Game (4 page)

“
Okay,
”
Shayna said.

We were in silence again. Then a small
noise began. I moved my eyes to the right and saw her blinking away tears.

Christ, of all things now
…

Under different circumstances I
would have reached across and touched her leg. Squeezed her leg to see if she
was ticklish. Said something flirty, dumb, or just plain inappropriate to get
her to smile. But she was the one with a gun pointed at me. She was the one who
wanted to command control. So fuck it. Let her cry her damn eyes out, I didn
’
t care.

I pulled up to the cabin and then
pulled around to hide my truck. We were safe. That much I had to believe or
else I wasn
’
t going to get
a second of sleep. And I had a fucked up day waiting for me tomorrow. Hell, I
was surprised that my cell wasn
’
t
going crazy yet. A gunfight at an underground fight was big news to spread.
Especially with me crashing another crew
’
s
night.

What the hell was I thinking?

“
Come
on,
”
I said,
“
I
’
ll
give you the tour.
”

I got out of the truck and met
Shayna at the back. She quickly lifted the gun again.  We walked together to
the front of the cabin. I never brought women here. This was a safety zone for
me. I had worked my fucking ass off earlier in life to build this cabin.
Because it had dreams attached to it. Dreams that were
…

“
Are
we going inside or what?
”

I looked back at Shayna.
“
Are you forcing me to open the
door?
”

“
Yeah,
maybe I am.
”

I opened the door and flicked on
the lights. We stepped inside. I hadn
’
t
been there in a while. There was nothing special about the place other than
what it was supposed to be.

Shayna stepped into the cabin and
another switch flipped.

The one in my head.

This was my fucking cabin. This was
my fucking home. And she was not going to run the fucking night.

Shayna looked at me and a wave of
relief crashed upon her face.

Yeah, sweetie, home sweet home.

I turned, put Shayna against the
wall with one hand and then grabbed the gun from her with the other hand.

“
Now
you
’
re mine,
”
I growled as my finger touched
the trigger.

8.

(Shayna)

I didn
’
t know whether to say my last prayers or thrust
forward at him. He was that close, that bold, and that goddamn sexy. And he had
a gun on me. My gun. Well, the gun I took from Vale. The gun I had been
pointing at him. The gun I hit him with.

“
Finn
…”

“
No,
”
he said. His free hand touched
my stomach. He didn
’
t do
anything sexual, but everything about him oozed with sexual implication.
“
You
’
re going to give me what I want.
”

His hand lifted my shirt. His
fingertips grazed my bare skin. I shivered and my toes curled tight. He moved
his hand around to my lower back and down. When his hand cupped my ass, I
sucked in a breath. His hand touched the other side of my ass. Then around to
my thighs and legs.

He was checking me. Not hitting
on me.

I started to blush when he took his
hand away.

“
What
’
s wrong?
”
he asked.
“
You
like when I touch you?
”

“
Fuck
you,
”
I said.
“
If you
’
re going to shoot, hurry up and do it.
”

Finn inched closer to me. He
smelled of fight and sweat. It was all man, all muscle, every sense of
temptation that I did not need to face right now. I needed to escape. I needed
to find somewhere to hide out until I could figure out what to do next.

“
Why
did you do that tonight?
”
he asked.

“
I
don
’
t know,
”
I said.
“
I
…
he was going to kill you no matter what, Finn.
”

“
So
you
’
re my savior now?
”

“
I
didn
’
t say that. I just got
tired of seeing him do that. And then he put me up as a prize. For what? So he
could pass me around like some toy? No. I don
’
t
do that. Maybe his other women do that stuff, but not me. I
’
m not a whore.
”

Finn lifted the gun. My body
tensed. I couldn
’
t get a
sense of his eyes or what he would do to me. Half crazy, mostly sexy, and that
was a deadly combination. He left my body raging to be touched again, but my
mind tried to force sense into the situation.

