18. Finn
18
FINN
S tepping from the car, I rub my hands together and approach the door while practicing all the things I want to say to Emma. Nothing sounds quite right in my mind, and I regret not getting a chance to see her before we had to leave the party.
In the end, I don’t have to say anything because when I reach the bottom of the wooden steps leading up to the log cabin, the front door opens and Emma stands there wearing just a bikini. A sheer cloth wraps around her waist and she holds the edges in one hand against her hip.
“Finn?” Concern on her gorgeous face melts into surprise. She glances past me to Asher and Caspian who wait patiently in the car. We decided on the drive up that only one of us would approach her just in case she didn’t want to see any of us. The last thing we want is for her to feel ganged up on.
“Emma.” Just seeing her makes it impossible to keep a smile from my face.
“What are you doing here?” She keeps her other hand on the door as she looks between me and the car.
“Well…” I remain at the bottom of the steps just to keep a comfortable distance. “When we got the call that this trip was canceled, we swung by your apartment because we wanted to see you. But it was empty and Caspian had the idea that you might have come up here on your own.”
She eyes me with a light smile, one brow raised. “So you drove hours just to come here and check on a hunch?”
I shrug and smirk softly. “I guess so. We wanted to talk to you, really talk things over to make sure everyone was on the same page about how we feel and how things uh, might move forward.” As I’m talking, it slowly dawns on me how this might have been a bad idea. “Although it occurs to me now that it might alarm you to be here alone with us in the mountains so if you want us to leave, just say the word.”
My heart skips a beat. Emma is silent and I can see the gears turning behind her eyes. Hope swells that she will agree to talk to us because I daydreamed about it all through the drive up here. Just us and her with no one to disturb us, cut off from the world to just enjoy time together. Romantic, in my eyes, but I can definitely see how it might be alarming to Emma.
“Okay,” she says finally, stepping back from the door. “You guys can come in.”
My lips pull up on their own and I smile brightly at her. “Excellent.”
I wave one hand and Caspian and Asher slide from the car and collect the bags. I hurry up the steps, breathing in the sweet scent of wood and pine needles amidst the sweet jasmine scent of Emma.
“Did we catch you at a bad time?” I indicate to her swimsuit and she laughs.
“No, I was just going to go and chill in the hot tub.”
“You still can, if you want, while we get settled?”
She contemplates it while chewing on her lip, greeting Asher and Caspian as they enter.
“Where’s the bathroom?” Caspian grunts softly. “Dying for a piss.”
Emma snorts and points to a door leading off of the main room. “Down that hall, third door on your left.”
Caspian drops his bag, swiftly kisses Emma’s cheek and sprints away. Asher groans softly and picks up his bags.
“Okay, I’m going to soak. The bedrooms are over there, all of them are empty except the one close to the lounge. That’s mine. Take your pick.”
“Thank you.” It’s a fight to keep my eyes at a respectable level when she stands there looking so gorgeous in that bikini. “We’ll come find you once we’re settled in.”
“Not if I find you first.” She winks at me and heads through a door leading to the kitchen. Another door clicks closed, and I let out a deep sigh.
“You good?” Asher asks, shifting his grip on the bags.
“Yeah. I was beginning to realize how creepy our romantic gesture could look if she got the wrong impression.” I watch the realization dawn in Asher’s own eyes.
“How the fuck did we become smart enough to teach,” he grumbles, heading toward the door Emma indicated.
“I have no clue.”
An hour or so later, we sit in the lounge with Emma in front of us. After her soak in the hot tub, she changed into a long maxi dress that softly hugs all the beautiful curves of her body. The first thing I noticed was that she chose not to wear any underwear and her nipples rise through the fabric as she faces us.
“So,” Emma says, clasping her hands against her knee. “You wanted to talk?”
“Yes.” Clearing my throat, I inch forward on my seat. “Which sounds really dramatic but after the party, we realized we didn’t get much time to lay things out for you about how it looks on our end.”
“Having your parents there made that hard,” Caspian adds.
“As we mentioned, we already knew we were all interested in the same woman, and it doesn’t bother us but we want to be clearer. We are incredibly interested in you and we want to be with you. We like you a lot. If you want us, then you can have us.”
My heart begins to pound, and I suddenly feel like a teenager asking out his first crush.
Emma’s fingers toy lightly with the fabric covering her knee, and then her attention switches to Asher.
“How do you feel about my dad?” she asks.
“Well…” Asher drags a hand through his beard. “His friendship is valuable to me, don’t get me wrong. And it was a hell of a shock to learn that you were Little Berry. I never made the connection but…it doesn’t bother me as much as I thought it would. Maybe it’s because I haven’t seen him in years, or because you have such a pull over me, but I don’t care. I know I like you in a way I don’t think I’ve ever felt before and I want to keep that.”
Emma’s cheeks flare pink.
“I won’t be telling him though, because I’m selfish and I want to spend time with you. I don’t plan on doing anything that would risk me not being able to see you anymore.”
Emma’s back straightens slightly and a smile flashes across her face a couple of times before it becomes permanent.
“Okay good,” she says softly. “I was worried because I didn’t know what to do, but at the same time I felt like I did know and it just felt like the wrong thing, y’know? Like I was too quick to accept things, so I thought asking how you felt would give me perspective and it has. I uh…”
Her green eyes dart to each of us in turn, her smile widening each time.
