Protect Me (The Donovan Family Book 6)

by Margaret Watson

  Her heart melted into a mushy mess. He wanted her, too – the hard length of his cock against her thigh didn’t lie. Most men wouldn't have asked. They'd simply take what she offered.

  "Finn." She nuzzled his neck, nipped at his ear. "To ask me that when I know you want me, too…" She shifted on his lap, smiled into his skin when he surged against her. "You're an amazing man. I know I've been giving you mixed signals. But yes. I want this. Want you." She cupped his face with both hands and brushed her mouth over his. "You gonna make me beg?"

  "God, I hope so." He shifted and suddenly she was straddling him, her face close to his. "I want to make you moan. Beg. Forget your own name." He nuzzled her neck. "Scream a few times, too."

  Mia's chest was so tight, it felt as if her heart might burst right out of it. She nipped at his lower lip. "Just a few times?"

  "Oh, no. More than a few." He ran his tongue over the seam of her lips, smiled against them when he felt her shiver. "Didn't want to sound all braggy, though."

  She sucked his lower lip into her mouth, let it go with a tiny pop. "Guess you'll have to prove it's not bragging then, won't you?"

  He stood up suddenly from the couch, making her clutch his arms. "I love a challenge," he said, heading toward his bedroom.

  Mia wrapped her legs around his waist and held on.

  She expected him to drop her onto the bed. Instead, after stripping back the duvet and top sheet, he lowered her onto the crisp sheet, trailing kisses across her neck and nosing beneath her robe. Tugging on the tie, he let the robe fall open. Traced the letters on her tee shirt.

  "Cops and Robbers," he murmured. "I remember that game." He grinned up at her. "I was always the robber."

  "Mmmm." She began to unbutton his shirt. "I have a thing for bad boys."

  "Is that so?" He tunneled beneath her shirt, flattened his palm on her belly. Smiled when she twitched beneath his fingers. "I'll do my best to live up to your fantasies."

  "You…," she gasped, "you already are." She slid her hands along his shirt, fumbling for the buttons, but her hands shook so much, she couldn't push the small discs through the tiny holes. Finally, frustrated, she pulled on the two sides and ripped it open. Buttons bounced off the headboard with tiny pings, landed on the bed and glittered in the faint light.

  He stared down at her, his eyes dark, hungry pools. "That was so hot. If I put on another shirt, will you do it again?"

  She ran her hands over his chest, her fingers pressing into his smooth, hot skin. His muscles jumped beneath her palms, and she sat up to press a kiss to his belly button. "You try to put more clothes on and I'll have to get my cuffs."

  "Now I'm scared." He smiled down at her, tugging on the neck of her tee. "We'll save the cuffs for another time." He slipped the hotel robe off her shoulders and pushed the sleeves down her arm. It pooled on the bed behind her, and she sat in front of him in only her tee shirt and worn pajama pants.

  She swallowed, glancing down at herself and her ordinary, mundane clothing. "Wish I'd packed something a little sexier than my oldest pajamas and the tee shirt I stole from my brother."

  Finn smoothed his hands down the front of her shirt, lingering for a moment to cup the weight of her breasts. "You're the sexiest woman I've ever known," he murmured. "You could be wearing rags and all I'd see is you. Beautiful, sexy, smart-mouthed Mia."

  He tugged the shirt over her head and tossed it away, then stared down at her. "Look at you, all strong and sexy and sleek muscles. Wearing ordinary pajamas, not something out of a teen-aged boy's fantasies. Your body is real, your clothes are real. Just like you." He kissed one breast, then the other. "Suddenly, real is all I want."

  Mia pulled his shirt off, then reached for the buckle of his belt. He took her hands away from his waist and held them clasped in his. "Not so fast, Mia." He kissed her, their hands twined together, his mouth hot and possessive. When he broke away, she was breathless, her heart thundering in her chest, her blood singing through her veins.

  And all he'd done was kiss her.

  Before she regained her senses, he'd stripped off her pajama pants. She lay on the bed, naked in front of him, but instead of feeling exposed, she felt wanted. Desired. Cherished.

