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“She is,” he agrees, but then his face turns serious. “What do you think of that thing Theodore said to her today, about not coming for her yet? Yet implies that he plans on coming for her later.”
“I’m not sure. Rita believes she has a dark half and a light half; the light half is from Noreen and the dark half is from Theodore. She’s scared that the dark half will take over one day, but she’s also determined not to let that happen. Maybe Theodore wants her dark half to take over so that she’ll join forces with him. Can you imagine how powerful those two could be together?” I shudder involuntarily.
Finn purses his lips. “We’ll have to keep an eye on her, make sure she stays light, as you put it.”
“We will.” I agree.
A silence ensues, the movie forgotten. I know I came in here to talk to Finn about my feelings, but I’m too nervous to broach the subject. He’s staring at me now, frowning slightly. He reaches out and touches the small bruises on my throat, like he did back in the church.
“I suppose I kind of have put my mark on you. I hate that I put these here,” he says, his voice low. Both of his thumbs brush back and forth over the sensitive skin.
“They’ll heal, and you don’t need to hate it. You weren’t yourself.”
&n
bsp; Finn sucks in a breath and lets one hand slide down over my shoulder, skin touching skin since I’m only wearing a vest top.
“I liked it when you stuck up for me before,” he whispers, eyes focusing intently on the dip of my collarbone. I’m watching where his gaze travels, as though he’s actually touching me with his eyes.
“Ethan is making my life miserable these days, and in a way I deserve it. I won’t let him put you down though, because all you’ve ever done is try to help people. You keep vampires from killing innocents. Don’t get me wrong, I think you’re a little crazy to invest in such a dangerous vocation, but I admire your conviction nonetheless.”
He smiles at me, his whole face lighting up. “I never thought you regarded me so highly, Petal.”
I swallow and lick my lips. His eyes lock in on the movement. “I didn’t before, but now I know you better.”
He leans up on one elbow so that he’s hovering over me. “That’s good to know,” he replies in a husky voice as his lips slowly descend on mine. He kisses me lightly, questioningly, and my whole body gets hotter. I move my lips softly against his and open my mouth a little for him to deepen the kiss. He takes the opportunity and dips his tongue in. The sensation causes a low moan to erupt from my throat and Finn kisses me more urgently.
The two of us drift into this frenzy that’s all tongues and lips and pressing fingers. His desire for me is so different from Ethan’s, who shows intense, focused appreciation when making love. Finn’s kissing is almost vicious in its urgency and it makes my head go fuzzy, makes my legs fall open so that he can fit himself between them. Makes me grab his t-shirt and practically tear it over his head. Makes me break our kiss so that I can dip my mouth to his neck to suck on it. He groans and pushes himself hard into me. His hands fumble at my pants, yanking them down.
He stops for a second, his chest rising and falling with ragged breaths. “You want this, right?” he asks, eyes on my bared hips. “You’re not just doing this to get back at him for being a dickhead, are you?”
I know exactly who he means by him. I take a second to think about it. No, payback has nothing to do with this. I’ve been attracted to Finn since day one, only now I’ve grown an affection for him too. Loving Ethan is frightening and hard. In this moment I can see how loving Finn would be so effortless.
“No, I would never…” I trail off when he pulls away a little.
“Why did you hesitate?”
“I didn’t. Not really. I was just thinking about how I feel about you.”
“How do you feel about me?” he questions, a strange sort of vulnerability in his voice.
I let out a small laugh. “You make me feel itchy…with this need. I think you’re one of the sexiest men I’ve ever met.”
Finn raises an eyebrow and smirks, but it’s a warm smirk. “Does that include vampires?”
His question is meant to be light-hearted, but it makes my stomach drop. I have to be honest with him. “I slept with Ethan once,” I blurt out, instead of answering his question.
“Only once?” He sounds like he expected it to be more. All the same, I can feel him withdrawing from me, a certain coldness creeping in. I don’t want him to withdraw.
“Yes, just once. It was obviously a mistake. I mean, look at how he treats me now.”
“So you are only doing this with me because he’s not looking to get into your pants anymore.” He pulls away from me further.
I give him a soft whack on the shoulder. “No! That’s not it at all. Despite what you might think, I’m not very experienced with men. I’ve had a few boyfriends, but none lasted longer than a couple months. When Ethan began showing an interest in me it felt amazing to have somebody so magnetic wanting me. I can see now that it was that feeling of being wanted that made me think I wanted him back. And I do – did…Oh God, this isn’t coming out right at all.” I run my fingers through my hair.
Finn grabs my hand, holding it inside his own. “Just tell me how you feel now. Whatever you might have felt in the past doesn’t matter.”
I meet his gaze. “I feel like there’s something growing between the two of us here, and I just want to explore what it might be.”
