“Are you ever coming out of there?” Jon asked, impatience evident in the weight of his knuckles against the bathroom door. The guest bathroom, not the en suite master bath she refused to use after the swim that delayed the start of “all night long”.
Here Jon thought they’d move directly from the kitchen to
the bedroom, but no. For whatever fucking
reason, she must’ve had some kind of internal freak out, because Teddi eased
away from him with that fake smile, saying she’d like to take a swim before
bed. The swim wasn’t an issue. She could use the pool whenever she wanted,
but there were “amative” activities underway here, dammit! So, he tried to change her mind without actually
saying no.
And… it didn’t work.
A soft touch wasn’t enough to soothe whatever gremlins were
wreaking havoc in her head this time. Rather
than succumb to his coaxing, Teddi released her talisman necklace to take his
hand, press an apologetic kiss to the center and explain she needed a few
minutes alone. The water would supposedly
help wash away the day’s drama and put her in the right headspace to enjoy
their time together.
In his opinion, all she needed was to get out of her clothes
to get out of her head, but he refrained from saying it. Jon understood simply being outside her house
was a stretch, and that was before things had taken an unexpected turn with
Deidre’s appearance. So – this once – he
gracefully conceded and made good use of the pool time by bringing her bags from
the guest house to his room.
Sleeping arrangements were non-negotiable, but there wasn’t
even an attempt at negotiation. She accepted
the news with a quiet, “As long as your children aren’t here, there’s no place
else I’d rather be.”
He was feeling kind of victorious – right up until she and half
the contents of one bag scuttled down the hall.
When Jon called after to ask where the hell she was going, Teddi threw
him smirk over one shoulder and said she’d join after a shower, promising it
would only take five minutes.
That was twenty-five minutes ago. He swallowed an irritable sigh and lifted his
fist again, but the knuckles barely grazed the door as it swung inward to
reveal bedtime Dr. Montgomery. She
sported freshly dried and brushed hair, a glowing complexion, the fragrance of vanilla-almond
goodness… and a Little House on the Prairie gown that fell to her
ankles. Okay, so maybe the satin ribbons
tied into bows weren’t exactly Caroline Ingalls couture, but the loose ivory
cotton that disguised her every curve was pretty damn Puritan.
Folding his arms, he tried to remain open-minded about her
unique issues while blandly asking, “Wanna tell me what the fuck’s going on?”
Oddly enough, she didn’t try to evade the question by
playing dumb. Light fingers curled over
his forearms, snugging between them and the soft cotton of his t-shirt as naked
eyes lifted to meet his. “Having never
visited a man’s bedroom before, I was just taking some time to think about
it. That’s all.”
“You’ve been in my hotel room, and what’s to think
about? We fuck, we sleep. Just like at your house.”
“Hotel rooms are impersonal, rented sleeping quarters. The bedroom you’ve owned and occupied since
2004 is entirely different. It belongs
to you, and I was trying to decide what proper etiquette might be.”
“Okay,” he said with a light grimace. “First of all, knowing when I bought the house
crosses the creepy stalker line.”
“Sorry,” she murmured.
“The bedroom you’ve owned and occupied for years. Is that better?”
“Yeah, it’ll do.
Secondly…” Jon un-pretzeled his
arms, anchoring her chin between his thumb and forefinger to speak earnestly
into her eyes. “… the only etiquette is
to be yourself. This isn’t your
grandmother’s house and, quite frankly, she’s not welcome here. There’s nothing you can do or say that
warrants punishment. Unless you want
to be punished.”
Wiggling his eyebrows to accompany the tease lightened a heavy
scene, but he meant every damn word. No
wonder the woman didn’t like being around people. She felt like everybody had a
secret rule book and that violating them carried some untold consequence.
He eased his gripping thumb to trace the lower curve of her
smile. “You’re at the beach, for God’s
sake. Lighten up and have a little fun. And you can start by ditching the overgrown
pillowcase you’re wearing.”
The smile grew bigger and for the second time that evening,
she kissed his palm. Only this time wasn’t
an apology. He didn’t think.
“Thank you,” she said, confirming that thought while snaking
both arms around his neck. “There will
come a day when you tire of my idiosyncrasies but, for now, I’m exceptionally
grateful for how you handle them.”
“Hopefully, there will come a day when the idiosyncrasies
aren’t so intense. In the meantime, how ‘bout
showing me some tangible gratitude?”
“Tangible?”
“Tangible,” he repeated into her smirking face while cupping
the swell of her backside. “Something
you can touch.”
“I’m aware of the definition, but what did you have in mind?”
“Something more than a granny gown grope in the hallway.”
Had he ever seen her bite one corner of her lip while the
other stretched wide with delight? Jon didn’t think so, because he surely would’ve
remembered the perfect blend of Gypsy and genteel twisting his insides
clockwise. This was his Teddi,
and she was allowing herself to exist outside the cauldron of color. He had a hard time viewing the playful ruffle
of her fingertips through his hair as anything other than a victory lap.
“It’s not a granny gown.”
