Page 207 of Lost Lyrebird

“Hey, I didn’t ruin the surprise,” he quips, not missing a beat.

“What surprise?”I perk up.

His smile falls.“Oh shit.”

“Bodie!”Kendra screeches.

My gaze bounces between them.“What surprise?”Does my voice pitch at the end?Yes, it does, because I knew it.I knew something more had to be going on here.

Kendra moves to stand behind Bodie and covers his mouth with her hand.He tries to pry it away.I laugh as they struggle.

Bodie finally breaks free and yells, “Septic, come get your woman!She’s manhandling me!She tried to touch my penis!”

“I did not!You fat-faced liar.”She punctuates this statement by giving him a titty twister.

He slaps her hand away.“Ouch, Ken.That fuckin’ hurt.”He clutches his hand over his nipple and massages it.

“Oh, stop being a crybaby.”She has no sympathy and smacks his arm.“If I tell Goose you ruined the surprise, a titty twister is the least of your worries.”

“God, you’re so fuckin’ mean, woman.Go pick on someone else for a change.”

I laugh at their antics, the sound bubbling up unexpectedly and loosening something inside me.Then I spot Finn out of the corner of my eye, returning from wherever he disappeared to.He heads toward the bar, stuffing something behind it.The moment his eyes land on me, a slow smile spreads across his face.

He strides over, not bothering with pleasantries, as he pulls me off the stool and into his arms.I let out a soft laugh, but my heart pounds as his lips brush against my ear.“Miss me?”

“Maybe,” I tease, my hands sliding over his broad shoulders.I feel the firm muscle beneath his cut as I pull him closer.His familiar scent—leather, soap, and the leftover scent from the bonfire—fills my senses, wrapping me in a comforting haze.

Bodie watches us with a knowing smirk.“Don’t get too comfortable, Goose.I was just about to steal her away from you.”

Finn doesn’t even spare him a glance.“That right?”His gaze is locked on mine.His hand weaves into my hair.In the next heartbeat, he’s kissing me possessively.It’s a claim, a reminder that I belong to him and no other.The world around us blurs as he dips me back slightly, the cheers and wolf whistles fading into the background as I lose myself in him.

“Fuck, I found my new addiction,” Finn says while licking his bottom lip.”

“What?”

“Whiskey, on your lips, baby.Nothin’ like the taste of it from your mouth.”

His hands settle on my waist, the heat in his stare is doing crazy things to my body, lighting me up from the inside out.“Now tell this fool once and for all who you belong to, Lil’.”

“You.Just you.”

The corner of his mouth kicks up.“You sure?”

Going up to my tippy toes, I place a peck on his lips.“Never more sure.Why?You change your mind about me?”

He palms my face and combs my hair back away from it, tucking strands behind my ear.“Never.”

“Well, you two are just too disgustingly sweet for me.Please tone it down,” Kendra jokes.

Finn pulls me into his side and puts his arm around my shoulder.We bullshit with Bodie and Kendra for a bit before Griz joins our little group and gives Finn shit for “stealing his girl.”It’s only because we’re flush against each other that I feel Finn’s body tense, but soon after, he jokes it off all in good fun.

The moment passes, and after a while, I feel lighter than I ever have.The music cranks up around us, the beat thrumming through the floor beneath my boots, and the crowd grows louder.

“Come on,” Finn says, tugging me toward the dance floor.“Dance with me.”My heart flutters like there’s an excited bird caged inside with happy wings.His demand takes me off guard, but before I can question it, he pulls me toward the dance floor, weaving us through the crowd, and pulling me into his arms once we reach the center.

The weight of the night lifts, and my world zeros in on him alone.My arms circle his neck, his hands slide to my ass.After pulling our hips together, he grinds his lower body against mine.I softly comb my nails through his hair and lovingly caress his scar.His piercing gaze holds mine as we get lost in each other and the rhythm of the music.

There’s a slight crinkle beside the corner of his eyes, and a slight smile on his mouth.Brushing my fingers over his bottom lip, I say, “You could let that smile loose; you know?It wouldn’t kill you.”I tilt my head this way and that.“Come on, I know it’s there somewhere.”