Chapter 2
2
FIONN
My heart thumped under the hand I’d placed on my chest, a sturdy beat that reminded me of a song Dad once sang to me as a kid. I didn’t remember the lyrics anymore, but I knew the tune, and it seemed like the muscle in my chest did as well.
Thump. Thump. Thump.
Steady. Strong. Fast.
I was nervous. Why? Daire and I had fucked plenty of times, and once we were finished, he left without a word. There were no lingering kisses or promises of something more. He’d made it clear when we’d first begun this—it was purely sex.
He didn’t want a relationship .
What was so wrong with me that he couldn’t stand the idea of dating me? That was the question I pushed out of my head. In the end, it didn’t matter because he’d made his choice, and I wasn’t it. I was only good enough to fuck.
A knock made me straighten from where I stood near the wide square window in my bedroom. Taking a deep breath, I centered myself before I headed toward the door. I turned the knob and opened it to find Daire on the other side, his broad shoulders taking up the threshold. He was still dressed in his black suit, but his tie was missing and a few buttons were undone around his neck.
He didn’t smile or say a word as he walked forward. I matched his steps by backing away, and he shut the door with a sharp click that echoed around the room. My heart resumed its strange beating, and my breath caught in my throat as he moved into my personal space. Once the back of my knees hit the edge of the bed, I had nowhere to go, but I didn’t want to escape.
The thing about having sex with Daire was that he didn’t speak a lot. Other than “yes, boy,” dirty talk, compliments, and blunt directions, he hardly said anything. I’d been fine with that before because I could have him , but now the missing words were weighing on my soul. I needed more . I didn’t want to be merely a body for him to come inside of; I dreamed of being his partner.
“Daire—”
He grabbed my face between his large hands and slammed his mouth against mine. I gasped into his rough kiss, and he shoved his tongue between my lips, tasting me in a way that I could only describe as starving. Only I could sate his desires.
I moaned into the hard press of his mouth and sucked on his tongue. My eyes slipped closed and I curled my arms around his broad shoulders, dragging him closer to me until we were chest to chest. The strong leather smell of his cologne tickled my nose, and I couldn’t get enough. Everything about him was an addiction, and I was his faithful junkie.
“Strip, then get me naked, boy,” he growled into my ear between the kisses he trailed over my cheek and down my jaw.
I groaned and got rid of my suit as quickly as I could. There wasn’t any finesse to the way I ripped my clothes off, too impatient about getting my hands on him. As soon as I was bare, my fingers went to the top button of his dress shirt, tugging at it desperately. One button after another slipped through their holes, revealing inked skin to my ravenous gaze. My mouth watered as the tattoos he hid beneath his clothes came into view.
With a shirt on, Daire was stunning, a man who looked put together and responsible. Without a shirt, though, Daire was a force to be reckoned with.
Weaving ink stretched across his chest, down his arms, and over his back. Celtic markings he’d chosen purposely for one reason or another told stories in the form of black lines, joined together by body art. The tattoos were all expertly hidden beneath his clothes, and nearly everyone—except me—was completely unaware of them. This was one secret that Daire allowed me to know.
Fuck, he was always so fucking beautiful. I remembered the first time I’d seen them, back when I was about nineteen or so. Daire had taken a long vacation for five months, and while I’d never asked where he’d gone, Sloan had him on a secret assignment. When he’d come back, the moment we were alone, I’d practically mauled him.
Eight Years Ago
Getting Daire out of his suit had been my main priority. I was greedy for him, and my hole ached with emptiness. Five months was way too long, and I needed him to fuck me until I saw stars.
But the moment I got him out of his suit, I froze. The entirety of his chest was no longer a blank canvas for my teeth and tongue to map. No. Now his skin was inked from his stomach to his collarbones to his arms.
