"Slice up some more apples for me?" Cybele asked as she squeezed lemons on the counter. I nodded, retrieving a few more apples.

Washing them first under the sink, I picked up my knife, beginning to cut the slices. My brain was buzzing as we worked in the kitchen, my thoughts still lingering on Finn.

We were supposed to talk today, and I had no idea what I wanted to say or what I wanted from our conversation. Hell, what were we supposed to talk about? Us? There really couldn't be an Us because of Secta. What was going to happen if we even decided on giving it a try?

"How are you holding up?" Cybele asked as she made her way to begin putting together some finger sandwiches. We were making a nice lunch for the dining staff as appreciation for their hard work, and Cybele had gotten me to come along with her.

"Fine, I guess." I sighed, turning to cut the next apple. "Finn and I are supposed to 'talk' today, about what I honestly don't know. How can we be anything, Cybele, if Secta's going to put me back in isolation? Or worse..."

Our old conversation rang in my ears. I wondered if maybe he would kill me if being with Finn threatened his guardians and their operation. Karmen had said that I would be alright in the end, but those times in hell were vivid. What if I spent some time down there before coming to see the light?

Secta would destroy me.

"You'll be fine, Kate!" She protested, "if you want to be with Finn, then just be with him. You can be together in secret. People do it all the time, and the both of you can manage until you've been with each other long enough to prove to Secta that you are better together than apart. That's all you need to show him, because at heart, he's soft about love. I promise you can do this if you want it badly enough."

"I do want Finn, Cybele. I'm just afraid, particularly afraid of what will happen if I fail." I swallowed.

"What do you mean if you fail? We aren't going to punish you for your failures, Kate." Cybele said with a laugh.

My stomach churned. "You and your father have very different philosophies then."

"What?" She turned to look at me with interest in her eyes. I paused; did she not know what he'd said to me?

I was going to reply, but the door to the kitchen opened as one of the guardian instructors, Madeleine, sauntered in. She gave us both a smile. "Hello, Cybele and Kate! We have a shipment of supplies in the back and I can't quite carry the full load. Do either of you..."

The door on the opposite side of the kitchen swung open as Finn and a few other of the guardians filed in, carrying huge crates of food supply before disappearing into the back towards the storage pantries.

Madeleine laughed. "Yes, here are all my helpers! Never mind, lovelies." She gave us another friendly smile before turning towards the doorway. "Finn, would you mind giving me a hand with one of the milk crates?"

The blonde and blue eyed guardian emerged, his eyes first settling on me before back to Madeleine. "Of course. Where is it?"

"The third truck. Here, I'll come with you." Finn gave a nod before filing out of the kitchen hallway. Madeleine followed closely in her footsteps, a certain glimmer in her eyes that made me chop the apple harder than I'd intended.

"We need to get the pasta boiling." Cybele added as she continued to hurry through the kitchen.

I stared out the window facing towards the row of trucks as guardians unloaded crates, my eyes focused in on where Madeleine and Finn were unstacking the milk crates. I could see her laughing at him as he would offer a smile in return.

"Kate? You need to finish those apples..." Cybele stood beside me, her eyes following mine as she too stared out the window. Madeleine reached out in that moment to touch Finn's arm as the three apples I was rolling underneath my hands went flying off the countertop.

"Dammit!" I hissed, kneeling to pick them up off the ground. I snapped them up off the floor, smacking them down on the counter as Cybele shook her head.

"She won't get far, I promise you." She giggled, "He is totally oblivious."

The apples were bruised and I tossed them into the garbage as I clenched my teeth. "I'm going to get more. I'll be back."

I walked out the door towards where a crate of apples sat unloaded, my eyes glancing down the concrete walkway to where Finn and Madeleine unloaded their truck. Neither noticed me as I took a few apples and began to walk back towards the kitchen.

But, I was stopped as someone came from behind. I was picked up in the air over someone's shoulder. They spun me around as I let out a scream in surprise before they kneeled to plop me back on my feet, my apples all over the ground.

"Carter!" He was laughing with amusement as I looked down to my second batch of bruised, dirty apples. "What is it with all you boys thinking you can just pick me up and spin me around? You are terrible! Look at my apples!"

He shrugged. "You're just small, and I couldn't  help it. Your face was worth it, and I'm sorry about the apples. Seen Samaria? I've been looking for that girl all day. She said we could finally seal the deal if you know what I mean."

"Gross. Please don't give me details. She isn't here." I said, walking towards the apple crate to collect a few more all over again.

