Finn (Blue-Collar Billionaires #2)

by M. Malone

  He growls and then whips around to face the TV. It takes a few minutes but eventually my own breathing settles back to normal and we watch the rest of the morning talk show in silence. After it's over, Finn stands.

  "I'm going to take a shower. A cold one."

  At his words my eyes are instantly drawn to the bulge at the front of his jeans. I don't dare look up at him right now because I have no willpower where he's concerned. I'll just end up joining him and helping him take care of the problem I created.

  He hands me the remote. "You can watch something else or close your eyes and catch a nap if you want. But I'd better not find you cleaning when I come back out here."

  "Bossy." I whisper the words but if his quick grin is any indication, he hears me anyway. Once he disappears down the hallway, I put my feet up on the couch and close my eyes, instantly reliving our heated kiss. Stopping him was really hard but I know it was the right thing to do.

  That day when I ran into his room, he'd warned me then that he meant to have me again. But I'd known then just as surely as I know now, that his desire wasn't about love, it was about proving a point. It was about revenge. Now that we've cleared the air, I don't think Finn is still trying to hurt me but if I'm not careful that's exactly what will happen.

  Making love with Finn is one of the few unspoiled memories I have in my life. I don't want anything to take that away from me.

  CHAPTER SEVEN

  FINN

  It's nearly midnight and I am exhausted. I also have newfound respect for Rissa. It's not that I ever thought cleaning was easy. It's more that I had no idea it was this fucking hard.

  "You can take a break if you need to." Rissa glances over at me. I'm in the middle of tying up another monster-sized trash bag.

  Mercers is a pretty big store and we've been over every inch of it in detail. According to Rissa, the employees of the store do general tidying, clean their employee bathrooms and handle vacuuming their individual sections of the store. However, the owners found it more efficient to hire out for the rest of their janitorial needs. So Rissa has assigned me to help her with emptying all the trash bins so she can run the big machine that buffs the floors.

  "I'm okay." It rankles slightly to think that she's worried about me. Like I'm some weakling that can't handle a little physical work.

  My leg may be compromised but the rest of me is still in pretty decent shape. I heft the bag slightly so I can drag it to the back section of the store. The other one I've filled is sitting there. I'll have to take them to the dumpster out back before we leave.

  When I come back, Rissa is just finishing the last section in the main entryway.

  "I don't know how you do this every day." I have to yell slightly so she can hear me over the sound of the machine.

  Rissa shrugs and then turns the buffer off. "Lots of people have it worse. We all just do what we have to."

  I walk over and tip up her chin. "That was a compliment in case that didn't come through. You are amazing."

  Her cheeks flush. "I'm used to working hard. I remember that you were the same way."

  "I was. Maybe that's part of my problem now. I don't have that same sense of purpose. The accident took that away from me just as much as it took pieces of my leg."

  She looks up at me sharply. It's the first time I've talked about my injury to her at all. It's not something that I'm comfortable with myself yet. But I don't want her to think that I'm some lazy playboy just because I have money now.

  I brush a finger over the skin of her cheek. Her skin was always perfect. Just like everything else about her. It's part of the reason I've never been able to get her off my mind. Ever since that scorching kiss this afternoon, I haven't been able to think about anything else but touching her again. Kissing her wasn't my intention but she'd been so close and looking at me the same way she is now. Like she's remembering how good it used to be. Damn if that doesn't make me want to show her how much better it would be now.

  "I was sorry to hear about you getting hurt. My mom still keeps in touch with some of the people from the old neighborhood. I didn’t know exactly what happened, just that you’d been hurt. I wanted to visit you but I didn't think you'd want to see me."

  She has no idea. After the accident, I'd been filled with rage. At myself, at fate, at the face that wasn't there. She was the first person I asked for when I woke up in the hospital. My mom told me that later. I was delirious from pain and my first instinct was to call out for Rissa. It wasn't until later that I remembered that she wasn't mine anymore.

  "I probably wouldn't have been able to handle it just then. I was a mess."

  "You were injured. You were allowed to be a mess." She smiles up at me and then all at once seems to realize how close we're standing. She takes a step back and then looks around. "I guess that's it then. We're done for now."

  "That's it?" I try not to sound too excited but I'm definitely ready to get home and sit down. My back hurts and my leg is going to be aching tomorrow for sure. I've pushed too hard and the muscles are already knotted in protest.

  "Yeah, let's get out of here. I'm sure this isn't what you were expecting when you volunteered to help but I want you to know how much I appreciate it. Things should be back to normal tomorrow."

  "I didn't mind at all." To my surprise, it's the absolute truth. I wouldn't characterize the past few hours as fun but it was good to be around Rissa for so long. It felt like the old days when we'd spend hours after school in each other's company. Usually she'd be doing homework while I was practicing for baseball. Then I'd walk her home and spend a little time flirting with her mom, Gloria, to make her laugh. Those had been good times. Simple times.

  It was a relief to be able to remember them without bitterness again.

  "Come on, let's go."

  "Wait, I have to take the trash out." I walk to the back of the store and heft the two large bags out into the alleyway. The dumpster sits right outside the back door but it still gives me a bad feeling. If I hadn't volunteered to help out, Rissa would have been out here alone at this time of night.

