Authors: Pamela Yaye
“Do you want something to eat?”
“I'm starving,” he said. “I couldn't eat anything during dinner.”
“I know.” Teddy headed for the kitchen. “Between your brothers and our parents, I was afraid I'd choke if I tried to swallow anything.”
Teddy started to laugh again. Tears cornered in her eyes and she used her fingertips to wipe them away.
“Quinn.” She paused, taking a sobering breath. “When Quinn asked your mom where she was hiding my wedding gown and the room went deathly quiet, I thought she might answer that it was in the coat closet.”
Adam laughed. “Then Galen joined with...” He stopped as they both remembered his brother coming up with the same thought about where the gown was located. “And then adding that the minister was probably coming in for dessert and would perform the nuptials.”
“The look on your mom's face was priceless, even though I was totally afraid my mother might say it was all true,” Teddy said.
The gales of laughter continued. Teddy held her head. All the laughing was making it throb. She forced herself to control it and went into the kitchen.
Adam followed her. “Can I help with anything?” he asked as she opened the refrigerator.
Teddy stopped and stared at him. “Can you cook?” she asked.
“I've been known to boil water,” he said. “And I make a mean macaroni and cheese. If pushed, I can boil spaghetti and open a jar of sauce.”
Teddy smiled. “I'm not used to having anyone in my kitchen, so why don't you set the table?” She pointed to the cabinets holding plates, glasses and silverware. “Does your mother also find dates for your brothers?” Teddy asked.
“Often,” he said. “They threatened to accept jobs far from home if she didn't stop.”
“And that worked?” It seemed an easy solution. Teddy knew it wouldn't work for her. Her mother still found blind dates for her and she lived two hours away, plus she worked a lot of weekends.
“For about a week.”
“Who were the women at the anniversary? Were they mother-finds, too?”
Adam shook his head. “During the planning process, they both stated they were bringing their own dates. Even though we were only going to be a family, we knew our mother would do something unexpected.”
“Me,” Teddy said.
Adam nodded. “I should have had a clue when I noticed the extra place settings, but I never thought I'd see you come through the door.”
“My mother let me believe we were going to a dinner with the university organizers. The fact that it was in Smithville was a little unusual, but I wasn't expecting to join in on your parents' dinner.”
Minutes later they were sitting down to a meal of omelets, sausage, toast and decaf coffee. It only took a few minutes to cook and even less to eat. Filling their cups with more coffee, Teddy added cream to hers. Adam drank his black.
“This is a better meal than the steak I had earlier tonight,” Adam said.
“Last night,” Teddy corrected. “It'll be daylight in three hours.”
Adam took their dishes to the sink and rinsed them. Teddy got up and joined him. Together they finished the dishes and took their cups to the living room.
“Tired?” Adam asked when Teddy sank into the sofa. He joined her there.
“A little,” she said, stifling a yawn. “You're going to have to go straight to the office, if you shouldn't already be there.”
“I checked in before we left Smithville. I imagine the world of finance won't collapse before morning.”
He put his arm around her and she leaned into him. Teddy started to giggle.
“What's so funny?” Adam asked.
“My mom, when she asked me if I could imagine being married thirty-eight years.”
Adam laughed, too. “I'm sure your answer wasn't ideal for her, but you weathered it.”
“I wonder what she would have thought if I'd really said what came to my mind first?”
“Which was...” Adam prompted.
“Thirty-eight years with the same man. I shudder to think.” She mock shuddered and laughed, but Adam didn't join her despite his arm being around her shoulders.
“Have you ever really given it thought?” His voice turned serious. He was holding Teddy in his arms and she couldn't see his face, but she could feel the tension that had somehow crept into his body.
Teddy moved back to look at Adam. “I never thought of being married,” she answered.
“Really?” Adam's brows arched.
“Really.”
“You plan weddings. Marriage ought to be the first thing on your mind.”
“Or the last,” she said.
“You see hundreds of couples pledging their last breath to love. You design the perfect gown and give the fantasy wedding to strangers. And not once have you ever imagined it would one day be your turn?”
