FinnsRedemption (4 page)

James leaned forward and pressed his cool lips to hers. When
he tried to push the kiss further, Alli pulled back, saying gently, “James,
you’re a dear friend but I’ve told you before, that’s all I want, to be your
friend. I hope you can understand and accept that.”

She patted his hand but couldn’t help noticing the small,
pained look on his face.

Damn, she wished she did feel something for James. He was
the perfect guy. He had a great job as principal of the high school. He was
well-respected in the community. He was kind and gentle, everyone loved him.

He was also very handsome in a gentle sort of way. Tall and
blond, he was slender with a runner’s build. Large blue eyes and dimples. Oh
yes, if only Alli felt some kind of spark with him.

She never did, and not being one to lead someone on, she had
been honest with him upfront. She knew the pain of being lied to and would
never visit it upon another soul.

The water whistled, signaling that it was ready for tea.

“Enough of this talk. Our muffins are getting cold. Why
don’t you tell me about the new drama teacher?”

Alli was relieved when James gave in and began to tell her
about their new teacher, Ms. Libby Wright.

Chapter Three

“So what did she say?” Sully asked as he sat on the couch.

Opening a beer, Finn wanted to smack the grin off his
brother’s face. Sully was too arrogant for his own good.

“What do you think she said? She told me to get the hell
out.” Finn couldn’t help the hard-on he was getting. Hell, even when she was
mad and not even there, she made him hard.

“You didn’t think she’d just fall into your arms and say
okay, did you?”

Finn opened and closed his fist. Sully was pushing and about
to get his ass kicked. He was getting way too much enjoyment out of this.

“Don’t give me that look, Finn. You’re the one who fucked
up, not me.”

He shook his head, ashamed of the memory. “I know but I was
a stupid kid and all I wanted to do was fit in.” How long was he going to have
to endure his family’s outrage at what had happened? He admitted his mistake,
tried to right the wrong he’d committed. He was a man now, not a teenager
anymore.

He’d paid a steep price for what he’d done to Alli. All he
wanted now was to settle down here and help his sister. He’d been alone for a
long time, never any long-term relationships with women. His affairs were
short. They gave him a small amount of physical satisfaction but nothing more.

After that kiss with Alli last night, he knew “short and
sweet” wasn’t going to work for them. He’d never get enough of her. Her mouth
alone held more magic in it than all the other women he’d kissed put together.

“Fit in?” Sully snarled. “At Alli’s expense! You broke the
number one rule, brother, and wounded a pure woman. Of all the things we were
taught, you went and broke that one. By the Goddess, how could you think you
wouldn’t
suffer for it?”

“Suffer for it,” Finn roared. “Did you forget where Pop sent
me? Trust me, I have suffered enough for my sins against her. I’m here now
facing my past, what else do you expect out of me? She hates me. She thinks the
night we spent together was part of that stupid bet. I’m willing to lay myself
at her feet to make up for the past.”

“You need to get over your little punishment, brother. Being
retrained in our ways was the least they could’ve done to you on the island,
and it’s no more than you deserved. We’ve known other witches to have much more
severe punishments than you were given. Have you forgotten why we were cursed
in the first place?”

Sully put his beer down on the table. The bastard loved
giving Finn hell. “You have a chance to atone but don’t expect it to be an easy
road. Broken trust, no matter how many years ago it happened, is a hell of a
thing to regain.”

Finn curled his fingers into his hands to keep from popping
Sully in the mouth. It was so easy for Sully to think his time on the island
was a cakewalk. His baby brother had never felt the kiss of a lash against his
back as part of being
retrained
.

His brothers didn’t know what it was like sleeping in a
thatch hut in the middle of a rainstorm, or being forced to be a slave to one
of the most sadistic females ever to grace this earth. Finn pushed the urge to
shiver deep down as memories of Claudia and all that he endured by her hand
came rushing back to him.

It took five years for the nightmares to end, the
humiliation, the beatings, the sleep deprivation, after experiencing it all at
the ripe old age of eighteen. All because one night when Finn went with his
heart and ended up hurting Alli.

He was tired of paying for it, tired of running from it and
tired of feeling angry over what had happened to him. He was well aware that
she might not be able to forgive him. He just had to believe she would, for the
whole family’s sake. Hell, for his own sanity. It became quite clear last
night. He still wanted Alli in his life. He still remembered just the way she
tasted.

