“Fine,” he repeated.

  “Fine,” I said louder.

  “Fine. Dammit. I’ll be back tomorrow.” His voice was off. “I need a night to think on this. To drink on this. Fuck.” Then he stepped away. “You’re getting to me, Lou. Two more days.” Then he was gone, and it was just me alone in my room.

  Two more days?

  So we were still set on our original two weeks?

  With the way Finn seemed to want to get to know me, for a moment, I had the impression that he might be interested in more than two weeks. Now I was more confused than ever. But either way, I wanted this. Pretty desperately. I wanted to know what other women my age knew. I wanted the adventure. It was pretty hard to find adventure when you were stuck inside every single day of your life. Finn was my opportunity for adventure. I had to take advantage of that. Even if it was only going to be a fleeting moment.

  * * *

  I woke up the next morning in a half-stupor to the sound of pounding at Nick’s front door. I hopped out of bed, my heart racing, my stomach fluttering, and hurried to check through the peephole. I wasn’t going to answer unless it was Mrs. Jasmine or Finn. One tiny glance, and I saw it was Finn outside.

  Carefully, I pulled open the door a couple inches. I peaked at him. He was wearing the same white long-sleeved t-shirt he’d been wearing the night before. The hair top of his head had a little curl to it I’d never noticed before. He wore black rimmed glasses, something I’d never seen him wear, and his eyes were rather bloodshot. Had he slept last night? Had he been out drinking?

  “Hey,” he breathed. “I have a lot to say.”

  “Okay. Come in.”

  I took a step back, opening the front door wider to let him in.

  My first thought was… This is it. The end of our two weeks.

  My next thought was… He’d probably been out with a different girl last night. I was complicated and weird. He’d likely found someone a lot simpler. Like the yoga instructor he’d mentioned. But rather than saying all the words I expected him to say, he caught me, his hands on my jaw, and he stared at me like he had some lesson he was ready to teach me. He walked me backward until I bumped into the adjacent wall.

  Well, this was unexpected.

  My breathing changed. It went from easy to hard in a matter of seconds. This version of Finn wasn’t a Finn I’d ever met before. And his eyes were on my lips.

  “I need your permission,” he muttered.

  “You have it.”

  It didn’t matter what he was asking, my answer was yes.

  He made a noise, his thumb moving over my collarbone. “I think you think you know me. When you don’t at all.”

  I had a decent idea. Or at least I thought I did. The moment I saw Finn in the tattoo shop, I’d gathered a lot about him. Probably popular in school. Played a sport. Fit in with the in-crowd, but also with the artistic types. He was a tattoo artist after all. He was good looking, so I knew he could have whatever type of girl he wanted. He could have me, too. It was my first thought then. And my only thought now. He took advantage of his power over women. He wanted to use that power on me, but for whatever reason, he also wanted me to think of him as a gentleman. I liked that about him. I liked that he wanted to impress me in that way. Even though he didn’t have to.

  “So show me who you are,” I whispered.

  “I want to.”

  “I’m ready for it.”

  He nodded. Then he touched the strap on my tank top, pushed the material away, pushing it so it hung on my shoulder. First off one shoulder then off the other. His fingers skimmed over my collarbone. They moved along the curve of my breasts. One millimeter lower and he’d be touching my nipples. He was careful not to, though, as he traced his fingers over my skin. I swallowed, staring at him. Waiting on him.

  “I like it rough and raw,” he muttered, his voice in a low whisper, like this was a secret. “I like it when we don’t exchange names or numbers. I like when we skip dinner, skip the conversation, and just fuck.”

  I swallowed.

  His fingers dared that last millimeter lower.

  Brushing softly. Moving slowly.

  My nipples hardened against his light touch.

  “I like it hard and fast with no emotion.” He pushed down the fabric of my shirt and dipped to flick his touch against my exposed skin. “When I date girls, I only stay with them until I’ve had my fill. Then I’m done. I never look back. I never return for seconds. I love finding someone new to fuck. You have no idea how badly I want to do the same with you. But if I do, I’m afraid I’ll become bored of you. I don’t ever want to be bored of you. See my dilemma.” He made a noise in his throat, shifting his body, moving his hands away, moving them so they rested on the wall, my head in the middle.

