Chapter Thirty-Five

"Dancin'?" Finnegan grinned and kissed Cassandra's nose. "Did ya not get your feet stomped on enough times the last time I twirled ya 'round a dance floor?"

Cassandra shook her head and Finnegan felt his heart swell when she snuggled closer against his bare chest. It was truly amazing what this woman had done to him, for him, in their lives. As children she had always been there for him. Truly that was why he had been so quick to open up to her and bare his soul when his mother had died. If he was being honest with himself, which he was more than willing to be now, it hadn't only been her presence during his weakness that had had him kissing her that night in the loft. It had been her. He'd loved her then but life, her father, his own insecurities and foolish beliefs had come between them.

Never would Finnegan let anything come between them again. He'd been blind, deaf, dumb and soft headed to live the way he had for so long. To spend his time doing whatever, whenever just so long as it brought him pleasure...and even when those things constantly put his life in danger. Truth was he hadn't cared. It wasn't that he'd been depressed or brooding; on the contrary Finnegan loved life and he had loved that life but he knew now that life had been empty.

Little Cass had given his life meaning and as long as he had her beside him he would be the man she deserved. It wasn't always easy. His legs had to be forced to walk past a good game of dice in a back alley. His hands twitched and itched to roll those tiny carved pieces of wood and his eyes and brain begged to run through the odds and place a few bets. Hell when he had seen a buggy race about to take place two days before he had nearly broken away from his traveling companions and gone straight to it... Only Cassandra and the thought of that babe in her belly had kept him sitting strong in the saddle.

And then there was the urge for whiskey. God, he wanted it terribly. He put a brave face on for Cassandra and did not let her know how badly he missed it but he had not had a sip in weeks--not since the night he and Cassandra had gotten into that fight and he'd ended up in the saloon. At times the thirst seemed to be in his blood and swimming beneath his skin....

In those times he would take Cassandra in his arms and let his addiction for her overpower the need for that whiskey. He was finding that it did get easier the more days that passed but he knew it would be something he struggled with a long time. That urge for gambling, betting and whiskey... but Finnegan knew they were things he needed to stay away from. He had learned the hard way that he did not know when to stop and even the smallest taste of his vices had him losing control.

Cassandra would become his only vice. She was already his biggest vice; his greatest addiction. Her touch, her laughter, her big green eyes, her wit, her kiss, her scent and her devotion were the only things he had to have. He had learned he could live with the whisky and the bets but he could not live without his Little Cass and he prayed that he would never, ever, have to.

He pulled her closer in the soft bed and kissed her golden curls. "Aye, Little Cass, we can go dancin' tonight."

Cassandra raised her head and glanced over toward the clock on the wall. "We should be getting ready then. We'll have to get something to eat before the dance begins."

"Is my little lad hungry?" Finnegan asked with a grin as he laid her hand over her stomach.

"I don't know about your little lad but your wife sure is," Cassandra replied dryly.

Finnegan nodded and slid from the bed. He took her hand in his and helped her up as well, pulling her bare body flush against his. Despite the love they'd just made, Finnegan felt his body heating anew and tingling with pleasure at the feel of her skin pressed against his.

"Do ya have any idea of what ya do to me, Cassandra?" he whispered as he pressed his brow to hers.

Cassandra kissed him tenderly and nodded as she pulled her lips away. "Yes, I do."

Finnegan quickly moved away from her and found her clothes. If he continued to hold her that way then he was going to forget all about dinner and dancing and he had to see to her stomach. It wouldn't do for his Little Cass to be hungry.

"This dance is going to be fun," Cassandra spoke excitedly as he helped her dress. Finnegan knew she did not need his help but it gave him an excuse to touch her, to let his fingers dance across her soft skin, and he didn't think she minded it at all. "I have never been to a dance outside before."

"Never?"

"No, my father would have forbade that and my mother would have let me know that a proper lady does not dance with her feet in the dirt.'

"Aye, perhaps in your father's circles a proper lady would not. But you are not a proper lady and for that I thank the Lord above. A proper lady would never be strong enough put up with a man like me."

"You are quite lucky, Finn," Cassandra teased.

Finnegan didn't even try to deny it. "Aye, I am." He tweaked her nose, dressed himself quickly and led her from the room.

Finnegan and Cassandra took a seat in the hotel diner and waited on their food to be brought out. Finnegan kept feeling a tingle on his spine as if someone was watching them but whenever he looked around he could not see anyone familiar.

"You seem tense, Finn,' Cassandra noted. "What's wrong?"

Finnegan smiled comfortingly. "Just thinkin' 'bout this dancin' we're about to do and hopin' I don't break your feet."

"My feet will be fine," Cassandra assured him with a roll of her eyes.

"Aye, you're right. Ya have big, sturdy feet. Tough and hardy feet. They...."

"Finnegan?" Cassandra snapped with temper and amusement sparking in her green eyes,

"Yes?"

"That's enough about my feet."

****

Cassandra laughed happily as Finnegan spun her around and around, not paying any attention to the music, the dance they were supposed to be doing or the eyes of everyone else staring at them.

That was one of the things she loved the most about Finnegan. He simply lived and did whatever made him happy without worrying about what anyone else would think. She was the wife of a wild Irishman and she wouldn't have it any other way. He annoyed her to no end, he often spoke without truly thinking, he never knew when to stop speaking and she often wanted to strangle him but he was the other half of her soul, her best friend and having him beside her made her life feel complete somehow.

"Finn, I need a break!" Cassandra exclaimed with a laugh as a song ended and she wiped a bit of sweat from her brow. The summer air was still hot despite it being night.

