Page 7 of Player

Finn

She moves soft lips over mine, growing more aggressive when I don’t reciprocate.

I’m less surprised she’s gone in for a snog than puzzled why she’d take things beyond the fine line we’ve been dodging all night. Whatever she wants, she’s claiming it.

I can play this a few ways. Be the sweet-talking shyster like my fellow mercenary, Jaxson. Not give a shite and go in for the kill like Declan would do. Sass my way through this Kylie Smith-like. Go Diego on her pretty ass, in an all-out explosive way, overwhelming her with emotion.

I can manipulate the shit out of the stubbornbeour. Have her eating out of my hands without her even knowing it, like my boss, the Bastard Hayden, expertly does with everyone.

Or, do as my da always said. “Play to yer weaknesses, bucko, because you got ample material to pull from.”

My old man was always quick with a kind word.

How easy it’d be to give into temptation. Lay her across the kitchen table and have a wild go at her. I might not be the man of her dreams right now, but by the time I’m through with her, she’d be humming a different tune.

Be that as it may, I wouldn’t ride her if she had pedals. I’ve got a job to do. And though I’ve come to detest the role I’m playing—the bumbling eegit Antonio being the feckin’ worst one yet, he’s all this mad minx is going to get.

I break free. “Whoa. Aren’t you taking things a wee bit fast?”

She blinks, and I almost feel sorry for the lass.

“I know I’m irresistible but how about we add a drop or two of whiskey to this fire to heat things up?”

Her lips part in surprise. Her reaction is like watching someone find a winning lottery ticket she thought she’d lost.

Confusion.

Joy.

I’m sixteen years old again.Now who’s the biggergobshite?Antonio or bleedin’ you?

“I’d love a drink,” she murmurs.

“Hold up then,” I reply, then get the hell out of Derry before I hoist her into the air and toss her happy self onto the table. I make her wait as I retrieve the bottle of Jamison from the living room, my movements slow as I calm my delusional thoughts.

She’s here for a purpose, bucko. It’s not your body she wants, but information.

I amble back to her and, while she holds out the two glasses, pour amber liquid into both.

“What took you so long?” she teases. “Run out for a new bottle?”

I gift her with a lazy smile. “Only one thing in life worth pursuing.”

Her eyes light up. Damn, she’s pretty. Deep blue eyes. Rich auburn hair. A faint sprinkle of freckles across the bridge of her nose. And she’s clever. A challenge.

Wouldn’t you know a chancer like me thrives on challenges? For most, there’s a time and place for everything. For heartless killers like me, there’s the job, period.

“I can’t imagine what might get you moving fast.”

“Can’t you?” I wink.

She laughs. A disbeliever in my lovemaking skills.

How I’m tempted to prove her wrong. Fuck her hard and furious, at a speed that’d leave her breathlessly begging me for more.

“Not sex,” I say.Nosex.Notwithyou.Notnow.Notever.

She cocks her head at me, inquisitively.