Page 17 of Protecting Jess

“How long are you here for?”

“A few days. Mom and Dad are expecting me in about ten days. I gave myself a bit of time to myself between finishing the tour and going to see them.”

He nodded. “What if, tomorrow, I take you over to Coronado and give you a quick tour of the place?”

“I’d like that,” Jess whispered.

Coronado was the training grounds of the SEALs. Would Finn show her where he trained, or was that off-limits?

She’d find out tomorrow.

“Great. How about I pick you up here at ten? Will that work?” Finn asked, his brown eyes sparkling with happiness.

“Yes.” A yawn wracked her body and fatigue swept over her. For the last couple of hours, she’d been running on the buzz from performing and seeing Finn again. Now, everything was catching up with her, and all Jess wanted was her bed.

“Come on. I’ll walk you to your room.” Finn captured her hand and led her toward the glass double doors.

“You don’t have to do that. I’m pretty sure I can make my own way there.”

He shrugged. “I won’t be able to sleep if you don’t let me do this. Besides, you know my mom and dad would be angry with me if I didn’t see you safely home.”

Jess laughed. It was all too easy to imagine Uncle Brodie and Aunt Cerise being angry with Finn. “I’m sure they’d forgive you. You’re their son, after all.”

“Maybe, but it’s a risk I’m not willing to take. Who knows what Mom would do? She’d likely send me an envelope full of glitter and I’d be sparkling my way to my next mission.”

She laughed as they entered the elevator. “I could see your mom doing that. Tell me, is Primmy still obsessed with glitter, like her mom?”

Finn rolled his eyes. “Of course. I swear, the collection of sparkly shoes those two have is enough to light up a disco.”

“Well, a girl can’t have too many sparkles,” she said. “I did a show once where my costume was covered in diamantes. It was my favorite one. I may have paid for it so I could keep it.”

“On a dancing costume, sparkles and glitter works. Every day? Not so much. I’m not sure how Primmy gets away with wearing her glitter makeup to school.”

“She’s a senior. Everyone’s more lenient with them.”

“True.” Finn nodded.

They arrived at her floor, and he held the door open for her to step out of the elevator first. The walk to her room was short ,and as Jess rummaged through her bag for her room key, the butterflies began to flutter again in her belly.

Why was she so nervous?

Especially considering the hot kiss they’d shared on the street. Not once had Finn given the indication that he wanted to take her to bed, although it hadn’t been hard to miss the evidence of his desire when it was pressed against her body.

“Here I am,” she said, awkwardly repeating what she’d said when they’d arrived at the hotel.

“We are...” He paused, his brows furrowing as he sniffed deeply.

What was he doing?

“Do you smell that?” he asked.

Jess inhaled and caught the faint aroma of something. “Does that smell like fish?” she asked.

“It does.”

“Maybe someone ordered a seafood platter from room service and left their tray out.”

Finn looked up and down the hallway, and she didn’t need to look herself to know that her assumption was proven false.

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