by V. K. Sykes
Then it was the slow slide down, both of them panting, sweaty, untangling as they sought to catch their breath.
Noah slowly rolled to his side, tucking Teddy against his chest, one hand coming to rest on her hip. She curled herself against him and pressed her lips to his damp skin, right over his heart, too overwhelmed to say a word.
The minutes ticked by as the silence of the house settled over them. She lay quietly against him, deliberately trying to blank out everything that would pull her out of the moment.
“Hey,” Noah finally murmured, “everything okay down there?”
She lifted her head to look at him. He seemed as sex-stupefied as she felt, although his gaze held a hint of wariness as if he was already bracing for her not to be okay.
Instead of responding with words, she wriggled up, dragging her breasts across his hot skin as she stretched up to reach his mouth. When she kissed him and went on kissing him, he breathed a satisfied sigh into her mouth.
Right now, that was the only answer that counted.
- 14 -
Teddy wished for even a tiny fraction of the dogs’ exuberant energy this morning. Toby and Sadie were bouncing along in a happy gait while she was dragging herself step by exhausted step. The dogs had been constantly nudging and bumping her all the way home from the park, as if to speed up her stride. The message from the two was clear—what’s the matter with you Teddy? It’s a beautiful day in the neighborhood. Time for fun!
On a certain level, she wondered why she was dragging. Shouldn’t she be over the moon, glowing with energy and thrilled with the world after she’d had the best sex of her life? Make that the best sex she could ever imagine in this or any other life.
Yeah, it had been that good. Noah had been that good.
Sex had been the sole item on their agenda last night from the moment Noah captured her mouth in that first incredible kiss. While they had whispered a few inconsequential words to each other in between frantic and tender bouts of love-making, it had been obvious that both wanted to ignore the persistent voices in their heads—voices that told them they were six ways of terminally stupid for falling into bed. Under the onslaught of Noah’s overwhelming passion, it hadn’t been hard for Teddy to give her worries a hard shove out the bedroom door. She suspected Noah felt exactly the same way, since he’d forsaken conversation in favor of alternately dozing and making Teddy’s eyes roll back in her head from a series of sheet-gripping orgasms.
While Noah had shown her that a new universe existed out there, she’d made him feel good, too. Very good, if she’d correctly read both his groans and the growling audibles he’d called to make sure she knew exactly what he wanted her to do. And knowing that she could make this man—this wildly hot man that had his pick of gorgeous, sexy women—lose himself in her embrace was a true revelation. For the first time, Teddy understood the power of her own sexuality.
So, why had she not drifted quietly and sweetly to sleep when Noah finally zonked out? Part of it, she supposed, was fear that she’d fall into a deep sleep and still be in Noah’s bed when Cristina rose in the morning. While that was a horrifying prospect, she knew it wasn’t the main reason.
No, when the bedroom finally became silent but for the contented breathing of the man sleeping beside her, all Teddy’s cautions and fears came charging back with even greater vigor and menace. Last night hadn’t been some carefree fling of casual sex. It had been the furthest thing from it—for her, anyway. She’d felt herself bonding to Noah since the day they met, and the hours they’d spent in each other’s arms last night had strengthened those bonds exponentially.
But what had Noah felt beyond his immediate gratification? Teddy had no idea. Not many words had been spoken and certainly nothing about any feelings they might have for each other. She suspected they were both shell-shocked by what had happened between them.
Time will tell. It was one of the oldest sayings in the world, no doubt because it held such obvious truth. She kept telling herself to stop worrying about it and get on with her job and her life. Noah would do what Noah would do.
Back at the house, she gave the dogs some water and a few cookies before she sat down with her second cup of coffee of the morning. She doubted Noah would be up for hours yet. Unlike her, he probably had no pressing reason to get out of bed and was no doubt exhausted from last night’s exertions, both at the ballpark and in the bedroom. The man had certainly demonstrated admirable stamina until he finally drifted off, his arm draped over her waist and his breath warm on her neck.
