"Good," she said. "Now that's settled, you should know, the caveman thing you just pulled . . . it turned me on a little bit."
He slid her a look. "Yeah?"
"Yeah."
Looking a little less like he was spoiling for a fight, his hands went to her hips and he pulled her in tighter.
What the hell was she doing? Clearly, she wasn't equipped to stay strong, and who could? The guy was just too damn potent. Too visceral. Testosterone and pheromones leaked off of him. She dropped her head to his chest. "Ugh. You're being . . . you."
"Was that in English?"
"This is all your fault."
"Nope. Definitely not English."
"You're being all hot and sexy, dammit," she said. She banged her head on his chest a few times. "And I can't seem to . . . not notice said hotness and sexiness."
He smiled. "You want me again."
Again. Still . . . She tossed up her hands. "You wear your stupid sexiness on your sleeve and you don't even know it."
His smile widened. "All you have to do is say the word, babe. Or preferably words. Dirty ones are encouraged."
When she blew out a sigh, he laughed.
"You really can't say the words, can you," he said, sounding way too amused about that, the ass. He flung an arm around her. "Cute."
Cute? She had mixed feelings about that. On the one hand, she'd rather he found her unbearably sexy. But on the other hand, he was already more than she could handle. Maybe cute was just right.
She gave him a push and strode around, locking up.
He followed, still looking pretty damn smug, waiting patiently.
"Where do you want to go?" he asked.
"Who says I'm going anywhere with you?"
"Your body."
She realized she'd plastered herself to his front again. "You're not working tonight?"
"Later. I worked all day and have a full crew on now. They'll be fine for a few hours on their own."
Oh God. How was she going to resist? "Are you going to take me out on another date and then dump me at the door?"
"Depends."
"On?" she asked.
He just smiled mysteriously as he slid his fingers into her hair, letting his thumb stroke once over her lower lip so that it tingled for a kiss.
His kiss.
He wanted her to say the words and she knew what words too. Make love to me . . .
"You've got choices," he said. "You can pick a place, or let me surprise you."
His bed. She picked his bed.
She retrieved Thor from his nap spot in Jake's office and then Finn drove them out of there, his hands as sure on the wheel as they always were on her body.
Stop looking at his hands!
He took her for drinks at a cute place in the Marina, where they sat at a small table on the sidewalk with Thor happily at their feet watching the world go by.
Finn paid. He always paid. And he was sneaky about it too. She never even saw the check before he had it handled.
After, they headed to Lands End, a park near the windswept shoreline at the mouth of the Golden Gate Bridge.
The three of them followed a trail along a former rail bed to the rocky cliffs that revealed a heart-stopping, stunning three-hundred-and-sixty-degree vista of the bay. The wild blue ocean below was dotted with whitecaps thanks to the heavy surf of the early evening.
"Wow," she whispered. "Makes you realize that the whole world isn't centered around your own hopes and dreams."
He looked out at the view. "What are your hopes and dreams?"
She glanced at him, startled.
"I know you love being a boat captain," he said. "But what else do you want for yourself? To own your own charter business? To have a family?"
He was serious, so she answered truthfully. "I do love my job but I don't want to run an empire or anything. I'm happy doing what I do. And . . ." Her heart was suddenly pounding. "I do want a family." Because his eyes felt like mirrors into her own soul, she turned to the water again. "Someday," she whispered.
His hand slipped into hers, warm and strong.
She held on and breathed for a moment. "And you?"
"I love my job too," he said. "And I want to keep the pub for as long as it works. But I don't want to live in the city forever. I want a family too, and I'd rather have a yard and a street where they can ride their bikes and have other kids nearby . . ."
She smiled. "You want a white picket fence, Finn?"
"It doesn't have to be white," he said and made her laugh.
And yearn . . .
Thor enjoyed himself thoroughly, chasing after squirrels until one of them turned on him and chased him right back into Pru's arms.
Finn shook his head. "He's missing something."
"He doesn't have the killer gene," she admitted, giving the mutt a squeeze.
"I was thinking balls . . ." But he took Thor and carried him for her, letting the dog nuzzle at the crook of his neck.
Pru rolled her eyes, but inside, secretly, she wanted to nuzzle there too.
"Look," Finn said, grabbing her hand with his free one, pointing with their joined fingers to the hillside below of cypress and wildflowers every color under the sun.
"Wow," she whispered. "Gorgeous."
