Finn

His statement sends a warm and fuzzy feeling straight to my bones.

“I really, really like the sound of that.”

“Me too. Now, how do you feel about a shower before I feed you? That will be the only time we need to leave this bed today.”

“I like the sound of that even better.”

“Finn!” I swat at his shoulder and try to scoot away from his roaming hands. “I’m attempting to help you!”

“I can’t help it if you’re too sexy to stay away.” He nuzzles my neck and presses his obvious erection against my thigh. “Watching you do your thing makes me hard.”

“First of all, I can’t see how my editing your paper is remotely sexy. Secondly, should I worry that you’re always hard? Is that normal?”

He gives me a sly smirk and moves his hand up my leg, stopping at the hem of his t-shirt he insisted I wear after our shower this morning.

“Let’s see, how can I answer this? You editing my paper is sexy because I’ve discovered that, when you concentrate, you crinkle your eyebrows and nose in a seriously adorable expression. I can almost see the wheels in your head turning. And you should never worry about me being hard, because I’m constantly turned on when I’m with you. It doesn’t help that we’re lying in your bed, and the only things separating me from your body is a cotton t-shirt and my gym shorts. I could have us both naked in under ten seconds.”

“Mmm, that sounds nice.” I run a hand over his abs, feeling them contract at my touch. When I reach the waistband of his shorts, I tease him by dipping a finger inside and circling his head gently. “But I need a few more minutes to finish my notes.”

“Jesus, woman, keep it up and see what happens.”

I remove my hand and go back to focusing on my laptop. He rolls to his back and blows out a frustrated sigh, adjusting his shorts. His phone rings, and he groans when he looks at it.

“This should be interesting.” He swipes the screen. “What’s up, James?”

He gives me a gesture that he’s going to take the call in the other room, and I nod in understanding. While he’s gone, I finish my notes on his final paper and save them for him to review tomorrow. Then I answer some emails and confirm deadlines for the week.

It wasn’t the smartest decision to play hooky today, but I don’t feel an ounce of guilt. The minute Finn told me he was skipping class to spend the day with me, I agreed wholeheartedly. And to be honest, it was one of the best days of my life. Not because Finn and I spent most of the day naked, tangled up in each other’s arms, but because I got to spend the entire day with only him. No family or friends to distract us.

He shared childhood stories of him and the guys and told me about his time in the military. I pushed him to tell me what exactly happened in Iraq a few years ago and couldn’t stop the tears when he told me about his trip with Robbie and Max to visit the deceased men’s graves and families. With each word he spoke, I decided Ember was right. He is a hero.

The only downfall to our day was when he mentioned spending the summer in Paris with Raven two years ago. Envy bubbled inside, and I had to bite my tongue to keep from blurting out her hostile behavior on Saturday. It was clear they were extremely close, and a part of me understood her need to question my presence. Even if she did it with an attitude.

In turn, I told him stories of my childhood and growing up with two overly zealous brothers. He asked about my mom, and I talked openly about her beauty and love of life. He didn’t press me for details, but I briefly mentioned her death and the impact it had on my dad. Then I moved on to stories about Reese.

All throughout the day, he kept me close, always touching me in some way. Sometimes it was sexual, and sometimes it was just to have me near him. It was uncharacteristic of me to sleep with Finn after such a short amount of time, but for some reason, I felt closer to him than anyone I’d ever dated. Our connection was more intense, more solid. I trusted him completely and believed it when he said he wasn’t letting me go.

I’m so lost in my thoughts that when I glimpse at the clock, I realize he’s been on the phone for over twenty minutes. I knew he had someone take notes in his class today, but did he skip work as well?

I put away my laptop and go the living room to check on him. My stomach growls loudly, causing him to look up from his spot on my sofa and give me a lopsided grin. I giggle, slightly embarrassed, until he motions for me to come to him. He pulls me onto his lap and gives me a finger that he’ll be another minute.

“Robbie, man, we got this. If it escalates, I can start a monitor on the outside perimeter. We’ll have footage of anyone coming and going. If the Governor wants, I can even lock in a few hidden cameras to watch his personnel. We can determine if anyone is acting suspicious.”

There’s some rumbling through the line that I can’t understand.

“Yeah, I’ll be in after class tomorrow, and we can finalize the outline. I’ll work up some options about looking into his staff without drawing attention.”

More grumbling.

“Okay, guys, see you tomorrow.”

This time, I hear distinct chuckles and a few loud remarks.

“Funny. Both of you should be fucking comedians. I’ll tell her you said hi, and we’ll both be there Saturday night. Tell Ember to calm down.”

He ends the call and tosses his phone to the other side of the couch then falls back and takes me with him.

“That sounded interesting.”