The gondola clunks over a support beam, and my legs give out with the motion, so I sink onto the narrow bench, my head falling into my hands.
“I fucked up again,” I admit roughly. “Just forget it. My mess isn’t yours. You should be thinking about your run, not me.”
Her small, determined hands pry my fingers apart, and before I can form another thought, Alaina climbs into my lap, settling her weight against me like she belongs nowhere else.
“You were never mediocre, Finn Greer,” she whispers fiercely, eyes blazing through the damp strands of her hair. “Not a single day of your life. And you never will be.”
Her arms wrap around my neck, drawing me into her, chest pressed tight against chest. We’re both soaked from the rain, but all I can register is the searing warmth radiating from her body, thawing every frozen part of me.
Just a few soft words and a hug I didn’t know I was desperate for is all it takes. The armor cracks wide open, and the walls I’ve carefully built collapse into rubble. I’m left raw, vulnerable, and utterly hers.
She makes a gentle shushing sound, fingers moving slowly, soothingly at the back of my neck. Each soft stroke dismantles me further, and I let it happen.
I lean back slightly, needing to see her face. She wears her emotions openly, fiercely, even when she fights to hide them. She feels so deeply, and every bit of it is written across her expressive face.
My chest tightens painfully. I grip her wrist gently and guide it over my heart, willing her to understand. To see clearly that every beat echoes her name, and that each breath I’ve taken since she stormed back into my life has been filled with a hunger I shouldn’t feel but can’t ignore.
My hand trembles slightly as I tuck the wet strands of her hair away from her face, the soft curls clinging stubbornly to her temple. She hiccups softly, her vulnerability and strength entwined so perfectly I can’t help but smile, really smile, for the first time in weeks.
My baby girl.
“You’ve always had the most beautiful eyes,” I breatheout, my thumb grazing her cheekbone. It’s reckless, dangerous, but I’m too far gone to stop.
I’m already fucked, and right now, the risk feels worth every painful consequence barreling toward me.
Our lips are hovering just a breath apart when she murmurs softly, “Luc.”
My heart drops violently, eyes locking onto hers with confusion and a bitter twist in my gut. “My name’s Finn, Al.”
She gives a shaky, embarrassed laugh. “I know. But… I kissed Luc.”
“Yeah,” I rasp, jealousy roaring up inside me again. “I saw. Thanks for reminding me.”
She shifts, her cheeks flushed. “I just… I like him.”
The sting is sharp and self-inflicted because I’m the one who pushed her away and handed her to him.
I lean in again, close enough to share each shaky breath. My voice is ragged with want. “Tell me whether you’re still thinking about him when I’m done kissing you.”
I hesitate there, barely holding back, waiting for her rejection, her retreat. Waiting for her to end this madness, but instead, she closes the distance, claiming my lips like she’s been starved for this as much as I have.
She steals my breath, my senses, and whatever shaky bit of control I had left.
And I’m gone.
Every line I’ve ever drawn or promise I made myself dissolves completely as her mouth crashes against mine. It’s not gentle or cautious, but desperate. It tastes like a last chance and a first breath all wrapped in one.
She sinks into me, her fingers threading urgently into my hair, pulling just enough to rip a harsh breath from my lungs. My kiss deepens, becoming thorough and possessive as a groan rumbles from my chest. Raindrops andadrenaline mingle on our tongues. Defiance. Fire. And beneath it all, a sweetness that’s uniquely hers.
My hands grip her hips, anchoring her against me, and she moves with me like we’ve done this a thousand times. Our bodies already know the script our minds have been too scared to read.
I groan into her mouth, and she answers with a soft whimper.God,that sound makes me want to ruin her for every other kiss for the rest of her life.
I tilt my head, deepen the kiss, and she gasps when I bite her bottom lip. I chase the sound, swallowing it down like it belongs to me.
She grinds against me again, her ragged exhale spilling across my lips.Fuck.This woman.
My gaze flicks up to the roof. I’ve ridden this line enough times to know that Les Gets doesn’t have cameras in their cabins, but still, I check.
