by Dee, Cara
I was right there, on that edge, aching for my climax. Everything inside me coiled up, blood rushed, pulse went through the roof, breaths turned shallow.
“Please, Finnegan,” I whimpered.
“There it is,” he grunted. “I’ll get you there, baby girl.”
He ground hard, pushing his cock as deep as he could, and spread the lips of my pussy with his fingers. He trapped my clit between his fingertips and then rubbed me in tight little motions. My entire body stiffened up, and he fucked me over the edge.
I screwed my eyes shut and let out a silent scream.
Through the wet sounds of our fucking, through the ringing in my ears, and over my heartbeat, Finnegan came a few seconds later. I recognized his erratic and hard thrusts, his grunts that slipped out through gritted teeth, the curses he spat, and the pressure he applied to my clit—no rubbing, just a downward push that prolonged my state of orgasmic bliss.
“My fucking God,” I gasped, blinking.
Finnegan stilled eventually and leaned forward until his forehead hit the spot between my shoulder blades.
His rapid breaths hit my skin and raised goose bumps all over.
“No words for how much I needed that,” he said, breathing heavily. “Fuck me.”
I giggled breathlessly, then winced when he pulled out.
“C’mere,” he murmured. “Nap, then shower. I wanna cuddle the shite outta you before everyone gets back.”
I was wholly on board with that plan.
38
Finnegan O’Shea
“Why are you sitting here all alone?” Autumn slid in next to me in the booth, her cheeks flushed from running around all day.
“I like watching my family.” I smiled and brushed my thumb along a drop of condensation trickling down my pint glass.
The pub was packed and open only for us. We’d eaten dinner, we’d toasted to our fallen brothers, we’d listened to Father O’Malley’s wisdom and prayers, and we’d shared fun stories about the men we’d lost, in an attempt to lift our spirits.
Now, the kids were running around, the women were clearing the tables and making plans for the future, and the men were scattered among the booths in smaller groups. Liam was getting ready to get on the little stage with his guitar and play some tunes for us.
There was coffee and cake…
I wished Patrick were here.
A piece was missing.
Two pieces, really. Had both Ma and Pat been here… Pop wouldn’t have been sitting at the bar alone, that was for sure.
I didn’t know how he was gonna recover, to be honest.
One man who was recovering quickly was Uncle John. He’d been humbled beyond words and probably had a shitload of trauma to deal with; he wouldn’t let Alec and Nessa out of his sight, but he had them. He hadn’t lost them. He sat at a table with Aunt Anne and a few others, not really participating in the chatter. All his focus was on the twins. When Nessa goofed off with Luna, John smiled and got teary-eyed. When Alec and Kellan got into a playful fight and shoved at each other, John chuckled to himself and watched, completely mesmerized.
He was a different man.
“Alec is cute,” Autumn said with a blush.
I did a double take on her. “Excuse me?”
What the actual fuck?
She was ten. I’d been a bystander during the first part of her life; she could fucking forget boys for a long, long time. Christ. A man had to have the chance to adjust.
“Nothing.” She flushed harder and looked down. “He’s still gross.”
“There’s my girl.” I draped an arm around her shoulders and kissed her hair. “Keep thinking that.”
She gigglesnorted.
I took a swig of my pint and watched Liam adjust his mic. People were quieting down, and he announced he’d start with “The Next Round” by Frank Turner.
Next drink’s on me, big brother…
It was a slow tune with more melancholy and wistfulness than I needed at the moment.
I noticed Luna staring at Liam a lot.
“What do you think about those two?” I nodded toward Luna and dipped down a bit so Autumn could hear better. “Emilia thinks Liam and Luna want each other.”
“Really?” Autumn scrunched her nose. “They fight lots.”
I hummed. “Like a couple kindergartners pulling each other’s pigtails.” We all knew what that usually meant.
Problem was, I had a syndicate to put together, and I needed someone to be my underboss in Chicago. Liam was the obvious choice.
