Shattered Hearts (Irish Kings #1)

23. Riley

Chapter 23

Riley

Finn prowls toward me like a shark, eyes flat, dark, and murderous. The unforgiving glimmer in his gaze steals my breath.

My system spurs into flight mode. I back away from him on instinct yet am unable to tear my eyes from his heavy, dangerous stare.

When I hit the wall, I jump.

Finn stalks my way until he has me cornered between his bookcases. Then, he glowers down at me, his hot, livid breaths heating the bridge of my nose.

Eyes trained on his sharp collarbones, fear wobbling in my belly, I stand there in the shadow of his towering form, speechless.

There are no words for me to say. I never imagined telling the truth would upset him, and certainly not enough to make him attack his coffee table knickknacks or march me into a corner and intimidate me.

Quick as lighting, he seizes my forearm with his fist and spins me toward the wall.

My voice comes out as a squeak. “Finn?”

I don’t expect him to hitch my arm up behind my back like I’m a criminal and crush his blazing body to mine.

Fuck. I’m breathing hard.

I was fifty percent turned on before I uttered the words that set him off, and that was just from the sight of him… But now? Now that I can feel his rock-hard body pressed against mine, the line of his chest mere centimeters from my back?

Oh, god . I feel like someone dumped a gallon of lust into my bloodstream.

I’m most startled by his cock . Like eight inches of steel, it fits snug against my ass. He’s so hard, I didn’t even register that thing against my butt as his dick at first.

Focus, Riley. I try to dissuade my filthy fantasies long enough to come up with a plan, but then, Finn pushes his legs between mine, forcing my feet apart and vanquishing whatever capacity for focus I have left.

In my body, fear, uncertainty, and desire roll together like thunder inside summer storm clouds, the humidity between my hips lining my throbbing seam with a slick, wet heat.

Finn snatches my still-drying hair up into his fist, thrusts my forearm deeper into my back, and growls against my ear, low and terrifying. “Was any of it real?”

The razor-sharp edge in his voice chills my spine. Or…thrills? Either way, my stomach flips up into the air and stays put.

“Huh?” Finn’s beard scrubs my earlobe and neck as he inhales deep against my throat. “Were you manipulating me the whole time?”

“Of course not!” My breathy words carry none of the conviction I feel inside. This is a huge misunderstanding , I want to assure him. We just need to talk this out.

So why do I feel like he’s about to murder me with his cock? And why does a twisted, greedy part of me…want him to? Every side of Finn…even the scary, rough, demanding side…I want to witness them all. Love them all.

What the hell is wrong with me?

Fist full of my hair, Finn jerks my head to the side, exposing my neck. He bites into it hard , forcing a gasp from my lips. I clamp my mouth shut to pre-empt the moan that wants to follow when he darts his hot tongue against my sensitive skin.

I close my eyes against the sting in his bite as his hand releases my hair and plunges around my torso straight into the damp enclosure of my lace undies.

His fingers rifle through the folds. My pulsing pussy is so hungry for his touch, my head drops forward against the wall. His rough words scratch my ear like the whiskers of his beard on my shoulder. “You have no idea what you and your damn sister put me through.”

Then, Finn uses my clit to send an urgent message in Morse code, causing me to squirm and buck against his ferocious fingers. Mouth falling open like a drawbridge, I groan against the wall.

“Did I give you permission to enjoy this?”

Husky with some toxic mix of ire and arousal, Finn’s gravelly voice makes me tremble inside. The rage in his tone is as visceral as the ache in my lungs, which stopped breathing in air the second his fingertips disappeared beneath my hemline.

His fingers pick up speed and spread around wildly, turning my panties into a Slip ‘N Slide. I dig my teeth into my lip to stop the next moan from escaping.

“You’re nothing but a liar .”

Finn strums me like an instrument, and the slick wet song his fingers play the ballad of my shameless need for his touch, rough or otherwise.

“No, I’m not—” He foils my attempt to defend myself by slipping one of his coarse fingers inside me.

“Yes, you are. A dirty, deceitful liar…with a dripping wet pussy.” His finger curls into my deepest, hottest place, pulverizing my brain into a slow, hazy mush. “Admit it.”

When he sticks a second finger inside and moves them together, deep and rhythmic, I almost pass out. My heavy breaths thicken, each one a half-moan, as pleasure rises through my body like rainwater in a drum.

Finn crushes us tighter against the wall, flattening my breasts against the cool wood paneling, as he works his long fingers in and out of me. My face burns as I listen to the moisture my body makes for him wicking against his fingertips.

