Chapter 30
Chapter Thirty
T here was nothing sweet about this kiss. It was all grasping hands and hot, wet mouths, frantic teeth and tongues, and it left me breathless and gasping. It was fraught and messy, and bordering on violent. It was chaos and carnage, yet it seemed to calm and soothe me at the same time. And Teddy met me every step of the way, pushing and moaning against my lips, his hands reaching down and firmly gripping my backside, hoisting me off the ground.
Wrapping my legs around his waist, I held on with a monkey-like death grip, roughly ripping open his shirt, popping a few buttons clean off. I pushed it down his arms and feasted on the skin of his neck and shoulder, sucking and licking and biting.
Was it wrong that I wanted to devour him? That the feel of his pulse hammering under my tongue, his breathing quick and erratic in my ear, were the hottest things I’d ever experienced? Or that I was acting like a rabid badger in heat and running on pure instinct? I had never in my life wanted to actually climb inside someone else’s skin, but in this moment I couldn’t physically get close enough to Teddy.
“Shit, Hannah. Is this your porn star A game? Fuck!”
I huffed a laugh against his throat, fascinated as his Adam’s apple dipped and bobbed.
“Yeah, who’d have thought someone like me could kiss like this, Ted?”
“Oh, I always knew you’d kiss like this, Hannah. And I’ve thought about it a lot.” He paused to nibble my ear. “Mmmm, this is so fucking nice .”
“ Nice , huh? You’ve not seen anything yet, sunshine,” I replied, burying my hands in his hair and tilting his head backwards, running my tongue over his chin and along the seam of his lips.
“Fuck me,” he groaned.
“I fully intend to.”
Sliding back down his body and out of his grip, I prised his shirt off over his hands and stood back to admire him. He was beautiful, as I’d imagined he would be. Chiselled and firm, and quite hairy, which I was definitely down with.
“You’re looking at my chest like you might be having me for dinner.”
“Is that a problem?”
“Definitely not.”
“Good.”
“But we should remove your top too. Fair’s fair.”
I made a non-committal noise and glanced up at him, allowing my hair to fall across my face, before slowly and deliberately undoing each button of my shirt. I watched his breathing hitch as the swell of my breasts in my new lace bra came into view, just a tantalising glimpse as my shirt fell open, his gaze tracking my fingers as they worked. When it was completely undone, I dropped it to the floor with a stripper-inspired flourish. And a wink. Yes, a full-on, face-creasing, lip-lifting, cringe-inducing wink.
For fuck’s sake.
If I’d performed such a thing under any other circumstances, I’d be praying for an immediate sinkhole to appear to relieve the world of my sub-par seduction techniques. But the amused twist of Teddy’s lips and returning eyebrow twitch dissolved any hint of my winking regret, and I continued my nerdy little striptease with renewed vigour.
I didn’t look down – I didn’t want to end the spell by seeing myself. Instead, without breaking eye contact and biting my bottom lip to stop myself thinking too hard about this, I unbuttoned my shorts, wiggling my hips as I slid them down my legs and then kicked them off, standing before him in my brand-new seduction-level red underwear. And, although the crotch was well and truly present and no nipples were peeping out, it was like nothing else I owned – and pretty bloody slutty, to be honest.
“Well?”
“Well, I know what I’m having for dinner.” Teddy’s voice was hushed.
In two strides he was on me, pushing me backwards, twisting his hands into my hair, and reinitiating the ferocious kissing so that we fell together, tumbling over the armchair, which tipped onto its side. Hitting the floor with a bump, his arms cradled my head to protect me from the impact.
“I’ve wanted this for so long,” he groaned.
The rough scratch of his beard and the burn of his jeans against my bare skin seemed to awaken something feral inside me, and with a growl I pushed him over onto his back and then straddled him, leaning down and possessing his mouth without restraint. His hands roamed every curve of my body, squeezing and exploring, the slight callouses rasping across my skin and making me shudder and press into his touch. But in a flash I was back underneath him, and we were rolling across the carpet in a primal dance, locked together in a passionate struggle, pushing and testing, teasing and exploring each other’s limits.
As we writhed and fought each other, a side table was knocked over, the lamp falling to the floor with a crash.
“Shit. Should I fix that?” Teddy asked breathlessly.
“Don’t you dare.”
I barely felt human anymore. The animal part of me had been unleashed and I was ferocious and wriggling, until I was once again rocking back on top of him. I unzipped his jeans and reached down inside, making him hiss out a breath as my cool fingers delved inside the waistband of his boxer shorts.
