“You were at the class yesterday.” Lor’s attention shifted to Rowen as he came into the room behind me, still in his underwear. I was distracted by the way his plump dick moved as he walked, and my face heated. When I glanced back at Lor, his cheeks had pinked up. My embarrassment was complete. He’d likely noticed me checking Rowen out, and yes, I was in my own home, but he was a student.
Lor sat forward. “Are you all right, sir? That’s all I care about.”
“I’m... happy, I think.” I grinned and felt silly, but it was true.
Lor frowned, tapping a finger to his chin as he studied me. “You missed a class, but you have office hours. Are you going to be there? I can hang out in your office if you aren’t.” He widened his eyes at me, and his face did that thing, like he was watching a tragedy in action. His bottom lip jutted and the skin between his brows crinkled.
“Yes, I suppose Ishouldgo.” Hell, I hated that look. I was relieved when Lor’s face smoothed out and he gave me an approving nod.
“Thank you.” Lor stood and skirted around Cillian, who didn’t take his eyes off him for a second. When the tips of Lor’s sneakers were bumping my toes, he leaned forward in a cloud of citrusy cologne, which didn’t smell nearly as good as Rowen’s, and whispered, “Please be careful.”
I frowned. “That’s a little personal, but thank you for caring. We were.”
Lor sighed and closed his eyes. The way the skin across the bridge of his nose went even pinker was charming. “Not sex. I mean, you don’t know them. Please be careful with your entire person, not... ugh. Just be careful. That bruise on your jaw looks nasty. You should ice it.”
Rowen hooked his arm around my shoulders, and Lor backed off, nearly stumbling over his feet to get some distance between us.
“Dr. Mifflin is in skilled hands,” Rowen grumped. He lowered his eyebrows at Lor, but the attitude was hardly necessary. It wasn’t as if I would have ever considered having an affair with a student, but I didn’t want to say that out loud. College kids could be so touchy about being relegated to the “children” category.
Lor reached over and squeezed my wrist lightly. “I’ll see you on campus.” He made his way to the door and glanced over his shoulder when he got there, almost like he was checking to see if I was fine with him going. I gave him a wave, and he finally left, slamming the door as he went.
Cillian and Rowen stared at each other as if they were having a silent conversation, and that was just enough time for me to start feeling on an even keel. I leaned into Rowen and wrapped my arms around him to give him a light hug. He shifted and smirked down at me, squeezing me back.
“You two asked Fallon where my apartment was?” I turned and kissed his shoulder just to get some of his skin under my lips. I felt almost giddy. “I’m glad you came to find me. Arguing gets to me fast. I didn’t want to go, I just can’t handle it.”
Rowen frowned.
“God, don’t go there. Me ma used to yell at us for bickering. Ye’ll send him to confession.” Cillian came over and pecked my cheek. “But yes, that’s exactly right, firebug. Weasked Fallon.”
“He answered his phone after ye were asleep,” Rowen added, though he sounded miserable. I studied him, and Cillian smacked his arm, which was a weird way to see if someone was doing all right.
“I have to get ready to go to work, but... I liked everything we did together. Would you—I mean, you did come here. Do you want to do it again? I liked the two of you together. With me,” I said in a rush, feeling as ridiculous as a kid. I didn’t want to let them go, but I knew I had to do things other than lie around with them all day.
Cillian’s jaw went hard, and he glanced down to stare at our feet as if there was something interesting down there. “It was good, wasn’t it?” He sounded angry, and I had no idea why.
“What Cillian means to say is”—Rowen hugged me tighter—“aye, we’d be delighted to have ye all to ourselves again.”
Cillian stomped off toward the bedroom, saying loudly as he went, “Ye got shite to do. So do we. We’ll pick ye up tonight at six.”
Rowen shook his head and yelled, “We’ve got that thing for work. It’ll take time.”
“Fine, we’ll be here at eight. Wewillbe done with that project by then.” Cillian blasted back his reply at top volume.
Less than a minute later, Cillian came out of the hallway dressed and shoved Rowen’s clothes into his arms. After Rowen was no longer naked, they kissed me again, and then I ran for my shower.
Forty minutes later I walked into my office on campus dressed in a moss-green suit I’d been told did good things for me, though I’d realized halfway to the school I’d forgotten my tie, and I almost groaned as Dr. Atmeyer spun my black leather desk chair toward the door and raised his eyebrows at me. He was a good-looking older man and I’d stared once or twice at him. Thick silver hair, a solid snowy beard, and he filled out his suits better than most of my colleagues half his age. He had muscle, that’s for sure. But he was always after me to do something at work I didn’t want to do, and a bubble of anxiety formed in the pit of my stomach.
“How can I help you, sir?” If my voice trembled, oh well. I couldn’t stop it.
His smile transformed his face from somewhat stern to friendly, though he could switch back and forth in a heartbeat. “You know I talk to your publisher to keep you from getting overwhelmed, Vail.”
“Yes, sir,” I said, setting down a stack of books I’d brought with me from home on my desk. I dusted my hands together, and he stared at them like I was stupid. That was another thing I didn’t like about Dr. Atmeyer, and maybe that was why I had a tendency to tune him out. He always treated me like I was fragile or needed to be watched, and while I did need help, I wasn’thelpless. I couldn’t explain to him that I was an adult, and he treated me only slightly better than one of the freshman students.
“And they’re wondering where the next three chapters of your book are, Vail.” He spread his fingers wide onmywooden desk. “What should I tell them?” He lowered his brows at me.
I shrugged and stared at the shelves of books that lined the room. “I’m behind. It’s more difficult doing a manuscript that is current. Usually what I write involves surveying existing material. With this book I have to talk to people and cite interviews properly and redact names when requested. It just takes longer, and I told the editing team for the publisher it would probably take me at least six months longer than usual, but they didn’t adjust their expectations.” There, that sounded professional. I was proud of myself.
He moved on my chair and it squeaked, and I stared at the leather. The high-pitched noise tortured my ears a second time when he leaned back.