  "I'm glad we can take off our clothes this time," he said, grinning at her. "Now I can look my fill."

  Her heart stuttered once, then beat harder. To hide what she was sure was a matching sappy grin on her face, she said, "Hard to see where the screams are going to come from if all you're going to do is look."

  "Oh, we'll get to the screaming," he said. Standing, he shucked his pants and socks, leaving them in a heap on the floor. Then he pulled off his dark boxers, and his long, thick cock bobbed against his stomach. "Anyone ever tell you you're not very patient, babe?"

  A secret, stupidly romantic part of her quivered at the endearment. So she grabbed his hands and tugged him down on top of her. "I need to feel you against me," she whispered into his ear. "Inside me."

  His penis twitched against her stomach, and she squirmed to get it where she needed it. Instead of following her lead, he shook his head as he bent to kiss her. "Oh, we’ll get there. Trust me," he murmured against her lips. "I don't want to jitterbug with you, Mia. I want to waltz. Slowly sweep you off your feet. Leave you breathless, your head spinning." He brushed his lips against hers, left her craving more. "We have all night. And I'm not going to rush."

  He was as good as his word. By the time his mouth moved away from hers, she was shaking with need. Instead of hurrying, though, he kissed his way down her body, lingering at her breasts until she practically levitated off the bed. Then he moved to her abdomen, trailing kisses down to the insides of her thighs.

  His warm breath feathered over her core, making her gasp. Then he pressed his lips to the junction of her thighs and tasted her, sucking gently at her. And he'd been right. She screamed so hard her throat burned.

  Before she could catch her breath, he rolled over and reached for the drawer of his night stand. Pulled out a foil packet, tore it open and sheathed himself. Then, while she was still shaking with her orgasm, he slid into her.

  She twined her hands with his and held his gaze as he began to move. Finn kissed her, his mouth hot and possessive. Claiming. She tried to keep her eyes open, but as she began to flutter again, her eyes drifted closed.

  Finn nuzzled her neck. "That's right," he whispered. "Let go, Mia. Come for me again."

  His words trembled through her, and she came again as he groaned and froze above her. She'd never felt anything this intense. This powerful. It went on and on, and she cried out until she was hoarse. Finally Finn collapsed on top of her, rolling so that she was lying on top of him.

  Mia could barely open her eyes. She turned her head, found his lips and murmured, "What was my name again?"

  * * *

  Finn flopped onto the bed beside Mia after the third time they made love, exhausted. His muscles were loose and lax, his skin hot. His brain was pretty much completely fried.

  Drifting in a haze of hormones and contentment, he curled his arms around her and pulled her close. Trailing lazy fingers down her back, he tried to touch every inch of her skin. He wanted to memorize her. Never let her go.

  Alarms blared, and he hastily added, 'until he had to leave Chicago.' He wasn't falling in love with Mia. Wouldn't allow himself to do that. The last time he'd fallen in love, it had damn near destroyed him. He refused to make himself vulnerable like that again.

  "Tell me a secret," she murmured. "Something no one else knows about you."

  His hands tightened on her for a moment, then loosened again. "You first. My life is an open book. Not many secrets."

  She opened one eye and glanced up at him, her gaze knowing. Understanding. Had she somehow figured out what really happened with Gemma?

  Finally she nodded, and it was as if he heard her thoughts. She'd allow him his secret. Wouldn't push him to share it.

  "When that thing happened with Kyle in high school, I was t
errified for months." She spoke into his chest and wound her finger around a curl of his hair. "Never walked home alone again. Always made sure I was with other people in school. I never felt safe until Kyle went away to college. Even then I was nervous. I didn't stop being afraid until I went away to college, too."

  "That's awful," he murmured, curling his arms more tightly around her. Wishing he could have protected her teen-aged self. "Didn't your mom make sure you had therapy?"

  "I never told her. Neither did my brothers." She shrugged against his chest. "I wasn't actually hurt. And I pretended everything was fine. If my brothers had known how freaked out I was, they never would have let me out of their sight."