Grabbing both of my wrists he held them over my head and pivoted me back underneath him, trapping me in a firm grip, his mouth searing a path of fire down my throat. The sounds I was making were foreign and unfamiliar, matched only by the racing of my heart and a deep bellyache of desire that was stoked by every touch and kiss, alive and responsive to Teddy’s masterful manipulation of my body.
With a snap my bra was undone, and he quickly descended on my newly exposed skin. One large hand kept my wrists tethered while the other cupped my breast, his thumb expertly flicking the tip until I was moaning and arching against him. Letting go of me momentarily, he sat back and kicked off his boots, then removed his jeans and socks. The whole time, he never took his eyes off me. But I made the most of the opportunity, and with a devilish sense of glee, I launched myself at him, catching him slightly off balance, so we collided in a heap against the dining table, knocking the treasure hunt props everywhere, and I ended up sat astride him.
As if in slow motion, the emasculators slid off the edge, narrowly missing Teddy’s head as they hit the floor. Picking them up, I spun them around, blew the end, and pretended to holster them on my thigh like I was starring in a spaghetti western. Why was I being such a twat? Excelling at being the nerdiest of nerdy nerds, rather than the queen of seduction that I had been aiming for.
Excellent.
“Despite your obvious prowess with such an offensive weapon, I’m not sure I’m entirely comfortable with you holding on to these in my current state of undress,” Teddy said, propping himself up on his elbows.
Raising an eyebrow, he gently took the cold metal implement from my hands, placing it out of reach, back on top of the table.
“Now, where were we? Ah, yes, you’d just thrown yourself at me like you were practising for a wrestling smackdown. Shall we continue?”
“Only if you’re sure you can handle it?”
The look Teddy gave me was devastating. There was a temptingly wicked curl to his lips, a blush feathering his cheekbones. “Why don’t you try me, cowgirl?”
Still sitting conveniently on his hips, I wriggled seductively, riding in circular motions over the very hard contents of his shorts. He blew out a breath unsteadily, just as my own breathing began to quicken. Sitting up so we were face to face again, he took my hands in his and then quickly snaked them around my back so he was holding me captive once more. I arched my spine and pushed my breasts towards him, the abrasive rub of his chest hair on my nipples a delicious sensation. Teddy began to gently bite a line across my collar bone, soothing each sting with a soft kiss and blowing cool air over my fevered skin, my head thrown back, eyes closed, alive only to the feel of his mouth on me.
In my daze, I barely heard him murmur, “Perhaps we should get up off the floor?”
“Mmmm?”
“Find somewhere more comfortable?”
“Sounds like a good idea.”
“I’m full of those.”
Hoisting me off his lap, he stood up and pulled me to my feet, while in a swift and surprising manoeuvre he slid my lace knickers down to the floor, lightly holding my hand as I stepped out of them. On autopilot, I began to cower inwardly as he perused my naked body, my anxiety urging me to fold in on myself and shy away from his red-hot gaze.
“Don’t overthink this, Hannah. Eyes on me.” His voice was so deep and commanding that I involuntarily snapped my gaze back up to look at his face. I saw the wonder, and the hunger there. “You are beautiful. Every single last bit of you.”
Trying to dodge this comment and expel it from my brain, Little Miss Logical made an appearance, her tone prim and haughty. “I am naked and you are not.”
“That’s true. Would you be happier if I were?”
“Yes,” I choked out. “Fair’s fair, Teddy.”
With a nod he reached down for the waistband of his boxer shorts and quickly divested himself of them. He stood before me in all his glory, and he was a sight that made my mouth (and other parts) water. I’d never seen anyone as thoroughly breath-taking as him before, and certainly not naked. All previous lovers faded into insignificance, leaving me feeling like an inexperienced virgin all over again.
“My eyes are up here.” Teddy laughed, and for the second time in as many moments, I was forced to meet his gaze.
“You’re magnificent.” As the words escaped, I was already trying to suck them back into my mouth and unsay them. I wanted to try and hide behind my usual air of cool indifference and not let all this na?ve honesty spew forth embarrassingly into the ether.
“Thank you.”
If I thought he would tease me about my stupid comment, I couldn’t have been more wrong. If anything, he looked pleased, and relieved. I was left stumped again to see this difference in the real Teddy, to see the inverse of his confident, slightly smug outward persona, knowing now that his overt alpha maleness was just a cover for his own insecurity. But here, now, vulnerable together, the vestiges of the facade had been stripped away, leaving his soul as naked as his body. And he really couldn’t have been any more magnificent to me.
