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“It’s fine,” Teddy says softly.
I slip out of bed and change into running shorts. Then I head out the door.
I follow the same path Teddy and I ran earlier this week, my breaths puffing out in even intervals as my leg muscles churn. I try to outpace my thoughts, but it doesn’t work. They stay with me, the same way the guilt of avoiding my family does. I have yet to call them back, although most of the missed calls and texts have come from Vaughn, not my parents. My brother always did enjoy needling me given the chance. I guess that hasn’t changed in the time we’ve been apart.
I know I need to buck up already and give them a call, but I’m afraid of what they’re going to say. I’m used to the passive-aggressive—sometimes plain aggressive—barbs from my family when it comes to me and my sexuality, but what if they want to talk to Teddy? What if they want to yell at him, too? He doesn’t deserve to go through that.
So why the hell don’t you get the annulment already?
I don’t have an answer for my conscience.
When I get back to the apartment, body sweatier but mind no less quiet, Teddy is up. I pause in the doorway of the bedroom for a moment, simply watching him. He’s a big guy, not only muscled and thick, but tall, too. And yet there’s something graceful about the way he moves, each shift of his body calm just like his temperament. I have no doubt Teddy could toss me around if he wanted—and whoa, isn’t that a thought—but there’s an energy about the guy that screams safety. He’s measured. Careful.
I wasn’t lying when I said I trust him.
Teddy stills when he sees me in the doorway, a small smile flitting to his face.
“Hey,” I say, clearing my throat. “Couldn’t get back to sleep?”
“No, but it’s fine,” he says, pulling a shirt out of his dresser and tugging it on.
Still, I feel bad for disrupting his schedule. “Regretting this yet?”
The look he gives me is both soft and stern. “Not one bit, Kipp. So get that idea out of your head.”
“Okay,” I breathe out, relieved. The idea of disappointing Teddy doesn’t sit well with me. “I’m gonna hop in the shower.”
Teddy’s eyes slip down my body at that, and I don’t miss the appreciation in his gaze or the way he lingers, specifically, at my crotch.
Well, well…
“You like these shorts?” I ask, grinning as I step into the room.
The look he gives me feels a lot like a warning. So, of course, I spin so Teddy can see the backside.
“Kipp,” he says, a growl.
Slowly, I pull the band down below my ass. “Oops.”
Teddy is behind me in a flash, the backs of his fingers skimming my skin as he tugs the band back up. He leans into my space as my heart thunders, his lips close to my ear. “You do that again, and I’m reddening your ass.”
My cock jumps as Teddy backs away. “Promise?” I ask a little shakily.
“Go take your shower, Kipp,” Teddy says, disappearing into the en suite.
Fucking hell.
I guess that’s what I get for poking the bear.
With a groan, I head into the bathroom. It’s going to be a long damn day.
“How’s married life?”
I huff a laugh, dropping into a seat across from Niko. We decided to meet for lunch today, a welcome distraction after the way my morning started. I can still feel the heat of Teddy’s fingers brushing against my ass. Ungh.
Work is a distraction in its own right—a good one, at that—but I could use someone to talk to about all of this. And who better than my best bro-friend, Niko?
“There’s a lot less fucking in this marriage than I thought there’d be,” I joke. Although it’s the absolute—unfortunate—truth.
