Game (17 page)

30.

(Shayna)

I remember a loud
pop
sound.
Then there was crunching metal. So cliche for an accident, right? But that
’
s what it was. The world spun
for a few seconds and then it was all darkness. Not a dream like kind of
darkness. Just plain darkness.

Then I felt bouncing.

No, stepping.

I was being carried.

My brain demanded I move my arms,
my legs. I wiggled my toes. I curled my fingers. I bit my lip. I wiggled my
ears. My brain was in some kind of survival mode, taking inventory of what was
damaged and what needed to be fixed in order of importance. Everything my brain
wanted me to do I was able to do. Except wiggle my ears. I had never been able
to do that.

Thoughts returned and that meant
thoughts about Zander.

He
’
d
come for me.

He was going to kill me and Finn.
Or maybe just kill Finn and kidnap me. Then torture the life out of me until I
gave up everything I knew about Finn, Fiore, or why I had left with Finn after
the fight that night. Maybe if that happened I would have just exploded on
Zander about my sister.

Where the fuck is Sasha? What
did you do to her?

I moved my arms again, almost
swinging them. My head started to move. I groaned.

“
No,
sweetie, wait,
”
a voice
said.

Finn
’
s
voice.

My body warmed right up. All the
right places warmed up so I knew I couldn
’
t
have been that hurt.

When I opened my eyes, it was in
time to see Finn opening the door to the cabin. He
’
d walked all the way to the cabin carrying me.
Protecting me. Saving me.

He placed me on the couch and
dropped down, touching my face and cheeks.

“
Shayna?
Say something.
”

My eyes fluttered again and I
briefly saw Finn.
“
Hey.
”

“
Do
you feel any pain?
”

“
I
don
’
t know,
”
I whispered.
“
What
…”

“
It
’
s okay,
”
he said.
“
They
’
re
…
gone now.
”

That meant they were dead.
Rightfully so, I guessed. Sometimes life really was about survival. They chased
us. They wanted to engage in a fight. Someone had to die.

“
I
’
ll be right back,
”
Finn said.

Darkness took me again.

~ ~ ~

When I came to again, there was a
fire in the fireplace. A blanket on my body. And I was missing most of my
clothes. I looked around and saw Finn sitting on the edge of the coffee table.
Next to him was a bowl with water in it. And blood.

Blood?

“
You
’
re all cleaned up,
”
he whispered.
“
Just a little gash on your
forehead. You
’
re lucky,
sweetie. No stitches or broken bones.
”

“
Okay,
”
I groaned.

“
Does
your head hurt at all?
”

“
No.
I
’
m
…”
I blinked a few times.
“
I
’
m
so sorry, Finn.
”

“
Why,
sweetie?
”

“
Because
you were supposed to have a different life. A better life. Not with me. Not
like this. I could have gotten you killed tonight. And you saved me.
”

He leaned forward and kissed my
forehead.
“
I
’
ll always save you, sweetie. No
matter what happens.
”

Finn pulled away and I knew I had
one last chance at it. So I asked.
“
Can
you please just tell me about her?
”

Finn shut his eyes for a second and
then nodded slowly.
“
Yeah,
sure.
I
’
ll
tell you about me and Carrie.
”

31.

(Finn)

I told her how I met Carrie. How I
had bought her some drinks, took her brother - Cormac - outside, how I fought
him, how we laughed, and how the night never ended. And that
’
s exactly how it felt for me.
That the first night we met was some kind of continuous span of time where the
night, day, never ended. Like I had found my moment in time to lock right into
and stay there.

“
When
I started making money fighting, it was strange for me. I grew up poor. I ate
what I could when I had it. Even when I got popular at fighting, the money wasn
’
t great. I mean, I had a
freaking apartment. That was luxury. Next thing I knew I was getting six
figures tossed into my bank account. All the time. Sponsorships. Fights.
Everything. And when me and Cormac got together, it was an explosion. He
’
s such a wild hair and I had the
attitude and strength. Carrie had her hands full with both of us. But I loved
that woman. I
’
d get drunk
and tell Cormac how bad I wanted to marry her. Even sober, I just knew it was
there. It was right. But she didn
’
t
want to get married. She didn
’
t
believe it. She liked the edge of freedom. You know why?
”

“
Why?
”
Shayna asked, weakly.

Staring at her was making me feel
things I wasn
’
t sure I
should feel. That
right
feeling I just mentioned? That was creeping in,
bad.

“
Because
to her, the true sense of love was staying. Not being forced to stay by
marriage. Because of vows and rings and legal papers. When you
’
re not married, you
’
re not bound to anyone. Or
anything. You could wake up tomorrow and disappear. So her ultimate showing of
love to me was being there. And for me to her, the same.
”

I took a breath.