Teddy hesitated a long time. “I did once,” she said. “The first gown I ever designed was the one I wanted to be married in.”
“The groom?”
She smiled briefly. “There was no groom. Only my fantasy of the perfect man. But I made the gown, added the finest lace. It was perfect, inside and out, and it fit every part of me.”
“I bet you were a beautiful bride. I'd like to see it.”
Teddy was shaking her head before Adam finished his sentence.
“Why not?” His arms tightened around her.
“I sold it.”
“Why?”
“After I finished it, I took it into the office for Diana to see. She insisted I put it on. While I was dressing, a client came in. Diana was helping her when I came back. The woman saw the gown and loved it. She loved it so much tears rolled down her face. She wanted to buy it. Diana told her it wasn't for sale, but she kept asking what we'd sell it for. She was willing to pay anything. The business was new. We needed the money.”
“So you sold it?”
“I sold it.”
“Regrets?”
“For a while, but not anymore.”
“Now you're a cynic?”
Teddy laughed. “Me? What about you?”
“Okay, we're both cynics,” he agreed.
“It's a good thing we found each other.”
“You know you are the most intriguing woman I've ever met?” he said.
“Really?” Teddy smiled. “Why is that?”
“I never know what you're thinking or what you're going to say.”
Teddy nodded, an impish smile on her face.
“And you like that?” Adam asked.
“Absolutely.”
Adam looked at her for a long time before he said, “Yeah.” But he didn't stop staring at her. His eyes made Teddy warm. She saw the heat there, watched it build into desire. Her mouth went dry, and it was hard to swallow. She endured his gaze as that now-familiar blanket of warmth settled over her. She knew the heat between them would build. This time there was more. She wanted more. Anticipation, need, want. She had many names for it, but she wanted him. The slow cravings inside her spoke of arousal. Her body ached for his. She wanted his mouth on hers, his body working its primal magic with hers. She wanted to feel the weight of him, know that sweet moment of initial penetration. And she wanted to take it all the way.
Then he leaned forward. His eyes dropped to her mouth and settled there for a charged moment. Teddy licked her lips, unable to stop herself from wetting the dryness. Adam kissed her lightly, his lips brushing hers, but she felt the world tilt. She tasted the coffee from their breakfast on his mouth. It acted as an elixir, a fantastic drug with powers to transform her into the wanton tigress that was waking inside her.
The intimacy was tantalizing. Hands slipped under her hair and lifted her head to his.
Teddy's body went soft and liquid. She felt pliable, her movements like syrup, able to flow into the contours of Adam's frame as he brought her closer. Her arms, which still had substance, circled his neck, and she closed the small space separating them, connecting their mouths.
His lips changed from the soft, teasing kiss to a hard, hungry one. Adam bent her over his arm, his mouth locked on hers possessively, demanding acquiescence. Heat burned between them. Teddy gave as she got, embracing him, loving the feel of his body as her hands roamed the muscles of his back, muscles that contracted and relaxed under her sensitive fingers.
Heat built between them like the onslaught of a forest fire. Their heads bobbed one way, then the other. Teddy slid under Adam and he slid over her in a choreographed movement. His heavier frame pressed her deep into the sofa cushions. The length of him spread over her, his erection pushing against her stomach. Need sang in her veins. Adam's tongue invaded her mouth, searing her to him so tightly her breath ran out.
Teddy had never had this all-consuming experience before. She wanted to feel him all over, run her hands over his skin, feel it next to hers, have his body connect with hers and join in the ancient dance known to lovers since the beginning of time. Her dress, a thin chiffon, was a barrier to her needs.
She needed Adam, wanted him. Wanted the hot thrust of his body inside hers. Teddy always played the field. She never got close to a man. She could always control her reactions. She liked sex. She enjoyed men, but she'd never had this strong sensation of need, of anticipated release that was designed for one man. But that was what was happening with Adam. With him there was no other. Had never been another. They were forging a new frontier, terraforming a world into existence.
