silently whispered the words to a God I wasn’t sure I believed in, I prayed she felt the same way.
***
Aoife
Two weeks later
“In two hours’ time, you’re going to be Mrs. Finn O’Grady.”
A laugh escaped me as Finn slid his tongue down my throat. My nerve endings sizzled in response, and I arched my neck, rocking my hips up in delight as he slowly thrust into me until he was all the way home.
“You’re going to be Mr. Aoife Keegan more like.”
His snicker was a delight for my ears, but I loved, even more, the feel of his mouth curving into a smile against my skin.
“Touché,” he said, and then he peered at me. “You’re going to change your name, aren’t you?”
“How antiquated of you to ask,” I teased, lifting up to press my mouth to his. “I’ll carry your name with pride,” I told him, loving how his shoulders straightened at my words, his own pride so evident that it was like it glowed from his pores.
Almost as though he was rewarding me for the statement, he began to move faster. Not too fast. This wasn’t fucking. He was making love to me. It wasn’t the first time he’d moved slow and gentle, but it felt like it mattered more considering what was going to happen soon.
Aidan and Lena had tried to insist that I spend the night before the service with them, but Finn had told them to butt out of our business and even when Aidan’s eyes had flashed with fury, I’d tried to settle the storm by saying I only felt safe with Finn.
Aidan had flushed guiltily at my words, and that was that.
There were ways and means of getting around these men, and I was slowly learning them—with Lena’s aid.
She told me that if I wanted anything in this life, to think smart. Not to whine or complain, but to do. And, whenever possible, remind them that the restrictions on my life were their fault.
For some crazy reason, the O'Donnelly men weren’t as antiquated as I’d just accused Finn of being. They were as modern as any guy was nowadays. They knew women had hopes and dreams and aspirations, and they didn’t shoot that down—it was why Lena had a dress shop over by Regis Park. The men understood that their women’s lives couldn’t revolve around them.
Even if they wished that were the case.
Plus, I’d started to see that Aidan thought of Lena’s work as a means of keeping her out of mischief, and Finn seemed to share that train of thought.
I wasn’t about to complain.
Releasing a moan when Finn hit that special spot inside me, I gripped his ass and dug my fingers into him, my nails clutching at his firm butt so hard, I knew I’d leave bruises there. I loved that, though. I wanted my marks on him.
When my release powered through me, I screamed. It was so intense, so goddamn wonderful, that I’d thought I was about to lose my mind. Finn’s hoarse yell was enough to make my nerve endings spark and sizzle, as though they were embers that were ready to combust again.
As we both climbed down from the highest of peaks, Finn’s panting breath in my ear, he managed to mumble, “Don’t take the pill today.”
I stiffened. “Huh?”
Sheepishly, he propped himself up on his elbow to stare down at me. “I don’t want you on the pill.”
That had me frowning, but I only replied when I wasn’t panting from my orgasm. “Finn, no way are we ready for a baby.”
“I know.”
His logic made no sense to me, but I knew it would to him. Damn man.
“Then why would you risk it?”
“Because it could take years for you to get pregnant.”
I knew that was true. The pill messed with your cycle, but fuck, it was still really easy to fall pregnant while taking it.
Gnawing on my bottom lip, I whispered, “I’m not ready to risk it.”
He pressed his forehead to mine, and his proximity had me closing my eyes.
“Please, Aoife. I’m thirty-seven. It never mattered before, but . . .”
When his words trailed off, I stiffened underneath him. “Is something happening with the business?”
That was about as much as I’d ask, as deep as I’d delve.
His laugh was short, but he shook his head. “Not more so than usual.”
That made me relax. Him wanting to be a father before he hit forty made sense to me. But it scared me to think he wanted to knock me up just in