She took a breath, steeling herself, and grabbed what she’d set on a table by the doorway. She took the plate, walked to Finn, and set it on his lap. He glanced down in confusion, but the scent must’ve hit him before his eyes caught up.
He made a sound in the back of his throat, his gaze jumping to hers.
The smell of warm chocolate chip cookies wafted up between them. “I think we’re making this more complicated than it needs to be.”
“Liv…” A thousand concerns were in his tone. Concerns and something beneath that…yearning.
“If you think it’s to protect my feelings, take that off your list of worries,” she said, her confidence building. “Sex doesn’t have to be that complicated. I’m not wired that way anyhow. It’s always been a strictly physical thing for me. Like eating a really good cookie.” She glanced down at the plate and then up at him again. “And I’m really tired of only smelling the cookies.”
Finn stared at her, his face flickering in the TV light and his eyes dark and unreadable.
“The things you want the most are the things you can’t have,” Liv said, her words soft. “I say if we want this summer to work, instead of ignoring it, why not take the power out of the forbidden thing? Indulge instead.”
His throat worked, and he eyed the cookies. His silence made her shift on her feet, self-conscious.
She forced a tight smile. “Or you can just tell me to leave you the hell alone and we can eat the cookies.”
He shook his head, his fingers curling around his knees. “I don’t want to hurt you, Liv. Or walk away at the end of the summer and feel like I’ve used you. Because I have to leave. That’s not a question.”
She looked out at the pouring rain. “It’s not using if we both get something out of it and know where the end is upfront.” She rubbed a chill from her arms. “I won’t fall in love with you, if that’s what you’re afraid of.”
He jerked his head up at that, his face slack.
She gave him a flippant smile, though her stomach felt tight. “I just want your cookies, Dorsey. I’m not in the market for more than that—from anyone.”
“Livvy…”
“But why don’t you sleep on it?” she said quickly. “This is a no-pressure situation. You won’t hurt my feelings. You won’t wound my ego. So if you need time, which it looks like you do, take it. I’ll see you in the morning.”
Before she could lose her nerve, she spun around and headed toward the screen door that led outside and to the pool house. She stepped out into the rain, thankful for the cold drops on her skin, and refused to look back. She’d said her piece. At least she’d had the nerve to do it. She could go to bed knowing that. Fear hadn’t won today. The girl who’d made that list was still in there somewhere. Even if she didn’t always make the wisest decisions, she had guts.
That would have to be enough for her tonight.
But when she was three steps from the pool house stairs and soaked to her skin, a hand wrapped around her arm and whirled her around.
Finn stood there in the downpour, shirt already plastered to his chest and water tracking down his face.
“You think that’s what I need? Time to decide if I want to touch you?” he asked, disbelief in his voice.
The thunder rumbled above them as if to emphasize his point.
“Well, I don’t know,” she shouted into the rain. “I don’t know what you need. You weren’t saying anything. And I just put it all out there and there were cookies and—”
The next word never made it out because he grabbed her other arm and dragged her to him. His lips were on hers before she took her next breath. Hungry. Searching. Almost angry.
He cursed between kisses—at her, at himself… She couldn’t tell. But then he was lifting her off her feet and carrying her up the stairs.
The door to the pool house banged against the wall as Finn hauled Liv inside, her legs hooked around his waist and his mouth fused to hers. Neither of them caught more than a gulp of air between kisses on the way in. And the only words uttered had been, “Inside?” by him and “Yes” by her.
She didn’t care if he was asking to go inside the pool house or inside her body because the answer to both was a resounding yes.
Finn kicked the door shut behind them, both of them dripping water everywhere, and didn’t bother turning on a light. All the curtains were still open, the windows streaked with rain, as he carried her past the small living room and to the bed. He set her down at the foot and grabbed an extra blanket off the couch, draping it over the quilt so they wouldn’t soak everything through. Then he was back in front of her, invading her space in the best way.
“I want to lick all this rain off you,” he said against her skin as he kissed her neck and guided her down to sit on the bed. “And then I want to get you messy again.”
She groaned and grabbed for his shirt, wanting to feel him, wanting to get him naked as soon as damn possible, but he stilled her movements, gripping her wrists and pressing them down at her sides.
“No. You asked for this, now you take it how I want to give it. I’m in no hurry.”