Page 56 of Flagrant Foul (Totally Pucked #3)

Epilogue

Teddy “T-Dog” O’Reilly- Four months later

The call Sev had been waiting for came three weeks ago. In many ways, it was a day like any other day. The big difference was the way Sev looked when he ended the call with his mother.

“This is it,” he said. “She’s ready.”

He looked ready too.

I’m not saying he didn’t look nervous or even afraid.

He did, but more than that, he looked ready.

And he was ready. We landed in Alabaster later the same day, and of course, Nate was there, waiting for us, when we arrived.

He met us with his now-usual greeting—“If it isn’t the traitorous bastards”—and two of his signature knock-the-breath-out-of-you hugs.

Nate and I were both prepared to do whatever it took to get Maria out of that house, but as it turned out, we didn’t need to do anything other than stand in Sev’s slipstream. He faced his father without blinking and brought the full force of a storm with him.

If I’m sure of anything, it’s that his father knows who Sev is now. He was never an elephant. He was a boy chained to a post, and now he’s a man who pulls posts out of the ground. He’s not stuck, and he’s not a victim. He’s the best man I know.

Maria has been staying with us for the past few weeks.

She’s been to see the apartment Sev bought for her a few times and loves it.

Truth be told, I think she might be ready to move into it, but Sev wants to keep her close for a while, and honestly, so do I.

She’s been through so much, and she’s a wonderful houseguest. It’s been so nice seeing how happy having her here makes Sev that I don’t want it to end.

Actually, happy isn’t the right word. Knowing his mom is safe has made Sev more than happy. It’s brought him peace. There’s a carefreeness to the way he moves through his day now that wasn’t there before, and at night, sleep finds him quicker than it used to.

“Holy shit,” Sev says as he walks into the bathroom. The lights in the rest of the apartment are out, and Maria is tucked in in the guest bedroom. “You look hot.”

He closes the door, and a lusty smile creeps up his face as he turns the lock .

I have a towel around my waist and nothing else on, and he’s not wrong. I do look hot. I’m fresh out of the shower, and I’m warm and clean, and possibility swirls around the room along with the steam.

Much as I’m enjoying having Maria here, there are certain downsides to having guests under your roof. One of those is not being able to get the sense pounded out of you on a regular basis. I’m starting to feel it, and I know Sev is too.

I meet his eye in the vanity mirror and let my gaze travel down his body.

Good God, he’s attractive. Little Gay Teddy didn’t stand a chance. That body combined with that smile and nose. Those lips. Oh God, those lips.

I’m amazed I behaved for as long as I did.

He stands behind me as I brush my teeth, kissing droplets of water off my neck and shoulders. Each little kiss leaves a prickle of heat in its wake.

I spit, rinse, and pat my mouth dry. Sev loosens his grip on me so I can turn to face him without him having to let go of me.

“How do you think my mom’s been today?” he asks.

“I think she’s had a good day. We went to Mae’s for coffee this morning, and while we were there, your dad tried calling her from a different number again.

She wasn’t having a bar of it. She ignored the first three calls, and after the fourth one, she took her phone out of her bag and calmly threw it in the trash. ”

“She threw her phone in the trash?”

“Yeah, I’ve ordered her a new one. It should be here tomorrow or the next day.”

“You bought her a new phone? Why didn’t you just take the SIM out of the old one?”

I sigh. “It was symbolic, Sev. It was something she needed to do. You should have seen how she looked when she sat down afterward and sipped her coffee as though nothing had happened. Mae said, ‘Oh, honey, you’re done with his bullshit.’”

Sev looks so proud and hopeful that it makes me want to cry. “Mae said that?”

“Yeah, and you know what she’s like. She knows things.”

He hugs me tightly, sighing softly. “That makes me so happy.”

I hug him back and then look up at him. “She’s going to be okay, Sev, you’ll see.”

“How do you know?”

“I know because I know you.” I reach up and card my fingers through his hair, tugging his head down gently so his forehead rests against mine.

“I know there’s a side of you that you think comes from your dad.

A part you don’t always trust, and that maybe, you haven’t always been proud of.

” He knows what I’m referring to, so he gives a small, terse nod.

“You think it’s a bad thing, something that has the propensity to make you dangerous, but you’re wrong.

You’re not dangerous. You’re not violent or unpredictable.

You’re a fighter. A survivor. There’s a difference.

