He fell onto the bed beside me, chest rising and falling in harsh pants. I sat back on my knees, and then my ass, staring at him carefully as he ripped off the condom and tied it up, before throwing it into the trash can beside my bed. A need rose inside me, but it wasn’t a physical necessity like it had been a few moments ago. There was a deeper feeling, an emotional desire for connection with him. We’d been doing this for eight years now, since my eighteenth birthday party.
“Daddy Daire, do you think we could ever?—”
“I need to go.” Daire rose and slipped out of bed with the ease that only a confident man possessed, or one who was fleeing from a question he didn’t want to answer. He always found the opportune moment to leave, to run for the hills before I could ask for more.
He dressed.
I watched him, not quite sure what I felt or if I could keep doing this. How much longer would I let him use me if this wasn’t going to go any further?
Pain etched a chaotic imprint on my heart, along with all the others left by the people who lacked the will to love me the way I needed them to.
I crawled across the bed to get to my feet and grabbed my pants, tugging them on without underwear. Daire didn’t say a word as I grabbed my shirt and shoved my arms through the sleeves. I wasn’t going to do this, Icouldn’t. If he wanted me, he needed to have a discussion with me.
Opening my mouth to say the words out loud, I froze when Daire’s phone rang. I stared at him as he answered.
“Daire speaking.” He paused, then hummed. “I’m here now. Yeah. I’ll be right down.” He ended the call and glanced at me, eyes shining like he wanted to say something before he shook his head. “I need to go. Sloan called a meeting about Reyes.”
“Why wasn’t I invited?” I tried and failed to keep the irritation out of my tone.
Usually, Sloan came to find me first and told me he was calling a meeting.
Daire sighed. “It’s about Reyes, Fionn. You know how your uncle gets about that. He only calls you in when heneedsyou to be there. He’s keeping you mostly out of the Reyes business.”
“Why?” The question came out like a demand, and I winced when he gave me a sharp look.
“Reyes is dangerous.”
“And I’m Uncle Sloan’s apprentice. I need to understand what’s happening.” I shrugged, keeping my composure. If Sloan didn’t think I could contain my emotions, I would prove him wrong.
“This is different.” He glanced toward the door, mouth twitching like it did whenever we talked about Reyes. I didn’t know what Reyes had done specifically, but I’d always had a feeling it was deeper than a rivalry. Daire’s gaze returned to me for a moment before he slipped past me and out the door.
I followed because I was a sucker for punishment. I didn’t care that my shirt was still unbuttoned or that I was a mess. I raced down the stairs after him and stopped at the bottom when Donal McMahon came through the door. He was one of Sloan’s lieutenants and had worked for the Company for a long time. He’d been my grandfather’s best friend, too.
“Donal.” I grinned despite my anger at Daire, who’d turned to walk down the hallway toward the meeting room. “You’re here, too.”
Donal was a short man with thick white hair, sharp gray eyes, and a permanent grin. He was somewhere in his early seventies and was probably one of the only men who didn’t treat me like a child.
“Hey, boyo.” His thick Irish brogue made me smile as the familiarity of childhood created a warm cocoon around me. He’d been in my life since the moment I was born.
“You’ve been invited to the meeting?” I closed the distance between us.
He nodded seriously and offered me a sympathetic smile, as if he already knew I wasn’t allowed to go. “Serious business. The Reyes Cartel again.”
I groaned and rubbed my eyes. “Sloan doesn’t trust me with this.”
Donal made a sound that I couldn’t interpret. He gripped my shoulder firmly. “This isn’t on you, Fionn. Reyes is different.”
“How? Sloan lets me in on meetings when he needs all hands on deck.”
“Yes, but he has his reasons.” He eyed me carefully and the smile turned more mischievous as he perused my messy appearance. “Have fun?”
My cheeks turned hot and I groaned. “I.... Yeah. I suppose.”
“I’m not even going to ask.” He laughed, loud and booming, and I couldn’t help but grin back at him. That was the thing about Donal—he didn’t belittle me in his amusement.
“I’d rather you didn’t mention this to my uncle, either?” I chuckled and glanced down at myself and my open shirt.
Donal made a zipping gesture over his mouth. “My lips are sealed.” He patted me on the shoulder and winked.
