Game

by London Casey

  My brain demanded I move my arms, my legs. I wiggled my toes. I curled my fingers. I bit my lip. I wiggled my ears. My brain was in some kind of survival mode, taking inventory of what was damaged and what needed to be fixed in order of importance. Everything my brain wanted me to do I was able to do. Except wiggle my ears. I had never been able to do that.

  Thoughts returned and that meant thoughts about Zander.

  He’d come for me.

  He was going to kill me and Finn. Or maybe just kill Finn and kidnap me. Then torture the life out of me until I gave up everything I knew about Finn, Fiore, or why I had left with Finn after the fight that night. Maybe if that happened I would have just exploded on Zander about my sister.

  Where the fuck is Sasha? What did you do to her?

  I moved my arms again, almost swinging them. My head started to move. I groaned.

  “No, sweetie, wait,” a voice said.

  Finn’s voice.

  My body warmed right up. All the right places warmed up so I knew I couldn’t have been that hurt.

  When I opened my eyes, it was in time to see Finn opening the door to the cabin. He’d walked all the way to the cabin carrying me. Protecting me. Saving me.

  He placed me on the couch and dropped down, touching my face and cheeks.

  “Shayna? Say something.”

  My eyes fluttered again and I briefly saw Finn. “Hey.”

  “Do you feel any pain?”

  “I don’t know,” I whispered. “What…”

  “It’s okay,” he said. “They’re… gone now.”

  That meant they were dead. Rightfully so, I guessed. Sometimes life really was about survival. They chased us. They wanted to engage in a fight. Someone had to die.

  “I’ll be right back,” Finn said.

  Darkness took me again.

  ~

  When I came to again, there was a fire in the fireplace. A blanket on my body. And I was missing most of my clothes. I looked around and saw Finn sitting on the edge of the coffee table. Next to him was a bowl with water in it. And blood.

  Blood?

  “You’re all cleaned up,” he whispered. “Just a little gash on your forehead. You’re lucky, sweetie. No stitches or broken bones.”

  “Okay,” I groaned.

  “Does your head hurt at all?”

  “No. I’m…” I blinked a few times. “I’m so sorry, Finn.”

  “Why, sweetie?”

  “Because you were supposed to have a different life. A better life. Not with me. Not like this. I could have gotten you killed tonight. And you saved me.”

  He leaned forward and kissed my forehead. “I’ll always save you, sweetie. No matter what happens.”

  Finn pulled away and I knew I had one last chance at it. So I asked. “Can you please just tell me about her?”

  Finn shut his eyes for a second and then nodded slowly. “Yeah, sure. I’ll tell you about me and Carrie.”

  31.

  (Finn)

  I told her how I met Carrie. How I had bought her some drinks, took her brother - Cormac - outside, how I fought him, how we laughed, and how the night never ended. And that’s exactly how it felt for me. That the first night we met was some kind of continuous span of time where the night, day, never ended. Like I had found my moment in time to lock right into and stay there.

  “When I started making money fighting, it was strange for me. I grew up poor. I ate what I could when I had it. Even when I got popular at fighting, the money wasn’t great. I mean, I had a freaking apartment. That was luxury. Next thing I knew I was getting six figures tossed into my bank account. All the time. Sponsorships. Fights. Everything. And when me and Cormac got together, it was an explosion. He’s such a wild hair and I had the attitude and strength. Carrie had her hands full with both of us. But I loved that woman. I’d get drunk and tell Cormac how bad I wanted to marry her. Even sober, I just knew it was there. It was right. But she didn’t want to get married. She didn’t believe it. She liked the edge of freedom. You know why?”

  “Why?” Shayna asked, weakly.

  Staring at her was making me feel things I wasn’t sure I should feel. That right feeling I just mentioned? That was creeping in, bad.

  “Because to her, the true sense of love was staying. Not being forced to stay by marriage. Because of vows and rings and legal papers. When you’re not married, you’re not bound to anyone. Or anything. You could wake up tomorrow and disappear. So her ultimate showing of love to me was being there. And for me to her, the same.”

