Talon's Heart (3 page)

 All thought fled as he recaptured my mouth, his tongue wreaking havoc with my senses. I felt liquid heat pooling between my thighs as he consumed me and I gave in one more to madness that he invoked.

Chapter 5

TALON

 She tasted like cotton candy and sin; her body trembled in my arms as I plundered her mouth deeper.

"Dude, get a room." The teasing yell brought me back from the brink and I gently separated our lips. My hands captured her face so I could look into her eyes.

"In case you missed that, I just staked my claim, from this day on you belong to me." My tone brooked no argument. The sooner she understood what was going on the better, later I’ll explain shit to her but right now we had to get the semantics out of the way. Maybe I should’ve asked dad how he broke the news to mom. I’m sure he’d told us the story before but I never paid attention to that Romeo and Juliet shit. Who the hell believed in love at first sight and happily ever after in this day and age?

 Now my ass was in a sling because I had no idea what to do next. I knew what I wanted to do, but dragging her back to my place and telling her to stay didn’t seem like it would go over too well. Women had rights and shit. Fuck.

 I didn't even mourn my freedom going down the drain. I heard the door to my bachelorhood close and lock. There was nothing she could say that would change what was going to happen between us. I know she wants me too; she came alive in my arms we fit. That's all we needed for now, the rest will come later I'll see to it. “Do you understand what I’m saying Skylar?”

SKYLAR

 I stared into his amazing eyes; my heart was beating like a trapped bird in my chest as I tried to make sense of what had just happened.

"What...you...what?"

Was that my voice, how had I lost the ability to form a coherent thought?

 "You don't have a man and quite honestly I hate to tell you, that wouldn’t have stopped me. I'm no poacher, but for you, I would've made an exception. But since that's not necessary I don't see a problem. I want you, you want me."

He gave me a boyish grin and hugged me close again as if that was all there was to it. Did the others really fall for this?

"Wait a minute, don't I get a say in this? I mean how can you just decide something like that after one kiss?" Good, my voice was mine again.

"You have to ask after that kiss? Trust me sweetheart I know you felt what I felt. My world damn near exploded and I'm willing to bet yours did too."

"Yes...well, but we hardly know each other." I tried in vain to escape his hold on me but there was no give in him. I suspect it also had something to do with the fact that I didn’t really want to escape. It felt right somehow being here with him like this. After everything I’d been through in the last few months this was the last thing I needed. He was the last thing I needed, someone with his reputation. Yet somehow I felt safe there in the shadow of his arms.

 "We have all the time in the world to get to know each other."

"What about...your girlfriend?" I felt a flush of embarrassment at the realization that I had forgotten all about the blonde who’d thrown herself into his arms.

The confused look on his face didn't help matters either. Was he such a player that he could forget he had a love interest already?

 I was beginning to fume; after what my snake of an ex had done to me I could never bring such pain to someone else.

"I don't have a girlfriend."

"Of course you do, I saw you two on the field."

"She's not my girlfriend, just someone I slept with a long time ago."

I'm not quite sure how to take his matter of fact way of saying that. I'd heard the stories of course, and at least he was being honest. But did I want to be just another one of his cast offs?

 All this talk of belonging to him was very confusing as well; what did it really mean? From what I'd learned about him in passing he wasn't one to beat around the bush.

Rumor was he never slept with the same girl twice. Which meant he'd been pretty busy in the three years he'd been here, but what did that mean for me?




TALON 



 I wondered which one of my hangers on had been spreading lies again. Every semester there was always some enterprising coed who was sure she could snag the great Talon Avery with what laid between her legs. I think they even had bets on that shit. Like I was some sort of trophy for their wall. 


 Wasn't it amazing that she had snagged me with nothing more than a look from those obscenely beautiful turquoise eyes? I didn't play around with the truth, I'm pretty sure she would soon be bombarded with stories of my exploits. And if we're going to have any kind of relationship which I'm going to make damn sure is the case, I would rather start with a clean slate.

