Chapter 15
He couldn’t think straight with her beneath him. Nina drove all rational thought from his head. Finch wanted to thrust into her now, hard and fast. But he wasn’t an animal, and she deserved more from him than that.
He couldn’t give her more than tonight, but he’d make sure it was good. He almost laughed at the word. “Good” in no way came even close to what he’d already felt being here, pressed to the lush, naked little body of Nina Winters, who had been born Christina Falcon.
He’d think about that more later, but not now.
“These, I could spend hours worshipping,” he said bracing himself above her to study her breasts.
They were full and round with hard nipples.
Bending his head, he took one into his mouth and sucked.
The breath hissed out of her throat, so he kept going, stroking up and down her side with his hand and kissing the lush flesh, circling with his tongue and then sucking until she cried out his name.
Hearing her breathy moans and cries was addictive. Finch wanted more—much more. Moving down her body, he kissed the planes of her stomach, dipping into her belly button and then lower, into the hair above her secrets.
Settling between her thighs, he parted her legs wider and placed his lips there, inhaling the scent of her. She was aroused and wet, needing something he was going to give her over and over.
He ran his tongue down the seam, then moved on to the hard nub.
She arched off the bed, so he placed a hand on her stomach and held her down.
Then he pushed two fingers inside her again and again while he licked.
When she cried out his name, he kept going until the shudders subsided.
Only then did he climb back up the length of her lovely body.
Reaching over the bed, he pulled out his wallet and found the condom he always carried, even though he hadn’t used one in months.
“Now, Finch. Hurry.”
“Trying,” he gritted out, rolling it onto his erection. He was so hard, it hurt.
She opened her legs and wrapped them around his hips as he positioned himself at her entrance, the angle perfect as he drove inside her wet heat. Her muscles clenched around him, making him the one who moaned this time.
“Oh my God, yes!” she cried. “More.”
He obliged, gritting his teeth he drove into her again and hoping like hell he could last.
“You need to come for me, Nina. Now.” He thrust into her hard, rolling one of her nipples between his fingers. He felt the tension build inside both of them until it was unbearable, and then she tightened around him and let go.
He joined her, pumping hard into her and riding out his own pleasure. Finch then slumped down on top of Nina.
His heart was thudding hard and his breath rasping out of his mouth. He tried to ease sideways because he was crushing her, but her arms tightened around him, holding him in place.
“I’ll squash you, Nina.”
“Don’t care,” she whispered.
He rolled, taking her with him until she was lying along his body.
He thought about what to say as Nina grabbed the covers and pulled them up over them both and then rested her head on his chest, and came up with no words.
Instead, he lay there listening to her breathing as it slowed, and minutes later, he knew she was sleeping.
Why that made him smile into the dark, he had no idea, but it did. His body felt relaxed, and sleep began to pull at him too, but he couldn’t allow that to happen.
He knew that, like him, Nina had shit going on in her life, and tonight she’d reached for him to comfort her. That had turned into something more, but neither of them were ready for more.
He lay there for a while longer until he felt her body slump and knew she was in a deep sleep.
Then he rolled her gently off him and onto the mattress.
She murmured but didn’t open her eyes. Finch pulled the blankets over her body and then stood there with light from the hallway at his back, looking at her.
He’d always known she was beautiful, but tonight she looked like an angel lying there, her blond hair mussed and lips swollen from his kisses. A vulnerable Nina was a dangerous thing for Finch.
She could be trouble for me—or once could have been, he corrected.
He gathered his clothes, then left the room and found Mabel in the living area, eyeing him.
“She’s sleeping. I didn’t murder her,” he muttered, pulling on his clothes. “Go check if you don’t believe me.”
She started cleaning herself, clearly bored with him and the conversation.
Finch left, closing the front door softly behind him. After pulling on his boots outside, he headed for his pickup.
“All good there, Finch?”
“Jesus, Red. You nearly stopped my heart,” Finch said. “What the hell are you doing out here, prowling at this time of night?”
The man was on the sidewalk, thankfully alone.
“It’s 9:30 p.m., bud. Not sure what time you go to bed, but I got a few hours yet. I’m walking, just FYI. Dee likes me to exercise, and I like doing it at this hour. No one’s about wanting a conversation.”
“Okay—good,” Finch said when nothing else came to mind. “Exercise is important.”
“Nina doing all right? Big day for her, and mighty kind of you to bring her home.” Red’s eyes were on Nina’s bedroom window. Thankfully the curtains were closed.
“She’s exhausted,” Finch said.
“I bet. So about you doing bar at girls’ night…?” Red said.
Finch had a feeling that Red knew exactly what he’d gotten up to in Nina’s bed, and this was the price of his silence. “Fine.”
Red smiled. A big wide one. “Dee will be pleased. I’ll tell her to get you a shirt organized.”
“Yay,” Finch muttered and then rolled his eyes as Red put his fingers in the shape of a square. Lyntacks did that instead of hearts like normal people. “And don’t blame me if I pour the drinks too big or lose you money.”
“You don’t fool me, man. You army types can handle most things. See you, Finch, and thanks for looking after our girl.”
He meant it, Finch realized as he walked away. Nina was one of the town’s people, so Red was pleased he’d taken care of her.
