The Best Intentions (Welcome To Starlight Book 1)

by Michelle Major

  Finn studied her for a moment, then shrugged. “I’m going to approve the loan against my better judgment,” he admitted. “Dad was thrilled. He’d wanted to give the money to him all along. He’d give money to anyone with a great story and a firm handshake. But that’s what’s caused some of the problems in the first place. There has to be a balance between lending money to people who need it and becoming overleveraged. It’s difficult on the community bank to separate the personal from the professional. At least for some people.”

  “Like your dad?”

  He nodded.

  “Maybe Seth will really make a go of it and the welding business will be a breakout success. He could become the star of some sort of welding reality television show.”

  “I hope so.” Finn smiled, then took a drink of beer.

  “Why did you change your mind?” she couldn’t help but ask. “Was it Lauren? The baby?” She rapped the heel of her palm against her forehead. “Of course that was it. The baby. Babies get people every time.”

  “It was you,” he said quietly, and Kaitlin felt her throat go dry.

  “Me?” she asked after clearing her throat.

  Lauren brought the check at that moment, and Finn pulled out his wallet to pay for their dinner.

  “Tell Seth I expect a tour of his new shop when it opens,” he told the waitress with a slight smile, and Kaitlin’s stomach swooped and dipped as Lauren processed the simple words and what they meant for her small family.

  “He’s going to make you proud,” she promised, her voice trembling slightly. “Thank you, Finn.”

  He nodded but focused his gaze on the check, seeming almost embarrassed by her gratitude.

  “Are you finished?” he asked when Lauren walked away. “I need to get out of here.”

  “I’m ready.” Kaitlin slipped from the booth and led the way out of the diner, waving to Lauren as they left.

  Out on the sidewalk again, Finn started back toward the bank and she hurried to match his long strides.

  “Finn, slow down. What’s wrong?”

  She placed a hand on his arm, tugging until he turned to face her. His blue eyes were dark with an emotion she couldn’t name, and his whole body appeared fraught with tension. “I don’t want people to look at me like I’m some kind of small-town savior. That isn’t who I am. I’m here because...” He shook his head like he couldn’t put the reason into words.

  “Because you care,” Kaitlin supplied. “You’re a good man and you care.”

  “No, I’m a corporate banker. I don’t save smaller institutions. I engulf them. Mergers and acquisitions—that’s my specialty.”

  “What did you mean when you said I had something to do with giving Seth the loan?”

  He lifted a hand to her face, cradling her jaw in his palm as his thumb traced a path across her cheek. “You were so fervent in your belief, and I wanted to see you look at me the way you are now.”

  “How am I looking at you?”

  “Like you want to be kissed.”

  She breathed out a soft laugh. “I’m not sure that has anything to do with Seth’s loan.”

  “But you aren’t denying it?”

  Her heart seemed to skip a beat at the mix of hope and vulnerability in his gaze. This man was so strong, so independent and so damn unwilling to admit that he cared. About his father, the bank and the entire town. But she could see beyond the mask he wore to the honorable core of the man he was meant to be.

  He wouldn’t push her for more than she could give, and that was just one more thing that made her want him. Kaitlin needed to show him that she was not only done denying her desire but more than willing to take a chance on him. On the two of them.

  She might not trust her past with men, but she’d changed since coming to Starlight.

  She raised up on tiptoe and pressed her mouth to his, the kiss at once a question and an invitation. One he immediately answered by wrapping his arms around her waist and pulling her closer.

  It was different than the kiss they’d shared on the Ferris wheel. That had been a distraction, and this was a declaration. Kaitlin had buried the part of herself that craved physical closeness since coming to Starlight. So many of her bad decisions in life had their start with men, much like her mother. She hadn’t wanted that in her new life but couldn’t ignore the way she wanted Finn. She didn’t want to anymore.

  “Come home with me,” she whispered against his full lips.

  She felt him smile against her mouth. “Since I’m staying with my dad now, I’ll be going home with you every night.”

  “You know what I mean.”

  He lifted his head, his gaze intense on hers. “Are you sure?”

  No.

  “Yes.”

  “Enough that you won’t have second thoughts on the drive? We’re both parked behind the bank.”

  “I want you,” she said, allowing all of her desire to seep into those three little words.

  He grabbed her hand and tugged her around the corner toward the parking lot and, after another lingering kiss, she climbed into her car and followed his taillights onto the darkened streets of Starlight.

  He’d been right about her having second thoughts on the way back to the house. Second, third and fourth thoughts were more like it. Something about trailing his sleek BMW in her humble compact sedan reminded her of the differences between them. This town might be her home now, but they came from two different worlds, and she wasn’t sure how they’d ever bridge that gap.

  Desire was one thing. Reality quite another. Finn’s reality was the upper echelons of Seattle society. Country clubs and fancy dinners and women who wore the right clothes and could talk about art or fashion or whatever moneyed women discussed.

  Her past made her totally unfit for his world. Before leaving Seattle, she’d barely scraped by and had no ambition beyond tracking down the next party. The crowd she ran with was wild at best and oftentimes bordered on criminal in their crazy antics. While Starlight seemed to put them on a level playing field, she knew that would change as soon as he returned to his life in the city.