Finnegan nodded and led her out of the circle of dancers. He found a table with a few empty places and settled her down in one. "I'm a hard man to keep up with, Little Cass. Ya should not feel bad that ya are tired while I am still fresh and ready for more."

Cassandra rolled her eyes. "Under normal circumstances I can keep up with you just fine, Finnegan. Have you forgotten that I am currently baking a tiny Irish lad or lass inside of me?"

"I'll never forget that," Finnegan assured her. He kissed her temple. "Would ya like me to head to the refreshments table and bring ya back somethin' to drink?"

"Yes," Cassandra replied quickly. Finnegan nodded and stepped away. "And Finn?" she called. He turned and gave her questioning glance. "If they've got any snacks could you bring me one of those as well?"

"Anything for ya, love."

Cassandra watched Finnegan until he faded into the crowd and she laughed every time he bowed deeply to a woman or kissed her cheek as he offered a polite denial for her dancing invitation. There would never come a day that Finnegan wasn't kissing nearly every woman he met but Cassandra didn't care. She knew how much that man loved her.

She sat there watching the people dancing, chatting and enjoying the peaceful night and the music in the glow of the fire and the lanterns. While the night was hot there was a nice breeze blowing and it danced across her heated cheeks, cooling them nicely.

"Good evening, ma'am."

Cassandra turned her head to see a man standing behind her. He was holding his derby hat in his hands and clutching at it, appearing almost nervous. Cassandra moved her gaze from his fancy, tailored suit to his face. He was a middle aged gentleman with handsome features, slicked back dark hair littered with gray and a heavy gray mustache.

"Good evening," Cassandra replied politely.

The lines around his dark eyes deepened as he smiled. "Would you like to dance with me?"

Cassandra considered it for a moment simply because she did not want to hurt this man's feelings. She knew that Finnegan wouldn't care if she danced with him but she was terribly tired. "I'm afraid I'll have to pass, sir," she said regretfully. "I do appreciate the offer but my husband has danced me until I've dropped already tonight."

"Husband?" Something flickered in his dark eyes and Cassandra wondered why her words would have piqued his interest.

"Yes, my husband," she replied pointedly. "And he will be back in a moment."

He put his hat back on his head and took a small step back as he tipped his head. "Sorry, ma'am, I didn't realize he was your husband. I hope I didn't offend you."

"No, not at all, sir. I thank you for the offer," Cassandra replied in a very polite way as she turned her head back to the front and scanned the crowd. She knew the polite way to dismiss someone; that was a lesson her mother and aunt had insured that she learn well.

"I truly wish you could spare me one dance," the man lamented.

"I am sorry, sir. I'm simply too tired," Cassandra replied, her voice a bit tighter than it had been before as her patience waned. Where was Finnegan with her drink?

The man's boots dragged across the dirt as he stepped forward and Cassandra could feel the heat of his body nearly pressing against her back. "It seems I'm always too late to dance with the pretty ones," his voice was predatory and had lost its charm.

With a roll of her eyes and her good nature and politeness fully overdrawn, Cassandra glanced back at him and smiled brightly while batting her lashes. "Then I suppose you'll have to dance with an ugly one."

She had expected the man to be insulted, possibly huff and puff a bit the way those rich fancy types tended to do and then scamper off to mope and sulk over the unfairness of life. Instead his low chuckle, so close to her ear that she felt the warmth of his breath, caused her blood to run cold. "I'll just watch the pretty one dance from the shadows."

Cassandra sat there frozen in her chair long after the man had left and she did not draw an easy breath until Finnegan returned to the table and flopped down beside her, laying a noise kiss to her cheek and holding out the drink he had gotten for her. "A wee bit of hydration for a tired lass."

Cassandra swallowed hard and forced a smile to her face as she took the offered glass of lemonade from his hand. She wasn't going to tell him about that man. Knowing Finnegan he would either laugh it off and tease her mercilessly about it or he would go off in search of the man, it would come to blows and Cassandra would once again find herself gambling for bail money. When it came to his random bursts of possessive jealousness over her, he truly was unpredictable.

"Did you have to travel far to get my lemonade?"

"No," Finnegan frowned and ran his hand through his sweaty dark curls. "Just across the way," he pointed to indicate where the refreshments were located.

Cassandra took a drink of the lemonade, savoring the coolness of it as it washed over her tongue and down her throat. "You seemed to be gone quite a long time for simply a trip to over there."

"Aye, I saw Seamus and Calvin."

Cassandra felt a pang of guilt in her heart. Seamus and Calvin had not come to the dance with them and Cassandra knew it was because they could not dance with one another. Cassandra could not see why. She supposed some people were simply not open to seeing anything different from which they were accustomed; the small minded bigots.

"Why were they here?"

"To let us know they think they may have learned the next location on the map..."

Cassandra placed her hand firmly over his mouth and shook her head. "Not tonight, Finnegan. I want a map free night."

Finnegan took her wrist gently and nodded. "Your wish is my command then, love. Are ya up for dancin' with me once again or will I be forced to find another lass to woo with my impressive skill."

Cassandra snorted. "Finnegan, don't threaten these poor women with words like those. Not a single one of them deserve something as horrid as that."

"And you do?" Finnegan was grinning and Cassandra found it to be an infectious sight that had her smiling with him and forgetting all about the man who had been so odd and made her feel so uncomfortable.

Cassandra nodded and let out a long suffering sigh. "I was a very naughty woman in a past life."

Finnegan waggled his eyelids. "Ya have my permission to be a naughty one in this one as well, Little Cass."

Cassandra rolled her eyes before pressing a lingering kiss to his lips that had his eyes slipping closed and him moaning in protest when she pulled away. "I bet I do, Finn. I bet I do."