Page 51 of Finn Rhodes Forever

The second we got outside, he spun me around and walked me backward so I was pressed against the wall. My eyes widened as he stepped into my space, one arm leaning on the wall beside my head, the other still holding my hand. My pulse skyrocketed at his nearness and I couldn’t tear my gaze from his. He smelled incredible, masculine and clean, and the sharp, delicious scent made my thoughts blur.

That wicked grin curled up on his mouth again.

“Back to your old antics,” he said, gaze flicking down to my t-shirt.

“It’s laundry day,” I lied. My voice sounded breathless and Ihatedthat Finn Rhodes did this to me. That he made me into this swooning, light-headed woman who couldn’t focus on anything except the infuriating, cruel tilt of the corner of his mouth and how fucking badly I wanted to suck on it.

“Mhm. I’m sure it is.” His gaze roamed my face. “You think a t-shirt like that is going to distract me from how nice your tits are?”

Heat pooled low in my belly and I blinked. “Um. I don’t know.”

“It isn’t.” He held my gaze and my stomach rolled back and forth with nerves and excitement. His hand gave mine a little squeeze and my lips parted. His eyes darkened. “You heard what I said in the diner.”

Did I fuckingever. I’d been hearing those low words in my sleep.I remember every inch of your body. A muscle low in my stomach tightened.

We stared at each other for a long moment in the quiet alley while cars drove past on the street and people chatted on the sidewalk twenty feet away. My breasts felt heavy and my pulse thrummed between my legs.

He glanced down at my mouth and my heart sped up even more.

I should have kissed him. Why not? I wanted to, and I couldn’t remember why I shouldn’t—

Finn pulled away, tugging my hand toward his car. “Come on, Livvy, let’s go.”

He opened the passenger door and guided me in. What just happened? I studied his face as he made his way around the car and got into the driver’s side. He turned the engine on with a little smirk.

Oh my god. He was dangling sex in front of me like a carrot. That was it. He was going to wait for me to make the first move. It was like all the games we used to play, all the competitive little jokes we played on each other. Always in competition.

Well, I’d been freezing him out for a decade. I could control myself forone night.

20

Finn

The shirt worked.

I couldn’t fucking believe it. Emmett’s stupid dorky shirt ideaworked. The second I stepped into the bar, her eyes did that sexy, hazy thing like she wanted to drag me back upstairs.

That was the look she gave me on grad night, right before I slid the strap of her dress off. Pure fuckingyearning.

Poor Liv, all horny and worked up. I smiled, sending her a quick glance before turning back to the road. I knew she was getting the sticky notes. I’d left one on a coffee this morning outside her door and a couple hours later, it was gone. The one of her car window had disappeared, too.

I thought back to the diner, how she admitted those things to me. My heart had twisted in half, seeing her vulnerable like that around me. It was almost like we used to be, like she knew I wouldn’t hurt her. My chest twinged but I shook it off.

I was so close.

Until she trusted me, no messing around. No sex stuff. Getting into bed with Liv was significant—I’d been thinking about it foryears. A third of my life, I’d been dreaming about us back together. It meant something. If we slept together and things didn’t work out, it would destroy me. The idea loomed in the back of my mind, big, dark, and unwelcome, and tension bled into my shoulders.

In her seat, she shifted, crossing and uncrossing her legs, and I bit back a smile.

We weren’t having sex, but I could still tease her.

“Where are we going?” Liv asked, pulling my attention back to the present.

I smiled. “It’s a surprise.” I winked at her. “We’ll be there in ten minutes. You want to pick some music?”

She nodded and pulled out her phone to cue a playlist up before cracking her window as I drove. Her hair fluttered in the wind and my stomach dipped.

Fucking hell, she was pretty.

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