Lies Inside (23 page)

Lucy couldn’t sleep on the plane. She was too excited about going home. She stayed cuddled up in Finn’s arms as the miles flew by.

“We’ve got a lot to do. You know, a lot to figure out.” Finn kissed Lucy’s hair as she lay back onto his chest.

“I know. There’s the girls, school, all the legal stuff. They’re going to make us go into some sort of counseling, I’m sure. Then there’s figuring out where we’re going to live and the wedding. It’s enough to make my head spin.”

“The wedding?”

Lucy turned to face him. “Did you forget asking me?”

“No, I just thought after everything you might want to wait.” He knew it was what they both wanted, but they had lost so much time, and he wasn’t sure if they would be ready in time.

“You are not getting out of it that easy, Mr. O’Malley. August fourth is only a few weeks away.”

“You want to go through with it then?”

Lucy looked deep into his eyes. She couldn’t tell if he was wavering on his decision or if he actually thought she would.

“At this moment, I want nothing more in this world to be Mrs. Finn O’Malley. Lucy O’Malley.” She placed a soft kiss on his lips. “Sounds nice, doesn’t it?” She was worried he might call the whole thing off when his response didn’t come immediately. Then his lips curved upward in the grin that always melted her heart.

“Very...but, I haven’t even bought you a ring yet.”

“I don’t need a ring. I don’t need a fancy dress or a cake or a horse drawn carriage. All I need is you, me, and a justice of the peace. I know that now more than ever. I love you, Finn, and I don’t want to be Lucy Butler any longer than I absolutely have to.”

“But it’s Lucy Butler that I fell in love with. Lucy Butler has been my best girl friend since kindergarten. It was Lucy Butler that gave me my first kiss.” He brought his lips to caress hers. He leaned his forehead against hers. “It’s Lucy Butler who I asked to be my wife.”

“You two are still going through with it?” Claire interrupted Finn’s declaration and unwittingly exposed her own eavesdropping. Lucy grinned and nodded. “I’m so happy for the two of you. So, have you set a date yet? We can have the ceremony in the garden. It would be absolutely lovely.”

Lucy took a hold of Claire’s hands. “We don’t need anything extravagant. I don’t think we have much time for all of it.”

“How much time?”

Lucy glanced at Finn before she said, “Weeks?”

Claire eyes simply smiled. “Okay, we can do this. Plenty of time. We need to fix your hair. I think my stylist can do it, no problem.”

Lucy turned back to Finn and ran her fingers through his messy onyx locks. “I’ve kind of gotten used to it, but I do miss those little blonde flecks. The way the light hit it just right; it looked like you had a halo right here.” Her fingers tangled on top of his head.

“We’ll fix it in time. Everything will be perfect. That’s the least I can do after everything I’ve put you through.”

Lucy rolled her eyes at him, shaking her head. “You have not put me through anything. We are alive and strong and all on our way home because of you. It was your brilliant plan, was it not?”

“Well...”

“Finn? You were the mastermind?” Claire looked extremely proud.

“Actually, it was Olivia who gave me the idea. Watching her try to dump powdered fiber in her diaper was priceless.”

The overhead speakers crackled as the pilot announced, “Ladies and gentlemen, if you will please take your seats and make sure your seat belts securely fastened, we are about to make our descent. Flight attendants, please prepare the cabin for landing.”

Claire gave them both a kiss on the cheek before taking her seat beside Murphy as Lucy buckled her seat belt. She laced her fingers through Finn’s as they felt the plane dip, sliding through the clouds.

Walking back into the O’Malley’s house felt like Lucy and Finn’s wildest dream coming true. Everything looked exactly the same, like they’d never left. However, when they got to Finn’s room, it was a different story.

The bed was a mess, sheets and blankets strewn all over. Finn’s t-shirts covered the floor.

“Looks like I forgot to do laundry. This is pretty embarrassing.” Finn laughed at the sight of his usually immaculate room.

Rylan peeked in behind them. “This is my fault. I kind of lived in here. I’ll clean it up, I swear.”

“It’s fine, Ry.” Finn kissed her on the forehead. “Can you go help Mom get the girls settled? Lucy and I need to do some things; then we’ll be down.”

“Alright. I’ll make sure to lock the door behind me.”

“What first?” Lucy asked.

“We need to get you out of these clothes.” Lucy looked him up and down, a little shocked. “I just mean we need to take a shower and change our clothes. I’ve kind of gotten used to you being in there with me. I’m not sure I can remember how to wash my hair by myself.”

She smacked him playfully on the chest before pecking his lips. “Fine, I’ll do it, but just to make sure that you get clean.”

Finn turned the shower on as Lucy slipped out of her shoes. She slid her jeans and underwear down before taking off her t-shirt and bra. She stepped in the shower with Finn right behind her. It wasn’t difficult to get back into the routine. Lucy’s fingers floated effortlessly down his torso, making sure her soapy hands got every inch clean. She could see the bruises and feel the scars, but it was as if they were just another part of him. The love and attention she gave him replaced the violent acts that had injured him.

