I round the corner of the kitchen to see my best friend carrying her with a wide smile on his face as she swats at him.
“No way, beautiful. You could have caused damage if you fell in those shoes.” He twirls her around, and she squeaks, throwing her head back in laughter.
“What the fuck?” I bark, causing them both to freeze.
“No worries, man. It started to rain, and I was scared she’d break her ankle running to the door.” Tripp winks at me, putting her down. “Making sure the precious cargo arrived in one piece.”
I growl and give him a deathly glare until he steps back with both hands raised.
“I’ll have you know, I can run a long way in wedges. No need to worry.” Presley puts her hands on her hips and throws attitude his way.
Tripp glances at me, and we both fight a grin.
“I can!” she huffs.
“Right, I’m outta here.” He leans in to kiss her cheek and strolls out the door, giving me a sly wink.
Once the door closes, she turns to me with apprehension written all over her face. She looks around, not knowing exactly what to say.
“Presley,” I reach out my hand, “remember the proper hello?”
“Umm…” She stays in place and grips her purse to her stomach.
I take the two strides to get to her and lace my fingers through her hair, tilting her face to mine. Even in the wedges, she’s several inches shorter than me. She takes a deep breath and looks at me with questions in her eyes. There are no words as I run my lips across hers lightly.
“Always a proper hello,” I say against her mouth. “I’ve missed you.”
“Finn…” Her raspy voice vibrates on my lips, and my cock starts to stir.
Instead of answering her, I scoop her into my arms and carry her to the couch. I sit with her in my lap and hold her close, dropping my forehead against hers.
“I’m sorry.”
“Sorry?”
“Sorry about Wednesday, sorry about surprising you with my work, and most of all, I’m sorry about the way I left you. It’s been on my mind for days.”
“You don’t owe me an apology. I think maybe I was surprised stupid. In the matter of five minutes, I realized I knew nothing about you. There were a lot of assumptions on my part. Then, when Winnie clung to you, I realized I was an idiot. I should have been more careful about our relationship, been more cautious. She’s so young and naïve. It was stupid to bring her into my dating life.”
Fuck! She hit a nerve. I’ve been afraid she’d question her decision regarding Winnie.
“Don’t say that. I messed up. That’s on me, and I’m going to work like hell to make it up to you both.”
“But you shouldn’t have to. We’re still new. What happened on Wednesday isn’t uncommon. You got called into work, and it shouldn’t have been a big deal. We—”
“Stop right there. Let’s tackle this one issue at a time.”
Without warning, I flip us around so she’s forced on her back as I hover over her. My thigh presses down gently, keeping her still, and my hand slides to cradle her neck. Her breath hitches when I lean in and kiss along her parted lips. The warmth of her breath and the flutter of her eyes give me a push of encouragement. I continue to trail my mouth over hers, soaking in the feeling of our bodies pressed together.
“Does this feel new to you? How comfortable you are in my arms, the way my body responds to being next to yours?” I press into her hip, hoping she can feel the bulge in my shorts.
“Finn…”
“How far back do you want me to go?”
“What?”
“My life… How far back?”
“I want to know everything.”
“Twenty-eight years is a lot, so let’s skim and get to the present. You have questions, we’ll go back, okay?”
She nods.
“You already know about my friends and growing up in Nashville. At eighteen, Robbie, Max, and I joined the Marines. Max’s uncle and James were both military badasses, and we wanted to be like them. Ironically, Robbie and I excelled in intelligence. We did several tours in the Middle East. Our path was set to be career Marines. Four years ago, Robbie and I were attacked in a roadside bomb that killed six men. He was wounded badly, almost lost his leg, but I wouldn’t let him die. We got to safety and watched an explosion ten feet from where he was previously lying.
“I took some shrapnel, but otherwise, I was fine. We were taken to Germany for immediate medical treatment then flown stateside. Mine was much less invasive than Robbie’s because he had intense physical therapy. We were both treated for PTSD. After that, we decided to come back to Nashville.”