  “You’re beautiful, Lou.”

  “You’re beautiful,” I muttered.

  He gave me the smallest of smiles. I hadn’t realized it until now, but he hadn’t smiled at me yet today. He usually did lots of smiling. His smile reminded me of the Finn I knew. Not this version, but the guy who kept showing up with takeout outside my window in the afternoons. I opened my mouth to say something but closed it because I hardly knew what to say.

  “Are you wet?” he asked.

  I understood his meaning. I breathed out slowly. Then nodded. “Yes.”

  I’d never been this on edge before. This desperate to know what a person might do next. I’d seen everything from up in the top of my library. Kiss and touches. And once, even a couple making love between the bookshelves. People’s actions were easy to read. But Finn—I still didn’t really understand this man. He was this mystery I needed to solve.

  “Good. Get naked. Let me see all of you.”

  He kicked off his shoes as he said this.

  Oh God, my heart slammed. My skin burned.

  Finn tugged at his shirt. Pulling it off, he flung it aside.

  I’d already formed this idea in my mind of what Finn looked like shirtless. Tattoos and muscles. But actually seeing him, seeing all the lines and colors and art—I was mesmerized. In awe. Impressed and fascinated.

  I shimmied the tank top I’d slept in last night down my waist. I pushed it over my pajama shorts and let it fall to the floor. I hesitated for a single second, but then I slipped off my shorts and underwear as well. I had nothing to lose, other than my virginity, which I desperately wanted to let go of, and all I wanted was to get to be naked with Finn.

  He smiled again. The skin on his neck was now a little blotchy. Did it indicate he was nervous? Or just hot? Either way, he was so damn cute. Then he kissed me. His lips were warm and soft as they pressed into mine. It was heaven. Those lips on mine were heaven. I waited for him to touch my body. I screamed for it. But his hands only held my face.

  “Can we try something?” he said after a moment.

  I’d try anything with him. “Yes.”

  “I want you to touch yourself. Touch yourself until you come while I kiss you. Okay?”

  Well… That sounded a bit terrifying. But I wasn’t going to hold back. I’d prove to him I could keep up with him. No matter what we did.

  ~ CHAPTER 26 ~

  FINN

  This was surreal. Lou was so fucking gorgeous. Her eyes, her smile—that body! She had no idea either, no idea how sexy I found her. How badly I wanted to be buried deep inside her. Her hips—I wanted to grab. Her body—I wanted to push to the ground. Her nipples—I wanted to flick under my tongue. Her sweet spot—I wanted to taste it. Be inside it. Become best friends with it. She was naked for me and looking at me like I possessed a superpower. Like I could move boulders with my mind or fly around the earth or some shit like that.

  I couldn’t do any of that, though.

  I wasn’t so special.

  I didn’t deserve this moment. I definitely didn’t deserve her virginity. I wouldn’t dare touch her or take anything from her. So, I told her to touch herself instead.

  Which was probably a stupid idea.

  She listened and followed my instructions. She touched herself while I kissed her. And I kept kissing her. I forced myself to focus on her lips as a means of distracting myself from the other thing happening right this moment. Knowing her hand had disappeared between her legs. Knowing she might be getting closer to coming right next to me. Knowing it was all for me.

  Fuck. I couldn’t do this.

  I grabbed both of her wrists, pulling her hands away from her body, and I pinned them against the wall. I couldn’t let her come. Not beside me. Not wanting her the way I wanted her.

  “Finn?”

  My heart was stampeding.

  “Finn. What is it?” she whispered.

  I didn’t answer her.

  “Did I do something wrong? Are you messing with me?”

  Yeah. No. I closed my eyes and admitted the truth.

  “I’m losing my mind. Losing my control. I want inside you.” I tried to swallow but my throat was so damn dry. “I want to feel you. But I can’t.”

