Chapter 38
Teddy adjusted his grip on the steering wheel and snuck a look at Jessica. She was staring out the window at the trees whipping past the car.
They’d left Riverside after quickly packing up their things, keeping conversation to a minimum.
Jessica sniffed, and Teddy’s heart broke a little bit.
“Hey.” He brushed her curls behind her ear, letting his hand rest on her shoulder. “Mum will come round.”
She has to.
Jessica licked her lips. “I didn’t expect that.”
Teddy hadn’t either, which—in hindsight—was foolish.
He’d known from the beginning that Lulu would be upset about their plan.
But he’d fooled himself into believing they could keep it a secret, and if they stayed together, she’d see how happy he was and find a way to overlook the path they’d taken to get there.
“It’s okay if you want to change your mind,” Jessica whispered. “I promise. I’d understand.”
What?
Teddy started to brake, flicking the indicator on as he guided the ute onto the shoulder of the country road. There was a bump as they left the bitumen and a rumble before he killed the engine.
He reached over and unbuckled Jessica’s seat belt, then did the same with his. “No.”
He didn’t need any other words or some big speech.
“I know we talked about this, but that was”—Jessica crossed her arms. Her chin jutting forward—“before.”
“Starshine …”
“And we should cool it. Until things settle down. Give everyone some time to get used to everything.” She blinked furiously, her eyes all red and sad.
“No.”
“Teddy.” Her laugh was dry and brittle. “This is your family. I can’t mess that up for you.”
He pushed his seat backwards and reached for Jessica, lifting her over the centre console until she was in his lap.
“No,” he said again. “Mum will come round. Dad will talk to her. So will my brothers.”
“But what if she doesn’t? That would be all my fault. God, she’s really going to hate me if she finds out you lent me money.”
Teddy smoothed a hand down her cheek and tucked a stray curl behind her ear. “You know how I know Mum will be okay?”
Jessica shook her head.
“Because she’s my mum. Even when she’s mad or annoyed or exasperated or whatever with me, Mum always loves me.
She always has and always will. Just like how you love Sam and there’s nothing he could do to change that.
We’ll apologise again in a few days once she’s had a bit of time to digest everything. Okay?”
Jessica still looked unsure, so Teddy pressed a kiss to her forehead, letting his lips linger there. “I promise it’s going to be okay.”
“But if you change your mind—”
He huffed out a soft laugh. “I’m not going to.”
“I want you to understand that you don’t have to do anything you don’t want to.”
It was time to pull out the big guns. “I haven’t done a single thing I didn’t want to.
Not from the first moment you asked me to marry you.
” Teddy took a deep breath. This would be the first time he’d said this to someone who wasn’t family for a very long time, but he wasn’t scared.
Not anymore. Everything he and Jessica had built together had given him the courage he needed to get this out. “I love you.”
Jessica’s eyes widened. “I … I …”
“You don’t have to say it back. But please don’t ask me if I’m sure because I am,” Teddy promised, kissing her gently, sweetly.
It was the kind of kiss he’d always avoided with other women, but with Jessica?
Like everything else, it was just fucking right.
She moaned when he pulled away, her fingers scraping up his neck until they were twisted in his hair.
“I love you too, Teddy.”
Now he was blinking back tears.
“And don’t you dare ask me if I’m sure,” she mimicked him. “Because I am. So, so, so sure. We’re in this together.”
They’d made a lot of vows to each other recently, but this was the one that mattered most.
Teddy claimed her lips again, his tongue teasing into her mouth as his hands slid under her shirt. Her hips rocked over the hard bulge in his pants.
“More,” she whimpered, and Teddy undid her bra with one hand, pushing the cups up to play with her nipples.
“Here?” he asked, praying her answer was yes, that she needed this connection as much as he did.
“I can’t wait.”
Thank fuck.
Wrenching his seat lever to recline, Teddy laughed as they fell backwards. He tugged on the waistband of her jean shorts. “Get these off, Starshine. Let me show you how much I love you.”
She wiggled on top of him—the motion torturous and exquisite—and pushed her shorts down her legs.
“Careful,” he teased.
“You be careful,” Jessica shot back, and a throaty laugh burst out of Teddy. Christ, he loved her when she was all sassy, her lips extra pink from his kisses, her eyes brighter than they’d been for hours.
“Oh, yeah?” He dragged his hands over her ass, grabbing at her panties and bunching them before tearing them. He waited for a reproachment but nothing came so he decided to press her further, tease her more. “What happened to wanting me to be in control?”
Jessica guided his hand to her slit and tilted her hips. “This time I’m in charge. Make me come.”
Teddy was so hard it almost hurt. “It’d be my honour.”
He pushed a finger inside her, curling it until he found the spot that made her melt. Jessica gasped, her mouth against his neck, her breath sending shivers throughout his body. “You still need more?”
She nodded furiously, her teeth scraping over his Adam’s apple.
“Widen your legs if you can, Starshine.”
There wasn’t much space to move in his car, but Teddy had never backed down from a challenge. He slid another finger inside her, fluttering them and chasing that special sigh of hers.
“Stop,” Jessica said, and Teddy froze. While he was trying to figure out what he’d done wrong, she lifted her hips and did some sort of weird plank on top of him.
“Take your cock out, Teddy. I want to ride it.”
Oh, fuck. He wasn’t going to last. Not like this. Not when she was so goddamn perfect.
His hands shook, and he fumbled with the drawstring of his shorts. It was going to be a miracle if he didn’t blow his load before he even got inside his wife.
Holy. Shit. Do not—do not—think that.
Teddy needed to hold on to something to try to maintain his composure. Lucky, his cock was right there. He squeezed the base, waiting until Jessica had found a condom and covered him.
“It’s all yours, baby.”
Jessica’s lips curled into the sweetest, most content smile. It hit him right in the heart.
“I love you,” Jessica said as she sank onto him. “And now I’m going to show you how much.”
Later, he’d do the same for her, but right now, Teddy lay back, his hands loose on her hips, and enjoyed the show.