Chapter 49
Teddy
“How am I back in your office months later, and you’re still asking me about the Knights?” I laughed, dropping into the chair opposite my coach.
She smiled this time. She had no reason not to. We were less than a week away from the final game of the season, and we were going to win, so this wasn’t anything like the last time we talked about the men’s team.
“If it helps, I’m just as tired of talking about them as you are.”
I snorted.
“But…” she added, leaning back in her chair, hands steepled on her chest, “this isn’t a stadium headache. This one’s actually… good.”
“I think we all need more good news.”
“We want to host a charity match after the finals, a few weeks later, at least, as a one-off. Valkyries and Knights together.”
I blinked, that familiar mix of déjà vu and inevitability settling in. Except this time, the idea of sharing a pitch with Connor made my fingers tingle. I could tackle him in front of everyone.
“That is a very different response than the first conversation we had here,” she mused.
I covered my laugh. “I just love the idea of tackling the lads and winning.”
Her mouth twitched. “I’m sure that’s the only reason.”
“Obviously,” I said, straight-faced. “Purely competitive.”
“Well, the proceeds are going straight back into community rugby.” She paused, eyes pinning me. “And yes, before you ask, Connor’s already been looped in.”
Exhaling through a smile, I leaned back. “So this is the part where you tell me it’s a great idea, and I pretend I’m not already on board.”
Her grin widened. “You’re learning.”
I loved this idea.
“There is something I need to tell you.” She paused, and it caught my attention. “Delany has given me her retirement.”
Something tight pressed in behind my ribs. “Delany?”
Coach nodded and moved a few pens around her desk. “She came to me last week. It wasn’t an easy decision, but she wants more time with her kids.”
Having kids in this industry was tough—the physical demands of training, time away from them, scheduling. I could understand why she wanted to be home more.
“We’re handling the admin first,” she said gently. “But probably at the end of the game next week.”
Delany had never liked the spotlight, but that didn’t mean it didn’t suck. I nodded slowly, forcing myself to breathe through the sting of it. “She’s earned the right to walk away on her own terms.”
“She has. Annnd,” she dragged out, “her retirement opens a spot.”
My head tilted.
“I’ve been sent tapes I can’t ignore. It doesn’t confirm anything. We still have the declaration to consider next year, too.”
“Is she collegiate?”
“She was.” She put her glasses on, looking at her computer screen, reading out loud. “She’s aged out by a couple years now. She’s Nate Davis’s sister. Her name is Seren.”
I didn’t even know Nate had a sister. “Damn, I’d love to see them. If she’s got fast feet like Nate, then we’ll need her.”
“It’s food for thought.”
We talked a few game plans for next week’s game, everything seeming to settle into place. Even with Delany leaving, we all understood that the game moved on whether you were ready or not.
Coach nodded. “Go win your final.”
I smiled. “I plan to.”
The door closed behind me, and the corridor swallowed the quiet, noise bleeding in from the gym at the far end—shouts, whistles, the sounds of my team. I barely made it around the corner before I almost ran straight into Connor.
He steadied me by the elbows, reflex fast. “Careful, Captain.”
My pulse kicked, sharp and familiar. “You stalking me now?”
“Just timing it right,” he said easily, eyes dropping to my mouth before flicking back up. “You heard about the charity game?”
“I did.” I moved my hands to his chest, sliding them upward to his collarbones, licking my lips. “I can’t wait to beat you.”
He swallowed a laugh, resting his hands on my hips.
We stood there for a second too long, the hallway suddenly narrow, the rest of the world moving around us while we stayed still inside it.
“I can’t talk now,” I said, stepping back. “Finals week, you know.”
He didn’t let me go, instead crowding me, and I couldn’t help but want to curl around him. “Then I can make promises for later.” He dipped his head to my ear. “Want me to eat that pussy, sunshine?”
My fingers tightened in his shirt, a traitorous keening sound slipping from my lips at the thought of him… “Are you trying to torture me?”
“Always.” His tongue swiped out, like a hot stroke right against my clit. “But I’m good at making it worth the wait.”
He pulled me in, ghosting his mouth over mine, sharing the same air.
Then I pushed him back, pointing at him and his devilish smirk.
“Trouble.”
His lips pressed to my cheek, and he said one word that sent my heart beating wildly.
“Mine.”
***
Connor’s forehead pressed to mine, his jaw tight, eyes dark and focused as I moved above him.
The rest of the world didn’t exist outside these four walls.
It was just us, moving together, the bed creaking softly beneath the rhythm we’d already found and refused to lose.
My hands braced against his shoulders as I shifted my hips, deepening him inside of me.
His hands tightened on my thighs, encouraging me, helping me keep the pace we needed.
“Fuck,” I breathed as he hit my G-spot over and over.
He answered with a low sound in his throat, and slid a hand beneath my ass, adjusting me with practiced care, like he already knew exactly how my body moved. The friction built fast, breath stacking on breath, my head tipped forward, hair falling around us.
“You gonna soak my dick, sunshine? Fuck, I need it, need you.”
His words unraveled something inside me, the last of my restraint slipping loose as my breath broke against his mouth. My hips lifted on instinct, snapping faster, rolling, chasing as my orgasm started to break loose.
Connor swore under his breath, his body moving upright to bite down on my shoulder and he held me there, like he was determined to carry me through it rather than rush me toward the edge.
Every movement felt deliberate now, tuned to the way my body reacted, the way I trembled beneath him. The way we came together.
“That’s it, fuck,” he growled, pinning me to him. “I’ve got you.”
And I believed him. Believed that whatever I fell into next, he’d be right there, letting me come apart without ever letting me feel lost.