He needed her by his side forever and Finn was willing to do
whatever it took to ensure that she would be his. Of course she wasn’t the same
female she’d been when he left town, but he craved to know all about her now as
a full-grown woman. He was going to learn what made her happy, what made her smile.
Her favorite ice cream…everything… Finn wanted to know it all.

Now, listening to his brother, he wanted to jump over the
table and throttle him.

He was well aware of his responsibilities to both
women—first to Alli, that he prove they were meant to be together, that what
they did so long ago was real for him. Then to Heather, so she may live past
her twenty-fifth birthday.

The Donovan boys had known about their destiny since they
were old enough to talk. It was the duty of every male Donovan to search for
the three jewels. Never in the past had all three been discovered at the same
time. News was sent from Avalon that the Oracle predicted this was the time all
three jewels would come together and all three Donovan boys would find the
women and break the curse. All witches took the Oracle’s visions seriously.
Finn would do his duty but Alli’s happiness had to come first. He vowed he’d
never cause her pain again.

Sully just pissed him off enough that he didn’t try to
explain what he felt for Alli. Finn let Sully lecture him, let Sully think what
he wanted to. What happened privately between him and Alli was nobody’s
business but theirs.

Alli finally made it to her store around three in the
afternoon. Hannah met her at the door, holding a large bouquet of wildflowers.

“Oh my god, you have got to come and see what started
arriving the minute I opened the front door this morning.” Pulling her by the
hand, Hannah led her into the storage area of her shop.

Flabbergasted, Alli just stared; the room was filled with
flowers. Baskets and bouquets of every kind of arrangement possible. All her
favorites—roses, lilies, lilacs and daisies.

“Here, this was attached to the first bouquet.” Hannah
shoved the small envelope into Alli’s shaking hands.

Pulling out the small card, she turned it over to the rich
text written in black ink.

I will be there at six o’clock to pick you up. We have
much to discuss…Finn.

“Damn, damn and damn some more. How dare he do this to me?”
Alli shouted, stomping her foot. “Dammit!”

Hannah stood to the side with her arms folded. “I can say
I’ve never seen a reaction to flowers quite like that before. Geesh, he must
really have pissed you off.”

She turned to her employee, feeling her cheeks burn from her
small outburst. “You have no idea.”

Just like him to try to butter her up. First, kissing her
the way he had last night, now when she’d convinced herself she could ignore
him, he did something so unexpected and wonderful. How was she ever going to be
able to resist Finn Donovan if he did things like this?

She’d give anything if she could blindly follow Finn into a
scorching affair but she wasn’t able to. She was still plagued by the fear he
was using her only to help Heather get well. The old feelings of betrayal he’d
left her with had been brought back, starring in every one of her thoughts. Was
he going to use her and leave again? She was angry at herself for being so damn
unsure of herself and how she felt toward him.

He was so intense, so sure she’d give in. His predatory eyes
and mouth made her shiver in pure delight. If someone had asked her two days
ago what she thought of alpha males, Alli would have said they were a complete
turn-off. Now though she couldn’t say that.

Finn was all male and she’d melted with the way he took
control of her with his kiss. The memory caused her panties to become damp
between her thighs. Why did he have to do something so sweet? Alli was a sucker
for a romance but she’d have sworn Finn was not the romantic type of man.

She was going have to be on her toes with him this evening.
Maybe she should call and cancel. Tell him not to show up…

Alli knew that wasn’t going to happen. She could go
somewhere else but Finn would probably just track her down anyway.

“Hannah, I need you to call the flower shop and have them
come and pick up most of these flowers. They will know what to do with them.”

Hannah stared at her, open-mouthed, and refused to budge.

“I can’t keep all of these. I can’t care for them all. You
can take what you like, and I am keeping a few, but I think the rest can be
donated to people who need them.”

Alli let out a small giggle as Hannah turned on her heel,
walking out of the backroom mumbling how crazy Alli was for giving up all her
flowers.

Looking down at her simple blue-jeans skirt and V-neck white
T-shirt, she thought about going home and changing into something a bit
dressier, then changed her mind. If Finn Donovan wanted to take her out, he was
going to have to accept her for who she was.

She’d long ago became comfortable with the way she looked
and wasn’t about to change it for anyone else. Including the hottest man she
knew.

