“Mmm, that sounds nice.” I run a hand over his abs, feeling them contract at my touch. When I reach the waistband of his shorts, I tease him by dipping a finger inside and circling his head gently. “But I need a few more minutes to finish my notes.”
“Jesus, woman, keep it up and see what happens.”
I remove my hand and go back to focusing on my laptop. He rolls to his back and blows out a frustrated sigh, adjusting his shorts. His phone rings, and he groans when he looks at it.
“This should be interesting.” He swipes the screen. “What’s up, James?”
He gives me a gesture that he’s going to take the call in the other room, and I nod in understanding. While he’s gone, I finish my notes on his final paper and save them for him to review tomorrow. Then I answer some emails and confirm deadlines for the week.
It wasn’t the smartest decision to play hooky today, but I don’t feel an ounce of guilt. The minute Finn told me he was skipping class to spend the day with me, I agreed wholeheartedly. And to be honest, it was one of the best days of my life. Not because Finn and I spent most of the day naked, tangled up in each other’s arms, but because I got to spend the entire day with only him. No family or friends to distract us.
He shared childhood stories of him and the guys and told me about his time in the military. I pushed him to tell me what exactly happened in Iraq a few years ago and couldn’t stop the tears when he told me about his trip with Robbie and Max to visit the deceased men’s graves and families. With each word he spoke, I decided Ember was right. He is a hero.
The only downfall to our day was when he mentioned spending the summer in Paris with Raven two years ago. Envy bubbled inside, and I had to bite my tongue to keep from blurting out her hostile behavior on Saturday. It was clear they were extremely close, and a part of me understood her need to question my presence. Even if she did it with an attitude.
In turn, I told him stories of my childhood and growing up with two overly zealous brothers. He asked about my mom, and I talked openly about her beauty and love of life. He didn’t press me for details, but I briefly mentioned her death and the impact it had on my dad. Then I moved on to stories about Reese.
All throughout the day, he kept me close, always touching me in some way. Sometimes it was sexual, and sometimes it was just to have me near him. It was uncharacteristic of me to sleep with Finn after such a short amount of time, but for some reason, I felt closer to him than anyone I’d ever dated. Our connection was more intense, more solid. I trusted him completely and believed it when he said he wasn’t letting me go.
I’m so lost in my thoughts that when I glimpse at the clock, I realize he’s been on the phone for over twenty minutes. I knew he had someone take notes in his class today, but did he skip work as well?
I put away my laptop and go the living room to check on him. My stomach growls loudly, causing him to look up from his spot on my sofa and give me a lopsided grin. I giggle, slightly embarrassed, until he motions for me to come to him. He pulls me onto his lap and gives me a finger that he’ll be another minute.
“Robbie, man, we got this. If it escalates, I can start a monitor on the outside perimeter. We’ll have footage of anyone coming and going. If the Governor wants, I can even lock in a few hidden cameras to watch his personnel. We can determine if anyone is acting suspicious.”
There’s some rumbling through the line that I can’t understand.
“Yeah, I’ll be in after class tomorrow, and we can finalize the outline. I’ll work up some options about looking into his staff without drawing attention.”
More grumbling.
“Okay, guys, see you tomorrow.”
This time, I hear distinct chuckles and a few loud remarks.
“Funny. Both of you should be fucking comedians. I’ll tell her you said hi, and we’ll both be there Saturday night. Tell Ember to calm down.”
He ends the call and tosses his phone to the other side of the couch then falls back and takes me with him.
“That sounded interesting.”
“More EMOP.”
“Jeez, how many emergency operation plans do y’all have?”
“Only a few. This is the same situation from last week.”
The hair on the back of my neck starts to prickle, and I push up to face him. “Can you talk about it?”
“A little. That was James and Robbie. We’re helping an old friend of James’.
“Helping him how?”
“Does the name DeSantis ring a bell?”
“The Governor of Louisiana?”
“Same man. He’s making a run for Senate, and he’s conservative to the core. Some people aren’t too happy, and he’s being pro-active about protecting his family.”
“Pro-active? Is he being threatened?”
“Not directly. He’s had a few leaks and some gut feelings, but nothing concrete.”
“Why not call the police?”
“Babe,” he raises an eyebrow and sighs, “you’re new to this, and I’ll try to explain without scaring you. But if you had the expertise of James Hayes, you’d ask him for help a thousand times over the local authorities. He’s a legend, and he’s sly. His knowledge supersedes most top officials in the world.”
“Wow, that’s both intimidating and incredible.”
“Yeah, he’s pretty cool. I’m lucky to be learning from the best.”
“Are you in danger?”
“Not now.”
His answer doesn’t sit well, and my body stiffens.
“Hey,” he says, threading his hands through my hair, forcing me to look at him. “I’m good at what I do, and I’ve got a team of professionals at my back. Right now, there is no real threat.”
I nod and try to appear calm, even with the uneasy feeling in the pit of my stomach.
“Presley, stick with me here. Don’t shut down. Trust me to do the right thing and stay safe.”
I nod again and lean into his hand.
