Bear Trapped (Bear Creek Grizzlies #5)

42. Lauren

LAUREN

R eality blinked slowly in and out as Lauren sprawled across Finn in the shower. The only realization that stuck with her was how the water stayed so hot for so long. It was like a damn miracle. She couldn’t even process the sheer ecstasy of lying there in Finn’s arms and letting him pleasure her while she flopped around like a beached fish and made entirely inappropriate noises that echoed in the beautiful bathroom.

It felt like an eternity and just a few minutes at the same time before he reached for the washcloth. Lauren stirred, ready to stand up, but he murmured something and kept her exactly where she was in his lap, their bodies still connected even as he softened. Finn quickly washed her, being careful but also not trying to get her all worked up again, then stood her up and made sure they both rinsed off.

The soap smelled lovely, subtle and spicy and utterly like him, and almost distracted her from how her knees wobbled when he finally got up. Finn turned off the water, careful to keep a hand on her so she wouldn’t fall to pieces, and lifted her out of the shower and wrapped her up in a towel from the fancy metal contraption—which was warm. A warm towel. She almost cried, wrapped up in it, and inhaled from the unbelievably soft fluffy terrycloth so she didn’t start sobbing like a child.

Everything he did was careful and loving, but natural. He did those things because he wanted to and they made sense to him, not because he expected something in return. Finn thought ahead and put towels on a warmer before the shower, something that wouldn’t have even occurred to her as an option, because he wanted her to have warm towels when stepping into the cool air. Lauren shook her head when he glanced at her, a little concern in his eyes, and she managed to smile and go up on her toes to kiss him. How did she get so lucky?

Finn kissed her again on the forehead, then swooped her up to carry back to the giant bed covered in luxurious sheets and a floofy comforter. No wonder she thought she’d been surrounded by clouds. He put her down and puttered around to find sweatpants and to rub his hair with a towel to dry it a little. Lauren would have done the same but she couldn’t get any of her limbs to actually cooperate.

Finn’s knee dented the mattress as he knelt on the bed next to her and leaned down to kiss her forehead and cheek and then her mouth. “Are you hungry? Thirsty?”

Lauren smiled and started to link her arms around his neck. “All I need is you.”

“Good,” he said, grumbly and growly. Her skin prickled and she stretched, ready to cuddle up and go back to sleep for an age. Finn kissed her, then murmured, “I’ll be right back. There’s something I want to give you.”

Her eyebrows arched as he untangled himself and went to another room, rummaging around loudly enough she sat up and got a little worried. What could he possibly want to show her? They’d only been there a few hours, at least she thought that was how long it had been. Maybe she was supposed to follow him. Lauren had just decided to figure out how to make her legs carry her into the other room when Finn reappeared.

His hair stood up in every direction, as wild as his beard, and he still wore only sweatpants as he hopped back into bed and nearly bounced her off the mattress. He held out a small box, grinning, and waited for her to take it. Lauren’s heart beat faster as she studied it. A jewelry box. A ring box? It looked and smelled quite old, definitely not something from the store.

She didn’t know what to say and turned it over in her hands for a long moment. What did it mean? He wanted to show it to her. Did he want her to admire it? She couldn’t get over the feeling it meant something more, but she didn’t dare jump to conclusions. Even after everything, he definitely felt too good to be true. Just handing her a ring… It was definitely too good to be true.

Lauren finally opened the box, holding her breath, and nearly dropped it. A small ring was inside, like she’d expected, but it took her breath away. It was pale gold with a small setting of stones: rubies forming small petals around a central diamond. It wasn’t ostentatious, it wasn’t enormous and gaudy enough to be obviously fake. It was small and tasteful and obviously really, really valuable. She swallowed the knot in her throat. “It’s beautiful.”

“It was my great-grandmother’s, and my grandmother’s, and my mother’s.” He watched her, occasionally glancing at the ring box. “I don’t have any other family, so it came to me. And I’ve been holding on to it ever since. Gave up hope I’d have someone to give it to.”

