Being wet didn’t play into her mood. But she was panting, out of breath and overexcited.
And the real problem was that she was going to cry, f**k it.
Her eyes were gritty. Her heart going rabbit crazy in her chest. The fluffy white menace was going to break a rib in its bid to run away this time.
“Don’t. Finn, please.” Her voice caught, which she hated even more. “Stop! Just stop.”
“Stop what? This?” His hand stilled against her pu**y, cupping her sex. Oh man, the ache it left behind. The bastard. “You don’t want this?”
“I don’t want you touching me when you’re angry at me.”
Finn smiled. It wasn’t comforting. “I’m not angry at you, Al. You’re angry at me. Doesn’t matter though. I’m not going to play this game with you anymore.”
“What game?”
His beautiful face dipped, firm lips aiming for hers.
She turned her head aside. There Daniel lay, twirling a strand of her damp hair around his finger. His face was impassive, concentrating on her damn hair without meeting her eyes.
She was on her own as promised. The wanker.
Finn rested his forehead against her cheek, his breath warm on her skin. The heat of his body pressed her into the mattress and everything became good and right. He made breathing an effort.
“Look at me.” He rubbed the tip of his nose against her cheek, waited. Sighed and kept on when she didn’t comply. “The game I’m referring to is the one where you start a fight when you’re scared. The same game where you don’t say what you mean. Those kinds of games, Al. Do you love me?”
“What?” Ali tried to turn her face back to him. She needed to gauge his feelings, figure out where he was going with this. But now he didn’t let her move. His face pressed against hers, lips sliding along her skin, stopping near her ear.
“You heard me,” he prodded. The feel of his mouth moving against her skin sent shudders through her. Resisting him was doomed to failure, she should have learned that by now.
“Finn.”
“Answer the question. Truthfully.”
Her mind reeled. The rabbit fought harder than ever, rattling the bars of its cage like a lion. “You know I do.”
Finn said nothing, lifted his head. His face eased and he nodded. Nothing more.
She swallowed hard. Stared back up at him. “I mean it.”
His angel’s lips curved into a smile. “I believe you. Now tel me what the real problem is.”
She turned her face to the other side, eyebal ing the bulge of his bicep. He was so strong, willing and able. His strength set the perfect example. They both were perfect, and they were far more than she deserved. Not that she would give them back.
The rabbit kicked hard, frantic. Letting them down terrified her. It was a nasty little knot inside herself. Being petrified of everything all the damn time made her sick to her stomach. Up on the roof she’d sworn to sort al this out and she would. Right about now.
Ali shut her eyes tight and opened her mouth. “What if this crap against me involves you two? What if they go after you, if they hurt one of you? I couldn’t … I can’t be the reason for one of you getting hurt. It was all I could think of last night. What if you tried to come get me while it was dark? You would have died.” She couldn’t look at them without her eyes going hot with tears. It felt like there was a stone in her throat, but she had to tell them everything. There was no turning back now. “And this place. I’m not sure I like it, but you two love it. You’re like local gods here. You fit right in. What if I never do? Some ass**le here already wants me dead or infected. And what if I get pregnant? How do we protect a child? Let alone the lack of modern medicine. I’m not sure I could do that without drugs.
Dan and I forgot to use a condom the other day. What if one of you decides you don’t feel like sharing anymore and opts out? What if
…”
She pressed a hand against his chest, turned her face away again. Finn’s heart beat reassuringly against her palm.
“Actual y, that’s it,” she said after a minute. “I’m al whined out.”
Silence. More silence. It was really quiet out there.
She dared a peek. Finn lifted a brow at her in response.
“I think I’l wait for both eyes.” He took his hand from her crotch, set an arm on either side of her head. The tangy scent of her lingered on his fingers. “Still waiting.”
Ali opened her eyes, stared back at him. He was so beautiful. Her defenses were shredded, lying in tatters around them, but she put on a brave face. “What?”
Finn frowned. “Where to start …”
Dan cleared his throat like a pretentious bastard. “I find chronological order works best. Clear, concise, that kind of thing.”
She snorted. They ignored her.
“Right.” Finn shifted against her, getting comfortable. The heat of his c**k rested against her inner thigh, hard and heavy. He made it near impossible to lie still. Fear and lust made for odd bedfellows, but lust was winning.
“Point one, Dan or I getting hurt? We’re both capable. We’re both on the alert. Point two, this town?” He turned to Dan, questioning. “Was it this place? Is that next?”
Daniel gave one judicious nod and got back to playing with her hair.
“Right, this town …”
“Hold it. You can’t just discount one of you getting hurt,” she said, her voice strained. “Not that simple.”
“Ali, I can’t promise you Dan or I won’t get hurt. I can promise you we’l try our best not to,” Finn said. His throat worked and his pale green eyes searched her face. “We’ll be careful.”
“Absolutely. I hate getting hurt,” Dan interjected, al sincere. “Pain does nothing for me.”
The hint of a smirk on Finn’s lips became a full-blown smile, as beautiful as the rising sun. Heaven sent. A dimple flashed and he licked his lips, the gesture doing things to her nether regions, even if it did nothing to soothe her nerves. “See? All due diligence.”
“Great. I’m so glad my concerns amuse you both,” she bit out, sounding the bitch. And not particularly repentant. Egotistical wankers, the pair of them. “Thank God we’re done with that.”
Dan rolled onto his back, finger stil entwined with her hair, tugging just enough to keep her attention. “Ouch. Babe, we just spent the night wondering if you were alive, unable to do a damn thing to help you. A little levity won’t hurt things. You haven’t told her you love her yet, either, moron.”