“I fucking hate seeing your beautiful skin bruised.”
I grinned. “Unless it’s my wrists.”
There was no humor in his expression. “Stand up for me. I want to see all of you.”
Sighing in resignation, I moved my legs and my feet from the bed to the floor. As I stood before him, I was bathed in his concerned and possessive stare. The ferocity filled me with confidence and I unclasped my bra, allowing the straps to fall down my arms. Next, I snagged the waist of my panties and allowed them to drop to the floor.
“Turn around.”
My hesitation was only for a moment before I did as he commanded. Slowly, I turned one complete circle and then a second. Fin reached for my hands, pulling me between his spread knees. He removed the tie from my hair, allowing my locks to flow over my shoulders.
Fin’s kisses began on my fingers, then over my sore knuckles. He didn’t stop, moving up my arms to my collarbone and lower. A trail of goose bumps formed in his wake. My nipples painfully hardened as they became the focus of his attention.
My head lobbed back.
This was a dream.
After the last few days, my mind had given up on reality. I was floating in a sea of sensations. My core twisted and my knees wobbled. I steadied myself by placing my hands on Fin’s shoulders. All at once, my world shifted, landing me back on the soft mattress.
The scent of sandalwood filled my senses as Fin spread my knees and his lips roamed from my breasts to my stomach, and lower to my pussy. Lightning bolts of electricity raced through me. My hips bucked and my back arched. I reached for his soft hair, wordlessly begging for more.
This was more than allowing Fin to take charge, it was a cleansing and rebirth all in one. The emotions I’d worked hard throughout the day to subdue found an outlet as I shouted his name. The bedroom filled with the sounds of ecstasy and desire. My moans became higher pitched as fireworks exploded behind my eyelids.
I pulled him higher, wanting and needing this surrender—the closeness of two people so intertwined we didn’t know where one began and the other ended. I called out as Fin filled me in the most delicious way. As he moved, claiming me and recentering my world, I arched my back as his lips found mine. For a moment in time, the despair of the world and the deception of my family was forgotten. My every thought was consumed with the man above me, dominating me, and loving me.
The sounds we made were the same as those echoed through centuries of lovemaking. High-pitched treble clef and guttural lower pitched bass clef. Our bodies united with heady breaths, skin against skin. Giving my mind and body over to Fin freed me of the weight I was required to carry. Hundreds of pounds evaporated, opening my lungs to the warm air only he could give.
No longer a chorus clatter, Fin’s words of comfort and declarations of love filled a void my father’s passing had created. His phrases of confidence and knowledge of my dedication and commitment were like rain to cracked, dry soil. I drank them in—each one—as nourishment to my battered self-esteem.
Detonation after detonation set my nervous system ablaze. Fin’s movements came quicker, each thrust impossibly deeper as the air filled with his deep baritone growl.
He stayed above me, his weight over me as his lips found mine. With our noses only millimeters apart, his eyes swirled with emotion. “I fucking love you, Vee. I’ve been worried about you all day.”
I wanted to tell him that he needn’t worry, but instead, I pushed my reflex response away. “I love you. I’m so glad you were here.” I tilted my head. “I’m not used to anyone worrying about me.”
“Get used to it.”
My cheeks rose with a genuine smile. “I’ll try.”
Breaking our connection, Fin rolled to my side. I followed, lifting my head to his hard shoulder, my fingertips swirling his chest hair. “When did you take off your clothes?”
“I don’t know.”
The room filled with needed laughter.
“I thought you preferred the power play.”
“You relinquished yours when you said I was in charge.” He kissed my nose. “What did you and Daphne decide about your dad’s service?”
“It will be a week from today.”
“Tuesday?”
I nodded. “That way the coaches and team can attend. We have a bye the next weekend…” I sighed. “It won’t be open to the public, but Daphne and I agreed that Dad thought of the Coopers as family.”
Fin’s lips brushed over mine. “Now, I think you should soak in a warm bath. However sore you are now, you’ll be ten times worse tomorrow.”
I pushed out my lower lip. “I was hoping for a taste of that delicious-smelling lasagna.”
