Page 39 of The Apprentice
Fionn’s lips twitched into a smirk that made him look even more like Sloan. “I’d like to take a shower. Where are these clothes you mentioned?”
I inhaled as stealthily as I could and headed into the bedroom toward my walk-in closet. I grabbed out the smallest pair of pajama pants I had and a loose black T-shirt, then passed the clothing to Fionn. With a strange sense of dread, I pointed at the door across the room, which led to the en suite. The one where I regularly jerked off to Fionn. “In there. The maid went through this evening, so there should be fresh towels on the rack.”
He sucked his bottom lip between his teeth and gazed at me from under his long lashes, almost as though he was going to ask me to join him. He didn’t say a word, though, and he headed toward the bathroom. He closed the door behind himself and the softclickfinally gave me a chance to breathe.
I turned and rested my forehead against the frame of my closet.Fuck. I was in trouble. Over the years, we’d walked a thin line between pretending our indiscretions hadn’t happened or wordlessly agreeing it meant nothing. At least, that was what I’d thought. But now Fionn was poking a sleeping dragon, hoping to get a reaction, and it might not be the one he was expecting. Jealousy was a nasty beast, and I despised the idea of Scotti’s hands on him.
My interests in Daddy kink had only begun that first night with Fionn, and his desire for me to dominate him had inspired a new need for me. I’d discovered the world outside of vanilla sex through rough, throat squeezing, brutally sweet sex, but I’d never given myself leeway to try different kinks. He’d opened that experience for me, but I wasn’t sure I would ever be ready to take him on as a boy full time. I craved it, of course, but the reasons not to were stacked against us.
Fionn had fallen so beautifully into the role of a bratty boy, and I’d found I wanted it as much as he had. Even the little nudges he gave me were about testing the waters, and I’d reacted the way he needed me to. I’d given him not only compliments, but punishments, too. He wanted to see how farDaddywould let him go, and I gave him boundaries. It was a fun game that tested my strength against the temptation of making Fionn mine and only mine.
I shook my head to shove away the thoughts. I needed to call Sloan, and having a hard-on while I spoke to him because I was thinking about Fionn and the kink we enjoyed wasn’t the best idea. Grabbing my phone out of the pocket of my jeans, I steeled myself for the conversation.
I slipped out of the bedroom and closed the door before I found Sloan’s number and tapped his name. It took three rings before Sloan answered.
“What?” he grumbled.
I cleared my throat. “Sir, we have a situation.”
“What kind?” In the background, I heard Conall mumble something, but Sloan whispered, “It’s fine, pet. Go back to sleep.”
“I went to Bellissimo tonight and Fionn was there.” The silence on the other end of the line was deafening, and I winced. “I extracted him, and he’s here at my penthouse.”
Finally, Sloan’s angry breath noisily came through the phone. “What was he doing there without my permission and without guards?”
“I believe he wanted to get laid.” I massaged my forehead.
“I thought you and he had a thing.”
I winced at the harsh reality of what he may or may not know. Sloan was the boss, but he was also my best friend. Sometimes I felt it was better to be that friend rather than the second-in-command, and this was one of those times. “We don’t. He’s in his twenties. He’s young. What did you do at his age? How many guys did you screw? He deserves to live his life and fuck who he wants.”
“That was different,” Sloan growled.
“How? He’s the heir to the Killough Company and so were you. The risks you took were a lot worse than whatever Fionn’s done.” I stared at one of the photos of the Empire State Building on the wall and tapped the back of my phone lightly with my finger. “Let me teach him about the rounds we do with the dealers.”
“No.” His sharp tone made me wince. “He’s not ready.”
“He is and has been for a long time.” I fell back against the wall and used it to stay upright. My entire body was suddenly tired. I needed sleep. Clubbing was a young man’s game, and I was past the age of partying. Why I’d thought I could keep up with Aodhan, I didn’t know. My brother never had an off switch. “I don’t like questioning you, Sloan. You’re my boss, but you’re also my friend, so I’m going to tell you this. If you don’t let him spread his wings, he won’t ever be ready to take over the Company. He’s not Eoin.” My heart gave a twinge, prompting me to remember that myself. “What we do is dangerous. We can’t ever promise he’ll stay safe, but you chose him as your apprentice, and that means you need to trust him. And trust your men, including me, to protect him.”
He grunted. “Fine. He can stay there and go with you tomorrow.But,if anything happens to him, Daire?—”
“It won’t.” I believed it wholeheartedly, too. “I would die before I let him get hurt.”
“Good. I’ll send some men over tomorrow with a couple of fresh suits for him.”
The call ended, and I pulled the phone away from my ear to look at the screen. I smiled. It was good to know Sloan still trusted my advice, but now what was I going to do with Fionn? We would be spending more time together outside of the bedroom.
“Shit.” I slammed my head back against the wall. I was in deeper trouble than before.
8
FIONN
I closed my eyes and leaned into the hot water pounding over my face and neck, sighing in delight. I didn’t need another shower tonight, but I’d used it as an opportunity to get away from Daire andthinkabout what had happened. When Sloan found out about Daire carrying me out of Bellissimo over his shoulder—and hewouldfind out—he would be pissed. Which meant I needed a way to spin tonight’s mess in a positive light.
But that wasn’t the focal point of my thoughts right now—Daire was. Yet again, my desire for more than fucking had been rejected, and I was made to feel like a child playing in an adult’s game, which both frustrated and angered me. I was twenty-six. Before Conall had come along, I’d been well on my way to learning about running the Company. I helped Sloan control the ports and deal with the rogue Italians. My uncle had used me for accounting and trusted me, but all that came to a halt the moment Sloan got his new pet. I was forgotten, left to watch from the sidelines.
Daire? He acted as though I was a nuisance. If that were the case, then I was done with the flirting and fucking and waitingfor Daire to come to his senses. I deserved better. I deserved someone like Michele, who looked at me as though I’d built the entire world in a day.
