Chapter Nineteen

Cassandra was fuming with anger and also disappointment as she stripped from her shoes and dress and stood before the full length, gilded mirror in her underclothes. What did whiskey and gambling have that she did not?

She would be damned if she knew.

She was a beautiful woman, she'd heard it enough in her life to know it must be true. Her aunt and mother had let her know many times that she had the type of body that many men desired. She was long and soft with curves in all the right places so why did Finnegan seem to find her so easy to resist at times?

Snorting at her own foolishness, Cassandra was about to strip from her underclothes when a knock came upon the door. "Little Cass, Little Cass, let me in," Finnegan called from the other side.

I'm in no mood for your games, Finnegan," Cassandra warned, cursing the smile that tried desperately to curve her lips. Apparently her resolve was weak when it came to Finnegan Callahan.

"I'll simply pick the lock again if ya refuse, Little Cass. I need to speak with ya and this is my room too, remember."

Cassandra could hear the determination in his voice and knew that he was speaking the truth. If she did not simply open the door then he would pick the lock.

Cassandra rolled her eyes and stomped to the door. She threw it open feeling angry and aggravated. "What could you possibly have to say—" Cassandra's voice was cut off when she saw the hunger on Finnegan's face. Gone was any boyish charm and in its place was the look of a man who knew what he wanted and had that desire in his sights.

"Not a thing," he whispered, his voice deep and almost pained.

Cassandra was going to reply but Finnegan leapt upon her then and she lost all ties with both sense and reason. Their lips joined in a fiery union that stole Cassandra's breath and had Finnegan growling in the back of his throat as he kicked backward and closed the door behind him.

Cassandra knew she should push him away. She knew what this kiss was going to lead to and after his stunt in the alley she knew she shouldn't give in to him. Not when he had proven out there what really mattered to him.......

Finnegan's hand traveled gently up her waist and Cassandra lost her train of thought, lost all ability to think, as his thumb brushed against her breast through her thin underclothes.

Instantly her body tightened and it was clear that Finnegan noticed as he ran his thumb across her swollen breast and hard peaked nipple and his mouth curved into a smile against hers. "Little Cass..." he whispered as his mouth moved to her ear, "Ya are the best thing that's ever happened to an Irishman like me. I want to kiss ya," his lips went to her neck. "Taste ya," his tongue flicked against her heated skin and Cassandra would have fallen if not for his strong arms closing tight around her waist.

"I won't come second to gambling," she somehow managed to whisper, though her voice sounded throaty and not quite her own.

Finnegan raised the hand that was not caressing her breast and sending her into mindless oblivion, and laid it gently against her cheek. "You come second to nothin', Little Cass. I am not a perfect man and have many flaws but please don't ya ever believe that anythin' means more to me than you. I'll do my best to be a better man for ya, Cassandra. I'll try harder than I've ever tried at anything else."

"I know you will, Finn," Cassandra replied. She should push him away. It was too soon for this step with him, too soon to lose her innocence and the very last bits of her heart and soul to a man who knew nothing about commitment but she could not.

Finnegan was flawed. He was a gambler, a drifter and a drunkard most of the time. But he was also her Finn. He made her laugh, made her feel warm and safe when he was near her and his kiss lit her body on fire. He was her best friend, always there when she needed him (barring one or two drunken mistakes) and he seemed so sincere, so earnest, so sure that what he was saying was the truth that she was unable to voice her fears of his failure out loud.

"I love ya, Little Cass," Finnegan whispered, his brown eyes appearing timid and fearful even as his thumb continued to stroke her breast. "I have loved ya since I was but a boy. I don't want to be my father. I need ya, Little Cass. I need ya to help me be a better man."

Tears filled Cassandra's eyes as she gazed up at this man who was staring at her with so much love it made her heart hurt. Would he fail her? Probably. But he was sincere now in this moment and that was enough for her—or at least she hoped it was.

"I love you too, Finn," Cassandra laid her hand upon his cheek and he leaned into her touch. "I believe in you."

Finnegan's eyes lit with fire once again and his lips sought hers in a fiery kiss that had her wondering if the curtain would succumb to flames. Cassandra felt herself being led backward toward the bed and then Finnegan was pulling her shift from her shoulder and his lips were burning a path across her skin.

Cassandra began fumbling with the buttons of his waistcoat, desperate to feel his skin against her own. Yearning to run her fingers across the hard planes of his chest.

Their moans and ragged breaths began to intertwine becoming a beautiful melody that played in the burning air of the room.

Cassandra wasn't sure how it happened but soon she found herself falling back on the bed, free of her underclothes. Finnegan's brown eyes raked across her body, darkening to nearly black as he seemed to feast upon the mere sight of her.

"So beautiful ye are, Little Cass," he whispered, his accent becoming more pronounced in his lust and passion.

