I wanted to push him away, to tell him to get the hell away from me. My hands even went to his chest to push him, but the thing is, Keane’s body was so big and hard that my body didn’t get the message. With my brain overridden, I had no choice but to hang on, to caress the hard peaks and valleys of the glorious landscape that was his body. He swallowed my moan of pleasure and I swear my whole body pulsed with need. Want. “Keane,” I moaned as my head tilted back to give his mouth greater access to my neck. “Please.”
“Please, what?” he asked a deep growl that drew my attention straight to the intensity of his stare. “Tell me you want this Fiona.”
“I want you,” I said instead because I didn’t want to want this. I didn’t want to want a man who thought so little of me, who probably didn’t respect me.
Keane stared at me for a long time, I guessed trying to figure out what was going on behind my eyes. Luckily, I had a lot of practice at hiding my feelings from this man. “Good enough.” He dipped inside my mouth again, blood rushing through my body like liquid heat, pulsing and pounding its way through my system. “I can’t wait Fi.”
Damn why did the thought of him losing control give me such a thrill? It felt intoxicating, addicting to have a big strong man like Keane want me so much, need me so much that he couldn’t be bothered with niceties. “I don’t want you to,” I told him honestly.
“Look at me,” he ground out as he pushed me onto the bed, pulled off my pants and pushed my thighs apart. I couldn’t have looked away if I wanted to, the sight of Keane gripping his cock and stroking it before pressing the head right on my clit.
“Yes,” I screamed my pleasure, loving the way electricity sparked through me each time he hit that little bundle of nerves. “Keane…please.”
He shot me a devilish grin and held himself at my opening. “I love to hear you beg me to fuck you Fi.”
I would do a lot more than beg if he kept me waiting any longer. “Oh, oh yes!” He dropped to his knees, his warm breath fanning my pussy seconds before he kissed me until I was wet and aching, and begging for his cock.
“I could eat your cunt all day,” he grunted out as he slid in to the hilt. “So fucking wet, just for me.”
He sounded entirely too smug about it, but I felt how easily he entered me and I knew how wet I got just thinking about him. I wished I didn’t, but in that moment I loved how he seemed to get even harder because of how much I want him. Even as he fucked me I hungered for him, I wanted more of him.
When his mouth touched mine again I wanted to cry at the intensity of the emotions rolling through me. That kiss felt like everything I had ever wanted a kiss to be. I felt wanted and needed, cherished. Desired. It was too much, his mouth made slow sweet love to mind as he pounded into me in frantic strokes that soon pushed me over that razor’s edge and straight into the deep dark abyss that carried me away, left me floating in dark nothingness while he chased his own pleasure. The orgasm ripped me apart and he thrust in deeper and harder, sending me higher than I’d ever been before just moments before his hips jerked one final time, his cock pulsing inside my body.
His hips still moved slowly, long deep strokes that had me coming harder than I had even with battery operated assistance. “Ah, Fiona love,” he whispered in my ear, pressing gentle kisses to my jaw, my cheek.
My eyes closed and savored those word on his lips. Fiona love. I’d wished to hear those words for years. They were one of my most deeply held dreams. And he didn’t mean them.
It all became too much. The intensity overwhelmed me and I fought a losing battle for control. And promptly burst into tears.
“What are you doing?”
“What does it look like?” I asked Keane in the most sarcastic voice I could muster up. I’ve been a jerk to him since my crying jag after we made love. A week ago.
“Okay,” he started, reigning in his patience. “Why are you packing your suitcases. You’re with me until Callahan is caught.”
I groaned. “I know you’re worried, and Dad is too, but you know what? I don’t care. I’m done caring about what you guys want. I want to go home.” Truthfully I needed to go home. To pack up my apartment because I couldn’t live there anymore, and then I would find a place to stay until after finals. Probably a hotel.
“I’m serious Fiona. You’re not going anywhere.”