  Her palms were sweaty on the steering wheel as she worked to keep her breathing steady. The town was steeped in shadows, but the golden light shining from the windows of the houses they passed reminded her of what it felt like to belong here. She’d spent most of her life on the outside looking in, wishing for security and warmth and a place to belong. Jack had given that to her—or at least a chance at it—when he’d hired her to work at the bank.

  No one was going to take that from her now, and she wouldn’t allow lust to make her forget her priorities.

  Even if she wanted to with her entire being.

  Chapter Eleven

  Finn parked in front of his father’s sprawling rancher and walked around back toward the guesthouse, passing Kaitlin’s small sedan on the way. No need to advertise his plans for the evening when his father returned home. Not that he wanted to keep whatever this was between Kaitlin and him secret. Unless she did.

  Hell, he’d agree to just about anything she asked for the chance to kiss her again. To do more than kiss her. He’d never felt anything like the need pounding through him as he thought about Kaitlin.

  He picked up the pace until he was practically jogging across the lawn, then forced himself to slow down. He didn’t want to seem desperate, despite the fact he felt exactly that. Fear flickered along his spine at the thought that she’d change her mind.

  I want you.

  Those three words had made his body grow instantly rigid with desire. He’d dated plenty of women, both casually and a few who’d ended up with more serious intentions. But he’d never wanted anyone the way he did Kaitlin.

  He couldn’t understand it. She was beautiful with her golden-blond hair and dark eyes framed by long lashes. But it was more. She was more. He had a fe
eling she could become everything to him if he let her. Which he wouldn’t, of course. Couldn’t. If he let her in all the way, she might see he actually didn’t have enough to give.

  He slowed his pace even more as he approached the small cottage. Kaitlin stood on the edge of the cobblestone porch. In the dim moonlight, it was difficult to tell whether she was acting as sentry or rolling out the welcome mat.

  “Your dad can’t know about this,” she said, her voice carrying across the quiet night.

  Hoop number one. “Okay.”

  “No one can know,” she added.

  So she did want to keep it a secret. He ignored the disappointment that speared through him. This was simply hoop number two. “Fine.”

  “It ends when you leave town.”

  Hoop number three. “Why?” He couldn’t help but ask, even though he understood the logic of it.

  “I’m not part of your world in the city, and I’m building a life here. I don’t want people to see me as Finn Samuelson’s small-town castoff.”

  He stepped closer, trying to figure out why her rules for their relationship bothered him so much. Normally he was the one checking off boxes to make sure no one got too attached. He wouldn’t let Kaitlin get close, so he should be thanking her for taking care of this aspect. It made him look like less of an unfeeling jerk. But that was the crux of the problem. His feelings for her. “Anyone who would think that isn’t worth a moment of your time.”

  One corner of her mouth kicked up, but the almost smile seemed sad to him. “If that’s part of your foreplay routine, you’re pretty good.”

  “I’m better than good,” he answered without hesitation. “But it’s simply the truth.”

  “We have an expiration date,” she insisted, crossing her arms over her chest.

  “Like a gallon of milk,” he muttered, then nodded. “It ends when I leave Starlight.”

  What if he stayed?

  The question flitted across his chest like the flutter of butterfly wings, and he tamped it down. Of course he’d return to Seattle. That was his home.

  He walked forward and climbed the first step, tall enough that they stood eye to eye even with her on the porch. “Anything else?”

  A delicate brow rose. “I like the sound of ‘better than good,’” she told him.

  How could it be less than perfect with this woman?

  She affected every cell of his being like she was an energy that flowed through his veins. The power she had without even knowing was at once heady and terrifying.

  “I’m glad.” He reached for her, twining his arms around her waist and lifting her into his arms. Her legs settled around his hips and all he could think was that there were too many layers of clothing separating them. “Because I’m done talking now.”

  As their mouths fused together, he maneuvered them through the front door, grateful she’d left it open. He wasn’t sure he’d have the mental wherewithal to manage something as mundane as a doorknob at the moment. Not when all of his blood had rushed south at the promise in her eyes.

  She laughed when he bumped into the back of the sofa. “You need directions?”

  “I’ll manage,” he said and drew her lower lip between his teeth, eliciting a throaty groan from Kaitlin that nearly had him on his knees.

  The guesthouse was tiny, and he and Ella had played there as kids, so Finn easily made his way into the only bedroom.

  He slowly—reluctantly—lowered her to the thick carpet that covered the wide-plank floor.

  “Tell me you didn’t sneak your high school girlfriend in here,” she said, making a horrified face as he took a back step.

  He shook his head. “Not one,” he assured her. “I wasn’t that smart.”

  She gave a small nod, then started on the buttons of her burgundy-colored dress, the deep color a perfect complement to her dark eyes.

  His mouth went dry as inch after gorgeous inch of pale skin was revealed to him.

  She began to shrug out of it, then paused, clutching the fabric to her. “You can’t just stand there and watch.”

  He tapped a finger against his chin, as if considering her comment. “I’m having so much fun.”

