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She seemed to understand because she didn’t say anything either, cleaning herself up wordlessly as he grabbed a shirt and put it on before going into the kitchen area to check on the casserole and start making the salad.
He was standing at the counter when Beth came over, still wrapped in the blanket. She watched him silently for a moment, then moved around behind him and put her arms around him.
Finn froze as the warmth of her body pressed against him. There was nothing demanding in it. It was simply her, giving him her warmth and comfort.
“I haven’t been with anyone since Troy.” Her voice was quiet. “So that’s…probably about three or so years. You’re my first since then too.”
He didn’t want to feel satisfied about that, but he did. Very, very satisfied.
“I didn’t want it to be special,” he said into the silence that followed. “I just wanted to…move on, I guess. But…” He hesitated but then said it, because she deserved to know. “It was special all the same. And so are you.” He put his hands over hers where they rested on his stomach. “You’re right—we don’t know each other well, and yeah, I do have some issues about Sheri.” He turned around, looking down at her, because this was important and he wanted to see her face. “I guess what I’m saying is that I’d like to get to know you. And I’ll deal with those issues. I want this to work. I want you to live here and I want you in my bed. I want us to be together.”
Her eyes were shadowed and full of that complicated mix of emotions he’d wanted so badly before, and her mouth was still full and red from his kisses.
And he felt desire rise again, hot and desperate, bringing the knowledge with it that Beth deserved better than this—better than a man still living with the ghost of his first wife.
“I can’t give you more than that,” he went on, because he had to get it out now. “All I’ve got to offer is sex, financial support, and to be there for you when you need it. To be there for our kid too. But if that’s enough for you…”
She didn’t say anything, the emotions shifting in her eyes. Then she pulled the blanket from around her body, let it fall to the floor, went up on her toes, and kissed him. Hard.
And Finn forgot how difficult this was turning out to be and how complicated. Forgot about everything as desire gripped him by the throat, choking him. Nothing was more important than the woman in his arms and the feel of her mouth on his.
Nothing.
He lifted her into his arms and carried her upstairs to his bedroom, where he laid her down on top of the dark blue comforter, then pulled off his clothes.
She lifted her arms to him in wordless invitation, as if she’d been his lover for years, and it made his heart clench, made him hungry. And he realized it wasn’t only because he wanted her body and the pleasure she gave him, but also because it was her.
She didn’t ask him questions, didn’t require him to explain himself. She didn’t demand anything from him. She only offered—warmth, comfort, and pleasure. Little pieces of herself. A secret no one else knew that she gave only to him. Hers was a generous spirit, and there was nothing inside him that could refuse.
So he knelt astride her hips, took her raised hands in his, and kissed her knuckles. Then, holding her gaze, he pressed her hands down on the pillows on either side of her head and trapped them there.
“There’re a few things I’ve been dreaming of doing to you, Bethany Grant,” he murmured softly. “Will you let me?”
“Uh, stupid question,” she said in a husky, throaty voice. “Of course.”
“Then keep your hands there and don’t move them.”
He let her go, gratified when she obeyed, keeping her hands pressed to the pillows. Then he set his mouth to her throat and began to work his way down.
He made a meal of her, taking his time, tracing every curve of her body with his mouth, from the swell of her breasts to the tight little points of her nipples. He closed his lips around one, sucking hard, making her gasp and her body arch in delight, before transferring his attention to the other.
She murmured his name as he caressed her, stroking her like a cat, loving the feel of her soft skin beneath his fingers. She was so responsive to his touch and to the pleasure he was giving her, it made him feel like a god.
And when he pushed her thighs apart and bent his head, tasting her, and she cried out, it made him feel like even more of one.
He’d missed giving pleasure to a woman. Missed making her writhe and scream with ecstasy in his arms. Missed the feel of a woman’s skin and the salty sweetness of her taste. Missed the soft heat and slickness between her thighs and her arms around his neck, his name being called in delight.
No, not just “a woman.”
Beth.
He wasn’t sure how you could miss something you didn’t even know you were missing, but nevertheless, right here, right now, with Beth in his arms naked and gasping his name as he tasted her, he knew he’d missed her.
She was sunshine and sweetness, and he’d been in the dark, alone, for far too long.
He needed this and he needed her, and marriage was the only answer. He wouldn’t accept anything less.
Finn slid his hands beneath her hips, lifting her so he could taste her deeper, driving her on toward the edge of the cliff and then straight over it.