His voice got rough with emotion, and Lauren’s heart cracked for him. Such a beautiful heirloom. No wonder he wanted her to see it. Obviously it had been loved and handed down, carrying a great deal of commitment and family history. She smiled and offered the box back, too nervous to hold it for long in case she dropped it. “It’s very lovely.”

His dark eyebrows went up and he didn’t take the box. “I thought it could be your wedding ring.”

“My what?” She fumbled the box and sucked in a breath as she grabbed it with both hands.

“Your wedding ring. Or engagement ring. I don’t know the difference, but I want my wife to wear it.”

Lauren shook her head, trying to catch up. “I…what?”

Finn lost a tiny bit of his self-assurance and the casual relaxation as he sprawled on the bed next to her. “Uh…do you not remember me asking you to marry me?”

She sat straight up, not caring that the towel fell away and she didn’t even have sheets to cover her. It didn’t matter, since she could only stare at Finn. “You meant that?”

“Well, yeah.” Finn blinked. “Didn’t you?”

Lauren couldn’t breathe. She’d hallucinated all of those sweet things he’d said in the helicopter, or so she thought. But he actually meant them? That he wanted to marry her and be with her forever? “I just… I didn’t think I heard you right.”

Finn collapsed against the mattress next to her hip, laughing hard enough he actually jostled her too. Lauren watched in confusion as he flopped to his back, still chuckling. He wasn’t mad?

He sat up and then faced her, picking up her left hand as well as the ring box. “Lauren Tucker, you are the best thing that’s ever happened to me. I’ll say it every day until you believe me. Will you marry me?”

Lauren stared at him. For once her brain couldn’t produce a single thought, much less the flurry she was accustomed to. Her mouth worked soundlessly. Her mother would have laughed her ass off to see Lauren so flummoxed, although it would have been laughing at her instead of with her. And Finn’s smile meant he was amused with her, that Lauren wasn’t the joke.

Her vision blurred. “But you—we only met three days ago. You hardly know me.”

“I know what I need to know,” he said, smiling. He reached out and touched her cheek, and Lauren didn’t even jerk away like her instincts usually made her. Finn squeezed her fingers, still relaxed and confident. “I know you probably still have questions, but I have no doubts. None. I was waiting for you. Looking for you. I knew it the second I heard your voice and smelled you and looked in your eyes. You’re mine and I’m yours, and we were meant to find each other.”

She definitely couldn’t breathe. Lauren looked down at the ring and where he held her hand. He sounded so certain. So sure. But how could she be sure of him? He was too perfect. Everything he said and did was exactly right, at least once they got through the whole misunderstanding about whether he was a bounty hunter.

When Lauren just stared at him, still trying to process the slow-bubbling thoughts, Finn’s smile didn’t slip. “Then how about this. I’ll give you this ring, and when you’re certain of me, you put it on. Does that work? I’m all-in, darlin’. I know you might need more time to be sure of me. That’s fine. I don’t want you to feel rushed.”

“I can’t take this,” she whispered, trying to hand it back. “I’ll lose it. It’s too valuable. I’m not—I shouldn’t be trusted with…”

“Didn’t I tell you what would happen if you started talking down about yourself?” Finn eyed her, then leaned like he needed to see where her ass ended up in case he needed to spank her.

Lauren shivered, trying not to laugh nervously at how much the thought appealed to her and shot straight to her center with anticipation. She couldn’t be distracted from the actual problem in front of them: the fact that she couldn’t be trusted with something that valuable. He would be heartbroken if she lost the family heirloom or broke it or forgot it somewhere…

“Babe,” he said, and leaned to kiss her. Finn took the ring out of the box and slid it onto her fourth finger, then turned her hand back and forth to see how the gems sparkled softly in the half-light. “You don’t give yourself enough credit. But wear this for a little while, just so I can see it on you, then we can find something out of a gumball machineif it would make you feel better. I trust you to treasure this ring as much as I treasure you.”

She laughed, a little watery as her vision blurred and more tears escaped. How could he possibly have so much confidence in her, when she hardly believed in herself even a fraction as much? “I’m more worried about someone trying to steal you. Why don’t you have a ring?”

