by Eden Finley
“Talon,” Miller says.
Damn it. I pull back. “I want to learn how to take you deep.”
“You don’t have to.”
“I want to. I want to make you scream.”
Miller’s dark eyes flare with heat. “Relax your jaw and breathe through your nose.”
I lower my head, but right before I get his cock back in my mouth, he grips my hair tight.
“And careful with the teeth.”
With a chuckle, I try again and can take him a tiny bit farther this time.
Miller’s breathing picks up, but he lies as still as possible. His thigh muscles contract, and as much as I should be worried about his injury, I assume he’ll tell me if his leg hurts too much.
My head bobs and my cheeks hollow on the upstroke as I add suction and then release when I push my head back down again.
Miller’s hands fumble for a place to go and tremor slightly.
I keep pushing my limits, because every time I go that tiny bit deeper into my throat, it makes him more frazzled and me even harder.
“Fuck, keep doing that.”
Miller’s encouragement turns me on more than anything ever has in my entire life, and I need friction on my cock. My hips rock against the bed, my dick dragging back and forth against the sheets.
“Holy shit, you’re gonna make me come.”
I moan around his cock, which sets mine off, and it’s the first time I’ve ever come without someone touching me. My orgasm rocks my entire body, and I lose rhythm on Miller’s cock, but he doesn’t seem to notice. He’s too busy with his head thrown back and his mouth open in ecstasy.
Like I always do when I defile hotel room sheets, I send up a silent apology to the housekeeping staff and make a mental note to leave a big tip.
“Seriously, Marc, pull away.”
I shake my head.
“Fuck … fuck … fuck! I can’t …” Miller lets out the guttural roar I wanted and bucks into my mouth. More saltiness coats my taste buds, and I remind myself to breathe through my nose when I swallow.
His cock slips from between my lips, and Miller taps my shoulder to get me to climb up the bed.
I wriggle my way up, and Miller’s arms come around me. One of his hands moves between us, moving to my softening cock.
“Want me to—”
“Yeah, bit late for that. Making you come was apparently too much for me to handle.”
“In that case, you’re welcome to do it any time you want. Like, any time. All the time.”
I’m surprised he doesn’t call me on being fast on the trigger, but no way am I bringing that to his attention. “Well, we have until July to take advantage. In between training, I’ll blow you. Make it like a reward system.”
“That might not be the best idea. I’m already terrified of getting a hard-on on the field from just being near you. Every time we complete a pass, I might try to push your head into my crotch.”
“That’d be a nice halftime show.”
We laugh, but Miller’s dies quickly.
“Fuck.” Miller’s tone is dejected. “I’m still talking as if I’m gonna be on the field next season.”
“You will be.” I’ll make sure of it.
Chapter Eighteen
MILLER
The day after the Super Bowl, Talon flies back to Chicago while I go home again. He needs a few days to straighten his shit out and then a few more to visit his family in Colorado, so I’m taken off guard when he turns up on my doorstep a day earlier than planned.
Yet, there he is, in all his Talon glory, still basking in his Super Bowl win which has his killer smile on display. His blond hair is covered by a beanie, and his warm breath comes out in puffs of steam. “New York is colder than Colorado.”
“Somehow I doubt that,” I say. “What are you—”
“Who’s ready for some training?” He pushes his way into the house and is way too excited for this time of morning.
I close the door to stop the cold air from coming in. “I guess the correct answer here is me? You’re a day early.”
“I knew you had your PT appointment today, and I wanted to come so I can talk strategy with your therapist.”
“You weren’t kidding when you said you were gonna ride me hard, were you?”
Talon’s eyes fill with lust, and I shove him.
“I meant with training, you dick.”
He shakes his head as if clearing his thoughts. “Don’t say dick and ride and hard in the span of fifteen seconds. It short-circuits my brain, and I need a reboot.”
“Ah. So, it all comes out. You’re a sex robot sent from the future.”
“Here at your service for whenever you want.” Talon’s eyes drift down my body. I don’t think I’ll ever get used to him looking at me that way. “Seriously, whenever you want.”
A little voice from behind me startles me. “What’s a sech robot?”
Oh, fuck.
I turn to my niece with a really big smile. “I’ll give you a lollipop to never repeat that again.”
“Is it a bad word? Mommy says bad words.”
“It is a bad word.”
“What’s a bad word?” Mom says from the other end of the hallway.
“Nothing.” I stand up straight.
“I forget already,” Gabby says.
I owe that kid a lollipop.
“Marcus Talon, get your butt in here,” Mom says when she spots him.
We move away from the entranceway and Talon approaches my mom.
“Hi, Gloria. It’s good to see you again.” He kisses her cheek.
They met back when we were in college and Mom flew out to check on Vanessa and me.
Mom pats Talon’s cheek. “Last time I saw you, the NFL was just out of reach. It’s crazy how far you’ve come since then. And to think, I thought all those conversations about Talon this and Talon that, Talon, Talon, Talon were over. Then you had to go and sign with Chicago, and now it’s all I ever hear again.”
