Chapter 9
Teddy’s expression is impossible to read. Shocked? Horrified? Stunned?
I move backward, fingers still covering my tingling lips.
“I’m sorry. The dim lighting, the alcohol, plus I think I have a sugar high . . .” I release a shaky breath. “I’m going to bed. See you in the morning, Teddy.”
The back of my eyes sting as I move through the dark house to the room Stella and I have been sleeping in. When I throw open the door and step inside, it’s freezing. Holy crap.
My phone is still out in the living room, so I rummage around in the dark to find a sweatshirt. Even after I pulled on the extra layer, I’m still so cold.
Lying on the bed, I stare up at the ceiling. This cabin is so small, I can hear Teddy moving around in the other room.
Why did I have to kiss him? I fling my arm over my eyes, which incidentally provides a little extra warmth to my cold face. If I get any sleep tonight, it will be a small miracle.
I’m never going to be able to look him in the eye again. Groan.
I wish I could text Stella. She always knows what to say or do when it comes to guys.
Teddy must have stopped moving around because when he starts again, I’m acutely aware of it. His steps get closer and then there’s a knock at my door. I sit up, heart racing. My voice is caught in my throat.
“Holly?” Teddy’s deep voice is gentle. He doesn’t strike me as the kind of guy who would want to have a heart-to-heart after I jumped him and made an ass out of myself. Can’t he let a girl lick her wounds in private?
“Yeah?” My voice shakes, but I’m not sure if it’s the cold or my nerves.
The door opens a crack and Teddy finds me with the flashlight, then moves it, so it’s not blinding me. This time, when he speaks, his voice has a hard edge. “It’s freezing in here.”
I pull at the sleeves of my sweatshirt. “My dad is always saying the place needs new windows.”
I can’t believe I just kissed him and we’re talking about windows.
He pushes the door wide, steps to the bed and takes the comforter. “Bring your pillow.”
Scrambling from bed, I follow in a haze of embarrassment and confusion. He sets the flashlight on the counter, tosses the comforter in the master bedroom then takes my pillow and tosses it too.
“O-kay.” I start for the room, but Teddy grabs hold of my arm.
“Wait.” He lets go and then brings his palms together, rubbing them lightly.
“Whatever you’re going to say, can you not?”
His gray eyes narrow as he studies me.
“I shouldn’t have done that. Kiss you, I mean. I didn’t mean it.” The lie burns my tongue. “It was silly. I thought it would be funny, like a joke. And then it wasn’t.”
Not funny at all.
“Are you drunk?”
“What? No,” I say quickly, and then add, “maybe a little.”
“Did you kiss me because you’re drunk?”
The more he presses me, the more frustrated I become. “No, I’ve thought about it for a long time, all right? Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to bed and sleeping until I forget this night happened.”
He steps into my path. “Here’s the thing, Holly.”
I take a tentative step back. Something in his voice, his demeanor, makes the hair on the back of my neck prickle.
“We can pretend that didn’t happen. That it was a joke or a spontaneous, meaningless mistake. I can do that. I’ll never say a word about it to anyone.”
My heart tears down the middle at how badly I’ve screwed this up. Maybe he can forget that easily, but I cannot.
He erases the space between us. “Or, we can try again. Your call.”
My heart picks up speed and my mind spins. “Try again?”
He lets out a rough chuckle and his dimples appear in a cocky smile. “You caught me off guard. I wasn’t expecting it and I was a little worried you were doing something you didn’t mean because of the alcohol. Under different circumstances, I would have kissed you a whole lot better than I did.”
“You didn’t kiss me at all.”
His smile slips into a smirk. “Then let me have another shot.”
I dip my chin, giving him permission, and that’s all the encouragement Teddy needs. Both of his rough palms frame my face and his mouth slants over mine. His touch is gentle, but his kiss is not.
I melt into him, letting him take control, and just savor it. When his tongue seeks entrance, I open wider for him. He’s tall, leaning down to reach my mouth, but when I move my hands around his neck, he stands a little straighter and pulls me up to him.
The movement presses our bodies flush and Teddy groans. I can’t believe I’m responsible for that noise, but it makes me bolder.
I curl my fingers in the thick hair at the nape of his neck and kiss him like I’ve always wanted to. If tonight, this moment, is it, I don’t want to have any regrets.
Still kissing, we move to the couch. Teddy sits down and brings me onto his lap. He’s hard underneath me, so very hard.
I get another delicious groan out of him as I roll my hips.
I’ve never been particularly bold when it comes to sex.
For me, getting intimate with someone requires a level of trust and vulnerability I haven’t felt with a lot of guys.
And even with those I have slept with, I’ve let them make the first move, taking my cues from there, but Teddy is so responsive to my every touch that it makes me want to explore and catalog his every reaction.
When I sigh into his mouth, his kisses get harder. When I scrape my nails lightly down his shoulders, he nips at my lower lip. And when I can’t take it anymore and let my head fall back in pure bliss, he presses soft open-mouth kisses along the column of my neck.
The fire crackles behind me and when I lift my head, Teddy’s gaze burns into mine.
“You can have the bed. I’ll sleep out here,” he murmurs, but then brushes another soft kiss on my lips.
“Who’s sleeping?” My fingers dance along the hem of his shirt and slip under to his warm skin.
His rough chuckle does nothing to deter me, but Teddy takes my hands in his. “We don’t need to rush this. I don’t want you to do anything you’ll regret tomorrow.”
I could never regret him, even if it blew up in my face. Hide forever? Yes. But never regret.
I bring my mouth to his and rest my lips lightly against his. “I feel like if I stop kissing you, you’re going to disappear or I’m going to wake up tomorrow and it’ll all have been a dream.”
He pulls my bottom lip between his teeth and tugs gently. “I’m not going anywhere.”
I stand, taking his hand and giving it a tug. “Except to bed with me.”
He resists, giving me a conflicted look. “To sleep. And maybe make out a tiny bit more.” I bring my free hand up and show him with my thumb and pointer finger. “You can’t possibly want to sleep on this couch another night.”
“It’s not so bad.”
“Theodore.”
His laugh is silent, but it twinkles in his eyes. “I like it when you say my name.”
I take a step back. “Theodore.”
“You always call me Teddy.” His mouth twitches.
Another step. I take off one of my sweatshirts and toss it at him. “Teddy, will you please share your body heat with me tonight?”
He gets to his feet, and I walk backward, so I can keep staring and smiling at him. I can’t freaking stop smiling.
“Anything you want, Holly.” He makes a point to say my name in a deep, rough voice that is intentionally meant to taunt me the same way I’m doing to him.
He doesn’t know yet that everything he does drives me crazy.