Page 21 of Heir of Fire
He ran like a coward up to his room, making his way into the shower. The water was cold, but he needed it. It shocked his entire system for a few seconds as he worked on fixing his breathing so his body could relax. Eventually, he was able to and soon the cold water felt refreshing on his feverish skin.
That was exactly what he needed.
Until pink lips, blue eyes, and blonde hair entered his mind. His brain had to be completely rotten for him to be sitting there thinking about his sister’s best friend the way he was. A girl he had known for years, and a girl he hadn’t even looked at in that way ever before in his life.
But now that was all that consumed him.
Finn needed to stay as far away from her as he could. He needed to make sure he didn’t look at her, didn’t talk to her, didn’t even breathe in her direction. The next thing on his list had to be looking for an apartment. He would talk to Luna and Valerio about getting some money so he could get a place far enough away from this house so he could escape the bullshit.
Maybe that would solve it all. Once he moved out and they weren’t forced to be under the same roof anymore, he wouldn’t be stuck in his current predicament.
He let his shoulders relax for a moment, but the raging hard-on between his thighs stood as stiff as ever. When was the last time he had fucked someone? Months ago?
That could have been another reason for why he was so pent up. He hadn’t had a good fuck in so long. That was going on his list too. Finding an apartment and someone to fuck. Both things would get his mind back in order, he was sure of it.
He got out of the shower, unwilling to let himself get anywhere near his dick while Gianna was still swirling his mind. That was a cliff he wasn’t willing to jump off.
Finn dried off before walking over to his closet, throwing on black jeans and a black hoodie. It was warm enough that he wouldn’t need much else for his ride tonight. He laced up his boots and walked out of the room, keeping his steps light.
All he needed to do was head straight for the stairs and grab his bike to get away for the night. As long as he could do that, he would be fine.
But a weird tingling started at the base of his spine when he realized that she might have been home. Her door was at the very end of the hall, two doors down from his. One of the rooms between them was occupied by Blair and the other was an empty guest room that had been used by Augustus once upon a time. It was a blessing that there was so much space keeping them apart.
If he turned around, he could get to it in a couple of quick steps, which would be a horrible idea. She had either gone out with everyone else, or she was sleeping—considering how late it was into the night—so it was a good idea for him to mind his own business either way.
But his legs seemed to have a mind of their own.
He shouldn’t have felt so giddy walking up to her door. He leaned in to see if he could hear anything. It was silent. Not a single thing could be heard.
Perfect chance to walk away.
Instead, he grabbed the doorknob and twisted it open. One look to see if she was home or not. It was a good enough excuse in case anyone asked him what he was doing. Or perhaps it was just good enough to convince himself.
The door squeaked slightly as he pushed it open. His eyes found the bed instantly and saw a body there.
She was home then. She hadn’t gone out with everyone else.
There didn’t seem to be any movement to indicate that the sound woke her, so he took that as his chance to enter fully, once again surrounded by all the pink and white in the room. She had a small flower night light plugged into the wall beside her bed that lit only that small corner of the room in a warm light.
It was …cute.
She laid on the bed, nearly buried under the pile of blankets she had. Her eyes were closed, and her lips were slightly parted.
She was fine. He was good to leave.
But he stayed standing there, looking at her. Despite her hair being blonde, her eyelashes and eyebrows were still darker. They stood out on her pale skin. Completely makeup-less, he could see the small freckles on her face, how they traced up her forehead, over her nose, and even onto her chin. Finn even noticed the small mole by the side of her nose. He could see just how pink her lips really were and that she didn’t always have that aggressive bite to her. She could be serene and peaceful like she was at that moment.
He realized just how close he had gotten to her. The strawberry smell from whatever perfume or lotion she used was stronger now, as if she had just put it on.
Finn looked up at the ceiling, letting out a long sigh. What the fuck was he doing?
“Finn?”
His head snapped over to where her groggy voice came from. Gianna’s brows were furrowed as she squinted at him, trying todecipher if he was really there or not. She sat up, rubbing her eyes as Finn moved back.
Shit.
“What are you doing here?” she asked.