  Hell, no. She might not be mine anymore but I can't have her alone in alleys in the middle of the night when any kind of criminal could find her. A few ideas run through my head but none that Rissa will go along with. I could hire her to work for me exclusively and then I'd always know she was safe. There's no way she'd go for that so I think briefly about hiring a companion to work with her. She's proud and won't accept anything she sees as charity but if I help her hire more staff, then there won't be a need for her to work alone ever. There will always at least be someone with her to make sure she's safe.

  If the maid I hire just happens to have a background as a bodyguard and assassin, well, Rissa doesn't need to know that part does she?

  When I get up front Rissa has put away the buffer and waits by the front door. She locks up behind us as we leave. When we step out into the soft, humid air she raises her face to the sky. "It's a nice night. I used to hate the late shift until I realized that it's so nice to be out when everyone else is sleeping. The stars are mine alone."

  I look up too, trying to see through her eyes. This is what she's always done for me. She brings me to a new awareness. Shows me the things that I can't see.

  Makes me happy.

  "Go on a date with me."

  Rissa's head snaps around from where she's looking at the stars. She blinks at me a few times and then huffs out a breath. "What did you just say?"

  Feeling slightly foolish for the way I just blurted it out, I scowl. "You heard me. Go out with me. On a date."

  She looks like she's not sure whether to laugh or not. "Are you asking me or telling me? Geez, you've gotten a lot bossier over the years."

  I move closer. "I used to tell you to do a lot of things. And you liked it."

  Her indrawn breath is sexy as hell. I can tell she's remembering too, the erotic commands that had brought us both so much pleasure. She'd always been slightly bashful but so eag
er to touch, to learn. We'd never had much time together without one of our parents coming home but I'd made damn good use of the time we'd had.

  "Do you remember all those study sessions?" I'd climbed under her skirt while she was studying many times, using my teeth to pull her little panties to the side.

  She bites her lip. "Yeah. Not that I got much studying done. Or that time when you were supposed to be helping me wash the dishes." Her eyes heat. "It took forever to clean up all that water."

  I chuckle, remembering how I'd fucked her from behind as she clung to the counter for support. I close my eyes, the memory of her hot little moans as vivid as the day it had happened. Rissa had always been so tight, like she was made just for me. She'd clamped around me so hard that I'd sworn I was seeing stars and when she'd finally come, she'd splashed her hands down into the sink throwing water everywhere.

  “All that passion, all that heat doesn't just disappear. I've missed you, Rissa."

  "I've missed you too. But I'm not sure that it makes sense to try again. A lot of time has passed. And I work for you now."

  "Fuck it, you're fired."

  She bursts into laughter and then rests her fists on my chest. "I'll think about it, okay?"

  It's not the enthusiastic agreement I was hoping for but it's a chance.

  "Good. I'll drive you home."

  * * * * *

  When we pull up in front of Rissa's place, there is a light on in the window. A dark shadow passes by and then the curtains move.

  "Do you have a roommate?"

  Rissa shakes her head. "No, I live alone."

  "We should call the cops." I pick up my phone but just as I do the front door opens. It's dark but I recognize the silhouette anyway.

  "What the hell is Andrew doing in your house? I thought you said he gave it to you?"

  "He did. He's not supposed to be here." Rissa shoves the door open angrily and hops out before I can stop her.

  Fuck. I grab my cane and follow her out. There's no way in hell I'm leaving her alone with him. She's mine now and it's time Carrington accepts it.

  They're so busy arguing that they don't even notice when I walk up.

  "Rissa, come on. You can just stay with me tonight."

  Andrew looks over at me and when recognition dawns, his face twists into a sneer. "Marshall. I knew it."

  Rissa is so angry that she's shaking. "It's none of your business, Andy. You aren't supposed to be here. That was our deal."

  Andrew grits his teeth and looks over at me again. "It didn't take you long to replace me, did it? You fucking slut. I knew there was someone else."

  The rage in his voice triggers something in me. The way he's looking at her and talking to her makes me want to punch him in the throat. Especially since Rissa doesn't look at all surprised by the way he's acting. I don't care if he's pissed that I'm here or not. He'd better not ever talk to her like that in front of me.

  "Yeah, there's someone else. You didn't deserve her anyway and we both know it. Now back away from her." My hand tightens on the head of my cane and his eyes are drawn to it.

  "What happened to you?" I can tell he's trying to estimate just how much of a threat I am with a bad leg.

  I lift the cane and swing it around once. He has to take a step back to avoid getting nailed in the face. "War happened to me."

  Our eyes meet and something in my face must let him know that a bad leg isn't going to save him from the beat down the rest of me would give him.

  When his eyes come back to mine, I smile. He glances over at Rissa. She's moved behind me.

  I hold out my hand to her. "Go back and sit in the car with Jonah, angel. I'll be there in a minute."

  As she walks back down the driveway, Jonah steps out and opens the door for her. Andrew watches with rage filled eyes and then he looks back at me. Then his eyes dart back over to the Bentley at the curb.

