Lounging on the patio with our feet propped on opposing chairs, we stare alternately at the ocean and into our drinks. “So, what has been going on with you?” I ask Bethany as I swirl my frozen strawberry margarita around like a mini, slushy cyclone in my glass.
“With opening a shop in Richmond, Cody will stay here while I get it running, and then I’ll come back here on the weekends. Cooper will be in preschool. After Cody’s dad died, his mom was alone, so we suggested she move in with us. She didn’t want to, but she did move to Virginia and found a place near us. She’ll move in here temporarily while I’m gone during the week.”
“How’s work for Cody?”
“Good. He wants to bring home animals, but we already have two cats and a dog. No more!”
I laugh. “You have it all, Beth. You really do. A career you love, a sexy husband, a gorgeous little boy, a beautiful house—on the beach, no less—and you’re immensely happy.”
She smiles back at me. “I also have the bestest friend in the whole world. The material things don’t matter as much as friends and family do.” She looks thoughtfully at me. “You’ll get yours, too, Hadley. Finn will always be with you. The rest will fall into place.”
“You think so?”
“I know so.”
I dubiously scoff, “How do you know?”
Bethany looks out at the water and then up to the sky, the sun shining on her pretty face, making her hair glow like a copper halo above her. She then turns her head to me. “It’s in the stars, Hadley. Tonight, when you look up into the night sky at all the wonder above us, you’ll have your answers.” She mysteriously grins. “You’ll see.”
“I wish it were that easy, Miss Sunshine,” I grumble into the glass at my lips.
“Quit looking so hard for the answers. They’ll come to you. I promise.”
“You’re awfully weird.” I giggle and take a sip.
“And you love me!”
“That I do, Bethany Louisa Donaldson-Chackmore. That I do. Eternally.”
She reaches over and grabs my hand. “Hadley Bliss Beckett-Wilder. Eternally.”
I grin ridiculously and she raises her glass to mine. We clink them and giggle in the late afternoon sun.
“Cody, do you need some more lighter fluid?” I ask, watching him furiously squeeze the can, but nothing comes out.
He tosses the can aside. “Nah. I think we have enough. We’ll see how this does. I’m not going to make it a huge fire tonight.” He looks at me and grins wickedly over the flames. “That’s tomorrow night.”
“You are pretty scary.”
“I am, so you’d better watch,” he playfully warns.
I see Bethany coming out of the house, bouncing down the back stairs. She walks up behind Cody and puts her arms around his torso. “Are you still playing with the fire? I think we need to take away your matches for the night.”
“Come on! I was just getting started!” he spiritedly whines.
Bethany tousles his blonde hair and then smacks his ass. “Have a seat. No more fire for you.”
“You’re no fun,” he exaggeratedly pouts.
“I’m sorry I’m crashing your little party for two tonight,” I contritely tell Cody.
He scowls as he sits down in a nylon folding chair. “It’s fine, Hadley. You’re not crashing anything. It’s good to see you. You’re always welcome here. You know that.”
I smile and take a seat in the blue folding chair he put out for me. “Thanks, Cody.”
Bethany takes a seat next to Cody. She grabs a marshmallow from the bag and puts it on her metal fork. She whispers something in Cody’s ear and I look out over the water. The sun is setting, so the water is a darker contrast to the dimly-lit sky. Above the water, a smattering of stars is twinkling and the crescent moon is already becoming bright. There are a few wispy clouds streaking across the sky, but other than that, it’s a clear evening.
I close my eyes and listen to the crackling fire in the metal fire pit that I helped Cody move to a spot in the sand, away from the house, but not too close to the water. The sound of the waves crashing can be heard with the fire, creating a harmonious and soothing symphony.
“Oh! I know what I forgot! Hadley, will you go grab my iPod? It’s actually in your room. On the nightstand, I think.”
“Sure.”
She shrewdly grins. “We can’t have a fire without some music.”
“Do you have our song on it?” I ask.
“You know it!”
“What song?” Cody looks back and forth between us. “Not that one song, is it?”
“Yep! ‘Celebration’ by Kool and the Gang!” we yell at the same time.
