Escaping: A Mafia Romance (The O'Keefe Family Collection #2) (7 page)

Thirteen.

Virginal

Fallyn had never seen Vince’s bedroom as an adult; it had belonged to Papa D and Mama Antonia when she’d been a child. She’d played hide and go seek many times in the house growing up, but it had a different feel now. The beige carpet was worn, but the sheets were soft and smelled like Vince, which was all she wanted in that moment. The room was a long rectangle, twice the size of hers with an attached bathroom and a large walk-in closet. The closet was completely wasted on Vince, who mostly wore the same style black dress pants and white cuffed dress shirts. There were a few pairs of dirty socks in the corner, and the lampshade was crooked, but the windows were bulletproof, so the room was exactly what she needed.

Vince carried his sobbing treasure up the carpeted stairs to his bedroom, shutting them inside so he could lay with her on his king-sized bed. The blue sheets had brown threading through them, adding just enough detail for Fallyn to zone out as she studied the swirling patterns.

“You’re in it now,” she whispered, holding her stomach as she lay on her side, her back to him. “That was my family saying congratulations. About exactly as I pictured it, minus the whole getting hit part.”

Vince kissed the back of her shoulder and retrieved an ice pack for her, kept cool since it had been used on his many recent injuries. He pressed it to her cheek, knowing by the redness that there would be swelling in the morning. Patrick O’Keefe was a big man whose hands had been trained for brutality, though Vince was certain Patrick never would’ve hit Fallyn, had he been in his right mind. Vince never guessed such aggression would happen upon the man’s only daughter. “How’s your face?”

“Can I stay here tonight?” she asked, ignoring the thing she didn’t want to discuss.

“You can stay here every night, honey. Move in with me.”

She surprised him with her quiet compliance. “Okay. I’ll grab my stuff in the morning.”

He shook his head at the whole situation, pushing aside the thrill of moving her into his home. “Your brothers are no joke. You warned me, but for some reason I actually thought at least Killian might find a way to be okay with us. We’ve been working side by side on so many things for a long time now. I don’t know why I thought it would be okay with them. And I don’t know what Declan’s deal was. He acted like the idea of us together was disgusting or something.”

Fallyn thought she’d run out of tears, but at her next declaration, a few more trailed across her face to wet Vince’s pillow. “Screw them all.”

Vince pressed his lips to her shoulder, adding some warmth to her cold words. “You don’t mean that. It’s just a fight. Carrigan found a way to calm down for a little bit. They will too.”

“I don’t have brothers. I don’t have a father.” Her whisper was as powerful as if she’d shouted. “I’ll take your last name, if that’s okay. I don’t want anything to do with mine anymore.”

Vince didn’t say anything to this, since there was nothing he could offer to lessen the emotional, verbal and physical blows. Instead he took her shoes off for her and pulled out his phone. “Angelo, take Fallyn’s keys and the guys and pack up her house right now before her brothers try to go get her. She’s moving in here.” He put his phone on the nightstand, wishing he’d cleaned up a little for her. “You’ll be moved in tonight. You don’t have to deal with anyone who hits you or who treats you like that. You can take a break for once. Rest. You’re safe here. No one will ever hit you here, or shame you for your choices.”

Fallyn cried silently, the icepack on her cheek taking some of the sting out of the night as it numbed what burned her. “I just want to take a nap. Is that okay? Can I borrow a big shirt of yours or something that smells like you?” She tapped her heart. “I can’t feel this anymore.”

Vince softened, unbuttoning his shirt to hand to her. “Of course. You can have anything you want. Everything I own is yours.”

He expected her to hold it like a blanket or lay it across the pillow to sleep on. His intake of breath as she sat up and pulled her lavender sweater over her head made him feel like a tool for getting aroused when she was so distraught.

She kept her back to him as she unhooked her pink bra, letting loose the breasts he’d longed to cradle. His shirt slipped over her arms, and he talked himself down as she buttoned it up, sliding off her skirt and revealing long, bare legs that were the perfect shade of barely tan.

