“You’re perfect,” Finn said, the words slipping out in such a quiet hush that she almost didn’t hear them. The emotion behind them made her throat tight and her eyes burned at the thought that this might be their last time together. The possibility of going their separate ways after finding something so brilliant and true tore her to shreds.
He brushed the tip of his cock against her drenched folds, the sensation rushing through her in a fierce sweep. Finn settled his big palms around her hips, the heat soaking through as he made her feel small and feminine in a way she never had before. He nudged his head in and she tilted her hips up to accept more of him inside her. As he lowered his length into her, she let out a low moan at the sweep of relief prickling through her arms and legs.
Finn settled inside her and she let out a gasp at the delicious way he filled her to the hilt. This, this was what she needed. Once he rocked his hips, moving his length in and out of her, every worry, concern and fear vanished. Navi sank into the rhythm of the way he drove into her, how each time she ground her sensitive clit against him she saw stars. She curled her nails into the tough fabric of the weight bench and sweat pooled beneath her palms.
Navi cried out at the pleasure flowing through her, at the increased pace while he fucked her harder, faster and with the ferocious edge she needed. Both of them moved with the fury of desperation, trying to abandon the turmoil plaguing them. Finn had worn his damage on his face clear as day when they’d left the meth shack and she’d been haunted ever since they’d become mated. Navi should’ve left him alone to his thoughts tonight, but she needed him as badly as he did her.
She didn’t want to quit him. She didn’t want to leave him behind.
The slight sting of the slap of skin when they slammed together sent a thrill through her veins. His name was a prayer on her lips as he edged her closer and closer. They moved with the frenzy of abandon, and Navi sank into the bliss of their dance. Her mind blanked as she surrendered to the sensations pulsing through her from the scent of him, all leather and sweat to the bite of his grip around her hips. Her clit tingled from the frenetic pace, sensitized and enhancing every collision. Her pussy clenched. So, so, close.
He thrust into her, hot, hard and filling her to entirety. As he collided with her, Finn leaned down to sink his teeth into her shoulder. The bite pushed her over the edge.
Molten pleasure rushed through her in a torrent and her core squeezed tight, pulsing with the throes of her orgasm. Navi cried out, right as his cock kicked inside her, heat flooding through. Her legs trembled while she came, but Finn’s grip on her didn’t falter. He leaned over her, his big body near crushing her, but she didn’t want to move. Didn’t want to leave the safety of his embrace. For the first time she understood why Akio fought to keep his mate on the road with him and why he braved those fights and the fears. Because this connection was one worth fighting for.
Sweat pricked her forehead as she sagged against the weight bench and her body grew loose in the wake of the intense orgasms that racked through her. If she could stay like this forever, she would, with his heavy weight on her, skin to skin and connected in the deepest way possible. Except, this had been a temporary avoidance of their very real problems.
Slowly, Finn pulled himself out of her and rose. Navi still sagged over the weight bench, not ready to face the day. A second later, he wrapped those muscular arms around her and heaved her up with little effort.
“Come on,” he said, slipping her into his arms to carry her across the room.
Navi lifted a brow with an amused smile. “Ready to kick me out already?”
Finn shot a glare at her. “What gave you that idea? We’re not sleeping in my gym, so you’re coming to my place so we can crash out in a real bed.”
“Help, help, I’m being kidnapped,” Navi murmured in a dry tone. She reached up to flick her fingers against his abs. His brows wrinkled at the feeble attempt. “Oh well,” she continued, unable to hide the hint of a grin on her lips. “Didn’t work. I suppose I’ll resign myself to my horrible fate.”
Finn snorted. He didn’t bother grabbing their scattered clothes as he made his way to the door. “That’s right, the big bad wolf is dragging you off to his den of torment. The horrors of sleeping in a real bed instead of on sweaty gym mats.”
Navi watched, impressed, as he leaned down with her still in his arms to grab his keys from the latch. “You want to be giving the roadside a show?” she asked, glancing to their discarded clothing.
