Alyssa nodded and did so.
After the metal started glowing, she placed it under the running water. Liam took the needle and threaded it with some black thread.
“Now I need you to sterilize the wound,” he said and nodded at some rubbing alcohol.
“Are you sure we can’t go to the hospital?” she asked.
Finn shook his head vigorously. “That’s how guys like me get taken down,” he said. “Noel was different. If they wanted him dead, they would have just killed him to begin with.” He motioned with his head toward the alcohol. “Just pour it on.”
She grabbed a pill bottle off the top of her refrigeration and pulled out two of the pain pills she had been using. She filled a cup with water and then handed the pills and cup to Finn.
“Take them,” she said.
Finn stared anxiously at the pills.
“Just trust me for once,” she huffed and thrust the pills in his face.
Finn reached out, popped them into his mouth and swallowed with the water.
She picked up the alcohol from the table and looked him in the eye.
“Ready?” she asked.
Finn nodded.
She took a deep breath and poured the liquid on the large gash. Finn grunted in pain. She winced.
“That’s good,” Liam said. He faced Finn and gave a small smile. “Looks like it’s my turn to play doctor.”
Finn chuckled.
“That’s not very nice,” she said to Liam.
He looked at her and smiled. “Lift up my shirt on the back.”
She looked at Finn. He glared at Liam. She turned back to Liam and lifted his shirt to reveal a thin long scar across the bottom.
“When we were younger, your boyfriend thought it would be a great idea to have a knife fight,” he said and set to work stitching Finn up.
“It was a great idea,” Finn said through gritted teeth. She dropped Liam’s shirt and put her hand in Finn’s.
“Yeah, now you’re the one getting stitched up.” Liam chuckled.
“Pussy,” Finn said. “This is like a bee sting.”
Alyssa knew by his grip that it was more than a bee sting.
“We’ll see what you say tomorrow,” Liam said.
Alyssa watched as Liam pulled the thread through a few more times.
“There,” he said.
She looked at his work. It wasn’t bad at all.
“Not my first time,” he said at her perplexed look.
She grabbed the gauze and tape from the table. “I’ll cover the wound.”
Liam nodded. “I’m going to log into the cameras at the club just to make sure there’s nothing suspicious there and give Conor a call. He’s sitting with Noel at the hospital.”
Alyssa nodded and pointed to her laptop. When she turned back to Finn, she could see the painkillers were starting to take effect.
She placed the gauze on his side and ripped off pieces of tape.
“I’m sorry,” he whispered. “I wanted to keep you safe.”
She glanced up at him and went back to work.
“I just want to keep you safe,” she said softly.
She finished up her work and traced a line around the bandage.
When Liam walked in, she lowered her hand.
“System’s up and nothing’s outside,” he said. “I’m going to stay here in the living room and keep an eye on things. Maybe you should take him to bed.”
Alyssa nodded and moved to the non-injured side. She slipped a hand under his arm and pulled him to standing. It was good her shoulder was feeling much better because it took more effort than she anticipated, likely the effects from the pills.
They made their way to her room. Once inside she set him on the bed and helped ease off his boots.
She went for his pants, but his hand on hers stilled her. “I can do it,” he said.
Finn eased down the zipper and made it about half-way down his legs before wobbling. Alyssa shot in and forced him back on the bed.
“You got it loose.” She winked. “I’ll get it the rest of the way.”
Finn grinned at her.
“You know you’re amazing right?” he said.
She laughed and pulled his pants off.
“I bet you say that to all the girls that pull your pants off.”
When the pants were on the floor, she moved back up to look at him.
“I mean it, Alyssa. You’re amazing,” he said, his face serious.
She smiled at him and turned off the light. The street light from outside was enough.
“You’re amazing too, Finn,” she said and snuggled into the bed.
“I’m not. You deserve someone better than me,” he said quietly. “Someone who won’t be so rough with you and treat you like you deserve to be treated.”
She turned to look at him in the dark Although she knew it was just the meds talking, it was nice to hear what he kept so bottled up.
Alyssa rolled over and placed her head on his good side. Finn wrapped an arm around her and pulled her tight against him.
“I liked today,” she said quietly. “The pool that is.” She felt her face flush. “I don’t mind being rough.”
Finn was quiet for a bit, and she started to wonder if he had fallen asleep. He brushed a hand against her back.
“I do trust you,” he said quietly. “And I can’t help that I have to protect you.”
She stiffened in his arms. “You don’t have to protect me.” She tried to pull away.
“I do,” he said. His voice was full of the pain he felt. “I have to protect you from my love.”
She stilled. His words shot through her.
She rolled back to him, her mouth just inches from his.
“Your love is the last thing I want to be protected from,” she said softly. Her hand came up to cup his cheek. “It’s a beautiful thing.”
Alyssa leaned in and gave him a chaste kiss on the lips. She sighed when they pulled apart and placed her head back on his chest.
“Go to sleep, Finn,” she whispered.
He nodded.
