CHAPTER 8 FALLING
TALON
Aife saying my first name did strange things to my body.
My heart was beating faster, and a lot of blood had rushed to my dick.
Would my name sound that sexy when she moaned it?
Fuck. This woman was doing things to me I didn’t fully understand.
She was a puzzle I desperately wanted to figure out. It was more like a need in this moment.
“Sexy?” Her big eyes blinked up at me. She was truly beautiful.
“Yes,” I said, trying to contain my urge to fuck her on the balcony. The images that ran through my head were unholy, and I had to shake it to clear them. Friends didn’t have sex, and we were friends. That’s all she wanted. It’s all I could give while still keeping her in my life.
“Oh, well thanks.” Her cheeks flushed red. Did she not view herself as sexy? She was a walking hard-on. Aife was gorgeous but also clever and witty and kind. She was someone I could easily converse with, and that was rare to find these days. Friends, TJ. Just friends.
“Come on.” I held a hand out to her. “It’s late. You can borrow a shirt and sleep in the guest room.”
Nodding, Aife grabbed my hand to stand and followed me back inside.
Every inch of her exuded exhaustion. She looked like she was on the brink of passing out.
Her eyes were hooded, practically glazed over with tiredness.
Somehow, she still looked adorable. It was doing weird things to my heart to see her like this, and I still barely knew her.
“Carry me.” Her voice was soft. “Please.” She lifted her arms out to me. While Aife wasn’t exactly tiny, I towered over her. My guess was that she was average height, but I was six foot six. She was dwarfed by me.
“James, please.”
I looked down at her. “James?”
“Up.” Aife was suddenly very demanding. It was cute to see her like this. Tired Aife was adorable but also bossy.
“Why James?” I asked as I lifted her into my arms. “Everyone calls you TJ, and you seem embarrassed by Talon. James feels right.” Aife buried her face into my chest. “So warm.”
I smiled at her. I wasn’t sure if she had meant to say that last part out loud. For some reason though, the way she said Talon felt right. It wasn’t awkward coming from her. Hell, I’d let her call me Talon if she liked it. She could call me anything, and I’d probably answer.
Slowly, I walked us upstairs. I appreciated that she cared enough to try a different name. Most people wouldn’t care what their name preference was. When we made it to my room, I carefully lowered her to the bed. Aife was precious cargo.
“You can call me Talon if you want,” I said, turning to my dresser drawers to find her something to wear.
“I thought you didn’t like it.” Aife’s voice was muffled. Turning around, I found her face first in my pillows. “I’m not calling you something you don’t like.”
I handed her the sweats and shirt I got for her. She looked over at me, peeking between her hair.
“Aife, I like it when you say it. Even Mom calls me TJ. In hockey, I’m Walker. I don’t know.” I rubbed the back of my neck. “Get ready for bed, darling.”
She sat up and whipped her long-sleeved shirt off.
It was weird to me that she always wore long sleeves.
Yet, I couldn’t pull my eyes away even if I wanted to.
Her eyes narrowed as she reached behind her and unhooked her bra.
Fuck. I kept my eyes locked on hers. There was no way I was moving them.
If I looked anywhere else, I was sure that I would fuck her.
Slowly, she pulled my long sleeve shirt over her head.
A smirk graced her lips; she was a little tease.
She knew what she was doing and didn’t seem to care. My cock strained against my pants.
“Was that necessary?” My voice was low, wanting.
“You tell me, Talon,” she said before burrowing into my sheets.
She hadn’t even bothered to put on the sweats.
“Change and come talk to me.” As always, she was so demanding.
She was supposed to be in my guest room, but I’d allowed her into my sanctuary, and I had no idea why.
Laughing, I followed orders. Aife did things to me.
Once I had my sweats on, I climbed into bed. I could feel her eyes wandering my shirtless chest. They seemed to hone in on my tattoos.
“Which one is your favorite?” Her voice was almost a whisper.
I turned, showcasing the massive Celtic tree of life taking up my entire back. It had Thor’s hammer and various other Norse mythology woven into the branches and trunk. Her little fingers traced parts of it. She kept her pace slow, clearly examining the intricate artwork.
“I told you Mom was into Celtic stuff. She’s always been interested in Norse mythology, and Celtic/Gaelic stuff. She taught me and my brothers. There was this piece of art she always showed us, and I fell in love with it. Dad 123 bought a copy of it… it just really connects me back to my family.”
“It’s beautiful.”
Turning back around, I smiled at her. “Do you have any? I remember the Avenged one.”
She pushed the sleeves up to show off two full sleeves.
