FinnsRedemption (2 page)

“I need you to look at me, Alli,” he said. Walking around
the counter, he touched her gently on her arm, slowly pulling her to face him.

She opened her mouth to tell him to go to hell but the words
refused to come. His eyes, she had forgotten they were such an unusual color.
Deep, dark chocolate with gold surrounding the irises. His eyelashes were thick
and full, making women everywhere jealous. A woman got lost in those eyes when
they were hooded with hunger. His lips were full and so kissable, his slightly
stubbled jaw begging for her to caress it. His face was carved out of marble,
tanned and flawless.

She remembered that sensual mouth kissing her body, every
place he laid his firm lips. Why were the memories so clear after all these
years? Alli knew, even after all this time and after the lovers she’d had, no
man could ever come close to the burning inferno that was Finn Donovan.

Oh, she was losing her mind. That had to be it. Either that
or he had cast some spell on her. Probably not—if he had, she wouldn’t be
thinking he’d cast a spell on her, now would she?

Damn, damn, damn. He wasn’t supposed to be here. She liked
her life as it was. It may be on the boring side but she didn’t mind. At least
she knew what to expect day after day. Finn back in town brought on a whole new
set of problems Alli didn’t want.

Namely, that her panties were soaked and all he’d done was
touch her arm. Okay. She needed to pull herself together. There was nothing to
be done about the fact that Finn turned her on. What she needed was to control
her reaction to him. She would
not
give in to her desire to smile and
throw her arms around him. She was
not
going to pull him in close for a
scorching kiss that would curl his toes and set his body on fire.

Finn stood so close to her he could smell her scent, a mix
of vanilla and something entirely her own. He studied her face. She was even
more beautiful than he remembered in his dreams. Her green eyes were wide,
filled with a mix of fear and desire. Finn knew she wanted to run away but he
wasn’t going to allow it. She was too important to him.

“Alli, I’m sorry,” he said, keeping his voice soft.

Her eyes began to water and Finn slid his finger along the
smooth skin of her cheek. He prayed to the Goddess she wouldn’t cry. Her anger
he could deal with, he deserved. However, her tears…Finn didn’t think he’d be
able to handle her tears. She swallowed hard and he let out a sigh of relief.

“I came back for you.”

She pulled back sharply from him, her face a mask of anger
and confusion.

Shit, mistake number one.

“Came back for me? What the hell are you talking about? It’s
been fifteen years.
Fifteen years
and you stroll into my store telling
me that you’re here for me? After all this time, did you think I was here
pining away for you? What kind of game are you playing?” She swallowed the lump
in her throat, “Or do you have a new bet to fulfill? Get the fat girl to give
it up again? You know people still give me shit about what happened.” She felt
little satisfaction when he flinched slightly.

“This is no game. We belong together and I’m here to claim
you.”

Her face reddened to deep scarlet. He swore and she hissed
at him.

“Now you listen,” she said, poking his very hard chest with
her finger. “I don’t know what is running through your mind and I don’t care.
I’m willing to cut you a little slack considering Heather is sick but unless
you tell me right now that you have had a large amount of alcohol to drink, I
want you out of my store, Finn Donovan.”

Alli’s chest heaved in frustration. Her adrenaline poured
through her skin. Her knees were shaking. He’d loved it that she was so out of
control when he was around. When she was eighteen, she loved that about him.
His ability to take to her to places she was always too scared to go.

Finn grabbed her, hauling her up to him. “I have no
intention of going anywhere until you hear me out.”

He placed one arm around her back. His other hand moved to
her face again. He caressed her cheek, looking in her eyes, trying to lose
himself in their depths.

At first Alli stiffened against him. He kept running his
hand along her cheek, taking his time. Willing her to be calm, to not be afraid
of him.

She finally began to relax in his embrace and he continued.
“Alli, you and I are meant to be together. I know it sounds crazy. Whether you
believe it or not, it’s true. Yes, I came back to help my family with Heather
but I also need you.”

