Page 32 of Black Wedding

“Fuck me. I was thinking she was in her sixties, and even then that was bad,” I say, and instantly regret it when I see the look on Finn’s face.

“So, what...you have to marry her? Are you having sex with her?” Bree asks, her voice becoming more high-pitched as she asks Finn questions I never saw coming.

“We are dating at the moment, and yes, I am supposed to marry her immediately so we can get the will in my name. Unfortunately, she is starting to lose her marbles a bit. If we don’t move quickly, her consent will be questioned. And no…I can’t bring myself to sleep with her, but I am going to have to if I want her to believe that this is real,” he explains, sounding more and more dejected as he speaks.

“Fuck!” Bree and I both say simultaneously before looking at each other and laughing. I can almost hear Finn rolling his eyes.

“That’s not even the worst part,” Finn adds. “Her nurse is McKenna Lowry.”

“Fuck, you are really screwed,” I add, not really needing to state the obvious, but it comes out anyway.

“Before you ask, Red, McKenna and I were best friends growing up. When we were sixteen, she told me she liked me. I liked her too, but I had just been given my first mark, and it was one of her friends. My father told me that I couldn’t have girlfriends unless it was in secret, away from the mark. She deserved better than that, and so I told her I didn’t feel the same way. I ripped both our hearts out, and we haven’t spoken to one another since. She is still just as fucking gorgeous now, you know,” he added, looking at me for confirmation. I shake my head. There’s no way I will sit in front of my girlfriend and tell her how hot McKenna was growing up. She was hot, but she only had eyes for my dick of a brother.

“I know this might seem like a really stupid or obvious question, but can you not say no?” Bree asks gently.

Finn stands up, facing away from her, and raises his t-shirt. At first, I get ready to bollock him for undressing in front of my girl, but then I see the look on Bree’s face. She looks horrified, but all I can see is his ridiculously tight abs. I stand up to see what Bree is staring at, and my anger bubbles over; a murderous rage fills me.

All across Finn’s back are strips of red and exposed skin in various degrees of healing. Some look to be cuts, others bruises and given the shape and size, I know exactly what caused these wounds. It seems like he was whipped with both ends of the belt and the buckle end appears to have done some fucking messed up shit to his back. It looks as though the skin has been pulled away to reveal pink flesh. The varying degrees of healing basically means this is a regular occurrence.

“Why the fuck is he beating you every day?!” I shout.

Exacerbated, Finn sighs before he starts to mumble. “I have my instructions, Liam. This is my motivation. Every day I don’t seal the deal, I get another ten lashes.”

If I thought I was angry before, nothing prepared me for my little spitfire. Jumping to her feet, she walks to Finn to check on his wounds, gently using her fingertips to assess them. She may have no medical training, but she has been swotting up on first aid. She figured we have so many enemies, it might be essential to know. Plus, with a baby in the house, it’s even more critical.

“Finn, some of these look really sore,” Bree says as Finn pulls his t-shirt back down in our typical avoidance fashion. We all learned to take shit like this long ago, but I always hated seeing my siblings going through it. I hate it even more now.

“Look, forget I ever said anything. I’m gonna go and take a shower before the shitshow starts. I will be back to meet you at like ten to. Is that enough time?” Finn asks, and I say yes.

As he is going to leave, he throws his head over his shoulder to address Bree. “It was nice to meet you, Bree. I hope this place doesn’t ruin you.”

As Finn closes the door, I stand up and go and sit on the sofa next to Bree, leaning forward to give her a kiss once we are on the same level. As soon as her lips touch mine, things become heated between us, and before I know it, she is sitting on top of me, straddling my thighs, my hands gripping her ass and her neck to hold her close.

As our kiss breaks, I look her in the eyes and continue to use the hand that isn’t on her ass to stroke her face. “Are you okay, Princess? I know this has been rough, but it’s only a little over twenty-four hours and we can go,” I ask with a sarcastic chirp at the end.

“I thought my family was bad, Liam, but your family is batshit crazy,” Bree jokes, and I can’t help but laugh. I am most definitely not going to disagree with that.

“I’m an assassin by trade, Princess. You can’t have thought I was raised by good people,” I add, and she laughs.

“True, and normally I would totally jump on the opportunity I have right now to talk about your past, but I hope it will come another time. Because right now, I want to sit on my knees and see how much of your cock I can swallow to distract you from where we are. Is that okay?” she asks through hooded eyes as she slowly slides down my body until she is kneeling before me.

“You can suck my dick anytime you want, baby. You don’t need an excuse,” I reply as she pulls my growing erection out of my jeans.

“That’s good to know. Now shut up so I can see if I can deep throat him. I was a bit gutted last time that I didn’t quite manage it.” She pouts as she licks the tip.

I’m fucking glad I have already agreed to marry this woman because she is most definitely a keeper.

The evening passes by in a blur, and I am on edge the entire time. My muscles are coiled tight, my posture rigid, and my face is constantly an emotionless mask. I feel the darkness of the past creeping into every corner of my brain. I am reminded of why it was crucial to get out of this place before I lost myself.

Now I have a new plan that involves getting Finn the fuck out with me. Hearing him talk last night reminded me of how much I used to protect him when I was here. He may be my big brother, but our relationship has never worked that way. Finn isn’t built to withstand pain the way I am, and despite a lot of attempts on my father’s part, he can’t get him to turn off his emotions, which means he will never be any good at this business. This is something I am fucking pleased about. The longer I sat at dinner last night and watched Evan interacting with my father, the more I realised I had already lost one brother. But, you can be fucking sure I’m not losing another.

Every time I thought the darkness of this place was going to consume me all over again, Bree was there. A touch of her hand against my skin, a squeeze of my hand, or a chaste kiss. Not to mention the fucking tremendous blow job last night. It’s like for every piece of darkness that comes with this house and this family, she shines an even brighter light and reminds me of my new life. It may be full of fucking unknown enemies that want to take it from us, but being here just reaffirms precisely what I already knew. Nobody is taking Bree and our life from us.

Morning arrives far too quickly, and I am filled with a fresh dread; my sisters will be home any minute. Just as I am thinking of that my phone vibrates.

Ryleigh:We are nearly there. Remind me again why the hell we have to be here?

Freya:Don’t listen to her. She’s just grumpy because she was out last night and has a hangover.

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