We’re both quiet as he massages my scalp and searches my face for any sign of panic. But I force myself to do as he asks and trust he knows what he’s doing.
“I believe you,” I finally admit, truthfully.
“Presley, you’ve given me so many things today. I want you to know this has been the best day of my life so far. And not because of the sex, but because of you.”
My heart skips a beat at his raw sincerity. This is a relationship changing moment that will forever stay in my head.
“I feel the same way.”
“How about we order some dinner and then go back to bed? I believe I made a vow you’d think about me every time you move tomorrow.”
“I already will,” I say quietly, squeezing my thighs.
He stands quickly, lifting me with him. I give a small squeak when he moves his hands to grip my ass and turns toward my room.
“Change of plans. I think I’m going to have you as an appetizer, and then we’ll order dinner.”
My stomach does summersaults thinking about the way he devoured me last night until I saw stars. “Sex, dinner, and then more sex. A girl can get used to this.”
“Oh, baby, you have no idea. We’re just getting started.”
Chapter 15
Finn
Tripp’s a dead motherfucker. The whistle was bad enough, but his eyes haven’t moved off of Presley since we walked in her door. She currently has her cell to her ear as she runs around in a frenzy, throwing things in her bag.
‘I’m sorry’ she mouths and gives me an apologetic look, pointing to the phone.
‘It’s okay’ I mouth back.
She hustles to her computer and starts typing frantically, as I elbow Tripp in the gut.
“Get your eyes off my girl before I blind you,” I hiss.
“Man, how the fuck did this happen? What’s she doing with you?” he goads me then sidesteps out of my reach. “I mean, look at her.”
I don’t have t
o because the sight of her in the aqua blue halter dress and matching sandals is burned in my brain. If he wasn’t here, I’d have her pressed against the wall with her legs wrapped around my waist while my dick was buried in her wet heat.
“Tell me again why I agreed to let you ride with us?”
“Because Presley wouldn’t let us take the bikes.”
“I understand why now.” I refer to her outfit. No matter how hard I tried to get her to agree to the motorcycle, she argued that tonight was too important to show up in shorts with helmet head. Then she explained she was still a little nervous about my friends and wanted to make a good impression. And since I have no balls left, I conceded with no pressure.
It’s been three days since I left Presley in bed on Wednesday morning and forced myself to meet Robbie at the gym. She’s had Winnie Wednesday through Friday night this week, and we decided it was too soon for me to spend the night. Presley wants to talk to her dad and Winnie together, she explained nervously.
I wasn’t happy, but I understood, telling her to take her time and ease them into the idea. But damn if I’m not going to push her to have that conversation soon, because after having her in my arms when I fell asleep and woke up for those few days, I became addicted. Even when she called me after Winnie was asleep, it was no comparison.
“Stace, hold on a sec. My boyfriend and his friend just arrived.” Presley puts her phone down and comes to me. “Hi.” She lifts up and presses her lips against mine, then she reaches over to squeeze Tripp’s arm.
“Guys, this will only be a few more minutes. This client has been out of touch for a few weeks because of personal reasons. Help yourself to anything in the kitchen. There’s beer in the fridge.”
“No problem.” I sweep her hair over her shoulder, gripping the back of her neck. I run my lips across her cheek and nibble lightly on her ear.
“Promise to hurry.” She steps away and goes back to her call. “Guys, this may get a little dicey. Warning you now.”
Tripp and I exchange a look of confusion until Presley starts chatting again.
“Okay, Stace, I’ve sent you my notes. Once you read over them, we can discuss. Most of the concerns stem around your sex scenes. Graphic sexual content is acceptable in a romance, but some of your elements borderline BDSM. We have to tweak to the market you are targeting.”
She stops talking and scribbles on a notepad.
“I think I need a beer for this.” Tripp goes to the kitchen and comes back with two bottles, handing me one.
“Remember, you are paying me for content editing. This is only my opinion. You do what you want.” Presley crinkles her eyebrows and bites on the end of her pen.
Silence.
“Okay, I think you’re off to a good start. There’s some definite heat between these two characters. We just need to finesse the scenes. For example, I’m not an expert but, when giving a blow job, I’m not sure a man wants his balls to be bitten.”
Tripp and I both hiss and groan at the thought of someone clamping down on our balls with their teeth.
“Maybe take a softer approach. Something along the lines of caressing his balls with her tongue until he whimpers with need.”
Now, my dick leaps to attention in my shorts.
“Yes! That’s great. Take that gentle and sensual energy throughout the book. Soften the anal scene with more preparation and trust. Give the characters more sexual intimacy and less pornographic verbiage.”
Presley listens to Stace’s response and nods her head triumphantly. “Perfect! I love that! It’ll change the whole feeling throughout the book. So let’s re-group next Wednesday and see if we’re ready to move this one to the next stages.”
Presley and Stace talk for another minute before Presley hangs up and pumps her arms in the air. “That was great!”
“Do you have a secret life as a sex operator?” Tripp questions.
“Not at all, but I’m semi-familiar with what works in the genre, and this woman was open to suggestions.”
“Well, you’re right about men not liking our balls in a teeth clamp. The thought alone makes me want to hurl.”
