Chapter 18 #2
My hair fell around us, creating a curtain that blocked out the rest of the world. Just Kelsey and me, the way it had always been—the way it was always supposed to be.
“Look at me,” I ordered softly, and her eyes fluttered open, green and glassy and so fucking full of love it made my chest ache. “Stay with me, Kels. Right here.”
She gave me a shaky nod and held on tight as I picked up the pace. The wet sound of our bodies meeting filled the room, mixing with her soft moans and my ragged breathing.
“Never letting you go again,” I vowed, grabbing her hip and rocking deeper. “Never, you hear me?”
“I’ve always been yours… only yours.” She groaned as I shifted angles, her walls beginning to contract around me. “Oh God, right there. Don’t stop—”
“Not stopping,” I promised, reaching between us to find her clit with my thumb. “Not until you come for me.”
I shifted my weight, freeing one hand to slip between us. My thumb found her clit, already swollen and sensitive from before, and I circled it in time with my thrusts.
The reaction was instantaneous—a full-body shudder that rippled through her from head to toe. I clenched my jaw as her pussy gripped me like a goddamn vise, my pulse thundering in my ears.
I couldn’t tear my gaze away from her face—the way her mouth fell open, eyes rolling back in her head, cheeks flushed pink with pleasure.
Christ, she was gorgeous when she came.
But I wasn’t done with her yet.
Before she could come down, I pulled out and flipped her onto her stomach, hauling her hips up until she was on her knees. She made a surprised sound that turned into a guttural moan when I slammed back into her from behind.
Kelsey clawed wildly at the sheets, adding an extra eight or nine syllables to the word ‘Yes’ as she thrust her hips back to meet me.
“This what you need, baby?” I growled, roughly squeezing her ass cheeks before spreading them wide to savor the sight of my cock splitting her open.
“Yes, yes, yes,” she chanted mindlessly, arching her back and forcing me even deeper.
“Wait, baby, baby—” I ground out, trying to hold her still—trying to stop the pressure rapidly building at the base of my spine.
But it was too late.
Kelsey tipped her head back, and the sounds she made—Christ, they were obscene.
My balls drew up tight, her raw, needy moans destroying what was left of my control. I emptied myself inside her with a roar, my hips jerking from the force of my release.
For a brief second, my entire body locked up, the world going white-hot behind my eyelids.
I didn’t care if my heart gave out from the strain—if this was how I died, so be it.
There was no better way to go than while buried deep inside my Ol’ Lady, her name tattooed across my chest and seared into every fucking strand of my DNA.
“Jesus Christ, Teddy,” Kelsey collapsed onto her forearms with a shaky laugh. “Should have known better. You’ve never been able to last in this position.”
I couldn’t even argue. It was a known weakness of mine—had been since the first time she’d graced me with that particular view back when we were still finessing the logistics of what went where.
“And what the hell was that noise—” She gasped for air and tried to compose herself before doubling over again with a loud snort. “You sounded like… like an animal caught in a trap!”
“Shut up,” I panted, nipping at her shoulder with a breathless chuckle. “Not my fault you’ve got an ass that won’t quit.”
She let out a sharp squeak before dissolving into another fit of giggles, and I couldn’t help but grin despite the embarrassment heating my face.
This was us—the real us. Not the broken, grieving couple who’d forgotten how to touch each other. Not the strangers who’d signed divorce papers in some sterile office. Just Teddy and Kelsey, laughing in bed after mind-blowing sex.
Or, in my case, because of the mind-blowing sex.
“You’re already regretting asking me to move in, aren’t you?” she teased, still trying to catch her breath.
“Oh yeah, huge mistake,” I deadpanned, rolling onto my side and pulling her back against my chest. “Clearly, I’ve lost my mind.”
“Mm, probably,” she purred, wiggling against my spent dick. “Good thing I like you crazy.”
I hissed through my teeth at the contact, still incredibly sensitive. My whole body felt wrung out, muscles trembling from exertion and something deeper—relief, maybe. Or just the bone-deep satisfaction of finally, finally having her here where she belonged.
Before long, the old injury in my shoulder flared to life, forcing me to shift onto my back before tugging her close again. Kelsey came willingly, relaxing against me with a contented sigh.
For a long moment, we just lay there, her cheek pressed to my heart and fingers tracing lazy patterns through the hair below my navel.