Cassandra could not speak and so she simply reached for him and he obliged, though instead of kissing her lips, his mouth found her breast.

Cassandra cried out from both the shock and the pleasure of the sudden assault. She buried her fingers in his thick dark curls and he suckled, nipped, licked and kissed her swollen aching breasts until Cassandra was whimpering beneath him and begging him for more.

She could feel a heat building in her core, a need for him that grew stronger with every stroke of his fingertips against her thigh and his mouth against her skin.

Cassandra stiffened and then shuddered and arched against the bed when Finnegan's finger found her aching wetness.

"Perfect," he whispered against her ear as his lips moved back up.

"Please, Finnegan... I need you." Cassandra pleaded.

Finnegan stood straight and Cassandra watched him through heavy lidded eyes as he slid from his clothes and tossed them aside. She took in the sight of his naked body and swallowed hard.

He was magnificent. Long, lean legs, tapered hips, wide chest and broad shoulders. His stomach was leanly muscled and a light dusting of hair covered his chest before creating a trail down his flat stomach to his.....

Cassandra's eyes widened. Nervousness managed to break through her passion. That particular part of his anatomy was long, hard and thick.... She knew where it was supposed to go but she had no idea how it would go there.

Finnegan knelt upon the bed and kissed her tenderly. He straddled her waist, nestling his throbbing arousal against the blond curls between her thighs. "I'll go easy on ya, Little Cass," he whispered as he braced his elbows on either side of her head and then kissed her again. "I've never been with an innocent woman."

Cassandra felt her heart melt at his admission and the awe his voice held. She was suddenly glad that she had saved her innocence and that she had it to give now to Finnegan.

"Take me, Finn," she managed to whisper, her voice trembling as his lips caressed her collarbone. Then she gasped as she felt him sliding himself inside of her. She felt an instant of pain that had her biting her lip hard but the pain was short lived and faded quickly as he buried himself deep within her core and kissing her lips, urging them open and lapping tenderly at her tongue.

"God ya feel so good," he gasped as he pulled his mouth from hers and rested their brows together. "I love ya."

"I love you too," Cassandra murmured against his skin. Then he began to move and Cassandra once again lost the ability to speak.

She was carried higher and higher and soon she and Finnegan were sent tumbling over the edge of passion together and their cries of rapture bounced off the walls of their fancy hotel room.

Finnegan collapsed on the bed beside her and pulled her body against his. "I won't let ya down again, Little Cass. I'll be the man ya need and never..."

Cassandra put her fingers to his lips to silence him as she looked into his eyes, "Don't make promises that you might be able to keep, Finnegan. I love you and I accept you as you are. Just keep your promise that you'll try your very best and that's all I ask."

"I promise, Little Cass," he vowed.

Cassandra's body felt different. Her core was still tingling and her limbs felt heavy. She felt very sated and satisfied as she lay there curled up in Finnegan's strong arms. She was a true woman now, no longer innocent, no longer considered a girl in any way and while she had no idea what her future would hold with Finnegan she was glad that she had taken this step with him and not anyone else.

She knew he truly believed himself when he said he could change and she hoped he could. She knew that he did love her and for her, for now, that was enough. She supposed the true test of his devotion would come when he learned she truly had no idea what that map said other than it being Montana.

Cassandra knew she should tell him the truth now but she just couldn't. She was enjoying this too much to risk pushing him away just now.

"Are ya sleepy then, Little Cass? Was I a bit too much for ya?" Finnegan questioned teasingly.

Cassandra lifted her head from his heart and gave him a dry look. "Not even a bit," she replied but then her traitorous body betrayed her when she yawned loudly.

Finnegan's smile was tender as he smoothed her hair and laid her head back against his chest, "Rest now."

"There is a dance tonight, Finn, downstairs and I really would like to go," Cassandra whispered sleepily. Her eyes were getting harder and harder to hold open.

"For all my talents, I'm not much of a dancer but if you can stand the embarrassment I'd be glad to go with ya and even give ya a couple of spins 'round the floor."

"Somehow I think I'll live through the snickers and stares," Cassandra replied with a smile.

Finnegan kissed her hair. "Then rest. I saw the same sign you did and it doesn't start for at least a couple more hours. Ya have plenty of time to get ya a bit of shut-eye. I'm a hard man to keep up with, Little Cass, and ya will need all the sleep ya can get."

"So humble," Cassandra mumbled.

"Nope, I've never been that."

"I'm going to sleep now, Finn." Cassandra snuggled closer to him and Finnegan held her tighter.

"I'll be holdin' ya when ya wake up. Rest well."

With those words echoing in her mind, Cassandra closed her eyes and drifted off to sleep, wishing she had as much faith in the man as she kept telling him she did.

