Out of Mind (Out of Line #3)(17)
Author: Jen McLaughlin

My heart twisted painfully. The fact that he believed this, with all his heart, broke mine. “You’re wrong. You’re the most unselfish man I’ve ever met.” I wiggled my hand free. “And I think you’re blind to yourself.”

“I think it’s the other way around,” he said sheepishly. He ran a hand over his head, probably looking for those curls again. With a grimace, he dropped his hand to his lap. “I’m going to try to get better for you.”

“Don’t do it for me.” I undid the last button of his shirt. “Do it for you.”

“No.” He ran his hand up over my body, tipping my head back. “For us.”

I swallowed hard and unclasped his sling, my knuckles scraping against the hard cast. Desire unfurled in my belly at the way he watched me. I couldn’t see it, but I could feel it. “Let’s get you out of this shirt.”

“Only if you get out of yours, too,” he said, his tone light.

Hope, small and distant, flared in me. I’d been right. He was different tonight. Maybe his talk with his father had helped. Whatever it was, I was happy for the change. “That could be arranged.”

I took the sling off and laid it on the side. He flinched. “I think it’s time for another pill.”

“Has it been four hours yet?”

He hesitated. “Yeah, a little over, I think.”

I gently slid his shirt off his shoulders. His hard muscles taunted me. I wished I could run my tongue over each one, but he wasn’t ready for that. “And when was your last drink?”

“With Riley.”

“Okay. I’m going to turn the light on so I don’t spill them.”

Silence. “All right. But stay on my lap.”

“Gladly. It’s my favorite place to be.”

He chuckled lightly. “The feeling is mutual.”

I stretched my arm and turned on the light by his bed. It was very dim. Perfect for what I needed. I grabbed the bottle and undid the cap. When I turned back to Finn, he was watching me with a soft look in his eye. One that I hadn’t seen in a long time. I swallowed and poured one big pill into my palm. “Do you need a drink to wash it down?”

“I need you.” He took it and tossed it into his mouth. “But, yeah, I could go for some water. My bottle is next to the lamp.”

I closed the meds and set them back where they’d been. Picking up the water, I undid that cap, too. “We need to get you a glass in here.”

“I’m fine.”

He tipped his head back and chugged the water. As he did so, I let my gaze skim over his body. He had injuries, sure, but he looked beautiful to me. Even more so than before, if anything. His ink still stretched over his muscles, and his muscles were still ridiculously hard and huge.

The heart under those muscles was still the same, too.

My stomach tightened and I forced my gaze away. I didn’t want him feeling pressured to do anything with me. Heck, last night had been pushing it. Although, it had seemed to maybe help a little bit… But the books said it didn’t.

“You can turn out the light now,” he said. I looked back at him, and he looked so vulnerable it hurt. “I know it’s not a pretty picture.”

“Finn, you look delicious.” I skimmed my fingers over his shoulders. “When I look at you, it takes all my control not to attack you. You don’t see what I see.” I touched the cut on his shoulder. “I see bravery. Love. A good man.”

I lowered my hand over the tattoo he’d gotten for us. It said: the sun is finally shining. Our code word for I love you. Guess we didn’t need a code anymore, though.

Everyone knew about us.

“I’m only good because of you,” he whispered. “You’re the only good part about me.”

“That’s a lie.” I placed my hand over his heart. “Your goodness is in here. It was there long before you met me. It was there when we met, and it’s what made me want to kiss you that first time. It’s what makes me want to kiss you now.”

He made a small sound and squeezed my thigh. “Then f**king kiss me already, Ginger.”

There he went using that nickname again.

He kissed me, his hand skimming up my body, and over my br**sts, before settling on my lower back. He pulled me closer as his lips crashed over mine, stealing away all my thoughts. All my doubts. All he left behind was this. Us.

His tongue slipped between my lips, and I whimpered into his mouth. He swallowed my cries and his own moan melded with mine. I pressed down against his erection, my entire body begging for more, and I knew I was lost.

I always had been when it came to Finn.

Finn

I could feel her hesitation. Her doubt. She was worried she might break me even worse than I already was, but it didn’t matter. I needed her more than I needed my sanity.

I needed her to need me.

And I knew the exact second she stopped fighting me internally. She melted against me and gripped my good shoulder, her nails digging in. I deepened the kiss and cupped a breast, toying with her nipple with the perfect amount of pressure. When I tugged hard, she cried out into my mouth, grinding down against my cock.

When she pushed down, I arched up, stealing her breath in the process. Good. I still had it in me. I might only have one good arm, but I’d still make her come so hard she wouldn’t be able to look at me without blushing for a week, damn it.

Her nails dug into my shoulder, her other hand dipping past my broken arm and between us to massage my cock. “Finn. God.”

“Undo my pants,” I commanded, my own voice a little bit broken. “Then take yours off, too, but hurry up. I need you.”

A desperate need to be buried inside of her consumed me. While she took her pants off, her hands trembled over every button and zipper. It consumed her, too. I could see it. Even though the light was on and I was looking like I now looked, she still wanted me.

This was what love was.

She dropped to her knees between my thighs and undid my button. I gritted my teeth and helped her remove my jeans. Next went my boxers, and then she grabbed a condom out of the drawer by my bed. Instead of putting it on me, she lowered her mouth to my c**k and licked it.

Holy f**king shit.

“Carrie, not tonight. I need…I need…” I grabbed the condom and ripped the foil open with the help of my teeth. “I need to f**k you. Hard. Hot. Now.”

“Yes.”

Her cheeks flushed, she rolled the condom on my cock. She straddled my hips, her pu**y right where I needed her, and lowered herself onto me with a soft sigh. With my good hand, I gripped her ass and drove into her fully. She let out a strangled scream, biting down hard on her lip. I paused. “Are you okay?”