Chapter Eleven
Lea couldn’t describe the things she was feeling. She had never felt this way before in her life. It was like she had woken up from a deep sleep, seeing the world for the first time. The trees were greener, the sky was brighter, her feelings and emotions were stronger.
And it was all because of Finn.
Of course, she would never tell him that. She didn’t even know where they stood in their relationship – therefore, it was best to keep her feelings to herself. For now, at least. Until Finn told her where he stood. She doubted he felt what she was feeling.
She didn’t care, though. She didn’t care what she felt and what Finn didn’t feel. She liked how their relationship had changed. And she wanted more. She needed more. Being apart from Finn was proving harder and harder as the day wore on, and Lea had to think of their night of bliss before she felt any better.
The incident with the rogue was far from her mind, and Lea realized that she was probably not dealing with the anxiety and fear that showed itself during that situation by just focusing on her night with Finn. She was solely focusing all of her energy on that moment. She knew that she was refusing to deal with the situation at hand, but she didn’t care.
She just wanted to see him. She needed to. She craved him more than she had craved anybody else.
Instead of focusing on channeling her energy into work, helping out the humans in her town, or doing anything productive, Lea seemed to walk around work in a daze. A sexually liberated daze, that is. She didn’t care, though. Even in that daydream like stance, she still did her job better than some. But she couldn’t get her mind off of Finn, and there was that weird feeling deep in her chest that constantly longed for him. Was that her wolf? No, that couldn’t be her wolf side. She had heard of wolves being possessive while still in human form, but she’d never felt a sensation like that. Now, as she went about her day, she realized what those shifters meant when they said the wolf was possessive and didn’t like to be away from the one they liked.
Lea didn’t like it, either. But she had to keep herself under control and not act like a sex-crazed lunatic. That was the last thing she wanted, and that was probably the last thing Finn wanted. Well, maybe it wasn’t the last thing Finn wanted…
“You’re not seriously working right now,” Lea heard a voice say behind her. She turned around with a smile on her face, immediately knowing who stood there. Her oldest brother, Owen. But he wasn’t alone. Her other two brothers, Zachary and Silas, stood with him, all three of them had their arms crossed.
For a second, she stood there in the middle of the hospital, wondering what they were talking about. Her mind immediately went to Finn, which was ridiculous. They couldn’t know about that. Could they? Even if they did, which was impossible, they wouldn’t be coming to the hospital and questioning her about it.
“What?” Lea asked, a bewildered look on her face. She stared at the three brothers, all of them looking like twins. Hell, she looked like she was their twin, too. All tall, blonde hair, tan skin, blue eyes. “What are you guys talking about?”
Lea looked down at the clipboard she was holding, which detailed the specifics of her new patient so that she wouldn't have to look in Owen's eyes. Owen always was able to get her to confess the truth. She couldn't stand to lie to her older brother. She guessed she admired him too much.
“Are you serious?” Owen asked her, looking as bewildered as his sister.
“Did you really hurt yourself?” Silas jumped in, concern evident in his voice. Lea looked up to see both of them peering at her with concern and a bit of annoyance in their eyes and posture. She still thought of Finn, and no matter what she did, she couldn’t think of anything else.
She had it bad.
"Seriously, I have to work," she finally said, shrugging her shoulders and raising an eyebrow. She needed them to say it first. No way was she going to blurt out she and Finn had sex if she didn't need to.
“You came to work the morning after a murderous rogue attacked you?” Owen asked, looking like he was going to carry her over his shoulders and force her to go home.
Lea almost breathed a sigh of relief. So that was what they were talking about. Not that it made it any better! She was too focused on everything with Finn that she refused to let herself even think of what happened with the rogue. She didn’t want to. If she did, she knew that she would fall down that dark spiral of fear and anxiety. And that was something she really didn’t need at this point.