She listened to the steady beat of his heard and his quiet breathing. Soon, sleep took her as well.
* * *
Finn woke up slightly groggy from the pain pills. His side surprisingly didn’t hurt as much as he expected. Despite all the shooting, it had been only a minor confrontation with some enforcers. Even at the risk of things blowing up, Finn had to make an immediate point that he wouldn’t just let the Russians do what they wanted to his men. Nobody had been killed, but he knew it was only a matter of time. Well, he thought no one had been killed, but a few of the Russians might have bled out. If not, it’d come later. They had to pay for what they did to Noel.
He looked over at Alyssa. Even though he had curled himself around Alyssa, it didn’t seem like anything had come open.
“How do you feel?” She turned to him and smiled.
Although it was still dark and the street lights were still on, he knew morning wasn’t far away.
“Better,” he said.
She placed a hand on his face and smiled. “Good,” she said.
Her hand slid down his chest and over to the wound on his side. Despite his best efforts, he felt his cock respond to her ministrations.
“No bleeding,” she said. Her breath skimmed across his flushed skin.
“That’s good.” It came out lower than he intended, and he felt her hesitate as she drew her hand back and stopped on his stomach.
“How good do you feel, Finn?” She moved her head to whisper in his ear.
He shuddered as she moved further down his body.
“I can’t do anything,” he said as her hand continued to creep down his body.
She stopped at his underwear. “Who says you have to?” she whispered and nipped at his ear.
He strained against his boxer briefs.
When she moved away from him, he breathed a sigh of relief. His need to be with her was almost too great at
times. He worried that one day he would hurt her.
Finn jumped when he felt her lick his stomach. He groaned as she worked her way down, not stopping until she pulled the band of his underwear back and licked his aching head. She slipped her tongue along the slit.
He groaned and lifted his hips involuntarily. She placed a hand on his stomach and pushed down.
“Don’t move,” she said, mocking him with his own words.
Finn forced his hips to stay on the bed as she disposed of the barrier between them. Her mouth worked its way along the length of his shaft, and he bit his lip to keep from rubbing his cock along her pretty little mouth.
She swirled her tongue along the head and slipped him partway into her mouth.
He groaned as she sucked on him hard.
His dick popped out of her mouth, and she slid her mouth along the side again, snaking her tongue as she went. When she came back to the top, she slid him all the way to the back of her throat.
“Fuck,” he shouted. His orgasm came fast as he coated the back of her throat. He could feel her throat move as she swallowed it all. She slipped him out of her mouth and looked up at him.
“That was the hottest thing I’ve ever seen,” he said quietly.
She winked and moved up next to him on the bed.
“Glad you liked it,” she said.
Alyssa sighed against him.
“Take your clothes off,” Finn said, dangerously quiet.
She sat up, her eyes wide. “Your side,” she said.
“We’ll be gentle,” he said.
She looked at him warily and then at his side.
“Alyssa,” he said quietly. “I need you.”
She groaned as she took off her shirt and slid her shorts off.
“Sit on me,” he said gruffly.
She looked down and saw that he was already back at attention.
Alyssa carefully straddled his hips. The head of his cock brushed against her clit. She reached up and fondled her breast, tweaking her nipples between.
Finn put his hand on her hips and pushed down.
She slid down on to him. He seemed larger than before at this angle. She forced herself all the way down and groaned when the tip of him brushed her cervix.
“Oh God,” she said and circled him around inside her, each time stimulating deep inside.
“If you don’t move, Alyssa, I’m going to take over,” he grunted.
She planted her hands on his chest and leaned forward.
“Don’t you dare,” she challenged him.
Alyssa sat up on her knees and slammed down onto him. He shook in the bed. She did it again and sucked in a deep breath as her clit met his coarse hairs.
She moved over him faster, each time gaining speed. Finn reached up and locked hands with her to give her something to hold.
“So close,” she moaned.
“Wait,” he said loudly.
She looked down at him as she moved.
“Come with me,” he said softly.
She groaned at his words. She pulled his hands to her breasts and molded them together with her own.
“Make me come,” she whispered.
He strained to move faster inside her. His fingers moved over her aching nipples. They were hard and rolled between their fingers.
“Touch yourself,” he commanded.
She looked down at him. His eyes intently followed her fingers as they moved to where she was joined with him. Her thumb rubbed vigorously against her clit as her fingers stretched between them on either side of his dick as he slammed into her.
Finn groaned loudly.
“Now,” he shouted. He rolled her nipples hard between his fingers as she pressed against her thumb against her clit.
She sat down on him and shook as they both came. Her insides squeezed him hard, and he jerked inside her with each wave of the orgasm. Alyssa fell on top of him and sighed.
“Not a fluke,” she whispered.
“What isn’t?” He placed his hands on her back and squeezed her tight against him.
“The best sex ever.” She sighed and snuggled closer.
Finn grunted. She went to move, but he held her to him.
“I’m fine,” he said.
