Page 56 of Craving Theodora
“How drunk are you?” I asked, searching her face.
“Not at all,” she replied with a surprised shake of her head. “I only had three beers in the last ten hours. Why?”
“Because when I kiss you, I wanna know you’re sober when you kiss me back,” I murmured.
“You say that like you haven’t been kissing me all day,” she replied softly, tipping her head back.
“Nobody’s watching us now.”
Chapter 10
Teddy
Curtis softly ranhis fingers along my jawline and down the side of my neck, then disappeared into the bathroom.
My knees felt like Jell-O as I walked to the bed, dropping onto it as I reached for the cuff on my wrist. He’d said he was going to kiss me and then hadn’t. What the fuck?
If it was some kind of tactic to get my heart racing, he’d succeeded. I could feel it beating at the base of my throat as I waited for him to come back out.
We’d had a good night—one of the best that I could remember. The kids had made friends and hung out with people their ages, we’d filled up on good food, and Curtis had been by my side the entire time, ensuring that I was enjoying myself. Sitting on his lap had been nicer than I’d ever admit, but doing it while he laughed? There were times when I’d thought I could sit there forever and be happy.
But it wasn’t forever. It was for now. All of it was fake. His hand on the base of my spine as we walked around, his arm around my shoulders, his lips against my neck, his kisses—all of it was a show he was putting on. One I’d agreed to. He’d been asked to play a part, and he’d come through with flying colors.
I wasn’t naïve. I knew that those lines could blur. It was impossible to act physically affectionate with someone you felt an attraction to for hours and not start catching feelings—whether that was lust or something else.
Was I willing to let it go further than that?
My tight nipples and the ache between my thighs said yes.
Shit.
I hadn’t been with anyone in longer than I wanted to admit. Years. There just hadn’t been time when my pop started getting really sick. I’d been too focused on taking care of the kids, working, and keeping him alive as long as I could. There had been full years during that time when I hadn’t even thought about sex.
I was thinking about it now.
The fallout would be minimal. I knew that. I couldn’t use the kids as an excuse because, as far as they knew, Curtis and I were already together. The end was already coming for them, even if they didn’t know it yet. I only had myself to worry about. Could I take what he was offering and come out the other side unscathed? We had a good thing going. Even though we’d moved into the house as strangers, we’d somehow found a way to coexist that was working for everyone.
Curtis may have said he was going to kiss me, but the look on his face and the erection in his jeans had said a whole lot more than that. He’d thrown down the gauntlet and walked away, giving me time to decide what my answer would be. I could crawl into bed, pull the covers to my chin, and we’d go to sleep.
Or I could stay where I was and wait for him.
Was I willing to blur the lines even further? Honestly, when would I have the opportunity again? It seemed mercenary when I thought of it that way, but it was true. I didn’t have any interested in starting a relationship with someone in the future. Our little trio worked, and I wasn’t going to screw that up. But Finn was only ten. It would be at least eight years before he was out of the house and I had the freedom to do whatever I wanted. But right now, I was already in it. I was living the life without arguably one of the best benefits of being in a relationship.
Curtis opened the door to the bathroom and shut off the light behind him as he came back into the room. His hair was damp,like he’d run wet hands through it, and the top two buttons of his jeans were still undone, making them hang low on his hips. I took it all in as he moved toward me, finally meeting his eyes when he reached the foot of the bed.
“We need some parameters,” I announced, rising to my feet.
His lips twitched, and his eyes crinkled at the corners. “Oh yeah?”
“Yes.” I fidgeted for a moment and then set my hands on my hips just to keep them still.
“All right,” he agreed. “Hit me.”
I opened my mouth to give him my conditions, but nothing came out. I couldn’t think of a single thing that I wanted to draw a line in the sand about. He already knew my kids. We were already living together. His public displays of affection were necessary, and I actuallylikedthem. To the outside world, nothing would change.
“I won’t sleep naked,” I said finally, jutting out my chin. “Don’t even ask. It’s not happening.”
He grinned. “Okay.”
