand on mine.

Okay… Flynn came closer to look at the photos, and I watched his face for any sign of regret or panic.

He was annoyingly hard to read. “I cannot wait to see you two tonight. Where is he? Can I say hello?” I opened my mouth, but no words came out.

I was stunned speechless, unable to form words.

Seeing my panic, Flynn leaned closer. “Hey, Princess Sofia,” he greeted with a small smile, a wealth of warmth in his voice.

Sofia squealed at hearing his familiar term of endearment, and I covered my mouth with my hand, wanting to laugh and cry all at once.

“I can’t believe you’re here! I am so excited.

Can I come see you now?” “Uh,” I started, having no idea how to answer.

“I had a long flight, and I haven’t seen Ara in a few days, so,” Flynn answered, leaving the rest of the sentence up for interpretation.

Sofia giggled. “ Oh , I get it. Okay, have fun, you two. And I’ll see you both in a few hours for dinner.

Oh, and Chiara? I’ll tell Ellis, don’t worry.

He’ll get over it.” “Umm, thanks, Sofia,” I muttered, sighing.

“Love you!” “Love you too,” I farewelled before hanging up.

The minute the line was dead I dropped my phone onto the bed and covered my face with my hands and groaned.

There was officially no backing out now, no changing the story, no calling it off and coming clean.

We were in this now, and I had to make sure we passed scrutiny from everyone.

Shoot! Strong fingers circled my wrists and pulled my hands from my face, and I sucked in a sharp breath at the zap of awareness the contact caused.

I raised my head to meet Flynn’s concerned gaze.

“You okay?” I swallowed at his gentle tone, at the soft look in his eyes, at the way my heart fluttered and skin buzzed with excitement.

My head was a mess of thoughts, memories, and emotions.

I wasn’t sure where to start. Panic seemed like a good place, but it was ultimately useless.

“Okay,” he said without waiting for me to respond.

He took my hands and tugged me over to the bed where he sat me on the edge before crouching down in front of me, my hands still in his.

“Take a breath for me, nice and slow.” I wanted to cry, but looking down into his sincere green eyes calmed a part of me, and I was able to follow his instructions.

My first few breaths were not slow nor were they steady, but with every new inhale, I began to relax and think more clearly.

“There we go, just breathe. Nothing bad has happened, and we can manage this,” he assured.

I gave a broken laugh of disbelief. “How?” “Easy,” he said with a casual shrug of his strong shoulders, his thumbs stroking over the tops of my hands.

“We know these people better than anyone. We have a story to work with. Let’s tweak it where it needs to be tweaked and take some photos.

By the end of it all, you’ll feel far more comfortable, I promise.

” Flynn had changed. I mean, I guess I already knew that, but seeing how calm and composed he was only drove the realization home.

He was steadier now, and there was less of that barely controlled rage simmering beneath the surface.

His confidence gave me courage, and I found myself believing him.

My gaze dipped to his hands on mine, big and steady, the kind of hands that could make a woman feel safe.

My eyes lingered on the tattoos that started at his wrists and wound their way up his arms to disappear beneath the tight material of his black shirt.

How much of him was tattooed? Would I find out?

Should I ask? “Ara?” I jerked at the sound of my name and my gaze flew back to Flynn watching me curiously.

“Okay,” I whispered and nodded. “Let’s do this.

Where do we start?” He hesitated a moment and got to his feet.

I felt the loss of his hands at once as he pulled his phone from his pocket again.

“We’re taking photos,” he announced before telling me how he could get creative with angles and editing to pull this off.

I wasn’t big into photography or photoshop, so I decided to trust that process to him.

I was preparing to stand when Flynn sat beside me and held up his phone to take a photo of us.

“First things first: smile!” He snapped several photos and when he scrolled through them, he laughed.

“What?” I asked, trying to see. He showed me the images, and I couldn’t stop myself from laughing either.

“They’re horrible!” “You look like I’m holding you at gun point and forcing you to be in the photo,” he said, shaking his head and deleting the photos.

Phew. “Let’s try again, just relax,” he coached and wrapped an arm around me to pull me in closer.

I sucked in a sharp breath, my body flushing with heat, and he turned his head to look at me.

“Think good thoughts, Ara,” he rumbled softly, and it was a mission all in its own.

I tried to ignore the flutters his voice created in my stomach.

Growing up, there had only been a handful of times he’d let himself be this close to me.

I’d constantly offered him physical types of comfort, happy to hug him or touch his hand or arm.

None of it had been in a way to urge him to want me in that way, but I’d always thought he was lonely and lacking real affection.

So, I’d tried to fill some of that loss, but I’d always been hyper aware of the fact that he kept himself stiff or leaned away as if he didn’t trust the contact.

It had broken my heart. But now… he didn’t suffer any such issues, and I kind of forgot about the camera as his gold-flecked eyes searched my face.

I couldn’t help taking in the changes to his face.

He was older now, obviously, but it didn’t show in a bad way.

The scruff on his face only made him look more masculine, dangerous, and yet somehow refined.

He was sexy, mature, and radiating confidence while wrapped in an air of command.