“The only honest thing about you is this hungry little cunt.”

When the shaft of his cock throbs against my ass, my walls ache with need.

“Tell me I’m wrong.”

“You’re…wrong.” Anger and embarrassment force the words out of me, but nothing stops my eyelids from lowering to half-mast as the pleasure builds inside me.

“Am I?” Finn shoves his fingers deeper, pushing me dangerously close to the edge of orgasm. Shit.

My whole upper body glows with heat, like the inside of a toaster oven.

Pleasure gathers, tightening in my core like a coiling spring bound for a hard release. I start to pant. All my concern, fear, and lust liquefy inside me the way fruits do in a blender.

Anticipation blankets my skin with clammy heat. I can almost taste the O when Finn pulls his hand out of my panties. A desperate, unsatisfied sound wallows in my throat, abashing me.

As I twitch in his grip, breathing hard, Finn chuckles.

“At least your body knows how to tell the truth.”

Irritation breaks open inside me. Fuck him for teasing me like this. All I did was keep my sister’s secret. Do I really deserve dark, sadistic sex games?

“Can we just talk about this?” Finally, an amount of strength returns to my breathy voice. “I didn’t do it to deceive you. I was just trying to?—”

I flinch when Finn’s moist fingers fly around my throat. He squeezes tight enough to restrict my breath.

One hand clenches my forearm, still twisted behind me, and the other clasps my neck while his dick pulses against my ass… I can’t breathe. I can’t move.

“The time for talking is over , Riley.”

“But I’m sor… Mmph !”

A surprised, muffled grunt escapes me as Finn jams four of his thick, slick fingers between my startled lips, forcing me to taste myself. Notes of salt, spice, and earth appear at the back of my throat.

“Say one more word without my permission, and the next time I choke you, it'll be with my dick.”

I gasp. Why the hell is that so damn hot?

Without warning, Finn rips us backward from the wall. My legs stumble as he drives my body, one hand in my mouth, the other still clamped around my forearm and locking it in place. He steers us toward his massive bed and shoves me down on the mattress with his full strength.

I land on my face, sputtering, but quickly recover, rolling onto my back to face him. Voice still breathy, unsure whether to keep pushing for dialogue or not, I once again choose my words with care. “It wasn’t my secret to tell. That’s why I didn’t say anything.”

Finn looms over the edge of his bed, deadly silent and paying no attention to me as he removes his belt and begins to unbutton his pants. He’s practically demonic, drawing his shirt over his head with the devious, unbothered apathy of a man who’s going to get his way no matter what, whether he rushes or takes his time.

His dark eyes give off heat, like hot coals in a furnace.

For a moment, he just glares at me, the pointed intensity of his gaze welding me to the spot. There was a time when he never noticed me, and now, he stands over me, stark naked, with his eyes zeroed in on my flushed face. The self-consciousness, shock, and confusion of this moment paralyze me.

I’ve stopped breathing yet again. Even my lungs fear moving when he looks at me like this, like nothing and no one makes him angrier, like nothing and no one could distract him from this exchange with me.

The unhinged spark in his eye tells me that his restraint has vanished, and now, it’s just me and the beast, alone in a cage. Inside, my heart flies like the frantic wingbeats of a hummingbird.

Low, sharp, and terrifyingly quiet, he says, “Get undressed.”

If it’s possible to orgasm from two words on the tongue of a devastating, severely sexy man, then I just did.

“ Now ,” Finn demands when I don’t move.

That wildness in his eyes petrifies me, but…I don’t have the strength to challenge him. Not when I want him this much and the possibility he won’t forgive me stares me down in my mind.

A wise part of me deep in the background of my consciousness knows that this might be the last sex we ever have.

Desperation and desire clash inside me as my arms lift my nightie over my head. Only my underwear remains when the soft white fabric hits the floor. I can barely look at Finn, but I don’t dare look away either.

“Lay down.” His next command makes my heart somersault in my chest.

I do as he instructs and have no time to react when his rough hands appear on either side of my face. He pulls hard, dragging me by my skull to the edge of the bed. For a moment, I think he’s planning to give me the coffee table treatment and fling me onto the floor, but he stops when my head dangles over the edge of his bed.

Eyes full of his upright cock, I should expect it, but don’t, when Finn says, “Open that lying mouth of yours.”

Heart racing, my lips part in protest, only for Finn to plug my mouth with his thick, veiny shaft. “You’ll never lie to me again after I wash your mouth out with my cum.”