Stepping forwards, he scooped me off the ground and carried me to the bedroom, peppering gentle kisses all over my face and neck until I was squirming and giggling, breathless in the face of his attack. Lowering me onto my back on the bed, he relinquished his hold, running hot fingers from my thighs to my knees. The pads of his thumbs drew small circles on the soft skin on the insides of my legs, applying an insistent pressure until I opened them for him, and he knelt at the edge of the bed.
“Teddy, you don’t?—
“I do. I have to, Hannah. I’ll die if I don’t taste you.”
Pressing my head back against the covers, I closed my eyes and stared at the reddened insides of my lids. My other senses now fully tuned into the warm breath and soft kisses that were decorating my inner thighs, to the glide of his palms, and to the tickle of his beard as he climbed and climbed. And when his hot mouth was on me, I nearly came apart on the spot, his talented lips and tongue flooding my body with sensations that were almost too much to comprehend. I threaded my fingers into his hair and rocked my hips in time, glancing down and meeting his gaze. There was a wicked glint in his eyes as his hands gripped my backside, his fingers digging in and upping the pressure until I couldn’t take any more and an orgasm hit like an explosion. My heart practically leapt out of my chest as my body convulsed, shaking with such intense pleasure that I could no longer work out which way was up.
Crawling up my trembling body, Teddy carried on kissing everywhere so that no part of my skin was left untouched by his lips. Meanwhile, I floated back down to earth, merely a tingling, boneless, weightless creature made entirely of stars and butterflies.
“Pretty nice , huh?” Teddy whispered against my lips, kissing me with such fervent desire and need that my body was already gearing up for round two.
How does he do this?
“Oh yeah, that really was nice ,” I replied when he finally let me come up for air.
With a not-so-gentle push, he was on his back and I was on top, leaning down to the drawer in the bedside cabinet and reaching for a condom.
Sitting back up, the golden evening illuminated us both, leaving no shadows for me to hide in. My body was on display, my insecurities pushing to resurface. But there was luminosity in Teddy’s eyes, his hands were resting on my waist while his fingertips were drumming a quick-fire, impatient rhythm against my skin, his desire so obvious it drew me ever closer to him, bringing me back to this moment and out of my own head. I ran my hands up and down his chest and abdomen, following the ridges and furrows, tracing an old appendix scar that was still a little pink. I felt emboldened, allowing my hands to dip lower. “Now then, we should do something nice for you too, right?”
“I only want you to do what you want to do,” he whispered.
“What I want is you. Now. Completely.”
I’d never been so sure of anything in my whole life.
“Me too.”
With a smile, I continued my journey south. I gripped both hands around him, encasing my fingers along the hot, hard length of him, before bowing my head and swirling my tongue around his tip, tasting and teasing him, before taking him into my mouth and watching with satisfaction as his eyes rolled up into his head, and he gripped the bedclothes as if his life depended on it.
“As fantastic as it is, Hannah, I don’t want to come in your mouth,” he rasped, gently pulling my head away after only a few moments, allowing me to sit back up and roll the condom on.
Teddy held me around the waist which helped me to balance as I slid down onto him, our bodies fitting together as if carved only for each other, as if hewn from the same piece of stone. The stretch and pull, the glide and heat, all of it was so right, so entirely needed, so perfect.
Why the hell had I put this off for so long?
“Fuck, Hannah. You feel amazing,” Teddy groaned, his hands cupping my arse while I moved my hips as he thrust up towards me.
Bracing against his chest, I established a punishing rhythm, riding him until the build-up of sensation low in my belly already started to unravel, my breaths turning to pants. But it was the sight of the man beneath me coming undone that really switched things up a gear, his moans and tightening grip indicating to me that he was getting close. His eyes never left mine. He remained fixated on my movements. Observant and committed, he matched me, the continuing battle of our bodies getting close to their final crescendo. This push and pull between us was so vital, so consuming, that I leant back, letting go and releasing the cacophony of fireworks in my brain, surrendering to the total oblivion of everything other than the pulsating pleasure coming from our point of contact. At the same time, he arched up into me, climaxing with an incoherent shout, every line of him taut and unyielding. And I collapsed on top of him, my limp body against his damp chest, his heart thundering in my ear as he cradled me in his arms.
Well, that was pretty bloody epic.
And yet, not entirely unexpected. Eighteen-year-old me was correct all those years ago, my na?ve little heart having seemingly picked an absolute corker of a lover after that first, devastating kiss. But this time there was no doubt in my mind about how I felt. No doubt whatsoever. No, this time I knew with absolute certainty that I was truly, hopelessly, and unashamedly in love with Teddy Fraser.
And he loved me back. Which was really quite nice after all.