“Hey, Teddy?”
“Hmm?” I asked, cracking an eyelid open.
“Think you dislocated my hip,” she muttered with a wince. “Apparently, my joints don’t appreciate being folded like a pretzel anymore.”
I chuckled. “Welcome to sex in your fifties, baby. Try being on your knees on the hardwood floors. Pretty sure I left some cartilage in the kitchen yesterday.”
“If we’re being honest,” she said, shifting against me with a small groan. “I think the sex injuries started in our thirties.”
I pressed a kiss to the top of her head. “Might need to invest in some of those foam pads people use for gardening.”
Kelsey’s nose scrunched up. “Yeah, because nothing screams romance like orthopedic accessories.”
“Hey, at our age, romance is finding someone willing to rub Icy Hot on your back after sex.”
“Oh God,” she gasped, burying her face in my chest with a snort. “Teddy, we’re old. How did this happen?”
“Speak for yourself, baby. I’m in my prime.”
She lifted her head, one eyebrow arched in challenge. “Your prime? That’s a pretty bold statement for a man who came in under two minutes.”
“Oof. That’s a low blow, woman.” I tried to look offended but couldn’t quite manage it. Not when she was looking at me like that—soft and teasing and so goddamn beautiful it made my chest hurt.
“Just stating facts. Maybe we need to work on your stamina,” she said, letting out a strangled yelp when I grabbed her around the waist and hauled her on top of me.
“You think you’re real cute, don’t you?” I asked, ignoring the protest from the muscles in my lower back.
She nodded solemnly, lips twitching wildly as she pressed a light kiss beneath my chin. “Mm hmm. Just one of the many reasons why you love me.”
“That so?” I murmured, my hands sliding down to cup her ass. “And what are the other reasons?”
“Well...” She pretended to think about it, tapping her chin with one finger. “There’s my sparkling personality, obviously.”
“Obviously,” I echoed dryly.
“Then there’s my excellent taste in movies, my cooking skills, my ability to make the ugliest Christmas tree in the world look fabulous, and…oh! My amazing ass, of course.”
I gave it a playful swat. “Should have put that at the top of the list, baby. I could recite sonnets about this ass.”
“I think those are called dirty limericks—not sonnets—and please don’t.” Her expression softened, fading into something more vulnerable. “Promise me something?”
“Anything.”
“Promise me we won’t lose this again. The laughing. The fun. Even when it gets hard—because it will—promise we’ll still find ways to be stupid together.”
The admission hit me square in the chest. We had a track record of fucking things up when shit got heavy. Of retreating to our separate corners instead of fighting for each other.
“Hey.” I cupped her face in my hands. “I promise to make embarrassing animal noises during sex for the rest of our lives if it makes you laugh like that.”
She swatted my chest, but she was smiling—a real one that crinkled the corners of her eyes. The same one I’d been chasing for thirty-six years. “That’s not what I—”
“Know exactly what you meant.” I tucked her head under my chin, breathing in the scent of her hair.
“But here’s the thing—we’re not the same people we were before.
And this time, I promise you, no more running.
No more hiding from each other and pretending we’re fine when we’re not. I’m all in, darlin’—”
“Even when you think I’m being ridiculous?” she whispered
I exhaled a soft laugh. “Especially then. Baby, I’d take your ridiculousness every day of the week over living without you again.
Yeah, we’re gonna fuck up and piss each other off.
But I promise you, Kels—I promise I’ll never stop trying.
I’ll fight for it. For you. For us. Fight every goddamn day if I have to.
That’s gotta count for something, right? ”
Kelsey was quiet for a long moment, and I could practically hear her brain working, cataloging all the things that could go wrong.
I wanted to say something. Tell her how much I loved her, how there’d never been a single moment where I didn’t want her. Not a damn one. Not even at the end, when we were sleeping in separate rooms and speaking to each other through our lawyers.
Instead, I waited, combing her hair with my fingers, content to hold her while she worked it out.
She pulled back, her gaze finding mine. Her cheeks were blotchy and her eyes still red from crying, but there was a peace in her expression I hadn’t seen in years…
or maybe ever. Her smile wobbled at the edges before she pressed her lips to mine—slow and sweet and tasting faintly of salt from her tears.
When she pulled back, she nodded to herself before whispering, “Okay. I’m all in.”