I'm not ashamed of my past, anything I did before today can have no bearing on what laid ahead for us.

 "I can imagine what you've heard about me, most of it true no doubt. But if you believe nothing else, please believe me when I say I'm a straight shooter. I'm not going to say I don't expect you to believe me, because for what we're going to mean to each other, I don't and won't accept any less.

From now on it's you and me, there will be no other women; that ended yesterday across a football field. Now let's get back inside, I don't want you catching a chill.”

Chapter 6

SKYLAR



 That had been three and a half weeks ago. In the last two weeks we've been with each other every spare moment outside of classes. I go to all his practice sessions after school because he insisted. We even sleep together, although he understood and respected the fact that I wasn't ready for anything physical just yet.

 It came as quite a surprise when the school jock was so accepting of my needs. We did have some pretty hot and heavy make out sessions though, which made me wonder what actual sex with him was going to be like. But he never pressured me into anything; he seemed satisfied just having me there in his bed for now.

 
Of course I still deal with the cattiness of the other girls that were once in his bed and the ones who had hoped to one day be there.

Everyone seemed to be surprised that he let me sleep at his place so often. If they only knew the stink he puts up if I try to sleep in my own dorm, sheesh. The man was like a bear until he got his way.

 I could only imagine what had set him off this time. The fact that I wasn't at the library when I told him I would be wouldn't turn him into the nightmare that my callers were describing. And why the hell hadn't he just called me himself?

Shit I forgot I had turned off my phone for a while, not to mention those calls I had let go to voice mail. Oops, better check.

 Sure enough four missed calls from the man himself, shit. 
I called him back right away.

"Where, the fuck, are, you?"

"Talon?"

"Who the fuck else, now answer me Skylar."

"I'm at the pharmacy what's wrong? You're scaring me." His voice sounded like the world was coming to an end. What the hell could’ve happened?

"Don't cry, just be at your dorm in ten minutes."

"Can you please just tell me what's wrong?"

"I'll tell you when I see you in ten minutes, ten minutes Skylar, don't make me have to come looking for you."

He hung up the phone. Well shit, I guess I was about to meet the caveman Stephanie had warned me about.

 



TALON

 
I'm not in the best frame of mind I know as I leave the steps and head towards her dorm. There're a lot of spectators hanging around waiting to see me lose my shit but I won’t be giving them a show. Just hearing her voice had calmed me down a little but I’m still pissed the fuck off.

 I'm not a hot head by any stretch of the imagination, but I am known to lose my shit once in a while and when that happens things can go south fast. Right now it's taking everything in me not to destroy everything in my path as people scramble to get out of my way. All I know is my girl had better be there when I get there or I won't be held responsible for my actions.

 As soon as I see her with my own eyes and get some answers I’ll calm the hell down. She’s turned me into a fucking lunatic is what she’s done in the last few weeks. My once peaceful existence is anything but since I met the little pain in the ass. It’s not that she’s outright disobedient or anything, she just has a mind of her own which sometimes fucks with my program, and that causes friction. I’m still working on getting her to toe the damn line but she’s proving to be a handful.

 I saw her coming around the corner just as I reached her building. This is another bone of contention I need to take care of. I want her to stay with me in my off campus condo, she thinks it's too soon. She doesn't get it, but after this shit I'll make sure she does.

 She didn't look so hot. That was the first thought I had when she reached me. I didn't know you could get allergies in the winter, but hers have been acting up for some strange reason lately. If it didn't clear up soon I'm hauling her to the doctor, which I’ve been threatening to do for the last day or so.

 
"Talon, what in the world is going on?"

I took both of her hands in mine so I could look into her eyes, her eyes don't lie to me. "Who sent them?"

She looked at a loss at my question. "Who sent what?"

"The flowers Skylar."

"Flowers?" She knitted her brow in confusion.

