“What are you doing?” Finn asks, still sitting at the foot of the bed.
“It was really nice of you to help me out of there. But I just…you’re a client. I’m a tutor. So I shouldn’t be here, and you shouldn’t be in showers when I arrive, and neither of us should be thinking about taking steam showers together or…whatever.”
The words rattle out of my mouth, despite my best attempts to sound cool and collected. Finn considers them; his grin is gone, but I wouldn’t call his face concerned, exactly. He looks almost…self-assured? Confident? It’s a hard expression to place, but it freezes me, holds me still as he rises and takes a few steps forward, till he’s only a few feet away, towering over me despite my heels.
“If you think that’s best,” he says, voice calm.
“I do,” I say, and fold my arms over my chest.
“But in that case, I don’t think I should be giving you gifts. So I need that shirt back,” he says, nodding at it.
“Um. Okay, sure. Yeah. I’ll wash it and bring it to our tutoring session,” I say, confused.
Finn frowns, then takes a step forward, then another, another. I mean to back up, but there’s a table behind me, and besides, my knees don’t seem to be functioning all that well at the moment. He looks down at me, and this close, I can see a glimmer in his eyes. I thought it was a glimmer of laughter, before, but now I understand—it’s excitement. One side of his mouth curls into a slight smile.
“Finn—“ I stammer, the jump when I feel his right hand brush my thigh as he takes hold of the shirt’s bottom hem. He keeps his eyes on mine, and touches my left thigh a little more deliberately as he lifts the hem on that side. I’m not even sure why I do it, how he communicated what he wanted, how I knew—but I find myself slowly, shakily lifting my arms above my head, allowing Finn to slide the shirt up and off my body.
He tosses it to the side, and then steps back, studying me. I look down, realizing I’m breathing heavily, a fact extremely obvious now that I’m wearing nothing but a bra and panties. They’re purple and flowery and look all-too innocent when paired with strappy heels. My stomach is clenched, my heart quickening. When I dare to look back at Finn, he’s still studying me.
“What are you looking at?” I whisper.
Finn smiles, but doesn’t meet my eyes; his gaze is on my legs, my waist. He reaches forward and I feel my skin prickle as he hooks his massive pointer finger through the side of my panties. “The most beautiful person at that party tonight, as a matter of fact. The only person I want to be looking at.”
I close my eyes—I have to, because I can’t handle those words and the feeling of his hand brushing along my hip. When he begins to slowly tug downward, I wince—
“Kenley?” Finn asks.
“Mm?” I answer, the closest approximation of words I can muster. I feel on fire, I feel alive, I feel hungry in a way I’ve never felt in my life before. My lips are parted, breath racing in and out of my chest.
Finn leans in—my eyes are still shut, but I feel him grow closer, then feel his face next to mine, feel my breasts brush his chest each time I take a desperate gulp of air. He whispers in my ear. “I’m going to take your clothes off.”
Chapter 6
He just said that— he just said that, out loud, and all I can manage to stammer is, “Okay.”
Finn nods, like this is the answer he expected.
My eyes flutter to his. His face is so close to mine; I can smell his aftershave, see each eyelash, feel each breath. He keeps our eyes locked together as he tugs my panties down, hard this time, then let's them fall to my feet. My eyes widen as he places his palm against my hip, squeezing gently.
He speaks again, now letting his free hand wander up my back, toward the clasp on my bra. “Kenley, I want to make sure you understand that you’re the only one I want to be inside. That I’ve thought about sliding inside you since the first day we met.”
I moan at the words, a sound that would have been incredibly embarrassing were it not for the fact that it seems to further excite Finn.
I barely have time to notice this, though, before he’s found my bra clasp and in a single, deft move, undone it. My bra slips forward and I let it tumble to the ground. Finn makes a hungry noise as my nipples meet the air, hardening instantly.
Finn leans in and kisses me. I’ve been kissed before, but never like this, never so hungrily, so desperately, so beautifully. My lips part and he slips his tongue against mine. I find myself leaning backward, unable to hold myself upright as he kisses me deeper. Just as I’m certain I’m going to tumble to the ground, he moves his hand from my hip to around my body, swinging me up and over his shoulder in a single, effortless maneuver.