“Oh, Finn,” she whispered, her eyes fluttering closed. She felt his hands seek out the waist of her panties and gently start tugging at them, along with the bunched-up slip. Willow lifted her hips, and he slid both garments down the length of her legs to the floor. Now she was completely naked for the first time with Finn. For the first time with anyone since her surgeries.
Maybe that was why tonight felt different from the other times they’d come together. There was a newfound confidence in Finn’s touch as he let his hands roam all over the soft skin of her bare thighs, creeping higher and higher. She worried for a moment that he was focusing below her waist and avoiding her chest, but then she felt the flutter of his touch as he brushed over her center and all thoughts faded away. An explosion of sensation took its place as one finger slipped inside and stroked her aching core. Her heart started racing in her chest as he pushed her closer and closer to her release faster than he ever had before.
Her orgasm was hard and intense, knocking her back onto her elbows with the powerful spasms. He stayed there on his knees until the last tremors shook her legs, and then he stood up.
He immediately had his hand at his collar, quickly unfastening the buttons of his shirt. He tossed aside his shirt and whipped off his belt. Willow sat up to help. Her fingers sought out his fly, undoing the button and pulling the zipper down. Her hand slipped inside, slowly stroking the firm heat of him through his briefs.
“Willow,” he groaned, and then his mouth greeted hers. She met his intensity, stroking him with a sure, firm hand until he pushed forward and she fell backward onto the bed.
Before she could recover, Finn had slipped from his briefs and pants and was moving above her. The heat of his skin seared hers as he glided over her body. Willow’s thighs parted, cradling him. He paused only as he met her gaze and hovered there.
He was such a beautiful man. The first day when she’d found him on the beach, she’d thought he looked like a fallen angel. The angles and curves of his face were perfectly carved by a great master. She had seen him at his worst that day, and at his best today. But her favorite expression was the one he had now as he paused, motionless over her. His golden hair had fallen into his eyes, his desire for her evident in his dark brown depths.
Was it possible that a man like this could ever love a woman like her? He was a successful businessman. A billionaire famous in the Charleston society circles. He’d probably grown up going to private schools and taking horseback riding lessons. What was Willow? A nobody born to a pair of hippies. Sure, she’d written some books and done well enough, but it felt like she could never do enough to deserve the love of a man like Finn, even though she wanted it so badly her heart nearly burst at the thought.
Finn dipped his head down to kiss her and she closed her eyes to focus on the sensation of being with him. She could feel the tears gathering in the corners as the unwelcome emotions of the night swelled inside her. Things between them had moved so fast, but she’d comforted herself in knowing they’d likely never go this far. She’d let herself indulge in a fling with her unexpected visitor figuring there wouldn’t be any harm in it. But she was wrong.
His lips parted from hers, the air heavy and warm between them. Finn shifted against her, his spine arching and his hips moving forward. He entered her so slowly, and then paused there. Willow savored the sensation. She wanted Finn in her blood, his scent in her lungs, his taste on her lips, so she could keep him there in her forever.
His dark eyes searched her face for a moment as he hovered, buried deep and still inside her. “What am I going to do without you in my life?” he asked. “Isn’t there a chance you might be willing to stay longer?”
Her secret hadn’t driven him away. In fact, it had brought them closer. Was it stupid of her to run back to her island when she had something that felt special here? She needed to get as much of Finn as she could before it ended. “Maybe I could stay a few more days.”
“Really?” A broad smile crossed his face.
“Yes, really.”
Finn kissed her and the moment that had hung suspended in time suddenly began to rush forward. Emboldened by her response, Finn eased back and thrust forward again. And then again.
Willow clung to him, riding the waves of pleasure as they surged through her body. She drew her knees up and locked her ankles together at the small of his back. She didn’t want to let him go, not even for a second. This moment wouldn’t last forever, but she would savor it as long as she could.
It wasn’t long before Willow felt her release building up in her again. She bit her lip, trying hard to fight it off. It was too soon. “I’m not ready for this to end,” she said. And she didn’t just mean making love to Finn right this moment. She meant all of it. Adding a few days onto the trip was only delaying the inevitable. But he hadn’t asked her to stay forever.
Finn propped himself up onto his elbows and planted kisses along her jawline to her lips. He kissed her thoroughly and smiled. “There will be more moments. Enjoy this one.”
His hand slid up her outer thigh to her knee. He hooked her leg over his shoulder, tilting her pelvis up and driving harder and deeper than ever before. The sensation was incredible, causing Willow to cry out.
“Oh, Finn,” she gasped, clawing at his back. There was no use in prolonging her release now. It was impossible. She could feel the tightening in her belly, the driving surge of the countdown inside her. “Yes!”
Willow sucked in a large lungful of air and her eyes closed. Like a tsunami, her orgasm crashed through her. She clung to Finn for dear life as every nerve ending in her body lit up and her insides pulsated with pleasure.
“Willow...” he whispered, driving harder and faster than before until he stiffened and groaned. He gasped her name one last time as he surged into her body, leaving him exhausted and trembling.
