She pulled back and I instantly knew that was the wrong thing to do. Cora was about to panic. She was in full-blown Defcon Level Five and I needed to fix it or I was going to lose her.
“Just come sit next to me.”
She followed me to the couch, but she sat down on the other side. It hurt like a bitch, but I tugged her over to me.
“Cora, you have to stop blaming yourself for this. Derek probably would have killed you and me both if you hadn’t thrown yourself at him. Where’s my feisty girl? The one who would be telling me to get off my ass and get my medicine myself and asking me why I haven’t already started rehab yet.”
She tucked her knees up to her chest and wrapped her arms around them. “She got you shot and she’s a fucking wreck right now.”
Tears streamed down her face. All I was worried about was how close I came to losing her and she was worried about me. None of this was right. What we needed to be focusing on was the one person that had caused all of this worry.
“You didn’t get me shot, Princess. Derek had the gun. He was the one that tried to kidnap you. If I hadn’t found you guys, there’s no telling what he would have done. What do you think it would have done to me if I’d lost you? Do you really think I would be okay with that? That in a week I would be at some frat party finding a new girl?” I tilted her chin up and took her hands in mine. “Cora, I was serious when I said I wanted to have a relationship with you. I’m contemplating big things like moving in together. Marriage. Having a family. Are those things you want with me?”
She looked so tiny curled in on herself like that. I needed her to open up to me. Maybe I was pushing too soon, but after what we had been through, I thought she might be there with me.
“Yes,” she whispered. “But how can you want those things with me?”
I pulled her in and kissed her forehead. “I’ve wanted those things for a long time Cora. Almost losing you put everything into perspective for me. I don’t want to wait and waste time on dating. We’ve known each other for almost our whole lives. I love that you have a mouth on you and that you always keep me on my toes. I love that you only cry when you’re mad and that you hog the covers. Cora, I love you.” Her mouth dropped open. She put her hand to my forehead and I stared at her like she was insane. “What are you doing?”
“Making sure you’re not delirious.”
I frowned at her. Her being a smart ass now wasn’t exactly what I wanted. Especially when I’d just told her I wanted her to be my whole fucking life.
“Finn, I love you too.” She very carefully moved into my lap and wrapped her arms around my neck. “I’ve been thinking about all those things too and I want them with you. I think I have for a while, but I was too scared to even admit it to myself.”
I nuzzled my face into her neck. “I wish that I could take you back to my room and do all the sexy things I want to right now, but it’s not going to happen.”
She snuggled in and I leaned my head back into the couch. Her fingers worked magic on the tension in the back of my neck and my shoulders. She was careful each time she came to the left side. We would have to talk again about what everything meant for our future, but I was happy she wasn’t pulling away from me anymore. At least I could rest now without being afraid she would leave. I drifted off with my fingers intertwined with hers and her head resting on my chest.
Four Months Later
“Princess, I’m home.”
“I’m in the bedroom.”
I heard him take off his shoes and drop his backpack by the door. I appreciated all those familiar sounds. Every time I heard them it made my heart happy. He padded up the hall and I waited for his figure to move into the doorway.
“Well what do we have here?”
I looked up at Finn from where I was perched on the bed in my bra and panties. The naughty smile playing on his lips made my body burn.
“I missed you.”
He took two steps closer to the bed, tugging his shirt over his head as he moved. When he stepped in front of me, I kissed the fresh scar softly like I always did. I stared into his eyes as he moved my hair back from my neck and sucked the spot behind my ear that always got me going.
“I missed you too.”
I reached for his jeans and he let me unbutton them while he played with my nipples through my bra. Instead of sitting down next to me like I expected, he pulled me into his arms.
“Finn, you aren’t supposed to be lifting,” I said with a squeal.
“You weigh nothing, Cora. I’ve missed having you ride my cock like this.”
His boxers rubbed against my panties and I arched despite the fact that I was trying to stay still. I wanted to do this too, but I wasn’t willing to risk Finn hurting his shoulder again. Instead of fighting me, he sat down against the headboard with me on his lap. He threaded his fingers through my hair as I rocked against him.
I pulled his cock through his boxers and pushed my panties to the side. We moaned in unison as I sank down onto him. He unfastened the clasp to my bra and it slid down my arms. I thrust my chest into his face and he sucked on my nipples as I moved. My hips ground down on his and I felt my body tightening. His hands grasped my ass and helped me move faster against him.
I arched against him as his deep groans filled my ears. Every time he made those sounds it made me clench around him. His fingers found my clit and circled it in tight, fast movements.
“Come for me, Princess.”
His husky words pushed me over the edge. I screamed his name as I came. He groaned and I felt him fill me with his release. I rested my face against his neck and his arms circled around me. Finn ran his fingers through my hair as I caught my breath.