Presley starts to blush right before she bursts into laughter and hangs her head.
“Seriously, man, what the hell is this perfect woman doing with you?” Tripp repeats his earlier question.
“I can’t fucking wait until I can throw your words back in your face one day.” I take his empty beer to the trash and grab Presley’s overnight bag from the table as she shuts down her laptop.
“All ready to go,” she announces.
“Babe, what the hell is in this bag?”
“I have a few treats for Blade and a bottle of wine for Ember as a hostess gift. And Winnie and I picked up a gift for Robbie’s birthday.”
“Jesus,” I mutter.
Presley sets the alarm and winks at me when I notice she hasn’t changed the code. I help her into the truck, kissing her quickly as she buckles in. There’s no doubt in my mind that if Tripp wasn’t with us, we’d be arriving at Robbie’s a few hours late.
“626 needs us to stop for ice,” Tripp tells me.
“Who’s 626?” Presley turns back to look at him.
“It’s our code from a long time ago. Each of us has a code based on our birthday. We originally made them up to refer to our parents, but they stuck through the years. 626 is Robbie,” I explain.
“That’s cute.”
Tripp chuckles, shaking his head. “Not cute if you knew what we were doing.”
“What was that exactly?” She raises an eyebrow at me.
“Let’s just say, we all survived a lot of mischief by using the codes through the years.”
“So your friends call you 410?” she refers to my birthday on April tenth.
“Sometimes.”
“That’s ingenious, but I like Hero better.”
I grunt at the same time Tripp snorts.
We pull into the convenience store for ice, and the second Tripp is out of the truck, I lean across the console and bring her face to mine. “I’ve fucking missed you.” I outline her lips with my tongue and nibble gently. “After we eat, we’re leaving the party.”
“We don’t want to be rude,” she murmurs against my mouth.
“It won’t be rude. Believe me. Every man that lays eyes on you tonight will wonder how we even made it out of the house.”
“What about Tripp?”
“Baby, Tripp and Max are staying at Robbie and Ember’s tonight. We have the whole place to ourselves.” I run one hand down her neck and chest, then outline the ‘v’ of her neckline. The material has shifted to the side, exposing the lace of her black strapless bra. “Fuck, knowing what’s under this will have my dick hard all night.” My thumb skims over her nipple.
“It’s a matching set, black lace…”
Images of peeling her out of this dress and giving full appreciation for my new love of black lace fill my head. I place her hand on my cock to show her how she affects me.
“When I say we’re leaving, you need to help me get out of there. Those girls can be ruthless.” I pull back and peck the tip of her nose as Tripp returns.
“Did I interrupt something?” He catches me adjust my shorts.
“Yes.” Presley fixes the top of her dress and then faces him. “Finn just dropped the bomb that the women at this party are ruthless.”
He howls in laughter, his whole upper body shaking. “Sweetheart, you have no idea. But I’ll rescue you if Finn isn’t around.”
I shoot him a death glare, which only makes him laugh harder.
Puppies, babies, parents… I think of anything to get rid of my hard-on. It almost works until she lays her hand on my knee, and her touch ignites the need to be inside her.
Shit, it’s going to be a long night.
“You cost me a fucking mint,” Max tells me, clinking his beer bottle against mine. “Couldn’t you have held out for a few mo
re weeks?”
“You referring to the stupid fucking bet?”
“Yep.”
“Would you have waited a few more weeks?” I tip my head to Presley sitting with the girls on the floor with Blade in her lap.
“Not a chance in hell. Happy for you, man.”
The front door opens, and I groan when Charlie walks in followed by her boyfriend, Blake, and the rest of the band. Raven and Declan come in last, without the babies.
“Here we go.” Robbie points to Charlie. “Did you warn Presley?”
“Nope. Better go see how this plays out.” I head toward the living room and stop dead when Presley gets up and slips back as people greet each other. The hair on the back on my neck stands when Raven gives her an impassive look and then hugs my mom warmly.
Presley’s eyes go to the floor, and she scoots further away, almost hitting the wall, when Raven drops down and rubs on Blade. The room is full of activity, but I meet my mom’s eyes and know she’s aware of what’s happening. She gives me a look of warning, and I cuss under my breath, wondering what the hell is going on.
“Hey, man,” Declan greets me with a slap on the back. “Good to see you.”
I nod slightly and go to Presley’s side. “Babe, you okay?”
“Absolutely,” she lies. “I was moving out of the way.”
Before I get a chance to make introductions, Charlie is in front of us. She openly rakes her eyes up and down Presley and then speaks.
“Are you the new girl?”
Presley’s already stiff body goes rock solid. The chatter around the room dies, and every eye is on us.
“Charlie, don’t start.” I stand behind Presley and lock my arms around her waist.
“Calm down. Ember’s been singing her praises for weeks. I’ve been dying to meet the girl who gave Finn Black the disease. It’s about damn time.”
“Charlie!” Ember huffs, throwing her hands on her hips.
The room is silent for about four seconds before everyone erupts in laughter. I hide my own amusement by burying my head in Presley’s neck, feeling her relax.
Finn Page 13