Finn reached for the knob and nudged the door open. “They saw plenty earlier,” he murmured, a boyish grin lifting his lips. She couldn’t help how her heart pounded in double time at the sight. The cooler night air coated her skin and he clutched her tighter to his chest when he leaned down to lock his door. The roadside remained empty, though Navi was well aware of the floodlight illuminating this lot. She could slip out and walk on her own, but she didn’t want to admit she loved Finn’s overabundance of affection.
He stopped in front of his Challenger and lowered her to the ground. “I’m just up the road, so we can get some shut-eye there. We can scandalize all the neighbors on the way.”
Navi couldn’t resist her smile and she lifted her arms to skim her fingers across his buzz cut even though he had to duck his head for her to reach. “I’m sure you achieve that enough all by your lonesome.”
He slipped his hands around her waist, drawing her close. As she looked into his eyes, a tenderness emanating from them that she’d never experienced to this degree, a shiver rolled down her spine. Navi had spent a lifetime keeping people at a distance and had learned her lesson early on that she’d never be able to sustain any real friendships or connections with a life on the road, apart from with the other members of the Tribe. And even with them, they all acted as sole operators so often it never quite felt like the togetherness of a pack.
Navi swallowed the lump in her throat, sending a silent prayer to the Great Spirits. For once in her life, if she wanted to defy the past and hold on to someone—she wanted to keep Finn Kelly.
* * * *
When Navi woke up, she almost leapt out of the bed, fangs bared. This wasn’t her shared room in the Dusty Pines Motel and she didn’t recognize her surroundings in the slightest. Sunlight spilled out of broad windows that faced the surrounding forest and at least a dozen half-open books lay scattered around the floor along with piles of folded clothes and an over-full hamper. Thick, rumpled sheets surrounded her like a cocoon. As she breathed in, Finn’s familiar scent brought back memories of the night before.
Except he wasn’t anywhere in the room.
Rustling came from farther into the house. Navi slipped out of the bed and snagged one of his oversized, rumpled tees to toss on. If he didn’t like her stealing his clothes, it served him right for abandoning hers at the gym last night. They’d begun making out the moment they slipped into his bed, but exhaustion had claimed them fast. His heavy weight against her as she’d fallen asleep and the lull of his steady breathing—all that came with sleeping beside someone was a foreign experience for her, one she cherished.
Without a sound, she stepped out of his bedroom and farther into his apartment. Darkness shrouded the main room at the end of the hall, though she could make out some silver weights on the floor, a couch and loveseat with black slipcovers on them and a stout hardwood coffee table in the center of the room. To her left, bright light spilled from another room—if she had to hazard a guess, the kitchen.
Navi stepped through the cream doorframe to the kitchen in time for Finn to whirl around in her direction. He wore a loose pair of shorts, the luscious, tan abs on full display, and he carried two mugs in his hands, steam curling up from the piping hot liquid. His brows shot up in surprise and he almost lost his grip. The way he scanned her over, as though he wanted to lick her head to toe, had her core clenching.
“Hey, stranger,” she murmured, reaching out for the cup of coffee. The warmth of the mug printed on her palms. “You
can’t be for real. Already up and coffee made?”
Finn broke into a smile that crinkled around his eyes. Her heart sped at the sight of him and she couldn’t help the desperate, dizzying affection that rushed through her.
“What can I say?” he responded. “I’m one of those mythical morning people.” He leaned against the bamboo countertop in his kitchen. The pure white cabinets behind him made his sunkissed skin glow, as if he could get more attractive. His gaze landed square on her. “If I had it my way, you’d be wearing my shirts every day. You look fuckable as hell, babe.”
Navi couldn’t help the heat rising to her cheeks at the compliment, or the earnest affection in his eyes. This, the simplicity of having morning coffee the night after amazing sex, was something so many took for granted. If someone had told her years ago she’d be standing here, across from her mate, she would’ve laughed in their face. Navi never stayed the night—waste of time and she didn’t have room in her heart for more broken memories.