The tattoos were numerous and didn’t have an ounce of bright color but were artfully done. Celtic knots intertwined their way across his skin like maps, and they were joined by shamrocks, guns, two dogs that looked a lot like Dobermans on either side of his ribs, and in the center of his chest was the claddagh symbol—a heart with a crown and two hands reaching for it. The claddagh represented love, loyalty, and friendship, and the design of the ink left me breathless.
“You have tattoos,” I stated rather obviously. “When did you get tattoos? You didn’t have them before you left.”
Daire glanced down at his chest in surprise, as if realizing they were there for the first time, and I chuckled. When he looked up at me again, he smiled. “I got one about a week after I went on vacation.”
Vacation? I snorted.
“It was a random thing.” He twisted his body, muscles rippling with the movement, and he tapped a heart-shaped Celtic knot on his hip.
I ate up the sight of the inked flesh. The last time I’d gotten a shirtless view of Daire like this, he had fucked me into the bed before he left.
“I developed a taste for tattoos.” He shrugged. “I ended up doing my entire chest, arms, and back. I made sure the suit could cover it because Sloan isn’t a fan of them, as you know.”
I reached out a hand carefully, as though I was about to touch a wild animal. His shoulders tensed, but he didn’t move. My fingers gently trailed over his chest.
“Can I see your back? Please?” My voice was barely audible in the silence, but it was loud enough that I could hear it tremble.
“You’re the future of the Company. You don’t need to ask.” He tilted his chin.
“I’m not going to order you, Daddy . You’re not a regular soldier. You’re our second-in-command. So, I’m asking you. Can I see it?”
I was close enough that I could feel his breath tickle my cheek. I should back away and let him fuck me like every other time.
Emotionless.
Hungry.
Desperate.
I couldn’t make my limbs move. When Daire slowly turned, I devoured him with my eyes, taking in every line of ink that covered his upper body. The artwork was flawless, and the knots fit him perfectly, especially the claddagh symbol across his chest.
But the tattoos on his back were even more spectacular, making me suck in a surprised breath. Across the expanse of his shoulders and down his spine was a magnificent Celtic cross with the triquetra—the trinity knot—embedded into the weaving lines. Around the cross were more intricate images, including one that looked like a tear in his skin, showing off the back of his ribs and heart.
I wanted to ask him what each one meant, but I couldn’t string two words together. My tongue felt heavy, and all I could do was reach out and trace the lines in Daire’s cross, my heart thumping painfully in my throat. I caressed along the black knots, and he tensed, muscles going hard under my touch. The air in the room thickened, and I found it hard to breathe. I licked my dry lips and scratched my fingers over warm skin.
A shudder went through him, and I froze, terrified that I would scare him off, which was crazy because he was no wuss. Except, when it came to me, Daire seemed to shy away like he was allergic. Our interactions were push and pull, and it was beginning to make a nervous energy rise inside me.
Regardless of the tension, I didn’t move away. I stroked across his shoulders, my fingers shaking. I took deep breaths, calming my racing heart. My stomach turned to knots similar to the complex ones in his tattoos. I bit down hard on my bottom lip to stop myself from doing something stupid—like laying my mouth on Daire’s back in an intimate kiss instead.
I stroked lower, following the outline of the Celtic cross until I got to the base of his spine, close to the upper curves of his ass, and that was when he finally stepped away and turned to look at me.
An awkwardness settled between us as my gaze dropped to the front of Daire’s stomach where his belt kept his pants on his hips, and Daire pursed his mouth. His eyes darkened and his upper lip curled, and there was an animalistic urge dancing in his stare that made me want to shout, “Fucking kiss me!”
“Come here, boy,” he growled.
I focused on the present.
Daire raised his eyebrows at me. “Are you going to do something or just stare at me, boy?” His voice deepened, an edge of lust and need scraping up from his throat, and I shivered with the sound. I was Pavlov’s dog reacting to the ting of Daire’s bell.
An embarrassing mewl slipped from my mouth, and I flushed, heat flooding my cheeks. Laughing awkwardly when Daire smirked, I focused on his chest once all the buttons were undone. I danced my fingers over his pecs and down his stomach, not quite tracing the ink, but reveling in the feel of his skin.
