I didn’t know why he would feel the need to hide himself from his family, but when I met his father, I realized the man would never accept his son as bisexual. When Finn flops beside me, I allow my eyes to trail over his skin.
“You’re going to catch a cold if you lie naked in winter.”
He laughs, those dark chocolate eyes landing on me. “Are you worried about me?”
“Yes,” I admit easily. I know he’s asking about more than just the cold. So, I tell him, “There’s only so many years you can hide your true self. Especially from those who love you. And as much as you try to be the playboy, that’s not who you are.”
Finn is silent for a long moment. He ponders my words. They’re true because I’ve lived the life he’s trying to. My family thought I was straight, and I allowed them to believe it. For years, I hid my feelings, until one night my mother found me with a guy, kissing, hands everywhere. And that’s when my parents flipped out.
I’ve never told Finn what happened after that. He knows I left home, but he doesn’t know the real reason I was no longer living with my parents. Deep down, I want so much to tell him, to admit my sordid past, but I’m not sure I can. Not yet.
My feelings for him are far stronger than his for me. At least for now. But if I keep pushing him, I’m certain I’ll end up pushing him away, and that’s the last thing I want or need. I was being truthful when I told him I wouldn’t leave. There’s no way in hell I can walk away from Finn Thorne.
“I know,” he finally answers, before pulling on his T-shirt and then a hoodie. I watch as his sweats slip up his muscular thighs, and then, I’m left with nothing but his handsome face to look at. “Give me time.”
“Time is all we have,” I throw back. It might sound cliché, but it’s true.
We sit in silence as the night steals the day. And when it’s dark out, and the moon hangs heavily like a beacon in the inky sky, we stand and make our way back to the house. Through the forest, with every step we take, we move nearer to Finn’s fiancée, who’s waiting back at the manor.
Suddenly, I’m shoved against a tree. The thick trunk digging into my back and Finn is on me. His mouth claiming mine in a heated kiss. Our tongues duel for dominance, and with both of us being so damn alpha male all the time, it’s a fight we’re both about to lose. My hands grip his ass, and I pull him closer, feeling his cock, thick and hard, as it presses against my thigh.
“It’s the last kiss for a couple of days,” Finn hisses against my mouth before tugging my lower lip between his teeth. He bites down hard, until a strong and tangy, metallic flavor bursts on our tongues. Finn laps at my mouth, and we share the crimson fluid between us in one last heated kiss.
The moment we break from our connection, I shiver. It’s cold without him close to me. Finn is like a human heater, and I’ve always enjoyed nuzzling against him when we would sleep up on the roof to get away from his family.
“I can handle a couple of days,” I tell him as we breach the property. But before we go inside, I whisper, “just not forever.” He doesn’t hear it, but I know he can tell I’m tense. I don’t know why I ever got involved with him, but the day his mother left, was the day I realized there was more to the beautiful, broken boy. When I first arrived at Thorne Manor all those years ago, I was convinced he was just another spoiled rich kid. He gave off the air of the playboy even in his teens. Girls used to fawn over him and he basked in the attention. But then, one night, I found him up on the roof of the manor. I had been exploring the house each night, and stumbled across the steps to the top.
Finn stood on the edge, and my heart had dropped to my feet when I saw him up there, balancing precariously, as if he would jump at any time. I shouted out to him, and in hindsight, it wasn’t the best thing to do to someone standing on the edge. But I couldn’t help myself.
He turned and regarded me as if I were insignificant, but he came down and flopped onto the mattress that had been placed there by his brothers. I later learned they would hide up there as kids. We laid side by side, watching the stars as Finn told me he was ready to end it all. I didn’t understand how someone so perfect could seek death instead of life.