Playing Against Type: Soulgirls, Book 4 (17 page)

She pouted at having her question side-stepped yet again. “Spinach and mushroom with white sauce, not red.”
 

Suppressing another smile, he reached for the phone and called in their order. Pepper drummed her fingers against her knee, glaring at him the whole time. He dragged the order out adding drinks and desert, amused by her impatience.

“What kind of game are you playing, Finn?”

“It’s not a game.” He flipped the menu closed and clasped his hands together. “Pepper, I’ve lived for over two hundred years, but I’ve never been more alive than I have been in the last three days. So yes, you are important to me. I want you to have a chance to live. Really live. And if my mother’s curse can cure you somehow, I’m all for it.”

“You don’t know if it can or what it would do to you if it did. And I won’t sacrifice my friends or Heidi. I can’t. She gave me a life when I had none. If it wasn’t for her, I wouldn’t even be here to know you. So if what you’re saying is true, then you owe her too.” She slipped off the chair and knelt at his feet. “I’ll beg if I have to.”

Taking hold of her arms, he stood and pulled her to her feet. “You don’t have to beg, you just have to be patient and let me figure this out. The demon you saw wants something from me. Whatever battle is being played out between him and Heidi, they’ve put you right in the middle of it. She knows it. Now we know it. She’s given us permission to act if I can’t figure out another way, but for now? Give me some time to think.” This close, he inhaled the heady scent of her perfume. Cherry blossoms, vanilla and a hint of some other exotic spice. Warm, alive and so damn sweet. “You should sit back down.”

“I like you.” No artifice colored her words.

“I like you too.” He glided his hands up and down her arms, mostly to keep them busy. “If you want to argue some more, I could kiss you again.”

“I don’t want to argue.” She sighed. “I want to treat tonight like it’s the last one we might be together because you never know. It just might—”

He fastened his mouth to hers in a slow kiss and drank in the flavor of her. She went soft and silky in his arms and he pulled her close, careful not to crush her. The ever present air of fragility heightened every time he touched her.

Two hundred years of living had hardly prepared him for the moment his heart would stop. But it would for this woman and it savaged him every time she mentioned dying or going back to the curse as if discussing the weather. He wanted her to have a future. She
deserved
a future.

Gods help him, he wanted to be a part of her future.

Nuzzling kisses along her jaw to her ear, he murmured, “Will you ask me to stop this time?”

Looping her arms around his neck, she threaded her fingers through his hair and dragged his mouth back to hers. “No. I don’t want you to stop this time.”

Music to his ears.

Chapter Twelve

Finn sat and pulled Pepper onto his lap, his mouth never leaving hers. The sensual assault threatened to drown her in pleasure. He ran his hands up and down her back, teasing the back of her neck and down again. The pleasure overwhelmed her, radiating out from every point of contact, bouncing through her blood, building in wave after wave.

A knock at the door burst the bubble around them. Finn pulled back. “Dammit.”

She wiggled off his lap, laughing. “Pizza.” She would have gone for the door, but he dragged her back with a hard kiss and set her on the bed.

“Stay.” He pointed. His shirt was half open revealing his sculpted chest, decorated in black ink. She’d only seen him in dress shirts, but beneath the pressed linen appearance, he looked more like a gladiator.

He opened the door, took the tray, and shooed room service away. Her stomach growled at the fresh whiff of pizza, an experience she was still getting used to. Finn flipped open the lid, and withdrew a piece. Carrying over the slice, he eyed her shirt. “I’ll trade you a bite for each article of clothing you’re wearing.”

Pepper burst out laughing. “Good thing I’m not shy.” She unfastened her vest and slid it off and received a bite for her trouble. She took her time, chewing it and enjoying his absolute look of fascination with her mouth. Swallowing, she reached for the buttons on her blouse. Unfastening them one at a time, she could barely hide her smile as his gaze followed. The thin, white lace bra covered her breasts and she took a moment to lay the shirt alongside her vest.

“Bite?” She reminded him. Finn cleared his throat and held out the slice. His hand trembled, ever so slightly.

