A beat skips by, and then the door opens.
Finn is standing on the other side, wearing plaid drawstring pajama bottoms and a blue shirt. His hair is sticking up all over the place like he’d either been lying down or raking his fingers through it. Shadows haunt beneath his eyes, traces of his fatigue seeping through.
“Hey,” he greets me with a smile that relaxes me. “I thought you’d be asleep by now.”
“I was trying to, but it’s weird sleeping alone now.” I crinkle my nose at my statement. “That probably makes me sound weird, right? I should be relieved to be alone.”
Shaking his head, he opens the door the rest of the way. “I’m having the same problem. I miss my Maddy cuddle blanket.”
I roll my eyes at him, but can’t stop a smile from emerging. But it hastily falters. “I actually have something I need to tell you.”
Worry divots between his brows. “Is it bad?”
I shake my head. “Not at all.” I shift from one foot to another. “I’m not pregnant.” It’s weird to be saying the words aloud, because while I’m relieved I’m not, it makes what happened feel more real.
“Thank god.” He breathes in relief, then folds his strong arms around me.
My eyes involuntarily lower. Like when we were locked up, the feel of him brings warmth to my body.Safe. He makes me feel safe.
I circle my arms around his waist and rest my head against his chest, listening to the beating of his heart.
“Are you okay?” he asks, skimming his fingers up and down my spine.
I nod, not wanting to open my eyes. “I’m fine. I’m just exhausted.”
He plays with a strand of my hair. “You want to come lie down by me for a while?”
I nod without forethought, and he takes my hand and guides me to his bed. The room he's staying in resembles mine, except his window curtains are closed, and the bathroom is on the opposite side of the room.
We climb under the covers, lying face to face, and a stillness settles between us.
“It’s weird how comfortable this is,” I state. “I thought after we got out, I’d want to sleep alone.”
He wets his lips with his tongue. “I liked sleeping with you. I hated the circumstances, but you sleeping beside me was never a bad thing.”
“Really?” I tuck my hands under my cheek as he nods. “Do you spend a lot of nights sleeping with women? I mean, I know you’ve had a lot of sex, but do like the women sleepover? I’m not quite sure how one-nighters work…” I shake my head as he chuckles and playfully shove him. “Stop laughing at my rambling.”
“I can’t help it. It’s so cute.” He’s all wicked amusement, almost like the old him, but beneath the smile, a trace of darkness resides.
“No, I’m not,” I protest.
“You completely are,” he disagrees. “And to answer your rambling question, I didn’t ever let the women I hooked up with spend the night. Either I had them leave right after, or if I was attheir place, I was out the door before I could even get my shirt fully on.”
“You’re such a little manwhore,” I tease him, nudging him with his foot.
The humor evaporates from him. “I don’t want to be that way anymore. It’s…” Sighing, he rolls onto his back and drapes his arm over his forehead as he stares up at the ceiling. “I don’t want to sound entitled, but it’s hard being from such a wealthy family and being good-looking. From the moment I turned fourteen, girls started using me, and I let them because my home life sucked so badly that it messed up my head. I didn’t know any other way to connect with someone, and I wanted to. I had to painfully learn, though, that most of the girls were using me to sleep with the idea of Finn Averson. I don’t even know who I am outside of that.”
“I do.” I scoot closer to him, and he tilts his head to look at me. “You’re Finn Averson, the guy who made me feel safe when it shouldn’t have been possible. You’re funny, charming, and yes, sometimes you can be annoying.” I smirk at him, and he playfully narrows his eyes. “But you’re a good guy. Don’t think anything else, okay?”
He rolls to his side again and traces his fingers along my cheekbone. “Who knew pretty, feisty Maddy could be so sweet?”
“It’s a limited-edition version. Trust me, that feistiness will return when I’m not so fucking tired and stressed out.” I heave a weighted sigh. “Do you really think that we can trust them?”
“Ellie and Aiden?” he asks, and I nod. “Well, you know Ellie, and I don’t, so you’d have a better idea if we can trust her. As for Aiden…” He wavers, dazing off for a heartbeat of a moment. “I can’t believe he’s my half-brother. I mean, I guess I can. Sort of. I’ve always known my father was into some really questionable stuff. But it’s crazy to think that the child assassin River, Noah, and I used to be afraid of is my brother.”
“Ellie said I met him before. Kind of.”
“When?”