He chuckled and set the box aside, then caught her to pull her close for another kiss. “I’ll wear whatever kind of ring you want me to, babe. There is no one on this planet who could distract me for even a second.”

Lauren stretched out underneath him, enjoying his weight over top of her. Funny how it was a comfort instead of leaving her feeling trapped and suffocated. She combed her fingers through his beard and then down his neck, pretending to measure the thick muscle with her hands. “Maybe a collar with a nice little tag on it. Lauren’s Teddy Bear.”

He inhaled so fast he choked, and for a second Lauren braced for the annoyance, the rolling eyes, the dismissal. Instead, he started shaking with laughter and leaned down to kiss her. He took his time, enjoying every second of it and exploring every part of her mouth, then broke away to murmur, “I’ll wear anything you want me to.”

She laughed breathlessly, stretching out under him and letting her legs fall open. Surely it wasn’t too early to think maybe another round was out of the question? He wore those damn sweatpants, though, so even though she felt how much he’d recovered, there was still a barrier between them. Lauren wrapped her arms around his neck, still a little nervous about the unfamiliar ring on her finger, but she focused on him. He might actually wear a ring for her, instead of insisting it was something “just for chicks” and it was unreasonable to expect him to have a wedding ring.

“What about not wearing something?” she whispered.

Finn chuckled and groaned, kissing the side of her neck down to her shoulder. He shimmied down until her arms loosened, and then he began to kiss his way to her breasts, then her stomach, then… Her back arched and her head fell back, and she barely managed to hang on to his head as he made himself comfortable between her thighs.

How had she possibly gotten so lucky? He was perfect. Absolutely perfect. After so many years of everything going wrong, maybe the universe decided to make it up to her all at once. She didn’t even know where they were, whose house stood around them, what the future held… None of it mattered. Well, it mattered a little. But one thing she didn’t worry about was Finn not having a plan. He knew what to do. No matter what, he knew what to do.

She sighed and reveled in the soft sheets and his heated, smooth skin. He’d said she saved him, but that was just plain wrong. She was brave for a few seconds at a time, he was the one who had to carry the heavy burdens. She would help where she could, that was for damn sure, and she wasn’t going to let anyone hurt him . But she wasn’t really brave. It was okay. She’d never been brave.

And he loved her anyway. He wanted to marry her. Lauren had to bite her lip to keep from laughing hysterically and distracting him from the very, very good job he was doing teasing her to the most delicious orgasm that left her entire brain shorted out and all of her limbs jerking and twitching like she’d been electrocuted.

He would marry her. She would be Lauren…Finn? Her head popped up off the pillow and she looked down her body at where his dark head kissed her thighs and occasionally dipped lower to make her moan. “What’s your last name?”

He looked up at her, eyebrow arched. “Bordelon.”

“Oh. Okay.” Lauren lay back against the pillow and exhaled some of that worry. At least she wasn’t going to marry a dude without knowing his last name. “Thanks.”

His shoulders bounced as he chuckled, making her legs spread more, and Finn blew a raspberry against the inside of her thigh as he watched her. “Anything else?”

“I don’t think so.” Her voice went high as his fingers stroked leisurely against her, and she cleared her throat a few times. “You can—can keep… oh .”

“My birthday’s in April.”

She tried to concentrate. April. Right. His birthday. Probably good to know, but… “Oh. Oh. ”

He sounded on the verge of laughing at her again. “Originally from Louisiana, down in the bayou.”

Bayou. They had alligators. Or was it crocodiles? How did you tell? She tried really hard to focus but every time she got even the slightest bit of attention back, Finn did something incredible with his mouth or fingers and she was left completely scattered again. Her fingers worked into his hair and her thighs closed against his ears. “That’s—nice. But what if— oh my God .”

That time he definitely laughed. Lauren didn’t even mind. She sighed and just enjoyed his attention, not even thinking about the long list of shit she should have asked him or even asked herself. She wanted to be there with him, in the moment, feeling and listening and loving and just… being .

He loved her. And she loved him. And that was the only thing that really mattered.

Everything else would work out.