Page 53 of The Apprentice
I cringed. “No offense, but I don’t want to hear about my uncle fucking you. I see it enough as it is.”
He laughed and waved his hand. “Understood. So, you flirted to get his attention.”
“Yeah. Iwaseighteen when we started it.”
Conall made a disinterested sound. “Not judging, if that’s what you think. As long as you were an adult, I don’t care.”
“Anyway.” I sighed. “We had sex at my party and it was fucking awesome.”
“Did you just swear?” Conall’s mouth curled into a large grin and he raised his eyebrows. “The icy Mr. Fionn Killough swore.”
I rolled my eyes. “Conall, concentrate.”
“Right. Sorry.” He slid off the windowsill and came to sit on the other chair near me. He leaned his elbow on the arm. “Continue. You have my full attention.”
I pressed my tongue to the top of my mouth as I thought about what else to say without sounding like a lovesick fool, but nothing I could think of made me sound any more mature. “He left before I woke up, but we stillhad sex. It became a thing, and it’s nice. But I want more. Why can’t we have a relationship? Why doesn’t he want me? He keeps holding back. It’s not even him teasing me at this point, it’s him leading me on and using me.” The frustration poured out with my words, and my hands moved on their own, swinging around in front of my face as I spoke. “It’s infuriating. And I’m stupid because I keep hanging on to his every word and waiting for us tobesomething, but he acts like he doesn’t want it. He just... . Ugh. I’m a hole to him, and I’m tired of being a puppy who follows him around.”
By the time I was done, my chest heaved, and I fell back against the seat with a groan. I covered my face with my hands.
“Wow.” Conall whistled. “And at the club?”
I laughed at the ridiculousness of what happened now that Conall asked. “Michele flirted with me. Daire showed up and he didn’t like it. He said that I shouldn’t have been there without guards. He picked me up and threw me over his shoulder and walked out of there as if he owned me. It was ridiculous and stupid and annoying and really fucking hot.” My chest rose and fell fast and my cheeks burned warmer.
Conall’s mouth quirked. “Mm-hmm. So, what you’re saying is that you really enjoyed him being possessive.”
I nodded, not sure what else to do. I clutched my phone even tighter.
“And now you’re sick of his shit, so you’re going to get with Michele?” he asked.
Again, I nodded.
“Interesting.” His grin transformed into a smirk that reminded me of my uncle. “Do it. Go out with Michele. Flirt with him. Fuck him if you want. If you aren’t exclusive, you have that right. Make Daire realize what he missed out on.”
“That isn’t... childish?” I winced. “Because Sloan always says I act childish.”
He snorted. “You’re what? Twenty-five?”
I opened my mouth to answer, but Conall was on a roll.
“I mean, you can’t be with the man you want, but you aren’t required to settle for less than you deserve. If Daire, a man in hisforties, can lead you on like that, then fuck it. You can do whatever the fuck makes you happy. Make the fucker jealous. Make him a raging green monster, and while you’re at it, shake your ass at him and sayyou could’ve had this permanently,big boy,but you didn’t have the balls to make me your boyfriend, and enjoy every second.”
The entire thing sounded very dramatic, and while I wasn’t usually the kind of guy who liked to make a scene—really, I didn’t—the idea intrigued me. At the same time....
“I don’t want to be like Daire and lead Michele on. It’s not fair to him. I’m not going to use him like that.”
Conall narrowed his eyes. “What happened to Fionn Killough?”
I snorted out a laugh. “What, because I’m selfish?”
“No. Fuck no. I don’t think you’re selfish. You’re the opposite, actually. You’re protective of the people you love.” He sighed. “Listen, Michele’s an adult. You don’t have to hurt him. There’s no promises of eternal love or weddings. It’s just dating and sex.”
“I haven’t even talked to the guy yet.”
“So go.” He jumped to his feet and grabbed my wrist, dragging me to stand. He patted me on the shoulders like a father encouraging his son. “Go and message him. Flirt. Plan dates. Fuck him. Anything you need to do to get Daire out of your system. Make that bastard regret ever leading you on.”
I didn’t think Daire had any cruel intentions, but it was interesting to witness the fierceness in Conall’s eyes, a protectiveness that I hadn’t seen in anyone but Sloan.
“Don’t... don’t tell Uncle Sloan, okay? I don’t want him to make a mountain out of a mole hill.”