  I was shaking.

  “Let go of my wrists.”

  I opened my eyes.

  “Let go.”

  Afraid I might have been hurting her, I dropped my grip of both her arms. But I hadn’t hurt her. Because she took my hand in her hand. And then she did something so unexpected—she guided my hand to the one place it really wanted to be.

  To the spot between her legs.

  My fingers, with hers, slipped over her warm flesh.

  Dammit.

  Christ.

  Fuck.

  I lost it right then and there. Lost all willpower to behave.

  A shiver ran through me. And I took over. I slipped my fingers against her warm flesh, finding her little clit. Carefully. Gently. Teasing her in a way I knew girls liked to be teased. Then I did even more when I pushed a finger inside her.

  She moved her own hand out the way. She shifted on her feet, making it easier for me, and then the girl grabbed both of my biceps in a tight grip. Lou looked me right in the eyes like a woman who wanted me fuck the hell out of her. With my hand, it seemed.

  I had to remind myself to breathe.

  Back away, dammit, Finn!

  My brain screamed at me.

  I didn’t listen.

  Instead, I moved slow. I took my time. I teased her. I tested her. I swirled my fingers over her sweetness in repetition just to see how she’d react. Her mouth dropped open like she was savoring this, savoring what I was doing, savoring me. I loved seeing her like this. I loved this side of her. She was wild.

  Suddenly, my tension eased. The weight on my shoulders lifted. I let it lift. I kissed her neck, breathed in her scent, and stopped over analyzing the moment. Stopped second guessing it. Stopped criticizing myself.

  “Finn,” she gasped. “Finn. Oh, God. Yes.”

  She buried her face in my chest.

  “Finn,” she moaned again.

  She grinded against my hand like she couldn’t get enough. Hell, I couldn’t get enough. I kept working my hand knowing she was there. “Fuck, yes. Come for me, Lou. Come on my hand.” I was about ready to explode with her.

  “Ahhhh,” she cried out. The sweetest sound.

  I pushed two fingers deep inside her just in time to feel her. I could feel her walls tightening and releasing around my fingers. I looked her straight in her eyes. Her cheeks flushed. And I’d never felt so damn possessive of anything in my entire life.

  A second later, she pushed at my chest softly.

  I pulled away from her, and I took a bit of an awkward step backward.

  This girl could knock me flat on my ass if she wanted. I mean, holy fuck. I had goosebumps on my arms. I was nervous now. And completely shaken. And trying to keep cool and calm.

  Lou was calm. She pulled her hands through her hair. She had a rubber band around her wrist, and she used it to tie her hair back. While I just stood there staring at her at a loss for words, unsure what to say or do next.

  “How was it?” I asked.

  “Good.” She shrugged.

  Fuck, was it terrible?

  “You get a question, remember?”

  Oh. Right. That. I took a deep breath. How was I supposed to think of a question right this moment? My mind went blank. My heart sped and ached all at once. “Can we make this thing three weeks instead of two?”

  “Is that your question?”

  “Yeah.” More time was the only thing on my mind.

  “Sure. But can we do that again?”

  Me make her come? Okay. Shit. Yes! Maybe it hadn’t been so terrible for her after all. Maybe she found it just as incredible as I had.

  “Sure.” My hands went straight to her waist. “Whatever you want.”

  I wasn’t going to survive Lou… Lou with no last name. She was going to hang me up to dry. I knew that now. I realized I’d always known that and that was always the reason behind my hesitation. But rather than trying to fight it like I had been doing, I gave into it right on the spot. I gave into the feeling swelling in my chest.

  “Your room?” I asked.

  “Yes.”

  “Okay. I’ll follow.”

  ~ CHAPTER 27 ~

  LOU

  Finn was in my bed, under my covers. I’d never had another person in my bed before. Never shared it. I pulled the sheet up to my neck. I wasn’t so nervous before, now I was terrified. He didn’t have his shirt on, and I still didn’t have clothes on, and really, this sharing the bed thing, being naked thing, was absolutely crazy for me. How often did he just relax in bed with someone? How was a person supposed to relax under these circumstances? Was he relaxing? He did it so casually like he’d done it a million times before.

