“Yes,” she replied. “And it’s not that long since my last one.”
“I figured as much. Do you want me to leave?”
“Not at all!” The vehement response was out of her mouth before she could censor it.
Finn laughed. “It’s okay if I stay then?”
“Do you want to stay?” There was still that kernel of doubt niggling at the back of her thoughts.
“I do. Very much.”
His big warm hands slid up her back and to the back of her head, his fingers sending tingles through her scalp and releasing the tension she had there. When he bent to kiss her it was gentle, reassuring. Not the crazy heady kiss they’d shared earlier, but one that started a mellow simmer that radiated from her core. Between them she could feel his arousal stirring, felt an answering response in her.
She slid her hands around his waist, relishing the taut muscles that played beneath her fingers, relishing the fact he was here, for her and her alone. This was right, for now at least, and, reminding herself of her earlier vow, she meant to make the most of it.
This time their coming together was slow and languid. Each touch a measured stroke, each kiss lingered. When he slid inside her she was hit with that feeling of rightness, and when his long strokes drew them both to climax she tumbled over the precipice knowing she was safe and secure in his arms.
Knowing she could trust him.
Fifteen
Finn lay awake in the predawn hours, Tamsyn sprawled across his chest, her leg across his hips. He’d never been a snuggler, but somehow this felt right. So right he hadn’t wanted to lose a moment of it in sleep.
She was so vulnerable, so innocent in all this. He felt like the lowest of the low deceiving her—deliberately holding her back from what she sought. She would never forgive him when she found out, and he didn’t doubt that one day she would. The district was too close-knit for Ellen’s whereabouts to remain a secret forever.
But for now he had her in his arms, and maybe, just maybe, now that they’d crossed this bridge into intimacy together, he’d be able to keep a closer eye on her—find a way to keep the secret and still protect her for a bit longer.
His fingers curled around her as he thought about the truths she’d shared in the dark, about how she’d happened upon her fiancé and his lover, a man who was her PA no less, in bed together. How she’d been betrayed by the two men she’d had every right to trust and expect loyalty from. It made his blood curdle when he heard that her ex had brushed off his affair, still expecting her to carry on as if nothing had happened, as if she deserved no better than to be second best in their life together.
It must have been made even harder for her with the timing—finding out about her fiancé so shortly after discovering the truth behind her father’s lie that her mother had died. She had come here to get away from the lies, and the expectations, and the falseness that seemed to fill every aspect of her life. She’d come to find her mother and learn the truth…and instead, she’d found him—master betrayer of them all.
His gut clenched painfully at the thought of the hurt he would inflict on her, of the guilt he carried with him. Another mantle to bear, he realized with a deep breath that filled his senses with her special scent. She stirred in his arms, a small cry erupting from her mouth as she startled awake.