“One more thing, bud,” Red added. “Maybe do up your zipper and lace up your boots before you get home.”
Red waved and headed off down the sidewalk. That the man suspected what he’d been up to with Nina was clear, but he wouldn’t tell anyone. Shaking his head, Finch looked at his zipper, which was up, but his boots were unlaced. He got into his pickup and backed out of the driveway.
He’d just slept with Nina and felt…. In fact, he had no words, only feelings. Relaxed for the first time in forever. He shouldn’t feel that way. Finch should be scared shitless over what he’d done, but he wasn’t. He felt different. Not good, exactly, but better.
They were adults, and adults slept with each other occasionally. There was nothing more to it than that. It had been an itch that they’d both needed to scratch today. Tomorrow, they’d just get on with their lives.
But fuck, that had felt good. She’d felt good in his arms, her body under his. Finch had a feeling that memory would never leave him.
He drove through Lyntacky slowly, past cars parked outside eating establishments, raising his hand when someone waved. Reaching the end of town, he headed toward his parents’ place.
Nina’s name had once been Christina Falcon.
Her father was a criminal. Her mother had left him and changed their names and gone on the run.
He was now out of prison and could come looking for his daughter.
Could any of this be connected to someone entering her house and trashing it, or what Finch thought he’d seen there, or was he reaching there?
Finch was someone who often saw every scenario in a situation. It was how his mind worked, and that was why he’d asked if Nina’s mother had brought something to Lyntacky her father may want.
The man had been imprisoned for a long time, so surely if he’d wanted to know about Nina and her mother, he could have tracked her down before now? Maybe he had and had known where she was for years? That thought sent a chill through Finch.
He didn’t know if the man was still bad. Didn’t know if Nina was in any danger from him, but due to his untrusting nature, the thoughts and what-ifs continued to roll around inside his head.
Finch pulled into the cottage driveway, parked, and then sat there, studying the wisps of white smoke coming out of the chimney and hitting the cold air. So much had changed since he was last here only a few hours ago, and so little at the same time, he thought, looking around him.
His parents had been gardeners since he was old enough to understand what a weed was.
They’d taught their kids how to plant and nurture seeds and bulbs.
They never had a pattern for planting. They just put things where it felt right.
None of the McAllister kids were particularly green-thumbed, but he’d noted that since coming back here, Birdie and Blue Jay were more into it now they had families of their own.
He headed inside.
“Hey,” his brother said, looking up from his guitar that was never too far from his hands. He wore socks their mother had knitted for him, track pants, and a sweatshirt now.
“You writing something?” Finch asked, going to the kitchen and pulling out a soda. His brother shook his head as he raised the can.
“Just had one, thanks. Yeah, messing around with some lyrics.”
He stood where he was and drank deep, maybe needing the hit of sugar to steady him.
“Just going to change,” Finch then said and went into his room.
Stepping into the shower after he’d stripped off his clothes, he let the hot water run over his body. Felt it touch everywhere she had, and the memory aroused him, so Finch washed quickly and then turned the water to cold. He got out, dried off, and dressed in sweatpants and a sweatshirt.
“Have you eaten, Lynx?” he asked, heading back into the kitchen.
“Not yet. I wasn’t hungry after all that food at Circle Left.”
“I can do grilled cheese?”
“Cool.”
He got to work, and when he was done, Finch wandered to where his brother sat on the sofa. He set a plateful of grilled cheese sandwiches on the table before them and dropped into a seat.
Lynx put down his guitar and the notepad and pen balanced on his knee. He then began to eat alongside Finch.
He was starving and hadn’t realized how much until he’d eaten the first piece in record time.
“So. Nina,” Lynx said, sitting back in his chair.
“I took her home. She’s fine.” Finch took another bite and hoped that was the end of the questioning.
“You sleep with her?”
He didn’t choke, but it was a near thing. He picked up his soda can and drank deep. “What kind of question is that?”
“One from a brother who watched you two today. You kept looking for her, and she was the same. Then, you just walked into the house, looking happier than I’ve seen you since I came home.”
“Bullshit,” Finch said, reaching for another grilled cheese. Not much put him off his food. “We had a moment before the service started where we talked and stuff. I told her I didn’t like being in a room with a lot of people, and she gave me a hug. No big deal.”
“Why didn’t you tell me you didn’t want to go today due to the crowds?” Lynx frowned. “I would have understood.”
“I don’t freak out, but I can feel a bit closed in sometimes. Don’t make more of it than there needs to be, Lynx.” Finch hated talking about how that accident had broken something inside him.
“What about the other issues you were having? Headaches and the eyes.”
“It’s a journey, but I’m improving.”
The brothers sat back and stared at the empty plate before them.
“Back to Nina.”
“No,” Finch said. “Nothing to talk about.” But there was a hell of a lot to think about. The woman was special, but he just didn’t think she could be special for him in any way until he’d sorted his life out.
“If you say so.”
“I know so.”
“Do you want to watch a movie?”
“As long as it doesn’t involve music, I’m in,” Finch said.
“What’s wrong with music, you heathen?”
“I have all your music on my phone, if that makes you feel better,” he drawled.
“I was thinking A Star is Born?” Lynx said, picking up the remote.