Navy Blue - A Second Chance Romance (Complete)

Navy Blue: Chapter 35

To pass time, Max suggested they watch a movie, a spy thriller. Emily never got the gist of the plot because with the volume down low, they'd talked about Finn for over two hours. Max loaned her a long-sleeved zip-up hoodie to replace her rain-soaked jacket. There wasn't much they could do about her damp dress. After two cups of piping hot tea, her teeth finally stopped chattering.

Finn returned a little past eleven and the sleepiness threatening to close Emily's eyes vanished like a shooting star. "I'm done."

Emily met him halfway, their hands linking together naturally like it hadn't been eight long years apart. "Can you leave the base?"

"Yes." A deep ocean locked eyes with her. "Why?"

"Thought we could talk at my apartment. More private there." The ocean swelled and Emily knew she'd have Finn all to herself soon. Heat bloomed under her hoodie.

He thanked Max for staying with Emily and they made their way off the base. She tried not to dislike the sailors who stopped Finn to chat or ask a question. Unlike the one-word answers she'd witnessed the last few weeks, he took the time to acknowledge each person and attend to their requests. Here was Finn in his element, comfortable and confident.

Holding her hand in the back of a cab, he turned silent. She was dying to ask what he was thinking but knew she wouldn't get much of an answer in front of a stranger. A warm hand landed on the small of her back as they walked through the lobby of her building, sending trickles of electricity through her. In the elevator, his palm glided along her waist, tucking her into him. Her fingers played with the hem of his shirt, desperate to inch under the material and retrace lines she'd felt pressed against her when they'd kissed.

"This is me." The keys in her hand shook as she twisted them in the lock. Finn's nose nestled in her hair, and she felt his chest inflate. His warmth called to her, and Emily had to restrain herself from leaning into him. Instead, she forged forward, opening the door.

Once inside, everything in her apartment was the same, yet different. How many times had she dreamt of Finn in this space with her? Eating breakfast at the kitchen table. Sitting together watching a movie in the den. Sharing her bed. Now he was here, filling her foyer, an expression on this face that made her thighs tingle.

"I need to get out of these wet clothes." She wove her fingers in his and led him further into the apartment. "Maybe take a shower."

Finn seemed to consider her wet attire for the first time, eyes laced with concern. "You should have come straight home."

"I wasn't going anywhere without you." Even on her tiptoes, her lips barely managed to touch his dipped chin. "Make yourself at home."

She meant to retreat, to sink back down to her normal height and walk away. The heat of Finn's palm on her cheek kept her perched.

"Em." His lips on the corner of her mouth, the single syllable of her name, the closeness she'd craved for years, broke the flimsy self-restraint she barely held on to. Arms flung around his neck; she turned the innocent gesture into an indecent kiss.

Finn didn't stop her. Hands on her waist, he stoked the flames of her desire, crushing her against him. His tongue danced with hers and she grappled for more purchase on him, aiming to get closer. In understanding, or his own need, he scooped her off the floor like she didn't weigh an ounce.

She anchored herself, wrapping her legs around his waist. "Down the hall." Coming up for air she got her bearings. "My bedroom."

Cool air skimmed across her fevered skin as Finn moved them through her apartment. She clung to him like a spider monkey, relishing being transported with those sturdy limbs supporting her. Head on his shoulder, she absorbed his scent and the salty taste of his skin as she sucked on his neck. His teeth nipped at her shoulder in return.

They should be talking. She should be explaining to him what she'd learned from Mary. Straighten the past out. But words seemed impossible in the haze of Finn. Words could wait. She'd spent her life living on words. In and out of the courtroom. Right now, she needed to speak through action. Needed Finn to talk with his body. Like her life depended on it.

"Where's the light?" Finn murmured in her ear.

"Put me down." A growl rumbled from his chest like she'd suggested the exact opposite of what he wanted to do, but her feet hit the chill of hardwood.

Golden hues from the city's lights cast long shadows in her bedroom. Knowing the way to her bed in her sleep, Emily guided them across the room and flicked on the lamp on her bedside table.

Finn stared down at her through hooded eyes. "Are you sure?"

"If you don't want to..." She inched away.

Fingers dug into her hip, and he tugged her forward. "Never doubt my wanting you." His mouth possessed hers, proving his declaration. His want pressed into her abdomen and her thighs tightened. There was far too much clothing between her and Finn.

With a little struggle, she stripped off his jacket. Pressure on his shoulders set Finn down on the edge of her bed. This was better. Eye to eye. She crawled onto his lap, one leg on either side and settled herself against the growing bulge in his pants. The connection was only momentarily satisfactory. Her fingers once again found the hem of his T-shirt but this time she removed the article of clothing, exposing his bare chest.

"Oh," slipped from her lips. He'd been lanky last time she'd been this close to him. Now those long limbs had more definition, hard lines and firm muscles probably earned through the riggers of his life in the Navy. She lightly ran her finger across his skin, causing goosebumps to form. Her journey halted before it hit an irregular circle on his right shoulder that hadn't been there before, afraid to touch it.

He took her finger in his hand, and they traced the irregular circle together. "Gunshot wound." Shot. Finn lived in a world where he'd been shot. Was it the incident in Condar? A shivered ran through her.

Finn wound a lock of her hair around his finger. "Doesn't hurt anymore."

With a soft kiss on the buckled skin, Emily's heart ached. For the pain of his wound. For the danger of his job. For not being able to comfort him when he'd needed her. There was too much she didn't know. Years he'd lived, adventures he'd had. Without her. Because of Mary. Emily shoved that train of thought into a box and sealed it shut, focusing on the here and now.

She met his gaze and added determination to her voice. "You'll tell me about this later."

Bright blue eyes flashed interest. "If you want."

Emily's hand drifted south and settled over his heart. "I want to know everything."

The long muscles in his neck flexed and he nodded.

Emily continued exploring her treasure map, but soon ran out of accessible territory. She shifted off his lap, Finn's fingers seeming to not want to let her go. Never losing eye contact, she slipped her hands under her damp dress and wriggled out of her underwear. Finn's gaze watched them drop to the floor.

Then she waited.