CHAPTER FORTY-ONE
Finn held my hand up above where his head lay on his pillow. He played with each of my fingers. “What’s your favorite color?”
“Sky blue,” I whispered.
Our feet twined together under the covers.
We were bare under the sheet, but there was no fooling around this evening. Tonight was just for us.
“Why sky blue?”
“Because it matches my eyes.”
He snorted. “Now who’s proud?”
I shrugged, our shoulders rubbing together.
He questioned, “What was the name of the first boy you kissed?”
“I actually kissed a girl first.”
His gaze flicked from my fingers to my face. “I didn’t know that about you.” His gaze held interest—of the sexual sort.
“Not like that. I’m straight,” I clarified. “But I was five and had just witnessed my parents kissing. And not the little love pecks they give one another in public. I was curious, so I kissed my best friend, Milly. When I stuck my tongue in her mouth, like my parents had done to one another, she screamed and ran away.”
Finn snorted. “I’d like to see baby pictures of you. I bet you were adorable.”
“Mother has plenty,” I assured him.
He turned his attention back to my fingers and continued playing with them. “What’s your favorite number?”
“Eleven.”
“Why?”
“It looks pretty when you write it.”
“Hairy or smooth chests on men?”
“Smooth.”
He didn’t ask me why since his chest is nice and smooth.
“Favorite season?”
“Spring.”
“Any particular reason?”
“I feel hopeful during that time of year when everything is beginning to bud.”
He nodded his head in agreement. “Favorite drink?”
“Alcoholic or non-alcoholic?”
“Both.”
“Vodka. Raspberry tea.”
He turned to face me, holding my hand between our bodies. “Do you think you’ll love me one day?”
“Oh, yes. I’m falling hard already.”
“Will you marry me…one day?”
“I’ll probably need to before I turn twenty-five.” My brows rose. “Unless you think I could make it in the Corporate Army?”
His shoulders shook. “We should probably focus on working through a contract with your father…one day.”
“Yes, agreed.” I leaned forward and kissed the tip of his nose—just because I wanted to and he was mine. Then I settled my head back onto my pillow. “Now, ask me something silly.”
“Have you ever farted in a store, and then walked away really fast so anyone who came in wouldn’t know the stench was from you?”
My lips trembled. “Ask me something boring.”
Finn chuckled so hard his eyes crinkled at the edges. “How many times, my precious Mina?”
My cheeks flushed. “There might have been more, but I just remember this one specific time when I was out with Mother. She was complaining a lot that day, and I was getting frustrated. So in an act of retaliation, I let a silent one go right near one of her friends. Then I blamed it on her. She was mortified for the whole next month. She wouldn’t even go to any parties.”
He lifted one white brow. “Did you eventually apologize?”
“I did. I felt horrible forever.”
Knock, knock.
Our heads turned to the bedroom door, the soft knock too timid for an intruder. And Finn would have heard this person a long time ago entering his house.
Finn murmured, “You can come in, Cass.”
My eyes instantly softened as he came in.
The seer looked like hell.
He scratched at his unshaven jaw, his voice quiet. “Just letting you know I’m here. But if anyone asks if I’m here, I’m not.”
Finn nodded. “Okay. Are you hungry?”
His features scrunched in revulsion. “No.”
I sighed and held the blanket close to my chest and sat up. “Cassander, come get in bed with us.”
Finn didn’t argue, watching his friend.
Cassander’s eyes grew wide. “Um…no thanks.”
I waved a hand in the air. “Not for sex, silly. Just get in bed. Lay on Finn’s other side. There’s plenty of room for you.”
Cassander hesitated, peering at the white tiger. “Are you okay with that?”
“Yes. But grab that shirt over there and toss it to Mina.”
Cassander tossed the shirt to me, and then muttered, “I’ll be back in a second.”
When he walked outside the bedroom, I dropped the blanket and pulled the t-shirt over my head. The bed hugged my curves as I flopped down. I turned on my side to face him and pressed my feet against his. I ordered, “Ask me short questions.”
“Low?”
I chuckled. “No, I hate having to bend down.”
“Skinny?”
“Not too skinny.”
“Jasmine?”
“Sometimes.”
My eyes flicked down to the end of the bed when a silver fox jumped on the mattress. I stared. “Oh my, Cassander, however will you fit on such a large bed?”
The fox bared its tiny teeth at me and then proceeded to walk up Finn’s leg to his hip. There he lowered himself, wiggling his hind legs to get comfortable.
The fox’s steel gray eyes flicked back and forth between us.
Finn snorted. “One or two?”
“Two,” I replied.
The fox chomped his mouth once.
My lips twitched. One day, he would heal.