"Elena."
She couldn't look at him. Her face was burning.
"Look at me."
Slowly, she opened her eyes. He was watching her with an intensity that stole her breath.
"Say that again."
Her throat tightened. She was saying it out loud now, and the relief was overwhelming.
"I've never wanted anyone the way I want you, Finn."
His jaw tightened. "Good." His voice was deeper now. "Because you're mine now."
He lowered his mouth to her again, and the rest of the world disappeared.
Elena stopped thinking. Stopped worrying. There was only the sensation of his tongue, his hands, the sounds he made against her. She felt herself climbing, climbing, every nerve ending lit up.
Why the fuck did I wait this long?
The thought broke through the haze. All those months of holding back, of being responsible, of pretending she didn't want exactly this.
"Oh God—" Her voice cracked. "I can't wait any longer." She reached for him, pulling at his shoulders. Finn rose over her, and when their eyes met, she saw her own need reflected back.
“I can’t either.”
He entered her slowly. Elena gasped, her body stretching to accommodate him. He stilled, giving her a moment, his eyes searching her face. She pulled him closer in answer. When he pushed fully inside, she saw him let go completely. No more restraint, no more careful distance. Just him, looking at her like she was everything. She had never been looked at like that.
He moved, and she moved with him. It wasn’t frantic or desperate. It was deliberate and slow. Like they wanted this to last forever. She was surprised at how perfectly they fit together. How naturally his body wrapped around hers. But maybe she shouldn’t have been surprised at all. It was always like this with Finn. When they joked around in the diner. When they worked together side by side in the lab. When they held hands in the parking lot. When they?—
“God—” Finn breathed against her ear. “How do you feel so right?”
She couldn't answer. She just pulled him deeper, her nails dragging down his back. He groaned at that, his hips pressing harder. His thumb traced her cheekbone. She turned her head, kissed his palm.
Then his hips snapped forward and she gasped, and the passion shifted into something more urgent. His mouth found her neck. Her jaw. The sensitive spot below her ear that made her back arch off the mattress. She wrappedher legs around him, changing the angle, and the low sound he made sent heat flooding through her.
"Finn—"
"I know."
His pace quickened. Elena felt herself building towards the edge. Her body tightened around him with every thrust as the pressure coiled within her.
Yes. There. Please.
She wasn't sure if she said any of it out loud. But somehow, Finn seemed to fully understand the assignment. His hand gripped her hip, holding her steady as he drove into her. Their eyes met.
"Elena." His voice was strained, barely holding on. "Let go."
And she did let go.
Of the worry about what people would think. Of all the stress that had been on her shoulders. Of the deadline. Of the impossible task to do everything perfectly.
She let all of it fall away until there was nothing left but the two of them.
They lay tangled together afterward, catching their breath. Elena's head rested on Finn's chest, listening to his heartbeat slow. His hand moved lazily up and down her arm. She hadn't felt this relaxed in months. Maybe years. Her mind was quiet. No spiraling thoughts, no mental to-do lists. Just the warmth of his body against hers and the gentle rising and falling of his chest.
Finn shifted, turning toward her. Elena looked up and found him watching her with a serious expression. "No matter what happens," he said, "with the presentation, with David, with any of it. I need you to know I’m with you."