She wanted all of him, wanted to devour him. She wanted to get into his pants and his mind, imprint herself on him so thoroughly that her name would be visible to any other woman he ever saw.
“Have you got a condom?” Teddy asked with the small amount of breath she had.
“Yes,” he said just as breathlessly.
Teddy slid off the sofa and grabbed Adam's hand. The two rushed up the steps and into her bedroom.
Adam pinned her to the door and clamped his mouth to hers the moment they were inside. For eons it seemed they stayed suspended in their own world. Then his mouth moved from hers to nibble kisses along her neck and bare shoulders. Heat mounted in the room. Teddy raised her head, giving him access to skin so sensitive she could feel the blood rising to the surface. Then Adam pulled her away from the door and reached behind her. The zipper's teeth on her dress opened with a low ripping sound as Adam pulled it down. His fingers against her back were like a match to kerosene.
Her back arched and the dress slipped to the floor. Part of the bodice contained her bra, leaving her dressed in only her panties, hosiery and high-heeled shoes. Adam opened his mouth to speak, but said nothing. He stared at her until Teddy's skin burned.
Finally, Adam slipped his arm beneath her knees and lifted her. Teddy was tall and no one had ever carried her, but Adam made her feel petite and light. He took her to the bed and laid her gently on the comforter as if she was the most precious baby. He sat next to her, one hand caressing her shoulder. It dipped down and his thumb brushed across her nipple. It sprang to life with an inner passion that was like a wave crashing against her insides.
Teddy reached up and undid the top button on his shirt. Her hands moved to the second button and released it. Adam, apparently thinking it would take too long, grabbed the back of the fabric and pulled it over his head. In the darkened light he was beautiful. His chest, bare of hair, was muscularly defined. If he carried an ounce of unneeded fat, it was well disguised.
She ran her hands over smooth skin, rising up from the bed to again join him in a kiss. This time Teddy took charge, pushing past his teeth and sweeping her tongue in his mouth. She pressed herself against him, reveling in the hardness of his chest against the softness of her breasts.
Sounds, guttural, raw and hungry, mingled about in the electrified room. Adam's hands traversed her back, angling her from side to side as their mouths danced. Suddenly, he stopped and stood, removing the remainder of his clothes, and protecting himself and her with a condom. Teddy removed her shoes, hose and panties.
Together they joined each other on the bed. She realized they both had been holding back, but now the thread that was binding their emotions snapped and they wrestled together, yearning for each other. Adam's erection pressed hard against the juncture of Teddy's legs. Sensations spiraled through her like circular lightning. She felt lit inside and out, straining for him to enter her, to make good on the promise his body invoked. With one knee he spread her legs and entered her. Teddy clamped her teeth on her lower lip but couldn't stop the sound of pleasure that escaped. Adam moved inside her, his body connected to hers, enkindling an urgency that had the two of them writhing for dominance. They rolled back and forth across the bed, their arms and legs tangling as each gave the other the joy they sought.
This was a completely new plane for Teddy. She'd never felt like this. Never had a man demanded all from her. Never was there a man she was willing to give all to before Adam. She wanted to give all. Wanted to give whatever he demanded, whatever she felt like giving. She wanted to take it all, wanted to have him in her forever, have this feeling go on until she could no longer stand it, then have it go a little longer.
Teddy could barely breathe, but she didn't care. Her palms felt the tiny electrical impulses that ruptured off his skin as she skated her hands over the lower curve of his back. Her touch seemed to push him on. His body moved harder, faster into her. Each time his powerful body thrusted into her, the sensation of pleasure escalated. Her breath hitched as time stopped. The earth no longer moved for anyone but the two of them. Then the wave began. A huge internal signal that told her a moving ridge of passion stronger than the last was about to engulf her. She braced for it, writhing beneath him. Her body strained for the rapture, wanting it, needing it, reaching for it in every way. But it waited, a breath away, a torment so sweet that she rallied for its touch.