He buried his face in the crook of her neck, sucking in air as he came down from the high. It had been everything he’d fantasized about and more. And he’d had a lot of fantasies starring Meg in the last year. Hearing her scream his name and beg him to make her come was beyond hot. He wanted to do it again. Often.
It was the most mind-blowing sexual experience of his life.
There was someone in bed with her.
The thought was foreign enough to startle Meg awake. It had been a while since she’d been in the same bed with anyone, and she wasn’t used to the sensation of a man holding her while she slept, his body heat wrapping around her. It felt nice, but it was just…weird.
Ah, well. She wouldn’t have time to get used to it, so she just let herself lie there for a few minutes and enjoy it. Finn was pressed against her back, his arm and leg slung over her, pinning her in place. Trying to make sure she couldn’t escape? Her lips twitched at the thought.
Unfortunately, she needed to pee, so she was going to have to untangle herself in the very near future. She had no idea what time it was, but a shaft of sunshine appeared between the curtains, so she knew it was morning. The night before had been crazy. Anne had called to let them know her sister was okay, and she had taken her mother in hand, much to the relief of the hospital staff.
Then Meg and Finn had gone another round on the mattress before they’d passed out.
She waited to feel some pinch of remorse for her behavior—some morning-after regret. It didn’t come. What she felt was boneless relaxation and a lack of tension that she hadn’t experienced in a very long time. The buzz of endorphins that only came from really, really good sex. She’d forgotten what that could be like. A smug grin curled her lips. She didn’t throw caution to the wind very often, and she doubted she’d ever make it a habit, but at the moment she didn’t feel too shabby.
“Uh, Finn?”
“Hmm?” He nuzzled the nape of her neck, his stubble rasping against her skin and making her shiver.
She poked the arm that held her down. “Finn, I need to go.”
That brought him awake, and his body went rigid, his hold actually tightening. When he spoke, his tone was wary. “You need to go?”
It took her a second realize how he’s taken what she’d said. “Not go as in leave, go as in go. To the bathroom.”
“Oh.” His chuckle sounded relieved. Rolling onto his back, he let her loose.
Pushing to her feet, she grabbed her purse and hustled into the bathroom to take care of business. While she was there, she dug out a travel toothbrush she kept in her bag and got rid of her morning breath. It didn’t take her long, and when she opened the door, she found Finn lounging in the doorway. Surprised, she stumbled back a step.
“Sorry. Didn’t mean to scare you.” His eyes danced with merriment. “I need a minute in there too. And I was curious why you needed your purse to take a leak.”
“I have a travel-sized toothbrush that I always keep with me.” She lifted her bag for him to see. “Sometimes I need it after lunch, but it worked well today too. The bathroom’s all yours.” She turned to the side to slide past him, but he pinned her against the doorjamb.
He bent down and kissed the side of her neck. “Good morning, Meg.”
There wasn’t a coherent response she could come up with. Her insides quivered, melted at the feel of his naked body against hers. He stroked a hand up her hip, his fingertips rasping over her flesh while he bit her earlobe. Her nipples went tight, and a shiver passed through her. She had to consciously keep hold of her purse, because it threatened to slip out of her fingers as her body went pliant for his.
“How do you feel about ordering room service and spending the morning in bed?” His voice was still a little rough from sleep, and the sound made her mind conjure up a few very naughty things they could do to each other.
Her heart rabbited in her chest, and she had to swallow before she could manage to squeeze a word out. “Okay.”
“Great.” He raised his head, his blue gaze burning bright as it met hers. “While I’m in here, why don’t you look over the menu? I left it on the pillow for you.”
After stumbling to the bed, she let her legs collapse out from under her. Her purse hit the floor with a thunk. Holy Jesus. She’d have thought they would have burned off some of the craving the night before, but apparently not. Heat thrummed through her, arrowing straight to her core. She crossed her legs, trying to squelch some of that longing. Being naked right now felt like too much, so she grabbed the shirt he’d discarded last night and tugged it over her head. It hung down to her thighs and sagged off one shoulder, but all the important parts were covered. Good enough. She heard the toilet flush and grabbed the room service menu. She was supposed to have looked it over by now.