I didn’t need saving—not really—but Flynn was definitely a man I’d trust to do it.

He leaned forward slightly, and my breath stalled.

He reached up with his spare hand, my chin between his thumb and forefinger as he tilted my head back.

Everything in me screamed for more, while remaining frozen in place, desperate to charge forward but stuck in fear.

“Flynn,” I whispered, not sure if I wanted him to go further or pull away.

I mean, what were we even doing? We hadn’t seen each other in years, and here I was practically powerless against the man, and he’d barely touched me.

Something in his eyes flared when I said his name, and the way he clenched his jaw so that the muscle there ticked wildly sent some long dormant, feminine part of my brain into a frenzy.

Closing his eyes, he inched forward. I didn’t pull away, wanting more but fearing reaching for it.

Flynn was forbidden fruit. He was dangerous to me on so many levels, now more than ever.

I made good choices… but Flynn was a weakness for me.

The moment his lips brushed mine, so featherlight it was barely a touch, my eyes fluttered closed and I let myself feel it for a second.

Without warning he pulled back sharply and stood.

I shot back as if I’d been stung, but Flynn wasn’t looking at me but was instead scrolling through his phone.

“Okay,” he said before he cleared his throat.

“I think we have some usable images in here. You should change your clothes and change your hair a little. I’ll do the same and we’ll keep going,” he said, a level of forced professionalism in his tone, all without looking at me.

My mind was still reeling and embarrassment was slamming into me in waves.

I was mortified I got carried away and forgot why we were so close and that he was even taking photos.

I’d gotten swept up in the moment, and I hated that.

I didn’t say anything, but I turned my back and riffled through my pile of clothes.

After pulling out a few shirts at random, I hurried to the bathroom and locked the door behind me. What the hell had I gotten myself into?

~ Flynn

Fucking hell! Obviously a job like this required a certain level of intimacy, and since it was Chiara, I was all for it.

But I hadn’t counted on how potent she was, how tempting.

All my jobs had required kissing, touching, dancing, and things to prove we were a couple or on a date.

I’d never had trouble keeping myself in check before.

But with Chiara? Was I struggling because we had history, and this wedding was so close to home?

Or was it Chiara? I’d always wanted her.

Was this years’ worth of pent-up need and desperation for answers all spilling forward?

I wanted her, and I hadn’t refused myself very much since coming back from the Army, especially not a woman who wanted me too.

But I needed to handle this thing with Ara carefully.

That was going to be a massive pain in the fucking ass because I wanted to drag her back to the bed and have my way with her.

I craved a taste of her, to hear her moan and say my name in that breathy little whisper again.

Christ. I was struggling already. This wasn’t good.

I thought I’d have to coax her into letting me close, into letting me touch her as a couple would touch, but I’d been wrong.

Sure, she was nervous, but she seemed more worried about being caught than she was at acting this role with me.

If she’d been less into me, it would have been easier to deny myself.

The way she’d said my name—shit. You’re not good for her.

The reminder helped me to drag in a deep breath.

I glanced down at the photos I’d taken of us, my stomach tightening.

Seeing her there with me, her desire plain as day, was a torture I hadn’t expected.

I had a thing for Ara when we were growing up, but she’d been younger than me, innocent, pure—everything I wasn’t.

I hadn’t wanted to taint her, and that thought was at the forefront of my mind every time we spoke.

It made it easy to ignore any attraction I had for her.

Well…until my last night at home. But now we were both fully grown, unattached adults sharing a hotel room and playing the part of a couple.

It was expected that we’d be close, that we’d share some kind of intimacy.

I wondered how much restraint I really had where she was concerned, especially with her looking at me the way she had.

Swallowing hard, I flicked over to my social media page and looked at my last post. It was an image of my plane with the caption, “On my way to a wedding!” I changed my status to “in a relationship” and then uploaded a snap of Ara and I kissing with the caption: “Well, I guess the cat’s outa the bag now, baby!

” Not wanting to think about Ara getting changed in the bathroom only a few feet away, I pulled up the photoshop program and uploaded another photo.

I had just finished making it look like we were at a park when the door opened.

I turned back to look at her and had a flashback to when we were teenagers.

She loved her dresses and skirts, but she rocked the flannel and pair of jeans she was wearing now.

Back then, I’d pegged her as a delicate flower who didn’t do hard labor, but whenever Uncle Trevor had work for us to do, she was right there with us helping.

I’d rebuilt the old shed out the back of his house with Ara and Sofia at my side, and we’d done a fucking good job of it.

“Is this okay?” she asked, her tone uncertain.

I snapped out of my memories and grinned.

“You look great. Hang on, we’ll grab some more photos,” I said and scooped up my phone.

Her face was still flushed, and I’d admit, I loved knowing my presence did that to her.

“You good?” I asked. “Y-yeah, just it’s all happening so fast,” she admitted in a rush.

“I know,” I agreed and stepped closer to her.

“But we’ve got this. Trust me, Ara. I won’t let anyone walk away wondering if your story is true.

” At my promise, her eyes grew wide, and I knew she was wondering if my words were a promise or a threat. I was wondering the same thing.