Chapter 23 #2
“Anyway. That’s what your energy is like right now. Add in our little food-tasting adventure, and I’m left thinking something happened with Finn.”
Even just the mention of his name had her emotions bursting through her system.
“Wow. Those are some whiplash-inducing feelings,” Selene said, taking a step back.
“You can feel them?”
“Sorry. I know; it’s invasive. It’s not all the time. It comes and goes with the moon cycle. And, you know, my cycle. I can go back and grab a charm to dull it—”
“No. No, it’s fine. You’re right. I’m all over the place.”
“Forced matrimony will do that to a girl.”
“Yeah. I mean, yeah.”
Selene’s head tipped to the side. Almost as if she was listening. Maybe she was.
“Do you have feelings for Finn now?”
Iris sucked in a deep breath and started walking. “I think I have feelings for the parts of him he keeps buried.”
“But he doesn’t appreciate you coming with a shovel?”
“I don’t think that’s it, exactly. It’s more like … I’m worried that I might dig and dig until I can’t lift my arms, but he is always going to come back and fill it all in again.”
“And yet you’re still conflicted.”
“I went to see my family, and my sister said something about bringing out hidden parts of someone being worth the work.”
“Do you want another voice in your head, or do you just want me to listen?”
Iris exhaled hard. “I think I want all the voices I can get. I’m too mixed up to make sense of anything.”
“Now, if you repeat this—especially to that walking warning sign with great hair—I will deny it. But I’m constantly trying to tamp down my hopeless romantic streak with raging skepticism.”
“I noticed that.”
“That said, I am always secretly hoping someone comes along and proves me wrong. I mean, not me personally,” she said, looking horrified at the idea of falling in love.
“But those around me. So, if you think there’s a chance that things might be real between you two, I think it’s worth exploring.
And giving Finn some time. I mean, men can be dense.
Ask this one,” she said, waving toward Arden.
“Ask me what?” Arden asked, turning to look at the women.
“Why men are so emotionally constipated,” Selene said, shooting him a big, fake smile.
“Oh, my lovely girls,” Arden said. He dropped an arm around each of their shoulders, guiding them toward the door of the catering restaurant. “It sounds like we’ve been gossiping. And I feel left out. Let’s catch me up over some delicious food.”
“Good goddess,” Selene gasped as they moved inside. “How much does all of this cost?” Her gaze moved over the elegant table setup.
“You don’t want to know,” Arden said. He pulled out chairs for both women before taking his own.
“Is Finn paying for this?” Selene asked.
“No, Her Highness, the queen of the seas is.”
“How rich is your family?”
“If they lived on land, they’d have private jets and mega yachts,” Arden explained. “Multiples.”
“Where does the money come from?”
“Well, a good chunk of it lately comes from seaweed sheets for sushi,” Arden told her.
“Seriously? That creates enough cash for planes and yachts?”
“To be fair, mermaids don’t really need or use money much,” Iris explained, accepting a glass of water from the server. “The sea provides everything we need. And if there are things we want, we tend to work on the barter system.”
“Which leaves a lot of nori money for wedding planning,” Arden declared. “Yes, that will do,” he told the server, who turned the wine label toward him. “So, what’s going on?”
“Iris might have feelings for her fiancé,” Selene said.
“Let me guess, you’re trying to talk her out of it? Something about love being a lie tied up with a string of empty promises?”
“Hey, I like that,” Selene said, lips curving up.
“Actually, Selene was trying to convince me to give Finn a chance to prove himself.”
“Wait, you left off the part about men being dense. Like a thick fog of their own emotional cluelessness.”
Arden shot the witch a patient, bemused smile.
“There’s a saying out there about pots and kettles,” he said.
“You should look it up. Now,” he said, turning back to Iris.
“We both know I’m so invested in your relationship that I’m seconds away from starting a fan club in the underworld.
That said, while love can be work, it shouldn’t be hard. ”
“Whoa, wait. You’re going to be the skeptic?” Selene asked.
“Not a skeptic. A good friend. I want you to be madly in love, darling. But I don’t want you to feel like your love demands a sacrifice from you. It shouldn’t. Because if you give up too much, all that it will breed down the line is resentment for everything you’ve lost.
“Love should add to your life, not detract. If you’re this conflicted, I’m worried you have either already made the decision in your head or you need to explore things more before making any kind of choice for your future.”
“Look at you. Being all rational,” Selene said, watching the demon’s profile as if she didn’t recognize him.
“It seems like you’ve both given me the same advice. I need more time.”
“To be fair, most of the time you’ve had with Finn has been spent trying to get him to break your engagement, not actually getting to know him,” Selene said.
“Gee, I wonder who helped her with that?” Arden said.
“I was being a good friend too,” Selene said. “At the time, that was what she wanted from me. Now, she wants something different. And I’m happy to give that too.”
