I shook my head and closed my eyes when he gathered me closer, feeling like a tool but wanting this more than anything. “Fallon in the field. I don’t like it.”
Aspen rested his forehead against mine. “We can’t treat him like he’s useless because he’s not. What happened to training him and having him be your slugger?”
My face boiled and I cleared my throat. “I didn’t like him in the hospital any more than ye did.”
Aspen ran his hand along my spine. “What happens when he gets beat to hell in a ring and you put him there?”
I groaned and dropped my head on his shoulder again, squeezing my eyes shut tight. His warm skin made me wish I was wearing less.
“I worry about all the same stuff you do, Cillian, because we love all the same people,” he murmured in my ear. “Only I worry about you, too. Do you get it yet?”
My stomach felt weird and good. I nodded. “Same, ye arse.”
“We can only take care of one disaster at a time.” He smooched my ear and it was loud and obnoxious and had me smiling. “Thank you.”
“For what?” I asked.
He dug his fingers through my hair and scratched over my scalp, which sent tingles running along my skin. “Talking to me instead of being a damned prick.”
I growled and kissed him again, cutting off his laughter.
Our mouths clashed and we fought each other, dueling with our tongues, but after a few minutes, he swirled his tongue just right around mine and defeated me. My cock swelled until it was a fat log in my trousers that I couldn’t ignore. He grabbed my arse and dragged me flush against his front. I loved his strength and the hard-on nudging my hip. We kissed and rocked, teasing each other. I slid my hands up his firm, muscled pecs and felt like ten kinds of a fool when I touched his bandage because he flinched.
“Feck. Sorry,a chuisle,” I murmured, then leaned over to kiss all around the spot.
We both stilled. All at once, he ran his hands down to my lower back and held on to me, a small smile on his lips. “You’re a dick,” he mumbled. “You finally say something nice and it’s not even in a language I know.”
My face grew so hot the tips of my ears felt as if they were on fire. “Aye, I am. How do ye know it was nice? Go lie down,” I said, feeling like I was going mad as a hatter.
Aspen shook his head. “You’re not sneaking out.”
I cupped Aspen’s face and thought about biting at his mouth because I was that wound up, but I caught sight of his injury again and forced myself to be gentle as I gave him a kiss. I ran my fingers along his cheeks and pulled back to give him my best imitation of Vail’s pout, which had him chuckling.
“No? Doesn’t work for me?”
“No,” he said with a grin. “I can’t believe you would even try it.”
“An hour. I’ll drag Joaquin back here and make him apologize at yer feet before I feed him one of yer knives.” I licked my lips and my cock throbbed at the image that exploded in my mind. God, that would be good.
Aspen didn’t seem like he was about to let me go without a fight, and I didn’t want to hurt him right now. He rubbed low on my back and his other hand slipped down to grab my arsecheek. “Brutal.”
“So, ye’re gonna let me go without making it a thing?” I tried to step back, but he didn’t, in fact, let go.
“No. Even if we do that, you’re not leaving alone.”
I groaned. “I am. Ye’re injured.”
“So are you, dumbass.”
“I—”
Aspen kissed me and stole my breath, and I wasn’t certain I’d really been ready to go out and search for Joaquin, though I wanted to do it. Aspen telling menohit me the wrong way, and I tried to step out of his grasp without knocking around his shoulder wound.
Aspen grunted, and I stopped.
Hurt or not, he snagged the back of my neck and marched with me to the bedroom we’d been sharing. I only walked to keep him from tearing open those stitches. “If Jamie and Corbin come back here and they got Joaquin, and ye wouldn’t let me go do it, I’m never gonna let ye live it down,” I grumbled, swatting at his side.
Aspen used his grip on me to toss me onto the bed, and I went. My head spun for a second and he frowned as I cradled it with my hands. The pillow was feeling much nicer than I would’ve thought and the comfortable mattress wasn’t bad on my banged-up body.
