Page 1 of Emerald

Prologue: Cara

The first time I saw Finn Gallagher, my knickers practically went up in flames. The man was walking, talking Irish sin wrapped in a tailored suit. And I wanted to unwrap him with my teeth. The way his jacket molded to his broad shoulders made my mouth water, and my eyes greedily drank in his strong, tanned hands. Hands I could imagine all over me.

Never mind that he worked for my father. Or that he was a decade older than my seventeen years. Or that he was so far out of my league we weren't even playing the same Fucking sport. From the second he walked into my father's study, I knew I'd risk anything just to get a taste of him.

But that was five years ago. The war between us and the Russian gangs has made the Chicago streets on edge. Da said the Italians were sniffing around, but, for now, they were watching who was going to win.

But the Irish never back down.

Finn had risen in the Irish ranks, and was now my fathers most trusted man, and my jailer, as he made sure the men below him kept me under constant surveillance at all times. My father become worried when the threats against me escalated. And then life got much more interesting.

I might be stuck with Finn as my shadow, but I'd be damned if I made it easy for him. If I couldn't have him in my bed, then I'd make sure he spent every waking moment thinking about what he was missing.

Chapter 1: Finn

Christ, she was trying to kill me. Death by blue balls. My day sucks.

Not ten minutes before, I stood in front of Declan Maguire's massive mahogany desk, wondering what fresh hell the boss had in store for me now. I'd spent the last five years working my way up the ranks of the Irish mob, proving my loyalty and ruthlessness at every turn. There wasn't much that could rattle me these days.

"I need you to protect Cara."

Except that. Fucking hell.

I schooled my features into a mask of indifference, trying not to let on that the mere mention of Declan's daughter made my gut clench with a mix of dread and anticipation. "She in trouble again?"

Declan sighed heavily, looking every one of his fifty-odd years. "When is she not? Girl's got a talent for finding danger. It's the Russians this time. Circling like vultures, trying to get their hooks in her."

A low growl built in my throat at the thought of those Bratva bastards sniffing around Cara. She might be a pain in the arse, but she was my pain only. "Want me to send a message?"

"No. I want you with her at all times. Full-time bodyguard duty until this blows over." Declan pierced me with his icy green stare, so like his daughter's. "I need someone I can trust not to let his dick do the thinking for him. Someone who won't be tempted by her... charms."

I barely suppressed a snort. Charms. Right. More like unholy powers of temptation designed to torment me. I first met Cara five years ago, and since then, Cara had only grown more beautiful - and more maddening. Gone was the coltish girl-child, replaced by a woman with curves built to be touched. Her long, wild strawberry blonde curls and lily-fair skin were the stuff of fantasies, and her mouth. Holy Fuck.

Perfect, until she opened it.

It didn't help that she seemed to take perverse pleasure in taunting me. The little minx knew exactly what she was doing, and it took every ounce of my self-control not to take her up on her blatant invitations. But I couldn't. Cara was the forbidden fruit, the untouchable princess of the Irish mob. One wrong move and I'd be fish food floating around New York City. I kept my distance, watched her from afar, and tried not to imagine what those pouty lips would feel like wrapped around my -

Fuck. I need to get her out of my head.

Chapter 2: Cara

Iwas going to murder Finn Gallagher. Slowly. Painfully. With my bare hands and a smile on my face.

It had been two weeks since my father assigned him as my personal bodyguard and I was ready to climb the walls. The man was like a second shadow, always there, always watching, always infuriatingly out of reach. Normally I would welcome the opportunity to look at his large tattooed, hotter then hell body. But I couldn't even pee without him standing outside the door like I might try to escape down the drain. As if I hadn't been dealing with overprotective goons trailing my every move since I could walk. But this? This was a whole new level of suffocating.

"I'm going out," I announced, breezing past him in the foyer, swinging my ample hips, feeling his gaze on me.

Finn stepped smoothly into my path; his expression impassive. "I'll get the car."

"I don't need a fucking car. I need some air and a break from you skulking around me." I tried to sidestep him but he mirrored me, a human blockade in a crisp black suit.

"Sorry, Princess. No solo jaunts. Declan’s orders."

"Oh, fuck my father's orders!" I threw my hands up, as I stood as tall as could and poked him in his very hard chest. "I'm not a child to be managed, Finn. I'm a grown woman with needs and desires and a life to live. You can't keep me in this cage forever."

Something flashed in his eyes, gone too quick to decipher. "It's for your own safety, Cara. The Russians-"

"Hang the Russians!" I got in his face. "Hang all the men who want a piece of Declan Maguire's daughter. Because that's all I am to them, isn't it? A body. A prize to be won or stolen or bartered."