Shrugging, I glanced around the gross kitchen. “I never expected us to get together, and I never expected to feel the way I do about you.” I hated being serious, and my gut flipped as his attention flashed to my face. “So, this is perfect, because I never expected to fuck anyone here.”
“’M not fuckin’ ye. I’m makin’ love to ye,” he grumbled, then kissed the tip of my nose.
“You know what I mean. I wouldn’t want it any different because this is what happened to us, and it doesn’t need to be imaginary andperfect.”
Rowen brushed a few strands of hair away from my face and leaned more of his weight against me. “Think I got stuck on it because I did the wrong things with Vail, ye know? And he loved me despite that. Didn’t want to risk fecking things up with ye because lightning doesn’t usually strike twice, and I was already lucky ye were interested.” He leaned down and kissed me.
My dick hadn’t quite gone to sleep yet and perked back up, and I hummed when he began to move again. Rowen might not realize it, but to mehewas the real surprise. I only hoped that he kept looking at me forever the way he did right now.
20
ROWEN
We’d nappedon the floor for about an hour before we woke up.
And now we were waiting, which was half the trouble with a torture session. You couldn’t just keep going, you had to give the bloke time to be conscious.
Fallon gave me a silly grin, and I returned it because even though I felt guilty for not having sex with him in a bed, I couldn’t deny that what we’d shared was scorching. The entire experience was rough and raw, and I’d enjoyed every second.
“When do you think he’ll wake up?” Fallon asked around a yawn as he stretched. His shirt and suit jacket were wrinkled from being tossed in a heap on the floor. We’d been going all night, and he was a lot younger than me, but it was clear we were both feeling the fatigue.
“No bloody idea.” I cocked my head and sat down against the wall. The only furniture in the room was the chair the Reyes man sat on and a wardrobe full of equipment. “We could try to wake him up in a few different ways.”
Fallon sat on the floor beside me, leaning back against the wall and raising his knee. He looked like a model, even with his disheveled clothing and the golden mess he called his hair. “No, it’s fine. I like spending time with you.” He nudged his shoulder against mine and winked, and I chuckled. “Do you think Fionn’s gonna be okay?”
My amusement vanished and I sighed. “I don’t know. There will be hell to pay if he’s not. Feck. There’ll be hell to pay even if he is okay. The boss’ll want revenge.”
“He was kind of badass, though. Never thought Fionn would have the balls to step up.” Fallon shrugged. “Conall did, though.”
“What do ye mean?” I asked, genuinely curious. Even though the topic was serious, it was nice sitting here with him in the quiet, having a conversation as though we were two average blokes...getting ready to inflict pain on their enemy.
“Conall says Fionn has what it takes to follow in Sloan’s footsteps. They’re not friends, but I really think they were starting to get along.” Fallon crossed his arms and closed his eyes, leaning his head back against the wall. “I’m tired.”
I wrapped an arm around his shoulders and dragged him against me. “Sleep some more. Ye need it. We have a while before he’s awake.”
“Mm. Okay. Thanks.” He laid a kiss on my neck, and my stomach went warm.
At some point I fell asleep, too, and by the time I woke upagain, I decided it was the right moment to jolt our new friend. My phone said it was almost half past nine in the morning, and Sloan would want answers soon. When I glanced up at our prisoner, I realized his eyes were already open; although, he was blinking lazily.
I nudged Fallon, and he murmured but opened his eyes. His mouth stretched in a yawn, and then he smiled. We got to our feet.
“I’m going to piss,” Fallon grumbled.
I nodded in acknowledgement.
As I focused on the newly awake Cartel man, Fallon disappeared to the bathroom, leaving me alone with our prisoner. His head lolled forward, like it weighed a thousand pounds. He groaned and pulled at the zip ties, but they held him securely to the chair and there wasn’t a damned thing he could do about it.
My phone chose that moment to buzz in my trousers pocket.
Standing back, I let the Cartel bastard register his surroundings and panic while I checked my messages.
Aspen: How are things in NYC? Are Fallon and Vail behaving?
Damn it to hell. If he knew what was happening, he would demand to come home immediately. I didn’t know if he’d been recalled yet, given everything Sloan had going on, but I hadn’t heard anything from them, so I assumed that they hadn’t been told. Good. The last thing we needed was for Cillian to come riding in like the devil after blood.
Rowen: It’s a bit of a mess. We’ve got issues here with the Cartel.
I chose to be honest, but not overly explanatory.
