Finn Read online

  He wanted Finn to like him, not just to lust after him. Groaning, Bryce tried to ignore his plumping cock and pushed those thoughts far away from his mind. Then he waited.

  It took a little while for his mate to process what Bryce had just said and to come up with an answer, and Bryce wasn’t sure if it was a good sign or a bad one.

  “If I give you this chance, what are you planning to do?”

  Okay, that was one baby step toward Bryce’s goal. He could work with that. “Well, I plan on asking you out on a date after I make sure you’re safe. Then we’ll see where it goes from there. I know it will take time for you to trust me, and I won’t push. I just want the opportunity to show to you what we can have together.”

  “A date?”

  “Yes. We can do whatever you want. That way we can get to know each other.” Finn thought about it for a while longer, and Bryce began to fidget in his seat. He was beginning to think that the Nix was going to say no. Maybe he had fucked up too much and Finn couldn’t forgive him. He couldn’t blame the man if he didn’t want to give it a try, not really.

  “If I say yes, you have to know that this will be your last chance. I can’t go through those last months again, Bryce. It was painful enough to go through it one time. If you hurt me again...”

  “I promise I won’t hurt you like I already did. I can’t promise I won’t fuck up again, and we’ll probably fight, but I’m serious about this. Just...have a little patience, okay?”

  Finn slowly nodded and Bryce’s heart just about stopped. Is he saying yes?

  “All right. I’ll go out with you and give you one last chance. If you cast me aside again or if you hurt me, I’ll leave.”

  “No, if I hurt you again, I’ll be the one to leave.” Of that, Bryce was sure. Not only had Dominic told him that he would be kicked out of the pride if he did, but Bryce couldn’t make his mate leave the only safe place he knew and his friends. He would rather leave everything behind than do that.

  They looked at each other, and for the first time since he had started dating all those years ago, Bryce didn’t know what to do. He knew he couldn’t kiss Finn like he would have done with any other date. Hell, he wasn’t even sure the fae would let him take his hand, but he had to try. They had to start somewhere, right? Bryce leaned forward, but just then Finn jumped up from the couch. Had he understood what Bryce was about to do and had wanted to avoid it? Maybe he didn’t want to have any type of physical contact with Bryce yet.

  “I, uh...” Finn crumbled back on the couch. “I don’t know what to do right now.” The Nix blushed, and oh, what a pretty look it was on his face. “I’ve never dated anyone, and I’m still scared to open up to you, but I also feel this need to get near you, to touch you, and I don’t know how to deal with this, and, oh god—” Finn groaned and buried his face in his hands.

  Bryce still saw that the red color on his cheeks had deepened, though, and he liked it more and more as the minutes passed. Finn had always seemed so timid and quiet when Bryce had seen him around the house, but right now he seemed overwhelmed by his feelings and flustered, and it made Bryce want to cuddle him.

  Bryce patted Finn’s knees, hoping the Nix didn’t take offense. “Hey, it’s okay, we don’t have to do anything you feel uncomfortable with. Just...tell me what you want and we’ll do it. When do you want to go out?” Bryce hoped it would be soon, really soon.

  Finn peeked in between his fingers, one lone green pool looking straight at Bryce before he slid his hands off completely and rested them on his tights. That brought Finn’s hand near to the one Bryce had on his knee, and he thought the Nix would push him away, but he stayed immobile.

  “I think we should wait until I move here, maybe?”

  “Of course. You know that if you need a hand to do that you can ask me, right?” Bryce didn’t want to let Finn go back on his own, but he wasn’t in a position in which he could tell him that, unfortunately, so the only thing he could do was offer his help. “And what did you have in mind? What do you want to do?”