A tear slides down her cheek. “Hero, that’s what Ember said. You’re a hero.”
“I’m not a hero. I couldn’t save them all. And she’s pretty biased because I saved her lug of a husband.”
She giggles and reaches up to run her hand through my hair. The lightness of the touch leaves tingles on my scalp.
“We came home, and it was time to look at the rest of our lives without the Marines. I decided to finish my degree and work for James part-time. Hayes Security is all encompassing. There are several sides to the business: General security, Corporate Security, and more confidential areas. James works with some high level contracts that include Homeland Security, FBI, ATF, CIA, and other divisions of the government. His connections run deep. So I work where he puts me. In the last year, Robbie and I have been given clearance to work higher profile situations. That’s why I had to leave the other night. We have a potential situation.”
“Is it dangerous?”
This is it. No more hiding. I grip her tighter and look deep in her eyes. “Yes, it could be.”
She stays still as she absorbs the information. I decide to go all in. If I sugarcoat this, it’ll come back to bite me in the ass.
“I was shot at a few weeks ago in an attempted bank robbery.”
Her face goes pale as she inhales sharply.
“You were shot?”
“No, I was shot at. The guy was a junkie and couldn’t hit me if he tried.”
“Oh my God.”
“That’s not normal, but it happens.”
“Are you a part of law enforcement?”
“No, but we work closely with them. In this specific circumstance, James runs the security on the building. Only a few of us went down to get involved. Luckily, James has a lot of friends in the NPD. We got set up with surveillance and got a feel for the layout of the bank. Robbie and I knew immediately the guy was a wild card. They tried to negotiate, but he started acting cagey, so we went in through the air vents. Robbie and I stayed in an office observing his behavior.
“The man started to lose it as he came down from his high. At one point, he was beating on a woman. That was unacceptable, so Robbie and I took control. He fired off a few shots, but we had him down in a matter of seconds.”
“That is unbelievable.” There’s a sense of awe in her voice. “You are a hero.”
“No, I’m not. That is an extreme situation. Generally, I sit behind a desk or do some security gigs. When I was in Paris, I learned some techniques that help me in the cyber-tech fields.”
“You were in Paris?”
Tread lightly!
“I was. I spent a summer there with Raven and stayed on for the semester.”
She crinkles her nose and tilts her head in confusion. “Raven Collins?”
“Yes, but she wasn’t married then. Remember how I said we were good friends? Well, it’s more than that. She’s one of my best friends. She’s been in all our lives forever. When Robbie and I came home, she did too after graduation. We’re a close group. All of us.”
“Wow, this is a lot of information.”
“One more thing.”
“There’s more?”
“Babe, I skimmed the surface of the last ten years of my life. Of course there’s more, but this is
about you and me.
“I know you’ve got some hang ups about safety, and I respect that. But don’t let any of this come between what’s happening between us. I know I fucked up by not sharing the details of my job and being completely up front, but I was waiting for the right time.”
“Okay.” She fully relaxes in my arms.
“Okay?”
“Yes, like I said, I was blindsided and felt stupid for being so uneducated about your life. Now, I know.”
“Does this mean we’re okay?”
“If I say yes, will you kiss me?”
My hand tightens against her head, and I bend down until my lips touch hers. “Oh yeah.”
“Then we’re okay.”
She hardly finishes before I’m rolling her completely under me, and my tongue is sweeping across her mouth. She opens eagerly, and I growl at the first taste of her in days. Our tongues fight for control until she finally gives in and whimpers, arching her back into my chest.
My hand moves down her arms, side, and hip until it goes around to cup her ass and bring her body flush against mine. It’s my turn to moan when her nails scrape against the bare skin of my stomach where my shirt has risen. I take turns going deep and backing off to catch my breath as I devour her mouth. My dick throbs against the nylon of my shorts, begging for some kind of release as I rock against her hip.