  I took a breath.

  “I bought the land after we came hiking through here. I had the cabin built for her and I to live in. She wanted the woods and freedom. Here it was. All for the taking. She never got to see the cabin though.”

  I stood up.

  Shayna faintly tried to reach for me.

  I closed my eyes.

  Am I going there? Am I really going there right now?

  “The life I live now makes it hurt worse,” I said.

  “Why?” Shayna asked.

  “I wasn’t like this. I mean, I was grumpy and an asshole. That’s just part of my built-in charm. But the violence, guns, intense fights, that’s all a new version of me. So as I live each day fucking around with a hard death, Carrie… she was taken so sudden and so…”

  “How?”

  “A fucking car accident,” I said. My throat started to close. I fought it away. “A car accident. Driving to the cabin to see it for the first time. A deer jumped out in front of another car. The guy swerved and lost control of his car. I guess Carrie tried to swerve away from him. She spun, he hit the ass of the car, and she went spinning until she hit a tree. Just like that. Nobody’s fault, really. No weapons. No bullets. No fists. No mob. Nothing. Just a goddamn random fucking car accident.”

  I hung my head in defeat. It was the hardest thing to talk about. Because it was so simple. She was here, then she wasn’t.

  “Oh, Finn…”

  “So I had no place to get rid of the anger and pain,” I said. “Cormac lost his edge too because it was his goddamn sister. He raised Carrie. Their parents were long gone before I ever met them. You know? So Cormac was gone, grieving, tearing through bottles of whiskey and women. I needed him. He wasn’t here. And he needed me and I wasn’t there. We broke apart for a long time. And when we got together, we drank, fought, and hated each other. When I started fighting again, it wasn’t good. I was too violent. I didn’t stop for a buzzer or a bell. I got disqualified, fined, suspended, and even sued. One time I got jumped by a group of gambler bookie guys and then broke three ribs because I was supposed to win a fight… and I ended up going beyond the buzzer and got kicked out of the fight. So they lost money on me.

  “Then I had the chance to meet Fiore. I apparently fucked him on a fight too. So he brought me in to kill me. I was dead drunk and I cried my eyes out in front of him. I collapsed and he picked me up. I told him my story and he offered me a job. To be one of his fighters. Where I could do it underground. Where I could get it all out as I wanted to do. No bells or buzzers. There’s death matches, you know. People fight until someone dies. I never got involved there, but, fuck, that’s heavy. My first fight, Fiore told me to knock the guy out in a minute. He put two hundred grand on me that night. He got a couple other big businessmen to match the bet. I went in and broke the guy’s jaw in three punches. He was out cold before he hit the ground. The place was in silence. That was the start of Finn, the underground fighter.”

  I wiped the corner of my eyes and turned to look at Shayna.

  “Finn, I don’t know what to say,” she whispered. “I’m so sorry you lost her. That you lost your dream and your life. I’m sorry I dragged you into all this. I was selfish…”

  “No,” I said. “We’re not going to do that, sweetie. This is where we are now. Nothing can change that. It’s obvious Fiore isn’t doing his job protecting us. And Zander is coming for you. So we will fight back. We will figure something out.” I
really had no idea what to do or say. I moved to the couch and crouched down. “Right now, you need to rest. If anything gets worse you better tell me. We’ll figure out something with my truck in the morning.”

  “Kiss me, Finn,” Shayna asked.

  I had already planned on it.

  Our lips touched, played, flirted, kissed. I broke the kiss and whispered, “Have you ever been in love?”

  “Not until recently,” Shayna whispered as her eyes shut.

  I stood and realized what was truly happening here.

  We were falling for each other.

  ~

  I called Fiore.

  “Are you alive?” he yelled.

  “Yeah. We were attacked.”

  “So was the fight,” Fiore said.

  Then there was silence. A chilling silence.

  “Fiore?” I asked.

  “It was Zander. I’m sure he was looking for Shayna. You have to make this happen, Finn. Zander needs to be taught a lesson.”

  “Was anyone killed?” I asked.