  Bryce barely contained the growl that rose in his chest when Finn’s eyes dropped to his lips and his pink tongue came out as he licked his lower one. Bryce could see lust in the green eyes that were looking at him, and he realized then even though Finn was not a shifter, he was feeling the mating pull, just maybe not as strongly as Bryce. It made him wonder if his mate was a virgin. He had said that he had never been on a date after all, so maybe he had never had any serious relationships. Just the thought of being the one to initiate Finn to the pleasures of sex made all the blood in Bryce’s body pool in his groin as his cock went from half-mast to fully erect. He was going to have a serious problem hiding his erection to Finn if the Nix happened to look down at his lap.

  “Would a movie be all right? I’ve always wanted to go see a movie on one of those big screens, but I wasn’t allowed.”

  Bryce’s cougar growled at that, but he reined it in. He didn’t want to scare Finn away, not now that they were making progress. “Sure, a movie is fine.”

  Finn’s face was illuminated by his smile. “I’ll put a hat on so that the humans won’t see my ears!” Those pointed ears were so sexy that Bryce had had a fantasy or two regarding them, but he would never admit that. He let Finn rant on about the few movies he had seen with his friends in the mansion’s living room and Bryce listened to him, charmed by the enthusiasm the man was putting in this. Finn stopped mid-sentence and started biting on his lower lip, and Bryce sat straighter, knowing something was up.

  “What’s wrong, Finn? Do you have to go?”

  Finn shook his head. “No, Karun hasn’t called me back yet, but I don’t have much time. I’ve been here since this morning. No, I was wondering if, well...”

  “What?”

  “Never mind.” Finn jumped up and started for the door, but Bryce stopped him, grabbing his wrist as he passed next to him and stood up so that he could look at his mate in the eyes.

  “What’s wrong? I can’t help you if you don’t tell me.”

  “I was wondering if maybe we could, you know...” The end of the sentence was said so softly that Bryce couldn’t hear it, even with his shifter’s hearing.

  “I didn’t hear you.”

  Finn looked up at him, his eyes fierce as he grabbed Bryce’s nape and pulled him down, crushing their lips together and shocking the hell out of Bryce. The Nix’s lips were soft and hesitant, betraying his lack of experience as he stayed there, suddenly frozen in indecision. It seemed that his brief moment of rebellion had already ended, but Bryce wasn’t ready for their first kiss to end, not like this.

  Enclosing Finn’s face in his hands, he skimmed his lips on Finn’s, softly asking for entrance. When Finn didn’t react, Bryce nipped at his lower lip, earning himself a gasp and an opportunity to delve into his mate’s hot mouth. He tried to stay calm and not get carried away, but it was so hard, especially when Finn started to respond as Bryce caressed his mate’s tongue with his own. He coaxed Finn’s tongue into his mouth, sucking lightly on it before releasing it and stroking Finn’s gums and the roof of his mouth, learning his over’s mouth.

  Finn timidly started to explore, too, and he mimicked the things that Bryce had done to him. It was almost too much to stand, and Bryce was both relieved and sad when the kiss ended not long after that.

  His mate’s pretty face was flushed with arousal this time, his eyes glazed over, and he was feeling smug for being the one to put that look on his face. “You better go now. Go and pack your things.” Bryce sipped a few more kisses from Finn’s lips before letting him go, not daring to deepen them. He knew he would have a hard time releasing the man if he did that.

  To his surprise, Finn rose on the tip of his feet and gave him one last kiss before shimmering away and leaving him alone in his living room, stunned by what had just happened.

  Chapter Three

  Finn shimmered into the woods near the small gathering of houses his clan li
ved in. He needed a little time to think about what he had just done and to compose himself. It wouldn’t do any good if Karun or Leold saw him this flustered. That would only lead to them keeping a closer eye on him, and he couldn’t afford that if he wanted to be back to the mansion soon.

  Leaning against the nearest tree, Finn raised his hand to his mouth and stroked a finger on his lips. He still couldn’t believe he’d had the courage to kiss Bryce. Well, he had initiated the kiss, but then he had stopped, unsure of what to do. Sure, he knew the mechanics of it, so in theory he had known what to do, but actually doing it had been different. When his lips had met Bryce’s, his heart had just about exploded and his knees had gone soft, making it hard to stay upright. His brain had just stopped working as all of Finn’s blood gathered in his groin.