“A potato sack with laces, then.”
All it took was one purposeful tug for one of the silky bows
to give way, and two snakes of satin went their separate ways to bare a creamy
shoulder. The front piece of fabric crumpled
into a pile on the top curve of her breast, and it wouldn’t take much nudging to
bare the nipple already straining against the cotton.
He skimmed it through the gown, pleased when she sucked a
quiet breath and leaned into the pressure of his thumb. She wasn’t trying to dissuade him from
improper displays of affection outside the bedroom. That was good.
Their gazes locked, and Jon saw that the kaleidoscope in her
eyes was beginning to whirl. Right now,
it was merely an assortment of crackled blue glass, but he could see the
faintest slivers of other colors working their way through. It wouldn’t be long until they showed their
full brilliance.
Especially with his help.
He used one thumb to hook the loose edge of fabric and slowly
shimmy it downward until the beaded nipple popped free. The entire tip of her breast immediately
puckered at the exposure, and the texture rasped against his thumbprint. It was enough to inspire that multi-hued
spotlight deep in her pupil to start spinning in technicolor and overwhelm the
natural color of her irises. Greedy
fingers were ravaging through Jon’s hair without a thought.
That’s just the way he liked her. Without all those fucking detrimental
thoughts.
“Can we take this to the bedroom?” she breathed as he
stroked back and forth over the rock-hard nub straining out of the surrounding
pillowy flesh. He liked the contrast and
expanded his fondling to encompass both.
“Why?”
“A bed makes it easier for me to climb on top of you.”
“What if I want to fuck you in the hall?”
“Sounds like something your knees and back may regret later,
but if that’s what you want….”
He’d thrown the question out there as a test of sorts, just to
see if she would be brave enough to do it.
Either she was a good bluffer or she would actually let him pin her to
the wall and crawl inside that pillow case.
He optimistically chose to lieve it was honesty,
because she was right about the back and knees thing,
“Point taken; now move.” Dropping both hands to her waist, he used the
heels of them to spin her toward the bedroom and kept a loose grip while
following along. Thank ya, Jesus; it
looked like Jon was finally going to get to have sex tonight.
Or so he thought.
Progress was once again impeded when she glided to a halt just inside
the bedroom.
“Where did those come from?
They weren’t there earlier.”
Stifling a sigh, he flicked a disinterested glance in the
direction of her pointing finger. Lamplight
and shadows muted both the woven stripes and flamboyant tassels of two throw
pillows he’d tossed on the bed while she showered. They’d be more vibrant in the daylight, but it
was still a splash of noticeable color against the white bedding.
“I grabbed ‘em from Steph’s room. It’s not a full-on cauldron of color, but I
thought maybe they’d make you feel more at home.”
Teddi blinked rapidly against watery eyes. She’d been a pain in his gorgeous backside this
evening with her need to gather thoughts, give herself a pep talk, and recover
from a minor bout of panic. His thinning
patience had been understandably gone by the time he pounded on the bathroom
door, and she opened it expecting to get an up-close introduction to his rumored
temper. But in his unique Jersey way, he
simultaneously scolded and soothed so that she felt cared for instead of belittled.
And now this.
The offhand thoughtfulness was more touching than… well, a
bed of roses. He was always doing
something for her, it seemed. Flying out
on her whim, buying an anxiety inhaler, being her champion with Deidre and quiet
supporter with his children…. The list was endless. What had she done other than feed him and
fornicate?
Nothing.
She pivoted on the ball of one foot, placing palms against
his chest and solemnly declaring, “We are going to spend tomorrow working on a
social media plan. I want to have the
content and schedule of postings ready to kick off the moment they announce the
Hall of Fame ballot.”
The shallow furrow between his eyebrows went as deep as she’d
ever seen it.
“No. Whatever the
hell you’re thinking, let it go and leave Dr. Montgomery at the door.” His fingers flexed rapidly at her waist,
drawing the yards of nightdress into tight fists that tugged the whole thing
upward, forcing Teddi to lift her arms. “Along
with this goddamn ridiculous gown.”
He threw it into the hall and slammed the door behind it,
raking wolfish eyes over her naked body before shackling one wrist in each of
his hands. Patience had also obviously
been thrown out the door, as he showed none when walking her backward and
raising her hands high against the nearest of the mahogany bed’s four posts.
Was it excitement or fear that slammed Teddi’s heart against
her ribcage as surely as her back slammed against the bedpost? There wasn’t time to decide before his mouth
slanted over hers with single-minded determination. All she could do was open for him and take as
he once again gave.
This time he didn’t give without expectation, however. He demanded that she take his heat and stoke
it higher. That she push back against
his rocking pelvis. That she swallow his
primal growls and feed them back with vigor.
He kissed her so thoroughly that she didn’t know if the sheen on her
lips was from saliva or his breath.
And little did Teddi care until he broke the kiss.
She whimpered a protest, but Jon only grinned at her with a
filthy glimmer in those beautiful blue eyes.
“Welcome to the Hamptons, Gypsy girl. It’s about fucking time you got here.”
