28. Lauren
LAUREN
F inn’s voice rose and fell in the back of the cabin as he argued, but Lauren didn’t even try to eavesdrop. She had enough of her own problems to worry about, she didn’t need to borrow any of his. Despite the small part of her that looked forward to a fresh start somewhere safe and new with him, the rest of her knew it wasn’t going to last. Good things—things like Finn—didn’t happen to Lauren Tucker.
She waited under the sleeping bags, listening to the crackle and pop of the fire, and debating getting up to make breakfast. She needed to use the facilities outside and probably take some kind ofbath, then figure out getting back to town on foot through a heck of a lot of snow. Finn brought food with him but it wasn’t enough to feed both of them for days on end. Plus the toilet paper supply would give out much sooner, and the condoms way before that with the rate they went through them the night before.
Her cheeks heated and she pulled the sleeping bag over her face. It didn’t matter who she was with before, she couldn’t help but compare Finn to all those guys who tried to slip the condom off in the middle of business or pretended not to have one at all. Finn had been diligent to say the least, and not for a second did Lauren think he’d let an accident happen. Of course, it might have also been because he didn’t want to get stuck with her for eighteen years.
She pushed the thought away and tried to make a plan in her head for how to deal with being a fugitive and still fitting in wherever Finn lived. He said he lived with a bunch of people; were they all bears? Were they all as understanding as he was when it came to having a questionable background? She’d have to be a homebody to avoid being seen by bounty hunters or cops or any of the old group of environmentalists and cryptozoologists she knew, which was too bad since it sounded like Finn was more used to being out in the world. Even if he preferred the woods, it was different from choosing to be there and having to be there because he had the bad judgment to care about a fugitive.
She pushed up on one elbow as Finn grumbled and returned to the room. “Everything okay?”
He sighed and her heart sank. That didn’t sound good. But Finn knelt down on the mattress next to her, leaning forward to kiss her slowly. By the time they parted, her head spun with hearts and stars and possibilities. His nose bumped against hers. “There’s a small problem I need to address before we can figure out what to do next.”
“Can I help?” She wanted to be useful, to help out. To be part of his life the same way she wanted him to be part of hers, and not just because he sounded more than capable of resolving any problems she ran into. Lauren hadn’t been useful in so long she’d forgotten what it felt like. The last time she actually helped out was probably as a kid washing the dishes and cleaning up after her mother passed out. It was probably the last time anyone told her she’d done something right, and that was only the latest dirtbag boyfriend who stole from her mom’s purse and left before she woke up.
“Nah,” Finn said. He smiled and his teeth looked a little sharper than she remembered. “But first, we have some unfinished business to take care of.”
It took her a second to catch his meeting, then her face heated all over again. “I don’t know if there’s time for that.”
“I can be quick.” Finn grinned and stalked closer, large hands flexing at his sides. “The only question is whether you can be, too.”
She laughed, shivering in anticipation. “It’s hard to say. Depends on if you put your mind to it.”
“Yes ma’am,” he said. She squeaked when he jumped on the air mattress, almost launching her up in the air. Finn caught her quickly and just as fast got rid of the sleeping bag. Lauren had half a second to consider what was happening and then he’d tossed her legs over his shoulders and his head appeared between her thighs once again. “Buckle up.”
She would have laughed again but the slow, flat sweep of his tongue along the whole length of her slit rendered her speechless. Her head dropped back against the tangled mess of sheets and pillows and her hands worked into his hair as she sighed. And when she moaned, just as softly as she sighed, Finn took it slow and rushed at the same time.
How was it possible for a man she’d known for a matter of days to completely destroy her? Lauren hadn’t even known anyone like him before. He was so confident and capable and felt zero need to brag about it or posture or pick fights to prove how tough he was. He just was , in everything. For the first time in her life, she knew with total certainty that if she told a guy she was done and wanted him to back off before he got his own happy ending, that there wouldn’t be questions or pressure. She knew , all the way to her bones, that Finn would walk away, after making sure she was okay and happy, and not complain about it for a fucking minute.
Which made it so much easier to lay back and enjoy the masterful performance. She definitely appreciated his single-minded focus as she reached her peak in record time, and gripped his hair with both hands as she rode out the ripples of ecstasy and chased after every second of pleasure. There was no telling how long she’d actually have Finn to herself, she’d damn well take advantage of it as long as possible.
She sprawled on the air mattress, not even caring that he wiggled upright and then flopped back down next to her to draw his fingers across her stomach. Lauren should have been a little self-conscious about how much she’d moaned and called his name, or at least about her body, or maybe just for being poor, but it helped to know that Finn didn’t give a shit. He very obviously didn’t give a shit.
He nuzzled behind her ear and sucked on her neck, chuckling. His palm flattened across her middle in a comforting weight that kept her anchored to Earth when she might have floated away. “What do you want for breakfast? I can make eggs.”
She cracked one eye open to look at him. “What are you talking about?”
“Breakfast,” he said. His large body half-covered her as he sprawled and pressed his bare skin against her. She felt all of his interest, an iron hard reminder pressing against her hip, but couldn’t connect his words to the obvious situation they were in. “I have dehydrated eggs or we can do protein powder until I can hunt up some… What?”
