Page 98 of Sweet Vengeance
Cillian
When Ollie walksby, I wrap an arm around his waist and pull him to my lap. He comes easily, and I tighten my hold on him, nuzzling his neck. “I missed you,” I say.
He was at the library, studying with Aislin. He just got home, and now he has to leave for work in an hour.
“I missed you too.” He slides his arm around my shoulders, sitting sideways on my thighs. Rory is on the other end of the couch, Dean and Tiernan each in chairs, the bong on the coffee table between us.
The first time he’d seen Rory after our night together, Ollie had been a little shy, but then Rory just threw his arm around Ollie’s shoulders and told him he needed help studying for an exam, and everything was fine.
I’d had school earlier today, then met up with Flynn, one of our guys, who Conan sent down with more drugs for us.
“You can always do some of your schoolwork at the restaurant, and then when I have breaks, I can come out and see you.”
“Oh, can I?” I tease. School doesn’t sound fun, but seeing him does. Also, being with Ollie makes me want to try more while I’m at college. When I think about how hard he had to work to get here and how important it is to him, it makes mefeel bad that I don’t take my education more seriously. All I had to do was be an O’Shea to get in, which is also what keeps me here. I never had to work for it, never have to worry about money or scholarships the way Ollie and so many others do. And I do so many things he can’t be proud of, I want to try and find a way to do more things that hecanbe.
“Sure. I’ll do that. I have an exam right before Thanksgiving break that I should study for.”
He looks at me all wide-eyed and innocent.
“What? I study.”
“When?”
“When you make me.” I pump my brows. “I’ll get better about that, though. I promise.”
“You two are so fucking sappy,” Dean says, cracking the wall of our little world.
“Would you rather I sit here sucking on his neck, marking him all up in front of everyone?” That’s always been Dean and Tiernan’s thing.
“It makes more sense to me,” Tiernan says.
“Sorry, not all of us are as emotionally stunted as the two of you,” I tease.
“Boys, boys. Simmer down. No fighting.” Rory looks at Ollie. “I’m the peacekeeper.”
Hearing that makes everyone in the room dissolve into laughter. Rory loves him some drama.
When we settle down, Ollie says, “I’m pretty sure I’m the peacekeeper in the mini-mob house. You guys are a lot calmer with me in the mix.”
I tense beneath him, not because I don’t like what he said, but because Ido—because Ollie just made himself a part of us, spoke as though he’s part of the core that is us. And he is now. Just like Tiernan said, he’s mine, which makes him theirs, but Ollie has never said that. I don’t know if he sees it, feels it,knows what it means to be a part of us and not just me…and, well, in his own way, Rory. Ollie’s accepted us, and he and Dean have their own relationship, but he’s never included himself with anything when it comes to Tiernan. Hell, I’m not sure if he likes T at all.
I hope he will eventually learn to love Tiernan because there is no one better to have in your corner, but I would never push that on Ollie. I already ask too much of him.
“Wait…did you just call us the fucking mini mob?” Tiernan raises his brow.
He’s said it in front of me and Rory, but apparently not Tiernan.
“Who the fuck said you can call us that?” Tiernan adds.
“T,” I say in a warning voice.
Ollie sits up straighter on my lap. “Me. Do you have a problem with it?”
Oh fuck. Tiernan has to know this is a joke, but he also isn’t used to being spoken to like this.
“Tiernan.” I use his full name this time, making sure he can tell by my tone that he’s not getting pissed at Ollie. If he does, we’re going to have a problem. “He didn’t mean any disrespect.”
Tiernan ignores me, the rest of the room silent around us.
