17. Riley
Chapter 17
Riley
I’m on Cloud Fifteen. Finn doesn’t love my sister, he’s never touched my sister. I’m the first person he’s touched since his late wife.
I slap both hands over my cheeks to stop myself from grinning like an idiot. Nothing’s different between us. Not really.
We know more about each other now. But for all that talking we did, we didn’t cover everything. We didn’t discuss what happened at my apartment or whether Finn was serious when he vowed to make me come all over his fingers, tongue, and cock.
Movement in my peripheral catches my attention. An older couple approaches the diner’s glass door. I can tell from here how put together they are, which is a bit odd, considering it’s only six, almost seven in the morning.
Everything they’re wearing, head to toe, is name brand luxury.
I pull the door open for them, and they duck inside. They return my polite smile with icy stares.
The man wraps a protective arm around the woman’s waist. “You’re sure you want to spend our anniversary here ?”
She scowls. “Our daughter used to love quaint places like this. We came here to honor her memory.”
When they spot Finn, their cold expressions become positively glacial. It’s not the kind of eye contact strangers in a deserted diner make.
This exchange is war-like.
When I glance at Finn, I find a shell of the man I know.
I’ve never seen him look so small. So broken.
It’s as if someone extinguished the spark of light inside him and hollowed out his eyes.
My attention falls to that widower’s tattoo around the ring finger of his clenched left fist, and a switch flips in my mind.
These must be Finn’s late wife’s parents.
An older couple on their anniversary, honoring the taste of their late daughter…and running into the man they blame for her death. No wonder the air got so frigid.
My heart fractures like glass as I imagine what hell must be going through Finn’s mind.
And that’s when I remember the vow I made sometime in the wee hours of this morning…to have Finn’s back while we’re stuck in this fake marriage together.
The woman’s attention darts to my left hand. “You should leave him now. Before it’s too late.”
Although anger flares in my chest, empathy for their lost daughter has me biting back any harsh words. “I’m sorry for your loss, but Finn is a good man. I’d be a fool to leave him.”
He peers at me like he’s never seen me before.
“Come on, honey. Let’s go home.”
I don’t wait for him to agree. I just grab his hand and tug him along behind me until we’re out the door and on the sidewalk in the early morning air.
Just a few minutes ago, Finn was laughing…one of the happiest, most wonderful sounds I’ve ever heard.
Now he looks like he’ll never smile again.
As if lost, he comes to a standstill at the curb.
“Keys.” I open my palm to him. “I’m driving us home.”
His sorrow-filled eyes find mine. “You know how to drive?”
“Of course I can drive. Shut up and give me the keys.”
Our cousins taught Harper and me how to drive when we were teenagers. The entirety of my experience involves steering one of my cousin’s pickup trucks through abandoned parking lots in New Jersey exurbia, but I keep that information to myself.
Getting behind the wheel of an Audi A4 is a bit daunting, especially when Finn slides into the passenger seat like a ghost, silent as the grave. Though worried, I do my best to focus on the road.
Pedestrians abound. Dozens of street lights, confusing road signs, the ever present honking…the volume of stimuli on any given New York City street boggles the mind. Driving commands most of my attention, but even so, by the time we’re about halfway home, I’ve worked up the courage to speak.
“So…those were your late wife’s parents?”
I still barely know anything about the woman, but what I do know is more tragic and horrible than I ever imagined.
Someone butchered her. Chopped her into pieces.
How does someone cope with that kind of grief without going insane? How has Finn managed it all this time, all alone?
Finn doesn’t answer. Instead, he curls his hand around my right thigh.
It takes everything in me not to react. How can he make me giddy with one simple touch?
When we return to the estate, the mansion is awake. Maybe we can manage to give the impression of newlyweds who had a fun night out.
As soon as I navigate to the garage and park, relief floods my system.
Within seconds, Finn bursts from the car.
I fill my cheeks with air and blow, battling my disappointment.
That’s okay. He just needs some time alone to process his emotions.
The driver’s door opens, and Finn reaches inside.
Without a word, he grabs my good hand and helps me out of the car. He leads me through the garage, down the bustling main hall of the first floor, up six flights of the grand staircase to the third floor, all the way to his suite.
We’re five steps through the door when he whirls. His dark gaze blazes, and he grabs my forearms as if he’s afraid I might run.
A little voice inside me wonders if I should.
My insides tremble, triggering an avalanche of lust all through my body.
The blatant desire on his face says he wants me too.
Finn pushes me backward until my spine hits the wall beside his front door. The woodsy musk of his skin intoxicates me. Anticipation sizzles through my veins.
His mouth devours mine, and it’s the sexiest thing that’s ever happened to me. He guides my arms up and around his neck, pancaking his body against me with so much force that, if the wall weren’t there, we’d be on the floor in the hallway.
His hands roam all over my body. My waist, my ass, my arms, my neck, my hair.
Finn wants me. Not my sister. Not anyone else. Me.
