Page 10 of Protecting His Finch

I watch as Raphael zips like a bullet through the crowd to follow Finley.

That’s my cue.

Swiftly, I rise and follow the happily never-weds outside.

7

FINLEY

November in New York is bitterly crisp.

I’m wearing nothing but a short dress and a thin camisole, but I don’t care. I need the fresh air.

I need to breathe.

The Den is located on the Brooklyn docks. Across the river, I can see the twinkling Manhattan skyline.

I hug my arms to my chest and take it in. For a second, this view is all mine.

But I’m not alone for long.

The door opens. I can hear the ruckus and the clatter of the club. Then the door closes again, drowning the sounds out.

“Finley—” Raphael starts.

But I’m not ready to hear him. I start walking, quickly, in the other direction. Toward the main entrance, where the car is parked. Anywhere is better than here, talking to him.

Raphael doesn’t let me leave. “Wait!” he snaps. “Stop walking so fast—!”

I turn around suddenly. So suddenly that he nearly bumps into me and he has to stumble backward a couple of steps to slow his pace. I can see his breath in the cold, crystalizing with every pant.

“Do I have a choice in the matter?” I ask. I keep my voice clear, flat.

At that, he snorts derisively. “A what?”

As though the concept of choice is so foreign to him, he needs a translator to understand it.

And that’s all the answer I need.

I don’t have a choice. I never did.

Bird in a cage. Fish in a tank.

I seal my lips. “Yes. I will be your wife.”

“You will?” He looks dumbfounded for a moment, blinking at my consent. I wait until he remembers that he’s supposed to be the one in charge. Then a crooked smile leaps across his lips. “Yes! I knew you would! I knew you were hot for me—”

He leans in, and I feel the wet heat of him on my face, like a dog.

I flinch. I put my hand to his chest, holding him at bay.

“I have…one condition.”

His eyebrows narrow. “Which is?”

“We don’t have sex. Not yet. Not until after we’re married. Understand?”

“An old-fashioned girl. I like that…”

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