“I’m not fighting with you.” I had no plans to fight with either of the men in my life. Ever again. I decided to make a clean break from them. All of them. “After dinner I’m going back to my apartment.” My dad invited us to dinner for some big news, and I had a feeling I wouldn’t like it. Hence the now focusing on no-one-but-Fiona.
“I don’t think so.”
I looked over my shoulder at the handsome man who’d stolen my heart but didn’t want it. He’d recently had a haircut and his beard was freshly trimmed, making him look both younger and hotter. “I’m not asking Keane.”
He grumbled and left the room and I felt a small but much needed reprieve. The man had refused to let me out of his sight for more than a few minutes even inside the penthouse. He slept beside me, actually more like around me. Wrapped around me with arms squeezed tight. I hated that I loved sleeping in his arms so much. It would make sleeping alone that much harder.
But I would do it. Because I had to.
Life moved on, and as we pushed down the highway I knew it had to move on for all of us. Dad sounded happy on the phone. I assumed it had to be about finally having the official all clear from the FBI, but now I had to wonder if it was about something else.
“Do you know what’s going on with him?”
“No,” he answered just a tad too quickly, and with an undertone that told me he knew something.
“Liar.” I don’t know why I expected anything else from him. Apparently remembering that would require a steeper learning curve. More time. Distance.
“It’s not my place to tell you Fi.”
“Fine.” I expected it even though I hoped for something else. Something different.
“That’s it? You’re not going to harass me until I tell you?”
“No.” As soon as the car came to a stop I jumped out and quickly walked up the short stairway to Rosie’s house. The door opened before I could knock and Rosie pulled me into a hug.
“Damn you’re a pretty little thing. If I was younger we might be enemies, chasing after the same boys.” She laughed and pulled me into the living room.
“Dad, you’re looking well,” I gave him a hug and a kiss. “Feeling better?”
“As soon as I’m off these damn pills I will be.” He patted my cheek and I took the lone sofa in the bright living room, sandwiched between two loveseats.
“Soon you’ll be back to normal. Just do what the doctor says.” Keane and Rosie came in and she flitted off to the kitchen, presumably to work on dinner. “Do you need any help Rosie?”
“No, Keane will help me while you and your father have a chat.”
Okay, that wasn’t suspicious at all. Keane gave me a sympathetic look as he passed and I diverted my gaze. The last thing I wanted from him was sympathy. Or pity. “Okay Dad, what’s the big news?”
His face lit up in a way I couldn’t remember ever seeing. I was so young when Mom died that I don’t remember much about him from then, but in the photos he looked happy. Smitten. Just how he looked now. “Rosie and I got married two days ago.”
What? I couldn’t believe my ears. Dad had gotten married. Without me. That hurt, but I was happy for him. “Congratulations Dad.” I stood on wooden legs and gave him the obligatory hug and kiss even though I truly was happy for him. It just felt strange to be excluded from such a big part of his life. They’d obviously known each other for years, but I’d only met her a week ago. And now they were married. “I’m happy for you both.”
“Are you?”
“Of course, it’s just a shock is all. She’s obviously a big part of your life and I don’t know her.” It hurt, but telling him that
would only put a damper on the celebration, I guess. “She seems great and I really am happy for you.”
“Thanks,” he grinned so wide I thought his cheeks might pop. “Looks like we both got what we want, eh?”
I didn’t know what he meant, so I just shrugged. It all felt so surreal. Rosie and Keane came in with champagne and glasses, both of them wearing big smiles I tried like hell to mimic. The big dinner of roasted lamb, potatoes and veggies probably tasted delicious but I wouldn’t know, it all tasted like dust to me. I sat through a toast from Keane to the happy couple, not to mention two toasts each from the happy couple. It was sweet. And sad. And damned exhausting.
I should have done my own toast but I just didn’t have the energy or the mental capacity to do it. Not today.
When Rosie returned with a large pan of tiramisu, Dad licked his lips and gave her a loving smile that felt like a kick in the gut. Great now I’m jealous of my own dad.
