Page 47 of Mr. Kelly

“What are you doing?”

“I don’t like that you’re covering my art.”

His smile drops to the seductive one I’m used to seeing. I’ve been hornier at this point of the pregnancy, but that’s not what this is about. I love the feel of his skin under my palms so much that a content sigh escaped my lips. The tattoos and scars on his body tell an interesting story of the man in front of me. He grips my ass and lifts me enough to cross his legs so I’m straddling him.

“Better now?” he teases as he watches my hands explore his torso.

“Yes,” I breathe as my palm pauses over his heart.

His face takes on a serious, contemplative quality. “I’m sorry, River.”

“For what?”

Teddy’s fingers trail up my spine, making my skin tingle with awareness as he responds.

“For not having a great answer about the future or our relationship-”

I peck him on the lips to stop him from talking. I get it. I dealt with my own betrayal, but even with my life in danger, it wasn’t years of a constant stream of lies. I’d rather we take our time than jump into a relationship and bring Helena’s shit with us.

“I’m fine with the way things are now. It's okay that we don’t have all the answers.” I thread my fingers through his hair, thinking about the times I used to wonder what it’d be like to touch it. “I think I’m addicted to touching you, to being in your space,” I admit.

He steals a kiss, lingering longer than I did. Theodore sucks my bottom lip into his mouth, then lets it go. He’s teasing me on purpose,

“Good. I like it when you do it. I want you in my space and focused on me.” He grabs my hair, tilting my head back as he nips my chin because he knows what that does to me. “I want to feed your addiction and make sure it’s justified.” Dragging his lips along my neck, his eyes connect with mine again. “Be my addict; I won’t abuse it.”

Chapter Twenty-Three

THEODORE

“Oh,God. Yes, Teddy. Right there. Sooo good.”

A chuckle escapes as my fingers dig into her hip. “Usually, I produce these praises by doing something else,” I tease her as I continue to massage her hip and thigh.

River turns her head to smile up at me. “Teddy, with the way my sciatic nerve has been acting up today, you are doing the Lord’s work.” Her eyes roll when I get to another tight spot. “Fuck, yeah.”

I can’t contain the smile that stretches across my face. She’s so damn cute. Immediately, I know I’d do anything to preserve the person she is today. No one is perfect, and I know we’ll bump heads, but she’s such a good person it hurts. Which is why I’m adding another stop on my business trip. I’m going to visit one of our dessert wine vendors, which is about an hour-and-a-half drive away from Atlanta. It’s been a few days since our video chat and she’s concerned that her parents don’t like me, so I called her dad and asked if they wanted to meet while I was in town.

River knows about the trip, but not about the meeting. I've already assured her that I'll be back for my birthday and left it at that. I don’t want to worry her prematurely, but sometimes men have to look each other in the eyes for certain conversations.He’s concerned about his daughter, and I’d think less of him if he wasn’t.

As long as Andrea and I are breathing, no harm will come to River or our child. The quicker her parents are at ease with me, the quicker I can have both sides get together for all of our son’s events.

I’m not worried about my parents. They’ll think anyone other than Helena is an upgrade. It’s amazing how my love for her made me so blind to how those around me felt about her. My mom popped open a $800 bottle of champagne when I announced my divorce.

River straddles me and changes my focus back to her. The little tank top dress she’s wearing makes her belly more pronounced. I get a rush of pride and joy every time I see it. She pecks me on the lips.

“Thank you, baby. You’re so good to me.”

Fuck, I almost bought her a yacht.Her compliments and praises warm me in ways I didn’t know I needed. My brain has been all over the place when it comes to River. She’s mine, and I’d kill any man who'd try to take her away, but the outcome of my fucked-up marriage gives me pause.

I hesitate to make things official when they damn near already are; it’s written in everything. We live together and have a baby on the way, yet I’m still locking away parts of myself. I know what she wants to hear, and there are things I want to tell her, but my brain keeps the words at bay.

I continue to claim her in the ways I can. My hands cup her cheeks as I pull her into a deeper kiss. River moans into my mouth as my tongue tastes her. The nails of her left hand dig into my bicep as the right hand grabs my hardening dick through my pants.

“Damn, Teddy. I don’t know if it’s you or my hormones, but I can’t seem to stay off of your dick.”

The almost innocent way she says something dirty makes me chuckle. I lift my hips enough to roll my pants down until my dick pops out.

I gesture to her barely-there underwear. “Well, pull that bullshit aside and claim what’s yours.”

---