Rising from the bed, she continued to chew and slid off her shoes. Amusement curled through her desire. He frowned.

“You said a bite for each article of clothing. Shoes may be an accessory, but I am still wearing them.” She grinned at his low growl and reached for the fastener on her pants. They fell in a silky pile and his sudden draw of breath added to her reward. The lace panties matched her bra. Demure as a princess, she crawled onto the bed and opened her mouth expectantly.

Finn sighed. “This was not my best idea.” But he fed her and she grinned.

“I like it. You make the most wonderful faces.”

His jaw flexed and she imagined she could see a vein pulsing in his forehead. Boldly she let her own gaze travel over him.

“I’m torn,” she murmured.

“About?” He cleared his throat.

“About whether I’ll let you feed me unless you start getting naked too. Fair being fair.” She ran her fingers through her hair, and pulled out the pair of clips she’d used to style it. “Unless you’d like to eat yourself.”

He held what remained of the slice between his teeth and stripped, a great deal faster than an article per bite—in fact, he didn’t bother to wait at all. Shirt, shoes and pants hit the floor until all that remained were a pair of black cotton boxer shorts. It was Pepper’s turn to try and not swallow her tongue. Hard lean muscle wrapped around his frame, as did finely crafted tattoos, ink embedded in his skin in swirls from his shoulders across his back and down both arms—odd because when his arms had been bare before, she’d only seen a hint of the curved lines. It formed a shirt effect against his chest, and down the ripples of his abs and lower still.

Unable to help herself, she traced one of the patterns with a trembling finger. Beneath such a civil veneer, there was no denying his utter masculinity or primal being. The tattoos gave him a rough edge, a dangerous air. Her stomach tightened and her thighs clenched.

Lifting her gaze, she met his stormy one. “I don’t think I’m hungry for pizza anymore.”

He tossed the unfinished slice back onto the tray and reached for her. They came together in a devastating kiss. They moaned into each other’s mouths. Her bra vanished in a snap and cool air reached her breasts, but he warmed them with his hands. Pressing into him, she groaned as he kneaded and massaged the soft flesh. His thumbs grazed over her nipples and she went liquid with the boiling heat racing through her.

“Finn…” She dug her fingers into his shoulders. He bent her back onto the bed, cradling her and lowered his head to claim one nipple. A fresh riot of sensations assaulted her and she strained against him, wanting his mouth back for a kiss but desperate for more of his touch.

Breath tangling in her throat, she rubbed her palms against his back and explored lower. His flesh was so hot. Cupping his ass, she groaned at the hard pull of his mouth on her nipple. Two fingers tucked into her panties, and he gave a hard tug, ripping the flimsy seams on the lace apart.

He skated a hand over her hip. God, he smelled so good. Earthy and male and hot sunshine. Trailing his mouth across the valley between her breasts, he teased the other nipple and then abandoned them completely. Kissing a wet path across her belly until he reached her thighs. She tensed, but he nudged her legs apart and blew a breath against the wetness of her sex.

Shuddering at the contact, she squirmed. She knew she was eager, almost too eager. Arching her hips to him, she imagined what it would be to have his mouth on her and even better, what it would feel like to have his cock push inside her. She’d had sex all of three times before ever arriving at the casino and none of those instances came even close to this and he barely touched her, his thumb just barely grazing her clit.

“Do you like this?” The dark whisper caressed her ragged senses.

Her tongue stuck to the roof of her mouth and she nodded, not quite trusting herself to speak. He pressed harder against her clit and she moaned long and deep. Not giving her a moment to ride that eddy of pleasure, he bent his head between her legs and gave her sex a long lick. Stubble on his cheeks rasped against her and added a sting to the wild craving he unleashed in her. He took his time, nibbling kisses against the inside of her thighs and then back, before finally drawing her clit between his teeth.

A scream ripped free and she thrashed on the bed. Finn braced her, but he didn’t let up, working his mouth against her and her brain shut off until her orgasm came intense and fast. Shuddering, she drifted back to earth and the sense of his mouth still kissing her, every touch of his fingers or tongue or lips sent fresh jolts of electricity through her.