***

"You really can't dance, can you?" Cassandra asked with a laugh as Finnegan trampled on her feet for the tenth time during a single song.

"I told ya I couldn't," Finnegan replied with a grin. "I'll never lie to ya."

The song ended and Cassandra took him by the hand and led him to an empty table. "I'm starving," she informed him.

Finnegan motioned for a server and ordered up two of that night's specials. He saw the way the server raised his nose at the two of them sitting there and almost said something but Cassandra's foot cause his shin beneath the table and he silenced himself.

"What was that for?" Finnegan demanded once the man was gone.

"You were about to run that overactive mouth of yours and cause us to be kicked out and I'd rather like to continue enjoying the music and sleep in a real bed all night."

"Did ya not see the way he looked at us?" Finnegan demanded.

"We are a bit underdressed, Finn," Cassandra reminded him. Finnegan was wearing only the white dress shirt that had been beneath his waist coat and jacket, as well as the gray trousers. Cassandra had most of her hair loose and was in the outfit he had purchased for her before they had gotten on the train. In his opinion she looked more beautiful than any other woman here but he could see how she may seemed underdressed when compared with the dresses and gowns the other women were wearing.

"You have to learn how to control that mouth of yours, Finnegan, or we'll end up in trouble everywhere we go."

"I've always ended up that way, Little Cass," Finnegan countered with a grin. "Trouble and Finnegan Callahan go hand in hand."

"Yes, well, a real bed and Cassandra Little go hand in hand so see that I get what I want," Cassandra replied smiling sweetly.

Finnegan winked her way. "I'll do my best, pretty lass."

Their food arrived moments later and they ate while they talked, joked and laughed together. Finnegan could not remember a time he had felt so content. While he would like to have a bottle of whiskey to make the evening perfect, he didn't feel compelled to rush out and find one. He simply wanted to enjoy Cassandra's laughter and her sparkling green eyes. She was glowing from the night of fun and he was eager to give her more nights like these.

Of course she was also glowing because of what they had shared earlier... That hadn't been Finnegan's intention. He had gone to the room with every intention of simply speaking to her, telling her how he felt and leaving no doubts in her mind, but when she had thrown open that door and he had seen her standing there with her hair loose and flowing and her sheer underclothes ...... He had been lost.

She had given him the gift of her innocence and he was going to do his best to be a good man for her. Or at least a better man than his father had been.

"Are ya ready to dance again, Little Cass?"

"Finn, my toes are still throbbing from yours stomping all over them, you clumsy oaf."

"I'll find me another pretty lass to dance with then," Finnegan stood and feigned hurt. "I'm sure there are more than a few."

"And I will find me a handsome lad to dance with who will not crush my toes," Cassandra assured him with a bat of her lashes.

Finnegan saw a good bet to be wagered. "I'll bet you a foot rub that I can find a dancing partner before you."

"A foot rub?" Cassandra asked with a snort as she stood. "Do you like foot rubs, Finnegan?"

"I like it when you rub anything of mine, Little Cass," Finnegan grinned wickedly. "And I remember the way you used to moan when I'd rub your feet before."

"I was ten, if I recall, and you had had me running through the woods for my life the entire day," Cassandra reminded him as a blush colored her cheeks. "My feet were quite sore."

"Are ya sayin' you're not up for the challenge then?" Finnegan dared, knowing that the Cassandra from the past could never pass up a good dare. It seemed that time had not changed that trait.

"Of course I am. I will have a man eating from the palm of my hand long before you've managed to get a woman to even agree to dance with you."

"Ha! We shall see, lass. We shall see." With one last devilish grin, Finnegan began meandering through the crowd. He was not truly interested in dancing with another woman but he loved seeing Cassandra's eyes light up with fire at the idea of proving herself.

So long she had been held down and held back by her father's expectations and wishes for her future but Finnegan had known the passion that burned inside of her. He had seen it as a child and now he had felt it as a man. He was eager to allow Cassandra to win this bet and then enjoy the spirited excitement that would follow... no doubt right up to their bedroom.

Finnegan saw Cassandra conversing with a gentleman across the room and grinned. She was going to win judging by the smile on the man's face. Finnegan felt no jealousy. This was all in fun and it would be Finnegan that enjoyed her happiness at her victory later.

Finnegan walked up to the bar and tapped it. "What can I get you, sir?" a pretty little bar maid asked as she sauntered over.

"A shot of whiskey if ya don't mind, pretty lass."

She gave him a flirtatious smile as she handed him his whiskey. Finnegan smiled in return but his attention was not on her. He downed his shot and directed his gaze back to Cassandra who was now twirling around the dance floor with her gentleman.

Finnegan was about to interrupt the dancing duo and steal back his lovely lass when a voice behind him froze him in his tracks,

"Well hello there, Finnegan. You got a hell of a lot of nerve still breathing air."