Before the Sunset (Cottonwood Cove, #4)(70)

“A gift for you, huh?”

“Damn straight. Waking you up with you coming apart on my lips. There is no better gift you could give me.”

We’d had sex last night, and I’d fallen asleep naked in his arms, barely able to keep my eyes open. I couldn’t remember a time that I’d been this tired.

Yet I was ravenous for him.

Maybe that was why I was worn out. Maybe my blood work would just show that I’d had way too many orgasms over the last few weeks.

Exhaustion by orgasm. I was here for it.

“I’m going to miss you, Chewy.” I couldn’t stop myself from saying it. We’d been confessing all the things lately, and I knew that goodbye was coming soon.

“It’s not goodbye, baby. It’s just, I’ll see you in a few weeks. I promise you, I’m not going anywhere.”

I nodded, fighting back the lump in my throat. Why was I such a weepy mess lately?

“As much as I love the idea of your face between my legs… I need to feel you right now.”

“Oh, yeah? How about I take you out by the tree, then? We can turn on the fireplace, and I’ll let you feel every inch of me. And then we’ll open presents.”

He never could wait. Not when he was a kid, and not any time since.

“I like the sound of that.” I yawned, and he scooped me up, wrapping the blanket around me as he strode naked through the house, carrying me like some sort of present. He set me on the couch and walked over to the fireplace and turned it on, all while giving me a wonderful view of his toned ass. It was impossible not to laugh when he turned around, wearing that ridiculous hat and looking like a Greek god with his tan, glistening, chiseled body.

He dropped down to sit, pulled the hat off his head, and unwrapped me from the blanket before settling me on his lap.

“Merry Christmas, Miney,” he said as I shifted so that I was straddling him.

“It certainly is.” I waggled my brows before lifting up and positioning myself just above him.

He groaned as I slid down slowly, my gaze locked with his. Pops of citrine danced in his gray eyes in the firelight flickering from behind me.

I took my time at first, sliding up and then coming back down at the same speed. And then his hands found my hips, and his lips found my hard peak, and my body surrendered.

He took control, guiding me up and down his shaft as he set the pace. Our breaths filled the air around us. My head fell back as my entire body started to tremble.

“Finn,” I cried out.

He thrust into me a few more times as I exploded around him. A feral noise escaped his lips as he followed me right over the edge. We rode out every last bit of pleasure. My head fell against his chest as we both panted, waiting for our breaths to slow.

“I fucking love you, Reese Murphy,” he said as his arms came around me, holding me against him.

Our hearts were both racing.

Bodies covered in a layer of sweat.

The light from the fire danced on the walls around us.

I closed my eyes and wondered what it would feel like if Finn would be mine forever.





twenty-five





Finn





I carried Reese to the bathroom, with her legs wrapped around my waist as she chuckled. I set her feet down on the floor, and I cleaned myself up before grabbing a washcloth and turning on the hot water. I dropped to my knees and gently pushed her legs apart, taking my time to clean her up.

“Can I ask you something?” she said.

“Of course. We’ve never had secrets.” It was meant to remind her because she still hadn’t told me about that fuckface coming by her office.

“Are you this way with everyone?” She shook her head when I looked up and waved her hands around. “I just mean, if you met a woman and had sex with her, do you carry her around and then clean her up? It feels so intimate to me.”

Did she not get that everything about this was different?

I pushed to my feet, my hand landing on the side of her neck. “No. I’ve never done this with anyone. I’ve never woken someone up with my head between their legs or waited anxiously for them to come home. I’ve never had sex this many times with one person, nor have I craved it the way I do with you. Everything about this—about you—is different. Why is it so hard for you to believe that?”

“I do believe it. I just know that things are about to change. And I don’t want to put expectations on anything where feelings get hurt,” she said, looking away from me.

She was convinced that I would hurt her.

I understood it. My track record sucked.

“Listen, I know you have your doubts. But I’ve never lied to you, Miney. I wouldn’t be saying these things if I didn’t mean them. But I don’t know that you can say the same.”

Her gaze snapped in my direction. “What do you mean?”

“I mean that I don’t know how you feel about Carl. About me. Not really. I know that he is still in the background, waiting for me to leave.”

“I’m trying really hard, Finn, not to make you feel obligated to me.” She let out a long breath. “Here’s what I can tell you without any hesitation… I’ve never felt like this. I’ve never been so happy. So comfortable in my own skin, as well as with another person. I love you in a way that I never thought I could love someone. But, and it’s a big but…” She paused, motioning for me to go ahead with my joke because she knew me better than anyone.