Finn (7 page)

His face contorted in anger. That was all before he had a hit put out on him.

Alyssa tripped and crashed into him from behind, pulling him from his thoughts. She grunted in pain.

“Here,” he said and pulled her by the hand up close behind him. “Stay close and follow me.”

He pulled out his phone, and they followed their way through the hall and up the stairs. He stopped outside the room next to his.

“You can stay in this room,” he said.

Finn came to a halt when she gripped his hand tighter.

“I don’t want to be alone,” she said quietly. “I can’t sleep well at night. He comes to me there. Rips down all my defenses, and I can’t run.”

She shook as she held his hand.

“I just want to sleep for a change,” she continued.

His lungs burned, and he let out the breath he had been holding. Her, next to him all night. There was no way this was a good idea, but there was also no way he would ever say no.

He tugged her arm gently, and she followed him into his room.

Alyssa blinked as the light overhead beamed across the room. Much like Finn, the room screamed of masculinity. The bed was in the middle of the room, just as large and imposing as the man himself. Her mouth went dry, and she tried to not think about what they could be doing in that bed instead.

She looked around at the other objects in the room and found it to be fairly stark. Aside from the massive furniture, there was very little color in the room at all. The bed sported a deep blue down comforter and blue satin sheet at least.

Despite herself, she wondered how he would normally sleep in that bed. Visions of him nude, tangled in the sheets made her heart race. Maybe he would even be stroking himself, moaning as his hand slipped up and down.

“Do you want to sleep in that?” Finn asked.

“Nothing,” she nearly shouted. Her face flushed as if he had just caught her in the act. “Sorry,” she said and avoided his eyes. “T-shirt like the one you have on would be great.”

Finn grabbed one out of the dresser and laid it on the bed. She picked it up from the bed and nearly ran to the bathroom when he began taking off his shirt. She was already wound up enough. Last thing she needed was to see the goods up close.

Alyssa shut the door and leaned against it.

“What am I doing?” she whispered.

Sleep threatened to take over when she let out a big yawn. She knew what she was doing. Tonight she was going to get a good night’s sleep. If that meant they both benefited from her sleeping in the same bed, so be it.

She pulled the sling off and sighed at the relief. It was best if she wore it as much as possible, but after the day’s events, the fewer constraints the better.

Her pretty dress came off easily. In the end, she decided that she did like it after all. It might have showcased her scars, but really, that wasn’t everything.

She debated the bra but decided to take it off as well. It wouldn’t really matter at this point. It wasn’t like he hadn’t seen the outline of her breasts last night. Besides, the lights were going to be off.

With far more difficulty, she put on his sleeveless tank. She cursed a little as it didn’t quite cover as much as she hoped. The front covered just past her panties, but being a thong, the bottom of her butt was just barely exposed. She was just going to have to make sure the lights went off as quickly as possible.

She found a drawer with spare tooth brushes and wondered if Claire was the last to come up there. The woman certainly had the looks for the girlfriend of a mob boss.

Alyssa shook her head and pushed the thoughts out of her head. His dating life wasn’t her business.

Mouth clean and ready for bed, Alyssa opened the door and was met by total darkness in the room. The only light came from the bathroom behind her. She checked to make sure the path was clear to the bed and turned off the light.

Heart pounding, she made her way across the room. Little light filtered in from outside, and she wondered how he saw anything in there. She stopped when her leg hit the bed and turned to sit. It was always slightly difficult finding the right way to lay down with her arm like it was.

“Do you need help?” Finn shifted, so his body was near her back. She could feel the warmth of his chest.

“I’m fine,” she said and tried to shuffle back a little on the bed.

She jumped when his hands clamped on her hips and pulled her back with ease.

“No really,” she struggled to get away from him.

“Just let me help,” he said and sighed in annoyance.

Alyssa put her hands on his to move them from her hips. She struggled a little to wiggle out of his reach.

“Really,” she said in irritation. “I do this all the time.”

