Chapter 45
Chapter Forty-Five
J
My eyes are burning, and my fingers have their own heartbeat. I massage my ring finger, wishing I’d brought my finger sleeves from the hospital.
To be fair, I was unconscious for the majority of the transfer from the elevator to Finn’s bed.
But still…
There’s a knock at the door.
I type a few more characters, but it hurts too much, and I end up dragging my hand away to massage my wrist.
“I told you to take a break.” Finn’s voice cracks like a whip through the air.
My shoulders hike as my body senses danger.
Does he practice that intimidating tone every morning, or did he grow up sounding like a villain from a superhero movie?
“I don’t have time to take breaks,” I grumble, not bothering to look at him.
Finn is too beautiful to take only one glance.
If I take one, I’ll want to take two.
It’s distracting.
My chair suddenly rolls around on its own accord, and I have no choice but to come face to face with the Shadow Prince himself. Finn’s wearing a different shirt than he was earlier. When did he change?
The grey shirt matches his grey sweatpants that are riding a little lower on his hips than they should be. I peek at the hint of his chiseled abs and the V-line that runs down and disappears into the hem of his pants.
My watch beeps.
Holy…
I shoot my eyes back up. Unfortunately, his face isn’t safer territory.
Finn’s still got his hair brushed down in a more casual style. His cheekbones are slashes against his perfect cheeks. His eyes are boring into me, dark enough to be a vortex to an alternate dimension. I’m sucked in immediately and my breath turns shallow.
“That’s the threat model?” Finn nods to the computer.
“The foundation of one. It’s a lot more complicated than I thought. Building something that talks to a phone from a distance is doable. Not legal. But doable…”
My words trail when Finn half-sits on the edge of the table. He’s close enough that I could lean forward and rest my head on his chest to take a nap.
“Um.” I lick my lips as my heart beats a little faster. “The problem is constantly mirroring the data to a cloud and keeping it untraceable…”
Finn slips something out of his pocket.
“… not only is it illegal, but it’s also extremely theoretical. There are so many variables…”
He grabs my hand.
“What are you doing?”
“Are you running simulations?” he asks, holding my wrist tight.
“Y-yes. Of course. So far, all the simulations are failing. I can’t code for variables I can’t see.”
To my surprise, Finn slips a finger sleeve on my ring finger.
My heart jolts and my watch beeps.
I try to hide it by acting defensive. “But that doesn’t mean I can’t figure it out. I know you don’t believe me, but I’ll find a way.”
“I didn’t shut down your idea because I doubt you can do it,” Finn says. “From an architectural standpoint, a design like that takes time.”
He fits the sleeve on my left hand. As he moves, his fingertips brush mine and send heat scorching through my body.
“You’ve gotten a lot farther than I thought was possible, but it’s not enough. You should stop now and get some rest.”
My jaw tightens.
When Finn tries to put on another finger sleeve, I pull back. “I’m not a patient right now, Finn. I’m still in the game.”
His eyes meet mine, dark brown and indecipherable.
“I’ve got to get back to work.” I attempt to swerve my chair back to the computer but realize that I can’t budge.
Finn is gripping the arm of my chair with one hand. He’s not even trying to show off, but somehow, he’s flexing his strength without a word.
“Let go.” I nudge him away.
He holds firm.
Exasperated, I roll my eyes. “Doubt me all you want. From over there.” I point to his bed. “What time is it anyway?” I check my watch and gasp. “It’s eight o’clock? When did it get that late?”
Now that I’m paying attention, I see that Finn’s lamps are on, and the balcony doors reveal a velvet black sky with twinkling stars overhead. I didn’t even notice that the sun had set.
“Here.” He tosses something on the desk. The package crinkles as it lands.
I pick it up with eyes of wonder. “My cotton candy chocolate bars!”
“Martina said you didn’t eat breakfast or lunch…”
I rip the package open before Finn can change his mind and take it away.
“… she’s asking if her cooking isn’t to your liking.”
“It’s not that,” I say, my tastebuds full of magical chocolate. “Her food smelled amazing, but if I stopped to eat, that would take time. I prefer snacks like this.” I lift the package. “That I can cram into my mouth fast.”
Finn’s eyes latch onto my lips.
Without warning, he swoops in and presses his mouth against the corner of mine, making a slight suckling motion. Fireworks explode in my chest, and my watch face flashes yellow immediately.
Finn pulls back and licks his lips slowly, his eyes on the ceiling. “Mm,” he mumbles. “That’s not bad.”
I curl over, gasping in pain. “You… jerk.”
Finn nudges the cup of tea that Martina brought in a few hours ago closer to me. “I didn’t even kiss you? Why is your heart beating so fast?”
“You surprised me… you bastard.” Fishing around in my pocket, I pop one of the pills that Finn brought from the hospital and wash it down with the tea.
Finn tilts his head, studying me with a thoughtful expression. “Where did you get those pills?”
Every muscle in my body pulls tight, and I carefully avoid eye contact. My watch quiets down, but I pretend to still be in deep pain.
“Ah,” I hiss.
“Does it still hurt?” Finn’s voice holds only mild concern.
Am I not a good enough actress?
I change tactics and throw the attention back on him. “Did you learn that move in the monster romance books you like so much?”
I test how my chest handles sitting up straight. The tightness isn’t so bad, but I’ll definitely need to take these pills again before the night is out.
He points to me. “Dilated pupils.”
I absently touch a hand to my temple.
“The flush on your face and neck.”
I blink and cover my throat with a hand.
Finn’s eyes slide to the bottom half of my hospital gown. “I’d have to get permission to check other places, but that would be a clear sign too.”
I press my legs together as my watch beeps in protest. “You’re talking about consent?”
“Consent is a clear ‘yes.’” Finn looks at me like I’m stupid. “That’s not what I’m talking about.”
My mind races. “Then…”
“You asked what I learned from romance novels.”
I blink slowly.
“You’re displaying all the signs of a heroine in the middle of the book.”
“What?”
“You want to screw me.”
He says it with a straight face, so it takes me a few seconds to compute, but when it does, I start choking.
Finn watches me suffer, no flicker of concern crossing his features.
He’s a monster.
I greedily gulp the rest of my tea until I can breathe again.
“You’re…. you’re totally wrong,” I choke out.
Finn swoops in and stares into my eyes again. Whatever he sees makes him nod, and he draws back. “I’m not ready for you to die, so you can’t have what you want. At least not yet.” He straightens and nods at the computer. “Don’t overdo it.”
The giant prick leaves the room, but his presence lingers like a ghost.
It takes far too long for his spell to break, but only then can I concentrate on the algorithm.