"Yeah, Noah showed up for practice teasing me about buying out the flower shop for my girl. And since you're the only girl I have and I haven't sent you any flowers lately I thought he was off his nut, until he told me he handled the delivery personally and they were definitely for you."


 "But I didn't get any flowers." We started walking into the building and towards her room.

"I know, your roommate signed for them. That doesn't negate the fact that someone sent you a shit load of roses; his words not mine." I held her hand and pulled her along behind me. They better be from her father, that's all I'm saying, barring that, a mistake or some shit. But if some other guy was sending her flowers there will be hell to pay, the poor fool better find a rock and fast.

 The room was covered no joke; from wall to wall covered with red roses. They just became my least favorite flower in the world. I'm going to rip the motherfucker's head off after I deal with my girl.

"What in the world!" Skye looked around the room in amazement.

 Just then Robyn Baldwin came out of the bathroom. She's another reason I wanted my girl out of here. Though I'd never slept with Robyn, it wasn't for lack of her trying; not to mention she was tight with Mackenzie, who couldn't seem to get it through her head that I never went back for seconds. If she was a pain in the ass before, she was an even bigger one now that Skye and I were together.

No time to think about that shit now, I had to get to the bottom of this flower shit.

 "Oh hi Talon, hi Skye."

I’m sure she thinks I didn't notice that my greeting was sugary sweet, while my girl's was snide. Oh yeah I'm getting her out of here as soon as possible. Any excuse to farther my cause.

"So who's your new admirer Skye you sly thing?" She tried pulling that shit off as being playful but I could see the malice coming off her in waves. What she doesn't know is that I trust my girl implicitly, my anger isn't towards her, it's towards the situation and the motherfucker who didn't have long to live once I find out who the fuck he is.

 “I have no idea.” Skylar walked over to look at the flowers but I held her back, I didn’t even want her touching the shits. I’d light the whole fucking lot of them in five minutes flat before I let that shit happen.

"There's a card." The twit was only too helpful in finding that shit among the mountain of flowers while my girl stood there looking confused and my blood boiled.

 I took the card from her hand and tried not to slap the shit out of her smirking ass before I tore it open. Yeah I did that shit so sue me, what's hers is mine and vice versa.

Reading that shit almost made me postal, lucky for this asshole he was a thousand miles away. I showed her the card as my heart rate went all over the place.

 "What the hell! I didn't know anything about this I swear." She looked up at me pleadingly.

"I know that." Now I did, when I didn't know who’d sent them I couldn't figure out the dynamics. I knew my girl was no cheat, I just couldn't figure out why someone would be sending her flowers. But now I knew who they were from I knew there was no way she’d had any idea about them.

"What the hell does your asshole ex want?"

Chapter 7

TALON

 "Skylar I asked you a question."

"Talon I don't know what he's up to okay." 
She started sneezing again, that's it, I'm taking her stubborn ass to the doctor if that shit doesn't stop no matter what the hell she says. Who would've thought that my girl would be so hard headed? I've been telling her to go for the past few days but does she listen, no way. Now I'm putting my foot down, but first I have to deal with this bullshit.

 "Has he been calling you or trying to contact you in some way?"

"Not that I know of." She looked pissed as hell, which helped to cool the fire burning under my skin.

I noticed her annoying ass roommate still hanging around listening to everything we said, probably needed gossip for her demented friend.

 "Do you mind? We're having a private conversation here." I glared at her.


"Excuse me Mr. Big shot, but this is as much my room as hers I don't have to leave if I don't want to."

I don't have time for this shit, "That's it Skye, let's get your shit, you're coming with me now." 
I started to grab her shit, I knew I was acting like a prick but I didn't much care right now. I wanted her with me anyway and this was just the catalyst I needed. Fucking flowers and shit, what was next? I knew for damn sure that douche won't be sending any motherfucking flowers to my place. Not unless he wanted me to gut him with a rusty knife.