Page 65 of Songbird
I dance my fingers over his skin, experimenting with the pressure until I find the featherlight touch that leaves goose bumps in its wake. Victory.
“These roses are gorgeous,” I murmur, admiring the line work on a piece close to his hip. “I wish I could see them in color. Red, maybe. No. Pink. And green.”
Finn’s mouth quirks in that secretive smile he has. “I can do that for you.”
I straighten, weight leveraged on my arm, for a better look at his face. “Youdrewthat?”
“I drew them all.”
My breath catches, and I release it with his name riding my exhale. “Finn. They’re beautiful.”
His grin widens, which is the only warning I have before he flips his body over mine, carefully rolling me onto my back, cradling my head as he flattens me against the timber.
“I’ve been thinking,” he says before he applies his mouth to mine.
I kiss him back and savor the play of cool and warmth between us. The sun, the water, our skin, his tongue. Oh, God. I’m going to miss this.
“Mm?”
Finn moves along my jaw and down over my neck, lips grazing me as his head moves lower. With a gentle pull, he drags the fabric triangle of my river-ruined bra down over my breast, revealing a nipple already peaked from the water and my arousal, and laves at the tip.
“I thought that maybe… It might be a smart idea…”
He yanks at the rest of my bra, rougher this time, desperate to get to me, perhaps hearing a clock ticking the same way I do. When I’m exposed, he teases me with tongue and lips and teeth, tugs and twists with nimble fingers until I’m wet and aching and lifting my hips to search for more.
“What?” I can barely get the words out, too distracted by the path Finn’s mouth is moving down toward my navel. “What’s your idea?”
My hands are tangled in his hair, and they grow tighter when he lifts his head and turns his intense caramel-colored eyes on me.
“I want to go with you.”
I gasp, and my heart rockets into my throat, but I’m too scared to believe what I think I’m hearing. “Go with me where?”
Finn rolls off me again, falling to the timber and resting his head on his hand so he can trace my face the way I memorized his earlier. I slip a hand around his neck to stroke his hair, dissatisfied with being so close without touching him. This is the part where he’s supposed to smile a little, my uncertainty giving him one of those secret moments of entertainment that light up his eyes. Instead, his brow furrows, and he mirrors my gesture by cradling my face in his palm.
“I want to go with you to LA.”
I yank him to me, lips crashing together as warmth flushes me all over and my chest fills to bursting. Finn kisses me, licking up the salty tears that fall down my face, until he smiles against my mouth.
“You like the idea?” he asks, and when he pulls away a little, I drag him back so I can bury my face in his neck.
“No, I love it. Iloveit.”
I breathe in the smell of his skin, savor the safety of his hard arms around me, and I’m tempted to take his gift and run all the way to Los Angeles with it. But once the dizzying high of his offer passes, an irritating voice of reason turns my head. I look out over the river, over the redwoods and the blue sky above, the rolling hills of Sonoma and the ranch that is Finn’s legacy. He’s going to give all this up, and the question I don’t want to ask tumbles out anyway.
“Are you sure, Finn?” I extract myself from his arms so I can read his face. “My schedule will be overwhelming and there won’t be many chances to come back to Silver Leaf. I want youwith me, but have you thought about what it means? What you’ll be giving up?”
“I don’t need to think about it.” His jaw clenches and his cognac eyes are bright, and I tell myself it’s his confidence and not willful blindness that makes my heart pound. “You need me, and I need you. I can’t let you go, Songbird, and you can’t stay here. The only option is for me to follow where you lead, and that’s what I’m going to do.”
Finn hooks his big arm around my waist and rolls us to the side, trapping me against his chest with his embrace. The pounding of his heart is deep and measured against mine, which flutters like a bird in comparison.
“Thank you for giving us a chance,” I tell him.
“I’m the one who needs to thank you,” he says. “For trusting me enough to come here when you needed help and for giving me purpose. I’ll do anything to make sure you’re safe and protected.” His voice drops and his throat bobs in a nervous swallow before he adds, “And loved.”
My chest isn’t large enough to contain the hurricane of emotions swirling inside me, and they bubble up in my throat.
“I love you, Finn,” I whisper, tucking my head against his chest.