“Jesus,” I hiss, breaking away and laying my head against her neck. “We have to stop.”
“Why?” she asks breathlessly, dragging her hand up my abs and leaving a searing sensation.
“Because I promised you dinner, and there’s only so much I can take.” I buck against her hip once more. “It’s taking all the self-control I have to not strip you naked and bury myself deep in your body. Since the first time I kissed you, I knew you’d ruin me forever.”
“I don’t want to stop.” She nibbles on my ear, and I know I’m going to blow. My balls start to clench, and if I don’t move, I’ll be humiliated and messy.
I jump up, making sure to protect her from falling, and stumble away, my chest heaving. It takes every bit of restraint I have not to crawl back over her body. Her lips are swollen and cheeks pink from when I rubbed my stubble along her soft skin. The straps of her tank top are falling down, exposing her collarbone and chest. She stares at me with a gleam in her eyes that I’ve never seen before and I’d give everything to see always.
“God, you’re beautiful.”
“Then why’d you stop?” She starts to blush and sits up, her hair falling into her face, and I can’t help but reach out and push it behind her ear.
“I have one last apology to make things right. If all is forgiven, I’m not stopping next time.”
“I already told you it was okay.”
“But Winnie hasn’t. Until I see a smile on her face, I’m going to torture myself.” I adjust my pants, trying to ease the throbbing in my cock. “But then, no promises.”
“What did you have in mind?”
“The Princess Party is adding a few more guests. Leave the pizza up to me.”
“Oh, Finn, she’ll love that.”
Her face lights up in a way that stirs something deep in my soul. I want to see this expression when I’m buried inside her, with our bodies locked together.
From the instant my eyes landed on her, I was a hopeless cause. Each little touch, each brush of her hand or glimmer in her eye, has chipped away at my heart. To most, I’m a pretty tough guy, but Presley has the power to bring me to my knees.
Chapter 12
Presley
This is insane! I take in the crowd of people hanging around the parking lot of Finn’s condo. Finn told me there’d be a few people here, but I had no idea there would be this many. I walk up nervously, trying to find someone I know. Tripp comes toward me with his arms open wide, and I cheerfully accept his embrace.
“Glad to see you here.”
“I’m glad to be here, but am I missing something? Are all these people here for the same reason?”
“Yeah, we’re a bunch of misfits and take every chance we can to celebrate.”
“Wow, didn’t realize it was that big of a deal.”
“Tripp! That’s twice in two days I’ve found you hitting on my girl. Step back.” Finn’s irritated voice booms through the crowd, and everyone stops talking to look at me.
I’ve never felt so exposed in all my life. My cheeks heat, and a bead of sweat runs down my back. In an instant, Finn is in front of me, kissing me softly and pulling me into him. There are a few whistles from behind, and I bury my face, scared to raise my head.
“What did you just do?” I mumble into his neck.
The rumble of pipes drowns out the ringing in my ears, and I turn to watch Robbie drive up with Ember following in her own car. Max jumps out of the passenger side and gives a big smile to the crowd. When his eyes land on mine, he glances between me and Finn then starts shaking his head.
Ember gets to me first, hugging me quickly then passing me to Max. “Good to see you again, Presley,” he says against my ear.
“You too, Max. I didn’t know you’d be here.”
“Hell yeah, I’m here for a week.”
“That’s awesome.” I step back and smile. This is the first time I get a good look at him. The day of the funeral is a bit of a blur. Even then, I spent so much time trying not to stare at Finn, I never got the chance to truly appreciate how handsome Max is. There is no doubt in my mind that Max, Finn, Tripp, and Robbie could cause mass hysteria in a room full of women.
“Okay, so now that we’ve established you all know who she is, can we meet her?” an aggravated voice calls out from behind.
Finn blows out a breath, kisses me on the forehead, and turns us back to the sea of curious faces. Suddenly, I’m in the spotlight again.