"Yeah," he said, looking at her.
She laughed. "That's cheesy."
He grinned. "You liked it."
"No, I didn't."
He peered at her over his dark sunglasses, letting his gaze slip past her face.
She followed his line of sight and realized that her nipples were pressing eagerly against the thin white cotton of her shirt. "That's because I'm cold," she said and crossed her arms over her chest.
He laughed. "It's seventy-five degrees."
"Downright chilly," she said, nose in the air.
Grinning, he reeled her in, and with Thor protesting between them, he kissed the living daylights out of her.
Then he tugged her down the trail, heading for the epic ruins of Sutro Baths.
She'd never been here before. Even better, they were alone. Pru had no idea why, maybe because it was the middle of the week, or just late enough in the day, but they had the place to themselves.
They walked through the ruins and Finn showed her a small, rocky cave. It was cool inside. Quiet.
Finn brought her over to a small opening that allowed her to see out to the rocky beach. Standing inside the cave, surrounded by the cavernous rock and way-too-sexy man, she could not only see the water but feel it in the cool mist that blew into the cave and stirred the hair at her temple.
Thor wriggled to be freed and Finn set him down, where he immediately scampered to a pile of rocks to explore.
This left Finn's hands free to tug Pru into him. "I should probably admit," he said, his mouth at her ear, "being alone in here is giving me ideas."
She bit her lower lip. Her too!
Laughing quietly at her expression, he fisted one hand in her hair. The other slid down and squeezed her ass. "You too?"
Okay, yes, so maybe she had a secret fantasy about doing it somewhere that they could maybe get caught, but she wasn't about to tell him so. Absolutely not. "I have a secret fantasy about doing it somewhere where we could maybe get caught," she said. Dammit, mouth!
His grin was fast and wicked, assuring her he was absolutely up for the challenge. She laughed again, nervously now. "But I'm pretty sure it's just a fantasy," she said quickly, putting her hands on his chest to keep him at arm's length.
Or to keep him close. She hadn't quite decided.
The hand on her ass shifted up a little and then back down, slipping inside the back of her pants. "How sure is pretty sure?" he asked, his fingers stroking the line of her thong, but before they could slip beneath, she laughed again and pulled free.
"Pretty, pretty sure," she said shakily.
His gaze slid down her body. "I suppose you're cold again."
Well aware that her greedy nipples were still threatening to make a break right through the material of her shirt, she scooped up Thor and clutched him to her chest.
Thor seemed to give her a long look like please don't make me wait while you two do disgusting things to each other. "Don't worry," she muttered to the dog. "I've got a handle on things now."
"I've got something you could get a handle on," Finn said.
She rolled her eyes. "Weak."
"It's not weak."
She laughed. "I remember."
"So if we're not making fantasies come true, how about dinner?" he asked.
Dilemma. She couldn't take him home, she'd sleep with him again. "Pizza," she said, thinking a crowded Italian joint should be safe enough.
"Sold," Finn said.
They left the cave and walked along the rocky beach for a few minutes. The tide was out, the water receded a hundred yards or more it seemed. Pru managed to trip over a rock and then her own two feet, dropping Thor's leash to catch herself. So naturally Thor took off directly toward the waves at the speed of light, barking the whole way.
"Thor!" she yelled. "He can't swim," she told Finn. "Sinks like a stone."
"Trust me, he'll swim if he has to."
But she couldn't be so calm. Her baby was racing right for the waves. She started after him much slower, having to be careful on the rocks.
"Don't worry," Finn said. "He'll be back as soon as his paws get wet."
But Thor hit the water and kept going, right into a wave. And then the worst possible thing happened.
He vanished.
"Oh my God." Pru took off running down the rocky beach, heading directly for the spot where Thor had vanished. She kicked off her sandals and dove in.
The next wave crashed over her head and smashed her face into the sand. Gasping, she pushed upright, swiping the sand from her face to find . . .
Thor sitting on the shore staring at her, his tail whipping back and forth, his mouth smiling wide, proud of himself. Dripping wet, he barked twice and she'd have sworn he said, "Fun, right?"
Finn laughed and picked the dog up. Thor wriggled to get free but Finn just tucked the dripping wet, very-proud-of-himself dog beneath one arm and reached for Pru with the other, a wide smile on his face.
Pru went hands on wet hips. "Are you laughing at me? You'd better not be laughing at me."
"I wouldn't dream of it."
She narrowed her eyes.