  “Yeah. Half a dozen. It’s going to hurt my reputation for a while. I put ten men out on the run. We’re fighting back.”

  “I rolled my truck, Fiore. About half a mile from the cabin. I have no transportation right now.”

  “You don’t need it. Just fuck that woman until she’s pregnant.”

  The call went dead.

  Fiore had lost his mind for good it seemed. In that regard, I didn’t know who was scarier - Zander or Fiore.

  ~

  I woke to hands touching my chest. My eyes popped open and I was in my bed. I was in the bedroom, in the cabin. And right on top of me… was Shayna.

  “What are you…”

  “Shut up,” she whispered.

  There was barely any light in the bedroom, giving hint that it was just before dawn when the most faint sliver of light pressed over the horizon for another to come.

  Her fingers wrapped tight around my shirt, nails digging into my chest. Her hair was messy and falling forward, but I could still see her eyes. They were burning.

  I quickly touched her waist and felt her shirt. A few inches further down and it was all smooth skin. My hands touched her thighs and then around to her ass. She was naked from the waist down, right on top of me. I dug with my fingers and pulled, bringing her forward. The tips of both my middle fingers grazed between her thighs, feeling her soft wetness. Christ, she was ready to go again. She wanted to fuck me right here… right in this bed… right in this cabin…

  I felt the hesitation soar through my body. I thought about what this cabin was meant for. Who it was meant for.

  Shayna pulled at my shirt and groaned. She threw her head back, exposing her neck. I lifted up and kissed her sweet skin. Kiss after kiss, trailing to her ear. My cock was already thickening, but now it was rock hard within a second. A need shot through my body that I never experienced before.

  My hands crept up from her ass to her lower back, to her shirt. She then sat up, grinding her sex against my jeans, teasing with such perfect force. My hands moved around to the front of her body and moved up her shirt. I slid both hands over her supple breasts and squeezed, feeling so goddamn alive. Shayna put her head back again. She took her hands from my chest and grabbed her own shirt. As she lifted it up I realized this was the first time I was going to see her tits. After everything we’d been through so far, I had yet to see her fully naked.

  I couldn’t believe how excited I was.

  Maybe I really was falling in love with this woman.

  I purposely let my hands slide down to her belly so I could see her breasts untouched. Her shirt went up and over her head. She reached for her hair and pulled it back, leaving herself so exposed to me. So completely exposed.

  I gritted my teeth as both my heart and my cock wanted to explode in the same moment. Her neck led way to her beautiful chest. Her breasts were full, slightly heavy, not too big for her body. Their shapely curve matched her hips so perfectly I had to keep blinking to make sure I was seeing right. My hands inched back up. My thumbs moved across her breasts, feeling her hard nipples. The move made her jump and gasp.

  She was so sensitive.

  I stared at the rest of her body. The way her body was put together was like some kind of act of magic. My hands felt her ribs and then enough skin to grab at her. That’s what a real woman was made of. I traveled the natural curve of her body - my mind raced, telling her that her hips were perfect for carrying a child…

  My left hand held at her waist while my right hand eased down between her legs. I led with my thumb, seeking the nub of her clit. When I found it, I hooked my thumb and gently pressed. Her entire body tensed and she let her hair go and fell forward, her hands at my chest again. She clawed at me, inching down, her tits hanging right in front of my face. With my left hand, I released my hold on her waist and went for her breast. I cupped, played, then ran my hand to her back. I pulled at her, bringing her even closer. My lips found the warm taste of her breast, taking her in, finally able to savor the moment that had been burning in the back of my mind for a long time.

  I hadn’t forgotten about my other hand either. My thumb applied pressure to her clit and I began to write her a letter. Moving left to right, up and down, penning my own thoughts of passion and romance with Shayna, words that were on the tip of my tongue but I hadn’t said just yet. My thumb and my letter brought her pleasure as she began to jolt her hips hard at me, wiggling the next second, fighting and accepting her urges at the same time.

  “Finn… I don’t want to lose you.”

  Such random words but it stopped the entire scene dead.

