The Aftermath (The Hurricane, #2)(75)
“Yeah, but since when did I ever listen to you?” I answered. We both paused as we stared, disbelievingly, at the ring in front of us.
“You did it, kid,” he said to me, his eyes a little stunned and watery.
“You gave this to me, Danny. You put me on this path, and without you, I wouldn’t be here. Shit, without you, I’d probably have gone down the same path as me ma,” I told him.
“Don’t sell yourself short. Boxing is in your blood. You’ve got some kind of magic in that ring that I ain’t never seen before. And you weren’t never going the same way as that gin-soaked, sour-faced, bitter old bitch. You just needed a kick up the arse that’s all. Maybe we both did. If anyone’s responsible for all this, it’s that girl of yours.”
We both looked up to see Em answering questions from some reporter. I could tell how nervous she was by the way she kept tucking her hair behind her ear.
“She ain’t never getting rid of me,” I told Danny, like it was a vow. Em was mine for life. That would never change.
“Poor girl,” he said with a chuckle that turned into a laugh. Honest to God, in all the years I’ve known Danny, I’d never seen him laugh. Even Kier and Liam turned around to watch. It was pretty infectious, and we were all grinning and laughing along with him as the gravity of what we’d done began to sink in. Pretty soon tears of laughter were running down his cheeks, and Danny wiped them away with the back of his hand. He patted my knee in amusement, then stood up.
“Where are you going?” I asked him.
“I’m gonna find a good Irish bar and see if I can help Father Pat put a dent in the church central heating fund.”
More camera crews were getting pretty persistent, and eventually I caved in and gave them the interviews they were looking for. When it was done, I saw Em, still standing in the ring and chatting with some of Temple’s entourage. Knowing her, she was probably trying to console them over their camp’s loss.
“Sorry, boys, I’m taking back my wife,” I interrupted, and without waiting to hear what they had to say about it, picked her up bridal-style and carried her to the ropes. I dropped her over the side, and she screeched as Kier caught her.
“Fuck, why are you hitting me? He’s the one who dropped you,” Kieran complained as she smacked him on the arm.
“Because he’s been hit enough for one day,” Em told him. They both wore stupid-arse grins that I expected we’d all be wearing for the next month, or at least until I had to start training again. Jumping down myself, I jogged over to take Sunshine from him. Call me possessive as f*ck, but I didn’t want her in anyone’s arms but mine.
When we got back to the locker room, the hallway was filled with people all wanting a piece of me. Earnshaw was in his f*cking element, so we left him out there to deal with them and shut the door behind him. He was PR’s golden boy now. The kid in his twenties who’d left a big firm to sign with an unknown, who’d come from nowhere to win a World Heavyweight title. There were probably as many people out there who were trying to poach him as those who wanted a piece of me. I liked the guy but it would be a good test of his loyalty to see whether he stuck with us or jumped ship.
I crossed the length of the room in seconds and as I got to the door of the bathroom, I called back to Kier who was turning on the television as the boys handed out beers. “Tell the doc to give me five minutes,” I told him.
“You sure you won’t need longer?” he asked, smirking at Em and making her blush.
“I need a f*cking week, but after two months of no married time, I’m pretty sure two minutes would do it.”
“O’Connell!” Em exclaimed, outraged as she covered her face in embarrassment. The boys laughed and upped the volume on the TV. Closing the door behind me, I turned on the shower and stripped off my boots and shorts as the water heated.
“Baby, your face. Shouldn’t we wait until you’ve seen the doctor before we fool around?” she told me.
“I’m not planning on fooling around. I’m pretty serious about what I want to do. Honestly, I’m fine.” I closed my eyes as she delicately stroked my injuries and opened them again to see the worried look in her eyes.
“Mrs. O’Connell, do you know how f*cking happy I am that you got to see me fight?” I asked.
“Not as happy as I was to make it in time. Remind me to call and thank the car service before we go. They took my bag and delivered it to the hotel so I could get to you quicker.”
The f*cking tape on my hands was taking ages to get off. As soon as I saw Em slide down her skirt, I knew the tape could wait until later. Grabbing her roughly like some kind of caveman, I lifted her effortlessly to wrap her legs around my waist while plundering her mouth. Fuck, she tasted like heaven. Her tongue tangled against mine as she pressed herself as close to me as possible. Slipping one hand down her panties, I squeezed the smooth globe of her arse cheek. She sat perched on my cock that was hard as a diamond, but I couldn’t bear to let her go long enough to strip her.
“Let me down, O’Connell,” she said huskily. It killed me to do it but I reluctantly did as she asked, groaning because she brushed past my dick on the way down.
“Start singing the national anthem,” she ordered.
“I don’t think that’s going to work this time,” I replied, looking at her breasts as her hands moved up to her bra. One strap slid down her arm and then the other. When she reached around to unclasp it, my mouth went dry.