The tension ebbed slowly, like a tide pulling back rather than breaking, Connor easing with it until the world widened again and my lungs opened. He stayed close; even when I moved off him, he moved me next to him, one arm draped warm and solid across my waist as he pressed a kiss into my hair.
His thumb traced lazy patterns along my side, my body still reeling. “You good?”
I nodded against him, listening to his heartbeat even out beneath my ear. “Yeah,” I said after a second. “Really good.”
A quiet smile lived in his voice when he spoke again. “How are you feeling about next week?”
The question was gentle, and I appreciated it. I shifted slightly, propping myself up just enough to look at him.
“Ready,” I said honestly. “Nervous. But ready.”
“That’s my girl,” he murmured, brushing his thumb under my chin before letting me settle back in. “Are you busy tomorrow?”
“I have conditioning at twelve.”
He hummed, the vibration rumbling against me too. “So that means I have time to fuck you before lunch, but it’ll have to be a quickie in the shower because I want to take you somewhere.”
A giggle worked its way up my throat. “Where are you taking me?”
He stared deep into my eyes, brushing my hair behind my ears, tracking the movement. “Will you come to the Knights stadium with me?”
My heart pitter pattered in my chest. “I’d love to.”
He pulled me in closer, and my mind became busy with questions. “Have you thought of a name for your program yet?”
He smiled faintly, thumb still tracing slow circles against my skin. “I had ideas,” he said. “But now I’m second-guessing all of them.”
“Try me,” I said as I propped myself up on my elbow.
He hesitated, then exhaled. “The Pathway Project,” he said first. “Because it’s not just about access. It’s about what comes after. Structure. Direction.”
I nodded slowly. “That makes sense.”
“Yeah,” he said, thoughtful. “Then there’s Future Pitch.”
My chest warmed at that. “I like that one,” I admitted. “It feels hopeful.”
He smiled faintly, but didn’t look away. “And then there’s The Legacy Line,” he added more quietly. “Not because of where I come from. Because of what it could give them.”
I held his gaze and watched the way something vulnerable flickered there when he said legacy. But this wasn’t about the one stitched into the back of his jersey. Not the one reporters liked to bring up whenever Ireland was mentioned. It was something more for him.
The dim light cut across his face, catching in his lashes, casting shadows.
He chewed on the inside of his cheek, deep in thought.
But somehow, his thoughts were written all over his face.
I knew he wasn’t thinking about headlines or investors right now.
He was thinking about girls who didn’t get picked.
Doors that had never been opened for them.
And it made me feel things I didn’t think I could ever feel.
This thing between us was so real and I constantly found myself breathing deeper, slower.
My mind didn’t race, it settled and it was because of him.
“The Legacy Line,” I repeated softly. His eyes found mine. “You can honor your legacy and allow girls to feed into their own future legacies.”
He swallowed, and I tracked the movement of his throat. “Yeah,” he croaked. He brushed his nose lightly against mine. “Say it again.”
“The Legacy Line.”
The corner of his mouth lifted, more sure this time. “Yeah,” he breathed, nodding to himself. “That feels right.”
He looked at me like I’d just handed him something priceless, and everything in me paused.
“Fair warning, sunshine,” he said, eyes intently locked on mine. “I’m in deep with you.”
I stayed quiet, studying him for any sign of anything other than reverence, but nothing changed.
“There isn’t a version of this where I walk away untouched,” he went on, thumb brushing slowly over my collarbone, my shoulder, my jaw. His touch was grounding when I thought I might float away. “You’ve rooted yourself in me. In places I didn’t even realize were empty.”
My throat tightened. I didn’t do rooted. I did controlled. Composed. Captain. I did strength and discipline and making sure no one saw the cracks. But that was feeling more like an old version of me.
This felt like someone pressing their palm over the center of my chest and saying I see you.
And I knew right then that I felt the same way.
This man, the wildcard who I never pictured in my future, was solidifying himself into my life in ways I hadn’t thought possible.
The press conference had been him choosing a version of his life that included me, us, and now I understood something I hadn’t before.
Being with him didn’t make me weaker, no matter what any headlines might say.
If anything, loving him made me stronger.
“Somewhere between you challenging me and you believing in me… you became the thing I think about when I picture my future,” he said with absolutely certainty.
I had spent most of my life planning mine alone. Not because I wanted to, but because it felt safer that way. Safer not to hinge it on someone else’s promises. But that wasn’t exactly right anymore either.
“You don’t just get to say things like that so casually,” I said, burying my face in his chest.
He shifted until I moved, then guided my face to his, finger crooked under my chin. “There’s nothing casual about falling in love with you, Teddy. It’s completely intentional.”
“Connor.” The air left my lungs in a rush.
“Before you say anything. I don’t just love you because you’re captain,” he added.
“Or because you’re strong, or stubborn, or impossible to ignore.
” A faint smile tugged at his mouth. “I love you because you let me see the parts you don’t show anyone else.
I love the way you pretend you don’t need anyone, and then curl into me like you’ve been waiting to.
” He paused to press a kiss to my forehead.
“I love the way you fight for girls who don’t even know your name yet.
I love that you challenge me instead of worship me. ”
My heart beat so hard I could feel it all over.
“I’m not falling into this blindly,” he finished. “I know exactly who you are. And I want you, all of you. I’m in love with you, sunshine.”
My eyes were burning from the pressure of holding back my tears. This man was choosing to love me, and I was scared. But I was also hopeful and exhausted from being alone. I wanted to share my heart, my soul, and body with him.
“I think I’ve been holding myself together for so long that loving you feels like… like finally exhaling,” I admitted shakily.
“Exhale for me, sunshine. And I’ll inhale with you.”