The corner of my mouth lifted in a grin. “Riggs’ men ain’t exactly known for being rational when it comes to their women, baby. Ask Dane and my old man about that. Besides, we did the sane, reasonable thing for decades, and look where it got us. Maybe it’s time to try crazy.”
“Oh my God. My therapist would have a field day with this,” she muttered.
“Killing me here, Kels,” I said, my voice dropping low. “Yes or no.”
She stared up at me, those green eyes searching mine like she was looking for the catch, the fine print, the reason this couldn’t possibly be real.
But then something shifted in her expression—a letting go, a surrender to whatever this was between us.
“Yes.”
“Yeah?”
“Yes, Teddy,” she breathed, and the smile that broke across her face damn near brought me to my knees. “I’ll move in with you.”
18
teddy
I kissedher before she could second-guess her decision or talk herself out of it. Before the doubts could creep back in. Before reality had a chance to remind us of all the reasons this was reckless and impulsive and probably destined to blow up in our faces.
She melted against me, her hands climbing up my chest to tangle in my hair. The small bite of pain only made me pull her closer, needing to eliminate every inch of space between us.
“Need you to know something,” I panted against her lips. “I’m gonna fuck this up sometimes. Gonna say the wrong thing or handle shit badly. But I’m not walking away again, Kels. Not for the club, not for anything. You’re stuck with me now.”
“I’m counting on it,” she whispered before sucking my bottom lip between her teeth.
My hands dipped lower, kneading the curve of her ass. “Fuck,” I growled. “Never been able to take it slow with you. Don’t see any reason to practice restraint now.”
Kelsey gasped as I hauled her up into my arms, her legs instinctively wrapping around my waist. “But your back?—”
“Is fine,” I argued as I carried her down the hall. “Everything’s fucking fine now that you’re staying.”
I kicked the bedroom door open, not bothering to be gentle about it. We’d been gentle long enough. Careful. Tiptoeing around each other for years when what we’d really needed was this—raw, honest, desperate.
I lay her down in the center of the bed, taking a moment to just look at her—hair fanned out across my pillow, lips swollen from my mouth, chest heaving beneath the flannel she’d claimed as her own.
Christ. Fifty-one years old, and she still took my breath away like she had when we were kids. Still had the power to turn me into a bumbling seventeen-year-old kid again with more hunger than sense.
“Teddy, come here,” she whimpered softly, reaching for me.
“Patience, baby.” I caught her wrists and pinned them gently above her head. “Gonna take my time with you.”
She nodded, and I released her to peel my shirt off her shoulders. The pajamas underneath came off next, revealing inch after inch of soft skin.
When I tossed the fabric aside, exposing her to the morning light streaming through the windows, she tried to cover herself.
“Don’t,” I warned, letting a little roughness seep into my tone. “You’re fucking beautiful, Kels. Don’t hide from me.”
“But the windows…”
I cocked a brow, and she trailed off like she’d lost her train of thought. A fraction of a second later, her hands fell away from her body, moving up to rest against the pillow behind her head.
“I like Bossy Teddy,” she murmured, sucking in a breath as my hand traced the curve of her collarbone, the swell of her breasts, the faint stretch marks on her belly from carrying our children.
“Like it when you let me take care of you, darlin’,” I rasped, watching the goosebumps breaking out across her skin before lowering my mouth to follow the path my fingers had just taken.
She arched up off the mattress with a whimper when I reached her nipples, already hard and begging for attention. I smiled against her skin before drawing one into my mouth, sucking gently before grazing it with my teeth.