“Wait until you taste Rosie’s tiramisu, it’ll make you believe in miracles.”
I doubted that, but I smiled just the same.
“Since we have dessert I guess it’s time for the other news. Rosie and I want some time to ourselves as newlyweds, and away from all that’s been going on. So we’re going on a cruise around the world until the heat dies down.”
“What? You’re just…leaving?”
He frowned that famous Seamus O’Malley scowl that had his enemies cowering. But not me, not since I was thirteen. “Don’t we deserve some time together, away from this?”
“It doesn’t matter what I say anyway, right? Congratulations Rosie. I hope you guys enjoy your life together.” Unable to stay a minute longer I grabbed my purse and left the house. I didn’t care about my luggage in Keane’s car, I’d replace what I needed after I got home.
Wherever the hell that was now.
Keane
“Goddammit Seamus!” I couldn’t believe he’d been so uncaring, so cold about his decision to get away for awhile. “You couldn’t have been more delicate about it all? You’re leaving her behind. Again.” I didn’t wait for my best friend to answer because I knew that while he loved Fiona, decades at the head of Cearul had given him a cold, me first, mentality.
“She’ll be fine, she’s a big girl,” he said just as I pushed the door open.
“Who singlehandedly took down most of the Red ‘Rocks, you think they’ll forget about that shit? She’s still in danger whether or not you’re traipsing around the free fucking world!” I scanned up and down the block in search of Fiona, but wherever she’d gone she had a good head start. The train station was close by and her best bet for getting back home.
She thought the danger was over but I knew that shit never ended. Especially now that she’d played such an instrumental role in bringing down half the Red Shamrocks organization. That meant the other half wouldn’t rest until they made Cearul pay, and anyone close to the organization. In this instance Fiona was one and the same.
Shit. That thought lit a fire under my ass and the frantic walk turned into a flat out run as the sounds of the train and hordes of people milling about increased. Inside the station I couldn’t see anything with so many people around, until a flash of red hair caught my attention and I plowed through the crowd to get them the fuck out of my way.
“Fiona!” Unease settled like a brick in my stomach. I’d learned as a child, and then again in the military just how valuable gut instincts could be. “Fi, stop!”
She turned and those blue eyes hit me with an angry glare. “I’m not going anywhere with you,” she spat with a venom I’d never seen from her.
Then I saw something else behind her, or rather someone else. “Goddammit Fi, Maeve is here. Do you think that’s a coincidence?” She turned away from me and all I could do was yell. “Be alert!”
It was too late though because Maeve was beside her and pulling her forward. If I had to guess, I’d say the rotten bitch had a gun pressed to her side. No matter how hard I pushed though, the crowd wouldn’t budge with the sounds of the train’s arrival. Fiona swiveled her head back, fear shining in her eyes. “Help,” she mouthed and I gave her a crisp nod, holding up my thumb and pinky in the universal sign for call me.
When I felt confident she understood I turned, plowing down anyone in my way to get the hell out of the station and back to my car. They wouldn’t actually get on the train, at least not for long because even Maeve wasn’t that fucking stupid. I drove along the path the orange line would take until Fiona’s phone pinged just outside Downtown Crossing. It didn’t take long to spot them in a red Shelby GT that clearly belonged to the Red ‘Rocks.
I followed them, closely, because there was no point pretending I wasn’t. Maeve didn’t have the brains to think of this, and if she got caught her bail would be revoked. There would be a secondary location, and that’s where I hoped they were going. “Easier to deal with them all at once.” Fear settled in my gut as I thought about how angry Maeve likely was at Fiona, and that’s when I saw it.
The GT jerked left and then right, and then even harder right until it slid against the guard rail, sending sparks flying as a loud screeching sound rent the air.
“Dammit Fi.” I stayed close because I knew she was stubborn and determined to save herself if only to show me she could. As soon as she was safe in my arms, I would throttle her.
The car came to a stop and I jumped out, charged forward to help Fiona who dashed from the wreckage in a frantic lop-sided run.
