Even more so when my heart gives a little leap as he nudges me back, softly chuckling. “You play chess, Chess?”

I resist sticking my tongue out at him since Sean is watching with avid interest. “No. I admit, it’s over my head.”

“Then watch and learn, my friend.”

“I’ll watch, but all I ever see are pieces being moved around, seemingly at random.”

With a snort, Finn hunkers down and studies the board. The stern, absorbed expression on his face is adorable, and frankly hot. It’s even sexier when I realize he’s actually good, really good.

I lose track of time as he and his dad play with the intensity of men at war.

Eventually, I end up reclining on the couch to read. Without taking his attention away from the board, Finn puts my feet in his lap and rests one warm hand over my ankle. I keep reading, but I love it. I love that, ever so often, his thumb strokes my skin in an absent-minded but tender caress. Whatever is going on between us, I know that he isn’t angry at me. And some of the tension flows out of my body.

After dinner, I go back to the room and change into comfortable lounge pants and an oversized light sweater. Then Glenn, Emily, Finn, and I head for the family room to watch a movie.

“I feel like I’m in high school,” I say to Finn. “Watching a movie with a boy while his parents are in the other room.”

He gives me a knowing look. “You gonna let me cop a feel under the blankets?”

I don’t answer, leaving him to catch up, his eyes narrow on me.

The family room is a large but cozy space with a sectional couch near the back and two big recliners grouped together off to one side. A tumbled stone fireplace fronts the space.

“Where’s the TV?” I ask.

Glenn picks up a remote. “Right here.”

A movie screen starts lowering from the ceiling.

“Wow.”

“Finn’s last Thanksmas present to my dad,” Glenn says. “I’m still waiting for mine, the cheap ass.”

“Hey,” Finn says with a laugh. “I keep you flush in athletic gear.”

“You get that stuff for free.”

“Don’t listen to Glenn, Chess,” Emily says. “He wouldn’t take a gift like that even if Finn snuck it into our house on the sly.” She heads for a recliner. “My back is killing me.”

“Damnit, baby,” Glenn complains. “You know I like the couch.”

“Then snuggle up with Finn and Chess.” She relines the chair with a happy sigh. “Or would you rather carry this baby?”

“Yeah, because arguments based on total fantasy always work,” he grumbles and plops down in the other chair.

“Sucker,” Finn says, sprawling on the big corner of the couch.

I walk by him, intent on taking the opposite corner, when Finn reaches out and takes hold of my good wrist. And I pause, staring down at him. He doesn’t do anything more, his grip warm and secure, as he meets my gaze with steady eyes.

It’s my decision, whether I cuddle up with him or move on. If I tug on my arm, take a step, he’ll let me go. I sink down. And he moves with me, turning his body, tucking me at his side, my legs draped over his, my head on the couch pillow beneath his chin.

Neither of us says a word as he reaches back and grabs a thick throw to cover us. Nestled against the firm expanse of his chest, I don’t think I’ll ever be able to return to sitting alone. Not when he is near.

Finn grunts as if to say, about time, and then wraps his arm around my waist.

“What are we watching?” My voice is breathy.

“Die Hard.” Finn’s words rumble against my shoulder blades. “Christmas classic.”

“Come out to the coast, we’ll get together, have a few laughs…”

His lips graze the shell of my ear. “I promise not to blow anything up.”

Glenn messes with the remote again and the lights go low. I’ve seen Die Hard a dozen times. I know the lines by heart. I hear none of them now.

The room is dark, Glenn and Emily silhouettes against the screen. Tucked on the couch, Finn and I are in another world. I can’t even pretend I’m watching the movie. Images flash, words are spoken, but my attention is on the man next to me.

He shifts a little, moving his body so that we’re fully spooning. The wall of his body is rock hard yet it melds against mine, warm and comforting. Or it would be. Only my awareness is too keen now, moving in little flips through my belly. Something stiff nudges my ass, and I stiffen.

“Is that…” My voice is a ghost in the dark.

But he hears it. “Yes,” he says at my temple. “You get near him and he wants to say hello.”

Ducking my head, I smile into the pillow. The devil in me has me arching my back just a bit, pushing my ass into his hardness.

Finn grunts low in his throat. His hand spreads wide over my belly, holding me still. So slow, it’s barely a movement, he rocks against me. The rest of our bodies lay absolutely still. Oh, but my heart beats like a mad thing, violently pumping within my breast.

Finn’s breath chuffs out as if he can’t quite control it. His lips rest on my hair. “God, you smell good. You always smell so fucking good.”

It’s such a low murmur, I barely hear it over the sounds of the movie.

“It’s the coconut oil I used for my skin,” I whisper back, pretending everything is casual, that my sex isn’t starting to throb and my breath isn’t growing light.

Finn breathes in deep, lets it out slow. “It’s you. All you.”

A shudder wracks him, and he seems to go tight all over, as if he’s trying to hold onto his control. The hand at my belly stroking now, slow, small explorations.

My breasts grow heavy, my nipples drawing tight. I draw in a breath, let it out. The screen grows blurry. I can’t think.

Finn’s hand slips beneath my shirt. His fingers are rough with callouses but feather light against my skin. A ripple of pleasure dances over me, and I suck in a breath, silently urging him on. Up and down he traces, the edge of his thumb touching my belly button, the tip of a finger glancing along my waistband.

His hand moves higher, and the blunt end of his thumb grazes the bottom curve of my breast. We both freeze. The shudder that moves through Finn is almost violent. His thumb presses into my bare breast and he shakes again, a near-silent groan leaving him.