“I heard what ye said,” I hissed, a headache already throbbing in my temples. “And so did every other guard in this bloody room. I wouldn’t be surprised if Sloan has it under surveillance of some kind.”
“I was joking.” His paltry self-defense came out as a whine, and I couldn’t help but reach around to slap his arse. He gasped, and everyone’s attention jumped to us. “You spanked me.”
“I smacked yer arse. Once. That’snotspanking, and trust me, Aspen will be hearing about this, and ye’ll know what spanking is then.” My grip on his shirt tightened and my tongue darted out to lick the curve of his ear, causing him to shudder. “Ye don’t make wee jokes about the boss’s sexual positions, aye?”
“Okay, okay. Jeeze.” He rolled his eyes.
I looked heavenward, praying for strength. Pursing my lips, I leaned back to stare at him seriously. “It might be a joke to ye and Conall, but it will get back to the boss. He might not see it that way.” I let go of his shirt and cupped his face in my palms, making him still. “Fallon, I just need ye to be careful. I have enough anxiety over our Vail and his forgetfulness without worrying about ye, too. Conall is yer friend, but he’s the boss’s pet first and foremost. All right?” I didn’t know what I could do to get it through his head, but the thought of him being hurt for mouthing off about the boss, especially as a joke, made my stomach churn in fear.
He smiled lightly. “I’ll say okay if you kiss me.”
I inwardly cursed him and his flirting, but I couldn’t say no to him, either, because I wanted to press my lips against his, so I did. His mouth was warm and inviting, and the masculine scent of his sweat swirling with the last remnants of his cologne tickled my nose. His face was hot against my palms, and he was solid, though not in the way of Aspen or Cillian or even me.
Catcalls had me jerking backward, and I glared at a couple of the blokes I knew who were clapping and whistling like unculturedeejits. They continued to laugh.
“Damn, Shaughnessy,” Robertson yelled. He raised his hands over his head to clap like an arsehole. “Ya want all the hot fellas, don’t ya?”
I ignored him and widened my stance. “Come on. Go get Vail. I’ll take ye home for a shower, and then we’re going out.”
“Where?” Fallon grinned like a loon, and I relaxed because he was bloody adorable.
“It’s a surprise.” I smacked him on the arse again, but it was light.
He backed away from me, and when he was halfway to the mat, he spun around and bounced his way to Conall. They spoke for a few seconds, and Conall nodded. With a spring in his step, Fallon went over to Vail and Lor, who were on their feet.
It only took a minute before Vail and Fallon were on their way toward me. Vail greeted me with a gentle kiss, and I returned it. He didn’t taste as sweet as Fallon had, but it was just as nice. They waved their goodbyes, and we walked out of the mansion together, me holding Vail’s hand and him holding Fallon’s. It was all very domestic, and my romantic heart fluttered at how cute they were.
In my Lexus, Fallon took the front seat while Vail sat in the back. They told me about their day on the way home, and I listened intently.
“Lor and I went out to Montauk today. We were tutoring a new kid. His father is a politician, but a bit of a jerk.” Vail frowned at me in the rearview mirror. “He treats his son horribly. We should tell Sloan that. He should do something about it, warn the guy to stop. No one should treat his child like that.” Vail sighed heavily. “But when we got there, I couldn’t find my notes. IsworeI took them with me. I did, didn’t I, Rowen?”
I nodded. “Aye, angel, ye did. I saw ye put them in yer briefcase.”
“Then where were they?” He was asking himself more than me or Fallon, and the frustration mounted in his voice. “I am so annoyed when that happens. I know I put them in there, butpoof, they disappeared.” He raised his fingers and waggled them. “But they were there. I hate my brain so much. Do you know what else I lost?”
“What, love?” I asked dutifully. Losing things was a common occurrence for Vail, and I tried to help how I could. I didn’t understand how he lost so much, but I’d read enough about ADHD to know it was a symptom—forgetting where you put things.
“My earbuds. I bought those wireless ones. You remember the ones?”
I nodded and sent a soft smile to Fallon.
“Well, I lost them, too. I always put them near my phone, but I don’t think I picked them up this morning. And I bought that second and third pair with the wires, so if I did lose the wireless ones, I could use those? I don’t know where I left them, either. I know it was somewhere safe, but I don’t knowwheresafe is.” He huffed in irritation and crossed his arms.
“How about this, sweet pea? I’ll help ye a wee bit later to find them, okay? We’ll look together.”
“Yeah?” His frustration melted away and he gave me a sweet smile. “Thanks.”
“I’ll help, too.” Fallon twisted in the front seat so he could look at Vail. “I’d help you take over the world if you asked me to.”
I shook my head with a soft laugh, and Vail chuckled, too.
“You’re the cutest.” He pressed a kiss to Fallon’s lips. “Love you.”
Fallon grinned happily. “Love you, too.”
When we got back to the house, we all took a shower together. We managed to only use our hands to wash each other; although, I didn’t know how. The temptation to fuck them raged inside me. It didn’t help that we were all hard, but I promised them we could do things later, after we went to the place I wanted to take them.
When we were ready to go out, I got them back into the car and took them to an Italian restaurant in the city that we liked to go to. Fallon had eaten his weight in pasta since Cillian had been gone, but I kept my mouth closed about his diet because I didn’t want to ruin tonight. Cillian would sort him out when he got home.
