Chapter 20
CHAPTER TWENTY
Finley
The guys sit around finalizing several plans.
One involves being able to go onto reservation land should they receive permission from Daniel, while the other means that they’ll go out, mostly at night with fancy night vision goggles they all are well-versed in using and continue to scout the first area they found while also searching for any others that might be nearby.
Orbit even sent them some kind of heat-seeking equipment so they can tell whether any of the places that people are held are bunkered down underground.
They’re already positive that there are more shacks similar to the one I was held in out there.
I barely hold back my shudder when I think of all the others who were before me who didn’t make it out alive.
Skippy’s life is still in limbo as she’s in a coma, and I know that Orion is fighting every instinct he has not to stay at the hospital constantly.
Instead, Gemini and Mercury have arranged a schedule of sorts between the brothers that allows Orion to handle club business, like getting the shop up and running, while keeping her protected.
I’m sitting on the porch staring at the darkened sky and looking at the stars when I hear footsteps approach from behind.
It’s funny, but in the short time I’ve been here, I can pretty much decipher who is coming just based on their gait.
So, when Mercury steps into my peripheral, I turn and look up at him, smiling.
“Did y’all get it sorted through?” I ask, my hands cupping the hot chocolate I’ve taken to drinking at night.
I’m sure when we’re in the depths of winter I’ll have a constant supply because it warms me from the inside out, but now, it’s almost like having a glass of warm milk before bed.
It helps settle me and calm my racing thoughts.
“For the most part, yes,” he replies, holding out his hand. “Let’s walk around the property, wildcat.”
I’m always game to have any part of him touching me, so without any hesitation, I set my mug down and stand, wrapping my fingers around his as he tugs me into his side.
“There’s a spot right there that I’m intrigued by,” I murmur, looking at his strong profile.
Without thinking too deep about my next actions, I lean up and kiss the side of his neck.
It’s not the first time we’ve kissed, but it is the first time I’ve initiated any kind of intimate contact and I can tell from his indrawn breath that it affects him. “Is that okay?” I question.
“Anywhere you wanna kiss or touch me is yours, Fin,” he says, turning his head and capturing my lips with his. “Hell, I might just have a new erogenous zone and I’ll see if Draco is up to tattooing that spot with your lips as a reminder to anyone who looks that I belong to someone.”
I can’t help the giggle that bursts from my mouth; it’s such a guy thing to say in my mind, anyhow. “You wouldn’t really do that, would you?”
“Absofuckinglutely,” he replies as we start walking around the perimeter.
There are big plans to enclose all of the property once the clubhouse has been delivered and built out, but right now, Gemini has prospects and members patrolling the area to ensure no one is here that’s not supposed to be.
From what I’ve gleaned, the Jeffries family is at the head of this nightmare, but they haven’t approached the club directly, even though I’m positive they’re aware that I survived their so-called treatment.
Plus, it’s no secret that Sutton’s now with Gemini, since she now works remotely for the hospital.
Although… that’s going to change once they’ve got all their businesses up and running since risk management skills can be applied to anything involving people and numbers.
Skippy’s the only one who’s not here, but I’m positive she’s gonna be here once she recovers.
“I hope Daniel receives the okay from his elders,” I say. The silence is comfortable and I don’t feel like I have to fill the void with a lot of useless chattering. Somehow, despite how we began, we’ve planted a foundation based on trust and honesty, which settles my soul.
I feel like I was just coasting before, looking for that one thing that would complete me. It’s a trite saying for sure and has been overdone countless times, as if a person can be someone’s other half, but at the same time, when it comes to Mercury, it rings true.
“We do as well, but we’ve got a backup plan if they say no,” he tells me.
Suddenly, the feelings I have for him are right there and I know I need to say something to let him know I want to take things to the next level.
The chicken who lives in my brain is screaming and running around as though I took off its head, but the sane woman who stays there tells me that he’s been waiting on me.
For the most part, I’m pretty much healed; the stitches have dissolved and while I still have some soreness and bruising, I’m no longer the broken heap he found in that field.
“Can I ask you something? Or, tell you something?” I query, the thoughts of him touching me intimately shoving the chicken into the corner of my mind.
I see my sane counterpart pick up some pom poms and start cheering and almost roll my eyes, because if anyone could hear my thoughts, they’d have me in a psych ward quicker than I could say boo.
“Finley, you can ask or tell me anything except that you’re leaving me. What’s on your mind?”
Taking a deep breath I do what I do best, I just blurt it out. “Are you waiting on me to be ready before we go any further in our relationship?”
I can tell that I’ve stunned him because he stops dead in his tracks, turns and pulls me into his embrace.
Long moments pass while I wait for his answer, but the wait doesn’t scare me.
He always acts with a bit of caution and I presume it comes from what he’s done as a tracker.
He never rushes into a situation and I can almost hear his brain whirring as he thinks about what to say.
“Where’s this coming from?” he finally asks.
“Because, every part of me wants you, Finley, in any way, shape or form that comes. But to answer your question, yes, I’ve been waiting.
Not for you to be sure since you said you wanted the same thing, but for you to feel like yourself again.
For weeks now, you’ve hobbled around, wincing when you thought nobody was paying attention, and did what you were supposed to do, heal.
I’ve seen over the past few days that you’re moving a lot easier, and while I hadn’t planned to throw you against a wall and fuck you, I’m not the kind of man who doesn’t have a wealth of patience.
It’s something ingrained in me, wildcat, and while I’ve been ready, I’ve been waiting for you to get better. ”
I slowly release the breath I was holding at his words and hug him closer. Our height difference means that my head is against his chest and I can hear his heart beating. It’s steady and sure, just like the man whose hands are lightly rubbing my back.
I’ve come home.
That thought saturates my brain then courses through my body. No matter what happens in the future, hell if the zombie apocalypse occurred, I know he’s got me, in every way he can.
“Then can we go to bed?” I ask, my inner cheerleader nearly falling off her self-made pyramid. I’d snicker because she’s equal parts angry that she was caught off guard and ecstatic that I took the bull by the horns.
“I thought you were never gonna ask,” he replies, grinning down at me.
“For the record, I wanna say that while there are those out there who would say we’re moving fast, I’m the kind of man who knows what he wants.
I love you, Finley, and want you to hear that before we’re naked in my bed while I pull orgasm after orgasm out of your sweet, delectable body.
I’m glad he’s holding me up because I’m officially a pile of warm, squishy goo. “Well, I did, so now what?” I tease, lightly kissing that spot I can’t stay away from.
If his shudder is any indication, he likes it, and I vow to put on the brightest lipstick I can find and kiss him there again so everyone knows how I feel. I don’t believe he’ll really tattoo his neck since it’s a permanent marking, but I can do it with something that is easily removed.
“We go back inside, clean up since I still want to get our earlier adventures off my body, then we learn about each other biblically,” he retorts, a smirk riding on his delicious lips.
“And as for what I just said, you don’t have to say it until you’re ready, wildcat. I’m just showing you all my cards.”
Feeling a boldness sweep through me, I reach down and cup his impressive bulge that’s been steadily growing against my lower abdomen and state, “Not all of them.”
As he practically rushes us back toward the house, I hear him murmur, “Wildcat is the perfect name for you.”