a sigh. Finally he had her where he wanted her—in his arms, limp and sated.
“Can you stay?” Keira’s voice, soft and sleepy, held hesitancy.
The only other time they’d had sex, she’d been reluctant to have him stay, mumbling something to the effect that snuggling allowed emotions to creep in and ruin a good thing. Finn was a little shocked, but happy, that now she wanted him to linger. He wanted Keira like he’d wanted no other in all his years, even with the doubt this rogue business had thrown into the mix. They couldn’t go on ignoring it, and he knew they eventually needed to talk about it. But not now.
Now he was going to hold his woman. He rubbed his hand up and down her arm. “I’d like to stay,” he murmured. When she rubbed her cheek against his chest and then placed a kiss on his shoulder, he let out a sigh of contentment.
After a few moments of silence, she said, “This is nice.”
“Hmm.” He pressed his mouth to her temple.
She tipped her head back to meet his gaze. Slender fingers stroked his side in an absentminded caress. “I used to think if we spent time like this, cuddling after sex, it would complicate things.”
“And now?”
“Now I think cuddling after sex will definitely complicate things.” Her smile was tinged with sadness. “But I can’t help myself. I’m addicted to you, I guess.”
“You’re not alone in that.” Finn stroked his fingers through her hair before wrapping several thick strands around his hand. It was like holding silken fire in his palm.
He hadn’t been averse to their relationship growing more intense, no matter what he might have told himself. But he’d never really been certain how she felt about him. He wasn’t willing to risk his emotions only to have her reject him. He’d gotten enough rejection from his father over the years to know he didn’t want more of the same from a lover. Treading lightly was called for. “I care about you, Keira. You have to know that.”
She rested her face against his chest. “Sometimes I think you do, but then I’m not sure.” The warmth of her sigh drifted over his skin.
“Be sure.” He tightened his arms around her a moment. He wanted to ask her what she was doing in the rogue group, wanted to come clean about his own role.
He especially wanted to confess to her that he wasn’t capable of the cold-bloodedness she thought he was, but then he’d have to reveal that Caine was still alive. He’d also have to reveal the only reason he was part of the group was to stop Liuz at Caine and Lucifer’s behest. But he couldn’t take the chance. She had joined this group for a much different reason and he wouldn’t have his mission, and his chance at freedom, be ruined. Rising up on one elbow, he smiled as she grumbled at being dislodged from her comfortable position. He stared down into her lovely face. “We’re cut from the same cloth, you and I,” he said. “We both have, or have had, occupations that have us walking a fine line between right and wrong. Some of your empathic abilities mirror abilities I’ve honed over the years.” He wasn’t going to tell her he was a chameleon demon without consulting Lucifer. It wasn’t like he needed his father’s permission, but being demon was like being a member of a secretive sect, so he wanted to make sure he wasn’t divulging the wrong information. “I know that there are reasons we shouldn’t be together. But for now, don’t ask me to walk away from you, Keira.”
She cocked an eyebrow and the smile that curved her lips bounced in her eyes. “Didn’t I ask you to stay only a few minutes ago?”
Finn’s lips twitched and he settled back against the pillows. “That you did.” He sensed the good in her, the part that wanted to leave the old life behind. A goodness that he could use in his life. Her beauty—of face, body, and spirit—did for him what the paintings at the art gallery did. Gave him peace among the violence he was surrounded with every day. Above that, though, he was attracted to her for her sense of humor, her wry wit. Even her habit of poking fun at him held him enthralled. But for the sake of the mission, he had to remain silent.
“Look, why don’t we—” He broke off as his cell phone rang. He sent