“New Jersey would be too close!” she yelled at him.
“Also, can I take a brief stalking break?” he called. “I’m getting tired.”
“Then go home!”
She stood there glaring at him, hands on her hips. He started making faces at her. Stuck out his tongue, crossed his eyes, put his thumbs in his ears and wiggled his fingers.
Finally she started laughing, and so did he. He walked up to her, and they both sat down on the soft, mossy bank. Finn drank some water and splashed some on his face.
“You can’t keep me prisoner, you know,” she chided him.
“Doesn’t it show that I care about you, if I’m trying to keep you safe?” he asked, wiping his mouth with the back of his arm.
She raised an eyebrow at him. “There are better ways to show me you care than ordering me around and telling me where I can go and what I can do,” she said coolly.
“Like what? I’m really no good at this. But I want to be.” He smiled winningly at her. “You make me want to be better at it.”
Damn it, it was hard to stay mad at the sexy beast when he turned all charming like that.
“You could try talking to me. Spending time with me. Letting me know what’s bothering you instead of keeping it bottled up and going all quiet and sulky.”
“That’s just crazy talk,” he said, but with a grin that made her feel warm and squishy inside.
“You understand that I’m just about ready to give up on us?” she said, but her tone was gentler now. “I mean, I don’t feel like there evenisan us, at this point.”
His smile vanished. “Don’t do that. Please. I’m not ordering you to – I’m asking.” He hesitated. “Begging. I know I’ve been a moody dickhead, and I don’t deserve another chance, but I’m asking for it, for purely selfish reasons. I’m crazy about you. I’m doing a terrible job of showing it, but you are sexy, and funny, and you call me out on my crap when I need it, and you are the kindest person I know. Also, did I mention about the sexy?”
“It’s okay if you say it more than once.” She stifled a smile behind her hand.
“Sexy. Sexysexysexy. I will do better,” he added. “And I’m not trying to be a control freak when I ask you to stay away from Ruben’s territory, it’s just that I’m seriously worried for your safety. You’ve got this wonderful, sunny outlook on life, but sometimes it blinds you to the realities of what’s around you. Ruben and his people are killers.”
“I’ve made friends with a few of the bears,” she said. “And Ruben is making life in their territory a total hell. They’re going to head out to Cottonwood tomorrow, and I’m going to go with them.” She heard him suck in his breath sharply, and she met his gaze defiantly. “I’m going to ask Krystle to come with me, but even if she can’t, I’m going.”
“I can’t let you do that,” Finn said, shaking his head. “It’s too dangerous. No way.”
“There you go again, trying to tell me what to do.” She looked up at him. “Finn, I can’t just sit by while people are being abused. I was in a cruddy situation when I was a teenager, and I had no one to turn to, and it felt horrible. If my helping them out means that we can’t be together, then it will break my heart. I mean that. But I still have to help them.”
“Damn it, there you go again, being all noble. Making me fall for you even harder.” Finn shook his head in mock annoyance.
“I know, what a jerk I am, right?” She laughed.
He sighed and shook his head. “If you’re dead set on going, I’ll go with you. Krystle will probably come with us. There’s no way you’d make it there on your own.”
He slung an arm around her shoulders, and she leaned against him, her body tense.
“Relax,” he urged her. “I don’t bite. Okay, I do bite, but only if you say pretty please.”
“You want me to relax? Talk to me,” she said to him.
“What do you want me to say?”
“Anything. Tell me what’s been bothering you. Tell me what you really want for us.”
“That picture in my apartment,” Finn said. He paused, and when he spoke again, his voice was thick with sorrow. “That was my squadron. I lost half of them. One of them was Jennifer’s older sister, Marybeth. Three years ago next month. She sacrificed herself for me, and that’s a burden I carry with me to this day. My failure to keep her safe.” He cleared his throat. “And now I’m afraid that I can’t keep you safe, and if anything happened to you, it would kill me. And here I’ve been acting like such an ass that you don’t even want to be near me, and that puts you in harm’s way. I’m so sorry.”
His big, warm hand closed around hers.
“Stay with me, Flora. Please. I need you.”
“Finn, I am so sorry. I wish I’d known. You can tell me anything, you know. And I do want to be near you. All the time.” She pulled his arms around her, closed her eyes and buried her face in his shoulder. “Just hold me,” she said.