“Oh, admit it. You’re just dying to slip into a bridesmaid dress and cry as these two declare their love for each other.”
“Oh, goddess. You’re not going to make me wear something hideous, are you?”
She’d directed the question at Iris, but Arden was the one to answer.
“Don’t insult me. Nothing hideous has ever made its way into my weddings.
Well, there was that intestine necklace once, but we try not to judge other cultures’ customs. Even if they drip and smell mildly like rot.
” Arden suppressed a shudder at the memory.
“And on that note,” Selene said with a wrinkled nose, “here comes the food.”
They spent the rest of the meal discussing the food and Gerty the ghost, and giving Iris a pep talk about both her relationship and the gala she was dreading.
By the time she made it back to the penthouse, she was feeling calmer, more reasonable, and less emotional about the whole situation.
Even if it did make her heart ache to have to walk through the apartment alone, eat dinner alone, and get ready for bed alone.
She knew it was just her nature, that emotions and connection were something she craved even more strongly than most when she cared for someone. So she wasn’t exactly surprised when her eyes flooded with tears or how fiercely she felt the empty space beside her as she started to drift off to sleep.
“I’m sorry I couldn’t find time today,” Finn’s voice murmured in her ear.
His body was curled up behind her, his arm draped across her waist, his legs cocked up behind hers.
“I know you’re busy,” she said, still trying to untangle herself from the dream world, where she’d been sunning on a beach with Finn, miles away from everyone else, from all his responsibilities. It was just them, the sun, and the sea.
“Still,” he said, leaning down to press a kiss to her bare shoulder. “If you want one-on-one time, I will find it.”
“I do,” she admitted. “I want to see if there’s something here.”
“There’s something here,” he said, pulling her closer.
She felt the hard line of him pressed against her ass. “I meant something more than sex.”
Finn scooted back and pulled her onto her back. Leaning over her, he watched as his hand slid up to her jaw.
“I meant more than sex too. Though I’m not going to pretend I’m not really enjoying that.”
She wouldn’t deny it either.
And until he could carve out more time for her, she would be happy to take these little stolen moments of intim-acy when they were available.
Her hands slid down his back, sinking into his ass and pulling until he moved over her, sliding between her parted legs.
“Me too,” she agreed before pulling his lips down to hers.
It was all need and hunger then.
Lips and tongues and teeth.
Hands grazing, fingers clawing, bodies rocking.
Finn rolled onto his back, taking Iris with him, and he watched as she removed her filmy nightgown while he reached for protection.
But before he could slide it on, Iris was leaning down, pressing a kiss to his throat.
Her tongue traced the pulse point, loving how his heart was pounding for her, how his hands were digging into her skin as she kissed down his chest, his stomach, lower.
An almost pained groan escaped him when she took him in her mouth, sucking down to the base at a pace so slow that his hips were rocking up into her mouth, begging for more.
Taking her cue from him, Iris moved faster, sucking him as his muscles tensed, as his hand curled in her hair, making a pain-pleasure combination sear across her scalp.
And just when she thought he might lose control, he was fisting her hair, pulling until the pinch made him slide from between her lips.
“Get up here,” Finn said, his voice rough and commanding.
By the time she’d shimmied out of her panties, he was finished protecting them. His hand went to her hip, pulling until she lowered down onto his lap, trembling at the hard demand of him against her.
Iris rocked against him until she couldn’t take the pressure, the clawing need deep within, for another minute.
Shifting up, she positioned herself and lowered down.
She felt him press into her, and a low growl rumbled through Finn as she took him in, inch by inch.
By the time she’d taken him to the base, she was already shaking, the pressure coiled so tightly, it felt like a warning.
A whimper escaped her as Finn’s impatient hips rocked up into her, pressing deeper still.
“Show me how you like it,” Finn demanded. His fingers dug into her hips like it was taking every ounce of restraint not to take control, not to set the pace.
A little high on her power, Iris started to ride him slowly, soft little rocks of her hips that became faster circles until the need became too strong, until her self-control shattered.
Then she was riding him hard and fast, panting and moaning as she got closer and closer to that edge.
Heat spiraled, coiling tighter and tighter until the pressure alone felt sure to snap her.
“That’s it,” Finn groaned. “Let go for me.”
The tension snapped and her body surged, her head falling back on a moan as the orgasm sizzled through her system.
Finn rocked up into her, dragging it out, making it last, even as she fell forward into him, whimpering against his chest.
His arms anchored across her hips, holding her close as he rocked even deeper, his whole body tensing as he came.
He pulled her onto his chest afterward, both of them spent, bodies lax, too exhausted even to speak.
And if Iris tried hard enough, she could almost make herself believe it was enough.
But morning always came, and the fantasy always faded.