Page 34 of Flynn

“Hi, I’m Melanie, and I’ll be helping you all this afternoon. You’ve all met my husband, Liam, and as he said, if there’s anything you need, just give us a shout.”

We followed her to the other side of the tavern and took our seats, and I smiled politely as she handed us our menu and left.

“I’m starving,” I said with a small groan.

“Me too. I hope the food’s good,” Flynn agreed, flicking open his menu.

We ordered our drinks and food, and I sighed when we were finally alone.

I was surprised when a band started playing, and the smooth, smokey voice that sounded came from none other than our host, Liam Mathews. I angled my chair so that I was a little closer to Flynn, but so I could watch Liam sing and play the guitar, and I found myself tapping my foot to the beat. His bandmates were equally good looking, just in another way, and I wondered how they’d come to be on this tiny island.

After the first song ended and the second one started, I leaned back in my chair and looked at Flynn from the corner of my eye. He was watching the band as well, his posture relaxed, head nodding gently along to the music. Our day together so far had been really nice. He hadn’t stopped touching me since we’d left the pottery studio, little grazes here and there, or his fingers tangled with mine. He kept us close because we were selling arelationship, but I was soaking in every moment of it. I knew this was fake, and I knew it was dangerous for my heart to let myself get dragged too far into this, but I just wanted to live in our bubble a little longer.

Slowly, I reached across the table to take his hand, but I couldn’t bring myself to lift my gaze to see his face. What was he thinking right now? Was he confused? Worried? Did he like that I’d been the one to reach for him this time? Was this all one giant mistake I’d regret?

Inwardly kicking myself, I began to pull my hand away, but his grip tightened on mine.

“Look at me, Angel,” Flynn ordered gently, his voice a low rumble. God, the way he issued that command was so soft, but I found myself eager to obey. Slowly, I raised my gaze to his, clinging to my courage with my fingertips. I had no idea why it felt like an act of courage. We were playing a part, this was all for show, but in this moment, I felt like all pretenses were off the table. This was the real Flynn and Chiara.

Deep green eyes locked with mine and I stilled. I knew everything I was thinking had to be written all over my face. I’d never been good at lying or hiding my feelings. But whatever Flynn saw there only seemed to feed the hunger I saw building in his eyes. Flipping my hand over, he traced gentle circles on my palm, and the small move sent my heart thudding hard and fast. He kept his eyes locked with mine as he continued touching me, and I desperately wanted to know what he was thinking.

I wanted to ask him to give me these next few days, but I also knew it was a bad idea. I’d always played by the rules, always done what needed to be done. I’d been the responsible one since I was a little girl, always living within the lines of society and never doing things that were not good for me or leading toward the wilder side of life.

My entire life, I’d been safe, sheltered, predictable.

But Flynn made me want to be different. Something in me yearned to be a little wild with him, to let myself go and drop all inhibitions. I wanted more, but I worried I’d regret it when everything was said and done. Could I keep my heart in a box and just enjoy what we could have here?

“Come,” he said softly, and I frowned when he stood from his chair. When I didn’t move, he smiled softly. “Come dance with me, Angel.”

I wasn’t even going to pretend I didn’t want to dance with him. I was suddenly desperate to feel his arms around me, and didn’t that just make me a little bit pathetic? Ah, who cared? I was okay with being a little pathetic if it meant I got to be in his arms again. I stood up but hesitated.

“I can’t dance well,” I warned.

His smile was small but completely sinful. “At this very moment, I need to feel you against me, Angel. I just want a reason to hold you, and I don’t want to wait.”

Goddamn, that was a good response.

Smiling, I let him lead me to the empty dance floor. Knowing we were the only ones out there made me feel self-conscious, but when Flynn pulled me in close, I forgot about everyone else. He kept both arms wrapped around my waist, and I raised mine to link my fingers behind his neck. Flynn began swaying us back and forth, our feet shuffling slowly so that we weren’t really dancing, but we were moving.

Those green eyes scanned over my face, and I desperately wanted to know what he was thinking. In the years we’d been apart, he’d learned how to hide his thoughts behind a mask.

“What do you want, Ara?” he asked softly. I frowned in confusion, and he gently shook his head. “I’m not alone in this, am I? In what this is between us? You feel this too. I know you do.”

Swallowing hard, I nodded. “Yes.”

“So, what do you want, Ara? I don’t want there to be any confusion here. The last thing I ever want to do is hurt you, so I need to know what you want.”

“I…” I hesitated, unable to put it into words. We were really having this conversation, weren’t we?

The truth was, I wasn’t exactly sure what I wanted from him. Instead of answering, I tipped my head back further.

“What doyouwant?”

“You,” he answered without hesitating. My heart skipped a beat, but he continued talking. “I want you, Ara, for as long as you’ll have me. For as long as this job lasts. I don’t want to only touch you when we have an audience or to sell our story. There’s chemistry here, a pull, and I want to explore it… if you want that too.”

I ducked my head so he wouldn’t see the stab of disappointment I felt at his words. He wanted me for the duration of this job, but not after. I don’t know why it hurt to hear that when I’d been thinking along the same lines not long ago. I wanted him too, and I knew we weren’t a permanent thing, I knew we wouldn’t actually make something of this.

So, what was worse? Living with the regret of not taking what he was offering? Or having to say goodbye to him when this was all over?

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