Page 24 of Protecting Jess

His six-pack was well-defined. His chest was hair free, just the way Jess liked it. Finn still wore the pants he’d had on the night before.

Every molecule in her body encouraged her to climb back into bed and forget all about the tour of Coronado. Jess could spend the rest of the day exploring his body instead.

Abruptly she whirled, because her face probably showed exactly what she’d been thinking.

“What did you just think about, popsicle?” Finn’s voice came from directly behind her.

He wasn’t touching her, but she could feel his warmth stretching out toward her.

“Nothing. I was thinking I need to find some clothes.”

They’d stopped by her room before heading to his. The mess had been cleaned up, but it was going to take a lot of effort for the smell to completely disappear.

No one would be using that room for a while. Fortunately, her clothes hadn’t been touched, and hadn’t appeared to have a fishy scent.

“Uh-huh. Why don’t you use the bathroom off this bedroom, and I’ll go to the other one?”

The hotel had been wonderful and offered her another room on the same floor, but Finn hadn’t liked that idea.

Jess hadn’t either. She didn’t want to be alone—then or now.

What if the person who’d entered her room was a guest on the same floor? They’d broken in once. Who was to say they couldn’t have gotten into her new room?

Finn had requested the Presidential Suite and hadn’t blinked as he’d handed over his credit card. He wasn’t one to brag about the fact he came from money. That his adoptive father was a billionaire.

Did any of the guys on the team know that about him? Or had he kept that a secret?

“Jess? Are you sure you’re okay?”

Once again, she’d allowed her mind to wander off when she should’ve been moving and getting ready. “I am. Sorry.” She winced at the repetitive apology. It seemed that was all she did around Finn.

He didn’t say anything more, just giving her a look she interpreted as, Stop apologizing. It’s just us. We’re good.

“I’ll go take that shower now.” Jess slipped past Finn and opened the drawer she’d tossed her clothes in. She picked items at random and made her escape to the bathroom.

Just like it had the previous evening, the luxuriousness of the room reminded her of how the other half lived. The taps were gold-plated and the room was three times as large as the one she’d been staying in a few floors down. The towels were fluffier than those in that other room, too.

She eyed the deep soaker bath and was tempted to fill it up with warm, bubbly water, but opted for the shower instead.

After today, she’d likely take Kaley up on the offer of staying with her, or do as she’d said, and go to her parents earlier than planned. Of course, that would mean an explanation, but maybe she could get away with saying she’d missed them and didn’t want to wait to see them.

If she did that, she’d have to be convincing, because her dad always seemed to have an inkling when things were off with her. Which was why Jess hadn’t even ventured home during the time with Bartholomew.

Why hadn’t she gone home? It wasn’t as though her parents would judge her. If anything, they’d do everything in their power to protect her. That was what she should’ve done, and maybe if she had, she wouldn’t have a permanent reminder of what’d happened.

Jess ran the loofah over the scars on her arm. She was surprised Finn hadn’t asked to see them after she’d explained everything to the police.

His anger had been palpable, and she’d suspected he’d been about to throw the chair he’d been sitting in. In all the time she’d known him, she’d never seen him so angry.

How much more had Finn changed?

Had becoming a SEAL turned him into a different person?

Was this anger something close to the surface, and would it break through if Jess did or said the wrong thing?

A fissure of fear flared in her stomach, but she quashed it. Finn wouldn’t hurt her. He was a healer. When she’d found out he was becoming a SEAL, she’d been so surprised.

Ten minutes later, she left the bathroom, dressed and ready for the day.

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