Page 116 of Rise Above

moved closer to him so we could cuddle.

He pulled me against his side gently. Talon brushed

some of my hair behind my ear and pressed a soft kiss to my forehead. He was always so gentle with me even before knowing my history. It was one of my favorite things—his care, his gentleness despite his size.

“I don’t think it’s a slump. We’re a better team than

this, but I’m not even playing at my normal caliber. It’s like we’re playing down to our opponents,” Talon said, pinching the bridge of his nose. “Fuck, maybe it is a slump.”

“Well, you are coming off an injury. You help lead

the team, so your absence probably affected them. It’s only been a couple of weeks, so you have to give it time.”

“Yeah, but how much time? My contract is up this

year, and I’m not ready to leave the Hammers.”

“Aren’t you like the face of the team right now?” I

asked, rubbing small circles into his large chest.

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Talon nodded, a low hum leaving his lips. He just

looked exhausted. He was a perfectionist and very clearly had anxiety around his performance. I hated to diagnose like that, but it was easy to tell. The man had no idea how to destress. To be fair, neither did I.

“Stay put,” I said as I got up from the couch. I had a

few ideas to help Talon relax. He needed to just take some time for himself. I took the stairs to his master bedroom and started a bath for him. Talon had a huge jacuzzi tub; it was a bathroom I was extremely envious of. He had a huge walk-in shower too that had multiple shower heads. It was a bathroom meant for the rich and famous.

Quickly, I squeezed some nice smelling bath soap

into the tub. I was a little shocked he had anything like that here but chalked it up to his former fiancée. Or maybe the giant actually liked taking a bubble bath every now and then.

Once the bath was filled, I walked back down the

stairs and tugged on Talon’s hand. He peeked an eye at me and slowly followed as I dragged him upstairs. Normally, I wouldn’t be as bold as this. After our talk though, I felt really close to him. Talon saw pieces of me that no one else really did, not treating me with pity or like a burden. To him, I was more than medical issues, more than someone to pity. I was Aife—his.

Once we were in his bathroom, I motioned for him

to strip. Talon shot me a look but pulled his sweats off his thick thighs. I took a moment to appreciate them. His thighs were so sculpted and muscular, I felt myself wanting to bite them, to feel them in my mouth. I would never had

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considered myself a thigh girl, but Talon changed my mind in the time I’d known him. I still wanted to ride them.

Then he pulled his long sleeve off, and I couldn’t

help but ogle his strong chest. Staring me down, Talon then peeled his tight boxer briefs off. I made sure to keep my eyes above his waist, no matter how much I wanted to peek. A smirk landed on his face. He walked past me and climbed into the tub.

When Talon was fully seated and I was sure his

bottom half was covered in bubbles, I moved behind him. Along with his bubble bath, he had some nice scented lotion. I grabbed one labelled cucumber and poured it into my hands. Rubbing my hands together, I warmed up the lotion before I began massaging his tense shoulders.