Finn strode out of the bathroom, scrubbing a hand over his rumpled bedhead. She was pretty sure she’d helped mess it up before he’d gone to sleep. “Did you see anything you wanted?”
“Do you really have to ask?” She widened her eyes, waving the menu to encompass his nude body. His amazingly gorgeous, sculpted body. She had to resist the urge to fan herself.
His muscles bunched and rippled as he moved across the room. “I meant for breakfast.”
“So did I.” She waggled her eyebrows and tried for a lecherous look, though she doubted it was very successful.
A laugh rumbled out of him. “And you seem so quiet and sweet most of the time.”
“I am, but not every second of the day.” Her lips quirked and she fought a flush. “And, uh, usually not in bed.”
Though she’d been a bit more uninhibited than normal last night. Apparently, he brought out the hedonistic side of her, which made her squirm a bit, but she couldn’t deny she’d relished every second.
“I am so happy about that, I can’t even begin to tell you.” He rolled his eyes dramatically, and collapsed across the end of the bed, propping his head on his hand.
His gaze slid from her bare legs up to her wild rat’s nest of hair. The inspection made her overly aware of her appearance. She forced herself not to fidget or try to smooth her unruly curls.
He tilted his head. “I like you in my shirt, but I like you better out of it.”
The invitation to strip was there, but she felt inexplicably self-conscious. Not shocking, considering how long it had been since she’d gotten naked with anyone, especially someone as sexy as Finn. Who was she kidding? She’d never been with anyone as sexy as Finn. Ignoring the urge to pinch herself to make sure she was awake, she dropped her gaze back to the menu. “So, um. Maybe the seasonal fruit and banana bread thing for me. Did you need to look at this?”
“No, I saw it. I’m going for the omelet.”
It only took her a moment on the phone to place their order and was promised a quick delivery. She thanked the staff member and hung up. “They said twenty minutes or so.”
“Are you all right?” One of his hands wrapped around her ankle. “Are you regretting last night?”
“No!” She made a chagrined face. “No. It’s just…been a while since I had to do a morning after, and I’m a little rusty on the protocol.”
He rolled to his hands and knees so he could crawl up the mattress and sit next to her. “You’re overthinking this, Phillips.”
“I do that.” What else could she say? She was a bookworm and always had been—introspection was her way. It wasn’t likely to change anytime soon.
He brushed a kiss over the shoulder his shirt didn’t cover and then rested his forehead against hers. “I’d already figured that out about you, sweetheart. But you don’t have to worry with me. I’m not grading your post-coital protocol. I want us to relax and enjoy this week together.”
She nodded, unable to avoid his gaze from this close, so she let him see the truth. “I know. It’s fine…I just had an awkward moment. Really, I don’t have any regrets. I promise.”
Bringing his hands up to frame her face, he kissed her—the touch so gentle
it made her heart tumble. She set her palm on his chest, the crisp hair there tickling her skin as she slipped her hand lower. The warm, resilient flesh just made her want to slide her fingers over every inch of him.
When he drew back and searched her face, she wanted to drag his mouth down to hers again. Then his stomach rumbled under her palm, making them both laugh.
Shaking her head, she scooted away from him a little. “Okay, we need to be distracted or we’re going to end up in a really unfortunate position when room service shows up.”
He shrugged to concede the point. Leaning toward the nightstand, he grabbed the remote control and flipped on the television. “There has to be something on that will entertain us both.”
After pulling up the channel menu, he started scrolling through the shows that were playing. “News, no. Golf game, no. Cooking station, no. Home decorating, very big no. Oh, hey, what about Pawn Stars?”
“What’s that?”
He stuffed a pillow behind him and sat against the headboard. “It’s a show about a pawn shop here in Las Vegas. I keep meaning to go out and see it when I’m in town visiting my dad, but I never quite make it.”
