CHAPTER 21 FINALLY
TALON
Smoothing my hands down my green button down, I took another look at my attire. I never cared this much about my appearance;
I was by no means a looks-centered guy. Yet for this date with Aife, I wanted to look perfect. My attire was fancier than normal but not over the top. It would have to do.
With a sigh, I grabbed my keys and went to pick up my soon-to-be girlfriend. That felt so right to think and say. Aife was my girl. She knew me better than anyone, and I could probably say the same for her. Aife felt like an extension of myself. We were connected.
Before I knew it, I was at her apartment door.
Nerves wracked my body. I was a professional hockey player—an enforcer—and a little social worker was about to bring me to my knees. That was insanity.
Her door opened, and any breath I had in my body immediately escaped me. Aife was breathtaking. She was wearing an emerald, green skirt that hugged her curves and a tight, off the shoulder black shirt, allowing her tattoos and scars out. She even had little black heels on. She left my mouth dry.
“Fuck.” That was the best word my mushy brain could come up with. “You look stunning, Aife.”
Her cheeks flamed pink. “Thank you. You look extremely handsome yourself.”
I realized we had unintentionally matched. Holding an elbow out to her, I walked her to my car. I wasn’t one to flaunt my wealth, but I did want to spoil her a little tonight. We were headed to an upscale restaurant. It wasn’t crazy fancy, but it was on the nicer side of town.
Aife smoothed her hands down her skirt. Clearly I wasn’t the only one that was nervous. We both knew each other inside and out, yet we couldn’t help but be weirdly anxious. Placing a hand on her thigh, I threw a smile her way.
“Breathe, darling. It’s just me.” I hoped that was what she needed to hear.
She released a breath before her beautiful smile graced her face. Any nerves we were feeling seemingly dissipated. This just felt like the natural next step for us. Dating seemed like the right next step.
We pulled up to the restaurant, and I jumped out and opened her door. She placed her small hand in mine as I helped her out of my car. We walked in holding hands, and I couldn’t help the grin on my face.
The hostess greeted us and guided us to our table.
Aife thanked her once she handed us our menus. We both scanned them, focused on picking our dishes before we even bothered to talk. The waiter quickly took our orders, and then we were left to our own devices.
“This feels a little weird, huh?” Aife asked quietly. I nodded a little. “Yeah, maybe. But it doesn’t need to be. The only thing that changes is I’m going to kiss you.”
“Just kisses?”
The tone of her voice raised my brows. She sounded sultry, like a vixen. My whole body revved at her words. She may have been kind and sweet, but there was a darker side to my Aife.
“Whatever you want, darling.” My voice also had deepened. Aife had that impact on me. This woman always kept me on my toes.
“Maybe a conversation for after dinner,” she said,
flicking her eyes to meet mine.
My mouth instantly dried. Picking up my water glass, I took a long sip. My mind was playing out inappropriate situations; things I wanted to do to the gorgeous woman across from me. Aife had no idea the power she had over me.
“New topic, please.” My voice was very low. I was fighting back lust and desire.
She smirked, the corners of her lips tugging up further. “How’s hockey going?”
Hockey. Hockey… I could do. Talking about hockey came as naturally as breathing.
“I doubt we make playoffs this year. We’re just having an extremely off year. Part of that is my injury, but we are just having trouble clicking as a team.”
“Like y’all are in a slump?”
The waiter placed our food in front of us. We both thanked him and took a bite. “Yeah, like a slump. I started seeing someone about my anxiety.”
Her eyebrows raised. “Oh? Do you feel comfortable opening up to me about your experience? Or just wanna focus on the slump?”
The social worker in her was clearly piqued. I loved that about her. She always wanted to help others when she could. Her massive heart was her biggest strength and weakness.
“I like what I’m doing with the therapist,” I said, “I didn’t realize the fear I was holding in my body. Chris was right about that. I’m starting to feel like myself on skates again. So, that’s nice. Slumps are slumps, darling. They happen. If we let the slumps impact us, we would never win,
” I said and put some steak in my mouth.
“You have a really good attitude about life, Talon.”
Aife smiled at me and bit into her potatoes. “It’s an admirable quality. You get so passionate when you talk about hockey. Your entire demeanor changes.”
My cheeks heated up a bit. I sometimes hated that Aife was a watcher.
She analyzed people, and she truly listened when people spoke.
Aife made people feel heard and seen. Her abilities and talents as a social worker helped her easily find strengths and weaknesses.
As mesmerized as she was by me, she deeply intrigued me.