  "That's awful, Mia." His heart ached for the terrified child she'd been. For the brothers and mother who hadn’t recognized it. He cupped his hand around the back of her head, held her against his heart. "They should have picked up on it."

  "My brothers were already way too protective. I had to hide how I felt, or they wouldn't have let me out of the house by myself. I got to be an expert at hiding my fear."

  Mia's casual words were betrayed by a tiny quiver in her voice. She was so used to hiding that she probably didn't notice it. "You still are, aren't you?" he murmured.

  She rolled to the side and one corner of her mouth turned up. "Not so much. I told you about it, didn't I?"

  He wondered how many other people had seen her vulnerable. He'd guess not many. "Yeah, you did." He brushed his mouth over hers. "Thank you."

  Mia snuggled into his side, her leg tossed over his, her arms curling around him. Her face was buried in his neck, and the soft puffs of her breaths warmed his skin.

  "No one knows what really happened with Gemma," he heard himself say.

  He stopped, shocked. He hadn't intended to share that secret with Mia. He hadn't told a soul what really happened that day.

  Mia fumbled her hand loose from his and pressed her fingers to his lips. "You don't have to tell me," she murmured. "I've already figured out that it didn't go down the way Gemma said it did. I wasn't angling for you to tell me about it."

  She trailed her fingers down his cheek to his neck, then replaced her hand with her mouth. "I was going for something like, 'I eat Oreos in bed.'"

  He smiled into her hair. "For the record, no, I don't eat Oreos in bed. Mint Milanos are my guilty pleasure."

  "Figures you'd go with the classy, expensive cookies."

  She was teasing him, trying to make it easy for him to let the Gemma thing go. He combed his fingers through her tangled hair. Her determination not to press made him more determined to tell her the truth.

  "I caught her in bed with her drummer. At our house. She'd known exactly when I was coming home. She planned it so that I caught her."

  Mia reared back, frowning. "What the hell?"

  "I realized pretty quickly she didn't just plan for me to find her. She planned a career." He sighed, rolled onto his back. "I told her to get out. She started to cry, said she was sorry, blah, blah. I stood in the room and made the two of them get out of my bed, put their clothes on and leave." He shrugged. "All those songs she wrote about how I broke her heart made her popular and rich. It shot her from a second-tier musician into the stratosphere. She became the betrayed woman speaking for betrayed women everywhere."

  "And you let her get away with it? Why didn't you tell your side of the story?" Mia demanded.

  "That's what you would have done, isn't it?" he murmured.

  "Damn straight. No way would I have let someone who cheated on me make me the bad guy."

  "It wasn't that simple, Mia." He pulled her back down against him. He didn't mind sharing the story so much when he was holding her. "She was ready, and she got her story out first. First one with the story frames the discussion. Calling her a liar would have only made me look like a whiner. It was a no-win situation.

  "And I was glad she was gone. The sex was good, she was charismatic and fun, but I'd begun to realize I'd made a mistake. She was tiring to be around – all drama, all the time. The idea of having a family, of having kids, was appalling to her. So I let it go. Realized I was much happier without her."

  "The world thinks you're a jerk."

  "The people who matter, the ones who know me, don't think so. None of them liked Gemma. They probably suspect she was lying, but I don't care. She's gone, and I'm happy she is."

  Mia slid out of his arms and sat up. Brushed his hair off his forehead, trailed her hand across his cheek. The rasp of his whiskers against her fingers was loud in the quiet room

  "You're amazing, Finn," she finally said. She smiled. "Far more forgiving than I'd be. I want to shoot the bitch."

  Laughing, he pulled her down next to him again. "Thank God you're on my side. Not sure I'd be able to handle it if you were a Gemma fan."

  "Never was a Gemma Radley fan," she said, nuzzling his chest. "Her songs always sounded like whining to me. Even before she became famous for whining about you."

  He tightened his hold on Mia. She made him feel lighter. As if he'd shared the burden of Gemma, and now he could let it go. Forget about the woman who'd nearly ruined his career. "You're good for me," he murmured.

  "Damn right I am. I'm going to find your stalker and kick her ass."

  "Didn't mean it that way," he whispered into her hair.

