“Yer ADHD coach will be coming to see ye again every week. No more excuses. He helped, right?”
Vail nodded. “Yes, but—”
“No.” I cut him off, ignoring the sad pout he gave me. “We can easily afford to pay him, and there’s no reason not to get ye anything that makes yer life easier. Anything at all. There are no more buts.”
Fallon opened his mouth, clearly about to make a joke about a different kind of butt—I knew him well—but I glared at him. He sat back, smart enough to keep his mouth shut.
“This isn’t about treating ye like a child, angel. This is about protecting ye. I need ye to pay more attention to yerself and yer surroundings. So, ye’re gonna call yer coach and arrange sessions every week, even twice a week if ye hafta. We’ll pay for the time that it takes to travel here and back home along with the session. There will be no room for complaints. But I’m not hearing any more excuses from ye. This can’t happen again.” I cupped his face and smoothed my thumb over his cheek. “I’m sorry, angel.”
He smiled sadly and sighed, leaning into my touch. His brown eyes glittered with unshed tears. “I promise I’ll call from now on. I won’t do it again. Or... I’ll try not to do it again.”
I honestly believed he would make a good attempt and that made me happy. Nodding, I smiled. “Okay. Ye’ve been different, though, since the guys left.”
Vail sighed and picked at his trousers as if there was a thread, but there was nothing except smooth cloth. His gaze jumped to Fallon and back to me. He clearly didn’t want to talk about his issues, and I got it. I understood.
“Ye can call them whenever ye want, ye know? And if they can’t answer, they won’t. They’ll always get back to ye.”
“I know.” The sense of emptiness in his words had my heart aching harder. I wanted to whisk away all his pain and protect him however I could.
I sighed. “Go upstairs and call the guys. They’ll be missing ye. Just don’t mention what happened. They don’t need to know about it.”
Vail jumped to his feet, clearly ready to escape any more lectures. He raised his eyebrows at Fallon, but I shook my head.
“I want to talk to Fallon for a wee second,” I said.
Fallon winced and waved Vail off, and even though it looked like Vail wanted to argue, he nodded and headed toward the stairs. I made sure he was gone before I slid in closer to Fallon, mouth pursed.
“When’s yer doctor’s appointment? I forgot to write it down.” I kept my voice stern. I hated that I had to be overbearing, but I’d seen what Aspen meant by taking control of Fallon now. Given the chance, he would fight everything that was for his health and well-being.
Fallon crossed his arms, but he continued to smile, almost like he wanted to be angry but couldn’t bring himself to be. That was the story of Fallon’s life. If anyone had the right to be upset at the cards he was dealt, it was the man in front of me. He’d been bullied by his family, shoved into a position within a mob that he probably hadn’t wanted, and had been hurt one too many times on the job. At least Aspen had found a way he could have some choices back again.
“Don’t fight me on this,” I pleaded calmly, the urge to protect him making me desperate. I didn’t quite... know if I wanted to love him yet because I’d promised Vail that I would only ever be with him. Not only that, but Fallon was an entirely different game altogether. It was one thing for me tolove a manwhile being Catholic, but to care for two? What would Father Shay say? “I will resort to calling Aspen and telling him ye’ve been unreasonable.”
He snorted. “Tattletale.”
I smirked at him. “Cillian would agree with ye.”
His smile faltered and he sighed, dropping his arms. He thought for a moment, and when his grin returned, it had me concerned. Fallon never smiled that way unless he was about to do and say something very, very naughty.
“I’ll remind you of when my appointment is if you kiss me.”
I blinked, surprised. I wasn’t quite sure what to make of the request. In my head, he belonged to Aspen and Vail, and in a strange way, he was Cillian’s, too. Not mine. I’d told him I was the kind of guy to romance a man, and I thought he wanted that, too. The longer I spent around him, the more I realized I cared about him.
Not loved, though. Not yet.
At first, I’d thought my fondness and interest were because he was Vail’s, but now I wasn’t so sure. I’d been scared for him when he was in the hospital, and the nights when he was in an induced coma I couldn’t sleep properly. I’d had nightmares about losing him. I never told anyone.
“Why?” I asked before I could stop myself. “Why do ye want me to kiss ye, Fallon?” I shifted in closer to him and laid a hand on his upper arm. “Ye have Aspen and Vail and even Cillian. Why do ye want me, too?”
“Because I like dick. Lots of it.” He flashed me a flirty smile, then licked his upper lip slowly as his stare traveled down me and back up again. “I’ve blown you.”
“There’s a difference between sex and a relationship.” I cringed because Fallon hadn’t asked for anything more than a kiss. He didn’t want me as his boyfriend, and I’d always been a one-man bloke. I’d never wanted more than one person romantically in my life. “And I don’t make a habit of being intimate with someone unless I’m dating them.” I held up my hand before he could retort with a smart-arse comment. “What we have is not the same thing. It’s for Vail. He loves all of us.”
He shrugged. “A kiss is a kiss, Rowen. Vail wants us toget alongand he means more than in conversation.” He waggled his blond eyebrows. “What do you say?”
I shook my head in exasperation, and he pouted, clearly thinking I was saying no to him. Grabbing his arm in a tighter grip, I dragged him hard against me. He flailed, not expecting the jolting move, and I gripped his chin and slammed my lips against his. He tasted sweet. He shouldn’t be eating sugary shite with his diabetes.
I yanked away from him, guilt twisting in my stomach. A wave of emotions hit me immediately, but the shame of doing something when I was with Vail was at the top of the list. Vail wouldn’t mind because we were, essentially, in a large polyamorous relationship, but I did care. This wasn’t me.Feck. This isn’t me.
