die!?”
“It just takes time-“
“I don’t have time!” I yelled back at him. “All of this! You’ve had time to figure all of this out! I’ve had months, Finn! Months! And each day I’m closer to my eighteenth birthday. Each day I’m closer to confronting Keto. Each day I’m closer to-“
“…fulfilling your destiny.” Finn interrupted. “Why can’t you see how special you are? If your mother didn’t believe you could do this, she wouldn’t have Chosen you.”
“Well being Chosen isn’t as great as it’s cracked up to be, if you ask me.”
“Welcome to my life,” Finn muttered and chuckled in spite of himself. “Being Chosen isn’t supposed to be fun or easy. It’s hard - it’s very hard…which is why it’s not given out freely. Only those who can handle it are given the responsibilities and pressures that come along with it.”
“I feel like my abilities work against me half the time. They distract me or backfire on me!
How can I concentrate on what I’m supposed to do when I’m having visions constantly about people dying and horrible things happening? How can I concentrate on what I’m
“I know you don’t want to hear this, but you’ll figure it out. Once you begin to control and harness your abilities, it will all begin to fall into place,” Finn explained. “You have to trust me on that. When we return to Lorelei, Mom will make sure your only priority is to practice your abilities. I have a feeling the new Maven will not disagree.”
I gave up my fight and sagged against him, leaning my head back on his shoulder. I let his darkness wrap around me and soothe my heart. “I don’t know what I’d do without you,” I murmured.
“You’d probably have a broken leg,” he joked. “These rocks are no joke. Let’s get you someplace dry.”
He helped me up and we delicately made our way across the rocky beach, toward a rock that was shaped like a giant letter ‘n’ stepping into the ocean; one leg on the beach, while the other was underwater. Beneath its arch the waves were slowly crawling toward the other leg, so that the sand beneath was wet, but we were still shielded from the rain. I sat down on the wet sand and stretched my legs out, allowing the water to slosh over them again and again.
“We could be in one of those Giorgio for Men cologne commercials right now, and not even know it.”
“I was in a commercial like that once,” Finn contemplated.
“You were!?”
“No,” he smirked.
“I hate you,” I splashed water up at him.
“Aw, you don’t mean that,” he mewed, moving closer to me. I inched away from him and crossed my arms.
“Oh yes I do.”
“I bet I can change your mind.”
“I doubt it,” I retorted, instantly regretting it when I saw the knowing look in his eye.
“Challenge accepted.” He grinned at me like a panther about to go in for the kill, and I was fully aware I was the kill. What I wasn’t aware of was the fact that it had started to storm. Lightning struck nearby, sending a shockwave across the beach that lit up the night with its flash. I shrieked out and instinctively moved towards Finn, who pulled me close.
“I knew I could change your mind,” he chuckled. I didn’t miss the smug smile on his face.
“You didn’t know I could control lightning, did you?”
“I hope the next one hits you.” I rolled my eyes at his phony claim, inwardly relishing the feel of his arms and the comfort of his body beside mine. As if on cue, another bolt of lightning shot across the sky and sent the resulting thunder over the water and onto the beach; rattling my insides with its tenor.
“Careful Pasha, you never know what you might be capable of.” He grinned, leaning towards me and nuzzling my neck. “Burnt-to-a-crisp-Finn was not on the menu for tonight.”
“I’m pretty sure I can’t control anything that powerful,” I laughed his comment off and shivered at the feel of his breath on my neck.
“I beg to differ,” he whispered in my ear. As the warmth of his mouth met the rain-soaked skin of my neck, I closed my eyes and allowed myself to become lost in his touch. As his lips ran along my collarbone, I suddenly needed to feel them against my own. I leaned forward, pushing him off of me and against the rock. I let my knees slide on either side of him as he pulled me closer. I ran my fingers through his wet hair and clenched it tightly in my hands as I leaned down to kiss him. As the storm intensified, he ran his hands up and down my back as he pulled me against him and deepened our kiss, sending me into a world of sheer bliss. The energy of the storm had nothing on the energy and heat we were producing.
With his hands on either side of my waist, he put a slight distance between us; taking a moment for his eyes to linger on mine before they roamed down to my lips, along my shoulder and finally to the shirt that now clung to me, accentuating everything underneath. His hands migrated to the bottom of my shirt when his eyes met mine once more, before he pulled it up over my head and discarded it onto the rain-soaked sand. (Thank goodness I’d worn one of my more lacy bras.) His eyes drank me in as they widened slightly, and a sweet grin danced across his lips. Chills popped up on my skin as I tugged off his shirt, which ended up next to mine on the beach.
He slowly traced the skin around my bra with a light finger, sending even more chills down my skin. Once done, he leaned forward and his lips followed the same course; his tongue occasionally making an appearance, raking my insides with warmth. His teasing touch drove me insane as I felt myself swell for more beneath the lacy fabric. I reached back and unclasped my bra, slowly shrugged it off and slung it aside.
“Wow…” he muttered breathlessly. Nervous giggles escaped my lips, and I suppressed the urge to cover myself as I sensed my cheeks flush. “You’re so beautiful.”
He wrapped me in his arms, and the feel of his firm chest pressing against mine unraveled me. Every part of me suddenly came alive - warming and pulsing with desire. He kissed me softly and slowly, as his hands gently investigated the tender skin of my chest. As he cupped and caressed me, his kisses deepened and an intense feeling of closeness and safety warmed my heart. Allowing myself complete vulnerability to his touch, his acceptance, and his love freed me of the abusive words and judgments of my troubled past; healing something inside me I didn’t realize needed healing.
Feeling way too restricted by the heaviness of my soaked jeans, I stood. Never breaking his gaze, I slipped them off and kicked them aside. As he stood I noticed he was biting his lip, almost nervously waiting for me to make the next move. I grasped the waistband of his jeans and pulled him towards me. As I unbuttoned his jeans and let them drop to the sand, he tucked my wet hair behind my ears and smiled.
“I think I’ve had this dream before,” he smiled down at me, alluding to our last beach encounter on Shackleford Banks. I didn’t miss the way he stumbled over his words nervously. “I keep finding myself half-naked on a faraway beach with the most amazing girl in the world.”
“That’s funny,” I grinned. “I’ve had that very same dream!”
“On a faraway beach with the most amazing girl in the world?” he raised an eyebrow.
“Okay, so maybe there was one slight difference in my dream…” I giggled.
“Shew,” he wiped his brow. “I was starting to get worried there for a minute.”
My laugh came out a little too spastic, and I realized that our rambling was an effort to hide our nerves. But I was in uncharted territory, and I had no idea what I was doing. All I knew was that I didn’t want to stop. We gazed at each other in nervous silence, before he took a step towards me and his face turned serious. He wrapped one arm around me and swept me up into his arms, gently lying me back down on the sand. The chill of the ground below me was quickly erased by the heat of his body as he lay down on top of me. At the pressure of his weight, a sharp pain erupted beneath one of my butt cheeks and I cried out in pain. Finn jumped off of me so fast, I almost missed it.
“Are you okay? Did I hurt you?”
I searched for the sharp culprit beneath me and produced a sharp piece of something brown.
“I think it was just some wood,” I explained; catching my breath when I realized what I had just said. “I mean…not