Which is why they needed to have a serious conversation. Because if this was goodbye—if Finn remained here—she wasn’t sure if she could ever glue her shattered pieces together again.
She lifted the coffee to her mouth and took a sip, her own brand of liquid courage. As the hot fluid slipped down her throat, she stood a little straighter. “We haven’t had a chance to talk yet,” she said, feeling as though she was stepping onto the precipice of a ledge, ready to drop into a canyon below. The coziness of the morning and the scorching memories of last night began to gray around the edges in the wake of the fear threatening to steal her breath away. Finn’s brows furrowed and his frown made her feel queasy.
“What’s there to talk about?” he asked, gripping tight to the counter. “We’re mated and you’ve got another thing coming if you think you can start throwing up barriers and excuses. Don’t tell me you already got tired of me.” Even though his tone remained lighthearted, the troubled way his dark eyes shone was anything but.
“I can’t stay here, Finn,” she said, unable to hide the pleading in her voice. She tried another sip of coffee, but even the heat couldn’t dispel the arctic depths her core plummeted to. “I’m Tribe. I have to go where I’m called.”
“When did I ask you to?” His voice softened. He crossed the tiles between them and plucked her coffee from her hands to put the mug on the countertop. When he faced her again, all reason abandoned her. Every logical word on her tongue melted away. She wanted him. She wanted him with a passion she’d never allowed herself to have before, with a longing so intense she almost buckled from the weight.
He tilted her chin up so she couldn’t look away and the tenderness in his eyes broke her. Fuck, fuck, fuck. She was terrified of asking, terrified of the rejection, but if anyone was worth the leap, it was Finn. As one of the Tribe, she made the ultimate choice, not him.
“Would you come with me?” she asked, unable to hide the tremble in her voice. She hated the weakness and vulnerability, but everything about this situation stripped her raw. Her tongue dried while she waited for a response, barely able to suck in another breath. It took until now, but she’d put the words out there.
Now to see if she’d shatter to pieces.
“I was wondering when you’d ask,” he murmured back with a soft smile. He ran his thumb across her lower lip. “Navi, once we became mates, there was no other option—not in my mind. You’ve got to be crazy if you think I’d let you slip out of my hands after finding you.”
Heat seared her eyes and she inhaled a shaky breath. Relief crashed through her in such a fierce tidal wave her lip trembled. Only for a moment, but Finn leaned down to place a kiss on her lips, filling her with the heat of him, the solid strength of him and the steadying, grounding force that had become an addiction. This must be a dream, had to be some fantasy she’d cooked up, because never in a thousand years had she believed she could have this sort of future.
His arms wrapped around her and, even as their kiss ended, she rested her head against his bare chest. “What about your position as beta?” Navi asked, murmuring against his skin. “We don’t have anything like that for you on the road.”
Finn squeezed her tighter to him and she basked in the touch hunger claiming them both. “Don’t know if you noticed, but my position as Sierra’s right-hand man got complicated the moment Dax came into the equation.”
Guilt tugged at her heart—she’d never asked for a life on the road and she understood how disruptive that path could be. She didn’t want to inflict that on someone she cared about. “When are you going to break the news?” she asked.
He pressed a kiss onto her head, still holding on to her like a lifeline. Despite the way he reassured her, he waded through as much unknown territory as she did and, on top of that, he was preparing to leave the only home he’d ever known. How he emanated so much calm baffled her.
“After we launch the attack against Dale Rossi and his men,” Finn said, his voice growing deeper, darker. “One challenge at a time.”
Navi nodded, pulling away from him to steady herself. She matched his unwavering gaze, the feral side of her peering out with the fight they were gearing up for. “Tonight, you’ll finish off Dale Rossi for good.”
Chapter Nineteen
Finn was going to face the man who’d murdered his parents tonight and he would claim his revenge.
