Chapter 25
CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
TEDDIE
Of all the things I expected to find in the basement, I did not expect to find nothing. Just a stark, empty room with a concrete floor, a wide concrete sink off to one side and stained, yellowing paint on the walls.
As I suspected when I saw it from the outside, the window was boarded up with long, wide planks of rough wood. Whoever nailed them in place meant for them to stay there. The job wasn't neat but I gave it a poke and nothing moved.
The strange smell I detected when I opened the door was stale air and a hint of bleach. Whoever was down here last left the place squeaky clean. If the cops dusted for fingerprints, I suspected the only ones they'd find were mine on the doorknob and the rail leading down.
What did I honestly think I'd find here? A semi-decomposed corpse? Skeletons chained to the walls? Maybe someone with hair down to their ass, grown so long from being locked down here for a hundred years?
Your imagination got the better of you, I told myself as I headed back up the stairs. I won't lie though, I was happy to have found none of those things. What would I have done if I had?
I stepped back into Oak's room and carefully closed the door behind me.
"You look like you're in a hurry." Fade's voice out in the corridor made me freeze.
Shit.
On my toes, I trotted over to the door and tentatively peered out.
Where was Fade? In the kitchen, if I had to guess.
Please stay there, I thought. Just for another few seconds.
I stepped into the corridor and pulled the door closed behind me. Winced at the click as it shut.
Trying to look like I wasn't sneaking around where I shouldn’t be, I walked to the powder room and washed my shaking hands. I dried them carefully on the pale blue towel that hung on the ring beside the sink.
That should be enough time. I took several deep breaths, opened the powder room door and stepped back out again as Hel and Fade appeared out of the kitchen.
"You're home already.” My voice was a little too high and breathless to be natural.
Great job, Teddie, they won't suspect a thing, I thought sarcastically.
"Where have you been?" Hel demanded.
Shit, he knew.
"Um, I've been…" I tried to think quickly but he looked as though he could see right through me.
"We know you had lunch in the city," Fade said, as though he was making some kind of point.
Wait, was that what they were getting at? Did they know what happened with Oak? Had he gone and told them how I pissed him off? If he did, I was more than happy to set the record straight. Assuming they were willing to listen.
"Yeah, I had lunch at Heartbeets," I said easily. "Oak was there some of the time. Then he left."
"Why didn't you leave with him?” Hel tucked his hands into his pockets, but his eyes were narrowed, accusing. As if I've done something wrong.
Fucking Oak.
"I hadn't finished eating," I said evenly. "Also, believe it or not, I'm not going to chase him when he needed some space. I thought it would be appreciated." Clearly, these two didn't appreciate it. Or him if their expressions were any indication.
"What did Oak tell you?" I asked. "Because, whatever it was, there's two sides to every story." If they were going to blame me for the way he stormed off…
The side of Hel's mouth twitched to the side. Why did I get the impression I'd caught him off guard? Did he assume I'd let him take Oak's word for the events? He didn't know me very well if that was the case.
Before he could say anything, his phone vibrated. The sound was audible in the corridor before he pulled it out and glanced at the screen. Fade glanced at it too. They both shared a look, their expressions more guarded than before.
"I'll take care of it," Fade said.
"Anything I should be worried about?" I asked, almost certain they weren't going to be forthcoming.
As I suspected, Hel nodded to Fade, who disappeared toward the front of the house.
"Come with me." Hel gestured toward his office.
I considered arguing with him, but instead I stepped inside and let him close the door behind us.
"If you need to deal with anything, we can have this conversation later." Or not at all, because his expression had me on edge.
He stepped past me and sat behind his desk. Apparently, he was ready to have this conversation right now. Whatever 'this conversation' was.
"Take a seat." He nodded toward one, his arms resting on the top of the desk in front of him.
I could argue with him about that too, but I lowered myself into the seat instead. This might be the calm before the proverbial storm. The pleasant moment before he yelled at me for going into Oak's room, then into the basement.
My hands on my lap and waited.
"A man approached you after lunch," Hel said, his jaw tight like he was holding back fury.
"No…" I started to say. "Oh, yes. Some guy named Victor. I told him I'd meet him later for a quick fuck."
Why did I say that?
"You will not be fucking him," Hel said, his voice as tight as his jaw.
I leaned forward. "Why not?" I met his gaze, unflinching.
He slammed his fist down on the desk so hard it made me jump. "Because it’s in the contract. While you're living under my roof, you won't be fucking anyone else."
"Why do you care?" I asked. And why did my clit throb at the anger on his face? He wasn't going to hurt me, I was almost sure of that. He also wasn't going to let another man lay a hand on me.
"Because we have a deal." That wasn't the full answer and we both knew it. He tapped the side of his fist on the desk a couple of times before pulling it back and crossing his arms. "I won't have you dating or fucking other men."
I matched his pose, crossing my arms under my breasts. Pushing them up in a way that made him glance down.
