Page 10 of Exile and Embrace

The low rumble of his voice sends a rush of heat through my body.

It would be lying to say that I hadn’t thought about him while getting acquainted with my vibrator. It would be an even bigger lie to say that he wasn’t the main source of my latest fantasies.

He had been in the infirmary shortly after he got to the prison, and he looked nothing like the Finn I remembered.

We started to get to know each other again once he got his work detail. Having him invade my space nearly every day to mop the floor and wash the windows made it impossible to avoid him, and he started starring in my dreams.

But I wasn’t going to allow a purely physical attraction to ruin my life.

And I’m still not going to. Not a chance in hell.

“Not that I have any desire to see you naked, but do you still need a fiancée?” I lean forward, keeping my voice low. My gaze cuts to the hall where the guard is pacing up and down. “Carter is going to walk in here in a few minutes and do your exam. That means that if you really do want a fiancée, you need to cut to the chase and tell me now.”

Finn sits up a little straighter, his eyebrows creeping up his forehead. “Excuse me?”

“You heard me. If you still need a fake fiancée, I’ll do it.”

“Wow, hold your enthusiasm,” Finn says, his tone teasing.

It’s a reminder that whatever this is going to be, it won’t be anything more than a game to him.

The teasing tension in the room fades.

His face grows serious. “Are you sure?”

Not even a little bit.

“Yes. I may need some connections in Oregon, and if I remember correctly, your family has many.”

Finn nods. Right now, he’s all business. “Pick me up on release day. I get out at noon. Two days from now. Last chance to back out, Ava.”

I should back out. I should tell him that I was temporarily insane and that I didn’t know what I was talking about. I should tell him whatever I can to get out of going to Oregon with him.

A smarter woman would. She wouldn’t trust him.

I don’t have to trust him, though. I just need to benefit from our deal.

“Ava, that nurse with a crush on you is coming back. Are you sure that you want to go through with this?” Finn’s tone is unusually soft, his green eyes searching mine.

Don’t give another Byrne boy the chance to hurt you.

“I’m sure.” I stand up, hoping that the feeling returns to my legs soon.

This entire conversation with Finn has made my body numb. “And for the record, he doesn’t have a crush on me.”

Finn snorts as the door to the infirmary opens.

Carter walks in, smiling at me. As his eyes land on Finn, his face pinches like something crawled up his ass and died.

I hand off the clipboard to him, not looking back at Finn as I make my way to my office to freak out.

Two days from now, I could be driving away to the biggest mistake of my life.

3

FINN

She’s not going to come. She was fucking with your head when she said that she’d do it. It’s all some sort of sick form of revenge against Declan for acting like a colossal asshole yet again.

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