Lucy turned as Finn began to massage the shampoo into her scalp. It was one of the few pleasures they had enjoyed over the past few months. She moaned as he hit a particularly sweet spot.

“It’s nice to know I can still do that.”

“Every time you touch me it feels miraculous. The water and soap is just a bonus.”

He laughed as she turned to rinse her hair out. She took in a full view of him as he had taken in the full view of her. They were used to seeing each other naked. Lucy had become accustomed to the ache between her legs that only he caused. She felt selfish though for wanting more, knowing he wasn’t ready to give it.

Once all the shampoo was rinsed from her hair, she started to get out when Finn grabbed her wrist.

“Another minute, please.”

She stepped closer to him, not really sure what to expect. He was standing beneath the shower head, water streaming down his back. He brought his hand up to cup at her left breast, his thumb sliding across it. She closed her eyes and bit down on her lip, trying to stifle a moan. He knew the effect he had on her, pleasure plain and simple. He wanted more. He wanted to know that touching the woman he loved was nothing to be ashamed of.

Lucy’s head dipped down as she felt his other hand doing the same to her right breast. She opened her eyes and could clearly see how touching her effected him. She wanted to touch him, make him feel as good as she did. Pushing aside her fears, she reached out and caressed him. His responding moan was immediate and the most glorious sound she had ever heard. It was a sound of pure pleasure, and she marveled that she was the one to elicit such a response from him.

What if it’s too soon? He’s already been through so much!
Panic flooded her mind as she realized what she was really doing. They weren’t ready for it. They hadn’t even talked about it. What was she thinking? Their entire family was waiting right downstairs.

She released him and brought her hand up to still his hand on her breast.

“Please, Luce. Don’t stop,” he pleaded in frustration, pulling her to him and kissing her with a hunger she’d never seen from him before.

She pulled away and looked into his lust filled eyes. “Are you sure?” She got the answer she wanted when he took her hand and returned it to its previous position.

He continued to kiss and caress her, increasing her own need. It didn’t take long for Finn to fall over the edge, and he bit her lower lip as he did. He gathered her in his arms as she continued to explore his mouth with her tongue.

She felt a weird sense of pride. They were one step closer to completing each other.

She pulled back from his lips and whispered in his ear, “I can’t believe you let me do that.”

“I wasn’t planning on it, but you make me feel things I’ve never felt before.” He pulled her back to look into her eyes. He swept her sopping wet hair behind her shoulders. “I think I actually feel like a man for once. All because of you.” He brought his lips to hers, licking the water running across them.

“Good, because I wasn’t really sure...I mean, I’ve never done that to anyone before.” Even with the cold water running down their bodies, they could feel the heat rising to the surface.

“You’re a natural.”

“You’re not making this easy on me.”

“I’m sorry. I promise next time to pay more attention to you.”

“Believe me, you did just fine.” Lucy reached and turned off the water before stepping out.

Finn delved into his dresser and found a few clean items to put on. As Rylan had been living there, so had most of her clothes. Lucy found a pair of yoga pants, a bra, and a t-shirt.

She pulled the pants up her thighs and tied them at her waist. She looked up to see the confused look on his face.

“What?”

“You’re not wearing anything under those?”

“I don’t have anything. Rylan and I are close and all, but I’m not sharing underwear with her. I don’t even want to think of some of the things that Jack has done with them.”

He laughed as she pulled her wet strands back into a ponytail. She saw him eyeing his guitar in the corner. He hadn’t played since May. She knew his fingers must have been itching to strum.

“Go ahead.” Lucy pushed him toward his baby.

“There’s something that has been running through my head. I want to see if it sounds as good as it does up here.” He tapped at his temple as he sat down at the bench.

Lucy went to her favorite spot and sprawled out on the chair. She closed her eyes when the chords started, soft and slow. She hummed along as he played.

Finn put everything he had into the piece that had been floating through his mind for months. Every chord sounded just like it had when he created it in his head. As he finished, he took a long deep breath and turned to get Lucy’s appraisal.

She stood up and walked over to him. “You are some kind of amazing. I can’t even explain what I’m feeling right now.”

“I think we’ve been in here for awhile. They might send out another search party.” He brushed off her compliment, but his big grin told her how he really felt about her praise.

They kissed again before Lucy pulled him up and out of the room.

Once they made it downstairs, Jack and Aiden were waiting for them.

“I forgot to ask, but what the hell happened to your hair?” Aiden asked as he let out a small chuckle.

“I know. It’s a mess, but Mom will fix it. I’m sure she’s already got it set up for first thing tomorrow.” Finn ran his fingers through the still damp mess.

“Good, because we can’t have you looking better than me.”

“What?” Finn was confused. “You think it looks good?”

“You know how girls always go for the dark bad-boy type. I bet Lucy loves it.”

“Not sure that I love it.” Lucy wrapped her arms around Finn’s waist.