She tried to look up to him. “I doubt that.”
Finn was quiet for a moment. “Just stay like this for a bit,” he said. “I just want to be connected for a bit longer.”
She smiled and sighed against him. It was nice to know she wasn’t the only one.
They stayed like that until her back ached. His steady breathing showed just how tired he still was. She slipped off him and checked the bandage. There were a few spots of blood, but it looked fine overall.
Content with the way it looked, she snuggled into the crook of his arm and drifted off to sleep.
Chapter Sixteen
Alyssa woke sore and aching the next morning. She rolled over to kiss Finn and found the bed empty.
She slapped his side of the bed hard.
“One fucking morning, Finn Kelly,” she said through gritted teeth.
She slipped out of bed and made her way to the bathroom for a nice, long shower. Maybe by the time it was finished, she wouldn’t feel the need to poke out his eyes.
As the water cascaded down her back, she couldn’t help but smile. He had all but admitted he loved her. Her heart beat wildly as she thought about it. She wanted nothing more than to sing at the top of her lungs despite all the trouble going on.
For months she had thought of nothing but him. When she learned Finn suspected she was traitor, everything in her had ached, she had hoped Finn was just saying her when he suspected someone else. Having him accuse her just moments before she leapt in front of a bullet for him had changed everything.
Nobody had ever really paid her much mind. She was always the girl easily forgotten or taken for granted. In truth, being shot was the best thing to ever happen to her. It made her stronger. It made her smarter. It made her the kind of person that could look herself in the mirror and not be ashamed of who she was or what she had been through. Her life was a culmination of bad things leading to something good.
She shut off the water and quickly got ready. When she went to her closet, she noticed that there were a lot of clothes she’d never seen, some a bit showier than she would have ever bought. He was very good at slipping things in when he wanted to.
It still bothered her that he had another woman buy clothes for her. If only she knew what his relationship was with that woman. Ignoring her irritation, she pulled out a pretty blue sundress. When she slipped it on, she knew it was meant for her. The material was so soft that she couldn’t even feel it on her scars, and the way the straps pulled, it gave her cleavage but still covered the jagged scars.
She opened the door and was surprised to see Liam still in the living room. She blushed when she thought about what he likely heard last night.
“He went to the office,” Liam said, looking at video footage on the computer. “He wasn’t too happy with you when he left.”
She frowned and watched over his shoulder. “Why?”
“Did you get a new note last night?” He looked up at her. Irritation marked his face, and she automatically felt guilty.
Her mouth fell open, and she paled. She had gotten a new note. It escaped her memory with all the things that had been going on. She groaned.
“How mad is he?” she asked.
Liam shrugged. “A repeat of last night couldn’t hurt you.”
Her face flamed. “You heard?”
Liam laughed. “People three blocks away heard.”
She hurried to the kitchen and grabbed a bottle of water to cool her heated cheeks. Last thing she wanted was to talk about last night with Liam.
“First therapy and then the office,” she said as she came around the corner and headed for the door.
It wasn’t even noon, and it was already proving to be a long day.
* * *
Finn went ove
r the report that Reed Allen had brought over earlier that morning.
“It’s fairly cut and dry,” he said to Claire. “You’ll meet with the lawyer around five. The press conference will be set for six.”
He looked up and smiled. “You ready for this?”
She grinned back at him. “I’ve got a strategy all worked out. I should be able to work this, so I’m the perfect person for the position.”
“Good,” he said and looked back down at the paper. “This is a good opportunity.”
He looked up from the report when someone knocked on the door.
“Come in,” he said.
Alyssa came in like a breeze in her flirty blue dress. The club music thumped in time with the rhythm in this chest. Even when he was mad at her, his body couldn’t stop reacting to her.
“Oh, you’re wearing the dress,” Claire said and walked over to her. “I’m so glad. I just knew it would look great on you.”
Alyssa looked between him and Claire.
“Alyssa, this is my cousin, Claire. She’s the one who picked out all the clothes,” he said.
She looked back to Claire and seemed to be processing things.
“Cousin?” she said and looked at him again.
Claire grinned, clearly enjoying the confusion.
“I’ve heard such nice things about you,” Claire said.
Alyssa shook her hand and gave him a confused look.
“Well,” Claire said, “time to finalize things with the old job. Don’t want to disappoint.”
She winked at him. Finn rolled his eyes. Claire was perfect for the position, but she always had a flare for the dramatics. She walked out the door and shut it behind her. Alyssa turned to him, shock on her face.
“That’s your cousin?” she asked him again.
He nodded. “My mother’s sister’s daughter.”
She nodded and sat in the chair in front of him.
Finn pulled out the note he found sitting on the table in the morning.
“Want to explain why I didn’t know about this?”
She looked down at it and wrinkled her nose.
It was the same gun, but this time there was a red mark on the butt with the other lines, and the word “CUNT” was written across the top. The new mark was supposed to be a new death he assumed, but he still wasn’t certain just who it was intended for.
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