When I reached his belt, I went to work on unbuckling it, then yanking the leather out of the loops of his pants. I threw it behind me, unconcerned where it landed, and glanced up at him from beneath my lashes. He gave me a small nod of approval, and a sharp blast of electricity skittered through my body to land straight in my balls.
Unbuttoning his pants took a few tries, since I’d began to shake in excitement. It didn’t matter how many times I slept with him, I always looked forward to the next, my insides an explosion of fervor from just being around him, let alone undressing his sculpted body until he was naked for my eyes to feast on. He was a Greek god, all rippling muscles, and it felt as though simply staring at him was similar to looking at the sun. Gazing at him wasn’t good for me, but I couldn’t tear my eyes away. I didn’t want to stop, and if that meant endangering my health, I’d take that risk.
Daire was worth it.
I fell to my knees on the floor. First, I maneuvered his shoes and socks off, not interested in the pieces of clothing getting in my way, before I yanked down his pants. Next came his underwear. When I had him gloriously naked, I stared up at the planes of his body, from his thick thighs grazed with hair, to his cock that stood proudly out from gray-infused brown trimmed pubes, to the ridges of his inked stomach and chest, and finally, up to his strong chin and the dark eyes staring down at me.
He didn’t say a word, but he didn’t need to. I itched to please him, to do whatever I could to get praise from him. Like every other time we found ourselves in this position, I did what I wanted.
I touched him.
Brushing my thumbs over his hip bones, I leaned my cheek against his thigh and inhaled. The muskiness of his natural scent invaded my nostrils as hair tickled my skin.
“I love your body, Daddy,” I murmured, falling into the roles we’d been playing since the first time we’d had sex. It came naturally to call Daire my Daddy. No one outside of this room knew the truth, how our relationship came to be, and I didn’t think they ever would.
Daire carded his fingers through my hair, nails scraping over my scalp, and I moaned. I leaned my head back as my eyes slipped closed. The pleasurable sensations teased their way down my spine and through my stomach, landing straight in my balls. All it took was one small touch, and I was putty beneath Daddy Daire. He could do anything to me, and I’d thank him for it without a second thought.
“What do you want me to do, Daddy?” I peeked up at him from beneath my eyelashes. All the responsibilities of the outside world were gone, nothing more than a forgotten memory buried deep in the recesses of my mind while I was in this room with Daire. He had control, and I yearned to hear him say how proud of me he was, like he always did when we were alone. Compliments were my drug, and he was my dealer.
He smoothed his hand down my cheek, and I closed my eyes, leaning into his soft touch. His fingers were rough but gentle at the same time, as if he was caught between the urge to dominate me or take care of me. Though, a Daddy did both. I’d read up a lot about the kink after our first time. I hadn’t expected the words Daddy Daire to slip from between my lips unprovoked, but once they had, everything felt right.
I was his boy, and he was Daddy.
He brushed his thumb over my bottom lip, and I moaned, opening my mouth so he could press the flat pad against my tongue. I wrapped my lips around his finger and sucked, humming with pleasure as I imagined it was his dick instead.
“Fuck. You’re so beautiful, boy. So good for me.”
My stomach clenched and my dick throbbed. I groaned around his digit when he slipped in two more—his pointer and middle finger—and pushed them into the back of my mouth until my gag reflex kicked in, then withdrew them.
“What do you need from me , boy?” He yanked me to my feet and leaned down to kiss across my jaw, and I tilted my head back to give him access.
“Make me forget,” I murmured, a quiver of excitement sliding down my spine and settling at the base. I hungered to reach out and touch him, but I wasn’t in charge inside this room.
“Sit on the edge of the bed,” he growled out in a low, dangerous tone that had goose bumps erupting across my skin. “I want you to suck my cock.”
I moaned at the words and shoved backward to sit my ass on the mattress as he’d instructed. My cock leaked, the precum building up at my slit, but I didn’t dare touch it.
