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"Oh, yeah?"
My toes curl when he kisses me this time. I'm pretty sure steam curls from the ends of my hair. My knees definitely go weak. I know this because by the time he lets me up for air, I'm wedged between the bookshelf and his body, and those two things are all that's keeping me upright. Well, those two things and the fact that I'm clinging to his shoulders like he's a buoy and I'm in shark-infested waters.
"If we were alone right now, I'd be doing a whole lot more than kissing you at work, pretty baby," he says, tucking strands of hair behind my ears. "You'd be spread across a pile of books, and I'd know exactly what you sound like screaming my name."
"That would ruin the books."
He grins at me. "Fine, then we'd see how long you could keep reading the dirty parts while I eat you on top of my worktable."
Oh, yes, please.
"You don't even work at that table, Finn," I say, smiling at him.
"Yes, I do."
I cock a brow at him, silently letting him know that I know he's full of it.
"I'm studying you." He taps me on the nose. "I've learned quite a lot so far, you know."
"I hope you've learned to put books back because you've amassed quite a pile over there." I lean away from him, peering around the corner of the shelf at his table. An entire stack of romance novels takes up the corner of the table he's claimed as his own. He reads ridiculously fast. I bet when he races his Kindle, he always wins.
"I'm buying those."
I blink wide eyes at him.
"My brother's wives will thank you later."
I giggle, burying my face in his chest. And then I pull back to look at him. "Exactly how many brothers do you have?"
"Nine. And Rulie."
My eyes nearly fall out of my head.
Finn notices and laughs. "They're my MC brothers, pretty baby. I'm an only child."
"Oh. Me too. I was adopted."
"Me too."
"Really? I didn't know that."
"Mmhmm. My parents adopted me from foster care when I was two."
"Wow," I whisper. "Um, I was adopted as a newborn."
"You lost your parents?"
I nod. "In a house fire my first year of college."
"Damn, pretty baby," he whispers, wrapping his arms around me in a tight hug. "I'm sorry."
"Me too," I whisper, clearing the lump from my throat. I still miss them like crazy. My mom was my best friend, and my dad was my hero. They would have done anything for me, no questions asked. I don't think I'll ever stop missing them or that my heart will ever be entirely whole without them. They gave me the world. "Um, what about your parents? Are you close?"
"No." His expression tightens, his jaw hardening. For the first time since I met him, I see actual anger in his green eyes. "I was a show pony to my parents, not a child. They wanted a prop, and I fit their plans perfectly, especially once they realized that I was smart."
"Oh, Finn." My heart cracks down the middle for him. I throw my arms around him in a fierce hug, willing peace onto him. Far too often, people adopt kids for the wrong reasons, leaving them with lifelong trauma. I hate that Finn experienced it firsthand. He's too damngoodto feel like he was only a prop for the perfect family. If anyone deserves to know what it's like to be loved, it's this man.
"It's okay, pretty baby," he murmurs, running a hand down my back. "It was a long time ago."
