The Comeback Kiss (44 page)

She turned to g
o back toward the car, but he caught her by the arm and spun her around to face him. There was no point in going back on it now. She was already pissed off, and honestly, now that he
’
d finally said the words, he couldn
’
t stop himself.

“
Tessa,”
he said quie
tly, “
I love you.”

She pulled her arm from his grip. “
Let
’
s go home. You can sleep it off. And in the morning, if I don
’
t kill you in your sleep, of which the odds are fifty-fifty, we
’
ll talk about this then.”

“
No. I need to say this. In the morning, I mig
ht not say it all, and I need to tell you...”
He paused, took a breath, and dived in. “
You were right. Back then, when I took off, I was protecting myself. I didn
’
t want ten years to go by with you regretting that you
’
d ever stayed with me. I thought you
d
eserved better.”

She rolled her eyes. “
I have such a deep, deep desire to clock you one right now.”

He put his hands on her shoulders and licked his lips. His mouth was dry, but he knew that if he didn
’
t say it all now, he never would. “
And maybe, yeah, ma
ybe I was being a big idiot, but Tessa, you married the ophthalmologist and you
’
ve gotta get out of that.”

She squinted slightly at him. “
Exactly how many drinks did Tony Dale buy you?”

“
You don
’
t paint anymore,”
Finn said. “
You don
’
t laugh, you don
’
t caus
e any trouble, you don
’
t have any fun. You work hard, I know you do, and I have no idea what it
’
s like to raise a kid alone when you
’
re barely more than a kid yourself. I know I don
’
t understand anything you
’
ve been through and I
’
ve been a big asshole, bu
t
Tessa
—
you just... you gave up.”

She inhaled like she was going to say something, but then didn
’
t. He took the opportunity to keep going, to get it all out before he sobered up and chickened out.

“
I love you,”
he said. “
And yeah, maybe it took a drink or t
wo for me to be able to admit it. Maybe I
’
m not a guy who always knows what
’
s going on in his own head, but I know that I love you. And I will cop to being an idiot and a jackass, but don
’
t tell me I don
’
t love you, because there is no other explanation f
o
r what you do to me.”

Tessa
’
s eyes brimmed with tears, glistening in the moonlight. She swiped at her cheek, then looked up at him again.

“
Yeah?”
She sniffled. “
What do I do to you?”

“
I
’
m not a noble guy,”
Finn said. “
I
’
m in it for me and me alone, and you
know what? I
’
m okay with that. But you... being around you...”
He exhaled, tried to wrap his mind around the whirling mass of thoughts running wild in his head. “
Mr. Dale just bought me drinks because he thought that I
’
d helped him. And you know what? It
felt good. It felt good to know I
’
d helped someone else, done something unselfish for once in my life. I
’
ve never felt that before. That
’
s not me, Tess. That
’
s you.”

Her fingers tightened slightly on his. He looked down at her hand in his. “
There is nothin
g in the world I want more right now than to wake up in your bed every day with the chance, just the slightest chance, of being the man you believe me to be.”
He raised his head back and looked into her eyes. “
If that isn
’
t love then it
’
s insanity and wha
t
’
s the fucking difference, right?”

She watched him, her mouth slightly open, just showing the tips of her bottom teeth and suddenly the reality of everything he
’
d said fell over him.

“
Look,”
he said. “
I
’
m an idiot. I don
’
t know why I just dumped all that o
n you. I know that
’
s not fair. I
’
m just gonna... Whew. I
’
m gonna walk back to the shack, you know, sober up a bit
—”

She put her fingers to his lips.

“
You
’
re not going anywhere.”

She slid her hand to the back of his neck, her fingers twirling in the hair th
ere, and a moment later pulled Finn into a kiss that made the rest of his world fade away.

Oh, my God,
Tessa thought as the kiss took them over. It started out soft and gentle and moved to a house on fire in 3.5 seconds flat. She could feel his hands going
under her coat, fisting her sweater at the base of her back and...

Oh. My. God.

Her hands were in his hair, his arms were gripping her tightly, and they twirled like they were the center of a cyclone until finally they bumped into the side of the Thing, T
essa pulled back a bit to regain her balance, but Finn reached under her sweater and his hands were cold on her skin and...

Oh. God.

“
Let
’
s sit in the car and talk,”
she said.

Finn sucked at the hollow of her neck. “
Talk?”

“
Or, you know, whatever,”
she sai
d. She turned toward the Thing, trying to unlock the door as Finn stood behind her, his hands running over her abdomen, traveling lower...