The idea both intoxicates and terrifies me. Touching him is sweeter than any dream, but I can’t help the panic gathering in the back of my skull.
What a terrible time to be on the verge of a flashback.
Finn likes me now, but what about later? Troy’s face flares behind my eyes. He said he liked me too. Then I didn’t give him what he wanted, and he beat the shit out of me.
What if deep down, Finn thinks I’m a traitor just like Dad and everyone else?
He’s been loyal to this mafia his entire life. Hell, he’s the heir apparent. And since when does he even like me? He’s never told me that. I’m just making assumptions. And assumptions are usually wrong.
Whenever I think someone truly cares about me, I’m usually wrong. Like my dad. Troy.
Even Harper, to a certain extent.
Bitterness and fear seep into my soul.
I grip his biceps and try to hold him back. “Isn’t this adultery by association?”
“You know there’s nothing between us,” he growls in my ear, sounding every bit like a cheating husband-to-be.
“But you’re still marrying her.”
His next angry kiss dares me to argue.
I do anyway. “Back before I left, three years ago…I kissed you, and you pushed me away. You said you didn’t want me.”
“I lied.”
He nips my lip as if to shut me up and cups my breast. Under his shirt, I drag my fingernails down his back. That only makes him crush me tighter against the wall, a low rumble in his throat as he feasts on my mouth.
Doubt and insecurity consume me. “Finn.”
Hearing the warble in my voice, he stiffens. He takes a step back and braces his hands on the wall, boxing me in. “Talk to me, angel.”
When his eyes find mine, they’re soft. I have to swallow the emotion welling in my throat.
“I don’t know. I just…”
“Do you want me to stop?”
“No.” I pull my lower lip between my teeth. “I don’t, and that’s the problem.”
Breathing hard, Finn rests his forehead against mine. “I don’t follow.”
I release my lip, trying to put my jumbled thoughts into words. “What happens after this? If we…if we sleep together, we’ll be crossing a line. Sooner or later, Harper will return, and you’ll marry her, and she’ll be the one in your bed.” My face heats, but I carry on. “As much as I want this…want you…maybe it’s better if we don’t complicate things.”
“Things are already complicated.”
The knot in my throat grows. “So maybe we should quit while we’re ahead.”
He pins me with a long, hard look, and for a moment, I think he’s going to pull away. “When Brianne was…murdered, something inside me died along with her. I’ve been on autopilot, doing my job and nothing more. I haven’t felt anything. No joy. No pleasure. Not even pain. I’ve let the numbness drag me farther and farther down, until I couldn’t go much farther. And then you came along, and for the first time in years, I feel alive.”
Those words kick-start my heart. “I haven’t done anything.”
“It’s not what you’ve done or haven’t done.” He presses a kiss on my temple. “There’s just something about you that make me feel lighter…freer…and I don’t want to let that feeling go.”
I suck in a sharp breath. “What exactly are you saying?”
His mouth brushes the shell of my ear. “I need to fuck you. More than I need fucking air , I need my cock inside you.”
His words conjure a burst of wetness between my legs. His warm lips and hot breath curl into my ear, sending a tremor of lust through me.
Releasing my breath in a rush, I stare into his eyes. “Then fuck me.”
He kisses me then, hard and savage, his hands fisting in my hair.
He’s a tidal wave, and I’m a child on the beach with no life jacket.
Without warning, Finn pulls back.
Is he having regrets already? “What’s wrong?”
“Condoms.” His hands rest on my shoulders. “Just realized I don’t have any.”
Here comes the real moment of truth. I have two options. Option one, I can use Finn’s lack of contraception as an excuse to stop this crazy, sexy train before it careens off the tracks. Or option two, I can tell Finn about the IUD I got while dating Troy. What a joke that it might actually come in handy…if I decide to be dumb and greenlight Finn’s proposal to screw my brains out.
Getting involved with this man should be a hard pass.
I have the horrible feeling the consequences will be dire. They always are where the Kings are concerned.
I take the plunge anyway. “It’s okay.”
His gaze snaps to mine. “What?”
I push past him and stroll toward his den. I think I saw my suitcase stashed somewhere in there?—
“Riley.” His fingers wrap around my forearm. We haven’t made it to his den yet. We’re hovering in a large, library-esque nook. Behind us stands the tallest bookcase I’ve ever seen. “What are you talking about?”
“We don’t need condoms.” I toy with a lock of my hair. “I’m clean, and…I’ve got an IUD.”
He blinks at me, as though I’m speaking Greek.
Then his mouth is on mine so fast, I don’t have a prayer of finishing that sentence. He slams us into a narrow sliver of wall space between two of the colossal bookcases. His rough fingers dig into the waistline of my jeans and rip them down my hips.
My eyes fly open in surprise. “Finn?”
He drops to his knees, yanking my jeans the rest of the way down. Once he frees my feet, he flings the pants across the room. A violent jerk of his hand rips my underwear right off.
My core throbs. “What are you?—”
He trails hot kisses up my thigh, setting off sparklers inside me. “Hang onto something.”