Bracing himself against my bare thighs, Finn uses my uvula like a punching bag for his dick. It’s not long before tears and drool drip from my upside down face as he chokes me with his girth and length. I somehow bear the thick crown of his cock gagging me.

“How many lies came out of this mouth?” He huffs out the words. Wet, strangled sounds burble up from my aching throat as he pounds it without a shred of mercy. “I told you what would happen if you spoke without my permission. So you wanted this, didn’t you?”

“Hmm!” Around his giant cock, shrieks of surprise break free from my lips while Finn plays with my body in ways I can’t see. Openhanded, he slaps my pussy like a Catholic school teacher smacking a ruler against a desk. The sharp sting is echoed by the throb in my clit.

Finn’s weight on my thighs disappears, but I feel the indent of his hands on either side of my legs a second later. I jolt when Finn’s teeth sink into my thigh, rocketing pleasure through me.

My eyes fly wide open when his scratchy face drags across my thigh to the entrance of my body. I arch my back up off the mattress, wiggling away from his touch.

“You’re so wet for me.” Finn growls against my seam, sinking his face into my folds, feeling my wetness on the cold tip of what can only be his nose. The sensation has me rocking sideways, groaning.

“Going somewhere?” He digs his arms under my lower back, locking me in place…or so I’m thinking, when Finn picks me up, upside down .

Open like a book, with my thighs stacked over his shoulders, Finn devours me.

Blood rushes to my head and my throbbing clit while Finn French-kisses my pussy. I wrap my legs around his neck as my body contracts in pleasure.

Holy fucking shit. I’m about to leave my body, float up to Heaven, and high-five St. Peter in person.

Finn holds me up with one arm, while his free hand paws the underside of my ass. Suspended upside down, my face on fire, my mouth stuffed with his cock, body trembling from his tongue… What has Finn Gallagher done to me?

“You like it when I tongue-fuck you?” Even when he draws back enough to speak, his beard teases my clit.

I moan around his cock and flex my hips in reply.

“You know what I like?” Finn tosses me over on the bed.

Lightheaded from the combined effects of lack of oxygen and blood-rush to the brain, I lay there on his covers, panting. His rough hands grab for the bend in my waist and drag my ass toward him. “ Honesty .”

Then, Finn shoves his cock inside me and proceeds to fuck me harder than I ever knew I or anyone could be fucked.

“Oh my god, oh my god ,” I sob face down into his sheets.

Minutes or hours pass as he fucks me senseless, ramming his cock in as deep as it’ll go, then ripping out of me and thrusting back in with the same forceful, driving intensity. A steady stream of delirious whimpers trickle from my open mouth.

“What else did you lie about?” His voice drops low as he drills his cock into me, his lower half clapping mine, our bodies creating a frantic applause. The rhythm leaves me dizzy and breathless, hot and tender to the touch.

I’m underwater, riptides of pleasure tearing me apart. If I orgasm as a result of this, and I will , I already know it will be the single greatest orgasm of my life?—

Finn’s dick slips out, sending a massive heat wave through me. Breathing hard, hips quivering, my unsatisfied insides pulse. Finn drops a rough hand on my ass, hard enough for the sound to reverberate through the room. My skin burns where he struck it, but that handful of pain also pulses through my entire body.

As he thrusts his cock through my folds and sneaks up to my clit, I cry out, my mouth falling open in rapture.

“Tell me everything.” Finn beats his throbbing cock against that glorious little nub of nerves. My hands ball into fists around his sheets.

“Ah!” I squeeze my eyes shut. Finn doesn’t let up, mashing his dick hard against my clit, bullying me with every rub.

Jesus Christ. I don’t know how much more of this I can take.

The ghost of that monster orgasm haunts me, pouring sour regret through my chest.

Damn these sex games. I vow to get him back for this, but then I remember this might be the last time. Hot, bitter tears prickle at my eyes.

I suck in a raspy breath as Finn pulls my ass apart with vicious hands and sticks his tongue in. Hot, wet, and achingly slow, he licks the distance between my clit and my asshole, lingering at the end to slip his tongue inside my ass. My hips spasm against his face at the surprising sensation.

“Fuck,” I whine, as he shoves three of his long, tough fingers into my pussy, all while dipping his thick tongue in and out of my ass.

Holy god. I’m going to melt until there’s nothing left of my body, not even ash.

I feel the heat of his tongue everywhere—in my hard nipples, in my reddened cheeks, in my curling toes.

He retracts his tongue too soon, leaving me breathless, my body even shakier and more ragged than before. “Now, Riley.” Finn digs his thumb into my ass. “Before I get impatient.”

