Sloan laughed, chest rumbling deeply.
“You don’t need to worry,” Terrance said.
Conall frowned into Sloan’s chest. He’d just turned around to see Terrance snatch the gun from Byrnes and raise it to their mum’s head. Conall didn’t move, his breath caught in his chest.
Terrance’s stare drilled into Conall, green eyes dark with fury. “She’s just like him, Conall. No good. She doesn’t deserve your mercy.”
Conall knew the shot was coming, but that didn’t stop him from flinching when Terrance pulled the trigger. Their mum’s head reared back, the hole in her head still smoking. Her wide, terrified eyes made bile sit in Conall’s mouth.
Terrance handed the gun back to Byrnes and rolled his shoulders. “Merry Christmas, boss.” He left out the same door they had entered and Conall watched it until Terrance was long gone.
“Pet?” Sloan grabbed his shoulders and slowly turned him. “Are you okay?”
“Yeah….” Surprisingly, he was. Something hollow sat in his chest, but he wasn’t mad at Terrance, and he wasn’t sad that she was gone now. He’d never planned on finding her again, anyway. Conall smiled and kissed Sloan. “Thank you.”
Sloan traced his temple and down his face with his fingers. “You’re welcome, pet.”
“How did you find her?”
“It wasn’t easy. I paid some men to ask questions around New York City. It took them about two months to find a lead. I thought it would be a nice Christmas present,” Sloan said.
“It was.” He glanced back at his mother’s body. Byrnes and another guard were already in the process of cleaning the mess and still, Conall felt nothing. No, that was a lie. Hedidfeel something. This strange sense of relief settled inside him. The other person who raised him, the other person who’d betrayed him, was dead. He didn’t have to worry about thoughts of where she might be in the back of his head anymore. He smiled. “Can I give you my present?”
Sloan raised an eyebrow. “Of course.”
“It’s not as amazing as what you’ve done for me.” He hated how hot his cheeks got as he passed Sloan the box, wrapped in red Christmas paper and a green bow. “Actually, it’s stupid.”
“Nothing from you would ever be stupid, pet.” Sloan tugged at the bow and it came undone easily. When Sloan ripped the paper, Conall’s heart sped up, battering his ribs so hard he thought it would break them. When Sloan opened the lid, breathing got hard for Conall and he forced the air out of his nose and mouth. Then Sloan smiled and raised the keyring with a photo of Conall in it.
“You said you had me for Christmas and that’s all that mattered. So I thought you could take me everywhere with you, even when I’m not there.” Conall laughed and embarrassment flooded his cheeks. “It was stupid and—”
Sloan grasped the back of his neck and dragged him into a passion fueled kiss that made Conall’s knees shudder and nearly give out. Every one of his senses exploded and the room grew quiet around him as he focused solely on the man in front of him.
Conall curled his arms around Sloan’s neck and groaned, getting in as close as he could. The weight of Sloan’s hands—one of his neck, the other on his hip—soothed Conall, made him feel good, and blood rushed straight to his neglected cock.
Conall broke the kiss and sucked in much needed air. “Sir….”
“Yes, pet?” Sloan smirked. He knew exactly what Conall wanted.
“Please. I’m sorry for acting like an arse, it won’t happen again. Please fuck me.” He licked his lips and shifted in close so his mouth hovered over Sloan’s. “Please let me come with you.”
“Hm.” Sloan petted his cheek and dipped his thumb in Conall’s mouth and, like a good pet, Conall sucked and nibbled on it. “I’ll accept your apology, pet.”
“Yeah?” Conall grinned and nipped at Sloan’s thumb harder.
“Come with me, pet. Let’s go somewhere private.”
Sloan had never cared about privacy before, but something occurred to Conall. What they were about to do wasn’t about power or desire or proving something. They weren’t going to fuck and get off. What Conall and Sloan were about to do was deeper than that. It was about Conall showing his boss his vulnerabilities and the thought about doing that in private, for only Sloan’s eyes, excited Conall.
Heneededto please his boss.
Chapter Eight
Sloan owned Conall. He knew it by the way Conall submitted beneath his touches and how he begged with tiny whimpers as Sloan fucked his mouth with his tongue. As hard as Conall tried to act tough, as though invincible to words, he was nothing more than a dog looking to appease his master—and Sloan was that master.
“Tell me what you want,” Sloan murmured against Conall’s lips after he’d devoured that mouth until Conall’s knees collapsed beneath him and Sloan had thrown him on the bed. Now with Conall’s back on the mattress, and Sloan above him, they had skin against skin. They’d discarded their clothing as soon as they got into the room and the only pieces of material that separated them were underwear.
Conall’s hard cock leaked in his green boxer briefs, leaving a wet spot that made Sloan want to lick and taste the salty precum. He didn’t. Focusing solely on Conall, Sloan stroked his cheek and along his jaw, and he made his pet preen. “You. Please. I need you.”