“Oh…” Lea trailed off, writing down on the notepad some suggestions for medication and therapy her patient needed to better heal their torn muscle. She tried to busy herself with her work now that the thought of that rogue entered her mind again. She didn’t want that fear to return.
“Oh?” Owen stated, following her around the nurses’ desk as she walked to put the file down. Silas and Zachary stayed put on the other side, letting their older brother deal with their little sister. Lea could feel the disappointment radiating off of her brothers. She knew that they were worried, but did they really have to come to the hospital and track her down?
“Listen, it was scary and everything but I have to work, Owen,” Lea told him, turning around and looking him in the eye. He peeked at her with such concern that she almost reached out and pulled him into a huge hug.
“You didn’t even call us, Lei,” Owen quietly said, using her nickname. Lea sighed.
Her relationship with her brothers was difficult. They were all hotheads and incredibly protective of their little sister – which always lead to embarrassing situations and horrible memories. Lea kept her brothers away from her personal life as much as she could. She loved them with all of her heart, and she would do anything for them, but she couldn’t handle their protectiveness sometimes. It was like they still thought she was a little girl who couldn’t go outside without a parent or guardian.
If she was being honest with Owen, she would confess that she had been too busy having sex with Finn to update her brothers on what happened with the rogue. But there was no way in hell she was going to tell them that.
“I was so tired when I got home that I completely forgot.” Somewhat accurate, but a little white lie, nonetheless. “How did you guys even figure out?”
“Hann told us. He seemed surprised that we didn’t even know. We freaked out, started asking to see you. Hell, I thought you were dead until Hann reassured us that you weren’t hurt at all. We went to your house, to Hazel’s, to the gym, everywhere, until we discovered that someone as stubborn and boneheaded as you would probably be at work.”
“Well, thanks for that compliment.” Lea laughed, trying to break the ice between them.
“You should’ve called us, Lea,” Owen sighed, uncrossing his arms and running his hand through his shaggy blonde hair. “I don’t know what we would do if something had happened to you.”
Lea instantly felt bad. Even though she constantly felt pressured and childish next to her brothers, they were still her brothers. And they cared about her more than her parents did. They were really the only family that she had – and she needed to respect them more.
“I’m sorry,” she said, sighing and looking down in embarrassment.
“Are you sure you’re okay to be working?”
“I think I need to work. I need to get my mind off of the whole thing. When I’m home alone… well, I just need to make sure that I have something to take the whole thing off of my mind.”
A little white lie again, because Lea had only been thinking about what Finn’s hands had done to her last night. She hadn’t really been worried about the rogue. Finn was exactly the kind of distraction she needed. And, if she was lucky enough, he would be another distraction for her later on tonight.
“Lea, we need some help in room 34,” a fellow nurse called as she raced to where the monitors were beeping in a room down the hall. Lea nodded at her and quickly said goodbye to her brothers, squeezing Owen’s arm and she raced past him in her blue scrubs.
“We’ll talk later!” Owen called after her as she ran into the room to help the patient from cardiac arrest, the monitors beeping drowning out his words.
When Lea, got off of work and found out that she had three missed calls from Finn, her heart leaped in her chest. They hadn't really talked in the morning, as Lea had to leave for work early for her shift. She didn't go to Britta's class, and she felt bad trying to wake him up so early before she left. So, she had just left after writing him a quick note saying that she had work and she'd talk to him after.
Simple, without any sense of emotion. She wanted to guard her feelings a little bit longer. She wanted to know how he felt first.
The fear of him saying that they should never have sex again coursed through her. She knew that she wanted more than sex, as she couldn’t stop thinking about him, but she knew that she would just settle for more time with him. Even if he didn’t feel strongly about her like she was realizing she did for him, she still wanted to be with him. She still wanted him to make her feel like she did last night.
She had never felt like that. And she desperately wanted to again.
She decided that she was going to call him after she got home and showered. That way, she could invite him over and be ready for whatever would happen. However, her plan didn’t seem to pan out.
