by Lila Kane
“Charlotte, I need to know you hear me.”
Looking over at him, I said, “I hear you. I’ll stay here.”
“So will you,” Jake told Finn.
“Everyone needs to stay in the car,” Shane instructed us. “We’ll secure the perimeter and then make sure we’re good to go inside. It won’t take long.”
Trees whirred by on both sides of the road, leading into the darkness of the forest. John could be anywhere. He could have been here the whole time.
“How did he know where we were?” I asked.
No one answered. Ten minutes later, we wound up a small hill and approached the cabin. The floodlights were on, just like we’d left them, and nothing looked out of place.
“Shit,” Jake said, leaning forward.
“What?”
“The front door’s open.”
Paige frowned. “Why isn’t the alarm on? Did someone forget to set it?”
“No,” Finn said.
Shane pulled up behind Curtis. “Stay in the car.” He turned to look at Finn. “All of you.”
I knew exactly what Finn was thinking, so I grabbed his hands. “They’ll be quick.”
Curtis and Shane both drew their weapons. Curtis gestured to the side of the house and they shadowed each other around the cabin. They were gone long enough to make me anxious, and then they appeared again to enter the house.
“Where is that motherfucker?” Finn hissed.
“I told you, I don’t think he’s here anymore.”
Paige leaned between the seats, watching the front door as attentively as we were. “No, it wouldn’t make sense for him to come back. Not with all of us here.”
Squeezing Finn’s hands, I said, “I don’t think he’s trying to cause a problem.”
He glanced at me. “Are you serious?”
“Yes.” My stomach trembled with nerves but I tried to keep a level head. “I think if I talked to him—”
“Fuck. Charlotte, I can’t deal with this right now. It’s—”
Jake set a hand on his shoulder. “This isn’t something we should be talking about right now. We’re all stressed.”
It felt like an eternity before Curtis and Shane exited the house. They were still vigilant but looked more relaxed. We all got out when Curtis reached the car.
“No damage,” he said, mostly talking to Finn. “But someone was definitely in there. He disabled the alarm somehow.”
“He’d probably know how to do that,” I murmured, thinking of John’s expertise with computers. I was sure he’d thought all of this through.
“It’ll be safer to talk about this somewhere indoors,” Curtis said. He caught Finn’s eye. “It might make sense to stay somewhere else tonight.”
“What? Why?” I asked. “It’s safe enough here, right? With you guys here and all of us. I don’t think he’ll come back. And he’s outnumbered. He’s already said and done what he wanted to do, right?”
“It’s more…” Curtis chose his words carefully “…a matter of cleaning up the place and making sure you’re comfortable staying here.”
“I thought you said there wasn’t any damage,” Paige said.
Shane shook his head. “There isn’t.”
I pressed a hand to my forehead. It was still buzzing from the alcohol and adrenaline. “Flowers. Roses, right? Yellow ones.”
Curtis nodded.
“That’s what he was talking about.” I felt my stomach sink. It was like Mark all over again, having to keep looking over my shoulder.
But there was no way I was going to run from this.
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
I shivered and Finn put an arm around me. “We can go somewhere else.”
“No, this is your house. It’s okay. We’ll clean it up and go from there.”
Finn tightened his grip on me when I started toward the house. “Maybe you should let us—”
“No,” I said again. “Everyone’s night was ruined because of this—”
“It’s not your fault,” Paige interrupted.
“I don’t care. I don’t want to ruin the rest of the night, so let’s get it done and we’ll be fine.”
Finn sighed. I pulled on his hand. “Let’s go.”
I was grateful there wasn’t any damage to the house, and it didn’t appear that anything was missing. But there were flowers all over the place. Bouquets of them in the living room, the kitchen, the hallway. And probably upstairs. Paige and Jake worked quickly, taking one half of the house. Shane disappeared upstairs with a trash bag, and there wasn’t much left for me to do but watch them clean up.