Carter stood beside me with a shrug. "Alright. Well, I'm out. Enjoy the manual labor." He gave me a smile before ruffling my hair and hopping up the steps into the kitchen leading to the dining hall.

I let out a breath of air before picking up my apples again and marching inside. Cybele was working on the pasta as she glanced over to me. "There you are!"

"Carter made me drop my apples." I huffed, setting the few apples down on the counter. "They always pick me up? What is with that?"

"Trying to play the game, huh?"

I glanced over my shoulder back to her. "What game? He's looking for Samaria, not me."

"Ok." Cybele replied, her tone making me glance up to the window. Madeleine and Finn were still moving crates, but I sucked in a breath when his blue eyes looked up to meet mine. I gazed into them for only a moment before looking back down to my apples.

"I'll start cutting up some cheese for the platter." I replied, walking towards the fridge. Taking out different assortments of cheese, I started to make the slices, trying not to look out the window any longer.

Take a breath. You aren't really... dating Finn. You can't say a thing about it. The thought made a painful knot form in my chest.

The door swung open as Madeleine walked in, laughing loudly about something as Finn came in behind her. The two paused as I looked up, Finn carrying a crate of milk in one hand and holding the door for them both in the other.

Without a word, I stepped forward, gripping the edge of the door for him as he looked up to me. "Thank you, Kate."

Finn stepped inside as Madeleine turned around to look at him. "Oh, you should have said something. I could have gotten the door for you!" She turned to look at me. "Aren't you helpful?"

"I try to be." I replied, glancing down at her empty hands for a moment longer than needed before back up to her eyes. Raising an eyebrow, I turned and walked back to the counter, picking up my knife as I started to cut my cheese slices.

The two were now back in the pantry as I kept focused on my task, trying not to grind my teeth.

"She's harmless." Cybele whispered under her breath to me as she moved to chop tomatoes beside me. Madeleine and Finn returned now, both speaking as she turned around to look at him. Her feet faltered and she let out a soft squeal, falling against Finn's chest as he steadied her.

"Are you alright, Madeleine?" He asked as she stood up on her own, those fingers of hers still resting on his chest.

"Perfect." She said with a smile.

My knife slipped from my fingers and landed with a thud on the ground, making a dull echo in the room.

"Kate, can you go check to see if we have that wine in the cellar? You know, that white wine Melanie loves?" Cybele said, not even looking up from her chopping. She reached down to pick up my knife, giving my hand a soft squeeze behind the counter before letting go just as quickly.

"Of course." I replied, slipping around her and into the hallway.

The stairs to the cellar loomed to my right and I walked down the steps, my heart sinking with each as my heart hammered faster. The cellar at the bottom held fridges and racks of wine bottles as I stood still, staring at the bottles aimlessly. I didn't know the wine selection, and Cybele knew that as well. This was meant for me to take a breath, and I did, swallowing down the whirlwind of emotions that spun inside me.

Footsteps echoed behind me before halting, and I knew instantly who it was. I turned, looking back at the staircase where Finn stood. His blue eyes watched me intently as he cleared his throat, "I'm not interested in Madeleine."

"Well, that's good to know." I replied, my voice slow.

"The kid, Carter?" Finn asked me, a darker look in his eyes. Was he was jealous? I felt a small warmth radiate inside me.

I shook my head. "Definitely not. He was looking for Samaria, not me. He made me drop all my apples, so it wouldn't have gone well for him if he was."

"They like to throw you around a little too much for my taste." Finn replied, an edge almost like a growl in his voice.

"Madeleine likes to touch you a little too much for mine." I said, glancing to my feet before back into Finn's eyes when I realized I'd said the words out loud. A heat rose to my cheeks and I shook my head before looking away. "Sorry, it's not my place."

"It can be." Finn's words made my eyes widen as I looked back to him, watching him step closer to me.

His fingers played softly with mine until they laced together. He lifted my hand, kissing the back of it gently. "What are you saying, Finn?" I managed to ask, the ways his lips trailed across my knuckles making it hard to breath.

"That I don't want Madeleine, and I can't stand watching you around Carter." He said, staring into my eyes. "I want you with me instead of him or any of the others. I can be... intense and jealous, so you have to decide whether or not that would work for you, but I had to tell you the truth. I like you a lot, and I'd love to take you out on a date. A real date."

I blinked in surprise, "you... me... a date?"

