Finn Rhodes Forever: A Spicy Small Town Second Chance Romance (The Queen’s Cove Series Book 4)
Finn Rhodes Forever: Chapter 47

OUR BOOTS CRUNCHED as we hiked up the old path covered in fallen trees, leaves, and other debris from years without use. I slid a glance at Liv, breathing hard as we climbed the steep incline. Her hair was up in a ponytail and she pushed her bangs off her face with the back of her hand.

She turned to face me. “You keep looking at me.”

My mouth turned up. “Can’t I admire my beautiful girlfriend?”

I tossed the word out, waiting to see her reaction.

She rolled her eyes, turning to hide a smile. “I’m sweating.”

“I know.”

With her eyes, she shot daggers at me, and I grinned. “Want me to carry some of your pack?”

“Never,” she bit out, and I laughed. She grinned and stuck her tongue out at me.

I thought back to this morning, when we left at dawn. She had left her sample collection kit on the table. It was just a resealable plastic bag with more plastic bags, a few plastic tubes, a pen and a notebook.

She never forgot her kit, which meant she didn’t think we’d replace the flower on this trip. While her back was turned, I had stuffed it in my bag.

Liv might be giving up hope, but I wasn’t.

“How’d you sleep?” I asked her.

She narrowed her eyes at me and I sent her a rakish look. I’d slept in her bed every night this week, not even asking at this point. Each night, she had climbed on top of me, kissing me, tugging on my hair, grinding against me until our breathing was ragged, our cheeks were flushed, and my control was seconds from snapping.

I always flipped her onto her side just in time, tucking her against my chest, ignoring when she ground her ass back against me in protest.

Liv was going out of her mind with horniness and I was right there with her. Every time I stepped into the shower, I was fucking my fist, thinking about her breathy moans in my ear and the glaze in her eyes after I kissed her hard.

“I slept fine,” she said lightly.

I grinned at her. “Me too. You’re so cute in the mornings.”

She narrowed her eyes, probably thinking of something sharp to say. “So are you. I like when your hair’s all messy.” She picked up the pace and I watched her ass as she climbed the trail with a big smile on my face.

At the top, she turned back to wait for me. “Is there a fireplace in this ski lodge?”

“Dot said there was a wood stove.”

We hadn’t packed a tent because while having a drink with me at the bar the other night, Dot had told me about the expeditions she and her late husband had done even into their eighties.

“There’s a ski lodge on the other side,” she had told me, sipping her white wine. “Not a lot of people know about it, especially after the logging road washed out. It’s not much, just a simple cabin. No electricity, of course, but it has a loft for sleeping, a table, a wood stove, maybe a few old pots and pans still.”

We arrived at the ski lodge around noon, sticky with sweat but relieved that we wouldn’t be sleeping outside tonight.

“We can live here if I don’t replace the flower,” Liv said as we slung our packs down.

I straightened up, studying her with a frown. Something in my stomach tightened at her tone.

She raised an eyebrow. “I was joking.”

“Were you?”

She blinked at me. The corner of her mouth twitched up as she gestured at the lodge. “I haven’t even seen the inside.”

I stared harder at her. “Not about that. About the flower. Have you given up?”

Neither of us said anything. In the branches above us, a couple birds chirped at each other.

“No,” she said quietly.

“Are you sure?”

She blinked, shaking her head. “What—where is this coming from?”

“I saw your kit on the table this morning.”

She blew a long breath out, turning away to open her pack. “I didn’t want to carry the extra weight.”

My hands came to my hips and I tapped my tongue to my top lip. “It weighs nothing.”

My head told me to shut up, that I was picking a fight, but disappointment wrenched in my chest. She couldn’t give up, there was too much at stake. This was her PhD, and her dream career.

Her hands stilled on her pack and she straightened before meeting my gaze. Her mouth twisted with hesitation and I saw it in her eyes—defeat.

“If we don’t replace it on this trip—”

“Liv.” I let out a loud sigh. My shoulders tensed.

She stepped toward me and put her hands on my arms, letting out her own long breath. “If we don’t replace it on this trip, I don’t want to keep hunting.”

“What?” I shook my head. “What are you talking about?”

Her eyes dimmed. “What if everyone in my program was right, and it really is extinct? I can’t spend the rest of my life searching for it.” She rubbed her sternum, frowning. “In October, I’ll need to replace a new job and a place to live. I don’t want to be out here all winter, freezing my ass off. I don’t want that for you either.” Her gaze met mine, worried and lost. “This summer has taught me that I don’t want to be stuck anymore. I want to move forward.” Emotion rose in her eyes. “Whatever that looks like. Things are going to be okay either way.” Her throat worked. “You make me feel like that.”

My chest ached with a twist of emotions. Hearing her want to move forward—with me—made my heart lift, but I hated seeing her like this, losing hope and untethered.

Something struck me, a strange shift in my chest. Since the beginning of the summer, my feelings for Liv had multiplied tenfold. I had thought I was in love with her, but now, it was so much more. I wanted the world for her, and I wanted to keep her heart safe.

In the past, I’d been careless with her heart. I’d never make that mistake again.

My hands framed her jaw. “I’m going to keep searching for that flower, and I won’t let you give up.”

“You’re so dramatic.” She let out a soft laugh but the smile didn’t reach her eyes. “It’s just a stupid flower,” she whispered.

