Deep Surrendering (Episode Two) (7 page)

“Intimidated?” Fin’s voice made me jump.

“Psh, are you kidding? I was totally going to live here, but they, uh, didn’t have a place that was up to my standards.”

“Oh, I’m sure. Hopefully my place will be up to snuff.”

“Well, we’ll see. Carl, are you available as my getaway driver?” I said the last part over my shoulder. Carl’s face almost cracked a smile.

“I’m at your service, Miss Everly.” I grinned at Fin.

“Traitor,” he said to Carl, but I caught him slipping the man a twenty behind my back.

We proceeded through the lobby, where Fin stopped at the concierge desk and spoke to a man in a well-pressed suit in a low voice so I couldn’t hear what he said. The concierge nodded and then Fin said something else, and the man chuckled before Fin came back over to me.

“What was that?”

“Nothing. Just business.” There might be more to that story, or it might just be business, like he said. I had no way of knowing.

He seemed preoccupied with something as we got in the elevator and he hit the button for the penthouse. I sighed.

“What was that for?” he asked.

“You. Living in the penthouse. You’re a walking cliché, you know that? Rich boy who works for his daddy, living in the penthouse.” I meant it as a joke, but he didn’t seem to take it that way.

“Is that how you see me? As a spoiled rich boy riding his father’s coattails?”

“No, I don’t, Fin. But If I’d just met you and didn’t know anything about you or your family, I wouldn’t know. You’re not . . . you’re not like my parents.”

“And by that you mean . . .”

I guessed I had to elaborate. “You don’t treat money as if it has a never-ending supply that you can just use. You ate off a food truck, for God’s sake. Sure, you dress well and you live in a penthouse, but you don’t turn your nose up at something because it’s not the most expensive thing you can get. You see objects, and not just the monetary value attached to them. Does that make sense?” I hoped it did.

He looked down at his shoes, which were so shiny I bet I could see my face in them. “It does. Thank you for the clarification.”

“And why does my opinion matter so much, Fin Herald? I’ve barely known you a week.” I laughed a little at the absurdity of this entire situation. It really was insane when you stopped and thought about it.

I looked up at him, thinking that maybe he was going to give me a snarky answer, but he seemed . . . thoughtful.

“The honest answer is I don’t know. I’ve never met anyone quite like you, Marisol. But that’s probably because most of the people I come in contact with either work for me, want to work for me, or want something from me.”

“What makes you think I don’t want something from you?”

He smiled before he answered, which was a relief. Things had been getting a little too serious. “Because you look at me and I can tell you see me. Not the money. Not the suit. Not everything around me. Just me.”

I couldn’t resist kissing him, and as I stepped on my tiptoes, the elevator doors opened and I was momentarily dazzled. “Oh fuck. What the hell, Fin?”

“What’s wrong?” He leaned out, searching the room with his eyes.

“This place is gorgeous, you asshole.” Why was I cursing so much? It wasn’t like I’d never seen a place like this before. I’d grown up in what some people would consider a mansion, and I’d been to my fair share of my parents’ friends’ places. I’d even been to Rory’s. But Fin’s place . . . trés, TRÉS fancy.

“Oh. Yes, I suppose it is.” He seemed completely unaware of it. “Would you like the tour?”

“Uh, yeah. I would.” He led me through the kitchen, which was open and modern, with stainless steel appliances, pendant lighting, and oak floors, and then through the living room, which had high ceilings, tons of light and a chic fireplace that was bordered by bookshelves filled to bursting with books. Black leather furniture and thick rugs gave the room a cozy feel, despite the distance between the floor and the ceiling.

The place was massive. There were so many areas for people to sit, that if he invited most of my graduating class, we all would have had seats.

“Did you decorate this yourself?”

“I oversaw the decorating, yes.”

“Wow,” I said, going to one of the windows and looking out. The city stretched out before me, the setting sun glinting off the metal and glass and making everything glow orange and pink.

“You like?” I nearly smashed my face into the window. He’d snuck up behind me.

“Very much.” His hands moved to circle my waist, and I felt him rest his chin on the top of my head. I’d always wanted to be with a guy who was tall enough to do that.

His scent wrapped around me and I turned from the view of the city sunset to look at something that was equally as stunning.

“Hi,” I said, putting my arms around his neck. In the back of my mind, doubt whispered, reminding me of the things he’d told me about being with prostitutes. I informed it that I wasn’t having sex with him right this moment and to shut the fuck up and mind its own business.

“What’s going on in that head of yours? I never know what you’re thinking.”

“Ditto. You’re the enigma, not me.”

“Are you arguing with me?” His hands tightened on my waist and he pulled me closer.

“Maybe. Do you want me to argue with you?” We were playing the game again.

He smiled slowly and walked us backwards until he hit one of the many chairs, falling back into it and pulling me on top of him.

“Oof!” I couldn’t help the unladylike noise from coming out of me.

His hands moved from my waist and up to my arms. “I want you, sweet Mari. But only if you want to. If we’re going to do . . . whatever this is, I want you on board. Completely.”

I had mixed feelings about him asking me what I wanted. It was considerate that he didn’t just attack me, even though another part of me wanted him to. When he let that dark side of himself out, something inside me was let out as well. We revealed hidden parts to each other, and I wanted to explore that more. How many things could I learn about myself by being around someone like him?