Finn looked at me with a rising pink tint in his cheeks. "Yes. If you'll have me. I know I haven't been the easiest to deal with lately."

"You kissed Cybele." I blurted out, pulling my hands out of his hold as he stared at me. "I... you... her..."

"She's my best friend, and that's all she ever will be. I kissed her sixty something years ago to make another guy jealous. I've never felt the way I do about you with her." Finn replied softly. "She doesn't make me feel half the things I experience when I look at you."

"You don't like Cybele?"

He shook his head. "I don't want Madeleine or Cybele or any other girl. I want to get to know you, Kate. I've been trying to make that clear for such a long time, but I guess I don't really have the best way of expressing how I feel or saying the right words. You make me... nervous and excited and happy all at once, and I'm sure that you haven't been certain how I've felt about at times. But, I want you to know now without a doubt that I can't get that kiss or you out of my head, and I'm hoping that you feel the same. I don't want you to ever feel unsure about how I feel."

He paused, watching me with the sweetest expression. He was nervous, the color in his cheeks still burning as he gazed down at me. I couldn't help but smile as I nodded my head. "I'd love to go on a date with you, Finn."

"Oh thank Fates." He let out a breath he'd been holding. "I thought Madeleine might have destroyed my chances."

"You'll be in hot water if you let her get too close." I said with a raised eyebrow. "I'm not the best at communicating how I feel either, but I want to make that clear."

"The same goes to you with Carter and Gabriel." His voice rumbled darkly in his chest, those blue eyes flickering with that certain edge I'd noticed already before. "Madeleine was never in the picture."

"Gabriel?" I said in surprise. "He's just my friend."

Finn shook his head as our fingers laced together all over again. "That is not how he thinks, trust me. I've seen enough for evidence, and he isn't as innocent as he wants you to believe. I'm not saying you can't be friends, but just know he's interested."

"I like you, not Gabriel." I smiled, stepping forward closer to Finn. Wrapping my arms around his waist, I leaned in close to whisper. "I like you a lot." I paused just an inch from Finn's lips, feeling my desire to close the distance between us just as strongly as he did. There was a tension in his body and the quiver of his lips noticable to the eye that made me want to kiss it all away. "It sounds like you've been paying close attention to me, Finn."

"I couldn't help myself. I'm warning you now that I'm very prone to jealousy, Kate." His voice was a low murmur, a deep ferocity in his tone as he hung slowly on his syllables. My name had come out as a rumbling growl, making my eyes fall down to his lips as I sucked in a breath.

His voice, his words, his tone, his wildness, and his intoxicating pull on my body were all combined into one in this moment, as if every piece of him was perfectly created just for the purpose of bewitching me.

I couldn't hold myself back from him any longer or else I felt as though I might fall apart. His smell was one of the things I'd missed the most and all I could breath in now was Finn, that aroma doing wicked things to my body.

"Well so am I." I replied, my voice low as I traced a finger along his bottom lip. "I don't share and I won't play nice."

Finn answered me with a kiss, his fingers tangling in my hair as our lips moved together with a new urgency. I grabbed the hem of his shirt, pulling him flesh against me as I captured his lips with my own.

His grip tightened on my hipbone as his other hand traced up my side to cup the side of my face, holding me against his chest in a way that wonderfully forced the air from my lungs. Finn's tongue had slipped past my lips and I'd greeted him eagerly before digging my fingers into his hair.

Finn broke away from me, placing kisses along my neck that made me shudder just in the lightest caress of his lips as his grip on my body kept me dizzly close to his own. Finn grinned against the curve of my neck, squeezing my hip before kissing me on the lips again.

He was slow this time, more delicate as he wrapped his arms around my waist to keep me close. This kiss was just as phenomenal as the others, except this one made me realize that I was in his arms as he held me with no room between us.

I could feel the beating of his heart with the hand that I'd rested on his strong chest. The softness of his lips and fingers on my waist made my back curl, pressing up against him hard as I kissed him back with just as much passion.

The sweetness had dried away as quickly as it had come before a new roughness overcame us both, a need and craving for the other that sparked like wildfire. He overloaded my senses in the most beautiful way imaginable as I put every thought and every touch into kissing the daylights out of him, and Finn didn't hold back in return.

We stayed in each other's arms until Cybele called me up for lunch, and then we had to pull apart with deep reluctance. Finn had given me a boyish smile before kissing my lips one last time, and then we'd exhanged a few more 'one last times' as we tripped up the steps with hushed laughter until we were finally forced to part for the afternoon meal.