He watched me, eyes hungry as he skated his gaze down the length of my body, stopping to appreciate my dripping cock. Humming, he stepped in closer, and my breath caught in my throat. He curled his fingers around my cockhead, and I reacted on impulse, jerking up toward him with a low whimper.
“Daddy.” I closed my eyes and trembled. A mere touch from him, and I was a shaking mess. How fucking embarrassing.
He tightened his hold and squeezed the sensitive tip, and I rolled my hips up toward him again. “Does that feel good?”
I moaned in answer and resisted the urge to close my eyes. Licking my lips as pleasure stoked the fire inside my belly, I stared at him and gave him a nod. “Yes, Daddy Daire.”
“You’re so pretty , boy. I’ve never met anyone as pretty as you.” Daire dipped forward and swiped his tongue over my neck before nibbling beneath my jaw, releasing his hold on me.
I whimpered. “Thank you, Daddy.”
He hummed and shifted away. With a hand wrapped around his cock, he waved his shaft at me. “Suck.”
I grabbed his hips and dragged him closer. Tilting my head, I darted my tongue out to lick a stripe across his slit. He hissed, the sound igniting a fire in my belly. Beyond his compliments, I thirsted for the sounds that left him when I made him happy. His deep-throated growls and moans fueled my passion and need for him.
The head of his cock slid into my mouth, and I sucked on it gently, raising my gaze to watch the pleasure cross his face. I wrapped my hand around the base of his thick shaft and took more of him between my lips. The salty taste of his skin danced across my tongue, and I whimpered, the need to satisfy and get him inside me burning hot in my chest. He could ask anything of me, and I’d do it, if only for him to tell me what a good boy I’d been.
He slid his fingers into my hair and tugged at the strands with enough force to create a sharp sting on my scalp. A spike of lust blasted down my spine and I trembled. Fuck, this was perfect. I couldn’t get enough of my Daddy, even if he wanted it to only be sex. I’d take anything and everything he’d give me, despite my craving for more. Right now, the only things that mattered were his cock in my mouth, his hand in my hair, and the sweet words of praise.
“Fuck, boy, you’ve got the warmest mouth. So fucking good.”
I mewled around his hardness and started a slow bob up and down the length of his cock. I sucked with enthusiasm, pressing my lips as firmly as I could around him.
He groaned, grip tightening in my hair. “Fuck, boy, you’re so good at this. Remember when I first taught you how to do it?” Daire’s voice took on a dark edge, deep and hungry in a way that had my cock jerking and a stream of precum sliding down the tip. “You’re a quick study.”
I made a happy sound and twisted my wrist, creating friction with the base of his shaft. He thrust, burying his cock deeper into my mouth and triggering my gag reflex. My throat constricted, and I exhaled heavily through my nose, pushing as much air out as I could so I didn’t choke. I wanted him to stay inside me, needed it more than anything else.
“Good boy.” He stroked his fingers down my temple and across my cheek. “You’re so beautiful like this, taking my cock down your throat.”
I removed my hand and lowered my mouth farther onto his cock until my nose was pressed into his pubes. My throat worked around his thick shaft as I swallowed, and he groaned, tugging my hair harder.
“Fuck, boy, if you keep going, this won’t last long.”
I moaned, pleased I had him veering toward an orgasm, but it quickly turned into a sigh of disappointment when he moved away, taking his gloriously thick cock with him. Panting, I stared up at him as I licked my lips. “I wasn’t done, Daddy.”
“I know, boy.” He thumbed my chin and the corner of his mouth curled. “But I want to get into that pretty hole of yours. Get onto the middle of the bed like the good boy you are.”
I jumped to my feet so fast that I nearly lost my balance. I crawled to the center of the mattress and fell onto my stomach exactly how I knew Daire wanted me. He always loved it when his chest was to my back, and I did, too, because that position meant he drilled straight against my prostate.