We were gonna lie low for a while, all of us, until the media attention had fizzled. It would be business as usual, just…a bit more discreet. There was no evidence to pin on us, though that didn’t mean we wouldn’t have to face some questioning at some point in the near future. And it would be nice to have everything settled by then. New capos would need turf to call their own, old capos needed to accept some changes, and the management had to be solid.
We had a few months ahead of us where we’d focus on rebuilding our crews and creating a new structure.
“I think Shannon needs a girlfriend,” Autumn said frankly. “Someone who is nice to him and makes him less sad.” She shrugged. “Or a boyfriend.”
My forehead creased, and I shook my head in amusement. I knew Kellan, Luna, and my wife were big on the “or a boyfriend” addition whenever the stereotypical answer was a girlfriend. But I was pretty sure that, after more than twenty-five years of being married to my mother, my pop was straight. Christ.
“I think it’ll be a while before he’s ready for that,” I replied. “Emilia and I reckon he should move in with us for a bit. What do you think?”
Autumn nodded thoughtfully. “What color do you think he wants his walls to be?”
It was a good opportunity for me to provide her another piece of honesty. “He’ll be in a guest room.” I gave her a quick squeeze. “Only parents and little ones who live with us permanently get to pick their own colors.”
“Oh.” She smiled a little, squirmed a little, got a little proud, and blushed a little.
I kissed the top of her head again, then took another swig of my beer. Huh. Eric was joining Liam on the stage with his fiddle. The guy walked like he’d been fucked, and it wasn’t that often he played. But damn if he wasn’t fantastic.
“Oi!” Liam tapped the mic and asked for everybody’s attention. “I promise, we’re done with the speeches for this memorial, so I’ll keep it short.” He paused and sought out Emilia in the crowd—and me. “It’s been a hell of a year.” He sobered. We all did. “The challenges we’ve faced…” He shook his head and cleared his throat. “But there’s been some good shite, too. The Sons of Munster will thrive under me cousin’s rule. Finn has proved himself over and over, and so has his wife. But we know how women are, eh? They gotta have something special that’s only theirs.”
I tipped my glass at Emilia when she smirked back at me over her shoulder.
“Every superhero needs a sidekick,” Liam went on. “Of course, when the girls put us in our place, we’ll end up the sidekicks, but…” Everyone laughed. “Nevertheless! Finn and I will be the first two to invest in a bright future for Emilia and Luna as they start their own venture. A sister organization, if you will. Truth be told, I’m kinda scared to think what they’ll come up with. I’ve seen them practice Krav Maga.”
I grinned.
Luna glanced back at me too, and she was as confused as Emilia was.
I nodded at Liam.
He raised his beer bottle. “To the Daughters of Munster! Ye have our full support and faith. You’ll go far—” he coughed “—but we won’t risk heart attacks by sitting around without keeping an eye on ye.”
There was applause all around, and Emilia mouthed, “Are you serious?” to me.
I merely smiled.
I was gonna keep watching her grow, and I had no doubt she would succeed with whatever she chose to attempt.
“One last thing!” Liam ho
llered. “I didn’t get to attend a fucking wedding, so if you please.” He gestured for Emilia and me to take the floor. “This one’s for you, guys. Within the span of a year, you’ve fallen in love, gotten married, traveled—a bit too much—and, well, ye have a kid and one on the way already. Ye fuckers work fast.”
I chuckled and slid out of the booth once Autumn had slipped out too. Then I met up with a princess on the floor and gave her a little spin before pulling her close to me.
“Hubby.” She grinned up at me.
I bumped my forehead to hers. “Wifey.”
My cousin was laying it on thick. He’d picked a romantic song and was accompanied by Eric on the fiddle. I didn’t know who it was, but I liked it. It would be perfect for my cheesy playlist that I used to romance Emilia.
I’ve never seen anything like you.
“Thank you for everything,” Emilia murmured. “It means the world to me.”
“You’ve earned it,” I replied quietly. “I don’t think you realize how strong you’ve become.”
A faint blush spread across her cheeks. “I still need a lot of training.”
