Page 6

6

FINN

M y eyes rest on the small black listening device taped discreetly to Siobhan's chest. I feel the way her heart hammers against her ribcage beneath my lips, which are pressed to the curve of her tit. I figured as much. I just thought she'd have been smarter about it.

With one long, languid lick up the inside of her tit, I pull away, leaving the dress strap to fall. She scrambles, pulling it back up, pushing her hair away from her face, then fanning herself. And here I thought she was palpating over me when all the while, she was just scared of being found out.

My hand slides up her side, over the curve of her tit and into the dress. I pinch the wire hard and pull it off her skin, then reach out and drop it into her water glass for proper burial at sea.

"Now, now." I tsk. "And I thought we had something going on there for a moment."

Siobhan scooches backward, putting space between us until her ass almost hangs off the edge of the booth cushion. Her face blanches, beads of sweat appearing on her upper lip. In this secret corner of the restaurant, I could wrap my hands around her gorgeous neck and end her, but that's not what I want to do. Not by any stretch of the imagination. Not yet, anyway.

"Finn, I just…" She's flustered, pressing the back of her hand to her forehead, fanning herself. Maybe I have had somewhat of an effect on her after all, but she'll never admit it.

I retreat from her, backing around the table to my position behind my charger plate. I suck in a deep breath and study the way she moves, like a mouse squirming under a cat's paw. She came here with a wire on, which means she wasn't exactly here to play nice or let me get into her pants. It's out on the table now. At least I know where I stand.

And kudos to her for playing the game. I can't begrudge her a little covert reconnaissance. After all, that's why I'm really here, to find out what she knows and help her see the light of day.

"I can't say I'm not disappointed, Siobhan." I look up as the waiter brings our food past the curtain. She continues to squirm, now dabbing her forehead with her white cloth napkin as the waiter sets our plates on the chargers.

"How does everything look?" he asks, and I flick my hand at him, dismissing him. A brief scowl flits across his face before he ducks out of our private booth and we're alone again.

"We cannot work together if we don't have trust." I take my napkin and snap it. The crack of the fabric makes her jump. She sits as if paralyzed by fear, unmoving, unspeaking. I, however, dive into the food, devouring one delicious bite after another. Every few seconds, I glance at her. Her head hangs in shame, but she hasn't left yet.

Siobhan's plan to spy on me is thwarted. There's probably some person behind a computer screen wondering where her signal went, and all she can do is sit there fidgeting with her fingers in her lap. I keep eating, unbothered by any of it. I've been in this game long enough to know how to wait out the pause—when you both figure out that your plan isn't going quite the way you thought and you'll have to change course.

Siobhan's eyes rise to meet mine and she blinks a few times. "I should go."

"No, stay." I shake my head and point my fork at her food. "It's paid for and it's delicious. Don't let that ruin our night."

Her neck constricts. I watch her swallow hard. She's still flustered, and her forehead draws together in the center, eyes narrowed. "You're not angry?"

I chuckle, and it lasts long enough to make her crack a smile. "Do you think I'm just an animal? That I'd pour myself onto you that thickly the instant we're alone for no reason?"

A knowing passes over her eyes. Her shoulders relax. "You knew I'd be wired and you were checking for it?"

"Saw the bulge in the fabric above your nipple. Most women don't have two nipples on one tit." I wink at her and take another bite, speaking with my mouth full as I say, "Though it was sexy the way your nipples pebbled just at the sight of me."

The pallor of fear washes away under the blush of embarrassment, and she picks up her fork to have a bite of food. A slight moan winds its way up her throat as the morsel tantalizes her tastebuds, and I smile at that sound, wishing it were my tongue between her thighs creating the symphony.

"Good, eh?"

"God, yes…" Siobhan continues eating, hungrily devouring bite after bite, slurping down more wine than I could fill my bathtub with as we chat.

"I'm sure you can't speak directly about the case, but I do have questions. And I know you're not here to fuck me—the wire made that obvious. So can we just get on with this?" I wipe my mouth and wash my food down with a few drinks of my own wine while Siobhan—using more manners than I've been so far—thoughtfully chews and swallows before responding.

"You're right. To talk about the case directly would be unethical, and honestly, I don't think you'll like what I have to say, anyway." Her long, slender arm reaches for the bottle of wine, which I'm positive isn't a good idea, but I don’t stop her.

"It's bad for him, huh?" I already know she's going to tell me she'll throw the book at him. I've looked into her. Cousin killed by an unnamed suspect thought to be connected to one of Dublin's main crime syndicates. She's in this for personal reasons and out for blood.

"No, I'm afraid not." Her words are full of compassion, her weakness. She knows the pain of losing someone, and thus she knows what Brennan, Rebecca, and Isla will go through if Mick is locked up.

"So why are you here?" I ask her. If she's not here to discuss Mick, and probably won't open up if I wanted her to, it means she's here to get close to me. She probably wants to try to get dirt on my family, which won't happen. Or maybe she really does just want to fuck me.

Siobhan sighs and shrugs a shoulder. "I have a job to do, Finn. And it probably isn't in your best interests to be seen with me, either. Your type… well, they're not kind to rats." Her eyes nervously study my face, scanning for any tell. I have none. I'm trained to handle these situations, but she's not.