A full laundry basket in her arms, Cristina emerged from her suite and passed by the kitchen. When the housekeeper spotted Teddy on a stool at the high counter, she shot her a tight-lipped glare. Had she heard any of what went on last night? Cristina had seemed to be a heavy sleeper, so Teddy hadn’t given it much thought, especially since she and Noah had been relatively quiet—until they got up to his bedroom, anyway. She truly couldn’t imagine the elegant Cristina slinking upstairs to listen outside the door.
Cristina set the basket down on the floor and strode into the kitchen to stand directly across the counter from Teddy. She flipped her glossy hair like a fashion queen, as if to emphasize that she looked pulled together, unlike Teddy who was definitely not looking her best. Not that her best resembled anything as polished as Christina.
“You must be very pleased with yourself this morning, Miss Quinn.”
Crap. Back to Miss Quinn.
Teddy bit her tongue and maintained her silence. She so did not want this conversation. She hoped Noah still slept soundly because she hated the thought that he might come downstairs to stumble into the middle of a laughably clichéd cat fight.
Cristina slapped her hands onto the counter and leaned forward, a fierce scowl on her elegant features. “You must not be too attached to your job. That surprises me.”
Teddy sighed as she got up. She couldn’t stand having the woman glare down at her one second longer. “Look, Cristina, if you’ve got something you want to say, just say it straight out, okay? I’m not into verbal games, especially when I haven’t had my second cup of coffee.”
“There is nothing that goes on in this house that I don’t know about, so don’t think otherwise,” Cristina snapped. “I know what happened last night. I can tell how he feels about you, and I warned you.”
Teddy pointedly raised her eyebrows. “Surely you realize that’s none of your business.”
Cristina snorted. “I think you could use some advice. There are no better employers than Mr. Noah. I would never do anything to put my position here in danger, so I don’t understand why you would either. Isn’t it obvious that once he tires of you, you won’t be able to stay?”
Of course, that was precisely what Teddy feared, but why the heck would Cristina even care? As far as she could tell, the housekeeper would happily see the back end of her heading out the door for good. “Given the way you’ve treated me since I since I started working here, I would have thought that prospect would make you delirious with joy.”
As soon as the blunt words were out of her mouth, Teddy winced. She wanted to keep her relationship with the housekeeper on a professional level, and harsh language wouldn’t help. But the woman simply had to stop pushing Teddy’s buttons.
Cristina turned away and took a few steps before looking back. “You should have left well enough alone,” she said crisply. “I think you will be very sorry.”
Teddy grimaced but managed to stop from delivering her own parting shot at the housekeeper’s retreating back. But Cristina’s words burned because they voiced exactly what Teddy was thinking.
* * *
Noah stumbled down the stairs, stepping gingerly over Toby who was sacked out against the bottom step. The mutt was apparently oblivious to the fact that he was asking to be stepped on.
Let sleeping dogs lie.
He couldn’t help grinning. That philosophy had seemed to work for Teddy and him last night.
But now he neede
d a cup of coffee more than he needed air, since he’d only pulled in about three hours of sleep. Not that he had any right to complain after everything that had happened in his bed last night. Jesus, who knew it would be that balls-to-the-wall spectacular? Maybe it was because Teddy was so damn fresh and sweet and normal and…well, not obsessed with proving that she was some kind of acrobatic sex goddess. Strange as it seemed, Teddy made him feel like he was in his teens again, when sex was still something of a marvel.
And, man, he’d liked that feeling
Everything had been perfect—all explosive sex and no talk. No analysis. No recriminations. The last thing he remembered before falling asleep was holding Teddy tight, her sweet, rounded ass fitted against his groin and his cheek pressed against her soft, fragrant hair. But he’d come awake later when she slid out of bed and padded softly down the hall to her room. He hadn’t slept a wink after that.
