“And I told you to stop worrying about the money. Go get dressed; we’re leaving in five minutes.”
“No,” I plopped my hands on my hips, determined to win this round.
Fin took a step into my apartment and gripped my waist, knocking my own hand out of the way. My t-shirt rode up with his grasp on me and he trailed the fingers of his other hand up my thigh and underneath the shirt. This hand rested on my bare skin, just above my panty line and I couldn’t stop the whimper that slipped out.
“Ellie, you look so sexy right now, I’m seconds from carrying you to your room and making you pay for a week of staying away from me. Right now I’m letting it slide because rationally I know I was gone for that week. But irrationally I can barely stop myself from showing you how much I missed you and making sure you missed me just as much.” His head dropped to my neck, his breath warm on my throat. I shivered helplessly when he pressed a kiss to the sensitive spot just under my earlobe. “Now, unless you want to be rude to my grandma you better go get ready so we can leave. Alright?” Another kiss, this one hot and wet on the hollow of my throat.
In a pathetically shaky voice I agreed, “Alright.”
Fin trailed little kisses along my collarbone as if he couldn’t stop himself and then gave me a long, lingering one on the mouth. I melted into him, relishing in the feel of his lips, the taste of his tongue and every hard muscled pressed tight against my body. I couldn’t stay away from this, not when it wanted him more than anything else in life.
“Ok, go get ready,” he demanded, releasing me suddenly.
I stepped back with a squeal and then turned around to either obey or die of mortification, I wasn’t sure yet. I took one step and he slapped my ass. Hard.
I shot him a shocked look over my shoulder but he just stood there grinning at me, cocky as ever.
Shaking my head I made my way to my bedroom and threw my t-shirt on the ground in frustration. I would go to lunch, but only because of his grandma and because I was dying to meet Declan. And because I was terribly curious about his home life.
And because it felt so good to be with Fin again that I was pretty sure all my reasons for staying away died the minute he put his lips to my skin.
I could whine and complain about moral integrity all I wanted, but in the end those were just excuses. It felt more wrong not to be with Fin than it did to give in and let myself love him. It felt right to be with him, to be in his arms, to let go of all of my meaningless reasons to stay away. I loved him. Heartbreak and integrity be damned.
Except somehow I knew I would get to keep both my heart and my integrity with Fin. Instinctively I knew now that he would never let me hurt or feel pain and he’d be damned before he let me compromise anything about myself.
He was one of the good guys.
I dressed quickly in a peach hombre maxi dress I’d picked out with my mom while I was home.
She beamed at me the entire shopping trip and we actually had a good time. It was a hard pill to swallow that when I cut myself off from my parents, I had also cut them off from me. And they were hurting because of my distance. Looking back I realized how selfish I had been. I was blessed to have a family like them. I wouldn’t take that for granted any longer.
I threw on some light makeup and braided my hair over my shoulder to tame its rowdiness. I walked out into the hall to find Fin waiting for me near the door. He looked up and his expression heated immediately with something more than want, something I couldn’t name or identify.
“Let me just grab my purse.” I said in a still wobbly voice.
Fin grabbed my hand before I could walk past him and pulled me to him. Slowly, purposefully he walked forward until my back was pressed against the wall. His head dipped and his lips were just a breath away from mine.
“There’s no more debt between us, yeah, Ellie?” his voice rumbled over me. I felt myself nod, but I couldn’t form words. “Tell me you understand that.”
“There’s no more debt,” I whispered.
He barely let me finish before his lips were on mine in a scorching kiss. One of his hands gripped my hip, while the other slipped gently to the nape of my neck. He held me to him, firmly, possessively. He kissed me so deeply, as if he was touching every part of me, as if he owned everything that I was. And this time I let him. There was no fight, no struggle. This kiss was everything I wanted.
Fin was everything I wanted.
Eventually, he slowed the kiss and pulled away. “I missed you Ellie. God, I missed you.”
“It’s been a week, Fin,” I tried to sound exasperated but my voice was still breathless from his kiss.
He rested his forehead against mine, “We have a lot to talk about, but my grandma will kill me if we’re late. She’s impatient to meet you.”
“I’m also anxious to meet her,” I admitted.
Fin cocked his head back and stared at me for a while, like he couldn’t believe I was here, like he couldn’t believe we were together again. Finally he said, “Then let’s go.”
I grabbed my purse and then Fin led me down to his Jeep and soon we were on the road to the residential parts of La Crosse. His grandma lived in a precious little blue ranch with a front porch and winding front walkway. We parked on the street and Fin walked around to let me out. I was fine with getting out on my own, but he had sworn his grandma would kill him if she saw him lacking manners. He reached for my hand immediately, tugging me along behind him. There was a wheel chair ramp to the front door and we took it, with Fin smiling back at me the entire time.
I was giddy with all his attention, ridiculously so.