After Navi left his place, he headed over to his gym, seeking the comfort of familiarity while he had it. Finn breathed in the scents of sweat, of the metal weights and of the overused canvas mats. As the breath filled his chest, he snapped a kick out, his shin thudding against the same punching bag that had met his aggressions the night before.
The door to his gym opened with a creak. Finn’s shoulders tensed. He needed to start locking up behind him.
On a normal day, he’d relax at the sight of his alpha, but with the news he needed to break to her and how their last conversation had gone, this talk would be as pleasant as gargling with Drano. To top it off, he couldn’t rid himself of the memories brewing in his brain, ones that coated his skin like a film he wanted to scrub off. Finn rolled his shoulders back and began to unwrap his hands, the sweat gluing the bandages together. Sierra slunk forward with lupine grace and he couldn’t deny his kinship with this woman, the sister he’d always wanted. No matter how they clashed, he couldn’t erase the respect for her forged through the years.
“I’m joining the hunt tonight,” Sierra said, breaking through the silence between them. “Navi and the others gave me the heads-up.” She picked up one of the hand weights and pumped it, focusing on the movement. He didn’t want to face the awkwardness that settled between them either.
Finn grabbed another weight from the line-up and joined her. If he could burn some of the anger and energy roiling through him, it would be better for everyone. “Dale Rossi’s mine,” he muttered, unable to form the words to broach the topic of leaving. Hell, when he’d agreed to go with her this morning, he had barely thought of anything beyond the thrill Navi sent through him and how he couldn’t let this go, no matter what.
Leaving didn’t just mean no more pints at Beaver Tavern, poker games with Jer, skinny dipping with Raven and sparring with Sierra. He’d have to close the gym he’d built from scratch, find a way to do sessions on the road or work freelance. He’d built so much here over the years—a home, a business and a life. Except, no matter how many memories warmed his bones, he knew deep in his gut, no part of him could build a future here.
“I’m leaving with her.” The words slipped from him without a second thought. He hadn’t intended to state the news so bluntly and he’d hoped to hash out their issues before dropping the blow, but Finn had never been one for subtlety or tact.
Sierra paused mid-curl and rested her dark gaze on him. “I know.”
Finn’s brows furrowed as he lifted a heavier weight and set to work. “How? I just told Navi this morning.”
Her gaze held an understanding he didn’t expect, th
e wisdom the Red Rock alpha was known for. “I knew the moment you told me she was your mate, Finn,” Sierra murmured, her smile not reaching her eyes. “You can’t hide your emotions for shit. You’ve never been able to and I’m disappointed in myself that it took me this long to see how unhappy you’ve been here.”
Finn shrugged, the uncomfortableness of her admission prickling across his skin. “You’ve been occupied and rightfully so. On top of the normal load you have on your shoulders, you were balancing a new mate and integrating his pack into the fold. With all these seismic changes to the pack, though, my place got lost along the way.” Finn placed his weight down and turned to face her. “You don’t need me anymore, Sierra—at least, not the way you did.”
She pressed her lips tight together and he watched how she swallowed, rather than saying anything. The proud as hell woman wouldn’t cry in front of him, but he could feel the crash of that sadness as it descended.
Sierra’s eyes flashed amber, the familiar color of her wolf, one his own had responded to all these years. “Don’t discredit yourself, Kelly,” she said, cuffing his shoulder. “No one happens to call me on my shit like you do. However, I also know I can’t keep you here. I’ve been so wrapped up in Dax and the changes to the pack I overlooked one of the most important members.”
Finn’s throat tightened and—he wasn’t going to lie to himself—his eyes heated. He’d met Sierra when she had arrived in the pack, a quiet, sharp and lethal teen, and he’d been all bluster and flames. Over the years, she’d become more confident, louder and grown into a person he couldn’t help but respect. He was still bluster and flames, stuck in the same spin cycle he’d been repeating since he was a kid. For the first time in his life, he would be breaking that cycle.
Forged Decisions Page 16
