Page 38 of Heir of Fire
“A picture? You don’t seem like the monumental type,” Finn said. Then it struck him. A picture was exactly what he needed. “On second thought, that sounds perfect.”
Allister took the first one on his phone and then Finn took one on his. They plastered on big grins as if they were the best friends in the world. Whatever Allister’s motivations were for taking the picture, Finn didn’t really care. All he knew was that he felt so giddy sending the picture off to the very girl who was so keen on ignoring him but wouldn’t be once she saw it.
Gianna
Thought you might enjoy seeing me and your big bro being best buds!
Sleep tight, princess.
He turned off his phone just as the bubbles from her typing came up, a true and genuine smile on his face now.
TWENTY
GIANNA
What was supposedto be a relaxing night of reality TV and popcorn ended up being a night full of anxiety and horror for Gianna. What the hell was Finn doing with Allister? Why were they smiling? And why did he look so fucking good in the picture?
She could have sworn that her heart actually stopped the moment the picture popped up on her screen. After rubbing her eyes frantically, pitching her arm, and even slapping her cheek, she confirmed that it was in fact not a nightmare. It was reality.
Finn hadn’t answered a single one of her texts, which was convenient considering he couldn’t stop texting her a couple hours ago. It was nearly one in the morning, and they still weren’t home. She could only imagine what they were talking about, how Finn was managing to weasel his way into Allister’s mind to poke and pry into their lives and find out anything he could about her.
She had multiple different names she could use to describe Finn, and not one reigned positive at the moment.
Gianna chewed on her nail, watching the clock in anticipation when she finally heard the front door open and loud voices disturb the peace of the house.
She tiptoed to the door, holding her ear up against it to listen. Dante shouted something, but it was too slurred for her to fully understand what he was saying. Putting him to bed was going to be a nightmare, especially when he got to that level. After a while though, she heard the closing of doors followed by footsteps up the hall. Dante and Allister stayed on the opposite side of the house, meaning that the only person coming to this end would be the one person she needed to talk to.
She gave it a few more minutes just to be sure everyone was down and settled for the night before she carefully opened the door, tiptoeing through the hallway. She avoided every little creak after years of memorizing that very hall when she used to sneak out more often. Now, she didn’t need to. Part of her missed the thrill of the secret nighttime rendezvous when the darkness covered her and she could do whatever she wanted before the sun came up and no one ever found out.
They always left her cranky as hell though, having to wake up early and never getting enough sleep. After everything that had happened the previous year with the war, she had to stop it for her own safety and everyone else’s. Maybe it was time to start it back up again.
She walked past Cecilia’s and Blair’s rooms, both on opposite sides of each other. They were both home and hopefully both dead asleep at this point.
His door was closed, and the lights were off, but she didn’t care. She turned the knob carefully, pushing it open and sliding in before anyone could see her. She closed it behind her just as quickly, looking around the room to see where he was.
He laid in bed, already snoring, but the smell of his shampoo and bodywash lingered strongly in the air like he’d just used it. She approached the bed, getting on it and straddling his waist carefully. He didn’t move a single muscle, which had to mean he was either deep asleep or seriously drunk.
She ignored how good the position between them would have felt despite how risky it was. There was a deep power that swept through her being on top now. How she held the upper hand in that moment.
Gianna placed her hand on his mouth, leaning down before muttering, “Wake the hell up.”
His eyes snapped open, confusion filling his core and he went to push her off until he saw who it was. She saw the gleam in his eyes, the excitement, but she ignored it.
“I don’t know what the hell you were doing around my brother tonight, but that’s going to stop. Do you understand me?” she asked, keeping her voice sturdy and hard.
A tongue swept against her hand, forcing her to let go of him. She let out a disgusted sound, wiping her hand against his comforter.
“I was just getting to know him. I figured you would be happy if your boyfriend and your brother were good friends,” he said, tucking his hands behind his head.
“Boyfriend? You are not my boyfriend and you better not have told him that you are,” Gianna whisper-screamed, desperately trying to contain the panic in her voice.
Finn shrugged. “Hmm. I can’t remember if it came up or not. We spent a couple hours together talking about everything and anything, so I’m really not sure.”
She reached her hands out, slapping them against his chest. “I’m going to kill you.”
“I would have filled you in on the plans, but you weren’t responding to my texts,” Finn said nonchalantly. He paid no mind to her idle threat, which only frustrated her more.
“And I’m not going to respond, so you can stop texting.”