Chapter Four

Alli sat behind the counter, counting out her nightly
deposit. Her mind drifted back fifteen years, the haunting memory burning
bright and clear in her mind.

* * * * *

“Come on, please,” Finn begged as he pulled her along the
back of his family’s property. “I promise this night will be special.”

Alli couldn’t help but giggle. It had already been a perfect
night. The most perfect night in all her eighteen years on this earth.
Graduation in one month and being accepted into college was no comparison to
Finn Donovan asking her out three weeks ago.

He might be a witch but he was also one of the most popular
boys in school. He was certainly the cutest, going out with the beautiful
cheerleader types all through high school. Alli had refused his invitation to
the movies on more than one occasion because her shyness had her terrified to
go anywhere with him.

It took a lot of convincing on his part but she finally said
yes. The past few weeks had been paradise and Alli was having the time of her
life.

She’d met most of his friends, been taken to all the cool
parties, and she was part of the in crowd. No longer was she Alice Downing,
major wallflower. She was Finn Donovan’s girl and everybody wanted to be her
friend.

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Alli felt so proud being with him and he looked so good in
his jeans and leather bomber jacket. He’d taken her for long rides on his
motorcycle and they took walks together holding hands and talking about
everything they loved, all their plans for the future.

He was always a gentleman, kissing her softly before saying
good night. Those soft kisses grew to be longer ones, deeper ones, and the
butterflies in her stomach churned faster. Alli put everything she didn’t say
into her kisses.

Tonight Finn said he had something very special planned for
them.

The butterflies in her stomach relayed how nervous she was.
Scared and thrilled all at the same time as he pulled her along the back of his
family’s property. It was dark and Alli held Finn’s hand tight as he led her
through a forested area. The Donovan estate had hundreds of acres.

Alli guessed they had walked at least two miles behind the
house and into the woods.

“Finn, where are we going?” Alli asked as her stomach
churned with nervousness.

Deep down inside she knew what was about to happen and she
was ready. She wanted Finn to be her first. With him, it would be memorable and
when they were old and sitting on the front porch, they would talk about tonight
and enjoy the memory together.

Alli knew that she and Finn were destined to be together
forever. They’d never spoken about a future together but she felt it in her
soul that he was the man she was going to marry. Alli loved him and knew that
he loved her back. No boy ever treated her with such kindness and respect. She
was smitten with him, bowled over by his generosity and attention.

Finn led her along a small stone path that wound its way
through the tree line behind the huge Donovan family home. He held her hand
tightly and she begged him to let her in on his plans. He smiled and kissed her
every time she asked him any questions. It became a game—Alli asked, Finn
stopped, pulled her into his arms and kissed her. Each one more intense than
the one before.

Light shone through the trees, and Finn increased the pace,
pulling her along the path. They stepped through a canopy of weeping willows
and Alli gasped.

Torches were burning in a large circle around them. In the
middle of the clearing was a large, flat black stone. It was about eight feet
long and six feet wide. Near the base was a sleeping bag.

A blush rose on Alli’s face. Next to the stone was a bucket
with a bottle of wine and two plastic cups. The butterflies really began to
hammer at her tummy and her skin almost itched in anticipation as Finn pulled
her to the stone and down onto the sleeping bag. It felt downy-soft against her
bottom.

Opening the bottle, Finn poured them each a cup. Alli’s
shaky hands wrapped around the plastic when he handed it to her.

Raising his cup in a toast, he said, “To you, Alli, for
being such a blast to hang out with.”

Not the most romantic of toasts but she knew that at
eighteen boys never talked like the men in romance novels did. That would come
later, when he matured.

The fruity-flavored wine slid down her throat, causing a
warm tingling in her belly. Finn quickly downed his and poured them both some
more. He drank that one just as quickly so Alli followed suit and began
coughing as her throat felt slightly raw and heat pooled in her stomach.

“Are you okay?” Finn asked, patting her hard on the back. He
was laughing. “I forgot you aren’t a drinker, are you?”

He leaned forward and kissed her. It was the kind of awkward
kissing teens do, all tongue and no real finesse, but it made Alli’s heart do
flip-flops.

Finn pulled away. “Look what I can do for you, Alli.”

He waved and spoke what she thought was Latin, though she
had no clue what he was saying, and the torches dimmed. As they sat there, they
became surrounded by fireflies blazing back and forth over and all around them.