The lust winding through her veins exploded. She tired of just accepting pleasure and wanted to give some back. She tugged at him and he came willingly, working his way up, teasing her belly button with a kiss and then her breasts. Somewhere along the way he lost his boxers and his cock pressed hard against her.

When he gazed down at her, breath clogged in her throat. Everything in the world faded save for him and staring into his eyes. She whispered, “I think I love you.”

He stilled against her, one hand braced on the bed and a smile, soft and kind, curved his lips. “You think?”

Tracing the line of muscle along his back, she nodded. “It’s kind of hard to think right now. I’m not exactly in an objective mood. All I want to do is feel…but I think I do love you.” It didn’t matter they hadn’t known each other that long. It didn’t matter about her disease. It didn’t matter that they’d just argued. All that mattered was him. He made her laugh, he looked after her so gallantly, and the way he stared at her right now…it imprinted his name on her heart. She yearned to stay right there, vulnerable and yet safe against him.

She didn’t care if he was dangerous to everyone else, he wasn’t a threat to her. He’d never been. It all seemed to click inside of her—from the moment she approached his table to his good humor at her ridiculous lies to the playful games in the casino and the protective walks back to her room.

Liking and loving might be worlds apart, but the barrier between those worlds seemed to shred with every brush of his skin on hers.

How did she end up so lucky, living long enough to meet him when she could have been dust in a grave decades ago? He sealed his mouth against hers and the passion stirred again, but so did the sweetness. He didn’t try dominate or demand, instead he was thoughtful and giving—tender. He trailed his kiss from her mouth to her ear, driving her wild. His breath teased her earlobe. “I think I love you too.”

Sliding his hands under her thighs, he lifted her and rose up to his knees, entering her in one hard thrust.

Holy crap…
The far from romantic thought ricocheted through her brain. She didn’t think she could want him more, but her need went out of control. Every thrust drove him deeper, stretching and filling her. She clung to him, wrapping her legs around his waist. He lifted her, cradling her and pistoned his hips. Every stroke drove her closer to the edge.

Every delicious glide of his skin against hers released fresh waves of friction. He squeezed her ass and pushed her down to meet his thrust, as her second orgasm built to unbearable pressure—her back arched from the force of it and then she came, crying out. She thought she heard him call her name and he came with her, his body one hard cord of muscle, straining against her. They dropped back onto the bed, his face buried against her throat.

Muscles trembling, she floated on the pleasurable little shocks running through her. His lips pressed against her shoulder, and even that light touch sent off another wave. Running her hand up his back, she thought to lift his head for a kiss.

But the black ink on her skin stopped her.

“Finn…” She whispered.

“Hmm?” He lifted his head, eyes half-closed.

“Your tattoo rubbed off on me.”

“What?” He pushed up higher and Pepper glanced down. Half the tattoo on his chest was gone…and worse still, it was now on her.

Slipping over to lay on his side, Finn studied her. Pepper wasn’t wrong, half of his tattoo had worked its way off his body. It swirled around from one of her nipples and completely encased one breast and up over her shoulder and down her back. Even as he watched, it continued to spread over her body, feathering the swell of her left hip and further. It faded in color the further away from her heart it traveled, but it was still there.

Stretching his arm out, he frowned—he didn’t know how he felt about it. Heart thudding, he traced the path of the tattoo around her breast. “It’s okay, I think.”

“You think?” Her eyes were wide and fringed by darker lashes. “Why is it on
me
?” Stress elongated her consonants, and she rubbed her fingers against the spreading ink to no avail.

“I have no idea.” And he didn’t. The tattoo was his mother’s work, the spell she embedded into his body. He could disguise it with clothing, and it didn’t reach up his neck or color his face, hands or feet. Most of the time it stayed on his back, but with all the magic in the casino, it had grown across his body. But it had
never
left him before and he certainly wasn’t a virgin. So what happened?