“Are you okay?”
I jumped and glanced up at Vail, who was only a few steps away. He sat down next to me on the bed and leaned his head against my shoulder, and I pressed a kiss to his temple, inhaling the scent of vanilla shampoo he must’ve been using here—normally he smelled like apples. He sighed, light and dreamy. The sound was cute, and he was so easy to love. The best part? Vail never made me guess what he was thinking.
“Yeah, I’m all right.”
“So, did you? While we were gone?” he asked, tilting his head to the side. The interested gleam in his eyes made me laugh.
“Did I sit around thinking about the most beautiful man in the world? Hell yeah.”
“No,” he laughed. “Did you and Aspen...?” His eyebrows climbed.
I found myself chuckling and nodding, and couldn’t get over how happy I was when Vail let out an excited sound—something between a squeal and a yell—and hugged me.
“I’m so delighted for you.”
“I don’t know, I think he likes getting off with me, but you’re the only guy who loves me.”
Vail’s smile fell into a thinking frown.
I ran my thumb along the tiny dip in the center of his chin.
“It’s difficult to say with Aspen. You’d have to ask him directly, but he seems to care about you.”
My entire body flushed hot. “Let’s not talk about it for now.”
“Just for now? So, we can later?” He blinked at me. There would be no getting him to stop without a direct answer.
“Yeah.”
“Okay.” He pecked a kiss onto my cheek, and I rubbed my feet on the floor, happy and excited and confused and scared all at once. With Vail here I hoped something good might eventually happen between me and Aspen.
Rowen came up the short set of stairs that led into the room from the floor below but hesitated in joining us. “Wondered where ye’d gone.” Aspen and Cillian shoved him forward lightly, then followed him into the room. Cillian’s eyebrows were low and furious.
“What’s wrong?” Vail asked before I could.
“I gotta go back to the city,” Cillian grumped.
“Me too,” Aspen said.
“The boss needs us again?” Rowen glanced between them, then focused on Cillian. “I would’ve thought a warning from the boss to Ilya would be more than enough to get him to pull his head out of his arse.”
“What is going on?” I asked, feeling frustrated fast. It didn’t take much to get out of the loop in New York City; only a few days away might as well be lifetimes.
Cillian sighed and ran a hand through his short dark hair. “With Relax Inc. being closed for repairs, there’s plenty of middle-class business floatin’ around that neighborhood right now—men who want their willies waxed but don’t have top dime to pay for it. Some Russian fecker named Ilya Alexeyev fancies himself a pimp and is doing business out of an old soap factory a few streets over.”
Aspen crossed his arms. “The cops will get them if they’re not paying to play in the area. There’s a way to do that sort of business, and if they don’t know how....”
“Fuck that.” Rowen scratched his fingers through his beard and blinked at the ceiling. “The boss already told him to lay off to help Elio Folliero out. So, now the boss can’t stand for it, even if he don’t fecking care much. It’s a right mess that didn’t need to happen.”
Cillian swaggered over and sat on the other side of me. I tensed because he didn’t usually get so close. His hip bumped mine and he nudged his knee against my leg.
“What?”
“Word is that Ilya’s looking for some boys for his business. Ye’re gonna go ask for a wee job. When he gives it to ye, we’re gonna beat the daylights out of him for going back on his word to Sloan, because the shite agreed to stop. Maybe he’ll get the picture then.”
Sitting up straighter, I grinned. “You asked me because I’m the hot one, right? You think he’d hire me?” I beamed at Cillian, and he slapped me upside the head.
“Everyone knows us to see us comin’, yeeejit. Ye haven’t been around long enough to earn a reputation, have ye?”