As he reached down to rub Toby’s head, he heard Cristina’s voice coming from the kitchen. And, damn, she didn’t sound happy. In fact, he caught something along the lines of you should have left well enough alone. That froze him in place for a moment because he thought he knew what his housekeeper meant by them.
Shit.
This was hardly the first time he’d had a lady stay the night, and while Cristina had often been a little starchy the next day, she’d also kept her mouth firmly shut. As far as he could remember, she’d never uttered a word about what went on upstairs. Why would she? Cristina was a pro, and it was none of her business.
Well, whatever was going on in there this morning, he’d straighten it out in a hurry. He cared for Cristina and she was important to him, but he’d be damned if he was going to stand by doing nothing if she was trying to intimidate Teddy. He hurried down the hall and into the kitchen.
But by the time he got there, Cristina was heading off and Teddy was sitting on a stool at the counter, her back to him. When she heard the thud of his bare feet, she swiveled around and smiled.
“Good morning,” she said in a high-pitched voice. “Can I get you some breakfast?”
Noah shook his head as he studied her. Teddy looked so edgy he almost wished he had a tranquilizer to slip into her coffee. She gripped the edges of the stool with both hands as if she was afraid of falling off. Her body was pulled as tight as piano wire.
“Thanks, but don’t worry about that,” he said, moving closer. “Listen, I just overheard some of what Cristina just said to you. Did she hear us last night?”
Teddy’s nose wrinkled into an unhappy grimace. “I’m not quite sure what she heard, but she apparently knows.”
“It sounded like she was giving you a lecture.” Noah shook his head, pissed as hell at Cristina. He would not have crap like that going on in his house. He jerked a cup down from one of the cabinets, poured himself a cup of coffee, and moved to stand directly across the counter from Teddy. “I heard the bit about leaving well enough alone.”
Teddy suddenly looked a little panicked as she held up a hand. “Please leave it alone, Noah. It’s nothing I can’t handle.”
Noah wasn’t sure he believed that. “Maybe, but I won’t have her trying to make you feel like you’ve done anything wrong. If anybody’s at fault here, it’s me.”
He reached a hand across the counter and cupped her chin. When he leaned forward and planted a soft kiss on her lips, Teddy melted into him for a moment. Then she sighed. “Nobody’s at fault. Look, I’m sure this is all very hard on Cristina. She hasn’t liked me from the beginning, and now…” She glanced away.
Noah finished her sentence. “And now it’s a whole new ball game, right?”
“Perhaps that’s the way she sees it.”
That took Noah slightly aback. “And how do you see it?”
Teddy picked up her coffee and took a sip. Her hands clenched the cup in tight grip. “I think it’s a little early in the day to be having such a weighty conversation,” she finally said with a nervous chuckle. “I’m sure you need to get some coffee in you.”
Noah gulped a swallow of the still-fresh brew. “Okay, that’s done. Now, we’ll talk.”
Teddy fiddled with her ponytail, adjusting the pink scrunchy that held it in place. Another one of the nervous tells he’d come to recognize. But she stayed silent.
“Do you regret what happened?” Noah hadn’t been sure how Teddy would react in the aftermath of last night but hadn’t expected silence. “It felt pretty inevitable to me. As hard as we both tried to deny all the chemistry that was going on, it sure didn’t make it any less real.”
More silence as she again hid behind her coffee cup. God, he wanted to kiss those coffee-moistened lips again. And then pick her up and carry her back to the bedroom so they could start from where they left off a few hours ago. In her dog-walking gear—a red halter top and gray gym shorts—she looked tired and a little mussed but it didn’t matter. All he could see was the sweet, luscious beauty who had taken him to the moon and back last night.
And he was ready for another rocket ride.
“Chemistry is a wonderful thing,” she said in a soft voice that held more than a hint of nerves. “But it can be incredibly dangerous, too.”