He dropped over to her side, sucking ragged breaths into his lungs as his muscular chest rose and fell. They both lay together quietly for a few moments before Willow pushed herself up onto her elbow to look down at him. Damp blond curls were plastered to his forehead. His brow was furrowed from exertion as he lay there with his eyes closed.
“You’re a better man than you give yourself credit for being, Finn,” she said. “I don’t think the old you would’ve handled this the way you did tonight.”
He opened his eyes, looked at her and nodded with a sad certainty. “You’re right. The old Finn was far too focused on the things that don’t really matter. A woman’s outsides aren’t nearly as important as what’s inside. A good heart, a sensitive spirit and a loving soul make for a far more beautiful lady than a big rack and pouty lips.”
Finn rolled onto his side and reached out to caress her cheek. “And you, Willow Bates, are beautiful both inside and out.”
Ten
Sawyer finally escaped the man who had been trying to talk business with him for the past hour. He scanned the mostly empty ballroom, looking for the wife who had long abandoned him to the boring chat. He found her sitting at a corner table, her shoes discarded and her bare, swollen feet elevated on a nearby chair.
“I’m sorry,” he said as he approached her.
“This may have been the longest night of my life. If I was further along in this pregnancy I might’ve feigned labor just so we could leave.”
“You know I can’t leave these things early. Mother would notice.”
Kat picked up her sparkling-water-and-fruit-juice cocktail and took a healthy sip. “And yet the guest of honor has been missing in action for two hours now.”
Sawyer had noticed that he hadn’t seen his brother or Willow in some time. A few people had even approached him, thinking he was Finn. “He usually finds an excuse to bail on these things early. Why did he leave?”
Kat shrugged. “The last time I saw Finn, the blood was draining from his face while Tom publicly humiliated him. I wouldn’t be
surprised if he escaped because of that.”
Sawyer frowned at his wife. “Publicly humiliated? Finn? He loves telling those stories, especially because it gets my father all riled up.”
“Maybe the old Finn enjoyed reliving his wild past. But the man that came home with you is different, honey. I don’t think he’s quite as proud of his escapades. He could barely look me in the eye since he got here. I don’t know if he’ll be able to handle being in the delivery room when Beatrice is born.”
The orchestra finished their last song and thanked the remaining audience, signaling the end of the night. The catering team swarmed the ballroom, picking up the last of the dishware and breaking down the dessert bar.
Kat reached out her arms to Sawyer. “Take me home, darling. I’m through with all of this.”
Sawyer knelt to slip her ballet flats onto her feet and lifted her out of the chair. He wrapped his arms around her as best he could. “You know, we agreed this baby would never come between us,” he said as he looked down at the gap her expanding belly created.
“Very funny,” Kat said and gave him a quick, firm kiss. “I can actually feel myself getting bigger if I sit still long enough. The third trimester is not for wimps.”
“That is the last word I would ever use to describe you. You hand-carved Beatrice’s cradle. You’re a force of nature.” Sawyer wrapped his arm around her shoulder and walked her to the foyer. When their Range Rover was brought around, they settled in and headed back over the bridge to downtown.
“You know, I think I like the new Finn,” Kat said after a few moments of silence.
“I do, too. And I like Willow. I feel like she’s a good influence on him. I couldn’t say that about any other woman I’ve seen him with before.”
“The girls and I agree that she’s a keeper. I hope Finn is on board with that plan.”
Sawyer wasn’t so sure about that. He’d never thought he would see the day when Finn settled down. Their father had twisted his arm into proposing to Kat when she got pregnant, but his heart wasn’t in it. No one was more relieved when she turned him down than Finn was. “If Finn has changed for good, you might get your way. But...” He trailed off.
“But what?”
Sawyer frowned at the road ahead of him. “The doctors in Seattle said that Finn’s memory would eventually return. They seemed to think it was a side effect of the swelling in his brain when he hit his head. It’s not permanent. And when he does remember everything, I can’t help but think things will change drastically. Especially between him and Willow.”
“But he seems so disgusted by his old partying ways. You don’t think that his experiences since the crash will affect him after his memory returns?”
He wished he could say yes for certain, but Finn always seemed to find a way to surprise him. “I don’t know.”
“Well, I’d like to think that even with his memories, Finn has changed for the better. He’s had a near-death experience. And if you ask me, he’s fallen in love with Willow.”
“Finn?” Sawyer sputtered. “In love?”
“You’ve seen those two together. He may not want to admit it to himself or anyone else, but he loves her. If those two things combined don’t make him want to seize the moment and make the most of whatever time he has with her, I don’t know what would.”
Sawyer turned their SUV onto Market Street. If Finn really did love Willow, maybe Kat was right and the new Finn would outlast the amnesia. But the nervous ache in his gut told him it was a long shot.
“For everyone’s sake, I hope you’re right.”
* * *
Finn crawled out of bed at dawn for possibly the first time in his life. He knew now that he was a night owl. If he saw this hour of morning, it was because he hadn’t yet made it to bed. He knew a lot of things now. And that was why he couldn’t sleep.
