Page 38 of Love Shots

“I need you, baby.” He let his hot breath hover before tasting every goosebump that broke out in its wake.

Once he reached the nape of her neck, he bit down, eliciting a whimper that had fire shooting through his veins. Sucking on the same spot, she began to rock on his lap. This is what he needed. The relief he had been searching for. Only she could give it to him. Summer. His Summer.

CHAPTER TWELVE

Summer couldn’t sleep. It must have been at least an hour since Teddy’s breath had evened out and he’d fallen asleep on his back. Her eyes hadn’t left him the whole time. She was laying on her side, staring at him. Like a weirdo.

Hearing about his time as a POW had almost broken her. Just the thought of him being physically hurt made her want to hurl, but the mental torture he endured, that was like a dagger to her heart.

“You gonna stare at me all night, doll, or you gonna tell me what’s going on in that beautiful head of yours?” Teddy’s voice was low and sleep-roughened. Yet still so very sexy.

Summer narrowed her eyes. Surely he hadn’t been faking being asleep. “You were sleeping,” she lamely stated.

“What’s going on, dollface?”

“What makes you think something is going on?”

Teddy rolled onto his side until they were face to face. “Summer. Baby. I know you, remember? You’ve not been yourself since I took you to bed. A week ago. Now, either you’re severely disappointed by my equipment and how I use it ... or something else is going on with you. Which is it?”

She shot up off her pillow. “What? No! I’m not disappointed! It’s not that!” How could he even think that?

The smug smirk he flung her way as he tugged her back down said it all. He didn’t think that. He’d played her. Damn him.

“Bastard,” she mumbled, ignoring Teddy’s throaty chuckle.

As soon as his laugh subsided, she instantly felt the air thicken. His hand was on her face a second later, tilting it up to meet his gaze. “Talk to me, doll. Please.”

Her heart rate picked up, and she could no longer look him in the eye. Instead, she dropped her gaze to his chest and began to play with his dark hair. Neither of them spoke for several minutes. It was like he knew she was trying to get her thoughts in order, and he was giving her time.

Eventually she blurted out the truth. Not so eloquently. “I’m scared.”

“Of what?”

“Of this. Of us.” She let out a slow breath, realizing how shaky her voice was. “I don’t know how to do this. How to be in a healthy relationship. How to just be ... happy.”

Teddy had moved closer. His hand was resting on her hip one minute and pulling her into him the next. Accepting his comfort, she let her head rest in the crook of his neck as he stroked her side. “It’s okay; it’s okay. Explain it to me, doll. Talk me through it.”

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