  “Um, so, how old are you?” I asked him to make conversation. I asked because he’d scolded me for never asking him questions. I asked because now I couldn’t stop wondering.

  “Twenty-eight. You?”

  “Younger.”

  I bit at my lip, staring up at the ceiling.

  “Twenty?”

  “Not that young.”

  “Twenty-five, then.”

  “No.”

  He moved a hand under the covers to my stomach. His sudden touch made me flinch, but I didn’t pull away. He traced his fingers over my skin. “I could make you answer. Make you come again and make it an official question.”

  “Twenty-three,” I blurted out. “I’m twenty-three. I think. I’m not entirely sure when my birthday is. And don’t.” I turned on my side. “Don’t. Don’t ask anything else.”

  “I won’t,” he breathed. He moved his hand to my hip, to my ass, and he yanked me in closer to his body. “Did you just answer one of my questions at the mere threat of an orgasm?”

  My mouth dropped open.

  Possibly… Okay, yes, I had.

  But now I knew what he could do. What he could make me feel. How good he was with a single hand. So him mentioning it one hundred percent held a certain kind of power over me. “Let me touch you again?” he whispered.

  Was he only after another question? Because I could feel him. Feel his hardness through his pants. Did he only want to get me off? And not the other way around?

  “Okay,” I breathed.

  He didn’t hesitate. His hand went between my legs. His fingers connected with the spot that ached for him. I wiggled to get closer to him. His touch slipped over my clit, and I peeled off his glasses, tossing them somewhere in my bed. I grabbed his shoulders to hike myself higher against his body as he pushed a finger deep inside me.

  This man made me desperate.

  His finger slipped out, moving over my sensitive flesh, swirling, exploring, teasing, and then he pressed two fingers inside me. I loved this. I loved his hand. How could his hand feel so much better than my hand? He kept moving, and I moved with him. Moved against him. I stared at this beautiful man right in front of my eyes. “You scare me,” I admitted in the moment.

  “You terrify the fuck out of me.”

  I did? The tension between my thighs was building—fast.

  He moved and whispered against my ear, “I love touching you. I love seeing you come. Say my name, Lou. Say it as you get there. Fucking say it.”

  “Finn.” I wasn’t there, not quite yet, but I said it. I said it and shivers ran through me. “Finn,” I breathed. “Finn Parker.” He didn’t know I knew his last name, but I did. I’d read it off the wall in the tattoo shop the first day I met him.

  I couldn’t last any longer.

  I reached the end.

  I came. I came with his name on my tongue and his hand pumping between my legs. The feeling burst through me, and it was bliss. A high I could easily become addicted to. I pushed him away as I finished, unable to let myself feel him against me anymore. “Oh God,” I said rolling to my back, staring up at the ceiling, running my hands over my hair. “You are a drug.” I jumped out of bed with my body still tingling in post-orgasm bliss. I opened my drawer, pulled out a pair of jeans, and tugged them on. I did the same with the first shirt I could find. I found socks too. I needed separation between him and me, and this was the fastest way I could accomplish that.

  “Question,” I said, when I was fully dressed. I pushed my hands in my pockets and watched him in the bed. “What’s your question?”

  He sat up. He found his glasses, returning them to his face so he could stare at me. The man was chill as ice, an earthquake couldn’t have shaken him, while I struggled to maintain eye contact. I bounced on my feet, impatient for his question.

  “How’d you know my last name?”

  “I read it off the wall. In Kill Devil Ink the day we met. Your framed license was on the wall next to Amanda’s. Under John’s. You’ve worked there three years.”

  “And you knew that was me?”

  “It wasn’t a hard guess.”

  “I could be John.”

  “But you aren’t.”

  He stood up out of bed. I looked down to the floor as he came closer.

  “Is that your question?” I muttered to him. He was barely taking advantage of this game of ours. Why?

  “That’s it.”