  I took my hand from between her legs. I pulled away from her breast and looked her in the eyes. It looked like there were tears in her eyes. Maybe that was my chance or cue to reach up, wipe those tears away, and tell her something sweet.

  But I couldn’t lie to her. I couldn’t push her away. I couldn’t contain myself around her either.

  So I did what I only knew to do best…

  I reached between my legs and I opened my jeans. I lifted myself up and hurried to push them down, letting my dick free. Shayna looked down and let out a moan. She liked it. She really fucking liked it.

  My hands grabbed her ass and lifted her up. I positioned her right over me. My cock was like a steel rod, only moving slightly as I throbbed, aching to get back inside her. There was a flicker of a second where I thought about finding protection… fuck it.

  I thrust up and lowered Shayna down at the same time.

  I felt myself penetrate, opening her wild desire, her body sheathing me. Her back then arched as she cried out. Her nails dug through my shirt and into my chest with a fierce pain. But I could take the pain; I could revel in it. It didn’t matter as I watched the way her body reacted to my touch and my thrusts.

  My hands eased up her back, one staying at her lower back to guide up and down on my cock. My other hand moved right between her shoulder blades. I pulled her down again, demanding to taste her breasts again. I kissed, nibbled, teased her to the point where she grabbed my hair and pulled. When I looked up at her, a new fire burned in her eyes. Next thing I knew her mouth attacked mine.

  I’m not a man to measure kisses with women or keep some fucking diary of who fucked best… but when Shayna and I started kissing, something changed inside me. It was the greatest kiss of my life. Maybe it was because we were both so lost and in such a dark place together. Maybe because we knew that death waited just feet away… seconds away… making every second just a little more precious.

  Or maybe it was because her fucking pussy wrapped itself tight around my thick cock and it all just felt goddamn good.

  I kept my hands in the same spot and fucked at her harder. My body pounded up to hers, making her continually jump. She slowly brought herself to her knees, trying to find stability.

  Not a fucking chance, sweetie.

  I couldn’t slow down and I wouldn’t slow down. My hand pressed har
d at her lower back, keeping her body close and tight, making sure she felt every inch of love I could give her.

  She stopped kissing me for a few seconds to let out a whimpering moan. But our lips kept touching, flirting. Soon she had both hands at my hair, her perfect breasts pressed against my chest. Her ass was up in the air, letting me put my feet to the bed and go at her.

  Shayna let out a cry and put her mouth to my shoulder, biting me through my shirt. I looked over her shoulder and admired the sight. The most beautiful woman I’d ever fucked. Her shoulder blades pressed from her back, giving way to the rest of her back. Slightly arched forward, curving, racing right up to her round ass. Two small dimples at her lower back that danced for me as she moved up and down with my movements.

  We were both in perfect unison. She fucked me as hard as I fucked her. She was able to keep up with me.

  Her mouth kissed my neck, biting and groaning. I hurried and brought both hands from her body to her face. I held her an inch from my face, knowing the danger I was putting myself into. Staring at her made me want to fall in love with her. And I couldn’t do that. I couldn’t allow it to happen.

  But I couldn’t stop myself.

  And Shayna only made it fucking worse.

  She nodded to me as though she could read my mind.

  Her hands went back to my chest and pushed herself up. She started to ride me faster, rocking her hips so hard the bed started to groan. Her hands playfully clawed down my body, stopping at my stomach. When she lifted herself up and down, almost fully coming off me, I hissed and gritted my teeth.

  “Fuck, sweetie, I’m there,” I warned.

  “Good,” Shayna purred.

  She repeated the same move over and over.

  I felt my dick pulsing, unable to hold back any longer.

  My hands smacked at her waist and I pulled her down. I exploded inside her, again, knowing the potential outcome of this. But it just felt too good. Her pussy throbbed against me, squeezing it out of me. The way she slowly moved, making sure nothing was to go to waste.

  I pulled her back down to me, hugging her, holding her, still inside her.

  Her breaths flooded my neck and side of my face. She smelled so good. The room was filled with heat and sex. My heart raced and it wasn’t just from fucking her.