I run a hand over the back of my neck. “Thanks for the obligatory embarrassment, Mom, and I’d love to stay for more, but we’ve gotta go now. PT appointment. What a shame.”
Talon laughs and follows me back to the door where I put on my jacket and scarf.
He leans in, the smugness in his eyes more prominent than normal—which is saying something. “Talk about me, huh?”
“Shut up,” I grumble.
We make our way out to his rental SUV, and I don’t miss the way Talon eyes my ever-present limp as we get into the car. It’s getting better, and some days, I don’t limp at all, but the sciatic nerve is still healing from the second surgery, so I get shooting pain down my leg every now and then, and it’s easier to not put pressure on it.
Before I can tell him to quit looking at me like I’m broken and that I’m fine and the doctor assures me it’s normal, he says, “I’m guessing your mom doesn’t know?”
“Doesn’t know what?”
“About us? And the guys in college?”
“There hasn’t been a need to tell her.”
I think I see hurt in Talon’s eyes, but that can’t be right. We haven’t even discussed what this is with each other; I’m not gonna come out to my mom and—
“I came out to my brother,” Talon says.
“You what?”
Of course, Talon is just … so fucking Talon. It’s not like I’ve struggled with my sexuality over the years internally, but externally, I knew there’d be consequences. It was easy to push down the side of me that likes guys because I could still be with women and not feel like I was pretending. But Talon … he figures out he’s bi and comes out of the closet before he even has a chance to climb into it.
It’s admirable, but fuck, if I don’t resent him a little for it.
“Okay, so, when I started thinking of you in … that way, and I’d walked in on Jackson and Noah, I called my brother for advice, and he basically said it was nothing but even if it was something that he wouldn’t
care. When I got home a few days ago, he handed me a beer and asked if it was nothing. I didn’t really see a reason to lie to him.”
“How’d he take it?”
“He clinked his beer bottle with mine, clapped my shoulder, and that was that. I didn’t tell him about you, though.”
“What about your parents?”
Talon shakes his head. “Nah. I know them, and they’ll probably pry a little too much or boast a little too loud to people they shouldn’t. They told all their friends when I lost my virginity, like it was some milestone to be proud of as parents. Considering we don’t even know what … this is … there’re too many non-answers.”
I want to ask what this is, but now’s not the time. We have until next season to worry about everything else, and right now, we need to focus on my leg and figuring out how we’re going to work on our own before we drag the rest of the world into our lives.
“Okay, you’re gonna have to tell me where to go, because I got no idea,” Talon says. Perfect timing for an abrupt subject change.
I direct Talon to Manhattan, but as soon as we arrive at my physiotherapist’s, I know bringing Talon is a huge mistake.
Amelia’s eyes light up as we walk in, and I swear cartoonish love hearts beat out of them.
“You’re—”
Talon smiles and points to me. “I’m this one’s bailiff. I’m here to make sure he’s not slacking off, because I really need him next season.”
“You did just fine without him, Mr. Super Bowl Winner,” she practically purrs. Ugh.
If Amelia were ever to go missing and they looked at security footage of her business, I guarantee I’d be a prime suspect with the way I glare at her as she flirts with my man.
My man. Yup. Talon’s mine even if we haven’t defined that yet.
I stalk off in the direction of the physio room where my exercises happen, and they follow me while being all flirty.
“You’re such a great friend to be here for Miller,” Amelia says.
“I really am.”
I roll my eyes so hard I see brain.
“We’ll have you on the floor, Miller,” Amelia says, and I don’t even need to look at Talon to know he’s waggling his eyebrows at me.
The whole time Amelia stretches me out on the mats, she barely takes her eyes off Talon, and I get it. Hell, I wanna be looking at him the whole time too. And I should be used to this by now. No matter where we’d go, whether it be in college or even during training camp at the beginning of the season, women flocked to Talon because he’s a godlike figure in football, and he’s always been naturally charismatic.
If this thing with us does go anywhere, we’re gonna have to talk about that, because while I’ve been fine with sharing him in the past, he was never really mine to share. Everything is different now, and the dynamic is still unknown to me.
Talon says he hasn’t hooked up with anyone since we started fooling around, but he also hasn’t brought up whether or not he expects us to go back to the way things were between us.
Maybe he wants one of those open relationships where someone’s invited into our bedroom whenever he feels like more. Maybe he doesn’t want an actual relationship at all.
We need to talk about it and set limits and tell each other what we expect out of this, but how do I bring that up? Especially without sounding like a psycho clinger.
“So, you’re helping Miller get back on his feet?” Amelia asks.
“His leg, actually.”
Amelia laughs as if Talon’s cracked the funniest joke in the world.
“We also need to recondition the rest of him.” He glances at me. “Give him a really hard workout to build up the muscles that have deteriorated since he’s been on his ass for the last four months.”
I narrow my eyes at him. I don’t know whether to be pissed at him for judging me or turned on by his implication. Either my brain’s in the gutter or Talon’s trying to torture me. I’m gonna go with torture, because he’s Talon.
