Chapter 56 Finn
FINN
As Marcee left the hospital, I asked her to run past the hotel and retrieve our things.
Alexis needed a comfortable outfit to wear home.
Her dress had been torn and covered in blood, so it was not an option.
Alexis moaned with pure joy when she pulled on one of my long-sleeved tees.
That had been one of my requests for Marcee, that she brought my clothes for Alexis to wear.
Not only because it fills me with possessive pride seeing her in my stuff, but I also thought the extra room in them would be more comfortable to get on and off.
To her credit, Marcee just agreed and went along with my requests.
Since my car is still at the hotel, I hire a car to take us home. Alexis tries to hide it, but I can see how much it hurts to move, and every wince sends a stabbing pain through me. I’ll never get the image of her on that floor out of my mind.
As we pull into my drive, I’m already working on how I can convince her to move in with me.
After experiencing the very real fear of losing her, I’m desperate to never be away from her again.
I want her at my side and in my bed every day for the rest of my life, and I only hope I can convince her to take that step.
I carry her to my—hopefully, soon to be our—bedroom, even though she insists she can walk. I need to feel her in my arms and take care of her. Guilt still plagues me over not getting to her fast enough or not bringing her with me to the bar. So many “what ifs” hang in my mind.
“Finn, wait.” She stops me as I head for the bed.
“Shower first. I feel so gross and want to be clean before climbing into bed. Please?” Her voice is still rough and raspy from the damage.
My heart lurches in my chest hearing it and knowing the cause.
Unwilling to say no to anything she asks, I change course, taking her to the bathroom.
“How about I draw you a bath?” Her nose wrinkles and it brings a smile to my face.
“Ew. I have blood, hospital grime, and I don’t even want to think about what was on the club floor, no way am I sitting in a bath stew with all of that.
” Before I can protest, she slaps a hand over my mouth.
“I can shower, Finn. And if you are so worried, then join me.” I give her a you’ve got to be kidding me look at the sultry tone she uses.
She laughs then grabs her throat and winces, breathing through the pain.
Fuck, I hate seeing her hurt. If she wants a shower, then she's getting a shower; there isn’t anything I wouldn’t do for her.
“Okay, just wait here, and don’t move.” At her look of protest, I beg, “Please, baby, just let me take care of you.” Her eyes warm and I know she can see how badly I need this, so she nods, leaning against the vanity.
I sprint down the hall, grabbing the chair from Marcee’s desk so Alexis can sit in the shower.
Her sharp gasp draws my attention, my pulse skyrocketing in fear that something is wrong.
She's staring at herself in the mirror, mouth slightly open, and tears spilling from her eyes as she gently touches her bruised and swollen face.
One eye is swollen completely shut, and the whole left side of her face is black and blue.
She runs her fingers over the bruises along the column of her neck.
If you look closely, you can tell they are hand and finger-shaped.
Steel enters her eyes at the sight of them, that's when she spots me in the mirror.
She mutters, “I knew it was bad, but Finn, I look…
It's…Why…” Her face crumples and I set the chair down, pulling her to me.
“I don’t know, baby, I don’t know.” My voice breaks as my tears overflow. “I'll never understand how he could do this to you, but you’re still beautiful, and he still lost out on the most amazing woman.” She scoffs at my words but finally looks up, her face softening as she notes the chair.
“Finn,” she laughs gently. “You can’t put that in there, it’s wood, it will ruin the chair when it gets wet.”
“Like I give a shit about the chair, Alexis. You want a shower and this will allow you to take as long as you want. You can just sit and let the hot water run over you.” Smugly, I smile knowing the lure of scalding hot water will bring her around, and it does.
Gently, I help her out of her clothes before stripping mine and guiding her into the shower.
As soon as the spray of hot water touches her skin, she slumps with a delicious groan.
“Sorry, Finn, but right now, this is better than sex. It feels so fucking good.”
“I’ll try not to take offense to that, sweetheart, but you better believe when you’re healed, I will work very hard to prove that statement wrong.
” The way she squirms, rubbing her thighs together has my cock getting hard.
Even bruised and a mess, she's the single most beautiful woman I have ever seen.
I grab the shampoo and work it into a lather in my hands. Then I move it through her hair, massaging her scalp gently, as I clean away the blood and grime coating her hair, being careful to avoid the stitches. “You’re lucky it’s been twenty-four hours so your hair can be washed.”
“I would’ve told the doctors what they could do to themselves if they said I couldn’t shower tonight.
” Her petulant tone makes me smile. Once I’m certain her hair is clean, I do the same with the conditioner.
Then I move on to her body. Most of the bruising and cuts are localized to her head and face, but there’s an ugly one blooming on her stomach.
Mine clenches in response to seeing the damage, the evidence of the force exerted against her, the beating she took.
I swallow down the bile rising in my throat.
The police had come to the hospital for statements, first from me, then Alexis once the doctors had approved it.