"Well, how about we put that all aside for the evening? No pressure to do our jobs, no other reason to be here than a man and a very attractive woman having dinner." Her lips curl into a smile and she nods. "And whatever happens, happens. And tomorrow, we can regroup and see how we might go about doing our jobs a different way." I'm no fool. She won't stop hunting us, but if I can find a way to get to her weakness and exploit it in my favor, I will.

"I'd like that," she says as she drops her napkin on the table. She takes another long swig of her wine, and I notice the glassy appearance of her eyes. "And I liked what was happening, you know… earlier."

The half-lidded way she looks at me is erotic. She's tempting me to come back to her, and I don't even try to resist the bait. I slide around the booth and hook my fingers in the flesh at her hip, pulling her into my body.

"You mean this?"

Siobhan nods, biting her lip. She's intoxicated but still in control. "I wasn't just flustered because of the wire." I can't tell if this is the alcohol talking or some sort of scheme she's cooked up in her head. Could it be that she thinks fucking me will get me to lower my guard? Or is she really that attracted to me too?

"And if I did something like this" —I inch the side of her golden dress up her thigh until my fingers can caress the heat of her flesh— "would that be okay?" I'd take her right here at this table if she let me, but something tells me she has the good sense—even when drunk—to resist that.

"Mmm, yes," she purrs, and her hand rests on my bicep, manicured fingers wrapping around its girth to pull my hand closer.

"You're drunk, Ms. Gallagher. How do I know you're genuine?" My head descends to her chest where I continue where I left off, nipping her skin and pressing soft kisses to her cleavage. That diamond is perfect between them, a crown jewel hidden in a secret valley waiting to be searched out.

"I guess you have to trust me." Her words are slurred now, head arched back with tiny gasps emitting from her throat as I suck and nip at her skin.

When I lift my head, she brings her lips to meet mine in a scorching kiss that I don’t expect. For such a serious woman, she seems to be coming undone. Her hand pulls at my arm, guiding me closer to her core, and I let my fingers slide up her inner thigh to find moisture, sticky and pungent, and a lot of it. She's not just putting on a game. This woman wants me bad.

"You know if we do this, there's no going back. You can't erase this from your reputation." My words of caution make her tense in my arms. The way she tugs at me slows, the passion of her kiss fading, and then the hand that was just pulling me closer presses to my shoulder.

"I, uh… I should go." Siobhan snatches the clutch from the bench between us and slips out of the booth. "Thank you for dinner. I had a lovely time." Her eyes flick to the wire, still submerged in the water, and she dangles two fingers into the glass to pluck it out.

"You don't have to leave," I tell her, but she turns and scurries away. I stand and take out my wallet, leaving a couple of hundred-dollar bills on the table before casually following her.

When I step outside, she's on her phone, probably calling a taxi. She's so gorgeous under the streetlamp, just a shapely silhouette with erect nipples pressing through the thin fabric of that form-fitting gown. My dick is rock hard, but I won't force her. It would be counterintuitive. I need her to want me so much she'll do anything for me. Including dropping the charges against my friend.

"Let me drive you," I tell her, knowing my driver is on standby just around the corner. I reach into my pocket and send a text.

"Uh, no. I can't do that. I will wait for my cab." Siobhan shoves her phone into her clutch which hangs from her shoulder, then she crosses her arms under her tits which only accentuates the cleavage.

"It's no problem, really. I can be a gentleman." I stand a few strides away, not wanting to enter her personal space or make her feel intimidated. But God, do I want her.

"Please, no. I will be fine." She's stubborn, probably thinks I'll just put the moves on her and she won't be able to resist. Or maybe she's still scared I'll hurt her.

"Have it your way," I say, turning to walk up the street where the car waits. I step into the shadows, but I keep my eye on her. I won't let her stand here wearing that many diamonds and wait alone. Who knows what lowlife is out here looking for an opportunity to take advantage of some naive drunken woman who has zero sense about things like this?

Pausing around the corner of the building, I stand watching. Several minutes go by, and I text my driver again that it will be only a few minutes. Just as I feared, two men walk out of the shadows from the opposite direction and stroll right up to her. They're dressed in dark clothing, hoodies obscuring their faces. I don't know what they want, but they won't get it on my watch.

One of them grabs her clutch, and I leap from the darkness, drawing my gun. Siobhan struggles against them, pushing and hitting, and one of them grabs her around the waist. As I race forward, gun pointed, she makes eye contact with me.

"Finn!" Her screech of need sends my heart racing.

One of the men looks up and drops her clutch, running off into the darkness from where he came, and the other earns a hard knock to the head from the butt of my weapon. He winces and drops to his knees, letting go of her, and she wraps her arms around me and whimpers.

"Let's get you out of here," I bark. The man slumps forward, out cold, and I holster my weapon before scooping her up into my arms.

"My God!" she whines, burying her face into my neck as I carry her into the darkness toward my waiting car.

The driver rushes out to open the door for us so I can easily set her inside. There's no telling who those guys were—if they were just run of the mill thugs looking for a score or something more sinister—but I'm glad I was there.

The streets aren't a safe place for the deputy public prosecutor, especially not when she's dressed like this.