“Oh, shit,” he complains. Bethany smacks his leg and he laughs.
I dramatically scowl at him. “Meanie.”
Trudging through the sand to the deck stairs, I peer out to the ocean as I climb the stairs. I can’t see the water as much as I can hear it. It’s so peaceful here. I want to live on the beach with Bethany. Fat chance of that ever happening, Beckett. I can’t even persuade Finn to agree to marriage. How would I convince him to quit his job and move to the beach, let alone move back to Delaware near his mother’s grasp?
I haul open the sliding glass door and step into the living room. Bethany’s house is beautiful. So open and flowing. I bound up the staircase and down the cream-painted hall to my room. Pushing the door open, I flick the wall switch, but the light doesn’t come on. Oh, shit. How in the hell am I going to see where I’m going? Of all the damn luck to have the light go out in the darkest room of the house. I lean back from the doorframe and look to the lit hall to see if there’s another light I can turn on to shine more light, but the one that’s already on is it.
I slowly walk in, trying to remember if there was anything on the floor I needed to avoid. Cupcake is somewhere around here and I don’t want to trip over her. There is some light lighting the room, but not much.
Stepping further into the room on my way to the nightstand, I reach the bed when the entire room suddenly goes pitch black. I spin around to see the door is closed.
What. The. Fuck?
CHAPTER 7
My heart starts pounding hard in my chest. I run back to the general vicinity of the door, but a muscular arm goes around me, trapping my arms while a hand goes over my mouth. I try to scream, but it comes out strangulated. Surely, Bethany and Cody can’t hear me. The clamped hand on my mouth holds tight as a mouth goes to my neck. I frantically wriggle to break free, but I’m firmly held against their body. I didn’t realize what a wuss I am. As I kick and squirm, lips travel downward to my collarbone and begin to suck on my skin.
I know those lips.
My heart keeps hammering, but the adrenaline coursing through my veins dials down a notch when the hand moves from my mouth and desirously slides down the side of my body to my hip.
“Finn?” I gasp.
There’s no answer as he licks up my neck. Heavy breaths flood my ear as my attacker forces me to walk into the darkness to—I’m assuming—the bed.
It has to be Finn.
Dear God, please do not let me be wrong.
He spins me around and holding my waist with one arm wrapped around me, his other hand sporadically grips my blouse as he slowly feels every inch of the way up to my face. Finding my cheek, he skates his thumb to my chin. Without knowing what he’s going to do next, I shriek when his lips are suddenly on mine.
I put my hands on his chest and gently push, but I can’t move him. The ripples of his chest muscles feel familiar, as if I’m blind and used to reading the dots of Braille.
His unforgettable scent.
Those full lips.
Definitely Finn.
Giving in, I kiss him back, tasting him, and his delicious flavor gives him away without a doubt. My Finnigan.
Falling into our distinctive rhythm, I pry my tongue between his lips, needing to taste more of him. Reaching up, I find his hair and weave my fingers into it, feeling ho
w magical it is even in the dark. I thought for sure I’d smell and taste alcohol on him, but I don’t, which surprises me.
Finn moves us again until my legs hit the edge of the bed and he moves his leg to the edge, probably gauging where we’re at against it. He then roughly pushes me down onto it. I gasp and try to see his face, but I can’t see a damn thing in here.
I put my hands behind me and feel my way up the bed, noticing it’s already turned down.
He had this planned way ahead of time.
The mattress slopes as Finn climbs onto the bed. He crawls over to me and then onto me, which compels me to lie down, while he locates the button on my jeans and starts yanking at it until it pops open. His fingers then fly down to my zipper, hastily dragging it down.
I whisper, “Finn, you need time to yourself tonight.” He doesn’t say anything before his lips cover mine, his right hand tugging hard on my jeans. Abruptly, he shifts away from our kiss to use both hands to take my pants off. He then throws them and I hear the soft thud of my jeans landing in a heap on the floor. He swiftly moves to my shirt and starts ripping at it, popping buttons off. So much for patience!
What the hell?
“Baby, what are you doing?” I urgently ask, trying to get him to explain himself, but still he doesn’t.