Curtis and Finn were sharing one of their silent conversations and I stepped up to them to ask, “What did the note say?”
“The note?”
“He left one, right? What did it say?”
Finn grimaced. “Charlotte.”
“We need to know. So we can tell the police.”
“He said ‘It’ll be safer for you and your friends if you come back home’.”
Finn ran a hand through his hair. “So now the fucker’s threatening us?”
“This definitely counts as a threat. I’ll hold onto the note for the police and the detectives back home.”
“Should we call them now?” I asked, tired but willing to do what it took to get this dealt with.
“Tomorrow,” Finn said.
Leaning down, I pulled off my heels as Jake walked by with a trash bag. “I think we should do what he says.”
“Who?” Finn asked. “John?”
“Yes. Because I don’t want anyone to get hurt. And that’s what it sounds like, right? That someone might get hurt if we don’t go back.”
“That’s the last thing we should be doing—”
“Finn,” I said calmly. “I think it would be best. Curtis?”
His smile was gentle. “I agree.”
“I think that’s all of it,” Shane said, descending the stairs. He glanced to the kitchen where Jake and Paige were exiting, and they nodded.
“Are we heading out?” Jake asked.
Finn’s jaw clenched but he said, “No, not tonight. I’m going to see if I can fix the alarm.”
He walked off with Shane just behind him.
I sighed. “I’m sorry, Curtis. You just got here and—”
“Always apologizing.” His eyes were kind. “No need. I’m going to make sure the windows and doors are secure. Let me know the plan for tomorrow.”
“I really am sorry,” I said to Paige.
She shook her head. “Why? You didn’t do anything. Come on, you look beat. Maybe you should head to bed early.”
I looked back to the front door, where Finn was focused on the alarm, and nodded. “Okay, let’s go up.”
Upstairs, I peered into the room first, making sure it was clear of yellow flowers.
“You need anything?” Paige asked.
“No, I’m fine. Get some rest.”
I shut the door after she left and set my heels by the dresser. I walked to the window, made sure it was closed and locked even though we were on the second floor, and then looked around the room. The bed was mussed from me and Paige sitting on it earlier. One of Finn’s shirts was tossed over the back of the chair in the corner.
It was all so comfortable, so right. Finn and I fit perfectly together, and I was looking forward to moving in with him.
Which was probably going to happen sooner than later if we headed back to Oasis tomorrow. And we hadn’t even had the chance to discuss what that would entail.
I checked the time. It wasn’t that late. After my nap this afternoon, I wasn’t very tired either. So I set about the room, lighting candles and turning on the gas fireplace. Once the room was filled with the flicker of candlelight, I stripped off my dress and found my silky black robe.
Champagne would have made it even better, but I didn’t want to go back downstairs now.
Instead, I lay on the bed, rearranging the covers so they were flat, and relaxed. I closed m
y eyes and pictured me and Finn sharing an apartment. Maybe not even an apartment, but a house. Somewhere down the road. And kids…God, I could see them. I could see Finn with them. Playing at a park or hiking and fishing with them at the cabin. He’d be a wonderful father.
And me…I guess I’d learn. I guess I’d feel more and more secure the more time that passed. I wouldn’t be afraid of bringing kids into the world—especially not with Finn—and I wouldn’t be afraid to commit myself to someone.
Despite not being tired, or maybe because of all the drinks tonight, I dozed. I dreamed of Finn, of a house by the water, of lazy weekends in bed. In his arms. And for once, I wasn’t afraid.
“Charlotte.”
I rolled to my side.
“Charlotte,” Finn said.
My eyelids flickered, catching sight of him leaning over me before I closed my eyes again. “I fell asleep,” I murmured.
There was a smile in his voice when he answered. “I see that. You were dreaming.”
“Was I drooling?”
He laughed and I forced my eyes open again.
“No, you said my name.” He glanced around the room at the candles and then down at my outfit. “Were you waiting for me?”