Vince swallowed a lump in his throat, willing himself not to speak, lest he hit on her and prey on her vulnerability. Instead he followed her lead and removed his undershirt, watching her reaction as he unbuckled and kicked off his pants and socks, pulling back the sheets to invite her into his bed. “Lay down.”

Fallyn’s nose was pink when her head hit the pillow, finally facing him so he could see her pain that was still radiating. “My Daddy doesn’t know who I am!” she whispered, breaking in his arms. “Daddy never hit me. Never! I never even got spanked! And now he hates me. He doesn’t even know me.” She burrowed into the warmth Vince provided, moving closer into his arms and draping her leg up over his hip to pull him as near as she could possibly get. Her hand rested on his bare chest that felt strong when she couldn’t find her own strength she knew was buried somewhere deep down. “My brothers don’t love me if they can’t control me. That’s not love. I can’t believe I ever thought it was. I’m so embarrassed I let it go on like that for so long. That you saw it all blow up. So humiliating.”

“Hey, now.” Vince kissed her forehead, willing his body’s eagerness not to make itself known to Fallyn. “They do love you,
tesoro
. They all do. They’re just really bad at it. And your dad? That’s not him. It hasn’t been him for a while. The dad you knew loves you so much. You can’t let this new guy tarnish what you had. Two decades of affection.”

She shook her head into his chest. “I don’t think I want to talk about it anymore. Did they get any punches in on you?”

Vince scoffed. “Not a one. Seamus is a terrible fighter. Too much anger to be lethal. Most of them were too shocked to throw any punches. We got out of there just in time.” He pressed his lips to her nose. “I’m fine, honey. Just worried about you. Tell me how I can make it better.”

Fallyn thought on this for a moment before answering. “Can you teach me how to run the business remotely? I don’t want to go in to work for a while. I know they’ll be camping out there to talk me out of this, and I don’t want to hear it.”

“Sure. That’s easy. I’ll walk you through it tomorrow, and if anything needs seeing to, I’ll send Angelo into the store to take care of it. You just rest.” His arm pulled her so she was flush against him. He nuzzled his nose against her wet one, refusing to turn away from her raw emotion. “Anything else?”

“Whiskey? Do you have whiskey? I just want to sleep this off, but I know I won’t be able to.”

“I’ve got all the whiskey in the world. Hold tight.” He kissed her lips lightly, gave her a squeeze and went down to the kitchen, pouring her a glass of his favorite distraction. He took a shot himself, wishing away the night that had gone so horribly south on them.

When he brought the drink up to her, the sight of her in his shirt lying in his bed took his breath away. She was puffy-eyed and her nose was red, but wrapped in his white dress shirt that fit her like a bag, she was a beauty to behold with her tangled curls and long legs.

Vince sat down on the mattress and leaned against the tall oak headboard, pulling her up to sit on his lap. Her legs to the side were too tempting not to touch, so he stroked the smooth skin, marveling at the allure her knees held for him. “When we’re married, I think we should get a bigger bed. One you can really spread out in.”

“This is a king-sized mattress. There’s plenty of space for the both of us here,” Fallyn worked out through her snivels.

He tipped the glass to her lips, wishing he could kiss them for hours without seeming insensitive to her obvious pain. “I can clear out some space for you in that closet.” Vince pointed to the walk-in that had more than enough space for five people’s clothes. “I’ll make you breakfast in the morning, and you can read or watch movies or do whatever you want that relaxes you all day long.”

“What if I want to run the bakery all day long?” She leaned her head on his shoulder, relishing in the comfort of resting all her physical and emotional weight on him.

Vince shrugged. “That sounds great. Whatever makes you happy.”

Fallyn pulled her head up to stare at him, awestruck at the wonder that was Vince. “All these years, I never knew you were like this.” She leaned over and set the half-drunk glass on the nightstand, and then kissed him slowly, enjoying each stroke of his lips that tasted like home. “Vince?”

