“Well, originally Sloan gave me the number because we were planning a surprise for Conall—” Vail took a deep breath and grinned. “—but he didn’t say Icouldn’tuse it whenever I felt like it.” Vail shrugged. “Conall had been talking about the fact that he didn’t get to go out to clubs the way he used to, which he enjoys, and Sloan doesn’t love taking him out because it can be dangerous, so he set up music and invited a ton of people over to their house. I thought it was very romantic, and I’m sure Conall did, too, but Sloan missed the point in a way.”
“What do you mean?” I asked.
Rowen waved at the island, which probably meant he was going to try to give us things to do to help make dinner.
Vail pecked a kiss on my cheek. “Well, Conall wanted to goout. Most of his life happens at the mansion because Sloan worries about him a lot.” Vail shrugged and frowned. “It’s different to get dressed up and leave the house to go somewhere, but I got the impression that it’s more trouble to do that than have a ton of people visit the mansion.” Vail seemed confused, though, as if he was still trying to work out what had happened. “Anyway, Sloan sometimes does strange things when all it would’ve taken to make Conall happy was go out somewhere no one knows them.”
“Ye’re right. Safety would be the reason for that,” Rowen said, rummaging around in the fridge. “It isn’t so easy for the boss to find a place where he’s an unknown element.” He got out salad stuff, and I groaned, but he pointed a finger at me.
I stuck out my tongue.
Vail snickered and leaned hard against my side.
It didn’t take Rowen much time to use a grill pan, make steaks, and slice them up. I discovered steak salad was on the menu when he slid the meat off a cutting board directly into a large bowl of greens, onions, and tomatoes, then shoved it all over to me before getting two more bowls ready.
“Why can’t I just eat the steak?” I asked before sneaking over to the fridge. I came back and used a healthy splash—or seven—of ranch dressing on my salad.
It wasn’t that the food was bad, but complaining about the veggies was its own type of fun. Exactly like I’d thought would happen, Rowen’s face pinched and he sighed.
I held in a laugh. “You already call me a rabbit. What if I grow a fluffy tail?” I jumped up from the stool I’d been sitting on at the island and turned around to shake my ass.
Vail laughed and grabbed my hand, pulling me close for a soft kiss. “I don’t think anyone would mind at all because you would be cute that way. I bet Aspen and Cillian would tug on it.” Vail tickled his fingers under my shirt along my lower back. “They’re so mean to you.” His tone was warm, though, as if he didn’t exactly think I would hate it, and he was right.
All at once, my mood dove. How would I ever talk to Aspen and Cillian about what had happened today? Cillian was already a dick about it when I was on the phone with him at the ER. He’d laughed at me. Feeling bad, I leaned against Vail.
“What’s eating ye?” Rowen asked, and he smoothed a strand of my hair behind my left ear, which sent a shiver racing along my spine.
“You, if I’m lucky,” I said, flashing a small smile, but he only stared at me in concern, and Vail gave me a squeeze.
Vail seemed to understand I didn’t really want to talk, or maybe it was just his natural impulse to chitchat that overwhelmed him, but he started up a conversation.
“How are clubs in Dublin different from here?” Vail asked, focusing on Rowen.
“First off, people have no sense about gettin’ a good drunk on here in the US. They guzzle their liquor down their gullets far too quick and leave too soon. The party doesn’t even start properly till four in the morning, and when I was younger, it wasn’t unusual to be getting to bed at about noon after a good night. If at all! A true Irishman starts Friday night, stays steady through Saturday, cracks an eye open to get to church on time Sunday morning, then sleeps till work on Monday.” Rowen gestured with his fork.
Smiling, I snuck away upstairs.
Once I was inside my room, I closed the door. I didn’t come in here by myself much anymore, but right now I just wanted to decompress without having to think about the sound of that saw and how the cock ring had vibrated and how I’d beenconvincedI would be missing half my pride and joy by the time they were done.
Only Vail and Rowen holding my hands had kept me from getting up to run away—which would’ve guaranteed the loss of my most fun body part.
Flopping on the bed, I wished I was still on the couch between Vail and Rowen, but I didn’t want to talk or explain my strange mood. Taking deep breaths, like I sometimes did to clear my head before a fight, didn’t do much. I stared at the blue walls and they didn’t make me feel peaceful. I took my phone out of my pocket and studied the reflection of my face in the screen.
What would Aspen say when we were alone? Would he think I was dumb? Would he ask me what the hell I’d been thinking and promise to punish me? I bit my lip because getting spanked or something else would be fun, but my stomach sank. I didn’t like it when he had a real reason to be mad at me, instead of a fun one just to give him an excuse to put me over his thigh and spank me till I emptied my balls.
“Damn it,” I grumbled, but I couldn’t make my fingers work to call. I needed to hear his voice, but what if Cillian was there again to laugh at me? I knew Cillian would pick on me, but I wasn’t up for it yet. I needed to get my head around everything that had happened first, and that meant talking to Aspen. He always helped me figure out my thoughts.
The phone vibrated in my hand, and I dropped it with a yelp. Aspen’s name was on the screen, along with his picture. Snatching the phone up, I accepted the video call.
“How did you know I wanted to talk to you?” I asked, first thing, and I winced because that sounded like a one-liner, but I meant it.
Aspen chuckled, and his rich tone washed over me, calming some of my nervousness. I loved staring into his deep brown eyes and seeing his face. “How are you feeling, baby?” he asked, and I didn’t miss that he was being a tad sweeter than usual. I needed that from him today, though.
My face heated, but I laughed. “Fine. I think the cock ring might be the stupidest thing I’ve done in my whole life. I insisted on that one.”
Aspen nodded, sympathy clear in his expression.
I offered him a wicked grin. “I’ve never seen my junk so big.”