I brushed a lock of her hair back, tucking it behind her ear. “It’s not just a stupid flower.”

Her mouth twisted to the side but her gaze warmed. In the sunlight, her eyes were bottomless pools of caramel that went on forever. Her throat bobbed and she nodded.

“Okay,” she said.

“Okay?” I dipped my head down to catch her eyes. “Not giving up?”

She shook her head. “Not giving up. But—” She squeezed my ribs and I jerked back as she tried to tickle me. “I want to enjoy this hike a bit, too. Let’s explore this area today. I don’t just want to have our eyes on the ground all day.”

I nodded. “Alright.”

Inside the lodge, sunlight streamed in through skylights. There was a long wooden table with bench seating, a small wooden stove, and a ladder leading to a loft for sleeping, as Dot had described.

Half an hour later, we had unpacked our bags and eaten a quick lunch when Liv glanced up from a map she was studying.

“There’s a creek near here.” Her finger trailed along the worn paper. “And it flows over a steep elevation drop.” She raised an eyebrow at me.

“Waterfall?”

Her expression turned thoughtful. “Maybe. We should be crossing off squares on the grid but…”

Both of our gazes strayed to the map we had been working through this summer, spread out on the table. On each trip, we had drawn an X through the grid squares we searched. There weren’t many left.

Something in her eyes told me she needed a break.

“We can search for the flower tomorrow,” I told Liv. “Let’s go replace that waterfall.”

AN HOUR LATER, we climbed over trees and plants on the way to the creek. Once we spotted it, we’d followed it up the steep incline, exploring.

The black knot behind her neck snagged my attention again. Under her clothes, she had worn her swimsuit, a stringy black bikini. I’d caught a quick flash of her in it while she dressed, and the sight of all that soft skin made me half hard.

She waited with a teasing grin while I chugged water. “Getting tired?”

I gave her a light smack on the ass. “Always uphill with you, huh?”

She laughed. “It’ll be worth it.”

“It already is.” I winked at her and she rolled her eyes, laughing. I let my gaze linger on her, on the slope of her nose, the splash of freckles across her face, the flush and sheen on her skin as she worked hard. The curve of her plush lips, the swoop and dip of her Cupid’s bow.

Liv Morgan was fucking gorgeous, and I would happily climb through untouched forests with her for the rest of my life.

Her eyes glittered. “I’m glad we did this. Took an afternoon off, I mean. I like making new memories with you.”

I blew a breath out, rubbing the pleasant ache in my chest. Maybe she did love me back.

I cocked a grin at her to hide whatever was threatening to show on my face. “Morgan, when you say things like that, I almost think you have a heart.”

She huffed a laugh. “Race you to that giant tree.” She pointed at a fallen tree a couple hundred feet away at the top of a ridge. “If I win, you have to eat a Cheezie.”

I made a disgusted face. “Gross. Okay, fine, you’re on. But if I win—” My smile turned wicked and I lifted my eyebrows. “You have to get a tattoo.”

Her jaw dropped in outrage but her eyes sparked with fun and challenge.

“And I get to choose it,” I cut in before she could protest.

“Unfair,” she said, laughing.

I shrugged. “You can choose where you want it.” My gaze slid to hers. “You want to change your bet?”

“Yeah, I do.” Her hands came to her hips and she cocked her head, fired up. “If I win, you have to get a tattoo of my name.”

My gaze locked on hers and I felt like laughing. “You have a deal, Morgan.” I stuck my hand out and she shook it. “No backing out now,” I said softly.

The playful, daring, competitive sparkle in her eyes made me grateful for this moment in the forest with her. “You’re on.”

“Ready?”

She nodded and we planted our feet, ready to run. “Go,” she said before taking off like a shot.

Liv hauled ass up that mountain, and I watched from a comfortable distance behind her, taking my time. At the top of the ridge, I sauntered to the tree and slapped my hand on it, casual as all hell.

Her expression was equal parts outrage and amusement. “You tricked me!” she yelled, throwing a stick at my foot.

I laughed and hopped out of the way. “I didn’t trick you.”

“You let me win.”

I raised my eyebrows at her. “We both won.”

Her nostrils flared and I couldn’t tell whether she wanted to tackle me out of anger or horniness. Maybe both. The thought made my dick twitch. Fucking hell, I couldn’t wait to fool around with her tonight. I couldn’t help myself—the thought of Liv’s name on my body made my blood hum.

“I’m not backing down,” she said, eyebrows raised. “Even if you threw it, I won.”

My mouth curled into a grin. “Good.”

“You’re getting that tattoo.”

I took a step toward her, gaze locked to hers. “Jeez, you must really want your name on me. Feeling territorial? Want to tell others who I belong to?” My voice dipped low and her lips parted.

Her face flushed deep red and she clamped her mouth shut to hide a grin. “Shut up.”

My chest shook with laughter, and she whooped as I crouched down and threw her over my shoulder. I was about to make another crack but something in the distance caught my attention and my heart stopped.

“Liv.” My smile faded.

Over my shoulder, she kicked and wiggled. “See? You’re coming to your senses and have realized you don’t want Olivia written in Comic Sans across your lower back. Put me down.”

I blinked, staring at it, before lowering her to the ground. “Liv.”

“What?”

My hands came to her shoulders and I turned her around before pointing.

“Holy shit,” she breathed.