Vail snickered and smacked my arm. “Careful.”
I chuckled and linked my elbow with Vail’s, leading him toward the front door with Rowen following behind us. We all geared up for the cold weather, and I grabbed my Mets cap from the top of the coatrack on the way out.
We decided to take Rowen’s Lexus—not that we had many options, since Cillian still hadn’t replaced his Expedition after the explosion that nearly killed us—and Rowen drove while I sat in the back with Vail, taking the chance to kiss him all over. I nibbled his neck, leaving a trail of marks behind that Cillian would see later andknowwere from me. Rowen never left hickeys quite like I did.
When we stopped, Rowen cleared his throat to get our attention, and I took a moment to appreciate the work on Vail’s soft skin. I hummed and caressed my thumb over the indents of my teeth I’d left and smirked. Perfect.
“Ye’re almost as bad as Cillian,” Rowen grumbled over his shoulder before shoving open his door. He climbed out without any more comments.
I grinned and dragged Vail out my side of the car, helping him stand as he came down from the high of having my mouth devour him. He gave me a hot, confused grin that was gratifying, especially since I hadn’t even touched his dick. I glanced up at the restaurant Rowen had brought us to and raised my eyebrows.
“Chimichangas?” I sent Rowen a smirk.
He shrugged. “I like chimichangas.”
“Me too!” Vail finally came around to the land of the living and bounced on his toes and at the same time his stomach let out a loud growl, causing him to wince. He patted his gut. “I’m starving.”
I waved my hand. “Professors first.”
Vail gave me a pout. “Aspen.”
Chuckling, I laid a kiss on his cheek. “Sorry, baby, I’m just teasing.” I licked my tongue around the shell of his ear and whispered, “Doctors first.”
He shuddered. “Meanie.”
I slapped him on the ass, and he jerked forward, rushing toward the front door of the hole-in-the-wall. Behind the counter, Diego, the owner who was here nearly every open hour, waved at us excitedly. Vail loved the food here, and Diego had come to adore Vail. While we’d stopped here occasionally before Vail entered our lives, we’d visited a lot more often since.
Diego came rushing around the counter, faster than he should’ve been able to with the prosthetic leg that he’d gotten from an accident eight years ago—something we’d learned because Vail asked a lot of questions. “Vail! You’re here! I got that book you suggested.”
I cocked my head in confusion and glanced at Rowen while Vail dashed over to speak to Diego. They immediately leaned their heads in close, chatting at a million miles per hour.
Rowen chuckled and tilted his head, gesturing for me to follow him as we went to a table near one of the few small windows.
Chimichangas With Love wasn’t anything fancy. The room had a few tall red tables with stools and an area for people to wait for orders. The brick walls were chipped, but that didn’t stop it from being one of the most popular places to get good, authentic Mexican food. Vail had already told us all about Diego’s history, including how he was born in Sinaloa and moved to Texas when he was three, and how he knew how to cook a good meal—as though we didn’t already know that by the taste.
“How’s he been?” I asked, not needing to mention Vail’s name. My gaze was caught on him and I couldn’t tear my eyes away. I’d missed him and Fallon—and even Rowen—a lot while we’d been in Miami.
“Good. A wee bit all over the place, but ye know Vail.” Rowen smiled as his gaze slid to Vail, who was talking animatedly with his hands now. “His mind’s like that sometimes.”
My chest went warm with a kind of love I’d never experienced until we’d let Vail into our lives. Everything had changed—with Fallon, with Cillian, and maybe with Rowen, too. “And Fallon? You’ve been making sure he’s eating right and on time?”
Rowen twisted around to stare seriously at me. “Do ye think I wouldn’t? Of course I did. The lad’s trouble, though. He fights me on every order and suggestion. He does the bare minimum to take care of himself when Cillian isn’t around to bark at him. Who knows how he ever learned to fight in the first place with his attitude?”
I threw my head back and laughed. “Yeah, well, I’m sure Cillian’s working on the rebellion thing. Fallon’s got a lot of energy. He just needs to burn it.”
Rowen nodded and tapped the table while a thoughtful expression passed over his face. There was something going on in his head, but I couldn’t figure out what. Since we’d arrived home, the sexual tension between Fallon and Rowen had clearly risen, and I hadn’t missed the secret looks they were giving each other.
“What’s up?” I leaned my elbows on the table and smirked at him.
I didn’t remember a time when Rowen and I’d had a deep conversation. We’d talked about how to take out targets and how to flay someone’s skin the kind of way to make him scream—much to Rowen’s abhorrent disgust—but we’d never discussed relationships and shit.
“Hm?” Rowen gave me half a shrug. “Nothin’.”
“Bullshit.” I stuck my tongue in my cheek smugly. “You lie like Cillian does.”
“What?” He blinked at me in surprise, raising his chin. “What do ye mean?”
I waved my finger at him. “You look down before you answer, then crinkle your nose a little. It’s exactly how Cillian lies, too. I see you.”