“Well maybe you shouldn’t have to,” he snapped back.

They stopped at his words, his hot breath stirred the hair on the back of her neck.

“I mean,” he said softly. “Just let me help. Please.”

Alyssa took her hands off of his and waited as he slid her across the bed. He let go when she was positioned with her back lined up with a pillow.

“Thanks,” she mumbled.

His hands slid of her hips, and when a finger grazed the sensitive skin on her thigh, she shivered. The hand faltered for a moment, and she knew he felt her shiver. She worked her way under the covers and lay in silence for a moment.

She opened her mouth to say something but closed it. In the end, she was just a small fry.

“Goodnight, Alyssa,” he said, his voice on the brink of sleep.

“Goodnight, Finn,” she whispered.

Chapter Eight

Warm. That was the first thought she had when she woke up. It had taken forever for her to actually fall asleep. Unfortunately for her, she still hadn’t been able to stay asleep. She blinked a few times and realized that there was more than one reason she was so warm.

During the night, they had migrated to the center of the bed. Her back was nestled up against Finn’s front, and when she shifted, she realized his hand had gone up her shirt to cup her breast. Every time she moved, he would squeeze and pull her further back toward his body.

He nuzzled the sensitive skin between her ear and neck.

She tried to move out of his grasp. His hand tightened around her breast again, and she couldn’t stop the moan that escaped her mouth.

Finn froze behind her, clearly surprised by the sound of her voice.

“I didn’t mean to,” he said and pulled his out from under her shirt. He struggled to untangle himself from her. When he pulled too quickly, she grunted in pain.

“Just wait,” she said. Her hand landed on his and stopped him from moving.

His breathing was uneven, and she wondered if he had been as aroused as she was.

“It’s just my shoulder,” she said quietly.

With her bad shoulder facing him, she was having trouble moving away. Finn had one arm over her and the other under her. It was amazing they had even gotten that way.

She wiggled against him but stopped when something long and thick pushed against her thigh through his boxer briefs. Finn groaned.

“Alyssa,” he growled.

Her heart raced as she turned a little more in his arms until her back was against the bed. He leaned over her slightly to pull his arm out from under her. She lifted off the bed again. When she bumped him this time, she watched his pupils dilate.

His eyes burned into her as his arm slipped free, and she didn’t want this connection to end. She reached up and placed her small palm on his chest. The hard muscles under her fingers quivered at the touch.

Watching his face, she traced the lines of his chest. Her hand went lower and lower until meeting the band of his underwear.

“That’s not really a good idea,” he groaned.

Her fingers slipped under the band.

“It seems like nothing in my life right now is a good idea,” she whispered.

She slipped her hand in the rest of the way and grabbed ahold of him.

“Fuck it,” Finn said and closed the distance between them.

His mouth touched hers, and she sighed at the taste of him. For half a year, she’d been watching him, too afraid to do anything about it until now

His tongue traced along the seam of her lips. She opened her mouth to him. They battled for control as their tongues slipped along one another.

Finn grabbed her hand from his pants and shoved it into the pillow by her head. He pulled back for just a second.

“Too soon,” he growled and went back to her mouth.

He moved his body over hers, positioning his hips just out of reach of hers. When she reached up to pull him closer, he snatched her hand by the wrist and pulled it back to her head.

“Keep it here,” he said firmly.

She frowned. Being passive was a thing of the past for her, and she sure as hell wasn’t following orders easily.

Alyssa wrapped her legs around his hips and pulled him down to the bed. Finn landed hard on her, grinding his hard dick at her core.

He sat back and scowled at her.

She smiled and waved her hand. “Didn’t move my hand.”

Finn’s scowl faded as he grinned at her. “I’ll be sure to be more specific next time.”

She groaned when he shifted forward and nudged her aching clit.

He sat back on his legs, and she huffed in frustration. Her body was on fire, and this was when he wanted to slow things down?

His hands slid from her hips to the front of her stomach.

