Lured In (20 page)

Every other book she owned ended up on the shelves in the great room, but not the ones he'd given her. Those were keepers.

As fast as those things ran through her head, they ran right out again, because Finn stopped moving the second they hit her doorway. It was actually adorable that he looked so nervous, especially after she tugged him inside the room and clicked the door shut.

“Uh, Jess…wh-what are you doing?”

“Oh, sorry.” Smiling slowly, she reached back for the doorknob and twisted. “Did you want to leave?”

Finn caught her by the wrist, tugged her away from the door, then pressed his own hand flat against it as though he wanted to make good and sure it was closed.

“You need to be really sure about this, because I—” Finn stopped, closed his eyes for a second, and inhaled deeply.

Because he what? Wouldn't be able to stop once things got going? Of course he'd stop if that's what she wanted, but she wouldn't. Not in a million years.

Jessie waited until he opened his eyes again, then she pinched the bottom of her wet T-shirt and tugged it up over her head.

She'd never been one to waste money on things she didn't need, but every girl needed pretty lingerie—partly because it made a girl feel pretty for herself, and partly because every girl deserved to have a guy look at her exactly like the way Finn was looking at her right then.

As if he couldn't wait to get his hands on her and her leopard print but was wholly terrified to touch her in case it wasn't real. God, he was cute.

“I uh…uh…”

“Oh, good,” she said, laughing lightly. “I love it when you're articulate.”

Finn's mouth opened a little but nothing came out—not a smart-ass comeback, nothing. And while part of her loved that she had that effect on him, the other part of her hadn't really planned on being the one to control everything in the room.

She'd never been very good at that, but she was a quick learner, and looking at him now, standing there in his wet shorts and the open button-down shirt he'd thrown on when they got out of the lake, she knew exactly where she wanted to start—and that was right where she'd left off in the lake.

Sliding her hands across his bare chest, Jessie caught the edges of his shirt between her fingers and eased it down his arms until it fell in a heap at his feet.

“You all right?” she asked, her teasing eyes twinkling up at him as she raked her nails gently up his ribs and pressed a soft kiss against his chest.

“Jesus,” he hissed. “I…”

Finn didn't finish and he didn't give either one of them time to think; he just cupped her face in his hands and kissed her, hard and hungry, devouring the breathless gasp that escaped her throat and growling when she dug her nails into his waist.

Everything about his kisses sent her senses whirling and skidding until there was no hope of controlling them, and she couldn't have cared less.

Finn's hands were on her and nothing else mattered.

Turning them slowly, he pressed her back against the door, pinning her there with his hips, and smiling down at her with what she could only describe as wicked hot promise.

Boy, was she right.

He couldn't get her out of those damn cutoffs fast enough, and any delusion that he was going to be in control went right out the window when he caught a glimpse of her leopard-print underwear.

“Shiiiit.” He pulled his hands off her completely and pressed them against the door, then looked down at her and laughed; a desperate groaning sound that made her laugh, too.

“What?” she asked, blinking up at him innocently. “You were expecting white cotton granny panties?”

“I—” He stopped, shook his head slowly. “Shit, Jess, I don't know what I was expecting.”

“Good. I'd hate to be predictable.” She wrapped her fingers, still cold from the lake, around the waistband of his shorts and went to work on releasing the button.

Damn,
she'd never made a guy hiss like that before.

“Jess,” he muttered, scraping his hands into fists against the door. “You should…”

“I should what?” Grinning against his mouth, she shoved his shorts down and then choked. “
Commando?
Seriously, Finn?”

“Damn right.” Finn didn't waste a second, just pressed himself against her, full and hard, as he leaned down and murmured in her ear. “You're welcome.”

He caught her laugh on a kiss that stretched out long and deep, then slid his hands around her back, reaching for the clasp of her bra, but Jessie shook her head.

Finn immediately let her go, but Jessie took both his hands in hers and pressed his fingers against the little pink bow between her breasts.

He frowned—until his finger tapped the closure behind the bow; then he was all smiles again. One quick flick and it was open, leaving her bared to him as she peeled the wet straps down her arms and dropped it to the floor. Holy jumpin'—her heart was already jackhammering in her chest and he'd hardly touched her.

