She doesn’t hesitate or flinch when she answers. “Yes, you have. Do you know what every one of your teammates said to me during my one-on-one meetings?” I pause, not able to breathe. “They said you’re the best leader they’ve ever had, that you inspire them to push themselves harder because they see how much you push yourself. Because you never fail to try and lift them up even when it's hard.” Tears prick behind my eyes. “They see you fight day in and day out on the pitch, not getting the results you want, and then they see you smile and come back the next day, ready to try again. They believe in you just as much as I do, maybe more. It’s easy to be a great player. It’s a whole other feat to earn the admiration and respect of an entire team of men. You are a leader, Tieran. A damn good one too. The playing is secondary, but I’ve seen your talent on the pitch, and it's obvious why you’ve gotten where you are. You’re just having a rough patch, but you’ll find that spark again.”
“I think you’re my spark,” I whisper into the space between us, moving another step closer.
Her cheeks tinge pink, and her chest starts rising and falling rapidly. “What are you doing?”
Another step. “Tell me to stop. If you want this to end here and now, you better say so.” I’m within inches of her when I cup her neck, slowly leaning in. “Last chance to push me away, love.”
Her only response is to grab the chain around my neck, pulling me toward her instead.
The kiss spearsthrough my chest, lighting my body up like a wildfire.
Tieran wastes no time hoisting me onto the kitchen island and wrenching my thighs open to step in between them. The move was so effortless, so inherently sexy, it was almost like he had been mapping out the perfect path to get me in this position all night, like he was just waiting for me to say the word.
And now, he’s kissing me like he’s gone weeks in the desert without water, and I’m the oasis pond he’s been scouring tirelessly for. Like now that he has me, he’ll never be able to drink his fill.
Even with me sitting on the counter, he’s towering over me, craning down so he can match me kiss for kiss as his left hand digs into my waist and his right hand holds my head in place to devour me. His tongue sweeps into my mouth, and the taste of him is such a drug, I can feel myself getting addicted with every brush, every nip, every soft moan that coalesces between us. I tug at his shirt, pulling away from his mouth only long enough to pull it up over his head.
Swaths of tan rippling muscle greets me, and my mouth dries up as I finally get to look at him up close with nothing keeping me from looking my fill. The whimper that escapes my mouth unbidden makes him grin like a fiend.
“Don’t gloat.” I try to sound stern, but my voice comes out too breathy.
Before me, Tieran sinks to his knees, face level with my core as he pulls my hips to the edge of the countertop. “Shut me up, then. Lift,” he commands.
I do as he says, using my arms as leverage to lift my ass off the counter enough for him to grip the waistband of my leggings. He pauses, looking to me for permission, and I nod in confirmation. Hooking his fingers in, he starts to ease the leggings down before tossing them to the floor beside him.
Tieran sits back on his haunches, taking me in while I sit in front of him in just my practical black panties. Suddenly feeling self-conscious and wishing I had worn something sexier, I start to fidget. My legs shift of their own accord, beginning to close, and I pull my wrap sweater down to cover myself, anything to feel less exposed.
He swats my hands away and pulls my legs open again with his hands.
“Don’t you fucking dare.” His usually jovial voice is razor sharp. “God, just...fucking look at you. Lose the sweater.” My nipples pebble under his order, excited he’s taking charge.
Slowly, I untie the wrap at my waist, taking time with every movement and soaking in Tieran’s heated gaze, his large hands stroking my thighs in a maddening motion. When I unwrap the sweater, shrugging the soft material off my shoulders and displaying my strappy, low cut sports bra, his eyes darken. The bright blue I’ve come to love so much is practically non-existent as he drinks me in.
Reaching a hand out, he pinches a nipple between his thumb and forefinger, and I writhe, head falling back from the pleasure coiling through my body with that one, infinitesimal touch.
“Perfect. The way your body responds to me makes me feel like a god, Hellfire.” His hand on my thigh inches higher while the other toys with my nipples, alternatingbetween the two. “If I touch your sweet cunt, will I find it wet for me?”
Feeling emboldened, I run my hand down the plane of my stomach, his gaze branding me everywhere I touch, until it slips under my panties. His grip on my nipple tightens, and I cry out from the bite of pain that ebbs into pleasure as my fingers ghost over my clit. Tieran watches on, enraptured, gently placing a chaste kiss to the inside of my knee. It makes my heart squeeze and thump and pop with tenderness in a moment that feels distinctly opposite.
I swipe my fingers through my center, dipping inside and pumping once, twice, before pulling them out. They glisten under the warm light of his kitchen, proving to him just how wet I am—how wet he’s made me. Slowly, I bring my soaked fingers to his mouth, and when he realizes my intention, his eyes blow wide, engulfed in obsidian.
Tieran brings both of his hands low on my hips, gripping me so hard, it could bruise, pulling me even closer, all while I trace his lips in my arousal. “Is this wet enough for you?” I ask before plunging them into his mouth.
He greedily sucks, humming in satisfaction as his tongue swirls around the digits before releasing. He looks up at me through lowered lashes, and the sight of him kneeling before me makes anticipation course through my veins. His strong hands shift with intent, running south down my hips before grabbing the band of my underwear and ripping them clean off, baring me to him completely.
“It’s a start,” he says just before he puts his mouth on me and turns my world upside down.
Tieran licks a hot stripe up my center, groaning loudly and forcing an embarrassing wail out of my own mouth as he consumes me so thoroughly, my eyes cross.
“Fucking hell. I’ve been dreaming of your taste.” Tieran’s face is ravenous, and he reaches down to grab the impressive bulge in his athletic shorts, grunting as he strokes himself over his pants.
I lean forward so I can see him touch himself, but the way he’s circling my clit with the tip of his tongue has every neuron in my body firing, until I give up and fall back to the counter. “And? How do I taste?” My question comes out breathy, uncontrolled. Everything about him makes me lose control.
Tieran pulls himself off my pussy only long enough to answer. “Like addiction. You taste…” He uses his fingers to spread me open, baring me further before he shoves his tongue inside me, using his other hand to rub my swollen clit. “You taste like I’ll never be satiated.”
He eats me like he’s chasing the point where he’ll be satisfied but can’t get there. My back is bowing off the countertop, somewhere in the background, Pebble is trotting into another room, and I’m being absolutely wrecked.
It’s never been likethis. I don’t think I would have ever gotten any work done if it was like this, because I never want Tieran’s mouth on me to end. I would gladly spend days, months, years doing nothing but this.