Her eyes widened. She wanted to believe him, it was there in
her gaze, in the tight line of her mouth. Finn had more work to do to convince
her he wasn’t fucking around.

“Hmmph, now what’s the other reason you’re here?” It was
obvious she didn’t want to discuss them being together but her resolve was
starting to weaken. Her face had softened and her voice was much calmer.

He sighed. “I do have another request. My family needs your
help.”

“I’m not a witch. How can I possibly be of any help to your
family?”

He slid his hand down her face and neck, picking up the
black onyx jewel that hung from her necklace. “This, Alli, this jewel is one of
three that will break the curse on my family and save Heather’s life.”

“How are you so sure this is
the
actual gem you
need?”

“The Oracle gave us the location of the stone. Though Da
claims he’d always known it from the moment he set eyes on you. It was one
his
feelings. If that was the case, it would’ve been nice if he’d told me when I
was younger.”

“My grandmother gave this necklace to me,” she whispered,
putting her hand over Finn’s. “How would knowing this was what you needed have
helped you then? We didn’t part on such good terms.”

“I wouldn’t have left. I would have stayed and fought for
you. Begged you to understand what really happened that night between us.”

Electricity shot through her body when their hands touched.
It traveled along her spine and straight to her pussy. Finn must have felt it
too—his cock grew hard against her thigh.

He pulled her in line with the zipper on his jeans. She
gasped as she felt the large bulge from behind the worn denim. Her body
remembered the feel of his shaft deep inside her. Grinding and pumping in and
out of her body.

“This necklace,
your necklace
. According to the
curse, when we join as mates, this gem is one of three that has the power to
restore Heather back to health. When this necklace is brought together with the
other two stones, we have the chance to break the family curse and Heather
won’t have to die. This jewel wrapped around your lovely neck proves you’re
mine and we belong together.”

She pushed Finn hard away from her. She couldn’t think with
his body pressed against hers. Shoving her hair aside, she turned her back on
him once again. What the hell was she doing, listening to anything he had to
say? This was the man who’d torn out her heart and left her bleeding so long
ago.

Her first experience with making love had turned sour,
dashing the hopes of a young girl in love. Now Finn was here professing they
belonged together. Did she look that desperate, that lonely? Alli was more
livid than she’d been in a long time.

She wasn’t sure whom she was more pissed at, Finn or
herself. The truth was, she still wanted him. She longed to feel him touch her,
not as the boy he once was but as the man he’d become. With that sexy,
arrogant, hot body he now possessed.

Alli knew he would do things to her, make her feel things
she didn’t want to feel again, and it scared the hell out of her. God, she was
pathetic. She didn’t need anyone to tell her she was crazy for still wanting
this man.

Turning back around to face him, she reached up and undid
the clasp. “Take this, Finn. You can have the necklace, just take it and go.”

Giving him the precious gift from her grandmother was worth
not getting her heart broken again. She was terrified of getting hurt.

“I can’t,” he said, shaking his head, wrapping her hand back
around the jewel. “It doesn’t work that way. I know you don’t understand but
there are conditions to breaking this curse, and rule number one is that I
can’t take it until after we have mated. Not in the way of non-magical people
but in the way of my people, in a traditional witch ceremony. We have to unite
in the eyes of the Goddess. Only then can you present me with the necklace.”

She shook her head in denial. Her mind screamed to kick his
butt to the curb but her heart was crying yes.

It was funny how Fate loved to pull a fast one on a girl.
She wasn’t normally an indecisive woman. She considered herself to be
practical. Practical and safe flew out the window when Finn walked through her
door.
Mated
…what did that really even mean? Would they be married or
were they destined to be lovers until she gave up the necklace? Then what?
Would he walk away again, leaving her devastated a second time?

