Page 46 of Finn's Future

Tamara.

Fuck, I didn’t have time for her. I pressed silence and shoved it back into my pocket.

“You think that’s what I see?” I asked.

Kate looked down at the floor. “I’m not stupid, Finn,” she said, barely above a whisper. “You don’t have to feel sorry for me.”

That did it. I caught her chin gently and lifted her face. “You think I almost lost my mind earlier because I felt sorry for you?”

Her breath caught.

“Kate,” I said, my voice low and rough, “I’ve been trying not to touch you since the day you walked through those gates.”

Her eyes widened.

“You’re not a mess,” I continued. “You’re the strongest damn person I’ve ever met. You crossed half the county with a baby just to keep him safe.”

Her lips parted, but no words came.

“And you think you’re not worth wanting?”

Something broke in her expression, her brow furrowed, and her eyes teared up.

So, I dipped my head and kissed her.

She froze for half a second before her hands gripped my kutte, holding on like she was afraid I might disappear. The kiss deepened before I could stop it, weeks of tension burning through my chest all over again.

I was lost in her taste until the door slammed open. “What the hell is going on in here?” Reaper’s voice boomed through the room like a gunshot.

Kate jerked back, stepping away from me.

Reaper stood in the doorway, fury written across his face. His eyes moved from me to Kate and back again.

“You,” he said, pointing straight at me. “Back room. Now.”

Kate looked between us, confusion then worry flashing across her face.

“I’ll be back soon.” I forced a smile her way.

I stepped out into the hallway and followed Reaper into the back room, pushing the door behind me.

He didn’t waste a second. “The hell do you think you’re doing?”

“Nothing.”

His laugh was sharp and humourless. “Didn’t look like nothing from where I was standing.”

“She needed checking on.”

“You were assigned to watch her,” he snapped, “not get involved with her.”

Reaper stepped closer, voice dropping into the tone that meant President, not brother.

“You involved with her?”

For a second, the truth sat heavy in my chest, but club rules didn’t bend just because I wanted them to.

“No.”