My eyes land on the breathtaking brunette holding a baby. I know immediately, this is Raven. A man stands beside her, and I swallow the screech in my throat. Declan Collins is also holding a baby and smiling widely at me. Together, they look every bit of the superstar couple that was displayed across papers around the country. Suddenly, I’m starstruck and can’t find my voice.
“I’m Raven.” She walks up and extends a hand, giving me a smile that doesn’t quite reach her eyes. I shake it feebly and try my best to form words. “And this is Elizabeth.” She bounces the tiny baby gently on her chest.
The baby gurgles, and I snap out of my daze. “Hi, I’m Presley.”
“Declan Collins,” he reaches out to take my hand next, “and this is James.”
I glance at the sleeping baby and smile. “They’re beautiful.”
“Thanks,” Raven beams and gives Declan an unmistakable look of pride and love.
“My turn.” A strawberry blond nudges through and grasps my hand. “I’m Abbi, and this is my husband, Jimi.” She points behind her at another striking man who is sizing me up.
“And I’m Harper, and this is my fiancé, Gabe,” the brunette behind Abbi says.
“Hi, everyone.” I give a shy wave.
My mind races. This is the crew… the people that mean so much to Finn.
Robbie and Ember…
Jimi and Abbi…
Gabe and Harper…
Raven and Declan…
Max…
Tripp…
“Don’t forget us! I’m Cruz, Ember’s cousin. This is my partner, Alex.” A man steps in front of me and grabs my shoulder gently. He rakes his eyes over my face and then breaks out in a mischievous grin. “And you are exquisite.”
The heat returns to my cheeks, and I bite my lip.
“Presley!” Evelyn calls my name as she walks out of the condo, followed by Tim, Jenna, and James.
I step around Cruz and rush to Evelyn, who wraps me in a gentle embrace. “Evelyn, it’s good to see you.”
“You too, honey. Quite the crew you just walked into, huh?”
“I don’t think I�
��ve ever been so surprised and unprepared. I’m going to strangle Finn!”
She giggles, and I step back to say hello to Tim. Once again, I feel heat on my back. I turn to see everyone’s eyes on me. Raven, Abbi, and Harper’s mouths are hanging open.
“You’ve met Evelyn?” Raven’s voice is terse with a touch of bitterness.
I nod, unsure why she’s upset. Then she turns to Finn with fire in her eyes. “Where the hell have you been hiding her?”
He shrugs and ignores her irritation, coming to me. “We’re in the truck with Ember and Max.”
“This isn’t exactly a few guys picking up your bikes.”
“Sure it is. We all got one, except Robbie, because he already had his.”
“Even the dads?”
“Oh, yes, dear, Tim and James have been talking about this for a while. Boys and their toys,” Evelyn tells me with humor in her voice.
“Let’s go.” Finn takes my hand and leads me to Ember’s SUV.
Everyone piles into their own vehicles, and I watch Declan strapping in his children’s car seats with fierce determination. He checks the straps several times before he’s satisfied then picks up Raven and sets her in the passenger seat. Before he shuts the door, he lays a quick kiss on her lips and runs a hand through her hair. It’s an incredibly intimate gesture.
“What are you looking at?” Finn scoots closer to me.
“Declan and Raven. They have a beautiful family.”
“They do.”
“Why was she so aggravated with you?”
“Because he’s kept you hidden, but don’t take it personally. Robbie did it to me, too.” Ember answers cheerily for him.
“Why?”
“I didn’t hide you, as everyone keeps implying. I’ve been selfish.” Finn kisses my temple.
“So I have some news,” Max tells the car. “I’m being transferred in September. Going to Quantico.”
“Congratulations, man!” Finn slaps his shoulder.
“Does this mean no more deployments?” Ember asks.
“Not in the traditional form. I’ll know more in a few weeks.”
The rest of the ride, we talk about Max’s upcoming move. When we pull up in front of the Harley Davidson dealership, there are eight bikes lined up in the front, all gleaming.
Finn Page 10