“Please.” My body trembles. “I?—”

Finn stuffs his cock back inside me before I recover, forcing my face into the sheets.

He swings his free hand at my ass, five times fast, all while dunking his thumb into my asshole and spearing me with his dick. Talk about sensory overload.

Finn fucks me like this—dropping his hand on my ass cheeks until they’re as red as my face, teasing my asshole with his thumb until he can submerge the length of it inside, and impaling me with his cock—until all that remains of my sanity are the heated moans lurching from my aching throat.

Delirious with the fullness that comes of his cock inside me and the sting in my ass from two types of heat, breathy mumbles tumble from my lips, one after the other.

Thank God he can’t see my face.

I can’t bear the thought of him knowing what he does to me. Of him knowing that he disassembles me like this, reduces me to this— some naked, shivering, starving creature, begging for sustenance.

Finn’s free hand swoops at the back of my head, gathering my hair into a ponytail bound by his fist. He yanks my head up from the sheets, making my feverish face shine even more.

“Fuck, fuck, fuck!” Spastic shouts escape my mouth as he buries his cock in me faster and harder, pulling my hair up and my head back while still stretching my asshole with his other fingers.

“Why—” He rips his cock out of me and forces it back in just as hard. “Did you—” He holds me down, both of his hands shoving into my lower back as he lurches over my folded body and drops his whole weight into his hips. “Lie to me?”

A ragged shriek springs out of my throat when his giant cock hits deep enough to make me come.

“Finn!” I cry, approaching the precipice of orgasm yet again, like a car racing up the death-defying hill on a roller-coaster track.

For the third time tonight, the turbulent waves of pleasure send my body hurtling toward this monster orgasm Finn’s been teasing me with all night.

“Did you really think—” Nanoseconds before the big drop, before I go flying over that euphoric edge, Finn wrenches his cock out of me. “I wouldn’t find out?”

I shiver all over, desperate disappointment ravaging me. I wanted it. More badly than I ever knew. That ultimate release… Anger and exhaustion tangle inside me.

Finn fucked me all the way to the pearly gates and left me outside.

Ugh. My body aches for his heat and power.

“I’ll finish fucking you,” he promises, his hand full of my ass. Finn releases my hair, and my head drops forward. “ After you tell me the truth.”

“I’ll…tell you everything.” The words tumble out. My breaking body and I can’t take anymore. I’m about to burst.

When Finn scoops me up princess style, I’m not sure whether he believes me or he’s about to find a new way to fuck my brains out. Without looking down once, he carries me to his bathroom.

He sets me down in his massive tub, gentler than he’s been in hours. I flinch at first from the pain of sitting down and the intense burn in my ass cheeks. He really didn’t hold anything back.

Then, Finn draws scalding hot water into the tub. He’s…drawing a bath for me? That’s the moment I realize I have no idea what’s going on between us. Why is he being so nice?

I was following along in our clandestine, off-limits, ill-fated, and insanely sexy relationship all through yesterday, but Finn’s lost me. We spent all day fucking each other, but this morning, he disappeared.

In the heat of the moment and in the midst of wading through my own thoughts and feelings about our sex marathon, I rationalized his absence as work-related. But that wasn’t it, was it?

Who could have that much sex with someone the day before and not stay with them the morning after? Or at least leave a note? A text, a phone call, a business card , something !

Only someone who regrets their actions or has no intention of taking things any further could act that way, like a ghost… I just didn’t want to see it. The Red Hill attack on Cian and me threw things off, but Finn was probably planning to straighten up and fly right, same as I was…

Until our fight earlier and the crazy BDSM audition that came after…

But I’m sure I must be out of his system by now, after that .

Why bother to draw me a bath?

I hope he’ll leave me alone while I wash so I can attempt to recompose myself from the mess he’s made of me, but as the tub fills up, Finn submerges himself on the opposite end, surprising me for the umpteenth time today.

We’re facing each other.

Heart hammering, I hug my knees to my chest and try not to wince from the still-shimmering pain in my ass while the hot water forces my achy muscles to relax. When I sneak a glance at Finn’s face, I barely recognize him, almost like we’re meeting for the first time. I’ve never seen him look so open, so free .

Like the shadow that hangs over him at all times has moved on for a little while.

He tips his chin at me. “Come here.”

My eyes snap to his.

