Finn’s Redemption
Sierra Summers
Alli Downing can’t get over Finn Donovan. Fifteen years after he seduced her then broke her heart, she still comes with his name on her lips, every time she touches herself. Now he’s back in town, claiming her necklace is one of three keys needed to break his family’s curse.
Finn can’t just take the necklace from Alli. She has to offer it to him while naked. On an altar. During a magic ritual filled with mind-blowing sex. And she has to be in love with him. Finn decides to tempt, tease and torment Alli with pleasure until she sees he’s no longer the stupid kid who stomped all over her heart so long ago. He’s the man who loves her, has always loved her, and he’s determined to prove it. One way or another, he’ll get the necklace, break the curse…and claim Alli for his own.
Finn’s Redemption
Sierra Summers
Dedication
To all my friends at Paperbacks and Things who have encouraged me from the beginning. To Tawny Taylor, who is my biggest cheerleader and to my writing partner VJ, who has been on this long and strange journey with me. To my family for all your support. Last but not least, to my editor Carrie for taking on what was a hot mess and helping give life to my first characters I ever finished.
Chapter One
“I’m a powerful witch from an even more powerful family.” Finn Donovan kept repeating that to himself over and over as he sat in his big black Dodge Ram. He gripped the steering wheel harder, causing his fingers to go numb as trepidation slithered down his spine.
At the moment he sure as hell didn’t feel very powerful. His sister Heather was in bed withering away and he was scared he’d lose her… The fucking Donovan curse. He’d thought coming home would be simple but it was more difficult than even he could have imagined. He looked out the truck’s side window and into the storefront directly across the street.
Alli’s store. A name from his past, it caused an involuntary shiver to slide across his shoulders. Damn, he never thought he’d be sitting here, much less back in town again.
He grunted. Just goes to show you couldn’t outrun your destiny. How many times had his pop spoken those words? It was easy enough to convince the five-year-old Finn of the family’s dark curse. By the time high school arrived, he was arrogant and no longer believed the story of Duncan Donovan committing a terrible wrong against a Fae princess. Maybe it had been teenage rebellion or he didn’t want to admit the possibility of his baby sister actually coming under the curse. He told his father it was nothing more than an old tale, probably drummed up by a drunken ancestor back in Ireland.
A week ago, his skepticism came to a grinding halt when his brother Sully called him in California. The conversation was short and sweet—the fucking curse is real. Heather is sick, real sick, Finn. It’s time to come home.
He was on the first flight out of San Diego within hours of the phone call. His stomach clenched as he remembered walking into Heather’s room when he’d arrived. Her skin was pale and looked paper thin. Her blue eyes spoke volumes—he could see the pain she was trying to hide from him. The smile she wore was genuine and it broke Finn’s heart to see his little sister so frail.
Heather was the reason he was sitting here now, frozen in place. Afraid to walk across the street and see the only woman in the world who could help him…help heal Heather.
Watching the girl he’d known so well fifteen years ago—“girl” was the wrong word, she was definitely a woman—his stomach gave a small lurch when she turned around.
He watched Alli approach an elderly couple near the middle of the store. Her face was turned from him but her body was in full view, and what a body she possessed, tall and lush, and he was totally mesmerized. Her black skirt hugged her shapely ass. A long-sleeved peasant blouse came down low enough to expose the tops of creamy breasts.
Finn’s mouth watered and his jeans became tighter as arousal pressed forcefully against the denim. After all these years, she still retained the ability to make him so hot, so hard.
He hadn’t gotten this hard, this quick in a long time. He’d often wondered how her life had been since he’d been sent away to Avalon, hoping she was happy. Hoping like hell she’d forgiven the mistakes of a stupid kid. He knew she’d heard the rumors being spread about their night together…rumors that he’d used her. And that he didn’t really care about her. He couldn’t imagine the pain and embarrassment she felt with half the town talking but she didn’t know the entire truth about that evening.
Rumors, Finn had discovered, were a nasty way to crush the people you cared about. Alli hadn’t allowed him to explain what the events of that night meant to him. He knew she was hurt too deeply to understand the truth and look past the rumors that spread like wildfire all over town.
She’d returned all the letters he wrote, never once acknowledging his apology. No communication, not even to tell him to fuck off. She’d cut him off without a single word. He could have dealt with her anger but having Alli completely ignore him left the teenaged Finn feeling helpless. He finally stopped writing her after a year and concentrated on his studies. Taking the punishment his father deemed necessary for hurting Alli.
His memories of Avalon made him bite his lip. He still remembered every hellish moment of the years he spent on the island.
He was here now, after all this time, hanging on to the hope that Alli would not only forgive him but that she’d actually be with him. Shaking his head, he let out a long sigh. How in the hell was he going to get her to believe him? Any sane woman would tell him to go to hell. Alli was different, she always had been different, and Finn felt her deep in his bones.
This wasn’t only about him and Alli, Heather needed this to work. It would kill him if Alli rejected him because of what happened long ago. Guilt tore through his gut. He had to figure out a way to save Heather and get Alli to allow him back into her life.