“That was a really good welcome home present, but you do realize I’ve only been gone for a few hours right?”
“It doesn’t matter.”
I wrapped my arm around his chest and snuggled in. He kissed my forehead and I felt the smile on his lips. Since we had moved in together at the beginning of summer, it was always like this. We were both insatiable and more times than not, we didn’t get all of our clothes off before he was deep inside of me. You would think that we were the newlyweds, not Nate and Olivia.
We finally pulled apart and moved to clean up. I went to the kitchen to start dinner. He came out in only a pair of pajama pants when he was through with his shower.
“So did you hear from Olivia today?” he asked, sitting down at the bar across from me as I cooked.
“Yes, they are settling in. Nate started school last week and Olivia loves her new job.” Tears pricked at my eyes and I turned back to the stove quickly.
“Princess.” Finn came up behind me and held me in his arms.
“I just miss them.”
“I know, Princess. We’ll see them in a few weeks for fall break and if you want to go visit them sooner, we can. They are only two hours away.”
“It’s harder because we were so used to having them here all the time.”
He kissed my neck and I leaned back into him. We were both still healing from Derek’s attack; me mentally and Finn physically. He had done amazing through physical therapy and all the rehab he’d had to do, but it had taken me a few months to make any progress with my therapist and actually start healing. I still blamed myself for Finn getting shot and I didn’t know if I would ever fully get completely past it.
Finn and I had stayed with Nate and Olivia until they moved two months ago. When they left, they asked us to stay in the house. Nate didn’t want to deal with renting it out and we were going to move into a place together anyway. We were adjusting well to living by ourselves.
“Is Hannah coming over for your girls’ night tonight?”
“Yeah, she’ll be here by six.” He was distracting me. I appreciated that he always knew exactly when to pull me back from the edge. Finn knew me better than I knew myself some days. My hand went to the anchor necklace. “What are you going to do while we’re getting wine drunk watching The Bache
lor?”
“I don’t know, but I’ll figure it out. Maybe I’ll text Chance and see if he wants to come hang out.”
“Finn,” I drawled in warning.
“I’ll be good. No more threatening him. Hannah threatened to cut off my balls after last time anyway.”
He kissed my lips and moved to grab a beer from the fridge. I watched his ass and absentmindedly wondered if we could get in another session before Hannah got here. Finn turned and winked at me. The bastard knew what I was thinking. I grabbed the stir-fry I was making and pulled it off the stove so it wouldn’t get burnt.
“Don’t even think about it. We have to eat before she gets here and I don’t want to get caught with my pants down again. Twice was more than enough, thank you.”
He smirked at me and walked back down the hall. I smiled to myself. All bets were off once we ate. I bet I could make it three times if I really tried.
Relentless
Book One in the Relentless Series
Violet Montgomery's life is far from average. At twenty-seven, she's semi-retired from her successful acting career and has one divorce under her belt. She traded in early call times for sleeping in and travelling the world. All Violet wants is to enjoy the peace and quiet away from controlling mother and asshole ex, but when the role of a lifetime comes up for grabs she has to have it.
Jaxon Garrett is a sexy Aussie surfer that accidentally broke into the acting scene in Hollywood. When his father
died two years ago, he decided that going to America was the best way to get away from all the pain. He falls for Violet fast and hard, but his past makes him keep her at arm's distance. He’s been burned before and doesn’t plan on repeating the same mistakes again.
Violet wants to keep her heart safe, but she doesn’t know how to protect it and let Jax in. Does she confront her past so she can learn to trust, or will she push him away and forget any chance of a future they might have together?
Available Now
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The Relentless Series
Relentless – Violet and Jaxon
Restless – Taylor and Stephen
Selfless – Amanda and Rhys
Fearless – Coming Spring 2017
The Waiting Duet
Waiting to Breathe
Waiting to Fall
Standalone Novels and Novellas
Stolen Memories
The Right Kind of Wrong
Blue Christmas
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Romance writer. Wife. Mother of two. Avid reader. Queen of multitasking.
Originally from the south, Alyson likes to incorporate what she knows into her books. She's lived not only on the east coast, but the west coast and a few places in between. Alyson loves sharing stories about her crazy family to anyone who will listen. Her guilty pleasures consist of coffee, country music, brunch, breaking the rules, and pedicures. And she will always be a daddy's girl.
When Alyson isn't chasing around her two kiddos, she's normally writing. Or reading. Her Kindle library is out of control. Alyson writes mainly contemporary novels and novellas with a bit of new adult mixed in.
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www.authoralysonreynolds.com
Waiting to Fall: Book Two of the Waiting Duet Page 20