Jax had been taken to the hospital for treatment after I unleashed on him, but he was ultimately being charged with aggravated assault.
I’m relieved he will stand trial and pay for his crime, but a dark side of me wishes I had killed that son of a bitch for what he did to my girl.
Shaking those thoughts from my head, I run my hands over her skin, cleaning her and assuring myself again that she's here, she's whole, and she will recover. I force a few calming breaths as my emotions threaten to overwhelm me. As my hands glide over her body, I feel her muscles relax.
After she’s clean, I offer to get her out before I shower, but she says she's in no hurry to get out of the warm water. I wash myself quickly, wanting to be ready whenever she is, so we can get into bed and I can hold her all night.
By the time the water is cooling, her eyes are starting to droop.
I grab a few fluffy towels and work to dry her off as gently as possible, loving the way she leans into my every touch.
Once we’re both dry, I grab a brush and lead her to the bedroom.
Wrapped in a towel sitting between my legs on the bed, I work through her hair as best I can.
There are countless little cuts and stitches to work around, and I don’t get every tangle out, but I can tell she feels better.
Each small smile and sigh of contentment is a balm to my soul.
I love that I'm able to take care of her.
She takes her next round of pain meds then I help her into my favorite tee.
It’s twenty years old and so incredibly soft, then we climb under the covers.
Alexis turns into my body and I gladly wrap my arms around her.
It doesn’t take long for her breathing to even out.
I’m exhausted, but I can’t sleep. Instead, I spend the next few hours just watching her rest, taking in every feature, memorizing her and just being with her.
The next two days are spent predominantly in bed, but after that, Alexis said she needed fresh air.
So, we’re out on the patio curled up on the couch together reading.
The smell of her lavender shampoo surrounds me as I take a deep breath.
I’ve been debating when to bring up the whole moving in together topic, and suddenly, as I sit here more content that I can ever remember, I know it's time.
“Hey, Lex, I have a question for you.” She closes her book, twisting in my arms to look at me. One eye is still swollen, but she can open it partially now.
I absolutely love the way she gives me her full attention when I talk, like I’m the center of her world and nothing else matters in that moment.
Nerves flutter in my stomach. I know it’s pretty early in our relationship to take this step, but with her, everything feels right.
Hell, I would marry her today if she wanted.
I already know she's end game for me, and after what happened, I'm not willing to lose out on even a second that I could spend in her presence.
“What would you think about moving here and living with me? Or we can look for a different place to live together, if you prefer?”
“Really? You want to live with me?”
“Of course I do, Lex.” She bites her lip looking uncertain, and even though it kills me, I wait, giving her the time and space she needs to think.
“Is this just because of what happened? Because I’m getting better each day, and all the injuries will heal.” Her eyes hold such vulnerability, and it feels like my heart is being ripped from my chest.
Does she somehow not realize how I feel about her?
Shifting our positions so I'm facing her head on, I reach up and gently cup her face in my palms, stroking her cheeks softly with my thumbs. “Lex, I want you to listen and listen good. I'm so damn head over heels in love with you that it physically hurts. When we’re apart, all I want is to be in your presence again. When you walk into a room, it gets impossibly brighter and I feel like I can finally breathe. You are everything to me, and I want to spend every second I can with you. And if you’ll let me, I’ll spend every day loving you and trying to be the man that you deserve, because you deserve it all.
” Tears fill her eyes and her smile wobbles.
“Finn, Gods, I love you so much.” Her words hold so much feeling and my heart begins to thud in my chest with anticipation.
“Yes, yes, of course I'll move in with you.” I kiss her gently, not wanting to cause any pain.
Her tongue licks over my lips and I open for her, letting her take the lead.
She maneuvers herself until she's straddling my lap.
The kiss ends too soon, because I never want to stop, but when she presses her forehead to mine, a blanket of contentment settles over me.
“I know it might be tricky with school, but we’ll make it work. You can keep your place, and we can stay there during the week, then here on weekends until you graduate. Or come up with another plan that works best for us. Whatever it takes, I just want to wake up to you every morning.”
“That’s good, because I’ve been keeping a secret from you too, Finn.
I planned to tell you on New Year’s Day, but I got accepted into the physical therapy program and I start in the spring, as part of an accelerated path to my doctorate.
The PT campus is less than fifteen minutes from here, so it makes perfect sense if I moved out here. ”
“What?” I lean back to look into her eyes. “I thought you were looking into internships for the spring, and those were closer to campus?”
“That was Plan B. Getting into the accelerated program was a long shot, so I was planning on an internship in the meantime, but I got the letter right before Christmas that I got in.”
Her smile is radiant and I'm speechless. Never in a million years did I believe I would find love again after my marriage fell apart. I had been content to be alone, focusing on work and my daughter. Then this blonde bombshell crashed into my life and made me see that I wasn’t really living.
I have finally found my person, and suddenly, the future isn’t lonely. It’s filled with love and her. My girl.