TIGGY
It has been six days, and Seamus is still bringing me to Oracle with him each day. I have become inoculated to this place. We get here in the morning, around nine AM, and we don’t leave until almost nine o’clock at night.
I have mastered inventory, stocktake, and bookkeeping. It only takes me a few hours each morning to smash it out of the park. The rest of my day is spent holed up in Seamus’s office with him. It’s not exactly a hardship, especially when he likes to take frequent breaks from work to fuck me.
I’m starting to wonder if he had this much sex before we met. It’s an unnerving thought because if he’s used to this much sex on tap at work, it means he was possibly fucking strippers here those two weeks I was at our house.
It’s a thought that sours my gut and makes me feel uncomfortable. I’m not naïve. While I am expected to be monogamous in this relationship, Seamus isn’t. And honestly, I was ready to accept it at the start.
But now, I’m starting to feel possessive of him in a way I honestly hadn’t been expecting, and it scares me on a primal level.
My new best friend and lounge bartender, Mellie, thinks Seamus is head over heels in love with me. She’s been a bartender here for about a year, and I’m obsessed with her piercing blue eyes.
“I’m telling you, Tiggy,” she rolls her eyes as she wipes the tumblers and stacks them, “Seamus doesn’t kiss his women. He sure as shit doesn’t eat them out. Everyone knows Seamus Fitzpatrick doesn’t give in bed. He takes what he wants and bails.”
Okay. While I get that Mellie is attempting to cheer me up, she’s not doing a very good job. In fact, she is raising more anxieties than she is stamping out.Everyoneknows that, do they? Andhowdo they know? How doessheknow?
I stare at her, tapping my stylus against the iPad. She glances up from her dishcloth and rolls her eyes at me.
“Ugh. God no.” She scrunches up her nose. “Can’t say that I’ve ever felt the urge to be a notch on Seamus Fitzpatrick’s bedpost.”
“Good to know.”
A deep, rumbling Irish voice sounds from beside me as Niall reaches over the bar, snagging a bottle of whiskey. His eyes burn into Mellie’s for a long moment, and I feel like I’m intruding on a private moment. I also feel like I need to take a cold shower.
They don’t speak, and Niall turns on his heel, stalking off, the bottle of whiskey clutched in his fist. I turn back to Mellie with a smirk, fanning myself with my good hand.
“Phew. That was steamy,” I tease her. Mellie stares at me for a beat, completely nonplussed, shrugging and returning to her task.
“I’m not sure I know what you’re talking about,” she brushes it off. I bite out a laugh. Seriously? She can’t be serious.
“Oh, come on,” I scoff, drawing her gaze back to me. “Some serious sexy vibes were coming off you two right there!”
Mellie’s glare has me shutting the hell up, But not before I put in one last good word for my old buddy Niall.
“He’s nice. You could do worse.”
“He’s theIrish Reaper,” she hisses at me. “I could do a lot -.” She cuts herself off and takes a deep breath. “It wouldn’t be a good idea. Not at all,” she finishes calmly. I nod, holding my hands up to appease her.
“Okay. I won’t bring it up again.”
“Thanks,” she mumbles. I nod and go back to my inventory list.
There is some event at Oracle tonight, so Seamus took me home to get changed. I’m dressed in a pretty party dress and heels that wouldn’t look out of place at a country club but do at a strip club. My splinted fingers stand out in this outfit, but thankfully the splint will be coming off in a week. I can’t wait.
I move through the main bar to request additional top-shelf whiskey be sent to the private bar. It’s more crowded here than usual, probably because of the event in the lounge. I imagine the men present there would probably have entourages out here.
“Tiggy?”
I stiffen and spin in surprise at the hand resting on my bare shoulder. I relax when I see who it is, though I shift, so his hand falls away from me.
“Ant.”
“How are you?” he asks, wrapping me up in a hug and pressing a kiss to my cheek.
Uh, does he not remember slamming a door in my face? I sure as shit remember it. It was right after he called me an idiot, so he will have to forgive me for not wanting to stand around and reminisce with him. He is still embracing me, and it makes me feel distinctly uncomfortable. As soon as he releases me, I quickly move to put some space between us.
“I’m great.”