CHAPTER 18 LOVE?
TALON
My lips still tingled from our kiss. It wasn’t the best kiss I’d had, but it felt different because it was with Aife.
Everything with Aife felt different. My hands remained on her face.
Her beautiful eyes were slightly glazed over, and her lips were slightly parted. Aife looked stunning; she always did.
“Can I kiss you again?” This time I wanted less gentleness and more passion.
“Oh god, yes,” Aife said before wrapping her arms tightly around my neck.
I couldn’t help the smile that broke out on my face.
Was she feeling what I was? Our connection never felt stronger.
I pecked a kiss to her nose and then lifted her onto my counter so I wouldn’t have to bend down so much.
Aife wrapped her legs around my waist as her fingers dug into the curls at the nape of my neck.
Her breasts pushed up against my chest, hardening me further.
This time she initiated the kiss, her lips connecting with mine eagerly.
It felt like our hands were everywhere: hair, hips, face.
All I could smell and taste was Aife. Our tongues met, fighting for dominance.
Mine won, easily tangling with hers. The kiss continued to intensify and soon we were both out of breath. I pulled away, breathing hard.
“Jesus, we should have done that sooner,” I said and cupped her face again.
She hummed, smiling at me contentedly. I could tell Aife was trying to find words. I couldn’t blame her for that; it was a miracle I could speak.
“Yeah, we really should have.” Aife placed a quick peck to my lips. “Let’s get dressed. My head’s starting to hurt.”
Nodding, we both got dressed. Usually, this would probably be awkward, but not with her.
Handing her one of my shirts, I watched her soft curves disappear.
Aife pulled her hair into a low bun and smiled at me.
I already had a soft spot for her smiles, but now there was something magical about them.
She was truly beautiful, inside and out.
I handed her some Tylenol. Aife continually denied the narcotics that she had been prescribed. She hated the way they made her feel. I wasn’t going to argue with her as long as she took the Tylenol. She took the pills from my hand and swallowed them then we both brushed our teeth.
Today had really been a perfect day even with the disaster that was practice.
Aife had made my day way better; she seemingly always did.
Maybe my brothers had been right. That burned me to say, but sometimes they knew me better than I knew myself.
Did I love Aife? I wasn’t even entirely sure I knew what love was. At least, in terms of romance.
“You keep staring at me.”
Aife’s voice broke me from my stupor. I hadn’t even realized we were in my bedroom. She was looking at me, amusement all over her face. How long had she been trying to get my attention?
“I can’t help it, darling,” I said as we climbed into bed. I immediately pulled her against my chest. “I feel like I’m walking on clouds right now.”
“Because of a kiss?”
“Because of a kiss with you.” I winced at my cringey line. It felt stupid coming out, but I couldn’t prevent my mouth from saying the line.
Humming, Aife slowly traced designs into my bare chest. “That’s not you, Talon. You are not a cheesy guy… not over a kiss.”
She bit her lip. My eyes couldn’t help but drop to her mouth. My brain was offline. The combination of her biting her lip and being in my shirt was driving me a little nuts.
“No, that’s not me. I pretty much instantly regretted saying it. You’re incredibly special to me, Aife. I don’t think I have the words for it.” My cheeks flushed, and suddenly all I could think about was kissing her again.
“Try?” She asked, yawning. The day was starting to impact her.
“Ask again tomorrow, darling. Let me help you sleep.”
Her eyes widened briefly. “How?”
“Trust me?” She nodded.
I eased her back, lifting the shirt she was wearing.
Her pussy was free, and my mouth watered.
I moaned, pressing myself against her and sucking her clit into my mouth.
She moaned, her hands slamming into my hair, my name reverent on her tongue.
I kept sucking her clit, pushing two fingers inside her.
Her breath stuttered as I savored her, burying my face into her pussy.
I lapped at her clit before sucking it into my mouth.
She tasted better than I could have imagined, and I needed to replace my fingers with my tongue.
Moaning, I drove my tongue into her over and over.
I reveled in her, feasting until she finally exploded.
I woke up to Aife’s face pressed against my chest. It was a beautiful sight to see. Her mouth was open with a little drool coming out and her hair was a total bird’s nest, yet she looked adorable. A smile graced my face. Would this be my life now?
“Mmm… what time is it?”
“About six.”
Aife grunted at me and rolled out of bed. She stretched her arms over her head and twisted to pop her back. “I’ve gotta get ready for work.”
I frowned. I hated that she wasn’t going to take time off after literally being in the ER.
She worked herself near to death constantly.
Aife didn’t know what rest was. Work was like a drug for her, and my concern was that she would burn out, that she would eventually grow to hate the job she loved so much.
I knew she had debt, but I also knew she never took PTO. Not that I was aware of.
The shower came on, and I couldn’t help but sigh.
Aife was a true work horse. I couldn’t stop her when she was determined; no one could. I listened to her get ready, feeling a little bit like a weirdo. Were we a couple now? Did it matter to put a label on it? It was just me and Aife.
Pretty soon, Aife exited my bathroom dressed in a light blue dress and white sweater. She looked cute even with her sexy tattoos covered. Her hair was up in a ponytail, and she only wore mascara. Fuck, I think I had really fallen hard for her.
Aife walked over to me and pecked my lips. “I’ll call you after work. Thank you for coming to my aid.”
