Species Traitor: A Science Fiction Dystopian Novel by Kate Mary (universal ebook reader .TXT) 📗

I looked up, having to stretch my neck, and found his gorgeous yellow-orange eyes focused on me and what could only be described as an expression of amusement on his face.

“Ava,” was all he said, but it was enough to make me jerk out of his grasp and step back.

“Oh, my God,” I said. “I’m so sorry. I just came for, um, I—”

A drop of water fell from his damp hair onto his chest before making a slow trail down his left pec. I watched it, flustered and unable to focus on why I was here.

“Ava,” Finn said again.

I tore my gaze from the bead of water, which had now reached his abs, and focused on his face once again.

“My bag,” I managed to get out. “I came for my bag.”

“I figured.” He turned his back on me with ease and headed into the house. “Give me a second. I just got out of the shower.”

I stood in the open doorway until he’d disappeared down the dark, narrow hall at the back of his house, then stepped inside. My hands were trembling when I shut the front door.

What the hell was wrong with me? Not only did I look like a total klutz, but I’d also sounded like a moron who couldn’t form two words in front of a shirtless—and very hot—guy. I wanted to smack myself.

Instead, I took the few minutes I had alone to inhale and exhale, working to slow my heart and push away my nerves. Reminding myself of the hostility Finn had shown me in the past helped. Hot or not, I didn’t like assholes, and by the time he reappeared—no longer shirtless, thank God—I was more collected.

My bag was in his left hand.

“I went back into the bar to get one more drink and found it. Ione and Rye had already left, or I would have given it to them,” he said as he held it out.

“Thanks.”

I tried to take it, but he didn’t release it right away. He was studying me intently, each of us holding one side of the bag so it was suspended between us.

“What?” I asked when he didn’t say anything.

“I fixed it.”

Finn finally let go, and both the bag and my arm dropped to my side.

“Fixed it?” I asked, confused.

Finn focused on the floor. “The e-reader.”

It took a moment to register what he was saying—and why he couldn’t meet my gaze—but once I did, heat that had nothing to do with embarrassment rushed to my cheeks.

“You went through my bag?”

The outrage that shot through me was nothing compared to the violation I felt at the idea that someone I barely knew had gone through my personal belongings. It didn’t matter that I had nothing of real value in the bag, because the act itself was so abhorrent.

He looked up, and to his credit seemed genuinely embarrassed. “At the bar, and only because I wasn’t sure if it was yours when I found it. Honestly.”

My anger didn’t fade even though his statement made sense. He’d seen my bag at Rye’s house when I’d tried to give him the e-reader, but only that one time. Even if he’d thought it looked familiar, that didn’t mean someone else couldn’t have one like it.

Still, I wasn’t ready to let him off the hook just yet.

“I just can’t believe you would—”

“I’m sorry,” he cut in, “and not just about that. About how I acted at Rye’s house when you offered me the e-reader. I was an asshole. That was why I fixed it. To make it up to you.”

I shut my mouth, unable to continue my tirade.

Finn stayed quiet as well, his gaze alternating between the floor and me. It was a side of him I hadn’t seen before, and if possible, the vulnerability made him even more attractive.

The thought made me want to roll my eyes. I couldn’t be falling for a Veilorian. Especially this one.

“Well,” I said, finally finding my voice, “thank you.”

He’d been staring at the floor when I said it, but at my words his head snapped up. I gave him a hesitant smile, and he returned it. It was the first full smile I’d seen on his face, and it made my heart skip like a little kid with a jump rope.

I was in serious trouble.

Trying to distract myself, I reached into my bag and dug around until I found the e-reader then held it out to him. “Why don’t you take it? You said you were looking for one, so it only makes sense. You’re the one who fixed it, after all.”

Lifting his hands, Finn took a step back, but unlike the day before he didn’t look offended. “I fixed it for you.”

“To be honest, I’m not much of a reader,” I said with a shrug. “You’d get more use out of it.”

Finn stared at the e-reader for only a moment longer before taking it. The device looked tiny in his huge hand. “I was hoping to get one for my mom as a Landing Day present.”

“Perfect, then,” I said. “Someone might as well get some use out of it.”

He gave me a grateful smile. “Thank you, Ava.”

Again, I had to swallow when my heart jumped to my throat. “Thank you, Finn, for getting my bag and for fixing the e-reader.”

He nodded and was quiet for a moment, his expression thoughtful. “Are you dating that guard?”

Even though it should have, the question didn’t surprise me. It wasn’t until he met my gaze again that I remembered Dean’s hand on my leg the night before and the way Finn had stared at it.

“Umm,” I gnawed on my bottom lip, “yes and no. We’re going on a date, but it’s the first time.”

Finn pressed his lips together like he wanted to say something but was trying to keep the words caged.

After a second, he gave in and said, “He’s not good for you, Ava.”

A jolt of adrenaline shot through me at the sound of my name on his