Page 126 of Finn Rhodes Forever

She narrowed her eyes at me and I sent her a rakish look. I’d slept in her bed every night this week, not even asking at this point. Each night, she had climbed on top of me, kissing me, tugging on my hair, grinding against me until our breathing was ragged, our cheeks were flushed, and my control was seconds from snapping.

I always flipped her onto her side just in time, tucking her against my chest, ignoring when she ground her ass back against me in protest.

Liv was going out of her mind with horniness and I was right there with her. Every time I stepped into the shower, I was fucking my fist, thinking about her breathy moans in my ear and the glaze in her eyes after I kissed her hard.

“I slept fine,” she said lightly.

I grinned at her. “Me too. You’re so cute in the mornings.”

She narrowed her eyes, probably thinking of something sharp to say. “So are you. I like when your hair’s all messy.” She picked up the pace and I watched her ass as she climbed the trail with a big smile on my face.

At the top, she turned back to wait for me. “Is there a fireplace in this ski lodge?”

“Dot said there was a wood stove.”

We hadn’t packed a tent because while having a drink with me at the bar the other night, Dot had told me about the expeditions she and her late husband had done even into their eighties.

“There’s a ski lodge on the other side,” she had told me, sipping her white wine. “Not a lot of people know about it, especially after the logging road washed out. It’s not much, just a simple cabin. No electricity, of course, but it has a loft for sleeping, a table, a wood stove, maybe a few old pots and pans still.”

We arrived at the ski lodge around noon, sticky with sweat but relieved that we wouldn’t be sleeping outside tonight.

“We can live here if I don’t find the flower,” Liv said as we slung our packs down.

I straightened up, studying her with a frown. Something in my stomach tightened at her tone.

She raised an eyebrow. “I was joking.”

“Were you?”

She blinked at me. The corner of her mouth twitched up as she gestured at the lodge. “I haven’t even seen the inside.”

I stared harder at her. “Not about that. About the flower. Have you given up?”

Neither of us said anything. In the branches above us, a couple birds chirped at each other.

“No,” she said quietly.

“Are you sure?”

She blinked, shaking her head. “What—where is this coming from?”

“I saw your kit on the table this morning.”

She blew a long breath out, turning away to open her pack. “I didn’t want to carry the extra weight.”

My hands came to my hips and I tapped my tongue to my top lip. “It weighs nothing.”

My head told me to shut up, that I was picking a fight, but disappointment wrenched in my chest. She couldn’t give up, there was too much at stake. This was her PhD, and her dream career.

Her hands stilled on her pack and she straightened before meeting my gaze. Her mouth twisted with hesitation and I saw it in her eyes—defeat.

“If we don’t find it on this trip—”

“Liv.” I let out a loud sigh. My shoulders tensed.

She stepped toward me and put her hands on my arms, letting out her own long breath. “If we don’t find it on this trip, I don’t want to keep hunting.”

“What?” I shook my head. “What are you talking about?”

---