Because when Lea walked through Chez Alfie to grab a quick coffee and sandwich to go, she saw that Finn was sitting in the corner with a hint of a smile on his face. She had just ordered and was waiting for her food when she saw him. A smile lit up her own face, and when he saw this, his smirk turned into a full, megawatt smile. He was gorgeous without even trying.
Lea walked over to him, hating that her hair was in a sloppy bun and her body was covered with her blue scrubs. She wanted to look cute before she saw him. However, he didn’t seem to mind. She noticed him looking her up and down in an extremely obvious way, not even attempting to hide it, as she walked over to where he sat.
Sliding into a chair across from him, she settled her arms down on the table and leaned forward, smiling the whole time. Finn did the same until there were only a few inches of space in between them. Her heart leaped in her chest as she looked into his blue eyes.
“Hey, you,” he said. Chills ran up her spine, and she tried to act like his voice alone wasn’t affecting her as much as it truly was.
“Sorry, I ran out this morning,” she told him, the smile never leaving her face. “I had to work early.”
“You heading back home now?” He asked, that smirk ever present.
“Yep. Wanna come?”
That was all the invitation that Finn needed. When her order was called, they both jumped up to grab her to-go bag. Finn grabbed her hand and interlaced it with his own hand as they exited the café, making Lea’s heartbeat quicken in pace even more than usual.
It was good to know that he seemed to feel the same way as her. Well, when it came to sex, at least. She was still too nervous to bring up how she actually felt. She was so happy in that moment, with the sun slowly fading into night, hand er fingers interlaced with Finn’s. She didn’t want it to end, and she was worried that if she brought up her true feelings, Finn would back off. Especially if he didn’t like her the way she was desperately falling for him.
To hear the rejection would ultimately destroy her. So, she could live in whatever state they were living in for a little bit longer. It was worth the uncertainty to be with him. She just wanted to be around him, in any way that she could.
When they both got to Lea’s car, which was parked in the back parking lot, Finn took the to-go bag on top of her car hood and pulled her to him. Her lips instantly met his, and it was like fireworks exploded everywhere he touched her.
His hands gripped her lower waist as he gently pushed her back into the car door. Her arms found themselves wrapped around his neck, pulling him as close to her as possible. She wanted to feel every inch of his skin like she had last night, and she hated the distance their clothes gave them.
“I’ve missed you all day,” she told him in between kisses, sighing as if she was in heaven when he moved those kisses to her neck.
“I couldn’t stop thinking about you,” he responded in between kisses. “I couldn’t stop thinking about last night. I just wanted to see you.”
“Well, you’re seeing me now,” she smiled at him, making him get a wicked look in his eye before he met her lips again, the passion scorching her lips. “Let’s get back to my place.”
She didn’t want him to leave her grasp, and when he took the keys from her hands and signaled that he would drive them there, she felt the chilly air suddenly surround her. She quickly walked over to the passenger side, slamming the door behind her as she fell into the seat. Finn had the car started and was peeling out of the parking lot before she even had her seatbelt on.
Finn drove with one hand on the wheel, the other resting gently on her inner thigh. They both didn’t want to stop touching each other, and the thrill of all the fun they would have when they got to her place came rushing back. Lea couldn’t wait to repeat the fun they had, over and over again.
In what seemed like an hour, though Lea knew that it was probably closer to five minutes, Finn pulled up to her house. They both got out of the car, Finn grabbing the food that she had ordered last minute, and basically ran to the door, both of them giggling like little high schoolers that were doing something they weren’t supposed to do.
Maybe, if they both weren’t on some lust-fueled drive and had the time to stop and survey their surroundings, they would’ve seen that they weren’t the only ones in Lea’s house. But Lea was so caught up in Finn, her hands desperately searching for his body, that she didn’t realize there were people in her house until she heard someone yell from the kitchen.
