Fortitude - 25. Chapter 25

“Their excesses are appalling!” I shouted the second my door was firmly shut. Forced to sit among my family and their so-called social equals, I’d watched as they ate and drank what I now knew had been bought with my worth. I’d barely been able to control my rage, but that fire was turning to despair.

Teddy reached out, and I fell into his arms. I needed him.

“Don’t think about them; they’ll never get the chance to hand you over.”

“Us, Teddy.” I looked into his eyes, unable to look away. “They want us.”

“Well they can’t have either one of us. I won’t let them take you, and you won’t let them take me. We’re going to figure out exactly what is going on and stop it.”

“How?” I asked in a strangled voice. “I can’t… I’ve been trying all night to think of a plan. How are we going to stop something that has been going on for hundreds of years?”

“Schvesla left clues no one else has ever found. I know Bart and Chester were at the theater, but Schvesla couldn’t have known future victims would use it as a safe house. There’s something else there, and that’s why you wanted to go back tomorrow.”

“What if it’s just another clue? We are going to run out of time, Teddy.”

Teddy framed my face with his hands. “Don’t give in to despair,” he said, “and I won’t either. We have to believe.”

I swallowed. “In what?”

“Each other,” he said softly. Teddy kissed me, pressing our lips together firmly. He caressed my cheeks and then slid his hands down my neck to my shoulders. “Take this off?”

My jacket hit the ground.

He rubbed my shoulders. “And this.”

It was hard to get the buttons open with my fingers trembling, but finally my vest joined my jacket. My shirt was thin, the pale blue fabric no barrier to the heat in Teddy’s hands as he placed his palms on my chest.

“You feel so good. I’ve been thinking about the other night.” Teddy’s cheeks stained red. He licked his lips. “I want to see you this time.”

I sucked in a breath; I’d never imagined Teddy being so bold. My trousers became far too tight, and I wanted his hands on my skin more than anything. “I have to lock the door,” I said breathily.

Teddy stepped back. The household wasn’t yet quiet, so we’d have to be careful. I turned the key in the door and pulled the heavy iron key out of the hole, setting it on the nearby table next to a lamp. Slowly moving around the room, I turned off the lamps, leaving the orange glow from the fire the only source of illumination in the room. Teddy never took his gaze off me, even as he removed his jacket and began to unbutton his shirt.

He left his clothes in a pile on the floor next to mine, stripping until he was clad only in his small clothes. I couldn’t help but stare. His body was lean, but soft in places that had felt wonderful under my hands before.

“Come here.” Teddy beckoned to me.

I blinked. I’d been so busy watching him, I hadn’t gotten undressed. I pulled the tails of my shirt out of my pants as I walked over to him.

“No, let me.” He pulled my hands away from the top button, and I let them fall to my sides.

Every sensual dream I’d had came true as Teddy slowly stripped me until I was fully bare in front of him. The light of the fire fell against my front, and then there was nothing left to hide behind. His small clothes bulged, and I knew he liked what he saw, which took away some of my uncertainty.

Teddy smoothed his hands over my chest, tickling the sparse hair there. “You are so handsome,” he whispered.

“No more than you.” Shadows rippled across his ribs and in the slight concave of his belly. “Take these off?” I wanted the last barrier between us gone. He shucked his small clothes, and then we were naked with each other, standing in the sitting area of my room suite.

We drank each other in for a long moment. “What now?” I asked.

He blinked. “I didn’t really think that far.”

I chuckled. Typical Teddy. “Come here.” I had no problems guiding him in what we both wanted. Right then, I wanted his soft skin under my hands. I led him to the bed and the shadows that did nothing to hide the star desire on his face as I pressed him down.

This time I had more control over my reaction when we touched. I braced myself with a knee on either side of his hips and held myself up with one arm.

“Kiss me.”

I leaned down and kissed him, slipping my tongue in his mouth and tasting him under the bitter tang of the wine he’d had after dinner. Still possessing his lips, I slid my free hand down between our chests and captured our shafts.

Teddy broke the kiss with a gasp, thrusting up into my hand and rubbing himself against me. “Will!”

“Shh,” I cautioned him, but I grinned when he thrashed as I began to stroke our parts together. He was usually so quiet, so passive, but with me, like this, Teddy grew wild.

I relished his loss of control; I didn’t have much more. His shaft dripped fluids, and when he came I had to cover his mouth, smothering our sounds as he dragged me with him into the abyss of carnal pleasure.

I collapsed, and he complained, pushing me off but not letting me go. Rolling onto our sides, we cuddled together. I shivered as Teddy stroked my back, moving his fingers along the same patch of skin over and over.

“A lifetime of seeing you like this isn’t long enough,” Teddy said.