His lip twitched into that smouldering smirk.
‘You are both a god and the devil of pleasure in bed, Finn Wilde.And I say that with the full exhaustion of a woman who forgot her contraceptive schedule because you fried my brain.’
‘Didn’t realise I had that much power.’But he unleashed a smile that made her heart skip.
‘Take the ego boost while you can, cowboy.’
‘I’m no cowboy.’
‘And I’m still going back for the pill.’
Finn didn’t argue, and he didn’t offer to take her either.Which somehow made it worse.
She blurted out the next part, the adulting part of grown-up sex.‘We never talked about protection.’
‘We didn’t talk much at all.We didn’t even finish sentences…’
There was another grin, this one they shared.
‘But I’m clean.Last test was post-Queensland.Haven’t been with anyone since.’
‘Okay.Thanks for telling me.And me too…’ Not that she going to admit it had been way too long—which might have explained her lack of sanity to rush the guy.
‘You scared?’
‘A little.’She barely nodded.
‘Yeah.Me too.’
There was another stretch of silence, accompanied by the crackle of the campfire.
‘Can I ask you something else?’she said, keeping her eyes on the coals.
He gave the smallest nod.
‘How did you get that pardon from Commissioner Andrew Bannon?’
He turned his head slightly as if to study her.
‘Feels like we’re past secrets now,’ she added.‘And that’s the only official question I haven’t asked.What is your connection to—’
‘Drew?’Finn rubbed the back of his neck, as if fighting the tension creeping into his shoulders.
He stared at the fire for a few moments, then finally said, ‘Were you ever in a police station at ten years old?’
‘No.Military bases and embassies, sure.’
‘Well, I was.So was Bree.It’s how we all met.’His voice softened at her name.‘Bree’s father had just killed her mother in their kitchen.And they were trying to work out where to send her.Me?My mum had just been raped, and the detectives were making her go through the mugshots.Only my old man was telling her to come home and pretend it never happened.’
Taryn’s breath caught.She didn’t move.
‘I didn’t remember him back when I was ten.I remember being there, sitting beside Bree who was just as shell-shocked and scared as I was, two kids not fully understanding what was going on at that age.But he remembered me.Drew.’
‘The Commissioner?’
Finn nodded.‘Back then, Drew was fresh out of the police academy.First day on the job, with no clue what to do.So, he offered Bree and me both a soda and some chocolate while the grown-ups argued about their bad life decisions.’
He pulled long and hard on his beer as if swallowing his emotions.‘After that night, Mum forever lived in a valium stupor, even during the pregnancy.And Dad cradled his whisky, watching the weather from the front porch, flicking his cigarette butts in my direction.’