Panting and feeling around me, he leans down and sucks on the top of my right breast. As he does that, he reaches underneath me, brusquely unhooking my bra, setting my breasts free. He sits back to pull at my short sleeves and I move to take my arms out of my shirt and bra.
Sitting up, making him move back as I do, I grab his T-shirt and I just as gruffly yank up on it. He hurriedly takes it off as my hands slide down his heaving abs, feeling the flutter of his hair above his waistband against my fingers. I toy with his fly to tease him, his hard-on straining against his jeans. His breathing speeds and I smile. When I actually try to unbutton him, I can’t get the button to cooperate, so his fingers edgily push mine away and he snaps it in no time, followed by the fast sound of his zipper. That sound in the dark sparks me.
Without warning, he jumps off the bed to take off his jeans, but is back before I can blink. When he is again over me, I feel all of his skin as his erection brushes against my leg. He also took his underwear off. He’s not wasting any time.
His hands promptly go to my underwear and he starts to impatiently pull them down, but I grab his hands to stop him.
I effectively hear the grinding of gears coming to a halt in his head.
Quietly, I say as I run my fingers through his hair, “Finn, take a deep breath. I know you’re on a high right now. Just kiss me for a minute.” I hear him noisily swallow, but he still refuses to say anything.
“Are you going to talk to me?” I implore. Nothing. He leans closer to me and reaching up, I touch his prickly jaw. “I’m here for you, baby. Whatever you need, just don’t shut me out. I want to be whatever you need me to be.” Moving slower and feeling the warmth of his lips inching closer, I warily raise my head to meet him in the dark. Our mouths gently collide and we eagerly kiss, our passion instantly igniting. My hands go to his hair, holding him to me. Hungrily licking my tongue with his and prodding me with his impatient dick, his hand moves down to my underwear, fisting the material before he tears at them. He’s becoming too worked up again. He’ll end up making a mistake he’ll regret in the morning.
Breaking my lips from his and my hands falling away as he shifts back, Finn yanks my underwear down my legs. When they’re gone, he lies down beside me and he pushes my legs apart. As he works his fingers inside me, I clutch the pillow beneath my head and moan from his touch.
Turning my head, I seek the sound of his fast breathing and I sit up enough to kiss his Adam’s apple, which violently bobs under my lips. I whisper, “Finnigan,” over his hot skin. I hear a groan moving in his throat and chest, but nothing else. He still doesn’t say a single word. I plead as I trail my mouth up to his jaw. “Finn, say something.” Trying another tack to get him to talk, I reach down to where his dick is grinding into my leg and stroke him. His groan is much more pronounced this time and he moves his hips into a cadence with my hand.
“Baby, put a condom on,” I whisper. “I want you.”
Suddenly he moves, his fingers slipping out of me, and I lie back onto the pillow. With his knees, he pushes my legs farther apart and hovers over me.
Again finding his jaw, I hold it in my hand as I ask, “What baby?”
He uses the sound of my voice in the darkness to find my lips and kiss me. His hand is between my legs, caressing, before he purposefully thrusts into me.
I rip my face from his and yelp, “Finn!” With his arms on either side of my head, he zealously pumps into me. I try to push him off me, but he’s so heavy and strong. “What are you doing?” He increases the speed of his hips and I try to heave him off, but he pushes his weight onto me and I can barely move as he continues to have his way with me.
“Finn, answer me!” I feverishly demand, but he doesn’t as his breathing picks up. He’s actually doing this to me? I don’t want him to!
Overwhelmed, I start crying and Finn’s movement immediately seizes to a halt. He quietly hovers over me while we both catch our breaths, but he makes no effort to pull out of me. I cry, “Why are you doing this to me after what you said earlier? This is cruel!”
Finally breaking his silence, he whispers, “Becks, I know what I’m doing.” His hands find my cheeks and he wipes my tears. “I’m not trying to hurt you.”
“Then, what the fuck are you doing?”
“I’m making love to you.” He says it like it’s the most obvious thing in the world and I’m too dense to catch on.
“It’s not making love if I tell you to stop!” I sniff and I add, “You were so mad at me and now you’re doing this! Is this a sick joke?”