  Luckily Bryce had taken over, and Finn could swear he could still fell those soft and hot lips against his, the slick muscle of Bryce’s tongue exploring his mouth. That was when Finn had finally snapped out of it and really gotten into the kiss, when he had finally tasted his mate, and it had been heaven. No one should taste that good, it just wasn’t possible. It had been hard to step away when Bryce had told him to go, but he understood the cougar’s reasons.

  They would have gotten carried away if they had continued, and they would have ended up doing things that Finn might have regretted later. Sure, in that moment he had been ready to pull Bryce on top of him and kiss him some more before taking off their clothes and finally, finally, making love, but he knew he would have felt bad about it later. He wanted to trust Bryce when he said that he wanted them to mate, but his heart wasn’t completely convinced yet.

  Still, Finn hadn’t been able to resist giving his mate one last kiss before shimmering away. He couldn’t believe how good kissing him had been, and he wondered if it was always like that or if it had been special with Bryce because he was Finn’s soul mate. Not that he wanted to go and test that theory, and he hoped Bryce wouldn’t give him a reason to.

  Finn was so lost in his thoughts that he barely realized how cold the air around him was until the snow started falling again, the white flakes falling in front of his eyes distracting him from his thoughts. His clan lived deep into the Colorado Mountains, as isolated as it could be. Finn actually wondered why Leold wanted to stay here. It wasn’t like Nix had particular problems with the cold, but they did live better in a more temperate weather. He had never heard about clans living up north like they did, but then he didn’t really have contacts with anyone outside his clan, so it could be that he just didn’t know about it. He did know that most of the clans lived in isolation, both because it was easier to hide their slightly different physical appearance and because that way they didn’t have problems shimmering. It was mostly tradition, though, and most clans still lived where their ancestors had. It wasn’t like they needed to be near a town anyway, since they just had to think about where they wanted to go and they could be there in mere seconds. That made it easy to buy what they needed.

  Shivering, Finn finally decided it was time for him to get back home, for the last time. He wouldn’t miss anything there, and the fact that he wouldn’t have to come back made his heart so much lighter in his chest. With this move and the new developments with Bryce, he felt like he was starting a new life, and while he was scared of what would happen to him, he knew that he wouldn’t be left alone, not ever again.

  Walking in the snow, Finn stopped for a few minutes near the pond. It was close to the clan, since Nix needed water to survive, and as he dipped his hand in the freezing water he knew that this was the only thing he would miss. The mansion didn’t have a pond or anything similar, so he would have to do with a full bath tub. Even if it wasn’t the same as having a natural pond, it would be enough for him to survive, and he would have so many other things to make his life a happy one that he wasn’t worried.

  With a last ripple created by his fingers, he shimmered right into his small house. It wasn’t a house, not really. The cabin had only one cold room that contained a small bed, a dresser and some bookshelves on one side and a small table and a lone chair on the other. The tiny bathroom was on that same side. The cabin didn’t have electricity or heating, and the whole clan ate together in the cabin that was used as a common area. They grew their own food and used the pond for water. It wasn’t an easy life, but it was the only one possible here in the mountains, although Finn wouldn’t have minded having at least a lamp.

  Finn got the small bag he used in the summer to gather berries he found in the woods from under the bed, putting it on the table. Looking around, he knew he had to take only the things he really couldn’t do without. The bag was too small to contain much more than a few changes of clothes, and he knew the clan leader wouldn’t let him come back to get the rest. He also knew that Karun wouldn’t be happy to lose his personal punching bag, so he hurriedly folded a few pair of jeans and three t-shirts before stuffing them in the bag, putting four of his favorite books on top of them.