“
I
bought the land after we came hiking through here. I had the cabin built for her
and I to live in. She wanted the woods and freedom. Here it was. All for the
taking. She never got to see the cabin though.
”

I stood up.

Shayna faintly tried to reach for
me.

I closed my eyes.

Am I going there? Am I really
going there right now?

“
The
life I live now makes it hurt worse,
”
I said.

“
Why?
”
Shayna asked.

“
I
wasn
’
t like this. I mean, I
was grumpy and an asshole. That
’
s
just part of my built-in charm. But the violence, guns, intense fights, that
’
s all a new version of me. So as
I live each day fucking around with a hard death, Carrie
…
she was taken so sudden and so
…”

“
How?
”

“
A
fucking car accident,
”
I
said. My throat started to close. I fought it away.
“
A car accident. Driving to the cabin to see it for
the first time. A deer jumped out in front of another car. The guy swerved and
lost control of his car. I guess Carrie tried to swerve away from him. She
spun, he hit the ass of the car, and she went spinning until she hit a tree.
Just like that. Nobody
’
s
fault, really. No weapons. No bullets. No fists. No mob. Nothing. Just a
goddamn random fucking car accident.
”

I hung my head in defeat. It was
the hardest thing to talk about. Because it was so simple. She was here, then
she wasn
’
t.

“
Oh,
Finn
…”

“
So
I had no place to get rid of the anger and pain,
”
I said.
“
Cormac lost his
edge too because it was his goddamn sister. He raised Carrie. Their parents
were long gone before I ever met them. You know? So Cormac was gone, grieving,
tearing through bottles of whiskey and women. I needed him. He wasn
’
t here. And he needed me and I
wasn
’
t there. We broke
apart for a long time. And when we got together, we drank, fought, and hated
each other. When I started fighting again, it wasn
’
t good. I was too violent. I didn
’
t stop for a buzzer or a bell. I
got disqualified, fined, suspended, and even sued. One time I got jumped by a
group of gambler bookie guys and then broke three ribs because I was supposed
to win a fight
…
and I ended
up going beyond the buzzer and got kicked out of the fight. So they lost money
on me.

“
Then
I had the chance to meet Fiore. I apparently fucked him on a fight too. So he
brought me in to kill me. I was dead drunk and I cried my eyes out in front of
him. I collapsed and he picked me up. I told him my story and he offered me a
job. To be one of his fighters. Where I could do it underground. Where I could
get it all out as I wanted to do. No bells or buzzers. There
’
s death matches, you know.
People fight until someone dies. I never got involved there, but, fuck, that
’
s heavy. My first fight, Fiore
told me to knock the guy out in a minute. He put two hundred grand on me that
night. He got a couple other big businessmen to match the bet. I went in and
broke the guy
’
s jaw in
three punches. He was out cold before he hit the ground. The place was in
silence. That was the start of Finn, the underground fighter.
”

I wiped the corner of my eyes and
turned to look at Shayna.

“
Finn,
I don
’
t know what to say,
”
she whispered.
“
I
’
m
so sorry you lost her. That you lost your dream and your life. I
’
m sorry I dragged you into all
this. I was selfish
…”

“
No,
”
I said.
“
We
’
re
not going to do that, sweetie. This is where we are now. Nothing can change
that. It
’
s obvious Fiore
isn
’
t doing his job
protecting us. And Zander is coming for you. So we will fight back. We will
figure something out.
”
I
really had no idea what to do or say.
I moved to the couch and crouched
down.
“
Right now, you need
to rest. If anything gets worse you better tell me. We
’
ll figure out something with my truck in the
morning.
”

“
Kiss
me, Finn,
”
Shayna asked.

I had already planned on it.

Our lips touched, played, flirted,
kissed. I broke the kiss and whispered,
“
Have
you ever been in love?
”

“
Not
until recently,
”
Shayna
whispered as her eyes shut.

I stood and realized what was truly
happening here.

We were falling for each other.

~ ~ ~

I called Fiore.

“
Are
you alive?
”
he yelled.

“
Yeah.
We were attacked.
”

“
So
was the fight,
”
Fiore said.

Then there was silence. A chilling
silence.

“
Fiore?
”
I asked.

“
It
was Zander. I
’
m sure he was
looking for Shayna. You have to make this happen, Finn. Zander needs to be
taught a lesson.
”

“
Was
anyone killed?
”
I asked.