“I like you all too—a lot, actually. More than I want to even admit because it scares me a little, but in exciting ways. Although, I am sorry I didn’t tell you I was seeing other people.”
“People other than us?” Caspian asks, resting his chin on his upturned knuckles.
“Oh God no,” Emma laughs. “Just you three. I focused too hard on the single label, so I didn’t see a problem with it.”
“We never labeled anything,” I remind her, “so you’re good.”
“Although,” Caspian adds. “Perhaps now you can remove that single label?” He lifts one dark brow and his smile turns teasing. “Unless there are any other men lurking about that we should meet?”
“Oh please.” Emma laughs loudly. “I’m still not entirely sure how I bagged you three, never mind anyone else. But no…there’s no one else. I promise.”
Good , says a little voice in my head. We want Emma all to ourselves.
“So!” She claps her hands together. “There’s still a bunch of stuff we need to do. We need firewood from the shed out back, and I definitely didn’t bring enough food for four people, but I think we could have a decent dinner tonight and then maybe head back down the mountain tomorrow?”
“No need,” Asher replies. “We brought enough to last the next couple of days.”
“We’re always prepared,” Caspian adds.
“And I remember where the firewood is so I can take care of that.” Asher stands. “Is the key still by the back door?”
“Yes.” Emma nods. “You’ve been here before?”
“A couple of times, a long time ago but I remember nothing really changed.”
“Makes sense. Yeah, the key is in the usual spot.”
Asher dips his head and hurries out, then he pauses at the door to the kitchen. “Just make sure Caspian cooks. No one deserves to taste Finns.”
“Hey!” Asher’s gone with a laugh and I roll my eyes. “My cooking isn’t that bad.”
“Sure, if you’ve lost all taste buds,” Caspian snorts. “I’ll cook. Did we bring everything in from the car?”
“Of course we did.”
As Caspian moves toward the kitchen, Emma stands and moves as if she’s going to help, but I stop her by catching her wrist and pulling her gently against me.
Her glasses fog up instantly.
“Hi,” she says softly, both her hands pressing against my chest.
“Hi.” I lift my hand and stroke the back of my knuckles lightly over her cheek. Sweeping up, I slide my fingers into her hair and brush the stands behind her ear, then I twirl the green-dyed strand around my fingers. “Why do you only do one streak?”
“Oh.” Emma reaches up and removes her glasses to see me better. “Because my mother would have a heart attack if I went full rainbow like I want to.”
“Ah, noted.” My fingertips stroke a path back to her jaw where I lightly press under her chin and tilt her head upward. Then I capture her lips in a slow, gentle kiss that makes her body melt against mine. Encircling her waist, I hold Emma against me while we kiss. She tastes as sweet as ever. I close my eyes briefly to savor her taste.
“You know, there might need to be a few punishments for not telling us the truth right away,” I murmur when we break apart.
“Oh?” Emma plays into it with a pout and bats her lashes. “Why, what are you going to do to me for not telling the truth?”
Within thirty seconds, Emma’s on the couch moaning loudly as I bury between her big, soft thighs and thrust my tongue into her sweet, velvety pussy. The heat rolling off of her body is intense and I eagerly lap up her juices. Gripping her thighs with both my hands, I apply enough pressure to keep her hips down flat on the sofa while I lick through her soft folds and heated pussy.
She tastes as divine as I remember, and each sultry moan that falls from her lips drives me harder against her. I want to hear all her sounds. I want to hear every note of music I can pull from her with every stroke of pleasure. Her hands press against my head, fingers intertwining with my hair as she tries to take control by pushing my face deeper into her pussy.
As if I need the invitation.
But I resist, pausing my licks and sucking over her clit until her hands relax. Only then do I pour all my attention over that sensitive nub. I wrap my lips around it and kiss her, turn my tongue into a point and press against her. I graze her ever so lightly with my teeth just to feel Emma jolt sharply against my mouth. Then I seal my mouth against her pussy and suck for all I’m worth.
Emma screams and she pulls so hard on my hair that hot pain flares through my scalps and ends up straight in my cock. It’s almost enough to make me want to fuck her right here and now.
But not yet.
Just as Emma writhes and pants, rocking closer and closer to orgasm, I suddenly pull back and the saddest little whine escapes her throat. Lifting my head, our eyes meet, and her pupils are so wide that almost all of that pretty jade color is gone.
“Why…why did you stop?” Emma gasps.
“Punishment, remember?” I smirk, and Emma groans loudly.
“This is awful.”
“Oh sweetie, it’s not over yet.” It takes me fifteen seconds to locate the small bullet vibrator I brought with me, and it slides easily into her soaked pussy. I turn it on and her body arches slightly off the couch.
“You brought toys with you?” Emma gasps, winding her hands into her dress now that she can’t reach my hair.
“What can I say?” I chuckle lightly, kissing her bare knee. “I was really hoping you would say yes.”
Patting her thigh, I slide from the couch and Emma moans. She presses both hands between her legs and whimpers.
“It’s not strong enough,” she complains, then she turns her sharp eyes onto me. “You’re an asshole.”
“That’s the delight of a punishment,” I remind her, then I smile innocently. “Smells like dinner is ready.”
“Fuck you,” Emma groans, and her head falls back onto the couch. “Damn it.”