His fingers moved inside her, stroking rhythmically, following her cues until a rip-roaring orgasm shattered through her and she melted into his arms, panting as if she’d run a hundred-yard sprint.
Picking the soap back up, he worked up a lather on his own skin. “That’s why my showers take so long.”
She looked up at him like he was nuts. “Because you’re sneaking up on sex-coma’d women and transforming them to a state of permanent orgasm?”
He grinned, running the soap down his long limbs. “Because I’m brainstorming the many ways I want to elicit that steamy look in your eyes.”
Rinsing out the last of the conditioner, she rolled her eyes and lived the perma-smile to go with the perma-orgasm that was going to follow her around all day.
Grabbing her towel from the ledge, as she had yet to invest in a towel rack, she wrapped it around her. She pulled another from the cupboard and set it out for Finn.
Heading out, she grabbed a favorite pair of jeans and an airy tank from her piles against the wall. She considered making the bed, but accepted it was going to get messed up again before he left. Instead, she headed for the kitchen and set the coffee pot to brew.
She pulled out two stoneware mugs that she’d picked up from one of the local shops; the beginnings of her eclectic dishware design. Opening the fridge, she pulled out a package of eggs, tomatoes, diced green chiles, and… Oo, she’d almost forgotten about the read-to-eat chorizo she’d bought at Halseth’s.
As she set the pan on the stove, she heard a vigorous knock at the door. Freezing, she held her breath, hoping they would give up and go away. Then a key in the front door. Crap. She knew she should have changed the locks when she moved in.
Breezing in like she still owned the place, Patricia hummed as she carted in a paper bag that smelled of Hattie’s breakfast sandwiches. Sharp Tillamook cheddar, sausage patties, fried egg, and sourdough bread. The scent almost made Haley happy to see her mother. Almost, but not quite.
“Oh, I’m so glad you’re up. I thought we’d have breakfast together.”
“Mother. Hi. I, uh, now’s really not a good time. Maybe tomorrow?” She forced her eyes not to wander toward the main bedroom, willing Finn to stay away.
“Nonsense. You haven’t even started to make your… concoction yet. You can put that all back in the refrigerator and make it tomorrow instead.”
The coffee pot chimed its success. Patricia’s eyes went to the pot and saw two mugs waiting. “Hattie must have let you know I was coming and had forgotten coffee. What would I do without that woman?” Haley bit her tongue before uttering,starve to death?
“Really. Mother. Patricia. Not a good time. I will call you later.”
“I was hoping you could show me how your vlog is coming along. I haven’t seen any videos posted yet, so I wasn’t sure if you were still serious about that.”
“That’s because I’m making a series before I post them, so I know I have something worth watching.”Please don’t come out here. Please at least have clothes on if you do, she silently willed Finn.
Her phone was on the counter. She snatched it and went to send him a text. Ha. Telepathy had nothing on the modern era of technology.
Shit, too late. Finn limped down the hall, his knee still sore from last night’s activities. At least he was wearing pants, if not a shirt or shoes…
He froze when he saw Patricia, then pasted on a smile and kept walking, playing down the limp as he came closer. “Dr. Mallory. Hi. It’s nice to see you.”
Her spine shot ramrod straight. “Mr. Halseth. Well. I was not expecting you to be here. With my daughter… in such a state.”
“Mother,” Haley chided. The woman didn’t possess a tactful bone in her body.
Patricia powered on, “I guess I didn’t realize that Haley and you were in a relationship.”
No stranger to Patricia’s rudeness, as he’d mentioned before from growing up as a good friend of Grady’s, he powered on, equally unaffected. “Wow, Dr. Mallory, that smells great. How is Hattie?”
“She is doing very well, thank you. Now—”
He peeked in the bag, then moved to the coffee pot and filled the mugs Haley had set out. “Dr. Mallory? Care for a cup?”
Did he just invite her mother for coffee? Haley shook her head, tempted to stomp her feet and plug her ears at the crazy surrounding her. “Mother. As I said, now is not a good time. I have company. If you’d like to come for breakfast another time, that’s wonderful. I’ll call you later and arrange something. For now, please. You absolutely cannot stay, especially if you’re going to be rude to my guest.”
Huffing, Patricia adjusted her silk scarf and let Haley walk her to the door. She stopped with her hand on the knob, then rested a fist at her side again. Whispering in an I-know-he-can-hear-me voice, Patricia started on the real lecture. “Haley. This isn’t like you, hooking up with someplayboy. You don’t know how many women he must have slept with, a hedonist showboat gallivanting across the country. He’s no more trustworthy than Nate, maybe worse. If you’re looking to date again, I know some wonderful men your age.”
Haley reached around and opened the door for her mother. So humiliating. “Later.”
Turning, she found Finn munching one of the breakfast sandwiches, coffee at his side, sitting on the fireplace hearth, as there was no place else to sit.
