Once Bitten, Twice Shy by C.C. Wood

slipped into my last clean pajamas, which consisted of a black satin camisole and shorts covered in tiny white polka dots and edged with red lace. I desperately needed to do laundry the next day. Otherwise, I’d have nothing to wear but a pair of skintight black yoga pants and the dress shirt Lex had left in my room before he left.
    After tossing and turning for an hour, I decided to try and read a little more. With each page, I started to see Lex more and more clearly in the role of the hero in the book. Sick of it, I finally gave up and stared at the ceiling.
    If it hadn’t been so late, I would have texted Shannon or Ricki, but I knew they would both be asleep at this time of night. Maybe a stroll around the backyard would help relax me. I threw aside the covers and was about to slide my feet into a pair of flip flops when I heard the loud chiming of the doorbell.
    At first I froze in fear, then shook my head. If someone meant us all harm, I doubt they would have rung the bell at the gate. I left my room and crept toward the staircase that led to the front of the house. I heard two male voices as I approached the railing at the top of the stairs. I peeked over and froze.
    Conner stood at the door, shirtless, which was a sight striking enough to cause any girl to pause, but that wasn’t what caused me to freeze. He was talking to a man dressed in a dark red shirt and a pair of dark jeans that clung to his body in all the right places. I realized that the guy was Finn, who I’d met at the engagement party. He had been kind and very flirty. He was also drop-dead gorgeous. I hadn’t talked to him much because Lex had glowered at us during our short conversation and it made me antsy as hell.
    While Lex was rough around the edges and radiated testosterone more than a perfect face, Finn was a work of art. His cheekbones were high and carved and his lips were sensuous, full without being effeminate. It was Finn’s eyes that struck a chord with me though. They were such a deep blue that they appeared purple. And they were observant and wise. This was a man who saw and had seen everything. He learned from both his mistakes and those of others. Those eyes, combined with his fallen angel face and long chestnut hair, made it hard to look at him without having at least one wild fantasy about him dressed in furs, riding a huge steed into battle while wielding an ax.
    Finn and Conner were speaking in low tones. Suddenly, Finn’s purple eyes lifted to mine and they burned with intensity. I felt goose bumps rise along my arms and neck. The weight and power of his gaze was like nothing I’d ever felt. Then he smiled, breaking the trance that I had fallen into when I stared into his eyes.
    “Ivie!” he called, his eyes wandering over my body. “I must say that is a very fetching outfit.”
    I rolled my eyes and tossed a few stray curls out of my face as I headed down the stairs. While the satin was thin, the pajamas covered me from upper chest to mid-thigh. The set didn’t even show cleavage.
    “Hi, Finn. How are you?” I asked.
    He reached out and snagged my wrist, yanking me forward for a quick hug. His body was warm and hard and he smelled like the night, dark and mysterious. Of their own volition, my arms wrapped around his torso for a quick squeeze before I dropped them and tried to step back.
    Finn’s hands cupped my bare shoulders, intensifying the goose bumps on my flesh. While I didn’t feel the electricity from his touch as I did Lex’s, there was an undercurrent, a pulse of power, where each of his fingertips rested on bare skin. He lowered his head so his face was close to mine, but Conner spoke, causing him to pause.
    “Finn,” he said warningly. “Don’t forget about Lex.”
    Finn’s face stayed close to mine, his mouth only inches from my lips, but his eyes flicked over my shoulder to treat Conner with an intense stare.
    “I don’t see Lex anywhere near, do you?” he asked.
    My tummy twisted painfully at