Heartbreaker(39)

Finn takes my arm, and before I can protest he steers me through the crowd. “Hey!” I try to stop him. “I was in the middle of something.”

“Clearly.” Finn doesn’t let go. He guides me down the hallway, looking around for something.

“Finn, let me go!” I demand. “What are you doing?”

“What I’ve been wanting to do ever since you walked in the damn house.” Finn yanks open a door and pushes me through it – right into a dark coat closet.

“Finn!” I protest again, turning, but my words are swallowed by his kiss.

Hot, hard, possessive. His mouth crashes down on mine, pushing me back until I’m up against the wall and there’s no escape from his passion, even if I tried.

Clinging to my last thread of sense, I wrench away. “Finn—”

He kisses me again, sliding both hands around my waist, his body hard against mine.

I know this is crazy, but my resolve wavers. This is sexy as hell, here in the dark with the party just a few paces away. I push him weakly. “We can’t,” I gasp. “We need to talk.”

“So talk.” Finn dips his head and kisses my neck. “I’ll just be busy, right here.” He bites down softly on my shoulder. My head spins.

Focus, Eva. Adult conversation.

Finn’s hands slide under my camisole, and God, his touch is fire, igniting me all over again. Desire curls through me, and it’s impossible to ignore. He’s here, so close. All mine.

Talk later. Kiss now.

I give up and pull him down, greedy, loving the feel of his body, every last inch. Here in this dark cocoon, I can forget everything, everything except the wild touch of his hands, and the ache he brings, like my body is calling out for the one thing it needs more than anything in the world.

Him.

I kiss him back, sinking into the wildfire heat, and the tantalizing slide of his tongue deep in my mouth. I moan against him, and his body tenses in answer. He pulls back. “Tell me you haven’t done this with him,” Finn demands, his voice hoarse with lust. He slides his hand possessively over the curve of my breast, making me shudder. “Tell me he hasn’t felt you like this, or seen the way you look when you’re coming undone.”

I shake my head. “We never,” I manage. “We didn’t even go on a real date.”

“Good.” Finn scowls. “Because I was just about ready to knock him out for laying a hand on you back there.”

His fierce possession makes my pulse kick, but I feel a spark of anger, too. “You don’t get a say in who touches me,” I remind him crossly. “You don’t own me.”

“Don’t I?” Finn yanks me closer, sliding one hand between my legs. His touch finds me, through silk and lace, and presses softly. I gasp at the rush of pleasure, and Finn gives me a victorious smile. “Tell me that again when you’re begging me to let you come.”

Damn.

I’m torn between begging him right now, and showing him I’m not so easily controlled. I hate how easily my body responds to his dirty mouth and tempting hands. But I love it, too. Nobody ever made me feel this way.

Finn strokes me again, inching my skirt higher, but with super human strength I pull away. “Not here,” I manage. “Someone could walk in.”

“And?” he asks, a wicked glint in his eye.

I flush, and he chuckles. “OK, we’ll have it your way. Outside.”

Before I can point out that’s not what I meant, Finn pulls open the door and peers out. “All clear,” he says, and takes my hand, pulling me after him. He grabs a blanket from the closet behind us, and a bottle of champagne from the table in the hall, then ducks out the back door.

I hesitate.

Isn’t this what I’ve been fighting all along? If I walk out that door after him, there’s nothing but heartache waiting for me – and incredible, bone-deep pleasure.

But if I stay, I’m playing it safe, the way I’ve done for years now: a neat, careful life with a heart that never breaks, but doesn’t have a chance to swell or beat, either. No chance to feel the storm crackling with electricity, or know the rush of total release.

“Eva?”

Finn stands in the doorway. My Finn. He’s wearing that heartbreaker smile again, the one that always takes my breath away.

My heart aches for him. Sometimes I think it never stopped.

The past can stay hidden, I remind myself. Secrets don’t have to be told.

I make my choice, and follow.





Thirteen.


Outside, the air is still warm, and the blast of music and lights is softened, filtering into the dark. We walk in silence down the path behind the house, under the lanterns that are strung all the way to the dock. I expect him to sit on the end of the wooden jetty like we did all those years ago, but instead, Finn climbs down the rickety ladder, down to a row-boat that’s tethered there, bobbing gently on the water.

“Come on, I want to show you something.”

I carefully climb down and join him in the boat, my heart beating faster.

“Where are you taking me?” I ask, nervous. I take a seat on the narrow wooden bench opposite him, holding on to the side to keep my balance.

Finn gives me a wicked grin and reaches for the oars. “Someplace nobody can hear you scream.”