Daire opened the bottom drawer of my nightstand and threw the bottle of lube and a condom onto the mattress beside me. He knew where all the essentials were because we’d fucked a lot in my room.
He slid onto the bed and sat on his knees behind me before he slapped me hard on the ass. The sharp sting reverberated through me and pleasure coiled in my balls.
I gasped and rocked my hips forward, rubbing my throbbing cock against the soft bedding.
He smoothed his hand across my asscheek and grasped my meaty flesh, squeezing with a firm grip.
“Daddy Daire,” I moaned out, rocking back toward his touch. “Daddy.”
“What do you want, boy? What can I do for you?” He swooped down to place a kiss on my left cheek, then the right, and I spread my legs farther, giving him as much access as he wanted to my hole.
“You. I need you to fuck me. Please . Daddy, I’ve been so good. I promise.”
He hummed and spread me wider before his tongue was at my hole, licking delicately with a teasing curl that had my back arching. “So good, boy. I’m so proud of you.”
I shuddered under his compliments and sobbed into the mattress. “Thank you, Daddy.”
He pressed his face between my cheeks and stuck his tongue in my hole, working me open with precise, slow movements. Daire sucked at my ring, and I groaned, caught between pushing my ass back against his mouth and trying to wriggle away from his tongue because of the sensitivity.
“Please, Daddy.” My words came out garbled, and I wasn’t sure if he could make out what I’d said because the only response I received was a sharp slap to my asscheek. “Oh God.”
“God’s not here to save you, boy,” Daire said between licks to my hole. “But Daddy will take care of you.”
I believed him, too. I trusted Daire with my life.
The sound of a pumping bottle had me stiffening, then relaxing. He usually didn’t finger me much because I didn’t mind the sting of the stretch, so when one finger joined with his tongue, I relaxed under the intrusion. I spread my legs wider and pushed up onto my knees, hiking my ass higher to give him better access, and he used it to his advantage, delving his tongue in deeper.
“Daddy, please,” I whined out.
Daire slapped my ass before his tongue and finger disappeared from my hole. The pumping of the lube and a condom packet ripping open met my ears before something wider pressed against my opening, and it was exactly what I wanted and needed. His cock. The head pushed in, stretching me open with a delicious bite of pain.
He laid his hand on the middle of my back, pushing my chest deeper into the bed as he slid inside me too slowly. I whimpered, bucking toward him so he glided balls deep in with one swift movement, causing us both to groan.
“You’re so tight, boy.” Daire blanketed me with his body, chest against my back, his arms wrapped around me in a tight hug that pressed his cock even deeper.
Home . That’s what Daire felt like. Sloan was my uncle, but Daire was the only one who’d ever made me feel like I was worth something. He didn’t baby me, but he told me when I was doing well, praised me when I deserved it.
He was a true Daddy.
Daire’s lips met my shoulder and he sucked a bruise into my skin, deep and satisfying in a pleasurable pain that had me rocking back against him.
“Daddy.” My fingers curled in the bedsheets, and I gripped them tightly, electric currents of lust shooting through me and making my limbs ache. I shivered, fighting the urge to roll my hips and begging him to move. I gave in and did exactly that.
“Shh, boy.” He trailed kisses over my shoulders and licked across the back of my neck. “Patience.”
I whimpered and tilted my ass up farther. “Please, Daddy. I need you. Please move.”
He laughed hotly into my ear and sucked the top of it into his mouth. His cock was heavy in my hole, thick and warm, and his body was the same as it covered mine.
Every touch that came from him was magnetic, and I was drawn into his presence the same as a pyromaniac to fire. Would he burn me? If he did, I’d let it happen.
Finally, he sat back on his knees and began a gentle pace. His cock slid in and out of my hole with the rock of his hips, and his hands clasped my waist, holding me still. The stretch and pressure of his shaft created an addicting friction, and my world centered on the feeling of my Daddy inside me, opening me up for our pleasure.