“Of course, but you’re well on your way.”
She sighed softly and rested the side of her face against my sternum.
“So, how long until you get bored and restless again?” There was a pinch of amusement in her tone that made me chuckle. “A year of chaos—how much is that worth?”
“A week at the least.”
She giggled and peered up at me again.
I dipped down and kissed her nose. “I don’t expect another hiccup like this for eight to ten years.”
That happened to be when Gio’s eldest son would be released from prison, I’d learned earlier today. Eric had tracked down the guy’s information, and we knew exactly where he was serving his sentence. We’d keep an eye on him over the years.
Gio’s youngest son was in the wind—with his mother, according to Emilia—though I didn’t think we’d have to worry as much there. He wasn’t even Autumn’s age.
“Hiccup,” Emilia snorted. “That’s one way of putting it.”
“Mm.” I got her lips and gave her a slow kiss. “Who knows, maybe you’ll get bored before me. You’ll ask me if you can steal a car or something ’cause you just need a quick fix.”
She grinned and shook her head. “I love you.”
I sighed contentedly. “Ditto, princess.” I brought out another smile from her when I twirled her around once. “You ready to go home?”
We had another week or two here; I had some men who were gonna tie up some loose ends around Europe, and I wanted to remain fairly close. And Emilia would be clear to fly a while longer. We’d had an appointment here, and everything looked good with the pregnancy.
“Very ready,” she murmured. “I love Killarney, though. I hope we can start some traditions here.”
“Absofuckinglutely. Christmases, maybe? It’s beautiful in the summer too. I’ll show you around—farther down south, the water’s clearer than in the Bahamas.”
“You get so excited,” she laughed softly. “I wanna see more of that.”
I smirked. “Just stay tuned, I guess.”
Epilogue
Emilia O’Shea
“Finnegan!” I yelled. “Come quick!”
I swallowed and sat perfectly still. I didn’t move a freaking inch, for fear I’d mess it all up.
I heard the husband rush down the stairs, each step creaking like they were supposed to in old houses.
“What’s wrong, what’s wrong?” he asked worriedly. “Is it time—” He stopped short.
I pointed excitedly at my stomach, where I was balancing two cans of soda on top of each other. How friggin’ cool was that?
“Look!” I smiled widely.
He blew out a harsh breath and scrubbed his hands over his face. Then he inhaled deeply and approached me slowly. “Princess, I want you to listen to me now, okay? When the doctor tells you it’s a high-risk birth, you do not—and I repeat, do not—under any circumstances, call for me like the place is on fucking fire…when you manage to balance some goddamn soda on your stomach. Are we clear?”
I pouted at him. “I’m sorry.”
He forced a smile. “Right. I’ll make sure to put that on my headstone. ‘She’s sorry, though’ when you give me a heart attack.”
I pressed my lips together to stifle the laughter bubbling up. My poor man was running himself ragged, and I still had weeks to go.
Oh, how quickly plans could change.
We were supposed to fly home to Philly last week. But the day before, I felt some stabbing pains radiating from my lower back. Normal, we were told at the doctor’s right around the time our plane departed, but I should rest from now on. He didn’t like that my iron levels had dropped, something Luna had experience with.
So, I was gonna give birth here in Ireland.
“I’ll just get started on dinner,” Finnegan muttered, and he disappeared into the kitchen. “Autumn! Can you come help me?”
Because God forbid I lifted a damn finger. I grimaced and placed the soda cans next to me on the couch. I’d set them on the coffee table if I could reach…
I glanced at my phone. Still no word from Kellan. Dammit.
Luna and Colm would be here soon, at least. They’d gone to Dublin over the weekend to put flowers on Conn’s grave. Eric was picking them up at the airport in…twenty minutes or so? Give or take.
“Baby,” I called. “If you give me some vegetables and a cutting board, I could—”
“Zip it, woman! Autumn and I got this.”
Jeesh. I exchanged a matching yikes expression with Autumn as she came down the stairs.
