Page 22 of Problems

"Would you like to go for two?"

Jack shook his head. "No. Sorry, I'll be good."

My chest tightened at his words.You want to be my good boy, don't you?

"I'm very disappointed in you Jack. I understand you don't like being locked up, but this was for your safety." I pushed my fingers through his soft brown hair. "Thirty minutes. And after you've thought about your actions you can get up. You then need to properly apologize to Cian and Finnian. Once you’re done, come find me."

Jack looked up at me. He nodded, still pushing his head into my caress.

"Till then I won't touch or speak to you."

Jack's eyes widened. "What?"

My hand dropped and I took a few steps back. The idea of walking away from Jack was my least favorite but I did it all the same.

"Ronan."

I shook my head. A whimper fell from between Jack's pouty lips.

"I'm so—"

I pressed a finger against his lips. I didn't want to hear a half-ass apology. Jack attempted to sit back on his calves and instantly shot back up. His ass was probably on fire. I grabbed a pillow off the bed and handed it to him. I left him in his room to think about what he'd done. I just hoped he came to his senses soon. We couldn't afford for him to be reckless. One slip up and I'd lose the boy I was secretly falling in love with.

Who was I kidding? I've been in love with Jack O'Brien for a while now.

CHAPTER SEVEN

JACK

My calves burnedas I balanced myself so I wouldn't fall. Ronan had given me a pillow, but my ass still burned when I tried to use it. I rubbed at my eyes. My tears had dried, but the embarrassment of being draped over Finnian's lap and spanked stayed with me. Every time I remembered, my face burned. I buried my face in my hands.

"What the fuck is happening?"

Even as I muttered the question to the empty room, I squirmed. My cock was so hard it hurt. I had liked Finnian spanking me. His sure, steady hands, firm strokes, stern voice; it did it for me in ways other men couldn't. I almost wanted to hear that Irish brogue scold me again while the heat of his hand rested on my back. More than that, I wanted Ronan back.

I glanced over my shoulder. He was nowhere to be found. I stared at the ceiling, at the floor, at my cock that refused to go down. I poked at it.

"Come on," I muttered. "Go away!"

I'd almost called Ronan daddy more than once! It had felt so right though, the words on the tip of my tongue as he wiped my tears and held me gently. Those moments always felt as if the rest of the world fell away and I had nothing but support and comfort. I felt younger than I was, like I'd gone back in time and was small and needy. That side of me was rare. I never let it out, not when someone could find out about it and use it against me. I had enough working against my desire to run our territory in New York. No one needed to see that fleeting small side that desired to be loved, held, and babied.

"How much longer!" I called.

"If you're asking that then you're not thinking about what you've done," Ronan said as he appeared in the doorway. "The timer will go off on the microwave when your time is up. I'm adding ten minutes."

"What?" I asked. "Come on," I whined.

"I can double it."

My lips sealed together. Ronan examined my face before he turned on his heels and walked away. My heart skipped a beat. I both loved and hated this. I wasn't used to Ronan walking away from me. Part of me wanted to throw a fit, but I remembered the disappointed look on his face. Sighing, I stared at the boring wall. Minute after minute ticked by, every second reminding me that my ass was sore and my calves hurt. Thank god the pain pills kicked in. At least my headache was gone.

The microwave chimed a jingle and I sighed. Slowly, I moved away from the corner, taking my time to get to my feet. I stretched, rolling my shoulders back as I chewed my bottom lip.Do I really have to go say sorry to Finnian and Cian?

Ronan's punishment was by far the least fun. Corner time was bad enough, but having to say sorry to those two? How could I stare at Finnian without getting hard all over again? And how could I say sorry to Cian when I wanted to punch him in his smug mouth? I shifted from one foot to the other.

I can do it. Just go out there, say sorry, and keep it moving.

The problem was that was easier said than done. Sitting in the corner really had made me think about how worried they'd been for me. Not to mention the fact that if I ended up dead, they'd be dead too. My father didn't joke around when it came to my security. If I was gone, they didn't stand a chance.

---