A smile curved my lips. “Always.”
He touched my cheek. “I didn’t mean to take so long. The alarm was being a pain in the ass and—” He broke off and ran his thumb over my jaw before kissing me. “It doesn’t matter. You can go back to sleep.”
“Are you going back downstairs?”
“No, not if you don’t want me to.”
I reached my arm over his waist and pulled myself closer. “Don’t go.”
“Hey. What’s wrong?”
“Nothing,” I murmured, my cheek against his chest. “I was dreaming about you and our house.”
“Our house?”
I nodded. “Or a house. I don’t know. Just us. Together. It felt good.”
“Hold that thought.” He stood and took off his shirt and pants, pulling on a pair of sweats and climbing into bed with me again. He wrapped his arm around me. “Tell me more.”
“There’s no more. I was just…” I sighed. “Happy.”
“If I could give you that right now—that happiness—I would.”
“But you are,” I said, shifting so I could face him. I rubbed my neck where I had slept on it wrong. “I’m happy with you Finn.”
“Here.” He reached out, his thumb rubbing my shoulder. “In fact, let’s get you more comfortable. I’ll give you a massage.”
“You don’t have to.”
He dropped his hand with a sigh. “I couldn’t do anything for you tonight. I just had to stand back and watch him force his way into your life—and you’re handling it better than me, sure, but I still want to help. Let me take care of you. Tonight, let me do this for you.”
“Finn.” My voice broke on the word. He was taking care of me, in the best way possible. By believing in me and giving me time and space to move on. But what he wanted right now wasn’t words. So, I nodded. “Where do you want me?”
“Let’s just…start here.”
He undid the belt of my robe and parted it. When he saw what I was wearing underneath, the lacy black panties and bra, he drew in a sharp breath.
“Not quite a black bikini, but very close,” I said.
“Very close,” he murmured, eyes dipping to take in every curve and valley. “God, you’re beautiful. I really hope you’re not tired because this might take a while.”
“Whatever you need.”
He pulled the robe off my shoulders. “Whatever you need. Now, turn over.”
“What?”
“On your stomach. I want to look at you but I can’t massage your shoulders from this angle.”
I flipped onto my stomach, resting my head on a pillow. Finn brushed my hair to the side, giving me chills, and I felt him straddle me. He barely put any pressure, bracing himself with his knees, and leaned down so his breath touched my back.
“Finn,” I whispered.
“I’m going to have to take this off.” He touched the latch of my bra.
“Okay.”
I could barely say anything more. His touch was so gentle, and I had the feeling Finn needed this as much as I did. This closeness and the chance to take care of each other.
He unhooked my bra, slid down the straps, and I lifted as he pulled it from under me.
“That’s better,” he said. “One second.”
His weight vanished and I heard his footsteps. “Finn?”
He returned a moment later. “Cold?”
“Just a little.”
He pulled up the covers, draping the sheet over my legs and up to my waist. “All right. I’ll get to that part later.”
He sounded so serious, I had to give a small chuckle.
“What?” he asked, climbing on the bed again and straddling my legs.
I glanced over my shoulder. “Sounds like you’ve had a lot of practice with this. Maybe in Maui?”
He growled softly. “Don’t even start with that. Tracy is so far out of the picture, it’s not—” He gave my ass a small pat, making me gasp out a laugh. “Behave.”
“Maybe we should—”
“No. This is part of the rules. No talking about Maui or what happened tonight. I promised you a night out and since we had to leave early, I’m giving you a night in. Without stress. So, behave.”
I suppressed another laugh. “Yes, sir.”
“You can call me sir all you want, but I’d prefer it with some black stockings to go with your current outfit.”
“Is that so?”
“Yes.”
“I might be able to arrange that.”
He leaned in again, pressing a kiss between my shoulder blades and making me shiver. “You’ll have me on my knees.”
He opened something and it was a moment before I felt his hands on my back. When I did, they were smooth, coated in something soft and creamy.