She curled her fingers to keep from touching him. The sorrow
in his eyes cut like a knife. Alli wasn’t able to tell him to go to hell, the
words wouldn’t form. She wanted to delude herself into thinking she was going to
do this because she felt sorry for him. Unfortunately, she was always honest
with herself. Call her weak and stupid but she was in big trouble.

Finn watched the indecision flicker across her face. Taking
advantage, he leaned into her and touched her lips with the barest caress. He
came back once, twice, lingering longer with each pass. Her mouth opened up
with the lightest pressure of his tongue.

He wrapped his arm around her, pulling her into his embrace.
Tightening his hold, he increased the depth of his kiss. Light sweeps of his
tongue became more urgent as she fell into a rhythm with his lips.

Angling his head to the side, he opened her mouth wider for
his invasion. She tasted like fine red wine and his mouth hummed with the need
to have more of her. He ran his fingertips up and down her spine. The deeper
his kiss, the more daring his fingers became as he slid them down the length of
her back.

Finn finally reached the place on her he’d been dreaming
about while in the truck. Her delicious ass was as soft and round as he
remembered it. His large palms squeezed her bottom and she yelped. Her arms
came around his neck.

Alli kissed him back, thrusting her tongue deep into his
mouth, matching his earlier driving force with her own. It was Finn’s turn to
moan as the front of her body rubbed along his. She was perfection in every
way.

Home.
The thought flitted through his lust-fogged
brain. After all this time he finally felt as if he was home.

She pressed more firmly into him, he spread his legs.
Backing up against the counter, he brought her with him. Finn

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pushed her lower half into the cradle of his jeans, rubbing
his cock against her knit skirt. One hand traveled from her ass up along her
rib cage until he reached the underside of her breast. He moaned as he filled
his hand with its full weight.

Slipping his tongue out of her mouth, he pressed soft kisses
along the bridge of her nose, the line of her jaw. Biting her chin, he licked
it before moving to the front of her neck. He needed to taste her nipples.
Longed to see them pucker and strain for his touch.

She was fire, pure and simple. Her sinful curves were made
to take him in, hold him tight, cushion him during the fall he was going to
take when they made love.

A knock on the glass door made Alli break contact. He felt
the loss immediately; he knew he’d lost her for now. The hazy quality in her
eyes began to clear as reality doused the flames.

“Finn, please, my friend is here. Unlock the door.” Her
swollen lips looked stunning when she asked him to release the lock. He swore
softly under his breath at the person knocking.

He grabbed her chin, forcing her to look up at him. He bent
down, placing a hard, sizzling kiss on her lips. “I’ll let this go tonight,
baby, but this is only the beginning. Enjoy your evening but tell your friend
you’re officially off the market.”

Alli never had the chance to respond as Finn turned on his
heel, flicked his wrist and the door unlocked. Opening it, he passed the thin
blond male who had interrupted them. He nodded his head, the other man looked
directly at him and nodded back. Finn had to hand it to the guy, he wasn’t
intimidated by him.

Getting back into his truck, he waited until Alli and her
friend were safely out of the store. Jealousy burned his throat as he thought
about the other man. Who the hell was he, how long had she been dating him?

This was a setback he hadn’t thought of. He should have.
Alli was a vibrant, lush, beautiful woman. It only made sense that she had a
lover. He’d been surprised to hear she still wasn’t married.

At any rate, it didn’t matter. Finn meant what he said, she
would be his by this time tomorrow and nothing and nobody would stand in his
way. For now, he watched her lock up the store, her ample ass swaying in that
tight skirt of hers as she walked down the street and turned the corner. It was
going to be a long, painful night for him.

His physical reaction to her made his gut clench with the
need to claim her. His only thought when he was kissing her was to lower her to
the floor. To make love to her deep and hard, make her his, body, mind and
soul.

When his father informed Finn that Alli was his mate, he’d
been tempted not to leave California. How in the hell could he come home and
face the girl he’d known before? He admitted it, he was scared even now,
standing before her acting calm and cool. Deep down inside he was nothing more
than a boy terrified of absolute rejection.