Chapter 14

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

CATLIN

My thoughts are so scattered today that I can barely concentrate. Given that I spent most of the night staring at the ceiling; my current exhaustion isn’t helping my scrambled brain.

Finn…

He has consumed my thoughts today. Finnigan Evans. His promise of however long it takes. That kiss.

Ugh… that kiss.

My lips tingle just thinking about letting him kiss me again. Thinking about it—and how badly I want him to do it again—kept me up most of the night. It’s also what has had me so distracted that I’ve been drafting the same newsletter all afternoon.

A light knock on my office door startles me, but not nearly as much as looking up to find Finn standing in the doorway. “What are you doing here?” I gasp.

“I came to confess my sins.” He walks into the room and lowers his voice before continuing, “I couldn’t stop myself from coming to see the reason behind them.”

Members of the congregation don’t come up here to the offices. But of all of them, Finn definitely shouldn’t be up here. After spending all day thinking about him and wishing I could see him again, I can’t bring myself to tell him that he needs to leave.

With his eyes locked on me, Finn rounds the desk, eases my chair from beneath it, and spins me slightly toward him. He places his hands on the arms of the chair, boxing me in.

Both loving and hating the effect he has over me, I softly whisper, “Finn…”

Hovering barely an inch above me, his warm breath blows over my lips and ignites the tingle I’ve been imagining all day. Swallowing hard, I hold his gaze as he confesses, “I said I wouldn’t touch you, and I won’t. But you need to know, Cat, it’s the only fucking thing I’ve thought about doing since I left you last night. More than anything, I want to taste those lips of yours again.”

Closing my eyes, my heart pounds as I grant myself the one thing I’ve desired all day. “Then do it.”

With his weight braced on my chair, Finn dips his head and his lips dust against mine. He takes his time, kissing me gently and getting the taste he wants. Continuing to sample my lips, his fingers drag along my jaw before delicately circling my throat. I whimper against his touch when he ever so lightly tightens his grip. Smiling through our kiss, his words vibrate against my lips. “Not such a good girl after all.”

I’m not…

The things running through my mind right now are absolutely sinful, yet I feel no remorse for them. I don’t just want him to keep kissing me; I want to know what his lips and hands feel like all over my body.

What has he done to me?

As though he can read my mind, his hand slides down the length of my throat and over my shirt until he’s cupping my breast. Tensing slightly at his touch, I don’t push him away. I nod into our kiss, silently letting him know it’s okay. My nipples grow hard as he kneads at my breast, and my chest heaves with every repeated squeeze. The electric tingle his palm gives to my nipple travels straight between my thighs. I squeeze them together in a futile effort to calm this foreign ache he’s causing.

Pressing my palms against his chest, I lightly push him from me. He pulls his lips away without any hesitation. Still hovering just above me, he rubs his thumb along my jawline as he stands. As I not-so-innocently glance down his body, my eyes are drawn to the very large bulge at the front of his pants. “My thoughts aren’t limited to merely kissing you.” He adjusts himself.

Already flushed from our kiss, my cheeks grow hotter at his admission as I continue to stare at his tented crotch. There is a comfort in knowing I’m not the only one being tormented with need.

“I should go,” he husks. “I can smell how fucking wet you are. With how sweet you smell, it’s taking everything I have not to spread you across this desk and taste the rest of you.”

“You want to taste me”—I glance down at my lap with a gulp and back up to his searing gaze—“there?”

Apparently, there was a lot omitted in the limited sexual education I have received.

With a devilish glint in his eyes, he gravelly whispers, “I don’t just want to taste you, piscín. I want to feast on you until you’re screaming my name as you come all over my tongue.”

Staring up at him in silence, with my knees pressed tightly together, I’m clueless about how to respond to him. I blurt the first thing that comes to mind, “I’ve never done… anything.”

“Anything?” He cocks an inquisitive brow.

“Anything,” I repeat with embarrassment. Waiting has been instilled in me for a lifetime by my family and the church. It’s what good little Catholics do. Yet, I’m pretty sure I’m the only good little Catholic girl on the planet.

“I always thought I’d wait until I was married. I’ve never met anyone that made me think about wanting to.”

“Are you saying I make you want to be my naughty girl?”

My naughty girl?

“Your girl?” I clarify, trying to tame my excitement.

“Catlin O’Flaherty…” Leaning in, Finn slips his fingers under my chin and cups it. He places a soft, fluttering kiss against my lips. Staying a breath from me, his words vibrate across my lips. “You’re going to be mine, Cat. ”