“Okay, darling. Have a good day at work.” I wanted to spend all day in bed with her.
My skates hit the ice, and I felt a little calmer.
Hockey would always be my safe space. Zeke skated by me, as did Chris. They both stopped in front of me forcing me to stop as well. I knew they were worried about Aife. Davis had already texted me a billion times for updates.
“She’s fine,” I said, attempting to move past them.
Neither would and both crossed their arms over their chests.
Rolling my eyes, I sighed. “Really, y’all. She’s fine.
She’s actually back at work today. And speaking of work, let’s get to it.”
“Nah, come on,” Zeke said, “I’m going to ask for the gossip. Where are you at with her?”
“I hate to agree with Zeke, but you came in here with a huge smile on your face. If I didn’t know better, I’d say you were in love.” Chris looked me up and down. “Are you? Even after Melody?”
“I don’t think what I felt for Melody was love.”
That was the first time I admitted that out loud. “Whatever we had definitely wasn’t love either. I think we were just infatuated with each other.”
“Dude, you didn’t answer the question.” Zeke sounded frustrated. “Don’t do that avoidance bullshit.”
“We kissed, okay?” I was just as exasperated as they were, and they wouldn’t learn about me eating her out. “Y’all happy?”
I pushed past the two of them so I could continue my warm-up.
They were like my brothers, which meant they were just as annoying as my biological brothers.
What was going on between Aife and me, I wanted to keep that way.
There were many reasons my relationship with Melody failed, but one of the key downfalls was all the publicity.
I was by no means the most popular sports name, but I’d made headlines for the way I played.
My enforcing was out of hand when I was with Melody.
I’d caused many injuries. She didn’t cause them, but our relationship turmoil translated to the ice.
Melody constantly brought me down. That’s not what happened when I was with Aife.
She lifted me up, and I hoped I did the same for her.
Our relationship was easy. That’s what good relationships were—easy, even when things got difficult.
Aife was the person I wanted to spend all my time with, but I didn’t mind being away from her. Was that what love was?
My mind ran down that thread. What qualified as love?
I thought love could be many things, and I was beginning to understand I loved Aife.
What I felt for that woman was beyond words and emotions.
It felt like she had reached in and touched my soul.
Maybe she had. Maybe I 259 was okay with it.
If I could have picked a better woman… I wasn’t sure I could. Aife was quickly becoming my world.
Before I knew it, ice practice was over with. Sweat poured down my face, and we still had weights—dry land. Coach was pushing us hard. We had to win at least five more games to make playoffs. Five games to prove we were a team to reckon with. Lately, we hadn’t been showing that.
Weights clanged around me as I started my squat routine.
Today was my day to focus on legs and glutes.
It felt like every day was leg day in hockey, but we had to have a strong base in order to play this game well.
It was tiring… truly. If every day people knew how much hard work went into being a pro, they probably wouldn’t dream about doing it.
Everyone thought celebrities and athletes became sensational overnight; that just wasn’t the case.
Everything took time and practice. Just like a doctor studied years to hone their craft, I did as well.
I didn’t become a pro overnight; it took hard work.
My body was pushed to the limit on a weekly basis.
My job required grit and strength, and injuries were a near constant.
Without hard work and dedication, there was no Michael Jordan, Wayne Gretzky, Tom Brady, Kobe Lebron, Michael Phelps, Simone Biles, Katie Ledecky, Serena Williams, or David Beckham.
Each athlete spent countless hours honing their craft; we had to.
My weights clattered against the squat machine. A burning sensation ran down my quads. My breathing was a little rattled, but I wasn’t ready to stop. Hockey was my life; it always had been. I was just ready to include someone else in it too.
“Dude, don’t overwork yourself.” Zeke popped up next to me. “We’ve got a game Thursday.”
Nodding, I walked away from the machine and drank some much-needed water. Normally, I was solely focused in practice, but I just couldn’t get my mind right. It couldn’t just be my newfound emotion for Aife; my mind just felt foggy.
“Fuck,” I muttered under my breath.
“You seem off, Walker.” Chris drank from his Gatorade bottle. “It’s been this way since you came back from your wrist injury.”
I sighed and looked at my captain. Every guy on my team had faced some kind of injury.
In some cases, we wound up like Davis—unable to return to the rink.
Chris had come back from a bad injury and lead us to the finals the year he returned.
He had worked his ass off to be at a pro level again. Chris was a bit of a hero to me.
“My hand feels strong.” I flexed said hand. “Body can be fine but not your mind,” Chris said,
“Ninety percent of my comeback was mental, TJ. You afraid to get hurt again?”
“Partly, sure. I’m not new to injuries, but this was the first to take me out of games.”
We walked to the squat rack, Chris loading on plates. He motioned for me to spot for him. “You should talk to someone about this mental block you’ve got going on. We need our enforcer back.”
“Hockey feels like work lately.” The words were out in the open now. “I love this game and this team. Lately though, it feels like I’m driving through mud to motivate myself. The first game back was electric but practices— being off the ice—I felt nothing.”
“James…” Chris trailed off as he put the bar back on the rack.
“You have had a weird fucking year. It’s alright to not feel one hundred yet. However, you have got to get your mind back. You aren’t centered, and there is a serious disconnect from your brain to your body. Even with a win under your belt.”
I didn’t know how to respond. My brain and body felt connected. Maybe Chris saw something I just couldn’t see.