“Finn Walker, I swear—”
He kissed me, tasting like champagne and chocolate and laughter. “I’m just saying, darlin’. Nothin’ to be embarrassed about.”
“Not even my stomach growling?”
“Especially not your stomach growling,” he brushed his lips against said stomach. “Means you’re human. Means tonight was real.”
“It was real,” I agreed softly. “Very real.”
We finished the champagne and most of the cheese. Enzo’s caviar remained untouched because neither of us felt that fancy, but the rest got demolished while we talked about nothing important and everything that mattered.
Eventually the champagne made me sleepy, or maybe it was the orgasms, or maybe it was just the complete satisfaction of having everything I wanted right here in this tent.
“We should sleep,” Finn took our empty glasses and set them on the nightstand before brushing any remaining crumbs onto the floor.
“Mm-hmm,” I was already sliding down under the covers, eyes getting heavy.
He turned off the fireplace and climbed back into bed, pulling me against him, my back to his front this time.
“Thank you for tonight,” he murmured into my hair, draping his arm around me.
“Thank you for being exactly who you are,” I laced my fingers through his. “Wouldn’t change a thing.”
“Not even your stomach growling?”
I laughed softly. “Not even that.”
His breathing evened out behind me as the tent settled into quiet. Outside, summer night sounds filtered through, crickets, an owl in the trees behind us, and wind in the pines.
I closed my eyes and let sleep take me.
I woke to the morning light filtering through cream-colored canvas and Finn’s chest against mine, one arm around my shoulders and the other at my hip, while my leg rested between his. My body carried a dull ache from muscles that hadn’t been used in a while; pleasant and grounding and proof that last night had been real.
Very real.
His breathing was still deep and even, which meant he was actually asleep instead of just lying quiet.
His face looked softer in sleep, jaw relaxed, the tension he carried melted away. His hair had completely escaped whatever he’d done to tame it last night, dark strands falling across his forehead and cheek. His scars visible above the sheet were familiar now in a way they hadn’t been before.
I wanted to touch and map this new territory he’d let me claim.
His eyes opened slowly and focused on my face, that smile I was desperately in love with curving his mouth. “Morning, Alexandra.”
“Morning,” I murmured. “How long have you been awake?”
“Just now,” he pulled me closer, kissing my forehead. “You sleep okay?”
“Better than okay,” I followed the line of dark hair over his chest with my hand. “Can I ask you something?”
“Anything.”
“Can I explore you? I know I’ve seen everything, but I want to... touch. Learn. If that’s okay.”
His laugh rumbled under my palm. “After everything we did last night, you’re asking permission to touch me?”
“It’s different,” my cheeks burned. “This is thorough.”
“Thorough,” he caught my hand, brought it to his mouth, kissed my palm. “I like thorough. Go ahead.”
