Chapter 10
Teddy
Curtis softly ran his fingers along my jawline and down the side of my neck, then disappeared into the bathroom.
My knees felt like Jell-O as I walked to the bed, dropping onto it as I reached for the cuff on my wrist. He’d said he was going to kiss me and then hadn’t. What the fuck?
If it was some kind of tactic to get my heart racing, he’d succeeded. I could feel it beating at the base of my throat as I waited for him to come back out.
We’d had a good night—one of the best that I could remember.
The kids had made friends and hung out with people their ages, we’d filled up on good food, and Curtis had been by my side the entire time, ensuring that I was enjoying myself.
Sitting on his lap had been nicer than I’d ever admit, but doing it while he laughed?
There were times when I’d thought I could sit there forever and be happy.
But it wasn’t forever. It was for now. All of it was fake.
His hand on the base of my spine as we walked around, his arm around my shoulders, his lips against my neck, his kisses—all of it was a show he was putting on.
One I’d agreed to. He’d been asked to play a part, and he’d come through with flying colors.
I wasn’t na?ve. I knew that those lines could blur. It was impossible to act physically affectionate with someone you felt an attraction to for hours and not start catching feelings—whether that was lust or something else.
Was I willing to let it go further than that?
My tight nipples and the ache between my thighs said yes.
Shit.
I hadn’t been with anyone in longer than I wanted to admit.
Years. There just hadn’t been time when my pop started getting really sick.
I’d been too focused on taking care of the kids, working, and keeping him alive as long as I could.
There had been full years during that time when I hadn’t even thought about sex.
I was thinking about it now.
The fallout would be minimal. I knew that.
I couldn’t use the kids as an excuse because, as far as they knew, Curtis and I were already together.
The end was already coming for them, even if they didn’t know it yet.
I only had myself to worry about. Could I take what he was offering and come out the other side unscathed?
We had a good thing going. Even though we’d moved into the house as strangers, we’d somehow found a way to coexist that was working for everyone.
Curtis may have said he was going to kiss me, but the look on his face and the erection in his jeans had said a whole lot more than that.
He’d thrown down the gauntlet and walked away, giving me time to decide what my answer would be.
I could crawl into bed, pull the covers to my chin, and we’d go to sleep.
Or I could stay where I was and wait for him.
Was I willing to blur the lines even further?
Honestly, when would I have the opportunity again?
It seemed mercenary when I thought of it that way, but it was true.
I didn’t have any interested in starting a relationship with someone in the future.
Our little trio worked, and I wasn’t going to screw that up.
But Finn was only ten. It would be at least eight years before he was out of the house and I had the freedom to do whatever I wanted.
But right now, I was already in it. I was living the life without arguably one of the best benefits of being in a relationship.
Curtis opened the door to the bathroom and shut off the light behind him as he came back into the room.
His hair was damp, like he’d run wet hands through it, and the top two buttons of his jeans were still undone, making them hang low on his hips.
I took it all in as he moved toward me, finally meeting his eyes when he reached the foot of the bed.
“We need some parameters,” I announced, rising to my feet.
His lips twitched, and his eyes crinkled at the corners. “Oh yeah?”
“Yes.” I fidgeted for a moment and then set my hands on my hips just to keep them still.
“All right,” he agreed. “Hit me.”
I opened my mouth to give him my conditions, but nothing came out.
I couldn’t think of a single thing that I wanted to draw a line in the sand about.
He already knew my kids. We were already living together.
His public displays of affection were necessary, and I actually liked them.
To the outside world, nothing would change.
“I won’t sleep naked,” I said finally, jutting out my chin. “Don’t even ask. It’s not happening.”
He grinned. “Okay.”
“We have kids in the house, and if there’s an emergency, I don’t want to go running out there naked as a jaybird.”
“Smart. I won’t sleep naked either.”
I hid my irrational disappointment.
“And this doesn’t change anything out there,” I said, gesturing to the bedroom door. “Even if we’re fucking, you still don’t have a say with my kids. I’m their parent.”
His head jerked in surprise. “Of course.” He let out a huff of laughter.
“What?”
“I, uh…” He shook his head and scratched his jaw. “I already treat your kids like we’re together, Teddy. They’re livin’ in my house.”
“Oh,” I mumbled. “Right.”
