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“Hmmm?” I answer, still mindlessly playing with her hair.
“We needed this. The time to ourselves. The quiet.” She tilts her head up, emerald eyes covered in her black-rimmed glasses, meeting mine. It’s only been two days, and she’s already looking so much better. Her eyes have a brightness to them, her cheeks no longer appear hollow, the deep purple bruises that cover her body are starting to turn yellow, and her sprained ankle is far less swollen. Never underestimate the power of a few good day’s rest. She’s even stopped dressing in sweats from head to toe, saying she no longer feels cold all of the time. Now she’s lying under the covers in nothing but one of our T-shirts and a pair of cotton panties.
Like I said, a special kind of torture.
I tip my head forward and place a kiss against her forehead. “I’m so glad you’re feeling better, Angel.”
“And you, how are you feeling? With everything that is . . .”
I know what she’s referring to. With everything that happened immediately after, I’ve never spoken to her about that night down at the docks with Liam. I honestly haven’t felt the need to. What Mac said to me that night helped more than he will ever know. I’m their brother, and Liam and his cruel words can’t take that away from me. “I’m okay, I promise.”
“You’ll tell me if you’re ever not okay, okay?”
“Okay.” My perfect, beautiful Angel. After everything she’s been through, she still has it in her to worry about us and how we’re feeling. Fucking hell, do I love her.
Now’s as good a time as any, I guess.
Sliding my hand free of her hair, I cup her cheeks so she remains looking at me, “Harper, I–”
“I love you, Finn,” she yells, cutting me off. I can’t help the small laugh that slips out as her eyes widen. “I’m sorry. I didn’t want to waste another second not telling you that I love you.” She slowly sits up and straddles me, gently pushing her fingers through my hair. “I love that you make me brave. I love that you taught me how to let go when I thrive on being in control. I love the man that you are, for me and for everyone around you.” A small tear escapes her eye, but I quickly slide her glasses over her head and brush it away with my thumb. “Most of all, I love that you dance in the dark with me.” She pulls one hand from my hair and pushes it through the hair covering my jaw. “I love you, Finn.”
Her glassy eyes dart between mine as I try to remember how to breathe. I don’t think I’ve ever been struck so speechless. I was totally prepared to tell her how I felt, but for some reason, I wasn’t the slightest bit ready for what she would say. Because, fuck, that was everything I could have hoped for and more. Harper loves me. She really loves me. For all that I am.
“Angel . . .”
“Now is the part where you say it back, you know?” she laughs.
“I love you.” Leaning forward, I kiss her fiercely, trying not to pay attention to the fact that my cock is growing hard the longer she sits on my lap. “I love you, I love you, I love you,” I repeat over and over again between each kiss. “Never in my wildest dreams did I think I would get lucky enough to have a woman like you in my life, but here you are—my Angel on earth. You are the strongest person I’ve ever known, and I can’t wait to spend the rest of my life being the man you deserve.”
“You already are, Finn Donovan.” Her mouth crashes into mine again, and this time, I don’t hesitate to slide my tongue into her mouth, swallowing and savoring every moan that slips past her lips as I do. It’s not long before she wraps her arms tighter around my neck, bringing her chest tight against mine. Even through both of our cotton shirts, I can feel her tight nipples pressing against my chest.
It’s when she slowly moves her hips above my straining erection that I tear my mouth away from hers, “Fuck, Harper. We can’t.” Her eyes flash with disappointment and rejection. “It’s not because I don’t want to, because fuck do I want to. But, you’re not healed enough, Angel, you’ll get hurt.”
She slowly rolls her hips forward again, a devious look on her face, and I swear to God it takes every ounce of self-control I have not to flip us over and drive my cock deep inside her. I can’t, though. I will not be the reason she gets hurt again. So, I firmly grab her hips and stall her movements. “Harper, don’t test me,” my voice stern now, “Just because I told you I loved you doesn’t mean I won’t punish you for disobeying me.”
“You know, you all keep saying you’re going to punish me, and yet,” she leans forward so her lips are featherlight against mine, “it has yet to happen.”
“Just you wait. The day will come, naughty girl.”
“Looking forward to it, Daddy.”
Fuck my life.
My cock twitches beneath my sweatpants at the word, and judging by the smile on her face, she knows exactly what she just did. “Harper, enough,” I growl.
She tilts her head back and laughs before putting her hands up in mock surrender, “Okay, okay. I’m done.”
Moving slowly, she sets her glasses on the nightstand and stands from the bed; holding her hand out, she asks, “You wanna come take a bath with me? My muscles could use a good soak.”
Shit, I don’t know why none of us have thought of this before, “How does a soak in the hot tub on the roof sound?”
Her jaw drops so dramatically, I swear it hits the floor, “You have a hot tub?”
Standing up, I lead Harper down the hall and toward the elevator. “Yeah, we have a private hot tub and a pool on the roof. We’re the only ones that have access to it, but we never use it because we’re always too busy doing other shit. Kind of forgot it was there, to be honest.” As we approach the kitchen, I notice Mac is nowhere to be found, and the Chicken Parm is already in the oven. If he’s been feeling anything like Ronan and me, I’m sure he’s in his room taking a “shower.” His absence gives me an idea, so I quickly sidestep to grab the key to the rooftop door out of the junk drawer and shoot a text to Ronan and Mac, letting them know where Harper and I will be.
“Oh my God, to be so rich, you forget you have a private rooftop pool.” I don’t look at her, but I can practically feel her eyes rolling. “Wait! Let me go get my suit!” She yells in excitement, trying to turn back toward her room.
I stop and stare at her deadpan. “Harper, did you miss the part where I said it was private?”