He sighs and his hot breath bathes my face. “No, it’s not.”
Finn slowly starts moving his hips again, but refusing to accept that as a real answer, I lie completely still until he finally stops moving again. “Just make love to me. Forget everything else.”
“I can’t when all I can think about is how not to ruin your life.”
He brushes his mouth over mine. “You’re not. Just stop thinking.” I feel the deliberate pronunciation of every syllable in his words against my lips. “I want it hard. Fuck me, Hadley. Don’t leave me here alone. Take me away with you.” I gasp as he determinedly drives into me to prove his point. He reaches down to my waist to push and pull on my hips, tightly gripping me and coaxing me to pick up the pace. He loudly sighs. “Baby, you feel so good on me.”
“Finn, no!” I bring up my knees in a vain attempt to stop him, but it only makes him more resolved.
“Stop it,” he growls.
“Finn, it’s not a good week.” I start weeping again, yet this time he doesn’t even stop. I wheeze, “You’ll knock me up! I don’t want you to hate me!” I cry into my hands and he stops again, moving a hand away from my face.
“I could never hate you. No matter what happens.” He licks my bottom lip and kisses me as he picks up where he left off. Lifting his lips from mine, he pants over me, not saying anything as he grinds into me faster. He groans and finds my breast, kneading it.
“Finn—”
“Becks, shut up,” he pleads. He kisses me and whispers, “I’m going to come inside you. Just let me.”
What? “Why?”
He doesn’t answer my question directly. “Becks, I need you to move with me. I need to feel you. Make love to me.”
Why’s he doing this? He says he needs this, yet it feels like he’s only doing this for a high, an escape. Do I just let him and not say anything else until tomorrow when it’s too late? Will he blame me? He said he’d never turn his back on me.
“I want to, but—”
“How much do you love me?” he asks.
“I would die for you, Finn.”
“I would die for you, Hadley. I would die witho
ut you.” Wow… He whispers, “You said you’d be my safe harbor. Well, I need you to be right now. Love me, baby. This is what I want with you. I want to feel you and I don’t care about anything else. Please, Becks. I’m begging you. Make me forget about everything. I need this from you. Show me how much you love me. I need to feel you in my soul.”
I want him to trust me, but I need to give him the same due.
Taking a deep breath, I finally move my hips up.
He hisses, “Fuck yes.”
Moving together, he grabs my hands, one at a time, and slides them above my head, clasping our fingers. I try to see his face, but I can only make out the dark outline of him. I can still feel, hear, taste and smell him. I wonder if Bethany is worried about what happened to me.
Why am I letting him do this after what he said to me in his room? Yet, how can I not after his mom’s announcement? How can I deny him these things, no matter what it may lead to? If he wants to feel our closeness, then I’ll give it to him. I just hope he’ll be there for me if he gets me pregnant, and pray he doesn’t resent me if he does.
I told him I’ll do anything for him, be anything he needs, comfort him, and love him.
I want to keep my promises.
Fully engaging myself, I stream my tongue along his coarse jaw. His mouth opens as his breathing races, and I take that opportunity to thrust my tongue inside. He unclasps his hands from mine and runs a hand down the side of my body, dragging his fingertips roughly against my skin as we lose ourselves in our lovemaking.
I gradually move my free hand down and trail my nails up his back. He stops kissing me and deeply inhales. “Becks,” he groans. Scratching my fingers lightly through his stubble while stroking my thumb over his cheek, he turns his head and kisses my hand. I then slide my hand up into his hair and grab onto it hard, tilting his head toward me, making him pant and thrust faster.
“I love you,” I whisper. “I’ll be whatever you need. Anything for you, baby. I want to feel you, Finnigan.”
He stops and pulls out of me, only to solidly heave back into me, shoving me up against the pillows and I moan. “Again,” I whisper. This time, he pulls all the way out and lets go of my other hand. He pushes my legs out farther before he rams back into me. I yell at the delicious feel of it and the building orgasm he’s giving me. He withdraws again and with this thrust, I let go as the currents take hold. I cry out and even in the darkness, I’m able to hear his triumph.
Daring the Wild Sparks Page 7
