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Before he could say a word she darted off, swerving around the other couples on the dance floor.
Finn scrubbed a hand over his face. Okay. Maybe he should give her more time. The problem was, he couldn’t abide her thinking she meant nothing to him. He was beginning to realise he’d made another huge mistake in not going after her sooner. But he’d been broken and he’d wanted to be whole. For her.
Oh, to hell with it.
Finn caught her up halfway to the exit, mid-throng.
‘Oh, no you don’t,’ he said, swerving to block her path. She looked up, all flushed cheeks and wide eyes. Yet he couldn’t decide if she was astonished that he’d chased her or that he was garnering them an audience.
‘I’ll follow you to the far ends of the earth, Serena.’
As for the onlookers—if he had to unveil the real Finn St George to the world, show them the vulnerable man beneath to win her back, so be it.
‘You’re not getting away from me this time. I let you run once because I was scared, but I won’t make the same mistake twice. I’ve made too many mistakes with you and I’ll be damned if I make another.’
Finn would swear he could have heard a pin drop.
Until she breathed, ‘Scared?’
‘Terrified. But I’m not any more. I love you. You hear that, baby? I. Love. You.’ Then, in front of hundreds of guests, he cupped her astounded face in his palms and kissed her with everything he was. With all the love in his heart and the need roiling inside him. Until neither of them could breathe and her shock gave way to desire. To the incredible bond he could feel pulling at his soul.
‘Tell me you feel this,’ he whispered over her lips.
‘I...I feel this.’
‘This has never been a lie, beautiful.’
Now came the hard part, he acknowledged. Convincing her that he meant every single word.
* * *
Dazed and disorientated, Serena suddenly found herself being lowered to her feet beneath a secluded pergola in gardens enchanted by moonlight. The wolf whistles and the roar of the crowd still rang in her ears and her lips were swollen from the wild crush of his ardour...
‘Did you really just do that?’ He’d kissed her in front of everyone. She was sure he had. Then he’d carried her out of there. He must have.
Sucking in air, she inhaled the minty scent of dew-drenched leaves as Finn took a step back, his eyes dark with desire, gleaming with intent.
Heat skittered through her veins. She felt hunted, and it was the most sensational, awesome, stupendous feeling in the world. If only her pesky inner voice would cease whispering doubt because she’d been seduced by his charm before.
‘Finn? You do realise that come tomorrow morning the whole world will know you’ve just told me...’ She still wasn’t sure she’d heard him right. Or perhaps the truth of it was she couldn’t bear to hope. To dream.
‘That I love you? Good. It’s about time. Then everyone will know that you’re off limits.’
His voice was thick and possessive and dominating and it made her shiver. ‘And you too!’
‘That’s the point, Serena.’ Tenderly, he stroked his knuckles down her cheek. ‘Because until you start believing that I’m yours and you’re mine we’re going nowhere. Until you believe that you’re the only woman in the world for me there’ll always be doubt. I’ve lost your trust, and I need to win it back before it’s too late and I lose you forever.’
The impact of his words, his touch, his closeness, was earth-shattering. ‘Just be honest with me, Finn. That’s all I want.’
‘And that’s what you’re going to get. Always.’ His chest swelled as he inhaled deeply. ‘I let you believe our friendship had been because of a promise I made to Tom, but that was just an excuse I gave myself to be with you. To spend time with you. Truth is, I’ve always wanted you, Serena. Since the first moment I saw you. And when I was in that cell thoughts of you kept me going. Looking back, if you hadn’t come to Monaco and burst into my life again I would be dead right now. Because I was headed that way. I thought it should’ve been me. Not Tom. I wished I’d died instead. Until you.’
He cupped one side of her face and she nuzzled into his touch. Insanely grateful that he was still here.
‘And that made me feel guilty, because suddenly I wanted to live and I thought I didn’t deserve it. Then I was falling for you, and I wanted your love and I knew I’d never have it. You asked me a question that morning: why I’d waited and waited to tell you the truth, all the while digging myself into a deeper hole, until it was too late.’