  After listening to be sure no one was round, Finn knelt on the wooden floor and got to work on the loosened board. That was where he had hidden his most precious possessions. It wasn’t much, but he had a little money he had managed to gather selling those berries, and three pictures of him and his parents. Then there was his mother’s pendant. It wasn’t anything expensive, just his mother’s initial twined with his father’s, but the two golden letters were the only thing he had left from them. It had been a gift his father had given her when Finn was born, and he had been the one to give it to Finn right before he died.

  Putting the board back in place, Finn rose to his feet and put the golden chain around his neck. He didn’t have a motive to keep it hidden now that he was leaving the clan, but he still slipped it inside his shirt, just in case. Giving one last glance around the small room that had been his home since he had turned eighteen, Finn concentrated on the mansion. He was about to shimmer out when the door opened and the clan’s second entered.

  Finn froze. He knew he had to get out of there, he knew it, he just couldn’t seem to be able to do it. Karun looked at him and took in the small bag in Finn’s hand.

  “What are you doing? It’s not the right season for picking berries.”

  Finn tried to think about a good reason he might have to justify that bag, but obviously he wasn’t quick enough, because next thing he knew a fist came flying at him, hitting him square in the jaw and making him see stars. He fell, his hand never letting go of his small bag, and landed against the wall, the impact making all the air in his lungs whoosh out of them.

  “What the fuck do you think you’re doing?”

  “I—I was just going to—”

  “You were going back to that cat, weren’t you?”

  Finn froze. How could Karun possibly know about Bryce? He had never told anyone he had found his soul mate or where he had been going all that time. Had the man followed him somehow?

  “Oh, no, you’re not. I was prohibited from touching you because you had to be intact for those human scientists, but if you’re going to offer your ass to a damn shifter, I’m going to be the first one taking it.” What? Karun wanted him in that way? Since when? Homosexuality wasn’t a problem for faes in general, so it wasn’t that that surprised Finn, rather the fact that the man in front of him had beaten him so many times without doing anything that could indicate he wanted to rape him. Finn didn’t have the time to think too much about that, though, because the second part of Karun’s speech finally reached his brain. They had given him to the scientists?

  The sound of Karun’s belt opening made Finn come back to the present situation. It took only one look at how the man’s hands were slipping in his pants to take his dick out for Finn to panic and shimmer out of the cabin without a specific location in mind.

  * * * *

  Bryce looked at the clock again and swore. Finn had been gone for five hours already, and not one of his friends in the pride knew where he was. It was
dark outside, the snow had really picked up, and Bryce was worried.

  He didn’t know how it was possible for him to care so much for Finn in so little time, but maybe it was just because the man was his mate. Or it could be because Bryce used to watch him when he was at the mansion and he knew Finn was sweet, affectionate and always willing to help, among other things. He really wished they could already be mated—at least then he would know if Finn was fine from his emotions, but he didn’t even have that, and it was only his fault.

  Bryce didn’t even know where to look. Finn could have decided to shimmer into any room of the house, and Bryce wouldn’t know it. It wasn’t like he could go and check all of them, and if that was what Finn had done, it meant that he didn’t want to see Bryce.

  Groaning, Bryce scrubbed his face with his palms and sprawled back on the couch. He didn’t even know where Finn’s clan lived. Even hoping the Nix had just decided to stay away from him, Bryce couldn’t help but worry that he’d had problems with his clan leader. From what he had gathered, the man didn’t like Finn, but that didn’t mean he would let him go without problems. Maybe Bryce could go and see if Dominic knew something more.

  He was about to get up when Finn appeared out of thin air right on top of him, emptying his lungs of the air they contained. Bryce made a weird squeaking sound and grabbed the fae around the hips before hauling him up and settling him back down on his lap once he righted himself. Finn was clutching a small brown bag and he was shivering, but the thing that really told Bryce something was wrong was the haunted expression of Finn’s green eyes. Crooning, he passed his hand up and down on Finn’s back, trying to sooth him as he gently took the bag from his mate’s hands and put it on the couch next to him.