Forgiveness was a difficult thing to expect with the history they shared. He was going to do everything possible to win her heart. She belonged to him. Fate had written it long ago—she was his woman. Finn had missed out on too many years with her, years that could’ve been spent showing her how much she meant to him.
His family would laugh if they could see him now. Crouching over the steering wheel, afraid to enter the bookstore, afraid to approach one woman.
His gaze was drawn to her again as she threw her head back and laughed at something the elderly customer said. Her brown wavy hair came down to her shoulders, and in the light he could make out golden highlights woven throughout, surrounding her hair like a halo.
Finn laughed to himself. He was stalling, trying his level best not to have to get out of his truck and face his past. He’d do this though and convince Alli he was the one for her. Heather needed him, and he needed the necklace in Alli’s possession. He needed her love as well, for any of this to work.
It was time for the damn curse to be broken and come hell or high water, it would be. Even if Finn had to get on his hands and knees and beg. Of course, the only begging Finn planned on was Alli begging him to fill her.
First on the list was getting her to talk to him without slugging him. He needed her to hear him out. He wasn’t expecting much from Alli. He only knew one thing for sure. He wanted her more today than he did when he was eighteen, not for what she could do for his family but for him.
He’d been roaming for so long in search of a way to get her out of his mind, out of his heart. Nothing worked, no matter how far away he lived, no matter how many beautiful women he dated. She was always there, in his dreams. There, she didn’t hate him. In his dreams she would lie beneath him while he made her his with every touch, every taste and every thrust of his cock.
Alli, the one woma
n who held his soul. Finn sucked in a deep breath. He sounded like such a sap. He would still be trying to outrun the memory of her had it not been for his sister.
Heather, her small face came to mind. She was so very fragile right now. Six months was all the time they had left to gather the jewels and save her life. No amount of magic in the world, none of the best doctors, could save his baby sister. It was all up to him and his younger twin brothers, Sully and Gavin. Heather didn’t deserve to be as sick as she was. It wasn’t her fault she was born into this family. Finn was going to make sure she lived to a ripe old age, no matter what it took.
He returned his attention to the woman across the street. He palmed his tight jeans, trying to relieve the ache that had grown rigid between his legs. He was always in control when it came to his reaction to a woman, but not tonight. Looking at Alli, at his future, his body betrayed him. All he wanted to do was go in there and bury himself balls-deep inside her.
It had been like this the one time they’d made love so many years ago, and it scared the shit out of him then. Never before or since had he been so taken by surprise. Even at the young age of eighteen, loving Alli felt so right, as though his body had always known hers. The feelings she brought to the surface back then confused the teenaged Finn. Even now, he wasn’t sure how he was going to react, standing face-to-face with her.
He was different now. Finn’s time away made him a harder man. He was able to bury his emotions deeper inside himself. He swore after his father sent him to the island, he’d never be vulnerable again, to anyone. For the last fifteen years, he’d kept that promise to himself.
Looking into the store, eyeing Alli as she walked with her customers away from the window, her ass swaying with each step she took, Finn knew the tight hold he kept on his emotions was in peril. He prayed to the Goddess that he’d be able to handle it when the dam finally burst.
Alli rang up the purchase from her last customers, thanking them. She eyed the clock on her counter. Ten minutes until she closed the shop. She was tired. Her employee Hannah had called in sick, leaving Alli to put away a large shipment of books. Never mind the fact that she hadn’t been able to get any lunch. Her belly tightened up at the thought of dinner, grumbling its discomfort quite loudly.
James would be here at six, like he was every Tuesday night, to take her to the diner. Alli preferred to go straight home, open up a bottle of wine, cuddle up on the couch and relax, but James was such a good friend to her. She hated to cancel just because she was a little tired.
Smiling, she knew James would cheer her up. He had a way about him that always seemed to project happiness. She found him comforting. He never had a bad day, was never in a bad mood. He’d pulled her out of a funk on more than one occasion when she was feeling a little blue.
The chimes over the door tinkled, letting her know someone had walked in. She looked up smiling, expecting to see James. Alli’s smile faltered as she saw who came through the door. It had been more than fifteen years and though he looked older, she would have known his face anywhere.
Finn Donovan was standing inside her shop, making his way to her. What the hell was he doing back in town? Since he left, Finn had never stepped foot back in their small community, not once. How many times had Alli thought she caught a glimpse of her first lover, only to be disappointed that it wasn’t him?
Heather—that had to be it. She’d heard Heather was very ill. The rumor mill in town spoke about an ancient curse on the family. The wonderful part of living in this community—nothing was a secret.
They were among the oldest of witch families in the Midwest. They’d lived in town since it was founded and were well-respected. Everyone liked them.
The clan was known for its generosity. They supported local charities, the library, even the civic league. The town accepted them, thinking they were a wonderfully kind group of people.
They may have shown their good side to other people, but she knew the dark side of at least one of them, and he was standing in her store at the moment. The nerve of the man.
Keep your cool, Alli, don’t let him think you care. It wasn’t fair, he looked so damn good. Finn had been stunning at eighteen. At thirty-three, he was downright beautiful. His dark-brown hair was all one length and fell to the tops of his shoulders. He was tall, more than six feet. Where he had been a lanky teen before, he’d since filled out in all the right places.