“Finn.” His name was barely a breath on her lips as he dipped his head and pressed a single soft kiss against her left breast.

Jessie speared her fingers through his hair, holding him against her, desperate for him to do that again. And again. His mouth was like heaven, soft, gentle, and oh-so-Finn. Tracing the curve of one breast with his tongue, he trailed his fingers over the other, then let the weight of it fill his palm.

She'd never in her life made sounds like that, part whimpers, part moans, and each one a little more delirious than the last. She was already spiraling, arching into his touch, her whole body shuddering when his lips grazed her nipple.

Desperate to feel more of him, she lifted her leg and wrapped it around his bare ass, pushing herself tight against him, leaving nothing but a thin piece of leopard-print fabric between her and where she really wanted him to be.

“F-Finn…”

He lifted his mouth from her breast and kissed her full on the mouth, his lips caressing hers as he slid his finger under the last barrier between them and eased it inside her.

“Oh!”

Everything about him was perfect: the way he moved with her, against her, on her, the way he wrapped his arm around her back and held her steady as his fingers teased and tormented her.

Jessie dug her nails into his biceps and held on, knowing she must look and sound like a total lunatic when she rolled her head to the side and laughed like that.

“Remember…how I said…
oh
…things like this don't happen…fast with me?”

“Hmm.” His mouth, like fire against the side of her neck, was too much, especially when he slid a second finger inside her.

“It's fast,” she cried, sucking in a sharp breath. “This is…
oh
…gonna be fast!”

“No…wait!”

By the time he had her on the bed, he'd wrangled the leopard prints off and tossed them over his shoulder. Jessie scrambled for the bedside-table drawer and finally pulled out a strip of condoms. Without waiting for him, she ripped the first packet open and then cursed quietly as she struggled to get it on him.

“Let me,” he groaned, but she just laughed again and slapped his hands away.

When she finally had him suited up, she started to push him down on the bed, but Finn flipped her over, caught her protest with another kiss, then reached under her knee and lifted her leg up around his hip.

Jessie wrapped her hands around his neck and pulled him down for a long, soft, teasing kiss. And then another. Without ending the kiss, Finn settled between her legs and pushed inside her, just a bit, just enough to make them both suck in a breath. He was so hard, so perfect, and not nearly deep enough.

She wanted him to take his time, to make her scream a million different ways, but that was going to have to wait, because right then and there she needed all of him, and she needed all of him quick.

He moved deeper, then eased back a little, and as he did, Jessie slid her hands down his body. She rested over his hip, the tips of her fingers barely brushing his butt, and the other…

Finn jerked as she raked her nails gently down his stomach, hesitated a second, then stroked the length of him with a feather-like touch that had him hissing curses into her ear.

“Now we're even,” she said, laughing when he looked down at her with what she could only describe as tortured surrender. “But I—”

She never finished that sentence, because he caught her mouth in a crushing kiss just as he pushed inside her, deep and hard. Fisting both hands into the sheet, she arched up off the mattress. He slid one of his hands under her butt, holding her steady as he vibrated against the strain every time he eased out.

“Finn
.
”
His name was more of a plea, but instead of answering it, he tugged one of her hands free, threaded his fingers through hers, then slid both their hands down her body, over her stomach to where they joined, to where her heat surrounded him.

His eyes, smoldering and sure, locked on hers as he eased himself out and slid their joined fingers through her slick folds.

“God almighty,” he murmured, his lips brushing over hers. “You're incredible.”

Gasping out a short laugh, she let him control her hand, moving with him, and loving the way his eyes rolled when she pressed herself into their combined touch.

“Jesus, Jess.” With a low laughing growl, Finn pulled her hand away and pushed into her with long, deep strokes, each one stronger than the last, until they were both right there, teetering on the edge.

She was so close, all she needed was—
yes!

Finn's hand found her breast just as his mouth captured hers, and with one final deep stroke, he sent Jessie spiraling, gasping his name and pulling him with her, fast and hot, until they were both soaring, tumbling…falling…and trying desperately to hold on, even though she knew there was no hope.

There was no point in fighting it; she was his, body and soul, and it was so much more than feeling him come undone inside her. It was the way he breathed her name, with such longing, such devotion, as if she'd filled him the same way he'd filled her, as if they'd become one, bonded together, tight and sure.