The gun was inches from my face.
Finn pressed a button or something and there was a metallic
click
sound.
I turned my head and winced, waiting for the bullet to get me. But if he shot
me, I wouldn
’
t hear
anything, right? I
’
d be
dead before
…

The magazine fell from the gun.
Finn now had the gun in two pieces.

“
There,
”
he said.
“
No more weapons for tonight.
Agreed?
”

“
Yes,
”
I whispered.

“
Good.
I
’
m going to build a fire,
sweetie. Then we have to talk.
”

Finn pressed his lips to my cheek
and then backed away. I was frozen in as a chill ran through my body, fighting
with the heat Finn left behind.

He took his leather jacket off and
tossed it over the back of a recliner. His arms filled out a black t-shirt way
too nicely. He was thick with muscle everywhere, his left arm filled with
tattoos that went down to his wrist. It was some kind of wild design with
twists, turns, and loops. I suddenly pictured myself tracing the design with my
finger. While I was naked. In bed with him.

He put the gun and the magazine on
a table and went to the fireplace. Grabbing a piece of wood, he put it on the
stone ledge in front of the fireplace. He took a small axe and lifted it up in
the air. The defined cut of muscles and throbbing veins was enough to drive a
decent woman to the naughtiest places in her mind. The axe came down and the wood
shattered into two pieces.

Finn repeated the same thing two
more times and then piled the wood in the fireplace. He grabbed some small
sticks and put them in. Next he had a lighter and a minute later, there was a
fire.

Just like that.

He stood and turned, facing me.
That black t-shirt did nothing good for my eyes and body. His shoulders were as
wide as the front of his pickup truck. When he made fists, his veins throbbed
even more. His body had a monstrous look to it. But his face
…
he was a cocky asshole. His
hair was slicked back with a steel cut, clean jaw. His eyes were dark and
beady, the kind of eyes that would tell anyone to just keep walking. The kind
of guy nobody
’
s parents
wanted them to be with. That didn
’
t
matter for me because I had no parents. I had nobody. Right now, the only
person I had was
him.
Finn.

“
Sit
down,
”
he ordered.

I stepped to the couch and sat.

Finn blocked the fire and crossed
his arms. He stared at me.

“
What
’
s your plan?
”
he asked.

“
What?
”

“
You
heard me. You wanted out. You got out. Now what?
”

I shook my head.
“
I don
’
t know, Finn. I didn
’
t
plan that. It just happened.
”

“
Of
all fucking nights,
”
he
said.
“
Of all people. You
don
’
t realize what you just
stepped into with me. You can sleep here tonight but then you
’
re gone tomorrow.
”

“
I
have nowhere to go.
”

“
Not
my problem.
”

Wow. Nice. Thanks.

“
Finn
…
he
’
ll find me and kill me.
”

“
Again,
not my problem.
”

“
You
’
re an asshole.
”
I stood up and balled my right
hand into a tight fist.

“
Feel
better?
”
he asked.

“
No,
”
I said.

I started to move my fist and then
Finn made his move. I should have known better than to mess with a fighter.
Finn grabbed my fist and spun me around. His other hand went across my chest
and he pulled me to his body. Christ, he was made of solid muscle. All solid
muscle. All beautiful muscle.

His lips touched my ear.
“
For tonight, you can stay here.
Tomorrow you need to have somewhere to go. That
’
s
my final decision, sweetie. You don
’
t
understand who I am or what I do. I have a really shitty day tomorrow. I
’
ll probably end up dead
tomorrow. That
’
s the truth.
I shouldn
’
t have been at
that fight tonight. And then I got dragged into a fight because I looked at
you. You did all this.
”

“
Blame
me, fine,
”
I said.
“
I don
’
t care.
”

“
But
I got my prize, right?
”
his
voice purred into my ear.
“
My
fucking prize.
”

Finn moved away from me. His back
was to me as he reached for the gun. He put the clip back into it and had it
fully loaded again. He tucked the gun into the back of his jeans.

