Page 61 of Into the Shadows

I run the flat of my tongue through the valley between her tits until I hit the dip at the bottom of her throat. “You’re addicting, baby. I’ll never get enough of you.”

Lottie cups my cheeks to kiss me. Her passion flows through every press of her lips against mine. I may never understand what she sees in me, but there will never be a day where I question her feelings for me.

“I need you, Teddy. Please?”

“Anything. I’ll give you anything.”

My words spur her on, and she pushes at me until I’m lying on my back. We work together to yank my pants and boxers down until they’re pooled on the floor. Lottie straddles my hips, channeling the siren I’ve come to see her as. I scan her body from top to bottom, unable to stick to any one part of her. The swell of her tits, the V between her spread thighs, the breathtaking look on her face as she watches me. It’s all too much to take in at one time.

Her hips begin to slide across my length, the head of my cock hitting her clit with every pass. Her fingers dig into my chest. I can’t wait to see the marks she’s leaving on my body. I want to mark her in return.

Lottie lifts herself to slot my cock at her entrance. Then I’m pushing into her body, and it feels like coming home.

She is my home.

No matter what happens between us, she will always be the person who brought me back to life. No amount of worshipping her body will ever be enough to thank her for it.

Lottie’s hips grind against me in a maddening rhythm. Idig the tips of my fingers into her flesh, leaving indentions on her ass.

There’s no going back after this. I spent two days away from her, and every single minute of those two days, I was itching to come home.

I sit up, changing the angle and making her gasp. I press my forehead to hers. “You’re it for me, you know that?”

Her eyes fill with tears as she shatters around me. I have no choice but to follow her over the edge. She’s never given me a choice. It’s always been her.

Someone pounds on the door.

“It’s time to hide, baby.” Mommy’s mouth tries to form a smile, but she just looks sad instead. She grips my shoulder too tight, pushing me toward the bedroom.

I hate it when I have to hide. Sometimes, I’m in there forever. “Mommy, I’m hungry.”

“You can eat later.”

Later usually means tomorrow. It doesn’t matter. We don’t have any food anyway. I follow directions, like the good boy Mommy always tells me I am. I get behind the clothes in the closet. My blankie is already back here, and so are the toys I left last time. My tummy growls. I wish I had hidden that granola bar instead of eating it for breakfast.

I can hear Mommy’s voice in the living room. Then a loud smack. I scrunch my eyes closed and press my hand to my ears. Tomorrow will be a bad day. Sometimes, after I hide, Mommy takes me out for breakfast. On the nights I hear her screams, she’ll be half asleep on the couch the next day with a bottle in her hand. Maybe I’ll find another granola bar in the morning.

I wake with a start. Pain explodes in my body, making the memories of my childhood pale in comparison. It’s radiatingeverywhere, yet not enough to knock me unconscious. Someone screams next to me. Are my men dying, too? I can’t move. I can’t even turn my head to see who is in the same pain I am. Everything hurts so fucking bad. “You can wake up now, baby,” a voice whispers in my head.

“Teddy. Wake up.” The voice changes. “I need you to open your eyes. Come back to me, my love.”

The desperate tone is what snaps me awake. My eyes fly open, my heart hammering in my chest. I’m in my room, in my bed. Then my focus turns to the woman hovering over me. Her brown hair hangs around me like a protective curtain. It’s her amber eyes that hold me captive. They’re full of fear, relief, and love.

“You’re okay, my love. You’re here with me.” Lottie runs a cool hand across my sweaty forehead. It’s heaven against my feverish skin.

“Lottie.” My voice is hoarse.Was I the one screaming?

She gives me a soft smile. “Hi, handsome. I’m glad to see you back in the land of the living.”

“Sorry I scared you.” I sit up, needing some distance between my future sitting in bed beside me and the memories of my past hovering just under the surface. My phone says it’s four a.m., which means I have no hope of going back to sleep. I rub my palm against Lottie’s thigh. “Go back to sleep, baby. I’ll make us breakfast when you get up.”

She gives me a look. “There’s no way in hell I could go back to sleep. My adrenaline is still pumping. How about coffee?”

I nod, more grateful for this woman than I could ever put into words. She isn’t pushing to talk about my nightmare or even looking at me with pity. She’s merely offering to keep me company despite the early hour.

She helps me get my prosthetic on with barely a glance. It’s almost automatic, like she’s doing it without thinking. Toknow she doesn’t think twice about me missing a leg is humbling. It’s a good reminder for me to think about it the same way. Sure, I have to make accommodations at times, but for the most part, I’ve been able to live a normal life. Way more normal than I imagined when I was lying in that hospital bed after the explosions.

We walk into the kitchen side by side. Lottie, swimming in one of my T-shirts, yawns as she fills the water reservoir of the coffee maker.

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