” I pull his head a little closer to mine and lean into him harder.

“You’re not like your dad, Sev. You’re like your mom. ”

He drops his head and nuzzles into my neck. “How do you do that?” he murmurs. “How do you know what I need to hear before I know I need to hear it?”

“Ah, well, see, the thing is,” I say, taking care to arrange my features into an earnest expression. “I’ve spent most of my life being obsessed with you, so I’ve observed you very closely, and it’s given me some great insights into your psyche.”

His eyes glitter with a smile before he sends them upward in an elaborate eye roll. He gives me a little slap on the ass that’s just hard enough to spread warmth to the lower half of my body.

“Are you ready for the game tomorrow?” he asks.

I scoot my top lip up and to the side in a mix of faux shock and actual swagger. “Are you kidding me? I was born ready. You shouldn’t be asking if I’m ready. You should be asking them if they’re ready.”

Sev barks a dry laugh. It’s the last game of the season tomorrow, and we’re playing the Vipers. Born ready or not, we are at a major disadvantage. They’ve been all but unstoppable this season, and they’re the favorites to take home the Stanley Cup this year.

The game tomorrow will be here in Tampa, so hopefully that will give us an edge. God knows, we need it.

“Did you hear Ben might be at the game?” I say.

“Yeah, I heard that.”

The thought of Ben in the stands keeping an eye on us as we take on the Vipers is a nice one.

A comforting, heartening thought. Something I think will boost team morale.

I don’t want to get my hopes up though. There were a few times last season when he was supposed to attend a game, but it didn’t happen.

“Do you think he’ll make it this time?”

“He’ll be there tomorrow,” Sev says with the certainty of a man with inside information.

“How do you know?”

“I just do.”

“You spoke to Bryce, didn’t you?”

“Maybe I did,” he says as he finds a few more errant water droplets on my neck and licks them up .

“How’s Bubba?” Poor Amelia. She has a beautiful name, and none of us use it.

The entire team calls her Bubba like it’s her government name.

The good news is that she’s home now and she’s doing well.

Bryce sends us regular video updates, and we’re all heavily invested in her cuteness.

Every time she does something new, we cheer like she’s scored a game-winning goal.

The other day, she managed to get her hand into her mouth, and she kind of looked like she meant to do it, and I swear, there were multiple guys in the changing room with tears in their eyes.

Bryce is out for the rest of the season, and though it hasn’t been made official yet, he’s decided to retire from the game.

He’s played professional hockey for over twelve years, and he’s had an amazing career.

I can’t say I’m not sad that he’s leaving, but I understand his decision.

He’s one of those guys who was born to be a dad, and now that he is one, there simply isn’t enough money in the world to steal him away from his family.

“Bryce thinks she might be teething,” says Sev.

“Teething? Isn’t she a little young for that?”

“Yeah, but Bryce says she’s almost certainly gifted and thus likely to hit her milestones early.”

“Hmm,” I say. “D’you think early teething is a sign of giftedness? ’Cause I’m not sure about that.”

“I don’t know shit about giftedness. But either way, Bryce said he’d get a video of her drooling and send it to us tomorrow.”

I laugh, and Sev starts kissing my neck in earnest, nipping at my Adam’s apple.

“Fuck, you have no idea what that laugh does to me, Tee.”

The sound I’m making shifts gears, dropping an octave and becoming distinctly throaty.

Sev hums and drags a hand down my chest, searing my skin as he does it. He untucks my towel, holding it open for a moment before letting it drop to the floor. He doesn’t say a word, but a dark glint in his eyes lets me know that his mood has shifted too.

We look at each other, frozen. We both dare the other to make the first move.

The air between us grows static, fizzing against my skin and making me tingle.

In the end, it’s hard to say who moves first. Could be him.

Could be me. I honestly couldn’t say. One moment, we’re staring each other down, and the next, I’m clawing at the waistband of his pants and he has a hand tightly curled around my dick.

The second we touch, it’s on . It’s fireworks and explosives.

Pinwheels and rockets. Our bodies slam together as we grunt and snap at each other.

Hands grabbing.

Teeth biting.

Sev comes up for air before I do and uses what little presence of mind he has to push me against the wall. Icy tile blasts me from behind, chilling me and setting me on fire as he wrangles both of our dicks into a firm handful.

“Hold on to the towel rack,” he tells me.

I obey without blinking.