My eyes widened in surprise but even more so when she quickly pushed the sleeves back down before I could catch any of the images.
Well, this certainly explained why she was always in long sleeves.
Seeing all her ink, even briefly, made my mouth water.
Somehow the more I learned about her, the more I liked her.
“Jeez, Aife. Sleeves?”
“Yeah.” Her cheeks flushed. “I started at eighteen,
and I guess I never stopped.”
“Sexy,” I muttered under my breath. “Which was your first?”
“This one.” She pulled the collar down to show the words, ‘We are so much more’ written on her shoulder. “Read it in a book, and it just stuck.”
“It’s so delicate.” I trailed my pointer over the cursive letters. “And which one is your favorite?”
Aife contemplated my question for a while. She rolled the right sleeve up but covered her wrist with her hand as she showed me a grey-scale Deathbat nestled amongst a field of purple and blue flowers. I hadn’t had a chance to examine it in the café.
“It’s going to sound cliché, but Avenged Sevenfold saved my life.” She quickly rolled her sleeve back down before I got too close of a look.
“Story for another time?” I tugged her to me and pulled the blankets higher on her body. I was trying to respect her boundaries despite wanting to know literally everything about her. She intrigued me in ways I couldn’t explain, which probably led to her being in my room instead of the guest room.
“This is one story I’m okay with sharing right off the bat,” Aife said and snuggled into my side further.
“I was such a tomboy growing up. So many people thought I was actually a man, and I had a lot of people call me awful names. It was relentless. At one point, it got so bad, they pulled me into the guidance counselor’s office for a week straight.”
Tears welled in her eyes. “I was maybe fourteen when I found Avenged. Their music connected with how I felt inside, and they pulled me out of that. Most of the words tatted on me come from their songs.”
“Aife.” My throat felt thick, like a lump was stuck in it. What words could I provide her? I had no idea what to say to her confession. I’d been bullied too for my name, but it stopped once I grew. I wanted to wipe her tears away, instead I just pulled her closer.
“It’s in the past, Talon.”
I pressed a kiss to the side of her head. “You have such a good attitude about everything.”
“Thanks. Comes from years and years of therapy.”
She sniffed. “If I let the past get to me, I would be wallowing in self-pity for the rest of my life.” She cuddled harder into my side.
I furrowed my brow as I turned the lights off.
Originally, my plan was for us to sleep in separate rooms, but I loved to talk to her too much to follow through. “Rough life, darling?” I drew a hand through my hair and wrapped more blankets around her.
“Parts of it, sure. I think everyone has rough aspects. As an example, you lost your dad.”
“Aife, don’t make this about me.” She kept doing that, turning the topic to someone else. I turned to face her in the bed, blankets falling down to my waist.
Again, she snuggled into my chest, resting her head on my pecs. It made my heart accelerate. This woman was doing things to me, but I couldn’t let that distract me. There was something she didn’t want to tell me. Which was fine, but I couldn’t help but try to push.
“Can we cross that bridge later? This is only our first sleepover.”
“When do I get to unlock the full Aife backstory?”
My voice gentled, emotions hitting me for no reason.
She pulled the blankets over her shoulders. “One day, Talon. For some reason, I already trust you.”
Sun filtered in through my partly opened curtains,
causing me to groan in frustration. I slept surprisingly well last night with Aife cuddled up to me all night.
Her tiny body was so warm, and I loved the feeling of it pressed against me.
Currently, she had one leg thrown over my thigh.
Her head was hiding in my bare chest and her little hand curled around my bicep.
It was like she was trying to live inside my body.
Her breath still came in deep and evenly.
I smiled as I watched the little koala for a minute before I decided to get up.
As quietly as possible, I pulled my phone off the charger.
It was seven, still early. Normally I didn’t wake up this early on a Sunday because Sundays were my off days.
Sometimes, they still felt like my only day for normalcy.
I loved being on the ice, but I also loved my bed.
Aife sighed and nestled further into me.
For some reason, I pressed a kiss to her forehead.
She brought out the unexpected in me. I was not a lovey-dovey guy, even with Melody.
My phone started to vibrate, and I quietly answered it. I really didn’t want to wake this woman up.
“Hey, Mom.”
“Hi, honey.” Her voice was so bright for it being so early in the morning. “Why are you speaking so softly? Did someone sleep over last night?”
“Jesus, Mom.” I sighed. “Why are you calling so early?”
“Talon James Walker, is there a girl in your bed right now?” Mom could sometimes be like a dog with a bone.
“There is a woman in my bed, yes. We are friends.”