Page 72 of Wood Riddance
Finn, the confident charmer, lurked in the corner, staring at me like he was some kind of savage animal biding his time until he could tear my clothes off.
I should have been offended—pissed off, even—at the brashness of his assessment. Instead, I was dizzy with lust and tamping down the urge to walk over there and stick my tongue down his throat.
Finn had always seemed like a good time. Energetic, funny, and self-deprecating.
But beneath that exterior was pure fire.
It blazed so hot it singed my skin from across the crowded bar.
I wanted to be annoyed.
I wanted to be furious.
But dammit, I was only turned on.
Chapter22
Finn
Alicia’s words swirled around in my head as I ambled up to the bar. I wanted more. I deserved more. But I feared I’d never get it.
Adele hadn’t responded to my texts, and I refused to become that desperate guy who sat around waiting for the crumbs she’d drop for me. She was skittish, I got that, but Jesus.
After our night in the woods, I expected more. I expected better.
We had connected. And not just physically. The sex had been phenomenal, yes, but the connection between us had been so much more than that.
We were adults. Not children. So this avoidance tactic of hers was pissing me off.
I didn’t, for even an instant, regret sleeping with her. Even in my maddest state, that would be impossible. Chastened was more like it. I should have known she’d ghost me.
So instead of spending time with my brothers, which had been the purpose of coming out tonight, I was watching Adele’s every move like a creep and sulking into my lukewarm beer.
Gus and Jude, though they’d never be mistaken for social butterflies, were at least playing pool and acting like humans. I leaned against the wall and tortured myself with thoughts of her.
At first, she was clustered near the bar with Parker Harding and Hazel and a couple of her brothers.
So I sat and watched her pathetically. She laughed, she smiled, she sipped what looked like rosé.
Her hair was down in a way I’d rarely seen it, and I itched to run my fingers through the silky strands. It hung down her back in a curtain with the slightest wave.
“What do you think?” Gus asked, elbowing me in the ribs.
I blinked at him, tearing myself from my Adele-induced stupor. “About what?”
“The proposal for the land.”
“He’s not even listening,” Jude said, checking his phone. “Cole’s on his way.”
“He’s in town?”
With a sigh, he shrugged, “I guess so. You know how he is. Goes where he wants when he wants, with no regard for the rest of us.”
I lost track of the conversation again when Adele wandered over to the dartboards with Dylan Markey.
Truly, I didn’t have any issues with the guy. As a neighbor, he was polite enough. He kept to himself, and he taught at Merry’s school. He was also Remy Gagnon’s best friend, so we’d never traveled in the same circles.
He was leaning in close to Adele, smiling as he chatted her up.
