Page 4 of Wood Riddance
I didn’t know what I had expected. Maybe empty protein shakes and condom wrappers? Regardless, the person I’d eaten dinner with tonight was shockingly different from what I assumed all Heberts were like. They owned a rival timber company, and our grandfathers had had a falling out sometime in the 1950s, so I’d spent my life hating them. They were rich and entitled and thought they were better than the rest of us. While our family and others struggled to survive, the Heberts were flaunting their wealth, all while actively trying to buy out the other local timber companies.
Riding beside Finn down the lonely rural roads made me itchy and self-conscious. Maybe it was his confidence. Or maybe it was the way he carried himself. The straight military posture mixed with the bad boy tattoos and long hair.
“I’ve had a shit day myself,” he said as I sat perfectly still, keeping my focus locked on the road ahead. “Had to drive all the way to Bangor to sign legal paperwork. My ex, Alicia, is a lawyer.”
I nodded, not sure how to respond. We had grown up in the same tiny town. I knew Alicia Walker, his ex-girlfriend and the mother of his child. Her grandmother had lived down the street from my parents. They had hooked up when he enlisted in the Navy but had never married. There was all kinds of local gossip and speculation as to why. I’d always assumed it was because she realized he was a Neanderthal. She was a smart and motivated person. No wonder she’d become a successful lawyer and had left him in the dust. These days, the rumor was that she was engaged to another lawyer. Apparently, some people could find their happily ever afters. Just not me.
“You could try to make polite conversation,” he said, sounding annoyed. “Your manners leave much to be desired.”
“Newsflash. I don’t give a shit what you think of my manners. And being polite is overrated. Why is that the gold standard for womanly behavior? I have no interest in pretending to care about what you think of me.”
He whistled. “I guess it’s not a shock you got dumped, then.”
“Fuck off. Your commentary about my love life is unwelcome.”
“Only calling it like I see it, She-Ra.”
I rolled my eyes and went back to ignoring him, studying the lane markers on the road instead. His monster of a truck was beginning to get a little too small. Finn wasn’t just physically large. His booming voice and deep chuckle made his presence almost all-consuming.
I hated it. Or, more accurately, I hated how I felt around him. Off my game, on the defense, and out of my depth. No thank you.
Thankfully, he got the message, and once again, we rode in silence. Once we hit Lovewell, I busied myself directing him to my house.
He put the truck in park out front. “You live here?”
I nodded. My house was my sanctuary. A craftsman cottage on a neat acre, it had a white picket fence, a porch with rocking chairs, and my gardens in the back. It had taken years to save for and even longer to fix up, but it was mine.
I unbuckled my seat belt and reached for the door.
“We should do this again.”
I shot him a look. “Good one.”
“Why not? Because our families hate each other?” He cocked a challenging brow. “Who cares? We’re adults.”
I turned and studied his face.In for four, out for four.Finn Hebert already knocked me off balance. And his casual assertion that we should hang out only made me more nervous.
I leaned forward, watching as he bit down on his bottom lip.
“Because I dislike you. And, more importantly, because you couldn’t handle me.”
He stared at me for a long moment, the heat of his gaze making my body shiver. And then he slid his hand into my hair and gripped it tight before pulling my lips to his.
His lips were full and soft, in complete juxtaposition to his rough, strong hands. Both of which were in my hair.
He was hungry and intense yet gentle at the same time. A dizzying combination that kept me coming back for more.
A slight moan escaped my throat, and I angled closer, fisting his flannel shirt. What was hiding under this shirt was no secret. I saw this guy at the gym every day. His chest was broad and strong. Though the one mystery was whether he had chest hair, and suddenly, I was desperate to find out.
Fuck, this is bad.I hated Finn Hebert. I hated his family and everything he represented. But my body didn’t care. Instead, it ignored my brain’s plea to jump out of the truck and never look back.
I pulled away long enough to breathe before diving back in, reveling in the taste and feel of him. He groaned, letting one hand slide down my neck, his rough fingers teasing my skin.
My heart nearly jumped out of my chest at the sensation. I should have stopped. This couldn’t happen. I knew that, but I was already mentally figuring out how to get him into my house without my neighbors seeing. The last thing I needed was the town rumor mill kicking up.
But before I could form cogent thoughts, he pulled back and gave my hair a gentle tug, then released the strands. The glow of the dashboard illuminated his symmetrical face as I attempted to catch my breath. My heart was pounding like I’d run a marathon, and I swore my nipples had poked holes through my very expensive bra.
I looked up to find him grinning. Fucking grinning. Clearly pleased with himself that he’d almost made me orgasm on first base. As if kissing the shit out of me was somehow amusing to him. What a smug prick. I should have known he’d be like the rest of them. A taller, hotter, military version, sure. But he was no different from every other asshole I’d kissed in my life.
