Chapter 13
Teddy
“Get there,” Curtis ordered, one hand on my hip and the other cupping my breast. The tendons in his neck bulged as he lay beneath me, and I could see the toll his restraint was taking.
I scraped my nails down his chest, and he glared at me accusingly, his teeth gritted. Holding back a grin, I leaned down to kiss him. Even frustrated, he immediately kissed me back, his hand sliding up to the back of my neck so he could hold me in place.
“Your turn,” I murmured into his mouth.
I let out a startled cry when his hips thrust upward, and he flipped me onto my back.
“You’re a fuckin’ tease,” he accused, staring down at me.
“You love it,” I shot back, pushing his hair out of his eyes. It was getting so long, he’d be able to pull it back into a ponytail soon.
“Knees,” he ordered, pulling away.
“We have to leave soon,” I reminded him as I rolled onto my stomach and pushed to my knees.
“Oh, now you’re worried about how long it’s takin’,” he huffed, thrusting back inside me.
A flash of heat rolled over me, every inch of my skin tingling as I dropped to my elbows in the bed.
I loved when he let me take control for a while, but by now, both of us knew that he’d be in control of taking me there.
I wasn’t sure why, but I wasn’t able to do it.
My orgasm always stayed just out of reach.
Curt had become adept at realizing when I started to get frustrated and always took over at that point.
It wasn’t as if I didn’t enjoy myself—I did.
I loved watching his face as I made him feel good, and blow jobs had become one of my favorite ways to do that.
But sex? He was in control of that, and I gave up the responsibility happily.
“Up,” he ordered, his hips rolling as he pulled my torso from the bed.
His chest slid against my back as both his hands found my breasts and he tweaked my nipples, pinching them hard between his fingers until I was writhing on top of him.
“That’s better, isn’t it?” he whispered into my ear, pulling the lobe between his lips.
I let my head fall back to rest on his shoulder, and my eyes drifted shut as I got closer and closer, the pleasure tightening until it snapped and I shuddered, a low moan working its way up my throat.
“That’s it,” Curt praised, his arms wrapping all the way around me. “Fuck, so wet.”
His thrusts became faster and harder until he came with a groan, pressing his open mouth to my shoulder.
We were sweaty and breathing heavily, still connected, when someone knocked on our bedroom door.
“You locked it?” I breathed in a panic.
“It’s locked,” he confirmed. He raised his voice. “Yeah?”
“My new shoes are too small,” Finn yelled through the door.
“You said you tried them on at the store,” I called back as Curtis began to laugh, his body shaking mine.
“Well,” Finn replied, dragging out the word.
“Shit,” I mumbled, making Curtis laugh harder. “It’s not funny. You know how expensive those shoes were?”
“We’ll exchange ’em, bud,” Curt called out. “No worries.”
“Okay, thanks,” Finn said.
When he didn’t say anything else, I climbed off Curtis’s lap and crawled to the edge of the bed.
“Where you goin’?” Curt asked.
“To take a shower,” I said, hurrying a little as I felt moisture start to leak down my thigh. “We have shit to do today.”
“It’ll take an hour max to exchange his shoes,” he said, following me into the bathroom. He went to the shower and turned it on as I cleaned up. “It’s not a big deal.”
“Next time, you’re doing back-to-school shopping,” I shot back. “You know how long it took him to find the ones he wanted? Then he didn’t even try them on? What the absolute fuck?”
“He’s ten.”
“I’m aware of that.”
“Kids are idiots,” Curtis said easily, shrugging as he stuffed his toothbrush into his mouth. “They can’t help it.”
I laughed and shook my head. “I was helping Jesse decide which pair they wanted. Dyl was supposed to be helping Finn.”
“My kid’s an idiot too,” he joked, smiling at me with his mouth filled with white foam.
“I know. I had to practically force him to get some new clothes,” I replied as I stepped into the shower, raising my voice over the sound of the spray. “I’m like, listen, you only have a couple more years of other people buying your clothes. Take advantage.”
“And he said, I don’t need anythin’,” Curtis said knowingly, his hand poking into the shower with my toothbrush, a little bead of toothpaste pre-loaded.
“Exactly,” I confirmed, taking the toothbrush and stuffing it into my mouth. “Thank you.”
“Welcome,” he said sweetly before disappearing again. “He’s never really been into buying the newest thing. I used to have to force him to get rid of shit so he wasn’t walkin’ around in jeans that were two inches too short.”