Noah gritted his teeth. Maybe last night had changed nothing after all. “So, we should treat what happened as a one-and-done? Is that what you want?”
He sure as hell knew he didn’t want that, but if Teddy was going to twist herself into tight little knots over it, he wasn’t about to add to her self-inflicted torture.
Then he saw her lower lip tremble just a tiny bit and couldn’t stand it a moment longer. He slid around the counter to go to her. As he moved, Teddy jerked to her feet and stumbled into his arms.
“I’m just not sure about anything, to tell you the truth.” Her voice was muffled against his chest as she clutched at him. “I’m so sorry, Noah. It was the best night of my life, but nothing’s really changed, has it?”
He tightened his embrace. “No, everything’s changed.”
She wriggled in his grip, drawing back just enough to look up at him. Gone was the nervous girl of a moment ago. Now she gazed up at him, clear-eyed and a little somber. “What, for instance?”
His mind struggled to form a coherent answer. His gut told him everything was different, but what could he say? That she wasn’t just a dog walker to him anymore? That sounded stupid, and she’d known that for a while, anyway. He could say that he wanted to bone her every night and every morning, in every creative way that the two of them could imagine, but that would hardly be music to her ears at a time like this, would it?
When it finally came to him, it clicked easily into place. “Teddy, I don’t think either of us really knows yet, but I want to find out.”
She rested her head on his chest and gripped his back even harder, but he could feel how shallow and tense her breathing remained.
“You want to stop talking about it, right?” He gently opened some space between them and tilted her chin up so she looked straight into his eyes.
Teddy gave a faint but grateful smile. “For now, at least. Honest to God, I’m barely functional at this point.”
He let her go and went back to his coffee. “I’m still going to have it out with Cristina, though. She’s got no business saying anything to you.”
“I wish you would let me handle it. This must all be hard for her.”
He eyed her carefully. She did look determined to have him stay out of it. He admired her for that because he knew how frosty Cristina could be when she was angry. “Okay, if you insist. I’ll let it go just this once.”
She rewarded him with a bigger smile and shimmied her cute ass back up on the stool. Toby padded into the kitchen and went straight to her, resting his long muzzle in her lap.
“How about Toby and I change places?” Noah said with a mock leer.
A pretty blush stained her cheeks. “Just listen to him, Toby. Your daddy’s incorrigible.”
And hard as granite right now. Noah remembered ex
actly what it felt like to have his head between Teddy’s soft thighs. That kind of thinking wasn’t real helpful, though, at least not at the moment.
He thought for a minute as they drank their coffee in surprisingly relaxed silence. If he couldn’t talk to Cristina right now about her crappy attitude, he could at least explain to Teddy why she was probably reacting so strongly.
“I should tell you a little more about Cristina,” he said. “I’m sure she hasn’t told you anything about herself, has she?”
Teddy let out a dainty snort as she stroked the Poodle’s curly head. “No.”
Noah wished she was stroking something else right now with those talented hands.
“Teddy, Cristina’s a little hard-boiled, no doubt about it, but there’s a really good person inside that tough shell. She sure hasn’t had an easy life.”
Teddy’s quizzical look made him realize she probably thought Cristina had it pretty soft.
“Oh, she’s got a good thing going here,” he added. “I’m talking about her life before she came to work for me.”
“Go on,” Teddy said as Toby gave one last snurfle into her lap before heading for his water dish. A moment later, Sadie appeared in the kitchen doorway and clicked her way across the stone floor to join her brother for a drink.
“She came to the States as a nanny. She left home because she felt she had no future in the Philippines and didn’t want to be a burden to her family. Initially, she worked for a number of different people in Washington, bouncing around and generally getting exploited and treated like crap. Cristina thought she might be able to have a better life if she got married, but it didn’t work out that way because her son of a bitch husband turned out to be a wifebeater. He knocked her around a lot, even when she was pregnant. She lost the baby because of it.”
Teddy looked stricken. “That’s so awful.”
