Page 97 of Shattered Hearts
“The hell you are. Like it or not, youwillstay with me.”
I hate that tone he’s using. Like he owns me. It’s the same disgusting, darkly arrogant tone that men like Troy Sullivan and Thomas Brennan use.
“So you can fuck me when you feel like it, then disappear when you regret sleeping with me? No thank you.”
In a few long strides, he closes the distance between us and rips the bedding from my arms. “Let me spell it out for you. You aren’t safe.”
His voice is deadly calm, and if I had any sense, I’d turn around and get the hell out of his space.
As soon as our eyes lock, I want to cry. The chaos on his face. The tormented gleam in his eyes. Something’s wrong. Very wrong. That’s what he’s been trying to tell me. But instead, we’re arguing about nothing.
A premonition lurks inside me like a monster hidden in a closet.
I can’t pry my eyes away from him. I can’t breathe. The tension between us thickens into molasses. The smoldering intensity on his face…he could start a fire with those eyes.
“Finn, what’s going on? Did something…happen?”
His jaw twitches, and he drops his gaze.
Now, I’m nervous. What is he trying to tell me?
I step closer to him, searching his face and discerning nothing.
“The people who attacked you today…” His voice is gruff. “They’re connected to the De Luca family.”
“The Italians who used to run most of upstate?”
Finn offers a curt nod.
“Okay? So?” I trap my lower lip between my teeth.
“The De Lucas…killed my wife. And today, they almost got you too.”
Is that what all of that possessive machismo bullshit was about? He’s afraid of something bad happening to me?
I want to stay mad at this frustrating man, but his words—his obvious concern—suck the wrath right out of me. The raw emotion in his voice…
How rare to witness Finn’s pain and fear protruding through his intimidating, opaque exterior. It’s like seeing someone’s bones coming out of their skin. It reminds me that deep down, Finn is just a person who lost his brother and his mom.
He’s not invincible.
Losing people worries him, even now, to this day. He’s worried about Harper, and he's worried about me. He doesn’t want what happened to his wife to happen to either of us.
Seeing him this vulnerable breaks my heart.
Without giving it a second thought, I take his face between my hands. “Hey. Breathe,” I whisper. “I’m right here. Everything is going to be all right.”
He grits his teeth. “You don’t know that.”
I push my lips to his like it’s the most natural thing in the world. Finn’s fingertips run around my waist and pull me deeper into him.
I open my mouth against his, and he lets me in. We shouldn’t be doing this, but I can’t help myself. How can being in Finn’s arms be wrong when it feels so right? So safe? I pour everything I’m feeling into my kisses. All my angst and desperation. All my longing and loneliness and doubt.
And he kisses me back.
Rough and greedy. Like a wounded animal clawing at me for relief. We kiss until my core is hot, hungry, and wet for him, until I feel his cock against my middle, pulsing between us, and our breathing becomes as uneven as the scales of justice in this wicked world we came up in.
“You believe me yet?” I leave a kiss on his facial scar.