I leaned over and spit in the drain. “Jess and Finn have never been the kind of kids who were asking for expensive shit, but they definitely care about what they’re wearing.
Thankfully, both of them are perfectly happy with thrift store finds as long as it matches what they’re going for.
Shoes are different, though. It’s hard to find shoes second hand that aren’t completely clapped out. ”
“You got all the school supplies?” Curt asked, leaning in to take my toothbrush back. “I gave you enough cash?”
“Yup,” I answered, soaping up my hair. “Dylan didn’t need a lot. I have your change. Just remind me when we get out of here.”
“Keep it,” he ordered, climbing into the shower with me.
“Nope.”
“Your savings must be gettin’ low.”
“I’ll worry about my savings,” I said, letting out a happy sigh as his fingers started sliding through my hair.
“Stubborn.”
“Self-sufficient,” I countered.
“A pain in my ass.”
I let out a startled laugh. “I have two garages I’m supposed to stop by this week,” I reminded him. “Both look promising. I’ll be making money pretty soon.”
“One of ’em’s in Springfield, isn’t it?” he asked, his fingers disappearing as he reached for his own soap.
“Yeah. I’m leaning toward that one. The owner seems like a good guy.”
“Longer commute, though.”
“Like ten minutes,” I replied with a scoff. “That’s nothing.”
“Just don’t take somethin’ ’cause you think you have to.”
“I have to pay my bills,” I reminded him. “I can’t just keep draining what we have left.”
“I told you I can cover us.”
“I like working, Curt.” I smiled. “Plus, the kids are back to school in two weeks, and then I’ll just be home alone, bored out of my mind.”
“Fair enough,” he said, leaning down to give me a quick kiss on the lips. He pulled away, but didn’t go very far. “As long as you remember the days of grindin’ are behind you. We’re good, baby. Even if you wanna go part time or somethin’.”
“You’re not working part time,” I reminded him.
“I make my own hours,” he said, scrubbing his body. “If I wanna take time off, I do it. If I wanna fuck you in the mornin’ and go in late, I do it. If I wanna get off early to go with you guys to the river, I do it.”
“Point taken.”
We changed positions so he could rinse off, and I watched in appreciation as the water sluiced over his muscled body.
We showered together more often than we showered apart, but I still hadn’t gotten used to the view.
Tattoos covered his chest, back, and both arms—all clean black lines, all meaningful.
“I like takin’ care of you,” he said, tipping his head back to rinse his hair.
“What?” I asked distractedly.
“I like takin’ care of you,” he repeated, lowering his head to look at me. “You and the kids. It’s always been just me and Dyl. That’s not what I wanted, even when I was a stupid kid, fuckin’ any woman who’d give me the time of day. I always knew I wanted a family.”
“Aw,” I said, my lips curving.
“Shut up,” he scoffed.
“That’s so sweet.”
“I am sweet,” he said, scooting out of the way so I could move under the spray.
“I know.”
“You’re my family,” he announced, his tone almost frustrated. “Right? I mean, that’s what we’re doin’?”
“That’s what we’re doing,” I confirmed, realizing a little late that he was taking the conversation more seriously than I had been.
“We’ve been livin’ together for almost three months,” he continued, watching as I rinsed off.
“I know.”
“Feels like we’re buildin’ somethin’.”
“We are.”
“This moved beyond temporary when you started takin’ me bare,” he said.
“Oh, is that when it happened?” I asked dryly, reaching out to wrap my hand around his cock.
He jolted, and his gaze came to mine.
“I hear you,” I said, letting go now that I had his attention. “It’s not temporary. We’re making a life.”
He nodded.
“You done in here?”
“Yeah,” he said gruffly.
“So dramatic,” I teased lightly, turning to shut off the shower. I yelped when he pinched my ass.
“I’m happy with whatever you do,” he said as we got out and dried off. “As long as I’m comin’ home to you at night.”
“I won’t take any offers that I’m unsure about,” I replied. “But I am going to find something. I wouldn’t feel comfortable staying home when you’re working. I need to be making my own money, Curt.”
“All right,” he said, wrapping his towel around his hips. “Just know, my money is ours.”
“Noted,” I called dryly as he left the bathroom.
He’d mentioned sleeping with a lot of women more than once, and it made me wonder just how much of a fuckboy Curtis had been before we met.
From everything I’d heard and the teasing his family had dished out, he’d rarely slept with women more than once.
He was almost forty. That was a lot of women.
It was probably why he’d gone out and gotten tested before he’d even broached the subject of ditching the condoms we’d been using.