She stood, surrounded by thousands of the tiny flying points
of light, and laughed as she spun and danced with the fireflies.

Alli gasped at their beauty. It was better than fireworks on
the Fourth of July and Finn was doing it just for her. He stood next to her and
she turned her face to him. He said nothing, just reached for her and they
began to kiss again.

When it was over, she didn’t remember a lot. Her memory was
hazy from too much wine, which he kept pouring in their cups until she was
tipsy from it. She knew there was a lot of fumbling for buttons and her being
scared.

Finn whispered in her ear that everything was going to be
all right and that he wanted her more than anything in the world. As he took
her virginity, she cried out from the pain. Finn kissed her tenderly, he held
her face in his hands and for the first time that evening, the look in his eyes
was different.

He wiped away her tears, waiting for the pain to subside.

“You’re beautiful, Alli, thank you for your gift,” he
whispered before taking her lips in a kiss that made her fly, it was so
soulfully sweet.

His mouth traveled to her ear, where he whispered so softly
that Alli almost didn’t hear the words. “I love you.”

She held on tight and they continued making love, his eyes
gazing at hers the entire time. His mouth slid across her cheek, whispering
sweet things to her, kissing her as though she were the last girl on the
planet.

Afterward, she couldn’t understand why Finn was so quiet. He
drove her home without saying anything and walked her to the door, kissing her
deeply. He slid his hand down her face and gave her a sad kind of smile. Then
he turned around and jogged back to his car and drove away.

She didn’t hear from Finn the next day but the memory of the
night before kept her smiling. Bliss ended quickly a day later when she went
into the video store for her mother. Standing in the drama section, trying to
find an old black-and-white classic, she overheard two very familiar voices coming
from the other side of the rack.

Sully and Gavin Donovan. She had started to round the corner
to say hello when she heard something that stopped her cold.

“A bet, Finn did it on a bet?” Sully asked his brother.

Gavin lowered his voice some more. “Yes, the asshole! Some
of his football buddies bet him he couldn’t get Alli Downing to go out with
him.”

“You’re wrong, Gavin. He may be stupid but he’s not that
stupid.”

“I’m telling you the truth, it’s all over town. Worse yet
is, a couple of the guys followed Finn and Alli to our house.”

“Did they follow them to the grove?” Sully asked.

“Yeah, though they didn’t stay long enough to see anything
happen. They got a good idea of what was going on.” Gavin whispered, “Finn
swore he didn’t know they were there. Pop found out, big brother is in deep
shit. They started razzing Finn and that’s why he got into that fight.”

“How could he?” Sully asked, clearly upset at what happened.
“Do you realize what he’s done to himself, not to mention to her? She doesn’t
deserve this. He broke the rules. Pop won’t have a choice but to send him
there.”

The horror Alli felt as she heard the conversation between
the brothers only compounded when both boys came around the corner and saw her.

It was instantly obvious that Alli heard their conversation.
Sully started toward her but Alli dropped the movie in her hand and ran out the
door. Hot tears of humiliation swept down her face. She heard Sully yelling for
her to stop but she kept running, not looking at anyone until she made it home,
where she locked herself in her room for three days.

Finn came to her that night, banging on the front door. When
she refused to answer, he went to her window and started yelling her name.

His voice was loud as he pleaded with her to see him. “Alli,
you don’t understand. Please let me explain. Alli, I have to see you.”

Finally, her father had come home from work. He told Finn to
leave and never bother Alli again. Through her lacy curtains, she peeked out
the window. His shoulders sagged as he started toward his car. She drew back
when he turned around and spoke.

“I’m sorry, Alli, it’s not what you think. It wasn’t
supposed to be like this,” he said, his voice raw.

By the time she resurfaced from her room, she learned that
Finn had been sent out of the country to study in Europe. Gavin, Sully and even
Mr. Donovan tried to contact her but she avoided them each time.

She even received letters from Finn himself. She never read
any of them, writing “return to sender” on each envelope that showed up in the
mail.

Alli chose to go to college in another state. Her shame and
disgust with herself faded over time. When she returned home to open up the
bookstore, she resumed speaking to Gavin and Sully, though she refused to
broach the subject of Finn.

Over the years, she wanted to question the younger brothers
about him but could never bring herself to do it. Finn’s betrayal, even after
all the years had passed, still lay just below the surface.