“And pawn shops are fun?” She couldn’t keep the doubt out of her voice. She’d always pictured those places as dirty with an edge of sleaze where desperate people had to hawk their precious belongings to pay off debts. It sounded sad.
“Yes, they’re fun. Just watch.” His enthusiasm was undimmed by her skepticism. “This show features all the cool stuff people bring in to try and sell. They go through the appraisal process, see if the stuff is authentic and worth anything, and then negotiate a price. A lot of the things have historical value.”
“Like what?” She shifted around on the mattress and settled back against the pillow beside him.
He gestured to the TV as the opening credits showed a few items featured on the episode. “Well, like stained glass windows from the Victorian period or a Babe Ruth baseball card.”
Now that got her attention. She had a massive collection of baseball cards she’d inherited from her grandfather. Some of the cards were probably valuable, but she’d never sell them. The memories that came with them were priceless. “They have old baseball cards?”
“You like baseball?”
“I love baseball. My grandpa and dad are both huge, huge fans and they used to take me to games when I was little. When I was a teenager, it was the only topic my dad and I could discuss without arguing.” All that arguing had cemented her vitriolic hatred for conflict.
“The teen years are rough,” Finn agreed.
She huffed out a laugh. “Especially when your parents are going through a nasty divorce because your dad cheated with some bimbo named Barbie. Seriously, Barbie.”
It had a taken a long time and a lot of apologizing from her dad to get her back on good terms with him. At first, he’d justified and excused his behavior while flaunting his new girlfriend around town. It wasn’t until the relationship soured that he’d realized how badly he’d screwed up. Meg didn’t think her mother had ever gotten over it—still bitter about men in general.
Finn made a little humming noise and stroked a hand down Meg’s hair. “Barbie actually sounds like the perfect name for a home-wrecker.”
Home-wrecker. Meg winced. She hated that word, hated how Barbie had gloated over her mom’s devastation. Was there any worse kind of person?
“Sorry, I don’t know why I’m telling you this.” She rubbed the hem of the shirt between her fingers.
“I’m glad you did.” He leaned over and kissed her temple. “Oh, look, they’re doing the Babe Ruth card now.”
They sat in silence for a moment to watch the process of buying and selling. Very interesting. The place didn’t look gross and dingy on-screen.
When the show went to commercial, she pulled her knees up to her chest and grinned. “Baseball is so awesome. The game has such a rich history that’s tied up with things like wars, immigration, and Civil Rights. It’s fascinating. I even did my history thesis on the All-American Girls Baseball League, which was active around World War II.”
“Like in A League of Their Own. Good movie. It had several hot chicks.” He widened his gaze innocently when she shot him a dirty look. “What? I’m allowed to notice. Besides, I like baseball too. I prefer college ball to pro though—those guys are a bunch of overpaid whiners. They’re in it for the money, not the love of the game.”
“Yes! Oh, my God.” She threw up her hands. “I could not agree with you more.”
“I take a trip over the hill from Half Moon Bay to catch the Cal versus Stanford game every year.”
“Me too.” It was right on the tip of her tongue to invite him to come with her, but then she stopped herself. No. That would violate her own rules, and she didn’t do that.
He nudged her with his shoulder, and when she glanced at him, she knew he’d guessed what she was thinking. Amusement reflected in his gaze. “We could always go as friends.”
“No. We really couldn’t. You and I aren’t meant to be friends.” Being near him as his friend would be torture. And a lie. She’d done that with Brandon, and look how that had turned out. Another lesson she’d learned the hard way. Wanting one thing and giving something else. Better to have nothing than that endless torment. She couldn’t do that to herself or to Finn. It wouldn’t be right or fair.
After giving her a pointed glance, he returned his focus to the TV. “You’re right. We’re not meant to be just friends.”