I don’t know what he means until his rough palm appears behind my right knee and lifts it up onto his shoulder. Eyes widening, I reach for the nearest bookcase and brace myself.
“I’m hungry.” Finn runs his sweltering tongue over my wet seam, sending a torrent of pleasure through me that’s so intense, I forget to be self-conscious.
He slides his tongue between my folds, the heat of his breath and his scratchy beard putting me in a trance.
Oh, god.
My head falls back. With my palms pressed to the bookcases on either side of me, I brace myself as Finn laps at me with long strokes of his tongue. Then, he sucks my clit between his lips.
Pleasure pulses through me, dulling my mind like brain fever. My entire consciousness melts into a kaleidoscope of blurred sensation.
“I’ve wanted to taste this pussy for days .” Finn squeezes my hips as he traps me within his smoldering gaze. “And it’s even sweeter than I imagined.”
A gasp escapes my mouth at his wicked admission.
With his left hand, he kneads my bare ass cheek that’s practically seated on his shoulder. With his right hand, he pushes one of his long, thick fingers inside me. I don’t cover my mouth in time to mute the moan that unfurls from my lips.
“I love those sexy little noises.” He lets out a dark laugh before sucking my clit back into his mouth.
“Shit.” My voice is a shaky whisper.
White-hot lust grabs me in a chokehold while Finn pumps his finger and suckles me, squeezing my ass like he never wants to let go.
The bliss spiraling through my body spikes and heightens.
Pressure grows between my legs, coiling my muscles tight. My leg muscles start twitching. My breaths come in rapid bursts.
Surely I’m not about to come. Not this fast.
And then he grazes my clit with his teeth before gently biting down, and everything inside me contracts and explodes in one euphoric surge. It’s like Finn tossed me off a cliff, but instead of falling, I’m convulsing all over his face, foreign, needy cries pouring from my mouth.
Even after the earthquake of the orgasm passes, aftershocks continue to rock me. I’m half slumped against the wall, half on top of Finn, trying to catch my breath.
Holy shit.
Is that what orgasms are supposed to feel like? If so, my little rechargeable friend has really let me down.
I guess I don’t feel as badly now that it went missing from my apartment bathroom.
Finn lowers my leg and rises, returning to full height. His beard glistens with my arousal, and he licks his lips and groans.
Heat rushes straight to my core.
His mouth crashes into mine. When his tongue plunges inside, I taste myself. “See?” he murmurs. “Sweet.”
His muscled arms tighten as he lifts me from the ground.
With my legs wrapped around his waist, he carries me and doesn’t set me down again until we’re three steps from his bed. Into my neck, he murmurs something that sounds apologetic.
“You deserve a gentleman.” He rips my blouse open without warning, and the buttons skitter across his floor. “I’m not one.”
“I don’t want a gentleman. I just want you.”
At that, he groans deep in his throat and sucks the delicate spot where my shoulder meets my neck.
I’m standing here in front of him, naked save for my lacy bra. He’s still fully clothed, and the contrast echoes the power imbalance of our entire relationship. Finn holds all the cards. And by the wicked expression on his face, I’m betting he plans to take full advantage of that fact very, very soon.
Meanwhile, I’ve never experienced anything like this with another person. Not pleasure or passion. Not love either.
Not that this is love, just. I. It. Finn. Ugh.
I think that orgasm scrambled my brain.
“And for your information,” I reach for his belt buckle as Finn yanks his shirt over his head. “I deserve a lot of things.”
It only takes a moment to shed the last of our clothes until nothing remains.
“You’re right.” Finn pushes me face down onto his massive bed and slaps my ass. “You deserve that for saying you shouldn’t have called me to help earlier.”
He spanks me again, and the sudden, smarting pain only makes me needier. I get the impression Finn knows exactly what he’s doing as he crawls over me, trailing slow kisses up each vertebrae all the way to my neck. His rock-hard erection pokes the inside of my thighs, settling in the curve of my ass.
I stiffen. Oh, god. Surely he’s not going to?—
Finn grips my shoulders, flipping me over in a fluid motion. His huge, hard dick collides with my clit, and a shiver courses through me.
“I’m no better than that fucker of an ex.” He licks his way down my neck to my breast and circles my nipple, beard scraping more pleasure across my skin. “I’m sick and twisted too.”
“You’re nothing like him.”
Finn and my ex are night and day.
He draws himself up onto his knees, drinking in the sight of me naked underneath him. When his calloused palms grip my knees and ease them apart, I suck in a breath.
“You’re a masterpiece, and just like him, I want you all for myself.”
My struggling heart doesn’t know how to react.
I haven’t decided when Finn dips two of his fingers inside me, making me clench around them.
His eyes glitter with dark satisfaction. “ Yes , angel.” He fingers me sweet and slow, causing that delicious tension to start coiling again. “I want to make you lose your fucking mind until I’m the only man you remember.”
And that’s exactly what he does.