  “That isn’t how it works.” She shook her head. “Not for me.”

  There was something in her gaze he didn’t understand, a kind of vulnerability he hadn’t expected from her.

  “Tell me what you want.”

  She bit her lip as her gaze wandered along the front of him. “You aren’t wearing your suit jacket.”

  “It’s in the car.”

  Still holding the fabric of her dress closed with one hand, she pointed at him with the other. “Your shirt and tie.” She drew in a breath and added, “Please.”

  “The please is nice.” He grinned. “I didn’t know being polite could feel like foreplay.”

  “Before you get ahead of yourself with a bunch of ‘nice girl’ fantasies, don’t go there. I’m going to disabuse you of the notion that I’m fit to star in any of them.”

  He drew the silk from around his neck and tossed it at her feet. “I’m game for any type of fantasy that involves you.”

  Pink tinged her cheeks as he unbuttoned his dress shirt, starting with the cuffs, then working his way down the front. The way she watched him was such a turn-on, he was half-tempted to rip the damn shirt apart and get on with things.

  But he kept his movements measured, wanting to savor every moment. After yanking the shirt from his waistband, he finished with the buttons and pulled it off, dropping it to the floor.

  Her brown eyes widened, and Finn was suddenly grateful for atrocious sleep habits that had him waking before five every morning. He’d made working out a regular part of his routine, not realizing all that sweat and fitness had been solely done so he could impress this woman.

  “Your turn,” he said, waggling his brows.

  She waved a finger up and down in his direction. “I don’t look like that.”

  “What a relief.”

  She rolled her eyes but loosened her hold on the dress, peeling it away from her body to reveal a lacy skin-colored bra and polka-dot panties.

  “Damn,” he muttered. “You’re so beautiful.”

  She opened her mouth, then snapped it shut again as she tossed the dress onto a nearby chair. “I hate it when women can’t take a compliment,” she told him.

  “Me, too.” He took a step closer. “Especially since I plan to give you plenty of them.” Her body was perfection, curvy in all the right places with smooth skin and a smattering of freckles along her chest and belly. He planned to kiss every one.

  “I think I could spend the entire night looking at you and I’d be happier tomorrow morning than I have been in ages.”

  “That’s kind of a waste of this bed,” she said, hitching a thumb behind her.

  “Ah, yes. The bed.” He nodded as he moved toward her. “Wouldn’t want it to go to waste.”

  She held up a hand, palm toward him. “Lose the pants.”

  “No please this time?” he asked as he slipped out of his shoes and undid his leather belt.

  “I told you I wasn’t a nice girl,” she said. “You’ll have to earn the next one.”

  “With pleasure,” he said, pulling his wallet from a back pocket. He tossed it onto the nightstand before pushing his slacks over his hips and taking the boxers he wore with them for good measure.

  He shucked off his socks and then straightened. “Now, who’s wearing too many clothes?”

  She swallowed audibly as her gaze traveled up the length of him. “I should turn off the light,” she said quickly, reaching for the lamp on the nightstand.

  “Leave it.” He caught her wrist in his hand. “Please.”

  “Please really is quite a sexy word,” she said with a small laugh. “But I don’t really do this—�
� she gestured to the bed with her free hand “—with the lights on.”

  “Feels like the first time,” he sang, tugging her to him.

  She giggled. “I’ve definitely never laughed this much.”

  “I like how bright your eyes are when you laugh,” he told her, then nipped at the corner of her mouth. “I like everything about you other than the fact that you aren’t naked right now.”

  She hummed low in her throat as he trailed kisses along her jawline. “Let’s do something about that then. Please.”

  * * *

  It only took Finn a second to flick open the clasp of her bra. He lowered the straps from her shoulders and leaned back to look down at her as the thin piece of fabric fell to the floor.

  His muttered curse was somehow the best compliment she’d ever heard, and her whole body went limp with liquid desire as he covered one puckered nipple with his mouth. He lowered her to the bed, yanking down the comforter and sheet as he did.

  She couldn’t help but arch into him as he continued his attention to her sensitive breasts. Heat built low in her body, like she was a slow-burning ember ready to explode into flames. Which was exactly what happened when Finn moved his attention lower, peeling her simple panties from her hips and down her legs. He opened her legs, all the while murmuring words of praise about her beauty and all the things he wanted to do to her.

  He made her want to offer him every part of her.

  Then he stopped talking as she felt his hot breath on her center, followed almost immediately by the gentle touch of his mouth. Not that she was about to admit it—or could even form the words at the moment—but Kaitlin had never allowed a man that kind of access to her body. It felt too vulnerable, and Kaitlin didn’t do vulnerability. Not with her heart or her body.

  Except now she knew what she’d been missing. Or maybe she hadn’t because she couldn’t imagine that anyone except Finn could make her feel this way. He’d taken her tamped embers and stoked them into bright, sparking flames. His tongue skimmed along her core and she almost bucked off the bed. It was like nothing she’d ever experienced and she didn’t want it to end but felt like she might combust from the intensity of the pleasure tumbling through her entire being.