On a long, satisfied moan, Finn collapsed on top of her and just laid there while they both tried to catch their breath.

“Wow,” she gasped, her breasts still heaving under him. “That was…”

Laughing, Finn rolled onto his back, tucked her up close, and kissed the top of her head. “Hell yeah it was.”

She nudged her leg between his so she was half-lying on him, spread over his chest, and trembling each time his fingers traced a new path up her back.

“If your leg so much as twitches,” he said, his voice a low playful warning, “you're going to get a whole new lesson on the meaning of quick.”

For some reason, Jessie's leg twitched a lot that night.

“Sometimes the fish wins.”

The sudden pounding had Jessie and Finn bolting upright in bed, scrambling to untangle themselves.

“Jessie? You in there?”

What the hell was Liam doing at her door? And why the double hell was Finn grinning like that?

“Uh…yeah,” she said, lifting her hands in a “what the hell” kind of gesture. “Just, uh, getting dressed. What's up?”

“I can't find Finn—have you seen him this morning?”

The second Finn's mouth opened, Jessie slapped her hand over it, pushed him down on the bed, and straddled him, pinning his arms under her knees.

“Uh…no,” she called back. “Why? What time is it?”

“Coming up on six-thirty. You okay? You're usually the first one up.”

Shit!

“I'm…fine.”

Finn wiggled his arms free and slid his hands slowly up her legs.

“Just a little…
behind,
” she said, hoping Liam didn't hear her gasp when Finn moved both his hands around her hips and over her behind. “I'll be up in a minute.”

“Okay.”

She waited until she'd counted his footsteps up the stairs, then grabbed a cushion and whapped Finn with it.

“What?” he cried, laughing as he rolled them both over. “You liked it when I did that last night.”

“Yeah, because your brother wasn't standing eight feet away.”

“He's not standing there anymore.” Finn quirked his eyebrow slowly, then, his gaze never leaving hers, he leaned over and breathed a soft kiss against the side of her breast.

“Finn…” Her warning was feeble at best and she didn't care. “We don't have time.”

“Wrong,” he murmured. “We have all the time in the world.”

One more whispered kiss and Jessie wouldn't have cared if the whole world collapsed around them. It wasn't until after, when she finally made her way upstairs, that she realized how late she really was.

“Sorry,” she muttered, ducking between Olivia and Liam in the kitchen. “Where's everyone?”

“Out on the boats,” Liam said. “Finally.”

“What do you mean?”

“Finn's usually the first one down at the dock in the morning, always itching to get going, but today he didn't show up until we were getting ready to give Kate his guests.”

“Really?” Jessie hid her face behind the cupboard door until she could stop smiling. “Where was he?”

“I don't know. He mumbled something about bears down at the lake.”

“Hmm. Okay.” With her mug full of steaming coffee, Jessie grabbed a muffin and headed to her office, followed almost immediately by Olivia.

“You did it, didn't you?”

“Sorry?”

Olivia glanced over her shoulder, assumedly to make sure Liam wasn't lurking around, then turned back to Jessie and grinned.

“You put him on speakerphone, didn't you?”

“I
what
?” Jessie cried. “No, I didn't!”

“Nice try, but you can't fool me, Miss Jessie. That look you've got right there, it's the look of a very satisfied woman.”

“That doesn't mean I had phone sex!”

“No?” Frowning, Olivia took a bit of step closer—not a lot, but enough that her narrowed gaze made Jessie pull away. “Oh, I get it—you're a do-it-yourself kind of girl!”

“Oh my God—get out! Just…go!”

“Nothing wrong with it.” Olivia's snorting laugh made Jessie laugh, too. “Master of your own domain and all that.”

“Go,” Jessie choked, jabbing her finger toward the door. “Go master your own domain and leave me alone!”

With her hands raised, Olivia backed out of the office, but she laughed all the way to the kitchen.

Funny thing was, out of everyone at the Buoys, Olivia would probably be the only one who'd cheer if she ever found out about Jessie and Finn. Seemed she didn't care who Jessie was having sex with, so long as she was getting some. And holy Judas, did she get some last night.

