Page 41

HALLIE

“ O h, fuck. Fuck. Fuck.” Finn says each word louder.

“Conan, no!” Declan screams.

“W-what’s going on?” I grab Finn’s arm, but I don’t take my eyes off Conan.

Blood pours from the guy’s mouth as Conan drives a kick into his face, the thud echoing around the arena.

Before the man can drop, Conan’s thighs clamp around his neck like a vise.

He taps weakly on the canvas with one hand, the other flailing.

His face drains of color while Conan hammers punch after punch into his skull.

He’s going to kill him.

“Conan!!” I scream.

Those eyes, dark and wild, I don’t recognize them. But when they meet mine, his chest heaves slower. And he lets the guy go.

My hands tremble as they fall to my sides. I step back. Everything’s a blur.

Conan is announced the winner. His team swarms him. But all I can do is stand there, stunned.

That wasn’t a fight. That was a brawl to the death. And Conan looked like he wanted it.

I didn’t recognize the monster in there.

My chest feels like it’s caving in. I can’t breathe. “I-I need some air,” I whisper to Charlotte.

“I’ve got you.”

She grabs my hand and leads me past the crowd, shoving open the metal doors.

The cold night air hits me like a slap. I plant my hands on the wall, sucking in lungfuls. I’m overstimulated as hell.

“Hallie, it’s okay. It’s just a cage fight. It’s what they do,” she says softly.

I shake my head.

“He could’ve killed someone.”

Charlotte laughs. “Hallie, that’s something you’ll have to get used to, being involved with the Quinn family. Death comes with it.”

“Even murder?” I whisper.

“Uh, yeah. You really need to talk to Conan. Or leave. Before he falls any harder for you. I don’t know what to say, Hallie.”

My head spins. “Can you take me home?”

Her eyes dart left to right. “I need the keys. Come with me?” She holds out her hand, and I take it.

She leads me down a corridor and pushes open a door. All the air is knocked from my lungs.

Conan’s there. Bloodied. Looking sorry as hell.

“I’ll leave you guys to it,” Charlotte says, disappearing before I can stop her.

I step inside and close the door.

“Are you okay?” he asks quietly.

“No. Not really. That was… a lot. So is everything I’m learning right now.”

He runs his hands through his hair, fidgeting like a boy who knows he’s done wrong.

“I’m sorry if I scared you.” There’s honesty in his voice. Sincerity that softens my gut.

“Who are you, Conan Quinn? Who are you really?”

His Adam’s apple bobs. “I’m an ex-underground, turned professional MMA fighter. I run a garage to fix my cars. And I’m a Quinn. Which means Irish Mafia. Born and bred.”

I let out a shaky breath. “Mafia?”

“Yeah. I’m sorry I didn’t tell you, trouble. I didn’t know what you’d say.”

My eyes trace the ink on his skin. The blood. The bruises.

And that face—raw, pained, aching.

“I didn’t want to lose you. I thought you’d hate that part of me.”

I step in close, resting my hands on his sticky chest. “I’m annoyed you thought I’d run from you, beastie. I knew something was off. I just didn’t expect that.”

He lets out a quiet laugh and wraps his arms around me. His grip’s tight. Protective.

“Are you mad at me?” he murmurs into the top of my head.

“I’m more mad that you’ve been edging me for hours.”

He pulls back, cupping my face.

“I’ll resolve that for you, baby.” He presses his lips to mine.

“Am I safe with you?” I ask, staring into his eyes.

He doesn’t hesitate. “Always. It’s not as bad as it sounds. It’s business.”

“You don’t hurt kids, women, or animals?”

“Fuck no. We try to stop the ones who do. That’s the goal, in a roundabout way.”

I slide my hands up his chest and wrap them around his neck.

“We’ve gotta work on your temper, Conan. The way you flip—it’s unsettling.”

He sighs, resting his forehead against mine.

“I’m trying, Hallie. I really fuckin’ am. A few years ago, I killed a guy—a rival family’s son. That cost my father his life. And I’ll never forgive myself.”

I close my eyes and hold him tighter. “How can I help you, Conan?”

I see him. The man under the blood. And I want to be his anchor.

“Just by being you, Hallie.”

I lean back and run my finger across the cut on his eyebrow.

“Want me to clean you up?”

He smirks.

“Oh, yes, please.”

He lets out a groan as I run my tongue along his jaw.

“So what am I now to you? Your on-call nurse, your fuck buddy, your friend, your cheerleader at fights?”

His fingers squeeze my throat.

“You forgot the comedian,” he whispers against my ear.

“I am kinda funny.”

His free hand grips my ass.

“Funny. Beautiful. Sexy. Smart. Kind. Caring.”

I start to blush as he reels them out.

“You forgot horny.”

“Hallie, I know you’re horny as hell. But, we have a booth booked at a bar. The quicker we do that, the quicker I get you back to that penthouse.”

His breathing quickens as I grab his dick through his shorts.

“Is that a promise?” I bat my lashes at him.

“Damn fucking right.”

I let out a squeal as he lifts me by the waist and pushes my back against the wall.

“You look fucking divine, darlin. And we have a win to celebrate.”

I grab his face and he smiles.

“I’m proud of you.”

He blinks at me but remains silent.

“You were a beast in that ring. You owned it. And you won fair and square. You just about managed to contain the anger this time. I think that’s a pretty big deal.”

“You’re not just a fuck to me, you know that, right?” he tells me.

“I know, beastie. Because if I was, you’d have had sex with me here already.”

Wrapping my leg tighter around his waist, I roll my hips over his cock.

“We could, just quickly,” I whisper against his lips, biting back my grin.

“You think you can tell me what to do?”

He squeezes his hand tighter around my throat, but I can’t help but smile.

He’s making me crazy.

And I love it.

“Eat me out.”

He blows out a breath.

“Alright. You win. Tell me what to do whenever you want, trouble.”

He drops to his knees and grabs my leg, putting it over his shoulder.

I hold onto the wall for support, a soft moan leaving me as he runs his tongue all the way up the inside of my thigh.

I hold my breath with my eyes closed, waiting for him to feast on me.

But it never happens.

As I look down, he’s grinning wildly.

“You’re soaked for me, darlin’. And I want to enjoy every second of seeing you squirm tonight. That anticipation will make you scream so loud for me later. Trust me?”

“Fuck.” I hit my head back against the wall.

What was heat is now ice running through me.

“Please?”

He nips at my sensitive skin.

“Trust. Me. Trouble.”