Lauren covered her face, not wanting to laugh in total disbelief. It was too much like the night before when he’d offered to back off and let her be the only one to get an orgasm out of their sweaty naked time. She smiled, running her fingers through his hair to try and comb it back to some kind of order after she’d messed it up. “You’re ridiculous.”
“So no to the eggs.”
She had to remind herself that it was just as ridiculous to fall in love with someone after a day and a half. It was impossible to really love someone so quickly, and yet there wasn’t any other word for what she felt when she listened to Finn being so unbelievable. “No eggs right now. There’s something else I want.”
And she reached down to reacquaint herself with his body.
He blinked, eyebrows arching, then a slow smile spread across his face. “Oh? Is it something I can…give you?”
Lauren laughed, but reveled in the way his expression changed as she stroked his cock in a smooth twist. “Yeah, I think so.”
Finn groaned and his hand slid into her hair, pulling her in for a long, slow kiss that made Lauren’s toes curl. There was something even hotter about making out while she basked in the afterglow and touched him so intimately. Finn finally broke away, breathing raggedly, and caught her hip. “Okay, you’re going to kill me like that.”
She stretched, feeling sexier than she had in years, and slid her hands down her sides as she waited for him to figure out what to do next. She didn’t mind relinquishing control to him. Almost literally anything he wanted, she would give him and knew she’d probably enjoy it more no matter what. He retrieved another condom and his breathing almost returned to normal as he leaned down to kiss her again. “What do you say we try something new?”
Lauren knew how she wanted to feel him and rolled to her stomach, glancing back at him as she arched her back and pushed her ass in the air. “What do you have in mind?”
“You’re so bad.” But he groaned and growled at the same time, and smacked his palm on her ass so it jiggled and made her gasp. Heat surged through her and Lauren gripped double fistfuls of the sheets so she didn’t yelp. Lightning sparked in his suddenly gold eyes, and Finn moved behind her, leaning down close and letting her feel his weight. “Does that mean you need a spanking?”
She almost passed out from trying to act normal. Holy shit. How was that such a turn-on? She pushed her ass back into his body and dropped her forehead to the mattress as she tried to figure out what to say to that. Beg him for more? Beg him not to? Some kind of dirty talk that made her feel all sex kittenish?
His beard tickled her shoulder as he growled and kissed the back of her neck, then let her feel his teeth in the soft skin where her shoulder met her neck. His arm slid under her and hauled her hips up, wrapped around the top of her thighs so she couldn’t pull away, and his cock pressed hard and demanding between her thighs. Finn grumbled as he covered all of her, dominant from weight and position. “We’ll save that for a little later, hm?”
Her heart raced at the promise. Anticipation grew as he put her in the right position, gripping her hips as he stroked the head of his cock along her slit. Lauren closed her eyes and put everything out of her mind but the feeling of his heated skin, rougher than hers, and the strength in his grip as he held her tight. As his thighs pressed against the backs of hers. As he leaned forward and the thick cock head pressed sloooowly into her.
She gasped and started to pull away from the slight discomfort of the stretching as he worked himself in deeper. But Finn tsked her and tightened the way his arm wrapped under her hips, keeping her in place as he withdrew and thrust so slowly once again. Lauren shivered and tried to figure out what the hell to do. Had he been that large the night before? How the fuck had she managed to fit that inside her without splitting open?
“You’re so sexy. I love hearing the sounds you make,” he murmured, free hand sliding down her back in a reassuring caress before he gripped her shoulder. “We’re just going to…”
And then he grunted as he thrust forward. Lauren sucked in a breath as his cock plunged deeper, filled her all the way until she wondered how it was possible that both of them hadn’t fallen to pieces. Finn panted and put his weight on where his elbow rested on the mattress. He kissed her shoulder. “How’s that?”
“Almost perfect.” She struggled not to immediately rock back to press him deeper and encourage him to move.
“Almost?” Finn snorted and his hand slid down her hip and under her stomach to where they joined, and then…
When he teased her clit in time with a slow thrust and retreat, she almost passed out. Her muscles wouldn’t hold her up and instead she dropped her forehead to her folded arms to hopefully stifle some of the absolute opera singer-quality hollering she did. It was a damn good thing Finn held her hips up; otherwise she would have been flat on the mattress and totally unable to help either of them get off.
“Still almost?” he asked, sounding a little short of breath himself. His fingers dug into her hip as her body clenched in response to the teasing.
Lauren’s thoughts scattered but in the best possible way. “So close.”
“So close,” he echoed, huffing laughter before he dropped down to cover all of her with every inch of his body. “So you want my A game.”
She laughed a little herself but wanted to preen and stretch as his sweaty chest slid against her back. Holy shit. Was sex like this all the time for some people? No wonder everyone wanted it so much. She’d never known it could be so good all the time with someone else. Sure, getting herself off was one thing, but to have a guy as sexy as Finn doing all the work to do the same…
Lauren grabbed onto the sleeping bag so she didn’t scream as Finn pushed her over the edge and she came— hard —for like the fifth time. Maybe she wouldn’t survive his A game.