"For your information, he sat with me and we had a brief conversation, that was all. I made it clear I wasn't interested and he left. Whatever you've got your panties in a twist for, get them untwisted."
"Do you have any idea who he was?" Hel asked. He leaned forward a little, his shoulders so tense I could have bounced a coin off them.
"Beyond his first name? Not a thing." I shrugged one shoulder. I knew the guy liked tacos, but what did that matter? "Should I?"
Hel’s plush lips parted, as though he might give me some kind of straight answer. Eventually he closed his mouth and responded with a single word. "No."
"If I ever see him again, I'll make sure I turn and run the other way," I said sarcastically. "Is there anyone else I should stay away from?"
His lips twitched to the side. "Theodora, I'm trying to protect you. You have no idea the kind of man he…might be."
Why did I get the impression he was about to say 'the man he is.’
"I'd say I'm a good judge of character but…" I cocked my head at him and smiled.
"The fact you're here shows you're an excellent judge of character.” He rose from behind his desk and stepped around to stand in front of me. "You backed that up by telling Victor to get lost."
It wasn't quite like that, but if he wanted to think it was, who was I to correct him? Especially with him standing so close to me. His scent brushed up against my senses, making my clit throb again.
"I…"
He leaned down to take my hand and pull me to my feet. "Don't say anything. Oak shouldn't have walked out and left you there by yourself. He should have been protecting you. Watching over you."
"I've made it this long without a bodyguard following me around," I whispered.
"Yes, you have, and that's commendable," he said, reaching up to brush a stray curl off my cheek. "Now you have us. Fade, Oak and me. We will keep you safe."
"Oh yeah? Who's going to keep me safe from you?" I asked, trying to ignore the way my heart was racing. My skin tingled from his touch. If we weren't careful, I might spontaneously combust from his presence and the warmth of his body.
He chuckled and leaned in, his lips almost touching my jaw. "You don't need protecting from me. The only thing I want is what's good for you. What you want. What you need.” His voice grew lower and deeper as he spoke.
"What's that?" I whispered.
He didn't answer with words. Instead, he kissed my jaw, his stubble rough against my skin.
My heart fluttered. The rest of me stayed completely still, hardly daring to breathe or think too much.
"Theodora," he said smoothly, "I want to taste you."
"I…" I closed my mouth before I could say something stupid like 'I might taste like spite cake.'
"Say yes." He kissed my jaw again, then down to my throat, his tongue stroking my pulse point.
"I, um, yes?" I stammered.
He leaned back and looked at me, one eyebrow pressed down hard, like he was trying to figure me out.
"I said everything has to be consensual. Asking me a question isn't giving consent."
That was true, it wasn't. The fact he was giving me a chance to firmly and clearly clarify my choice was hot as fuck. He didn't want there to be any question between us. Either I wanted him to eat me out or I didn't.
I met his gaze evenly.
"Yes."
I barely finished speaking, when he placed his big hands on my hips, picked me up and placed me on the top of his desk. He undid the button of my shorts and pushed them down my thighs and off over my feet.
I pressed my hands to the desk on either side of me and leaned back as he ran the pad of his thumb over the drenched gusset of my panties.
He leaned in and inhaled. "You smell incredible." He pushed my panties aside and lightly touched my clit with the tip of his tongue.
That tiny touch was almost enough to make come.
He teased me a couple of times before sliding his tongue more firmly across my pussy.
"Who are you this wet for?" he asked.
"You," I said, although my voice was little more than a squeak.
"Of course." His gaze lingered on my pussy, as if trying to memorize it, then pressed two fingers inside me all the way to the knuckle. "Do you feel that?"
"Yes." I managed to speak a little less like a mouse this time.
He moved fingers out and pushed them back inside me. "What do you feel?"
I frowned briefly. "You? Your hand."
"My hand. Does it feel good inside you?" He stroked, watching me carefully as I became less able to form coherent words.
"Yes it does," I whispered. "Right there, please."
He teased around the exact spot for a moment. "Good girl. Beg me again."
"Please," I said. "A little to the left. Please."
He found the exact spot again and worked me right there, with firm confident fingers.
"See what you get when you're a good girl and beg for it?" he asked. "Beg me to let you come." He lowered his mouth and lapped at my clit.
All I could say was, "Please." I was right there. All I needed was for him to… Yes, that.
Putting more weight on my hands, I arched my back and came, groaning and grinding myself against his face, my release soaking him.
He went on working me with his mouth and hand, all the way through my orgasm and down the other side. He didn't stop as the pressure built again. Hitting me exactly right until I came again, this time harder than before.
Stars exploded in my vision. The only thing I knew was bliss and his touch.
I moaned as I came back down for a second time, my blood racing through me like a tsunami.
Only then did he lift his mouth off me, slide his fingers out and step away.
"Good girl."
I blinked a couple of times to clear my vision and my mind. He looked pleased with himself. He wiped my release off his mouth with the back of his sleeve.
While he did that, something occurred to me. Something I should have thought of long before now.
“How did you know I spoke to Victor?"