  She stilled beside him. Then she said, "You're good for me, too. We've got a good scream count going. Want to see if we can make it better?"

  Once again, she was letting him off the hook. "I'd love to," he said, kissing her again.

  * * *

  By the time Finn heard the phone ringing, Mia had already slipped out of bed and run into the living room to grab it. Finn pulled his boxers on and followed her out of the bedroom.

  Morning light spilled into the room as Mia said, "Sorry, Mom. I'm going to miss seeing all of you, but I'm working today. And I can't have someone fill in for me. It's a special project."

  Finn watched as Mia listened to her mother. Saw her scowl. "They had no right to tell you that." Pause. "Yes, it is supposed to be a secret."

  So one of her brothers had blabbed to their mom about him. Finn settled against the door frame, wondering how Mia was going to handle it.

  She listened for a long time. "Mom," she started to say. Stopped again. Glanced at him. "I'm not going to do that. He doesn't want to come over…" Scowled. "Because I know. That's how."

  Finn pushed away from the wall. Bent down, so Mia could see him. Nodded vigorously. "Yes," he mouthed. "I want to."

  Mia slapped her hand over the speaker on the phone. "You don't even know what we're talking about. So how can you say you want to do it?"

  Anything that got Mia this worked up was going to be fun. "Guessing," he said.

  "Fine, Mom," Mia finally said. "We'll talk about it. But don't count on it. Why would he want to spend time with my brothers? They've already harassed him. Embarrassed him in public. I'll let you know later."

  She stabbed at the off icon on her phone, then tossed it onto the table. It slid across the marble surface and fell to the floor. Thank God there was a carpet to cushion it.

  "Let me guess," Finn said. "Your mom called to remind you to come over for dinner this afternoon. You told her you couldn't make it. She said you should come anyway. You tried to put your refusal on me. So you want me to say, 'no way. I'm not spending time with your loser brothers.'"

  "Exactly." She bent down to pick up the phone. "I'll call her and let her know."

  He grabbed her wrist as she began to dial the phone. "That's what you want me to say, Mia. What I actually say is yes. I'd love to meet the rest of your family. What's the plan?"

  She stared at him for a long moment. Narrowed her eyes at him.

  He smiled at her. "Those glares might have unnerved me a few days ago. Might have made me back down. Not anymore.

  "I know your weaknesses, Mia. All the ways to make you shiver. To cry out. I know you're a giant mushball beneath that tough exterior. So,
no. I don't want to miss this party. What time do we leave?"

  Chapter 20

  Finn stared out the window of the car as they pulled up to the curb in front of a tidy bungalow on Chicago's south side. It looked like every other bungalow on the street, the only differences being the colors of the bricks and the architectural details, like the design of the stained glass topping the living room windows.

  "Nice neighborhood," he said as Pete stopped the car.

  "It's home," Mia said as she opened the door and stepped onto the parkway grass. Glancing up and down the street, she said, "You can get out. But go up to the porch so none of the neighbors see you. If they do, this will turn into a circus."

  "Nosey neighbors, huh?" he asked as he reached for the door handle.

  "Yep. The best kind," Mia said, her expression softening as her gaze lingered on the rows of bungalows. "Everyone on the block knows everyone else's business. Always right there if you need them, though. They're great."

  "Huh." Finn glanced up and down the street, saw the kids' bikes abandoned in the front yards, a wagon on the sidewalk a few houses down, the chairs on almost every front porch.

  Nothing like his neighborhood. Every house on his street was carefully landscaped. Perfectly manicured. Surrounded by tall fences. A toy left on the driveway or sidewalk would be shockingly out of place.

  What would it be like to live in a neighborhood like this? A place where everyone knew you. Where neighbors looked out for one another.

  A place where living was more important than the image your house projected. A place where everyone looked out for each other's kids.

  He wouldn't recognize the people who lived on either side of him.

  As he began to step onto the grass beside Mia, he turned to Pete. "I'll call you when we need you."

  "No, you won't." Mia pushed Finn back into the car. She'd been very…physical all day. Touching him. Sitting plastered against him in the back seat of the car. Taking his hand and playing with his fingers.