on my lap before I force you.”
“Evil!” he cries as I hook his waist. I don’t pull him, though, because I want it to be his choice.
“Come closer, I have puppies and candy.”
He eyes me like any of that could have been true. “I do like puppies and candy. What else do you have?”
“Me.”
“Eh…” He shrugs. “Something better?”
I glare at him which makes a smile form on his face. “And you call me the evil one.”
He sinks onto my lap and I wrap him up in my arms as he slides his right arm around the back of my neck. He leans in and presses his lips softly against mine before pulling back just enough so I can see that smile on his lips.
“Why are you so sexy?” I ask. “I think your cute smile just makes me blind to your rotten personality.”
“Shouldn’t I be saying that about you?”
“Maybe we’re meant for each other.”
“Maybe? Nah, it’s a done deal,” he says as he kisses me again. This time, his lips part and I feel his tongue against mine. His hand squeezes tightly against my neck and shoulder as he presses into me.
And for a moment, we can forget about all of this. About the man after Finn, about the attack that left Claude and Artemus wounded and Finn afraid. I can forget about that monster entering our safe place where he could have taken Finn from me.
Instead, I can fixate on his body and his touch as his tongue and lips move against mine. And I promise that I will never leave him to deal with this alone.
I will stop that monster so Finn can be free, even if it’s the last thing I do.
FINN
I can tell Marcus is distracted. It might be the main reason I felt like I could do this. If he can put up with all the shit this vampire is putting us through, I can get over my fear that he’ll see me differently without my leg and arm. It’s such a stupid thought, I know it is. I know he’s not going to be disgusted or something. I think maybe it’s more me than him.
With my prostheses on, I’m okay. It’s that without them, I feel out of control and vulnerable, almost like I can’t defend myself. It’s an old fear from when I was stuck in that room, but it led me to hate the moments I have to be vulnerable without them.
I run my fingers through Marcus’s hair, wondering what’s going on in that head of his. I know he’s concerned, but I know that more than anything, he’s upset with himself because he feels like he can’t keep me safe. But he’s trying so damn hard to stay positive and upbeat. It almost seems weird on him, but I love how much he’s trying.
I lean in and kiss him again as I push my hips forward so I can feel more of him. My bare chest rubs against his as the warm water moves around us. “Do you want to go upstairs?” I ask.
He nods. “As long as there’s not a camera in there.”
I snort. “Orin’s not going to peep on us. He’s not a creep!”
Marcus grins as he lifts me up, like he’s going to set me outside the tub, before thinking better of it and letting me decide what I want to do. It makes me feel a little bad that I’ve made him hesitate to do things when he’s so determined to show me that none of it matters; he doesn’t care if I have them on or off. It’s always been in my own head that it does. Not his.
So I take a deep breath and push myself onto the edge. “Can you grab me a towel? Orin might notice if we splash water all over his ridiculously overpriced rugs. I think they’re made of like knitted lion mane or something,” I joke.
“He did spend his years raking in the money, didn’t he?”
“Oh yeah.”
Marcus gets out and grabs a towel, which he tosses on my head. Before I can pull it off, he starts drying my hair. “It reminds me of when I give Artemus a bath.”
“Yay, I love reminding you of a dog,” I tease.
He snickers as he pulls the towel off my head and smiles at me. Once I’m dry, I put my leg and arm back on before reaching out to him. He pulls me to my feet and kisses me again.
“Upstairs?”
“Yeah, I’ll race