“Since when are you so concerned with the truth, Finlay?” Arabella asked.
He motioned with his hands for her to descend the stairs. “Since I know it makes you happy.”
Despite the blush on her cheeks, Arabella kept her shoulders back as she moved toward him. “I’ll remember that the next time you spout one of your lines. That might make you stop.”
“I doubt it.” He raised a hand to her and she took it. Curling his fingers around hers, he guided his dragon-shifter goddess down the last few steps. Once she stood in front of him, all he could think about was kissing the living shit out of her. Needing a moment with his female, he murmured, “Come with me.”
Pulling her down the hall and into his study, Finn shut the door and kissed her. After a split second of shock, Arabella parted her lips and met him stroke for stroke as she gripped his shoulders. The fact she was as hungry for him as he was for her only made his cock harder.
His dragon growled. Be careful or I won’t be able to stop.
With monumental effort, he broke the kiss to look into Arabella’s eyes. The urge to rip off her clothes and fuck her was overwhelming, but somehow he managed to keep his tone light as he said, “That was me saying how beautiful you look, by the way.”
The corner of her mouth ticked up. “I could wear a dress of weeds and I bet your cock would still go hard.”
Rubbing his dick against her, he murmured, “True, but I’m not lying about how beautiful you look tonight. Say the word and I can snake a hand up your dress and make you come with my fingers.”
She smacked his shoulder. “Finn, stop it.”
He grinned. “You can’t blame a bloke for trying.”
“You never stop trying. That’s the problem.” Arabella looked to the door. “Besides, we shouldn’t keep the MacKenzies waiting.”
“Oh, aye? Have you formed a coalition with Faye and Lorna against me, then?”
She gave a sly smile. “That’s for you to find out.”
He laughed. “If this is you after two days with my clan, I better prepare myself for the rest of my life. I have a feeling you’ll always keep me on my toes.”
Arabella’s smile faltered. “There’s still the threat from within your clan. I don’t want my presence here to cause a rift, Finlay.”
The fact Arabella hadn’t dismissed spending the rest of her life with him only warmed his heart. He caressed her cheek with the back of his fingers. “Don’t worry, lass. Duncan has been a pain in my arse for a while and I’ll deal with him. However, most of the clan will love you, even if you talk in a funny accent.”
Raising an eyebrow, she ran a hand across his chest. “I don’t know what you’re talking about. This is how to speak English properly.”
As he took in Arabella dressed in her traditional dragon-shifter attire and added in her teasing him, for the first time in a long while Finn wanted to dodge his clan leader duties and be selfish; he wanted to whisk Arabella away for a weekend break and show her a good time.
Yet he knew he couldn’t, and not just because of his clan leader duties. Between the dragon hunters, the Dragon Knights, and Duncan’s supporters, taking Arabella anywhere outside of Lochguard would be dangerous.
With herculean effort, he stepped back and motioned toward the door. “You can debate how to speak English at the gathering. I have a feeling the Scots’ way will win.”
“Maybe we should ask Melanie when she visits since she’s American and a little less biased.”
Opening the door, Finn drew Arabella against his side and squeezed her hip. “I think not. She’s mated to your bloody brother. Of course she’ll side with him.”
Amusement danced in Arabella’s eyes. “You clearly don’t know Melanie very well, do you?”
“We have our whole lives to fix that, Arabella MacLeod, provided we survive tonight.”
Arabella glanced up at him. “You’ll have to win my brother over before he’ll ever leave you alone with his mate. You really can’t know Melanie until you’ve spent an hour alone with her. That female is a force of nature.”
Finn winked. “Winning over your brother should be a piece of cake.”
She gave him a skeptical look. “The day you get along with my brother is the day I’ll let you tie me up and do what you like with me.”
His eyes flashed to slits. “Is that a promise, lass?”
Shaking her head, she answered, “It will never happen, so there’s no point in promising anything.”