“We’re together as far as anyone knows,” he said. “We have been since you started sleeping next to me. What we do in that bed is nobody’s business but ours, and it doesn’t change anything outside of it.”
I nodded in agreement.
“Um…also, I haven’t had sex in seven—no, eight—years,” I blurted out in one breath, trying not to cringe.
The look of shock I was expecting never came. Instead, Curtis clenched his teeth, his jaw visibly flexing as he braced his hands on his hips.
When he spoke, his voice was rough, and I felt it everywhere.
“Am I comin’ to you or are you comin’ to me?” he asked.
“I think you’re going to have to come here,” I confessed. Nerves made my hands tremble as I pulled off my tank top. “I’m pretty sure my feet have been permanently cemented to the floor.”
“That’s gonna be a problem,” he murmured as he moved toward me. “Because I’m not gonna fuck you the first time bent over the side of the bed.”
He gripped me by the hips and tossed me onto the bed, making me gasp. Without hesitation, he reached for my shorts, and within moments, I was naked.
My heart was in my throat again, this time with embarrassment, as he suddenly stepped away from the bed. I was so shocked that I didn’t even say a word as I watched him cross the room. Mortification made my skin burn.
Then the bedroom door lock clicked, and I realized what he was doing.
He stripped out of his jeans as he made his way back toward me.
“Don’t,” he ordered as I started to curl up. “Let me look.”
Swallowing hard, I let my legs fall back to the bed, my arms sliding away from my breasts.
When he reached the bed, he crawled up beside me and knelt at my side, his thighs splayed wide. The erection I’d noticed in his jeans was far more visible in his black boxer briefs, and I tried not to stare. Curtis was big everywhere.
“Come here,” he rasped, pulling me upward.
I found myself kneeling in front of him, goose bumps pebbling my skin as his hands slid up my arms and curved around the sides of my neck. He tipped my head back, his thumbs sliding down the column of my throat, and then his mouth was on mine.
Curtis had kissed me a lot. Soft pecks on the mouth when he left. Longer kisses when we were in company. Laughing kisses. Growly kisses. Sweet kisses.
But nothing had prepared me for that kiss. It wasn’t for show, and it wasn’t for anyone else. His tongue slid inside my mouth with purpose. His teeth nipped at my bottom lip. Our breath mingled as he pulled away, staring into my eyes as his hands drifted down over my collarbone to cup my breasts.
“Christ,” he breathed as his thumbs found my nipples.
I groaned and clutched at his shoulders as he gave the hard peaks a little flick with his thumbnails.
It had been so long. I’d forgotten what it felt like to be touched like that by someone else. Every inch of my skin tingled with anticipation.
My breath was coming in gasps as his hands explored, and I was in such a daze that I was startled when he bit my chin, his teeth dragging along my skin.
“Stay with me,” he ordered.
“I’m with you,” I protested, even though I hadn’t been. I’d been in my head.
“You weren’t,” he argued against my neck as his hands swept down my sides. He sucked the skin into his mouth and worried it with his teeth as one of his hands moved lower.
Sucking in a breath, I held it as his hand slid between my legs, one of his fingers sliding along the slick skin. My thighs were wide open as I arched my back, and I felt his arm slide around to brace me as his head descended, pulling my nipple into his mouth.
I whimpered as he pulled his hand away, then jerked in surprise when he painted my nipple with the wetness from his finger. Immediately, he pulled it back into his mouth, and everything inside me clenched hard.
Somewhere in the back of my mind, I knew that I wanted to explore too.
I wanted to map his tattoos with my tongue and feel his cock against the roof of my mouth and curve my hands around the globes of his ass, but I couldn’t focus enough on any of those to make it happen.
I was too busy absorbing the feel of his hands and mouth on my body.
His hands were firm, but heartbreakingly gentle when he laid me back on the bed. Sliding them up my arms, he circled my wrists and placed them above my head, giving them a squeeze to indicate I should keep them there. Then, his hands were behind my knees, spreading them wide.
I gulped as cool air brushed along my sensitive skin.
“Don’t fucking move,” he ordered, running his open mouth down my sternum between my breasts.
He moved away and got to his feet next to the bed. I lost sight of him for a few moments, but I could hear him doing something in the closet. When he came back, he dropped three condoms on the bed.
“Three?” I asked, my voice hoarse as I watched him walk around to my feet.