I threw my head back, and as if shifting on instinct, his hand wrapped around my neck, squeezing. I moaned and pursed my lips, and he tilted his head to press his mouth to mine. We kissed hungrily as his thrusts intensified. The gentle rocking was replaced with a hard punch of his hips against mine, his balls slapping my skin and his cock driving home.
The moment he pegged my prostate, my world turned on its axis, and a carnality assaulted me. I shouted, and he removed his hand from my neck to slap it over my mouth. I nibbled the skin on his palm and moaned again when he continued to hammer at my most sensitive spot.
“So good for me, boy. Look at you, Fionn, so fucking beautiful with your back arched and your ass in the air.” He slammed forward, the head of his cock beating my prostate again. “Do you feel that? My hard cock inside you. That’s what you do to me. You’re so fucking sexy, boy.”
His words came with a soft sentiment, and it took all my effort not to fall prey to them. He didn’t mean it. I was nothing more than a hole he used and abused before he left when the act was done. He played a role, and I’d started this all those years ago. I’d tempted him and given him a free meal—me.
The hand covering my mouth went to my hip, and his fingers dug into the crevice near my hip bone, nails biting my flesh and marking me as his.
“So pretty, boy. I wish you could see your hole swallowing my cock.”
I shuddered at the praise mixed in with the dirty talk and opened my hand to spit on my palm. Unsteadily, I reached under my body to wrap my fist around my cock. I rocked back to meet his thrusts, the low thrumming pleasure building up in my balls. My orgasm tickled my sack, teasing how close I was to erupting.
“Daddy Daire, please come in me. Please . I’m being a good boy for you.” I reached behind me with the hand not jerking my cock and grabbed one of my asscheeks, tugging it to open myself more for him. “Give it to me. I need it.”
“You have been good, haven’t you?” He kissed across my shoulders again and paused to bruise the back of my neck with a sharp bite, and I hissed. “Show me how much you want it. Come for me first. Squeeze that tight little hole around Daddy’s cock. Milk what you want from me.”
“Yes, Daddy Daire. I’ll do anything for you. Anything.”
I was so close already. Tightening my grip on my cock, I rolled my ass back to meet his thrusts as I began to stroke myself faster. Intense heat exploded inside me as my orgasm hit hard. My balls tightened and I squeezed my hole as cum shot from my slit and splattered across the bed beneath me.
His grip on my hip tightened and he thrust roughly inside, his ball sack smacking against mine. We moaned simultaneously, and he stilled, a low growl vibrating from his throat as the condom filled up in me.
I wished I could feel the heat of his cum, but we never had sex with the rubber.
“Thank you, Daddy. Thank you.” I gripped the sheets and sobbed into them as he smoothed a hand along my back and swooped down to place a kiss on my shoulder.
“You’re a good boy, Fionn. You made me proud.”
I shuddered, and while I wish I could blame it on him sliding out of me, I knew it was because of his words.
Proud .
I fucking loved that word, especially coming from Daire.
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, I couldn’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 he needs you 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.
After a few quick seconds, I remembered the date. I blinked at Donal, a sadness overtaking me as I gave him a sympathetic smile. “It’s been nine years since Carolina passed, hasn’t it?”
He startled, his eyes widening. “You remember?”
I nodded very seriously. It was hard to forget. I hadn’t known Donal’s daughter well because we’d never been friends , per se, but she’d always been special to him. She’d died of a drug overdose, and it’d changed Donal in a lot of ways. Even now, around his constant joy, there was a haunted look in his eyes.
“I’m sorry.”
The corners of his lips tipped upward, and he patted me on the cheek gently. “Thank you, Fionn. It means a lot. Now, I’ve got business to attend to. If I was you, I’d head upstairs before anyone else comes in.”
I nodded. “It was nice to see you, Don.”
His entire face softened. “You too, Fionn.”
Then, he left, and I watched him go. He was right. If I didn’t get upstairs soon, others would come in and gossip about me, and I didn’t want that. I’d talk to Daire later.