If her breathing wasn’t so soft and steady, he would have accused her of pretending to be asleep so she could torture him.
She burrowed closer to him, grinding her ass against him.
Teddy was so hard. An unwanted vision filled his head—Stella pinned beneath him, screaming into the pillow while he fucked her from behind.
He tried to force the thought away, but instead, it just kept becoming more detailed. His fingers threaded through her hair, the flush of her skin, the way she trembled for him.
Stella shifted, pressing her ass into him harder.
Teddy could not escape her. His back was up against the wall. Her scent was everywhere, and every place their bodies touched felt lit up with sparks.
Logically, he knew sharing a bed was a terrible idea, but his body seemed entirely on board with it. It was just the stress of the past week pent up inside him that needed some kind of release.
Her hand slid on top of the one he’d placed on her stomach and she started to guide it lower.
Apparently, he wasn’t the only one feeling it.
“Fuck,” he rasped. “Stella.”
She startled awake. “What’s wrong—oh.” She released his hand immediately. “I’m sorry, I didn’t realize I?—”
“Must have been a good dream,” Teddy teased.
Her cheeks flushed pink. “Were you having the same dream?”
“No. Why do you ask?—”
She pressed her ass against his hard cock. “That’s why.”
“No, that’s just a natural occurrence when I wake with a beautiful woman in my bed.”
They both froze as they realized what he’d said.
Teddy fumbled for anything else to say, but by the grace of the gods, Stella rolled out of bed and onto her feet. The boarding house floor creaked underneath her as she padded across the room and started to dress. Teddy stared up at the ceiling and tried not to think about the fact that the body that had been pressed against him a moment ago was now naked and no more than ten feet away. The bond tugged on him, beckoning him to peek. That’s how it felt—like his gaze was constantly being pulled toward her—like the light in every room was making her glow.
It was exhausting. He pressed a pillow over his face and sighed.
“It’s safe for your delicate eyes now, Your Grace,” Stella said.
Teddy threw the pillow aside and glowered at her. Stella curtseyed as she buckled her dagger vest.
“Gods, don’t tell me you’re a morning person,” he grumbled.
She cocked her head to the side, her dark curls falling over her shoulder. “Did I not see you running on the beach first thing in the morning when you arrived in Olney weeks ago?”
“Yes, but just because I’m up early doesn’t mean I’m happy about it,” Teddy said, pushing to his feet. He grabbed the back of his shirt and tugged it off.
Stella watched with rapt attention. Her gaze dragged over his bare chest and then lower, coming to rest on his still-hard cock tenting his pajama pants.
“Do you mind?”
She licked her lips as she braided her hair and continued to stare. “Shy all of a sudden, Your Highness?”
He ignored her and changed his pants.
A piece of parchment slipped under the door, and Stella crossed the room to pick it up.
“What does it say?” Teddy pulled on a fresh shirt and his leather vest.
