Chapter 51
Connor
Air suspended in my lungs as I counted the stomps of her feet as she cleared player after plater, yard after yard. It wasn’t until she stopped and the ball hit the grass that I took my first breath in what felt like hours.
The crowd exploded.
Fuck. That was something otherworldly from the entire team.
Her team descended, crying out her name, and my team pushed against the sidelines, desperate to celebrate with them. Our time would come; this was their moment.
“She is phenomenal, Connor,” Mam said beside me.
“Absolutely incredible,” echoed Teddy’s dad and Natalie on my other side.
Meeting Teddy’s dad should have made me nervous.
Hell, a few months ago, it probably would have.
But standing here now, watching her out on the pitch with the last of the game buzzing around us, and that unstoppable focus still in her eyes, the only thing I felt was pride.
Proud to be the man who loved his daughter. That I was the one she had chosen to stand here for her.
“She is incredible,” I affirmed.
Eventually, she split away from them, eyes locked, jaw set in a smile so wide, I could have passed out from how beautiful she was.
She ran, and I barely had time to brace before she jumped the barrier, arms locking around my shoulders, legs wrapping instinctively around my waist like she was mine.
In front of twenty-three thousand people.
In front of the broadcast cameras.
In front of the world.
My fucking heart detonated.
I held her easily, hands engulfing her, and she buried her face into my neck as if the last eighty minutes had finally caught up with her all at once.
“You fucking did it,” I whispered into her hair.
Her body shuddered as tears coated my neck, but I didn’t care because my girl just won her first professional season, and now, she was claiming me. “You were amazing out there, Teddy.”
“I can’t fucking believe it,” she sobbed, breaking away from my neck, and her eyes immediately darted behind us where our family and team were.
My eyes burned as I tried to swallow some of the emotion.
She slid down from my arms, boots hitting the ground, as she reached out behind me to her family.
“Teddy-bear!” Natalie cried, pushing forward. She fell straight into her arms, clutching at her to stay upright.
Her dad stepped in next, his hands moving to her shoulders, eyes glossed over as he looked at her. “That was one hell of a run,” he said.
Teddy huffed a watery laugh before pulling him into the hug too.
My mam and dad were watching them with smiles split wide, when Teddy turned to them and wiped her face, smearing mud everywhere.
“Hi, Mr. and Mrs. O’Riley. I’m Teddy Sloane. It’s so nice to finally meet you,” she said as her voice shook with adrenaline. She extended her hand, but my mam wrapped her arms around her quicker.
“You’re really something special, Teddy,” Mam said, loud enough for me to hear. She held on to her, squeezing her like she’d known her for years, not seconds. “Fearless, you are, my darling girl.”
“Thank you,” she said, sniffing as Mam let her go. She greeted Dad too, and shook his hand, still smiling, trying to catch her breath.
The Valkyries began chanting her name over and over. She looked up at me again, eyes still alight, then she looked down at my chest. “Wait,” she cried and spun me around to find her name and number on my back. “Connor, you’re wearing my jersey, again.”
“Of course I am. I’m here supporting my girl.”
Her lips hid her smile as she flushed even brighter red, mouth opening and closing before finally settling on, “Yeah, that’ll never get old.”
Evie shouted her name so loudly, the lads behind us began shouting too.
I stayed where I was. “Go,” I said, feeling my chest burst when she smiled wide. “I’ll find you later, baby.”
She nodded, turned away, then immediately spun back around, rushing to my ear. “I love you,” she whispered, and then she took off running to her teammates.
It flooded through me so fast, I almost laughed, something wild and disbelieving breaking loose in my chest like I’d just won something myself.
She was a champion in front of the world, and she just told me she loves me.
The press swarmed her first, microphones pushed forward, questions thrown over one another. She answered them all, breathless and grinning.
Then the fans—kids leaning over the railings with jerseys and programs, faces split open with joy. She signed everything. She crouched so she’s eye-level with them. She listened to every word.
I didn’t interrupt any of it.
She belonged to all of them right now—her team, her city.
She’d be mine forever, though.
***
I waited outside the training locker room, texting her where I was and to find me before she showered.
I wanted to see her once more before we celebrated tonight.
My phone buzzed.
Teddy
On my way.
A few seconds later, the door pushed open, and she stepped through it.
Still in boots. Still in that jersey. The scent of champagne hit me as the door closed behind her. Hair braided tight down her back, though strands had come loose around her face. Dried blood in her eyebrow, mud across her cheekbone, and a faint smear near her jaw.
She looked wrecked.
And unreal.
Her eyes locked onto mine instantly, and the grin she gave me wasn’t captain or media-trained or polished for the press. It was entirely for me.
I didn’t wait for her to reach me.
I closed the space in two strides, wrapping my hand around her braid and tugging until her head tilted back and those ocean eyes were under my command. “You were so fucking hot out there.”
“I know you’re talking about my skills as a rugby player,” she said coolly, eyebrow arching in judgment. “And you wouldn’t dare reduce the best game of my life to how I looked.”
I stepped closer without releasing my grip, closing the last inch of space until our bodies met. The contact was instant and electric, heat against heat, her breath shifting as her chest brushed mine.
Lightning could strike through me, and I’d still stand here.
I leaned in, lowering my voice so it’s just for her. “I’m talking about everything, Teddy. There wasn’t a single thing you did on that pitch that was a mistake.”
Her mouth parted slightly.
“And you looked like a fucking goddess doing it.”
Her lips twitched.
I eased my grip just slightly, not releasing her, just loosening enough that my thumb dragged over the curve of her jaw instead.
Her hands came up to my collar and hauled me down the last inch, her mouth crashing onto mine like the entire game was still burning through her. It was deep and breathless, teeth catching, tongues swiping, messy and fucking perfect.
My hand slid from her braid to the back of her neck, whimpering into her mouth and pulling her closer until there was nothing but clothes between us. I wished there wasn’t even those. She tasted like sweat, victory, and sweet sunshine.
When we finally broke apart, it was only because breathing became necessity. Our foreheads remained together, ragged air dragging between us.
“I love you,” I whispered. “Don’t think I didn’t miss how you showed up for me today too. I know that was a dealbreaker for you before.”
Her nose grazed mine. “That was before. Before you, before us, before the way you made me fall head over heels for you. I love you, Connor. You are what I want.”
“Pretty sure I love you more.”
She snuffed a laugh. “Always gotta be the winner still, huh?”
I caught a smear of mud on my thumb and smiled. “I’m always gonna be the winner with you, sunshine.”
My hand drifted to her neck, and I wrapped my fingers around her throat, feeling her pulse ricocheting underneath my skin. Her eyes danced as she pushed into my hand, giving me control, trusting me in a way that always made fierce protectiveness rise up. Among other things stirring to life.
I guided her back until her shoulders met the wall, leaning my hips “Now, baby,” I murmured, my thumb rubbed under her jaw, flexing, “just so you know…” Her fingers curled into the front of my shirt, hips rolling into my hard-on.
“Tonight, when you’re cleaned up and dressed up, I’ll remember exactly how you looked right now.”
Her eyebrow lifted again, but this time, there was heat behind it.
“And how do I look right now?”
A slow grin pulled at my mouth. “Like you could ask for anything, and I’d give it to you.”
She pulled me the last fraction closer, her mouth hovering over mine.
“I don’t need anything,” she says, lips brushing against mine. “I already took what I wanted.”
Stars burst behind my eyes when our lips collided again, and I realized I was never built to try and resist her.