The woman was an enigma. A delightful enigma.
“Well, thank you, darling. You’ve got to be mentally tough to do pro sports. I imagine it’s similar to the mental fortitude a social worker needs.”
“I mean, social work just requires good boundaries,” Aife said softly.
“It’s something I really used to struggle with and sometimes still do. Boundaries are hard to establish and maintain. It takes a lot of hard work. Yeah, you need a little mental toughness. We see some difficult things, but it’s about taking care of yourself. That’s all.”
“You really love what you do.” It was clear in the way her entire demeanor lit up when she spoke about her career.
She smiled. “I do. The beauty of social work is how many different avenues you can take with it.”
Our conversation continued to flow as we ate our meals. We could seemingly talk about anything, and we always did. She was so well-spoken and intelligent. Aife was the easiest person in the world to talk to.
The stars filtered through my balcony windows as I guided Aife into my apartment.
My hand felt so right resting on her waist.
She graced me with a huge smile before kicking her heels off.
Sticking her tongue out at me, she raced to my balcony.
Aife hadn’t been drinking, but she just seemed so at ease.
I watched her as she took in the view out of my windows.
The light illuminated her curves. Her outfit just showcased her beautiful body.
Her hair flowed down her back, making me want to wrap my hands in it.
Aife made me want to do all kinds of nefarious things to her.
It had been far too long since I’d tasted her lips, and there was so much more of her I wanted to taste.
Since meeting Aife, I hadn’t had sex. I wanted to do very dirty things to her.
“Come here,” I growled from my couch. Watching her was torture. I needed to feel her lips on mine.
Turning, she looked at me and licked her lips. She slowly walked over to me before I tugged her down onto my lap. Gently, I cupped her face and stared into her big eyes.
“Can I kiss you?”
“Yes.” Aife’s voice came out breathy. “Please.”
Smirking, I leaned down and pressed my lips to hers.
Our lips molded together as we worked our mouths.
I pushed my tongue into her mouth, savoring her taste.
My hands made their way into her hair as our kiss deepened.
Our tongues tangled, not in a fight but in a dance.
She placed her hands on my chest as her legs straddled my waist.
Her skirt rode up on her legs, distracting me.
A growl broke through my chest as our lips parted.
My hands clamped down on her thighs, massaging them.
My lips found their way to her jaw. Slowly, I started sucking the skin on Aife’s neck.
A low moan came from her, and she subconsciously lowered onto my lap.
She wasn’t the only one moaning once our hips connected.
I wanted to feel more than her just through our clothes.
Sucking on her neck, I rolled my hips into hers.
We both groaned as our lips found each other again.
Aife’s taste was completely intoxicating.
Our tongues melded together again as I flipped us,
so I was on top. With one hand, I pulled her arms above her head.
Aife moaned into my mouth and wrapped her legs around my waist.
She thrust her hips into mine as our tongues continued to dance.
Her hands, which I had unintentionally let go of, tangled in my shirt and pulled the material up.
They landed on my lower abs and trailed up, her nails digging in.
Grinding my hips into hers, I pulled my top off.
Aife’s mouth dropped once my shirt was off.
Her hands roamed all over my chest and then her mouth followed.
A loud groan left my mouth as her tongue trailed designs into my chest.
Slowly, our mouths found each other again.
This was the most intense kiss yet, with my hands gripping her face. We broke apart, breathing hard.
Her lips were swollen and eyes glazed. She looked at me like she never wanted to stop kissing me.
I moved slowly at the small push from her hand, allowing her out from under me.
Standing, Aife sensuously pulled her blouse and skirt off.
My mouth dropped at the sight of her in black, lace lingerie.
Fuck, Aife was incredibly sexy. Without hesitation, I pulled my own pants off before standing as well.
I hoisted her up, making her wrap her legs around my waist as I headed to the bedroom. Her mouth never left my neck or chest.
Once we were upstairs, I tossed Aife on the bed.
A giggle left her mouth as she bounced on my bed.
Her long hair flowed onto my pillows, and she looked like a goddess.
She peeked through her lashes up at me and bit her bottom lip.
Aife curled her finger at me, urging me to join her. I happily complied.
Yet again, our lips connected, and our hands roamed each other. I wanted more though; I wanted to be skin to skin with her.
“Darling, what do you want?” I needed to hear her say it.
“You,” she said breathlessly.
“Be specific, darling.” I pressed a long kiss into her neck.
She groaned, slightly annoyed with me. “I want you to fuck me.”