Alli couldn’t help but let her gaze travel down his body. From the black T-shirt that stretched tightly across a well-muscled chest. Down his soft denim-clad thighs, he was all man. One hundred percent male and he looked as though he was on the prowl.
“Hello, Alli.” His deep voice ran over her like silk, causing goose bumps to form on her flesh, the hair rising on the back of her neck.
“Hello, Finn.” She tried to keep the venom from her voice but wasn’t successful at it. Why did she care if she sounded like a bitch? He deserved that and more for the way he’d treated her. She was no longer the lonely little wallflower, afraid of her own shadow. She was a mature woman now, with her own business, lots of friends and she was happy.
Damn, though. He’s still beautiful, she thought as he lifted his hand and mumbled under his breath. She heard the lock on her door turn over. Alli scowled. She really hated magic.
“What do you think you’re doing? Open the door, now.” She couldn’t believe his arrogance. He just strolled into her store, completely uninvited, and then locked her damn door.
Her chest tightened as shivers shot down her spine. This wasn’t happening, she refused to allow her body to become turned-on by Finn Donovan.
“I can’t do that. We need to talk, and I don’t want to be interrupted.” He walked closer, though it was more like a prowl, and stood on the other side of her counter.
Turning her back to him, she couldn’t keep looking at him. He made her feel like a horny teenager. It wasn’t fair. She was supposed to be over him by now. He wasn’t supposed to walk through her door looking so well. He was supposed to be ugly, married to a woman who nagged him all the time and spent all his money. At least that’s what happened in her fantasies.
She pulled her shirt away from her chest, trying to hide the fact her nipples were rock-hard at the sight of him. With him standing so close, she took a couple of deep breaths to steady herself. She reminded herself that she hated this man. She didn’t want to tear his clothes off, she really didn’t.
“Talk away, Finn, but hurry, I have a date.” She busied herself by pretending to straighten up. She wasn’t about to give him her full attention. Let him speak his piece, then ask him to leave. Where was James? He was always on time when he came to pick her up.
“I need you to look at me, Alli,” he said. Walking around the counter, he touched her gently on her arm, slowly pulling her to face him.
She opened her mouth to tell him to go to hell but the words refused to come. His eyes, she had forgotten they were such an unusual color. Deep, dark chocolate with gold surrounding the irises. His eyelashes were thick and full, making women everywhere jealous. A woman got lost in those eyes when they were hooded with hunger. His lips were full and so kissable, his slightly stubbled jaw begging for her to caress it. His face was carved out of marble, tanned and flawless.
She remembered that sensual mouth kissing her body, every place he laid his firm lips. Why were the memories so clear after all these years? Alli knew, even after all this time and after the lovers she’d had, no man could ever come close to the burning inferno that was Finn Donovan.
Oh, she was losing her mind. That had to be it. Either that or he had cast some spell on her. Probably not—if he had, she wouldn’t be thinking he’d cast a spell on her, now would she?
Damn, damn, damn. He wasn’t supposed to be here. She liked her life as it was. It may be on the boring side but she didn’t mind. At least she knew what to expect day after day. Finn back in town brought on a whole new set of problems Alli didn’t want.
Namely, t
hat her panties were soaked and all he’d done was touch her arm. Okay. She needed to pull herself together. There was nothing to be done about the fact that Finn turned her on. What she needed was to control her reaction to him. She would not give in to her desire to smile and throw her arms around him. She was not going to pull him in close for a scorching kiss that would curl his toes and set his body on fire.
Finn stood so close to her he could smell her scent, a mix of vanilla and something entirely her own. He studied her face. She was even more beautiful than he remembered in his dreams. Her green eyes were wide, filled with a mix of fear and desire. Finn knew she wanted to run away but he wasn’t going to allow it. She was too important to him.
“Alli, I’m sorry,” he said, keeping his voice soft.
Her eyes began to water and Finn slid his finger along the smooth skin of her cheek. He prayed to the Goddess she wouldn’t cry. Her anger he could deal with, he deserved. However, her tears…Finn didn’t think he’d be able to handle her tears. She swallowed hard and he let out a sigh of relief.
“I came back for you.”
She pulled back sharply from him, her face a mask of anger and confusion.
Shit, mistake number one.
“Came back for me? What the hell are you talking about? It’s been fifteen years. Fifteen years and you stroll into my store telling me that you’re here for me? After all this time, did you think I was here pining away for you? What kind of game are you playing?” She swallowed the lump in her throat, “Or do you have a new bet to fulfill? Get the fat girl to give it up again? You know people still give me shit about what happened.” She felt little satisfaction when he flinched slightly.
“This is no game. We belong together and I’m here to claim you.”
Her face reddened to deep scarlet. He swore and she hissed at him.
“Now you listen,” she said, poking his very hard chest with her finger. “I don’t know what is running through your mind and I don’t care. I’m willing to cut you a little slack considering Heather is sick but unless you tell me right now that you have had a large amount of alcohol to drink, I want you out of my store, Finn Donovan.”
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