“So soft,” he whispered.

He pushed the shirt up her body, tracing little patterns as he went. She sucked in a breath when he brushed the undersides of her breasts. His fingertips circled around, never touching her hard nipples.

He made a second trip around her breasts, but when he came to the side, his thumbs flicked the hard peaks. She arched off the bed at the touch and then yelped in pain.

Finn jumped off of her to the end of the bed.

“I knew this was a bad idea,” he said as she scrambled to sit upright.

“No.” She slid across to him. “I just leaned back on my shoulder.”

She placed his hands in her own and smiled.

“It was nice,” she said shyly. “Really nice.”

Finn slid his hand away from her and slipped off the bed.

“I can’t do this,” he said.

Alyssa stood in front of him as he tossed on his pants and zipped them up, not bothering with the button.

“What do you mean you can’t do this?” She placed her hand on her hip in frustration.

“This!” he shouted and waved at the bed. “It’s not a good idea. Look how much trouble you’ve gotten into just knowing me.”

Alyssa gave a bitter laugh. “Please, you think being shot was the worst thing to ever happen to me?” She was angry now. He didn’t get to decide what was best for her. “Try being with someone who holds you down while they do what they want to you. Try having to look at yourself in the mirror after that.”

“I could be like him,” Finn said softly. “I can’t let you do that.”

“I don’t fucking need you to protect me like that,” she yelled. “Especially from you. You may not know yourself Finn, but I certainly do.”

She stepped forward, shaking and emotional. “I trust you without a doubt. No matter the situation.” She locked gazes with him, his expression turning to revulsion as she spoke. “I believe in you.”

Finn stepped away. Fear crossed his eyes as she continued to look at him.

“I’ve got work to do,” he said and turned away.

“Don’t do this.” She choked back the tears that threatened to spill.

He paused at the door, his body halfway out.

“Don’t believe in me, Alyssa,” he said quietly over his shoulder and then shut the door.

“Too late,” she whispered into the dark and sank to the floor to cry.

Finn made his way through the darkened halls, his heart heavy with guilt and regret. He opened the door to his office and slipped in, shutting off thoughts of running back to her.

The scent of her floral perfume still clung to his skin, driving him crazy.

She just didn’t understand. He couldn’t let himself be like his father. Couldn’t even let himself be close, especially after what she had been though. He remembered what her shitty ex had said about how he liked to use her when they had sex. Just knowing that her ex had raped her as well made him want to do more than just break the man’s jaw.

She was like a delicate little flower. He didn’t even know how to handle somebody like that. He had never been much on gentle sex. It had always been rough and hard, and although he never had complaints, he just couldn’t do that to her.

Finn leaned against the door and breathed hard. He had been so close just then. So close to yanking off both of their underwear and fucking her like he had always thought about. It wasn’t until she cried out in pain that he was brought back to reality. He caused pain to the people he cared about.

His mother had taken beatings for him. Ennis as well. If it weren’t for them, he likely wouldn’t have made it. Because of him, they had suffered.

Even his mother’s death had been his fault.

He sighed and sat heavy on his couch. Ennis was already off at school, but Finn still had another year. If only he hadn’t insisted on going to the park, she wouldn’t have had to protect him. Just like in a movie, they drove by, and he saw the flash of the gun before he heard it. She was next to him and tossed him out of the way.

He watched as his mother fell to the ground, dead after the last bullet pierced her heart.

Two women had taken bullets for him. He couldn’t let there be any more. What if next time they didn’t miss with Alyssa? The very idea kept him up at night.

Finn sighed and leaned back on the couch. Maybe he could get a little shuteye in his office. She would be safe in his room.

* * *

Alyssa listened as movement came from all over the house. She wondered how many people worked in the house and how many were just his men.

She sighed and stood in front of the bed. This was going to be difficult. Everything in her last night had wanted to chase after him. Something was wrong with his thinking, but she just didn’t know what.