But since I knew he still had secrets, things he was unwilling to tell me, there were things I was unwilling to give him.

“Then there’s something I want. I want you to tell me everything. Your past, what you’ve done with other women, hookers, whatever. Lay it on me. You share that with me and I’ll keep sharing my body with you. That’s my offer.”

I waited for an answer, playing with the hair at the base of his neck. I could
feel
what he wanted pressing against me.

“I can’t do that, Mari. Not all at once.”

“So are you counter offering?”

One side of his mouth ticked upward briefly. “How about one secret per night? I’m leaving in less than a week. So that’s six nights. Six secrets. Do you accept my offer?”

I shifted so I was in a better position. “That depends,” I said, slowly moving my hips against him. “How many secrets do you have, Fin?” I was thrilled he was letting me touch him, so I pushed my luck and dragged my hands down his front, flicking over the buttons on his shirt.

“Too many to count.” He reached for my lips and I let him capture them. The kiss was slow and he ended it before it could go further.

“You taste so sweet. Almost like cherries. Mari Cherry.”

I giggled.

“You like that? Mari Cherry? Do you accept my offer?”

“As long as the secret is first. Then you can do what you want with me.” I couldn’t believe the words that came out of my mouth.

He inhaled so fast the air hissed between his teeth, and I thought for a second he was going to pick me up and throw me down and take me right there on the floor. But he closed his eyes for a second and then opened them and pushed my hips away.

“I can’t think with you close like that,” he said, and I climbed off him and got settled in my own chair, but I pulled it around so we were facing each other.

“So. Secrets. I’m sure you want it to be a good one, so let me think.” I waited as he gazed at the ceiling.

“I lost my virginity to my cousin.”

I almost swallowed my tongue. “You what?!”

“She was adopted so we weren’t blood-related, but legally, she’s my cousin. I was fourteen, she was sixteen, and we were stupid. I think it lasted all of five seconds. I just remember being so excited to finally be able to touch her tits. They were pretty spectacular. Not as good as yours, though.”

He finally looked at me with a smile. And his eyes promptly zeroed in on my chest. “Do you want to know more?”

Did I? Not exactly. But I’d asked for this. “Sure. Give me all the dirty details.”

“It was the summer and she’d been staying with us for a few weeks while her parents went through a divorce. She’d spent most of the time tanning and swimming in the pool, and I spent most of my time jerking off and watching her. What else was there to do? So one day my parents were out for one reason or another, and it was just us and the staff. I avoided actually talking to her most of the time because I thought she was irritating, but I was bored out of my mind. I walked out just as she was untying her top. She made some smartass remark, and I don’t even remember what happened next, but I grabbed her and then my pants were around my ankles and I was fucking her, and she was smacking me but whispering dirty things in my ear, and then it was over.”

I watched him vanish into the memory for a moment, but then he came back. “So, there you go. How was that for a secret, Mari Cherry?”

“Did you do it again?”

He chuckled. “Nope, that’s another secret for another night. Now. Is it my turn?”

The air between us crackled with tension. His voice had changed as he spoke, and I could feel the darker side of him coming out. His energy shifted. It was subtle, but I could pick up on it now.

“Yes. It’s your turn.”

“And you’ll use your safeword if you want to stop?” My mind reeled, wondering what we were going to do that would require me to use it. Our first night hadn’t been anything too adventurous, but he must have been holding back. How much was the question that I might be getting the answer to soon.

“Yes.” My voice quavered, and I didn’t feel nearly as brave as I wanted to.

“Then come with me,” he said, standing and holding out his hand. My mind had been reeling with possibilities, hoping the rugs were thick and didn’t chafe, hoping the leather chairs didn’t make that weird fart noise when I moved on them, or that my skin didn’t get stuck to the surface.

Instead, Fin led me through the apartment and through a door.

To his bedroom.

My imagination had gotten the best of me where Fin’s bedroom was concerned. I’d been expecting a den of iniquity with red carpeting and black silk sheets, and maybe chains or cuffs hanging from the ceiling.

Instead, it was done in slate gray and black. Three of the walls were painted to almost look like stone, with the fourth behind his bed an almost black color. His bed was black as well, a four-poster dressed with white and gray sheets. But the most interesting thing in the room (other than Fin himself) was the chandelier that hung from the middle of the ceiling.

“Do you like it?” I stared up at it, unable to figure it out. From my vantage point it looked like a tangle of white pieces, roughly in the shape of a ball, with little bits pointing and sticking out. It was kind of ugly, if I was being honest.

“It’s . . . nice,” I said, trying to inject enthusiasm into my voice.

He laughed and then turned the rest of the lights off until only the chandelier was lit.

“Oh!” That completely changed things. His bedroom had turned into a dark forest of shadow trees cast by the chandelier. It was one of the most magical things I’d ever seen.

“This is my special place where anything can happen. Are you ready?”

To step into Fin’s enchanted bedroom forest armed with nothing but a safeword? “Absolutely.”

“I bought this bed for a reason, you know,” he said, holding on to one of the posts of the bed and walking around it.

“And what was that?” My mouth went dry and the air thickened around me.