“How does it feel to be grounded?” she asked cheekily.
I stuck out my tongue at her.
She laughed all the way to the kitchen.
It was just me again, then. Great. I channel-surfed a bit, tried and failed to get comfortable, and drank some ginger ale. Then I wasted ten minutes getting off the couch so I could go pee, at which Finnegan came out with this stern look, and then he laid into me about the dangers of…oh, blah-blah-blah. I was being careful! For the love of God!
He ushered me to and from the bathroom and helped me back down onto the couch.
“I love you, but I don’t like you right now,” I said.
He gave my forehead a loud kiss. “Trust, it’s mutual.”
Oh… The emotions came at me so quickly, there was no time to hide the unshed tears that filled my eyes, and it made Finnegan panic.
“I was kidding!” He bent over me and cupped my cheeks. “I was fucking kidding, baby. You’re just… My nerves are shot, okay?”
I sniffled and nodded. “Okay. But you have to like me.”
“Of course I like you. Just know, next time I’m picking the vacation, ’cause this ain’t it.”
That made me giggle, and I wiped away my tears. In my defense, I’d had approximately two minutes to come up with not only a destination, but a reason for Finnegan to agree to leave Philly.
There was a knock on the door before Eric came in, quickly followed by a bouncy two-year-old.
“Mommy, wook!” Ryan ran for me at the same time as he pointed behind him. “Dey here!”
I grinned and helped him up. “I see that. Everyone’s here now.”
“Easy, son.” Finnegan leaned over to get his shoes and jacket. “Can you guard Mommy for me? She has to stay on the couch.”
I poked his cheek and said, “Boop.”
That earned me a weak scowl from the husband and a guffaw from Ryan.
“He’s on my side,” I boasted.
Finnegan cocked a brow, then faced Ryan. “If you tell Daddy if Mommy leaves the couch, I’ll give you ice cream.”
I gasped at the traitor.
They shook hands, legit, like the freaking mobsters they were. Even our boy… Don’t get me started. He took after his father way too much.
“Guess he’s on my side no
w.” Finnegan booped my cheek, then straightened and greeted Eric, Luna, and Colm. Luna had her little CJ with her too, of course. “Luna—just the person I need right now. I think I’m burning the steaks, and since you’re a woman…”
The guys found Luna’s expression ridiculously funny.
I rolled my eyes.
“Dad!” Autumn called. “You better come. I don’t think the potatoes are supposed to look like this.”
Luna merely hitched her bitch brow, so Finnegan surrendered, and the men hurried out into the kitchen. CJ stumbled after them too.
“Hey, hon.” I smiled.
“Hey. My God, you’ve…grown.” She plopped down in the chair next to the couch and smiled impishly.
“You don’t say.” I stroked a hand over my stomach.
“My bwovers are in dere.” Ryan pointed at me.
“That’s right, your brothers are in here.” I combed back his messy hair with my fingers, and he loved that. He snuggled closer and hummed, kinda like his dad.
“Speaking of brothers…” Luna waited expectantly.
I shook my head. “Still no word.”
“Dammit—shit, sorry. Sorry!” She slapped a hand over her mouth.
I stared at her. “Are you kidding? Weren’t you there the first time Ryan cursed?”
He’d tried to mimic Finnegan, who’d just hung up the phone with a string of colorful curses. We’d already started doing the swear jar thing at home.
After changing the channel to cartoons, I could speak without Ryan giving a rat’s ass, and I elaborated to Luna. I told her I hadn’t heard from Kellan since last week. And he hadn’t divulged much then.
Luna frowned and bit her thumbnail. “We’re still keeping it…you know.”
A secret? Oh Christ, yes.
“They have at least another couple months before I can go home,” I said. “I doubt Finnegan will fly home in that time. He knows his way around Skype, and he’s got Liam and Sullivan handling some of his sit-downs. Kellan’s got time.”
Although, I suspected the one who needed the most time was Shannon. Because each time I replayed the scenario I’d walked in on, I grew more confident it was entirely new to him.