He looked back at me.
“
You
’
re not one of them though. You don
’
t have the look or the accent.
You were hiding there.
”

“
Yeah,
”
I said.
“
I have my own personal reasons, Finn. But you don
’
t care, remember?
”

“
That
’
s right. I don
’
t.
”

He then walked toward a door and
opened it.
“
That
’
s the only bedroom in the cabin.
One bed.
”

“
Is
that how you pick up women? Get them to sleep with you?
”

Finn smirked.
“
You caught me.
”

“
Well,
good try. I
’
ll take the
couch.
”

“
You
sure about that? Could be dangerous if we get attacked again.
”

I looked back at the door. Then at
Finn.

Shit. He was right.

I composed myself and walked toward
him. I was just a foot away.
“
Fine.
I
’
ll take the bed. You can
sleep on the floor.
”

“
I
have the gun now, sweetie. You
’
re
not in control anymore.
”

“
So
I
’
m sleeping on the floor?
”
I asked.

“
In
the bed, with me.
”

“
Not
a chance.
”

Finn smirked again.

Yeah, the smoothness may have
gotten him places with other women, but for me, I was more attracted to the
cuts and bruises on his face.

I reached up and touched the side
of his head.
“
Doesn
’
t it hurt? To fight?
”

“
Hurts
like hell,
”
he said.
“
You know what hurts worse?
”

“
What?
”

“
The
fact that all those guys got to see your tits and I didn
’
t.
”

“
Oh?
”

“
I
was behind you. I saw nothing.
”

“
Damn,
”
I said.
“
That
’
s
too bad.
”

I started to walk into the bedroom
and Finn put his arm across the doorway, blocking me.
“
Too bad for yourself. Enjoy the couch.
”

“
Really?
”

“
Unless
…”

“
Unless
what?
”

Finn eyed down at my chest then
back to my eyes.

“
Are
you fucking serious?
”
I
asked.
“
You want me to
flash you? How old are you?
”

Finn shrugged his shoulders.
“
It
’
s
only fair. I saved your life.
”

“
Correction.
I saved your life.
”

“
Correction.
You
’
re in my cabin. Alive.
Safe. With a warm fire.
”

I curled my lip. I stepped back and
grabbed the bottom of my shirt.
“
Fine.
”

I started to lift and Finn let out
a laugh. He hurried at me, putting his hands to my bare, exposed skin. He
pushed at me, making me let my shirt go and grab his shoulders as I thought I
was going to fall.

His hands slid up my shirt, his
thumbs touching the bottom of my bra.

He grinned with the worst
intentions that could end up being my best fantasy.

“
Sleep
in the fucking bed,
”
he
whispered.
“
I
’
ll take the couch and make sure
everything is good.
”

“
You
don
’
t
…”

Finn spun me around and let me go.
He walked away with the butt of the gun hanging out of his back pocket. Christ,
why was it so sexy to see? I
’
d
dealt with men and guns for a long time being tied to Zander but Finn was
…

I heard a door slam.

A second later water turned on.

I gripped the doorway to the bedroom
and bit my lip. He was in the bathroom, naked. I casually reminded myself that
this wasn
’
t some date or
some kind of hookup. This was a serious thing.

I waited right there until he was
done.

He came out of the bathroom in a
towel and nothing else.

My eyes widened at the sight of his
body. Smooth, cut with muscle, lines that climbed out of the towel and drew the
rest of the magnificent sight before my eyes. Up to his perfect chest, cutting
across to his shoulders
…
his right arm bare, his left arm - from shoulder to wrist - covered in the
tribal design tattoo.

I couldn
’
t walk because I couldn
’
t breathe. I couldn
’
t
breathe because of the deep surge within my core. My toes curled as a throb
began between my thighs. A pulsing ache that ended up leaving my panties
tugging against my body.

“
You
okay?
”
Finn asked.

“
Yeah,
”
I lied.

I was not okay. Not at all.

Between the night and Finn
…
between my body and mind
…