Page 117 of Rise Above

“What are you doing, darling?” Talon’s voice was

low, lower than I had heard from him before. It sent tingles down my body.

“Helping you relax,” I said and continued to

massage his shoulders and down his biceps.

“Shouldn’t I be doing that for you? You just got out

of the hospital, Aife.” His eyes met mine over his shoulder. “Why don’t you let someone take care of you for once?”

“I thrive in chaos. Let me do this for you, Talon.” He growled lightly before pulling me to the side of

the tub. Talon tugged my top over my head. He made a hand gesture for me to get naked, so I did and climbed into the warm water with him.

The water felt nice on my skin, and I immediately

relaxed against his firm chest. This felt more intimate than

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anything I’d done in the past with a partner. Talon rubbed gentle circles into my thighs and placed kisses on the top of my head.

It was somehow intimate without being sexual.

Though I could feel he was aroused, based on the hardness pressing into my back, I didn’t think he was going to act on it. We sat like that for a long while, just enjoying the warm water and each other.

“Thank you, Aife,” Talon said once the water had

cooled drastically. “It was nice to just sit here.”

“Of course,” I said and stood from the tub, grabbing

the towels I’d laid out for us.

Talon’s eyes darkened as he looked over my body.

“You know this is the second time I’ve seen your breasts, but we haven’t even really kissed. How is it I’m seeing you naked before anything else?”

“Um…” My words failed me as warmth flooded my

cheeks.

He was right, of course. We had somehow

completely skipped over a real kiss and jumped right to nudity. It was hard to define what exactly our relationship was. We were clearly more than friends but not anything defined. Talon knew me better than anyone including Dre, Nat, and Davis.

“Aife, can I kiss you?” Talon asked, hope and lust

evident in his eyes. This was different than when he asked at the hospital. This felt real, unrushed.

Thumping was all I could hear, likely my own

heart. No one had ever asked to kiss me before. It was

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