Not just any old “some,” either. She'd had sex with Finn—a lot of sex, actually—and it had been…
foof
! Just thinking about it, the things they did and the number of times they did them, had her reaching for the fan in the corner and turning it on high.

It was going to be a hell of a long day if she didn't find a way to stop thinking about him sprawled out on her bed, naked and hard, teasing her with ideas of what he planned to do to her next.

After several glasses of ice water and a few ragged breaths, Jessie got down to work, going over reservations, calling in orders, and making sure she had copies of the
Hooked
contract ready.

Finn and Kate were out on the final half-day run with the guests, so it was up to Jessie and Liam to meet the producer when she arrived that afternoon.

As they waited for the Helijet to land, Liam ducked his head closer to Jessie so he wouldn't have to yell.

“Did you and Finn get into a fight or something?” he asked.

“No. Why would you ask that?”

Liam shrugged. “Couple nights this week I've come up to the lodge to get something and neither of you are in your usual spots. Thought maybe something happened.”

“Nope.” Clearing her throat, she lifted her chin a little and prayed he wouldn't notice the way her lip twitched against a smile. “We're all good.”

“You sure? He hasn't…” Liam stopped, twisted his mouth as if he was choosing his words carefully. “He hasn't said or done anything that upset you or made you feel uncomfortable?”

“What the hell are you talking about?” Her laugh came out dry and sharp. “You sound like you think he's harassing me.”

“No, it's…it's not that. I just—”

“Don't you worry, Liam. Everything's fine between your brother and me.”

Without giving him a chance to say anything else, she started down the dock just as a woman stepped out of the Helijet and started toward them.

“Jessie?” she said. “I'm Ashley LaCroix. Nice to meet you.”

“Thanks. You, too.”

Kate was the only one who'd actually spoken to Ashley on the phone. All communication Jessie had had with her was via email, and somehow through that, she'd pictured Ashley to be about five two, a little bit chubby, with frizzy brown hair and glasses. Boy, was she wrong. Try about five nine, perfectly toned, with long wavy blond hair, Hollywood-type blue eyes, and what Jessie could only assume was perfectly applied makeup, because no one should be allowed to have skin that flawless.

“This is Liam,” Jessie said, thumbing toward him.

“Yeah, I know; it's good to see you again.” Ashley's smile was bright and breezy, even though Liam had that look on his face, as if he had no idea who she was.

But of course she'd know who he was; she'd probably seen him play or recognized him from pictures on the website.

After a quick round of handshakes, Jessie waved her up toward the lodge.

“Come on,” she said. “Let's start inside.”

With Olivia busy prepping takeaway boxes for the guests' trips home, Jessie set out a quick snack and put the kettle on to make Ashley some tea, which turned into a bit of an ordeal because they didn't have oolong, white, or anything loose. All Jessie could offer her were regular old tea bags in a variety of flavors (or not), none of which appealed to Ashley at all.

“Lemon water it is,” Jessie said, smiling as she set a tall glass down on the table.

“Thank you. When will Finn and…Kate, is it? When will they be back?”

“Anytime now,” Jessie said. “The guests all leave this afternoon, but if you need measurements or anything,
Buoy O'Buoy
is down at the dock, and it's the exact same model as Finn's boat,
Fishin' Impossible
. We can go down and have a look if you like.”

“That's okay, there's no hurry.” After a few tentative sips of her water, Ashley went into detail about what the camera crew would be looking for when they arrived, the types of shots they'd need—wide angle, aerial, et cetera. The whole time she kept checking her watch.

At first Jessie thought she was imagining how often she checked it, but when Ashley wasn't looking, Liam raised a quizzical brow at Jessie. All she could do was shrug.

They took Ashley on a tour of the grounds and through the fish shack before making their way back up to the lodge, where Jessie showed her the rooms the crew and Sam would be staying in.

“We have a cot we'll bring in,” Jessie said. “So the two crew members will each have their own bed. The rooms aren't fancy, but I think they'll do.”

“Mm-hmm. I'm sure they'll be great.”

It wasn't until Kate's voice came over the radio, followed immediately by Finn's, announcing their arrivals, that Ashley finally seemed to fully relax.

“Once the guests have all cleared out,” Liam said, “I'll take you down there and you can have a look at the boats yourself.”