“
Yeah.
Half a dozen. It
’
s going to
hurt my reputation for a while. I put ten men out on the run. We
’
re fighting back.
”

“
I
rolled my truck, Fiore. About half a mile from the cabin. I have no transportation
right now.
”

“
You
don
’
t need it. Just fuck
that woman until she
’
s
pregnant.
”

The call went dead.

Fiore had lost his mind for good it
seemed. In that regard, I didn
’
t
know who was scarier -
Zander or Fiore.

~ ~ ~

I woke to hands touching my chest.
My eyes popped open and I was in my bed. I was in the bedroom, in the cabin.
And right on top of me
…
was
Shayna.

“
What
are you
…”

“
Shut
up,
”
she whispered.

There was barely any light in the
bedroom, giving hint that it was just before dawn when the most faint sliver of
light pressed over the horizon for another to come.

Her fingers wrapped tight around my
shirt, nails digging into my chest. Her hair was messy and falling forward, but
I could still see her eyes. They were burning.

I quickly touched her waist and
felt her shirt. A few inches further down and it was all smooth skin. My hands
touched her thighs and then around to her ass. She was naked from the waist
down, right on top of me. I dug with my fingers and pulled, bringing her
forward. The tips of both my middle fingers grazed between her thighs, feeling
her soft wetness. Christ, she was ready to go again. She wanted to fuck me
right here
…
right in this
bed
…
right in this cabin
…

I felt the hesitation soar through
my body. I thought about what this cabin was meant for. Who it was meant for.

Shayna pulled at my shirt and
groaned. She threw her head back, exposing her neck. I lifted up and kissed her
sweet skin. Kiss after kiss, trailing to her ear. My cock was already
thickening, but now it was rock hard within a second. A need shot through my
body that I never experienced before.

My hands crept up from her ass to
her lower back, to her shirt. She then sat up, grinding her sex against my
jeans, teasing with such perfect force. My hands moved around to the front of
her body and moved up her shirt. I slid both hands over her supple breasts and
squeezed, feeling so goddamn alive. Shayna  put her head back again. She took
her hands from my chest and grabbed her own shirt. As she lifted it up I
realized this was the first time I was going to see her tits. After everything
we
’
d been through so far, I
had yet to see her fully naked.

I couldn
’
t believe how excited I was.

Maybe I really was falling in love
with this woman.

I purposely let my hands slide down
to her belly so I could see her breasts untouched. Her shirt went up and over
her head. She reached for her hair and pulled it back, leaving herself so
exposed to me. So completely exposed.

I gritted my teeth as both my heart
and my cock wanted to explode in the same moment. Her neck led way to her
beautiful chest. Her breasts were full, slightly heavy, not too big for her
body. Their shapely curve matched her hips so perfectly I had to keep blinking
to make sure I was seeing right. My hands inched back up. My thumbs moved
across her breasts, feeling her hard nipples. The move made her jump and gasp.

She was so sensitive.

I stared at the rest of her body.
The way her body was put together was like some kind of act of magic. My hands
felt her ribs and then enough skin to grab at her. That
’
s what a real woman was made of. I traveled the
natural curve of her body -
my mind raced, telling her that her hips were
perfect for carrying a child
…

My left hand held at her waist
while my right hand eased down between her legs. I led with my thumb, seeking
the nub of her clit. When I found it, I hooked my thumb and  gently pressed.
Her entire body tensed and she let her hair go and fell forward, her hands at
my chest again. She clawed at me, inching down, her tits hanging right in front
of my face. With my left hand, I released my hold on her waist and went for her
breast. I cupped, played, then ran my hand to her back. I pulled at her,
bringing her even closer. My lips found the warm taste of her breast, taking
her in, finally able to savor the moment that had been burning in the back of
my mind for a long time.

I hadn
’
t forgotten about my other hand either. My thumb
applied pressure to her clit and I began to write her a letter. Moving left to
right, up and down, penning my own thoughts of passion and romance with Shayna,
words that were on the tip of my tongue but I hadn
’
t said just yet. My thumb and my letter brought her
pleasure as she began to jolt her hips hard at me, wiggling the next second,
fighting and accepting her urges at the same time.

“
Finn
…
I don
’
t want to lose you.
”

Such random words but it stopped
the entire scene dead.

I took my hand from between her
legs. I pulled away from her breast and looked her in the eyes. It looked like
there were tears in her eyes. Maybe that was my chance or cue to reach up, wipe
those tears away, and tell her something sweet.

But I couldn
’
t lie to her. I couldn
’
t push her away. I couldn
’
t contain myself around her either.

So I did what I only knew to do
best
…

I reached between my legs and I
opened my jeans. I lifted myself up and hurried to push them down, letting my dick
free. Shayna looked down and let out a moan. She liked it. She really fucking
liked it.