“Keane!” Her bottom lip was swollen and blood dripped from it. I wanted nothing more than to run to her, grab her in my arms and make sure she would be alright. But as she ran to me, to safety, I saw what she wouldn’t make it.
Maeve raised her right arm and aimed the gun right at Fiona’s back. I didn’t have a choice, and I wouldn’t have made a different one if this scenario had played out one hundred times. I’d killed before, and one more time wouldn’t be any different. Except this time I did it to save the woman who meant the world to me.
“Get down,” I shouted at Fi and raised my left arm, taking aim before firing two shots into Maeve’s chest. “Are you okay?” I couldn’t take my eyes off Maeve until she dropped to her knees and fell face first to the ground.
“I’m fine.”
“Drop the gun and put your goddamn hands up!”
Shit. I knew that sound anywhere.
Fucking cops.
“You’re free to go.” Officer Fat Ass growled the words at me, a sneer fixed on his ruddy red face like I’d done something wrong.
“It’s about goddamn time,” I stood and grabbed my leather jacket from the back of the rickety metal chair they’d had me parked in for hours. “What time is it?”
“Time for you to get going and be glad we didn’t book you.”
“For what? Doing your job for you?” I smacked his shoulder and walked out of the dimly lit interrogation room.
I spotted the captain heading towards me, a friendly smile on his face. We’d gone to high school together before joining the Army and going in different directions. On opposite sides of the law.
“You’re free to go, Keane. Fiona confirmed your story and we were able to get footage of them leaving the station.” He clapped me on the back and walked me out. “Did she really save Seamus’ ass from the Feds?”
I nodded with a grin. “Yeah, apparently she’s a whiz with computers. Is she still around?”
“Nope, she left hours ago. She gonna be okay?”
“I don’t know. I doubt the Red Shamrocks will forget this easily.” So I needed to find her. Protect her. “Thanks Monaghan, stay safe out here.” Outside the cop shop, a few guys waited in a car to pick me up. They drove me back to my car because of course the cops hadn’t towed it yet, and I left them behind with a message to grab any fucking Shamrocks they came across.
Then I left to go get my woman.
Fiona
Being exhausted all the time was…exhausting. At least that’s how it fe
lt to me. Only two weeks had passed since Keane had killed Maeve before she could kill me, but somehow it felt like months, maybe years had gone by. I couldn’t sleep or eat or do anything other than watch reruns of nineties comedies and read, because every time my mind had a free unoccupied minute, it went back to that day. Back to Keane with that cold angry look on his face and he aimed that gun at me.
I knew he wouldn’t shoot me, of course I knew that, but just knowing the reason he’d done what he had, was enough. I’d come as close to dying as a person could and still be alive, and I didn’t feel grateful for it. I just felt scared. Hollow. Broken.
But the good news, if anything about the past few weeks, few months could be considered good, was that I officially have my degree. Diploma in hand, I felt more than ready to start a new chapter in my life. Dad and Rosie were gone on their cruise, because apparently his new life was more important than me or Keane’s freedom. As much as I hated it, I realized that it gave me the space I needed to live my own life. On my terms.
Thanks to Alan I had a spot performing personal cyber security for a tech firm in Washington State, and in another few weeks I would be on my way. To a new job. A new life. As Fiona McGregor because taking Mom’s maiden name would make me harder to find and less conspicuous to those with a passing knowledge of Irish mafia history.
And most of all—good or bad—I would be thousands of miles away from Keane.
“You know Fi, you say you want me to see you as an adult but here you are. Running away. Again.”
I knew he wouldn’t leave me alone for much longer, the few days since he’d last stopped by had been a reprieve. Not a pardon.
“If it makes you feel better to think that.” I couldn’t look at him, it hurt too much. It would pierce my heart to look into those green eyes again, so I did everything I could to avoid them.
“Makes me feel better? Don’t act like any of this is for me Fiona. You’re leaving, running away like a scared little child.”
Fake Fiancé Next Door_A Small Town Romance Page 20