Chapter 15
FINLEY
“Wake up, Angel,” the whisper pulls me out of the sun-bleached blankness. “…got to get ready for dinner.”
“Mmm… not hungry,” I whine when calloused fingers tickle across my exposed waist.
“That’s not what your stomach is saying,” Elijah chuckles.
His body leans over me on the sun bed, blocking the heat so a shiver wakes me fully.
His polo hangs open, hem skimming deeply etched abs.
Pale skin like warm alabaster, kissed by the faintest tan.
When his lips press to my stomach, I go perfectly still, hands gripping the edge of the lounge, waiting for the kiss… and then he blows a long raspberry.
A very ungraceful snort-laugh bursts out of me. I twist and bow, mouth brushing his abdomen. Briny musk and clean sweat, his taste lights up every sense. Sleep evaporates as he nips my skin and pulls back with a contented smirk.
I sit, turning on the sunbed. He’s still braced on the chair back, forearms crossed along honey-brown wood, assessing me.
My heart’s berserk, my body buzzing from his touch and taste.
Something’s different about him—lighter, not in his face, but behind his eyes, like the sun chased out some of his shadows.
I like it. It quiets the fear. He wouldn’t look at me like this, touch me like this, if he didn’t want me.
“Want to go for a walk on the beach after dinner?” he asks, brow hitching in a playful dare.
“Yes,” I say, even as my body goes still with fear. “I want to, but…”
“Come here,” Elijah says, offering his hand. I take it, and he pulls me up, steps around the lounger, and engulfs me, arms around my shoulders. “We’re not letting that piece of shit ruin any more of our life, Fin. He will never hurt us again. He’ll be a dead animal before he ever comes near you.”
I shudder at his words; the picture of the lamb’s head that was sent to me not long ago haunts me.
“A dead animal, ” I swallow. “Elijah…”
“A dead animal,” he asserts, not allowing me to argue when he carries on, “You’ve got me and Jayden. We’re your defense, and we’re fucking epic at it.”
With a hard press of his lips to my forehead, he rocks me from side to side. I feel the vibration of his humming before I hear it, a gravelly melody warms through me, and I melt into him.
“You remember…” I whisper into the top of his chest, breathing in the peppery citrus and earthy sweet blend of his and Jayden’s scents. As perfect as meant to be.
“It’s the best memory I have of that place, sweet girl. You, me, the twinkle lights, and this record on repeat.”
“I never liked Elvis until that day.”
“I would endure every ounce of pain, live through all of it again for that one night, Finley-James.” His hand slides down my arm to where I cling to his waist. He spins me so my back is to his front, mouth at my ear. “You are more than worth it all.”
Arms crossed over me, he walks us to the glass balustrade while singing the worst version of Can’t Help Falling in Love with You. For every talent he’s been blessed with, singing is not one of them. Still, I love the off-key rumble in my ear.
“This is my favorite stop. The hotel is the best, and win or lose, the game is always exciting against The Fury.”
We’re high enough that people below look like ants and cars like toys. It would be dizzying if the sun didn’t feel close enough to touch.
“I love being in LA. The guys have become my family, and it’s where I’ve made my home. I don’t think we’ve ever had a real home. Have we?”
“Not one where we belong.”
“We have a home in LA now, Fin. You, me, and Jayden.” The way he mentions us together sounds right. We sound like a family. Like we are as perfect as meant to be.
“Have you always felt like that? At home with Jayden?” I tilt my face to catch his profile.
“Yes,” he says without hesitation, dipping to nip the tip of my nose. “The same way I’ve always felt with you.”
“Like you can just be?” It’s how I feel with them both.
“I can just exist,” he murmurs over my lips, finishing my thought before grazing my mouth. “Do you trust me?”
“Always.” The breath in my answer doesn’t waver.
“Come with me,” Elijah says with a quick kiss, leading me inside.
The room is decorated in whites and light grays, airy and calm, with teak accents warming everything. When we arrived, I didn’t really take it in. I needed the time to check in with myself, replenish my energy reserves, and let the day’s chaos settle.
Elijah guides me into the bathroom and lifts me onto the vanity, then rummages in Jayden’s wash bag and pulls out his body wash.
“What are you doing?” I ask when he beams up at me.
“You said you trust me.” He winks and heads to the massive tub in front of floor-to-ceiling windows.
He flips the water on; rain sings from the ceiling as it spills into a bath big enough for two of us twice over. He pours Jayden’s soap, then returns.
“Bathe with me?” he asks, hands smoothing up my thighs.
The soothing patter morphs to a brutal hiss. My pulse cuts through my veins, hard and fast. I can’t think to breathe or speak through my dry throat and mouth.
“I’m going to sit in the bath, and you can lean into me. I’ll hold you the whole time, Fin.”
Elijah unbuttons his polo and pulls it over his head, all that beautiful skin on display. Until I find the scars… the scabs. My finger traces the lines along his ribs. He doesn’t move or speak, allowing me to explore his body. Even when he stiffens.
When I look up at him, he greets me with a faint smile. “So?”