“Mm-hmm?” His hand found its way to her thigh and massaged the flesh there, loving the feel of every inch she made available to him.

“Do you have any condoms?”

Vince’s eyes flew open, freezing mid-kiss. “Um, yeah. Why do you ask?”

She tilted his chin down so she could look in his eyes. “Make love to me,” she whispered, bringing her mouth to his to coerce the desired effect out of him. He was malleable, despite his shock. “Please, Vince.”

Vince fought hard through his raging desire for her. He removed her from his lap and stood from the bed, his hands atop his head to ensure they stayed honest. “Why tonight? Why all of a sudden? I thought you wanted to wait until you got married. I thought that was important to you.”

She blinked up at him, her eyes puffy, and her expression that of a lost girl. “I don’t know what’s important anymore. I just know I can’t feel this. Any of it.”

Vince took a step away from the bed, lest he get too close and rip his shirt off her in an animalistic attack. He’d wanted her in this very way for so long, but now that it was here, the golden offer felt tarnished. “Baby, one of us has to think clearly. This isn’t how you want your first time to be. You can’t waste your first time like that – on a day you want to forget. Once we’re married, I’ll take you all day and all night, just say the word. But tonight? I don’t want to make it onto your list of regrets. This isn’t the night for big decisions. Let’s just let the night be terrible, and call it what it is.”

Fallyn’s voice came back insecure. “You don’t want to have sex?”

Vince gaped at her. “Of course I want exactly and only that. But so far I haven’t done anything your brothers and your father would have the right to shoot me over. I respect your father, Fallyn. I won’t take his daughter like this. Not when you’re vulnerable, and not before your wedding night. It’s what you said you wanted.”

He watched Fallyn’s hopeful face fall into shame and chagrin as she stared at her knees. “I’m sorry,” she whispered. “I don’t know what’s gotten into me. I’m all turned around right now. I’m so embarrassed!”

Vince scrambled back to the bed, kneeling before her so she couldn’t crawl into her shell of shame. His kiss was so passionate, he knocked her backwards onto the mattress, letting her feel how much he wanted her. “You have no idea how badly I want to say yes. I want to be buried deep inside you more than anything. I just want it to be right. I want it to be how you imagined.”

Vince warred within himself, caught between his words and her smooth body. He took a chance and parted her knees, leaning down to kiss the insides of her thighs just to see her squirm under his devoted touch.

Fallyn’s moan was half pleasure and half torture. Her face was twisted from too much emotion and too much desire.

Vince was fighting with everything in him to control his urges. Finally he sat up, leaning back on his heels to draw in a full breath of clarity. “
Amoroso
, we have to stop. I want you too badly right now. If you keep looking like this, I won’t be able to resist, and I know I need to.” He picked up the rest of her drink and downed it, grateful for the burn that distracted him.

Fallyn lay down on the mattress, patting the space next to her. “You’re right. We can wait.” She traced patterns on his chest when he lay down beside her.

Vince was cautious of the draw she had on him, and kept his hands honest on the curve of her hip. “I love you so much.”

“I love you, too.” She gave his lips a sweet kiss that nearly undid his resolve to behave. “Vince?”

“Yes. Whatever you want, the answer’s yes.”

“When do you want to get married?”

“Yesterday. The sooner the better. Whenever you’re ready.”

Fallyn thought on this, and then kissed his lips. “Monday,” she ruled. “Justice of the Peace is open on Monday. Let’s go then.”

Vince’s head whipped to gawk at her. “Monday?! Like, this Monday? In two days, Monday?”

“If you want. I don’t need to wait. My family will never be okay with this. I don’t see a point in having a big wedding, unless that’s what you need.”

“No, I don’t need a wedding. Honey, are you sure that’s what you want?”

Fallyn nodded. “Unless you need to get married in a church. Whatever you want is fine, just know that I only need you, a witness and a Justice of the Peace, and I’m good.”

Vince shot her a look of disbelief. “Please, can you really picture me in a church? The thing would probably burn to the ground if I stepped inside.”