  Yeah, I'm here and I've got money too.

  "Rissa told me that you'd given her the house as an incentive not to talk about you to the press. But hear me now, I have no such incentive. And if I see you near her again, talking will be the least of what I'll do to you."

  "You're trash. You've always been trash and I don't know what you've gotten into lately," he gestures at the car, "but you'll still be trash when that finally runs out. Rissa knows that and I do too."

  I chuckle. "What I'm into? It's called having a wealthy father with a guilt complex. I guess you'd know all about that. And it'll be hard for me to run out of billions but I'll certainly give it a try. Maybe I'll start by buying the biggest engagement ring out there and putting it on Rissa's finger. Either way, stay away from her."

  I turn and walk down the drive. Jonah holds the door open so I can climb in next to Rissa. When we pull off, Andrew is still standing out front staring at us.

  Rissa turns to me. "Why did you tell him that? That there was someone else. Now he'll think that we're … It'll only make things worse. He'll never leave now."

  "It doesn't matter if he does because I wouldn't let you go back there anyway. The man is obsessed with you. Not that I can blame him since I am, too. We have a lot more in common than I would have ever thought."

  She lets out a sigh. It sounds so defeated that it hits me right in the middle of the chest. "Don't say that. You are nothing like Andrew."

  "It's true. Not that I want to claim anything in common with that bastard but I understand exactly what's going on here. I know what it's like to be consumed by thoughts of you and because I do, I can't let you go back to that house. There's a reason he told you to stay there and it's not just to keep you quiet. It's to keep you under his control."

  "So now I'm going to stay at your house and be under your control?" Her eyes flash in the dim lights of the streetlamps as we travel over the quiet streets.

  "Haven't you learned by now that if there's anyone in control between the two of us, it isn't me? You have the reins here, Rissa. You always have."

  She trembles as she absorbs my words. I pull her closer and she tucks into my chest burying her face into my shirt. I run a hand up and down her back, until her shivers stop. After a few minutes, she lets out a soft sigh and I look down to see that she's asleep.

  "I told him all that angel, because it's true. You are mine now." I look out the window, allowing the words to resonate in my soul as I speak them out loud. "And I'll never let you go."

  * * * * *

  The pain starts before I even open my eyes. It’s all over me, slicing through my bones and brings me from dreams to reality in an instant. It’s raining outside. I don’t even need to get up and check. This bum leg of mine is better than any meteorologist at predicting the weather.

  Placing one hand on the mattress beside me, I push over onto my side and breathe shallowly through my mouth. I can tell already that this is going to be a rough day. When it starts this early, it’s always a rough day. I glance at the clock. It's three in the morning. I didn't even sleep for two hours this time.

  After our midnight tussle with Andrew, I brought Rissa straight upstairs and got her settled. I'd made a joke that at least the guest room was clean now.

  Rissa had just laughed. "Well, at least I know that for sure."

  She was so tired that she didn't even chide me when I helped her out of her clothes so she could sleep more comfortably. She'd just sat there as malleable as a child as I drew her T-shirt over her head and helped her out of her jeans. She wasn't trying to entice me and her lingerie was just plain white cotton. Nothing seductive. But the sight of her rounded curves in the plain cotton was the sexiest thing I've ever seen.

  If she hadn't been tired, I'm sure she'd have noticed my erection pressing against the front of my slacks but she just curled up on the pillow. Then she'd placed her hands under her cheek and gone right to sleep. So trusting. Especially after the restrained violence of the scene with Andrew, it was an honor that she trusted me that much.

  I walk slowly toward the bathroom. By the time I get there
, I’m already a little shaky and slightly nauseated. My stomach rolls as I toss back four pills with a cup of water. If Rissa weren't here, I’d take a few more and spend the day in a blissful fog but the idea of her seeing me like that … No, that’s not something I ever want her to see. For some reason she still looks at me like I’m some kind of hero and I’m not ready to see that change.

  That’ll change soon enough when she realizes that you aren’t really a good guy. That you weren’t seeking her out just to punish her. You wanted to ruin her the way she ruined you.

  Even my own conscience isn’t on my side this morning since the plan that seemed completely logical a month ago seems pretty twisted right now. I stay just like that, breathing in until I feel a warm wave pass through me. The pills are working.

  "Finn?"

  The voice comes from my room. I walk out of the bathroom to see Rissa standing in the doorway. She's pulled her T-shirt back on but it's not really meant to be worn alone so a shocking amount of leg is exposed. Her arms are around her middle and she looks so lost standing there.

  "You can't sleep?"

  She shakes her head. "What about you?"

  I point down to my leg. "Just the usual. My leg was bothering me so I had to take some medicine."

  She takes a step forward and then halts, like she's just realized that she's in my room. Her eyes meet mine and I know she's remembering what happened the last time she came in here. But that seems like a lifetime ago and I don't want her to have even a moment of hesitation around me. She should never worry or fear when she's in my presence. I want her to always know that. I love her too much to ever cause her to look the way she did tonight.

  It should scare the shit out of me, this knowledge that I love her still. But I think I've always known it was true. I just couldn't deal with it before.