“Did you just call me fat?” I quip.
“Hey, if the shirt fits … or doesn’t, in this case.” He gestures to the muscle tee I normally work out in.
“It’s supposed to be this tight,” I argue.
“Mmhmm.”
Amelia’s still laughing like Talon’s so cute. “Are we ready to add more weights to the leg press today?”
I grunt. “Yeah.”
“Wait,” Talon says, “he was limping before. Is the leg press a good idea?”
For someone who said he was gonna push me hard, he’s certainly singing a different tune suddenly.
“He’s still on light weights, but he needs to start working the leg more,” Amelia says.
“Could that do more damage? Wouldn’t it be better to recondition the rest of his body first and save the leg until last to make sure it’s all healed?”
Amelia smiles. “I promise I know what I’m doing. If you wanted to maybe grab coffee sometime, I can explain the treatment plan in more depth with Miller’s levels of advancement and where he should be at.”
I freeze.
“He has set goals and a timeframe to hit them,” she continues. “I’d be happy to go over all of that with you.”
I bet she would.
I try not to look at Talon, but I can see out of the corner of my eye that he’s trying to gauge a response from me.
“Sounds great, seeing as he hasn’t discussed any of this with me.”
My heart sinks. Did he just accept a date with this woman?
“I’d love to discuss Miller’s program with you.” Amelia’s voice is all breathy. Apparently, she doesn’t give a shit about client confidentiality … wait, is that even a thing with physiotherapists?
“Why don’t you do it right now, seeing as both of you are talking as if I’m not here anyway.” And that comes out super harsh. Great.
“Ignore him,” Talon says. “He’s cranky because I didn’t let him have coffee on the way here.”
“Oh, I understand,” Amelia says. “I’d be cranky without coffee too.”
Yeah. Because coffee is the reason I’m an asshole today. Let’s go with that.
“We can all go to lunch one day to discuss it,” Talon says. “Miller and I are basically inseparable.”
Uh-oh. I know that tone. I know that innuendo.
Does he seriously want to have a threesome with my physiotherapist?
Talon’s renting an apartment for the off season not far from my mom’s house, and as we walk into the gym in the basement of the building, I tell myself to let the Amelia thing go. My mouth doesn’t listen.
“You can’t be that naïve,” I exclaim.
“She did not ask me on a date.”
“She so did,” I argue. “You’re dating my physiotherapist. And you practically asked her to fuck both of us.”
Talon sighs in exasperation. “She was being polite, and no, I didn’t.”
“She was being unprofessional, and yes, you did!”
Talon’s lips quirk. “Are you jealous?”
“No,” I say too quickly.
“You so are.”
“So what if I am? Aren’t I allowed to be?” My question may come off as rhetorical, but it’s really not.
“No. You’re not allowed to be,” Talon snaps.
“Why not?”
“Why not?” he yells and then glances around the empty gym.
It’s a small private gym, only open to the residents of the building, but anyone could walk in at any minute. “Because I thought we’d already discussed this before the Super Bowl. You’re not dating anyone else, and neither am I. So, I don’t know why you’d assume I’d say yes to a date with you right in front of me.”
My mouth slams shut.
Talon’s smugness is back. Although I have to wonder if it’s just a constant thing bubbling under his skin that he can break out at a moment’s notice.
“I didn’t realize that was the exclusivity talk,” I say quietly.
&
nbsp; “Are you dating anyone else?” Talon asks.
“Fuck no. I wouldn’t do that.”
“Well, it kinda sucks that you think I would.”
“It’s not … that. It’s just … I don’t know. You’re you.”
“Wow. I must be an asshole in your eyes.”
“I’ve never known you to do the exclusive thing. Hell, I slept with all of your college girlfriends with you right there.”
Talon slumps. “Is this going to be an issue with us while we figure this thing out? Or do you want to get it out of the way right now?”
“Get what out of the way?”
“It may’ve taken me a while to work it out, but you want to know what all those women had in common?”
“They’d do anything for you because you’re Marcus Talon?”
Talon playfully slaps the side of my head. “You, you moron. They were all a means to get to you. I got to have you through them, and it’s taken me this long to figure that out. Girls came and went, but you’ve always been there.”
A lump lodges in my throat. “What happens when your attention span runs out?”
“Aww. You think I’m gonna get bored of you?”
I shrug. Isn’t that what he said always happens?
“Would a threesome with your PT be hot? Hell yeah, it would be. But you’ve already said that’s a hard line for you, and Shane”—Talon pierces me with his blue eyes—“I don’t need anyone else. I used to think I did, but that was only because I’d never been with the right person.”
The right person. I’m the right person?
“I don’t need anyone else either,” I whisper.
Talon grins. “Good. Then it’s settled.”
I nod. “Settled.”
“Now, get on the ground and give me a hundred crunches.”
“I hate you.” Yet I do as he says.
Talon positions himself at my feet and runs his hands up my legs and rests them on my knees as he leans forward. “No, you don’t. You want me to be your boyyyfriend. Because you liiike me. You want to—”