“What’s that?” I asked, trying to look over my shoulder.
“Relax. It’s lotion.”
“Oh. Right.”
He continued to rub my back, then slid up to my shoulders, letting his thumbs knead my muscles. “You’re tense. Try to relax. Talk to me about something.”
I closed my eyes, focusing on releasing the stress I’d been feeling for the last few hours. “What?”
“Tell me about your stipulations.”
I tensed again, suddenly nervous. “Are you sure?”
His hands paused on my arms. “I’m keeping an open mind, Charlotte. I know this is hard for you.”
“It’s not—I mean, it’s nothing bad. It’s just…”
He squeezed my arms gently. “What?”
“I still want to move in with you.”
He started to rub again, hands gliding down to the small of my back. “Good.”
“But I was sort of getting used to having my own place. After Mark—” Finn’s fingers flexed on my back and I hurried on. “I mean, since I moved here, it was nice to start to make my own place.”
“I understand.”
“And—and after what’s happened in my apartment and yours, I thought maybe…”
“Go ahead.”
“Maybe we could move somewhere else. The other Housing tower, even. You know, start over with a place that’s both of ours. And make new, good memories.”
After a long moment of silence, I blurted, “You don’t have to. I mean, I know that’ll mean you having to leave your apartment—what you’re used to—and that’s a big deal. Finn—”
“You’re so flustered,” he murmured, his hands coming up over my shoulders and rubbing my neck. “Why does this make you nervous?”
“Because I’m asking you to change your life.”
“You are my life. And all you’re asking for is a compromise.”
You are my life. Those words echoed to my very soul, making emotion spring up. “Finn.”
“I think i
t sounds like a great idea.”
“Let me up,” I said.
“What?”
“Get off me so I can get up and hug you.”
He chuckled and swung his leg over so he was sitting on the bed. I pushed myself up, only wearing my panties, and wrapped my arms around his neck. “Finn.”
“Charlotte.” He sounded surprised and concerned. “What is it?”
I kissed him almost desperately, my mouth on his cheek and then his lips, the full weight of my body in his lap. He slid his hands up my back, smooth hands on smooth flesh.
“I love you,” I said between kisses. “I love that you understand me.” Another kiss. “And that you’re willing to do this.”
“This is for both of us. A new start.” He framed my face with his hands. “I love you, too.”
“Please, Finn. Kiss me. I need you so much right now.”
His tongue plunged into my mouth, fueled by my plea. With hands as desperate as I felt, he gripped both of my thighs so my legs wrapped around him. Then his fingers dove into my hair, holding me captive as he kissed me senseless.
My fingers clawed at his back, feeling like I could never get close enough to him. In this moment all I wanted was to lose myself in Finn and then sleep in his arms tonight.
In one swift movement, his hands were on my waist and he hitched me up to push me back on the bed. I sprawled backward with a laugh. It was followed by a sharp intake of breath as Finn followed, his hips pressing between my legs and lips closing over my breast.
My back arched under the hot suction of his mouth. “Oh, God, Finn,” I moaned.
His teeth grazed my nipple and a lightning bolt of desire shot straight to my core. I lifted my hips, pressing as close to Finn as possible, feeling his hardness through his sweats and my underwear.
“I need you,” I gasped, fumbling for the band of his pants. “Finn—”
He pulled back long enough to yank off his sweats, dropping them unceremoniously on the floor. Then he slowed his pace, gripping the lip of my panties and sliding them down my thighs, over my knees, past my calves, and finally off, leaving me completely exposed before him.
I reached for him, but he shook his head, eyes dark as onyx in the firelight. “You said you’d let me take care of you.”
I exhaled sharply, my hands fisting on the comforter when his hands slid up my legs, followed immediately by his lips. His tongue traced the curve of my knee, tickling the underside, and moving along the sensitive inside of my thigh. He gently pressed my legs open, his warm breath hitting my bare skin.