She knew he’d deliberately taken her words the wrong way, because he thought they were meant to be more than friends. There was no point arguing with him. He knew where she stood, and she knew he hoped she’d change her mind. Stalemate. But there was nothing that could change her mind, not even the best sex of her life. This…closeness between them ended when spring break did. Then things could go back to normal.
Or as normal as things ever were with their chemistry spiking off the charts.
Chapter Five
She was a study in contradictions, and it fascinated him.
Cool, quiet, and logical out of bed. Hot, wanton, and willing between the sheets. Sweet and a little shy the morning after. If anything, last night had only steeled his resolve to change her mind. He knew she was a long way from giving in, but he wanted her even more.
The remains of breakfast were piled on a tray, and they sat together in bed watching the Pawn Stars marathon. It cracked him up that she seemed so enthralled by baseball memorabilia. Another surprise. But he liked just being here with her, hanging out and chatting. No pressure, no façades. The news about her parents’ divorce had shed some light on her reluctance to get involved…probably with anyone, not just him. He thought there might be more layers to her resistance than he’d first imagined, no thanks to her cheating father. That would be hard to watch as a kid, and definitely had the potential to make for a wary adult.
Good thing he liked a challenge.
He reached over to run a fingertip up her arm until he touched her sleeve. “I do like you in this thing.”
“I just borrowed it.” She shrugged, and one shoulder of the shirt slipped dangerously low. “Don’t worry, I’ll give it back.”
“Don’t be surprised if I want it back pretty soon.” He traced the curve of her collarbone, her shoulder, down the neckline of the shirt until he stroked the top of her cleavage.
Her breath caught, lifting her breasts higher. The thin cotton clearly outlined her beaded nipples, and he wanted his hands on them, wanted to suck them into his mouth one by one until she gasped and begged.
She licked her lips. “Finn.”
God, he loved when she said his name like that, all breathless and wanting. It made him hard, and the fact that he was naked did nothing to hide his condition.
Her gaze dropped to his lap, and her lovely silver eyes went wide.
“Yeah.” He chuckled. “I want you. Hardly a surprise, is it?”
She shook her head slo
wly, her gaze not leaving his cock, which jerked under her attention. Setting her hand on his thigh, she made him shudder.
“I want you, too.”
It was almost too soft to hear, but his chest tightened with emotion that he couldn’t even begin to name. Dipping down, he pressed his mouth to hers. She sighed, parting her lips for him, and he tangled his tongue with hers. She tasted of the fruit she’d had for breakfast and something uniquely Meg. The kiss was tender enough to make that band of emotion around his chest cinch tighter.
He cupped her breast, thumbing the tip while she moaned into his mouth. Blood raced through his veins as his heart rate sped. Her nails dug into his leg the longer he stroked her nipple, and she arched to press herself deeper into his touch. The smell of her, feel of her, was the headiest aphrodisiac he’d ever encountered. His cock ached, especially when her fingers slipped higher, her knuckles just brushing the underside of his erection.
They both jolted when his phone blared out a ring, and he snarled. “Fuck.”
“What’s wrong?” The question was hazy with lust, and she swayed toward him. It made him feel just short of murderous to have to ease away from her.
“I have to get that. It’s my dad’s ringtone.” He scooted over to the nightstand and snatched up the vibrating phone.
“Oh, okay.” She ran a hand over her hair and straightened the shirt, looking self-conscious again, which made him even more furious. She hadn’t been self-conscious a few moments ago—she’d been ready to pick up where they’d left off last night.
“Sorry, sweetheart. I did tell him I’d be available to talk now. That was before we started…this thing.” Hell, he didn’t even know what to call it. A fling or an affair just sounded insufficient, even though it was correct for what she’d claimed she wanted.
“No problem.” She drew in a breath, snagged the remote control and muted the TV. “Answer the call before you miss it.”
He did, stabbing the button to pick up the phone. “Hi, Dad.”
“Hey, son.” There was a hesitation to his voice that made Finn sit up straight.
Vegas Vacation (Destination Desire) Page 5