He’d watched Willow sleep for a while, looking peaceful and beautiful on the pillowcase. Of course, she’d slept like a baby. Not only had she been well loved, but she’d finally lifted a great weight off her shoulders. She slept the sleep of a happy, free conscience.
Finn poured hot water into his French press and silently cursed himself. He’d had his memory back for less than ten hours and he was already acting like the self-absorbed shit he’d always been. The same person he said he didn’t want to be anymore. But he’d lied to Willow. She’d been by his side through this whole ordeal. She’d held his hand as he struggled with his memory and his place in the world. And when those memories finally came back, he kept it to himself and instead pushed Willow to be honest with him.
That was rich.
He pinched the bridge of his nose as he sat at his kitchen island. Willow had given him everything he’d asked for last night. He’d pushed her to trust him because he knew she needed to let the hurt and shame go. But he’d never forgive himself for doing it while his own pants were aflame. He was the last person anyone should trust.
Finn needed to tell her he’d gotten his memory back. Sitting over his coffee, he considered half a dozen scenarios where he’d stage his memory returning in a dramatic fashion, and he realized he was only making the situation worse by piling on more lies. He just needed to be honest with her, no matter the cost.
And yet he knew what the cost would be. He had no doubt that he would lose Willow. Not because of the lies, necessarily, but because of the truth. If his memory had returned, Finn was no longer lost in a sea of strangers, fighting to understand a life that made no sense to him. She would go because he remembered now. He remembered everything. He knew why certain women had looked at him at the party with wicked, hungry gazes and why others seemed to scowl at him from the edges of the ballroom.
He wasn’t lost. He didn’t need Willow to hold his hand. At least, not like before. Now he was just confused on how to move forward with his life. If he didn’t want to slip into his old bad habits, he had to make changes, as Willow had suggested. And he could. He was capable of being a better person. He could at least continue to be the person he’d become since the accident. But he got the feeling that the minute she returned to Washington State, those bad habits would resurface again.
Whether he was punishing himself for screwing things up with her, or just trying to forget Willow, he had no doubt he would party until her curious dark eyes stopped haunting him when he closed his eyes. And he knew that once he started down the path of booze and women, he wouldn’t want to stop again. It was a hell of a lot more fun than being stuffy and responsible like Sawyer, or an ass-kisser like Tom.
Sure, finding out who he really was had carried the excitement of knowing he was rich and important. But there was also a peace and easiness in just being Jack, who didn’t have a dime to his name but was happy with Willow in the middle of nowhere. Since Sawyer found him, it had been nothing but a roller coaster of emotions, culminating in last night’s flood of unwanted memories. Being a Steele had baggage. And being Finn Steele made everything complicated.
“I woke up lonely in a cold bed.”
Finn turned around to see Willow standing at the bottom of the stairs. She was wrapped up in a pink silk robe and wearing a pair of his bedroom slippers.
“I’m sorry,” Finn replied, leaning in to give her a good-morning kiss. “I couldn’t sleep.”
Willow looked mildly surprised. “After all of last night’s hard work, I would’ve thought you’d sleep like a baby.”
“Well, you certainly slept like someone who had been thoroughly and well loved. Would you like some coffee?”
“Actually, if you have some, I think I’d like tea.”
“I do. It’s in the far-left cabinet above the canisters. There should be English breakfast and Earl Grey.”
Willow was heading over to the cabinet when she stopped dead in her tracks and turned to look at him. “What did you say?”
That’s when he realized what he�
�d done. Amnesiac Finn wouldn’t know the first thing about what was in his cabinets or where, and yet the details had rolled off his tongue as easy as could be. He’d managed to blow it almost immediately.
“How would you know all that?” Willow pressed.
“I...” If anyone else had put Finn on the spot, he would’ve had a quick lie or comeback to deflect it. He could say he’d seen it earlier looking for coffee or sugar or anything. The lie hung on the edge of his tongue. But not with Willow. He knew what he had because he knew every inch of this home. “It’s just tea, Willow,” he said instead.
The expression of contentment she’d woken with started to crumple. She bit at her bottom lip and glared at him. “No, this is about more than the contents of your pantry, Finn. When we first got here, you couldn’t even find the powder bath on this floor. How long?” she demanded. “How long have you had your memory back?”
He could see the overhead lights reflecting as a shimmer in her moist eyes. “A day? A week?” Willow’s voice cracked as she spoke. “Has this whole thing been some kind of charade for you to get a break from your life and responsibilities for a while at my expense?”
“Absolutely not!” Finn insisted. Yes, he hadn’t been completely honest with her, but to accuse him of lying about everything? That was a low blow, especially considering the shape he was in when he turned up on the beach. It was as though she’d been waiting for him to betray her this whole time. “I just got my memory back, Willow. I swear it.”
“So you woke up with your memories this morning and decided not to wake me up and share the news?” She glared at him from across the kitchen island and dared him to lie again.
He sighed and looked down. “No, it wasn’t this morning.”
“Was it last night, then, at your big party? Did seeing all those beautiful women remind you of the nights you’ve spent with them? They were all certainly looking at you like they knew more than a casual stranger.”
Promises from a Playboy--A secret billionaire with amnesia romance Page 12