While they waited, Jessie did her best to engage Ashley in conversation, but it was awkward at best, which was why Jessie was ever so grateful when Kate finally came through the door a while later.

“Damn that Finn,” she grunted. “How does he always know where to go?”

“D'you get skunked?” Jessie asked, trying not to laugh—and failing.

“No, but it felt like it when we pulled up next to them and saw their catch.”

“Want some coffee?”

“No thanks,” Kate mumbled. “I should probably be a good sport and go help Finn process the rest of their catch. Unless someone else wants to go help him.”

She started to look at Liam, but Jessie was already nodding.

“I'll go.”

Less than a minute—that's how long it took Jessie to get into her boots and grab her fish gloves—but by the time she got back, Ashley was gone.

“Where'd she go?”

Liam, who'd not only given up his chair to Kate but was now massaging her shoulders, grunted, “Down to the dock.”

The rain had let up a couple of hours earlier, but it was still dank and windy, so Jessie grabbed Jimmy's big sweater before heading out.

Ashley wasn't too far ahead, but she'd walked straight past the fish shack and was heading down the dock toward
Fishin' Impossible
.

“Finn?” She leaned over the side of the boat and called again, louder. “Finn?”

A second later, Finn stepped out of the fish shack, wiping his hands on a rag.

Jessie couldn't see his face, because he had his back to her, but she had a clear line to Ashley's beaming face.

“Finn! It's me, Ashley.”

Jessie stopped dead in her tracks, even as Finn kept walking toward Ashley's perfect toothy smile.

No. It couldn't be, could it? That day at the Green cabin, he'd called out the name Ashley Poplawski. Could this be her?

Of course it was. Why else had she sat there checking her watch every three seconds? And why else had she bolted for the dock the second she knew Finn was alone?

“Ashley?” Finn sounded confused for a second, then,
“Ashley Poplawski?”

“LaCroix now, but yeah.” Arms open, she walked straight at him until he backed up a step.

“I'm all covered in fish,” he said. “And I don't want to—”

He didn't finish, but the message was clear. Ashley Poplawski LaCroix should not be covered in fish guts.

“Oh. Right.”

And as Jessie watched, Ashley put her hands on Finn's shoulders, leaned in, and kissed him on both cheeks.

“It's so great to see you again!”

“Uh, yeah, you, too. What are you doing here?”

“I'm Sam's producer, silly.”

Silly?
Really? What was she—six?

Straining against an eye roll, Jessie turned and headed into the fish shack so the two of them could have their little reunion with some kind of privacy.

There were only about a half dozen fish left, so she set straight to work on them, and, no, she wasn't trying to eavesdrop on the giggle-laced conversation going on out there on the dock, but it was hard not to hear most of it. Especially after she slid the window open a couple of inches and leaned closer.

Apparently “Poplawski” got dropped when Ashley got married, and then she never went back to it after the divorce. Yes, the divorce was hard, but it was
so great,
too, because she'd come out of it a much better person. She'd been working with Sam for two or three years now and,
wow,
he was
so great
. Imagine her surprise last spring when she found out that Finn and his brothers were going to reopen the old lodge—it was
so great
of them to do that—and then what a double shocker to find out the girl Sam had been dating was the same one—Jessie, right?—who worked here.
How great was that?

And wasn't life funny?

“Real knee-slapper,” Jessie muttered as she tossed a fish head into the bucket.

As soon as Ashley got Kate's call—it was Kate, right?—Ashley knew she had to make this work somehow, because it would be
so great
to see the O'Donnells again, and look at them now, there they were. It was just all
so great
.

“Yeah.” Jessie ran the gutted salmon under the stream of salt water, then slapped it up on the cutting board. “And getting greater by the second.”

To his credit, Finn did try to get back into the fish shack a couple of times, but Ashley just kept bubbling on about how great it was to see him, how she'd missed him at the class reunion a couple of years back, and wasn't it funny that Liam hadn't recognized her when she first got there? He'd only been a year ahead in school, and she hadn't changed that much, had she?

Jessie swiped her sleeve across her face and snorted before sealing the final box and stacking it inside the freezer. Ashley was still gushing after Jessie finished processing the fish and cleaning up, and she kept right on even after Jessie pushed the hose nozzle into Finn's hand and pointed it toward the stern of his boat.