He wants more? But I already agreed to tell him the truth… And I don’t think I have more in me. Orgasm denial takes a lot out of a girl…

Uncertain and self-conscious, I crawl his way, trying to imagine what sexual, domineering thing he’ll do to me next?—

Finn takes my arm and guides me toward him, maneuvering me so that I’m seated between his legs, my back to his chest. I’m barely breathing when he grips my shoulders all of a sudden, causing me to jump. He pulls them backward, until I’m reclined against him, but it feels unnatural and awkward in my body.

That doesn’t change until I let go and…trust him. Enough to relax into this position, just a little bit.

The gush of the faucet filling the tub cuts out with a squeak as Finn stops the water, plunging us into an aqueous silence.

At some point, I discern that he’s waiting for me to hold up my end of the bargain, and I begin to tell him the whole and complete truth.

I tell him everything, as I understand it. Charlene’s story, Harper’s tale of woe—including the fact that Dad ordered her to seduce Finn—everything that happened on their wedding day from my perspective.

Meanwhile, Finn’s heart thunks against my back, hard and strong, shattering my focus.

The only details I leave out are the promises I made to Finn’s father at the reception, and of course, the fact that I used to be crazy about him and definitely…still am.

Finn says nothing the entire time I’m explaining.

Even when I’m finished, he doesn’t say a word. His silence freaks me out, especially since I can’t see his face. I have no way to gauge his reaction.

When he wraps his arms around my shoulders, I stiffen, only to relax as he gathers me in a gentle hug instead of a chokehold.

And when he kisses the shell of my left ear, I suspect we’re more than okay. But I don’t know for sure until his hands start to roam my body like he’s memorizing every inch of my form with just his fingertips. This is…aftercare, isn’t it?

I dare to hope that aftercare wouldn’t be happening, if things between us were too wrong…

Later, at our leisure, we bathe, washing away the last several hours from our bodies. And when we’ve toweled off and the tub is drained, Finn draws my arms around his neck and picks me up again, hands hooked beneath my thighs.

This time, as he carries me back to his bed, he stares into my eyes the whole way. The lights are low and warm when he lays me down. That he knows how to be this gentle astonishes me beyond speech.

Finn smirks at my expression.

“I told you I’d finish fucking you after you told me the truth.”

He drives me so crazy inside I think I might spontaneously combust. How can he exist? Someone I can’t help but fall for when he’s sweet and when he’s mean…

Whether Finn makes love to me like I’m the only woman on Earth or cruelly dominates me until I'm a shivering, moaning mess doesn’t matter. I’m so desperate for him, so far gone…I’ll tell him anything, whether he pressures me or not. With him alone, I’m defenseless.

He kisses my forehead, and the sweetness of his gesture brings a smile to my face. “But before that, I have three more questions.”

When his eyes trap mine, I see an edge, something sharp and needle-like hidden amongst the hay. My smile disappears as I blink up at him.

“Did you…tell Cian our secret.” His words don’t even come out like a question.

“No. He knew on his own. I don’t know how.” I’m not sure if I should say so, but I do anyway. “I think he…likes Harper, maybe? And it was easy for him to tell that I’m not her.”

Finn moves on immediately, and with his low, skeptical voice asks, “Why did you try to sleep on the couch?”

I’m speaking before I allow the meaning of his words to really wash over me. And in my rush to tell the truth, I forget to spare my own feelings. “I was trying to do the right thing and treat you like the man who’s marrying my sister.”

My words cause him to pause, and something somber passes between us. His gaze slips down from my eyes to my mouth, and when he opens his to reply, I want him to say something to make us both feel better about our current predicament. Instead, he goes on, slower this time.

“The last question is about that goateed bastard downstairs.”

Troy? My heart breaks into a nervous little trot.

“The night he attacked, before I could get anything out of him…”

Where’s Finn going with this?

“He was babbling about something. Something that spurred you to knock his lights out.”

I close my mouth as my heart launches into an Olympic sprint. No, no, no.

Finn’s thumb traces my jaw as he lays on top of me beneath his covers. “What did he say?”

Psychological paralysis sets in. I can tell Finn anything—except this. There’s no way for me to explain without revealing my feelings, and I can’t do that.

Me? Mustering up and then enduring the vulnerability required to profess my love to the Gallaghers’ deadliest enforcer? I’d rather rob a bank and go to jail.

No fucking thank you. I can’t afford the cost of the mortification. There’s no way I could ever ?—

At my distress, Finn’s eyebrows rise. “Riley?”

Saved by the bell, his cellphone shrills on the nightstand. We both glance over.

Shane.

Finn picks up immediately, and laying so close to him, I hear every word.

“Get down here.” Shane’s voice is gruffer than usual. “Troy Sullivan’s talking.”