Lea and Finn had just walked through the front door, and they both flung apart from each other as if the other had electrocuted them. The threat of rogues instantly flooded their system, and Lea felt like she was having a déjà vu moment, reliving the memory from only yesterday. All of the things she had been holding at bay seemed to come rushing back at her, leaving her in a frozen panic state.
Before her or Finn could act, the intruders came out to the entryway. Or rather, the three intruders.
Owen, Zachary, and Silas. Lea’s older brothers.
Lea instantly sighed with relief, her whole body sagging against the wall that she was leaning on as if all of the energy she had was spent in that moment of worry. Then, she slowly crept back to life, realizing that her three brothers, her three older brothers that were horribly protective to a fault, were now sizing up Finn, who looked like he’d rather be anywhere else in that moment.
“What the hell are you guys doing here?” Lea asked them, slowly walking away from the wall as she pushed the memories of the rogue at the gym from her mind. She couldn’t think about that right now. She had to save face and try to get her brothers away from Finn before they did something stupid and regretful.
Before they ruined this thing she had with him.
“Well, we didn’t feel good after talking to you at the hospital,” Owen told her, still eyeing Finn as if he was a germ that he needed to get rid of. “Especially when you said that you didn’t want to be alone because you were still so shaken up from the whole rogue thing. We thought that we would come and keep you company. Protect you like the older brothers we are.”
"First of all, you're changing my words." She sighed. "Or changing the meaning of my words. I meant that I like to stay busy, not that I want you guys to break in here!"
“Who’s this?” Zachary nodded at Finn, crossing his arms and staring him down. To Finn’s credit, he didn’t look scared at all.
Lea felt like he should. Her brothers didn’t really like confident guys to be around them. Well, not confident guys who were with their little sister.
If they knew what she and Finn did last night, he would already be on the ground, bleeding from every part of his body.
“You guys know Finn.” She laughed, crossing her own arms over her chest. She wouldn’t let them pressure her into anything. “He was also there last night when the rogue came.”
“Oh, really?” Owen took over the conversation again. “You two friends or something?”
“Finn isn’t from around here.” Lea stared at them, her voice low. She wouldn’t deal with their BS. Not tonight. “I thought it would be better to be friends with the other shifters here. Be more accepting than others.”
Owen seemed to get the hint, the little jab at their parents, and he nodded his head after a beat. After Owen relented, her other two brothers also got the hint that they should just let the whole thing good.
“Um, it’s nice to meet you guys,” Finn finally said, stepping up and shaking Lea’s brothers’ hands. He looked relaxed and not at all threatened, and Lea had to give him some credit. Most, even powerful shifters, had cowered from the aggression her brothers seemed to send in one form or another. Lea’s brothers all politely shook Finn’s hand, but they didn’t give him a smile or anything else to run with. Lea was boiling with anger and embarrassment by the time the whole thing was over.
“Can you guys leave now?” She finally asked them, tapping her foot and nodding to the door.
“Are you sure you don’t want us to stay?” Owen asked, clear concern on his face. Lea gave him credit for not looking Finn up and down in disgust that time.
“I’m fine. I’d just like you to leave.”
“Lei--”
“Leave. Please.”
With a few more glares and nods to the door, her brothers finally gave up and left, leaving her alone with Finn. The mood, however, had changed. The fear of not knowing who was in her house made the memories of all the horrible things that could've happened at the gym with the rogue last night. She didn't want to think of those things, especially because Finn was with her. She wanted to touch him, to caress him, to feel him all over. And she wanted him to feel her all over, his hands caressing her skin, and make her forget about all the horrible in the world. Just for a night, at the very least.
“So, those were your brothers, huh?” Finn asked. Lea looked over to where he stood with a smile on his face. She laughed and playfully hit him, causing him to catch her hand before it collided with her chest. He pulled her into him, quickly wrapping his arms around her and kissing her, picking up where they left off outside by her car.
Lea dropped the food she had ordered on the floor, realized that she left the coffee at the café, and sighed when Finn picked her up and walked her to her bedroom upstairs.