Page 82 of Penalty Kick

Snaking his arm around her waist, he tugged her into him, their bodies crashing together. His sweaty, musky scent filled her nostrils, her mind once against filling with dirty thoughts. Dash leaned in, kissing her hard, like he'd been reading her mind and could see the slideshow of naughty deeds running through it.

“Now, what are you thinking, Bonita?”

“That I love you. You caught me so off guard, and I never, ever thought I would be here. But I’m so happy that I am. I’m so happy that it’s you. That you are my person. Because for the first time, I feel like I’m right where I belong and that everything is starting to make sense. You are a huge part of that, Dash.”

“I love you too, Talia. It has been a long time since I allowed anyone to see certain parts of my life, but with you it was easy. As you say, you are my person. And I do hope it is not too forward of me to hope that I can take you to Argentina sometime, to meet my mother and Maria. Because they are going to love you too.”

Talia’s stomach was doing cartwheels, which was exactly what she wanted to do at the idea of going to Argentina with Dash. She wanted to see where he grew up, wanted to know his family. When it came to Dash, she wanted it all. However, that meant there was one thing they had to do first.

“Then I think it is time we consider telling Gunnar.”

Dash groaned. “While I do not disagree, that is not a conversation I look forward to. There are a great number of things I would rather do than have that conversation.”

“Like?” she asked, wiggling in his arms.

Dash groaned again, only this one wasn’t out of annoyance. This one was laced with a whole lot more.

“With you moving like that, the first thing that comes to mind is pushing you up against that wall and kissing you until you cannot breathe.”

“That doesn’t sound like a bad idea at all.”

Dash’s eyes went dark, a low, almost inaudible growl escaping from him. It sent sparks through Talia, revving her engine like the start of a drag race. His mouth was on hers before she could think any more about it, his tongue finding hers instantly. Her knees felt weak, the power of his kiss taking over all her senses. It was a good thing he was holding on as tight as he was, because there was no way she could hold herself up. He continued to kiss her like his life depended on it, his hands grabbing her ass, lifting her up until she had her legs wrapped around his waist. Deep in the back of her mind she knew that at any minute someone could walk in—that they could be interrupted—but none of that mattered. She needed Dash’s kisses more than she needed her next breath.

There was no better feeling than this. In his arms she felt safe, secure, like she was where she belonged. At some point they would have to stop—tear themselves away from one another and right themselves. They both had obligations, plus Talia still needed to track down Gunnar and Felicity to let them know about her acceptance to the Renaye program. Both of them would be just as excited, a million questions at the ready. And she looked forward to telling them and answering all those questions. Once she was done here.

Deepening the kiss more, Talia let the whole world fall away, so much so that she missed the heavy footsteps entering the weight room. The ones that should have signaled for them to come up for air. The ones that would have prepared her for the very angry voice that was coming next.

“What. The. Fuck.”

* * *

Mierda…

Dash froze, his blood turning cold. Talia pulled back from their kiss, her eyes wide, her face slightly pale. He knew exactly how she felt. There was no question who that voice belonged to—just like there was no question about the anger in it. Much more so than the last time he’d caught them. Although this time, there was no playing it off as something else.

“So, about telling Gunnar,” Talia said, forcing a lightness to her voice. “How about now?”

“Ha.”

Easing her hold on him, Talia slid down his body, maintaining eye contact the whole time. Dash could still see the love in her eyes, and he knew that she was with him in this. That somehow didn’t put him any more at ease about facing the man before them.

“Gunnar!” Talia exclaimed as she spun around.

“I’m going to ask again. What…the actual…fuck?”

Dash swallowed hard, trying to find some courage to form words. His mouth felt like the desert though, much like it had the day after returning home from Vegas, sitting in Gunnar’s office. Only difference was, this time he did remember what had happened. He’d fallen for his coach’s daughter. It wasn’t any more on purpose than what had gone down that night on the Strip. It was significantly more rewarding, and he wasn’t alone in it.

“Coach—” he began, Gunnar cutting him off.

“I distinctly remember telling you to stay away from my daughter,” Gunnar growled, sneering at him. Turning to Talia, his sneer softened, but he was still just as pissed. “And I distinctly remember telling you that footballers are bad news.”

Indeed. He had said that. Both of those things, multiple times.

“And I distinctly remember telling you that you are not the boss of me,” Talia quipped.

Fuck, way to poke the bear…

“What’s going on in here?” Felicity exclaimed, bursting into the weight room, Cowboy hot on her heels. They both looked concerned and confused, stopping next to Gunnar, looking between the three of them.