Yeah. That works.

She pulled the door open and they both crashed inside, crawling over and pulling at each other unti
l they were in the backseat, the very place where he
’
d first charmed her out of her underwear ten years before. He sat in the middle and she straddled him, hiking up her skirt until she could comfortably press against him. She put her hands on either side
of his neck and kissed him, shifting slightly over him...

Oh. Yeah. That.

He groaned and she could feel him hardening under her. She reached down and worked the button and zipper on his jeans, kissing his neck as she went. He tasted so good, felt so good,
and it had been so long
—

He grabbed her hand just as she freed him and placed his other hand on her face, gently moving her back until she looked at him.

“
I love you,”
he said.

“
Oh, yeah, I know,”
she said, leaning in for another kiss as she shimmied out o
f her underwear. He nipped his way down from her lips to her neck, his breath falling over her in warm, heavenly waves as he tucked one finger in the V-neck of her sweater and yanked it down so he could get to that spot between her breasts.

Oh. Man.

And th
en he pushed her back, just a bit, just enough to make her want to kill him.

“
What?”
she said.

He reached up and ran a hand through her hair. “
I just want to look at you for a second.”

She smiled down at him, turned her head to kiss the palm of his hand. S
lowly, she started moving against him, and his hand tightened, gripping her hair.

“
Enough looking,”
she whispered.

He smiled, reached his hand up under her sweater, and undid her front clasp of her bra in one swift movement.

That
’
s what I want,
she thought.
That
’
s exactly . . .

He freed her right breast as he moved his hand over it, his thumb and forefinger working together over her...

“
Wow,”
she said. “
You
’
ve gotten better at this.”

He let his hand slide downward over her abdomen. “
I was nineteen the last
time we did this. If I haven
’
t gotten better, for God
’
s sake, don
’
t tell me.”

She arched backward as his fingers slid lower, curving around her and into her.

Oh, man. Has he ever gotten better at this . . .

Just as she was about to lose control, he grasped
her by the hips and slid her up and onto him. The shock of having the whole of him inside her brought her back, and she locked her fingers behind his neck and looked into his eyes.

This is what I want...
she thought, and a rush ran through her. This was t
he first time in a long time that she had exactly what she wanted, and the realization felt like waking up. She opened her eyes, slowed, and looked at Finn.

“
This is what I want,”
she said, her voice registering the surprise she felt. Finn looked at her, r
eached his hand up, ran his fingers through her hair.

“
Good,”
he said. He pulled her down to him and kissed her, slow and deliberate, still inside her but not moving. As they kissed, motionless, she felt the need building up within her, pressure increasing
. She rocked forward, sensations blazing through her with the movement.

This is what I want.

She rode up and then plunged down over him and he gasped. She worked it just to the edge, then slowed and switched rhythms, not wanting it to stop, not wanting to
lose this moment to memory any sooner than absolutely necessary. It wasn
’
t much longer, though, before it was absolutely necessary, and Tessa finally let herself release control, moving faster and faster until she heard him scream her name. A moment later
she fell onto him, her breath shooting her hair out from her face in staccato gasps as she hugged herself against him.

“
Oh, my God,”
she said after a moment. “
We have gotten so much better at this.”

He laughed, and she felt his arms come up and around her,
holding her tight against him.

“
You think?”
he said.

“
Well,”
she said, kissing him lightly on the tip of his nose as she pulled back to look at him, “
practice makes perfect.”

Chapter Twenty-two

When Finn woke up, he was alone in Tessa
’
s bed. It took hi
m a moment to remember what had happened the night before, everything that he and Tessa had done to each other, first in the car and then on that very bed. It had been wild, like coming home and exploring new territory all at once. She had been unrestrain
e
d and demanding, then she
’
d concentrate on him and send his world rocking. They shushed each other to keep from waking Izzy and Babs, then giggled together as they cuddled in exhaustion. Tessa
’
s head had fit perfectly into the nook of his shoulder, and Fi
n
n couldn
’
t remember a time when he
’
d felt so complete and at peace.

He was pretty sure it was never.

He pushed up on his elbows and looked at the open closet door.

“
Tess? Babe? You in there?”

There was no answer. He glanced at the clock next to the bed
—
it
was not even seven o
’
clock yet. On a Saturday morning. And they
’
d been up until... well, he had no idea, but it was late. He fought sleep as long as he could, keeping her awake with him, until neither one of them could fight sleep. After all, they both kn
e
w he was going to have to leave soon. No need to waste precious time sleeping.