“Okay,” I whisper back through my gnawing fears. “As long as you don’t let me go.”
“Never.” His smile grows bigger. “Ever.”
Slowly peeling my t-shirt off me, he leans into me. His mouth ghosts over my jaw while he pulls it up my extended arms and discards it on the floor with his.
I’m half naked as Elijah peppers kisses over my face and shimmies his chinos down his legs, along with his underwear.
He toes it all off, still covering my face in his soft kisses.
Light and playful, he is more like the boy I remember than that boy might have ever been.
So wonderful that he is the sole focus of all my attention.
Warm hands loosen my jeans, and he pushes them down as he crouches. His mouth traces my body from lips to throat to sternum, lingering open-mouthed where my heart hammers.
“Mine.”
I shake my head, bringing his hand to my chest. “You. This is you, Love.”
Emotion ripples across his face, deepening his gaze. He kisses lower and lower, and I brace on his shoulders to step out of my bottoms. He hugs my legs and kisses the flat of my belly.
“Fin…” Wet and hoarse, his voice trembles across my goose-pimpled skin. “I’m sorry.”
I don’t know what the apology means. What it’s for.
“Elijah?”
His arms tighten around my thighs, as if to keep me from bolting. He peppers kisses above my navel and buries his face in my stomach.
“I love you,” he breathes between kisses, the words seeping all the way down. “I will always love you.”
Flames lick deep and hot in my belly. I gasp when he nips my skin and then nuzzles to the apex of my thighs, hands cupping to open me. He licks and kisses over the bite marks Jayden left.
They’re yellowing and fading, much to my disappointment. I want him to do it again, and as if he hears it, Elijah bites around the lightest mark and sucks until it burns, pulling off with a soft pop.
“Eli… Love…” I moan, tunneling my fingers into his mess of knotted hair as he licks over my thigh with a savoring hum.
It’s the most intoxicating sight. This beautiful, strong man, on his knees for me. Worshipping my body with reverent kisses.
A flush blooms across his face as he cups me. Without hesitation, he pulls my tampon, tosses it into the sink, and rises. His length is hot against my belly while his deft fingers free my hair.
“I love how he looks on you. His marks on your skin… my skin,” he drawls in my ear.
My hands cradle his jaw. “I love watching you with him. I love the sounds you make when he kisses you and how breathless you make him.”
“You really want this? Us. You, me, and JJ?”
“In every way,” I tell him, leaning back so he can see the certainty and the ache. “You and me, me and JJ, JJ and you… I want it all.”
“Me and Jayden,” Elijah murmurs, not really a question and not really a statement. More of a wondrous musing that he worships me with when I nod, twisting my fingers in his hair so he can’t pull away when I suck his lip into my mouth and sink my teeth down on the plush flesh.
After this morning, I won’t let him retreat. I can’t be without him anymore.
“Elijah,” I breathe, drinking in his hot breath, “I’ve never seen anything as beautiful as the two of you together. I’ve never wanted to be a part of something so, so damn much as I want to be a part of you and JJ.”
“You are, Fin,” he says, lifting me and carrying me to the tub. “You are ours, Finley-James, and we are yours.”
Setting me on my feet, he steps into the bath and holds out his hand. My heart, already racing, punches into my lungs as my gaze trails over him—every contour, every line.
My Lord, I cannot get over how manly he is. Every inch of him has matured. Although I’ve seen him naked, had him inside me… felt the strength that’s physically etched into his person, I am struck by the sight of him nude.
I swallow when my eyes stall over the thick length of him. My insides buzz, needing him.
He clears his throat, and I finally look at the water—shallow, really—but logic fritzes under the panic’s churn.
“You’re safe with me, Angel.” The rumble of his voice brings me back to his eyes.
“I know.” I tremble and give him my hand, grip so tightly that my knuckles burn as he helps me in.
The warm water is bliss, but his arms closing around me when he lowers us into the bath and cradles me to his chest is heaven.
“Relax,” he says softly, fingertips stroking my belly under the suds.
Fresh stubble rasps my temple when he nuzzles, and I melt closer. “I’m trying.”
“You feel me breathe?” he murmurs, flattening his palm between my hips.
I want that hand lower. I want to squirm and forget why water scares me.
“Focus on me. On my chest… in and out.” His cadence is hypnotic. “In and out. In… out…”
Even when he stops, I stay with the rhythm. Allowing myself to melt into him even as the water rises around us.
Elijah reaches back to shut off the rain, presses a button, and jets bubble around us. Ocean sounds wrap the room. Suds build, and Jayden’s scent blooms stronger. Like he’s here—just out of sight, just out of reach.
“Close your eyes, Beautiful,” Elijah murmurs, kissing my temple.
“Where’s JJ?” I yawn, obeying, nuzzling into his chest so his heartbeat thrums against my ear.
“Taking care of a couple things before we go to dinner.” He settles deeper, legs coiling with mine.
I’m not just held. I’m sheltered. Warmth everywhere, him everywhere.
This is so good. Better than we ever imagined.