Page 128 of Pucking Strong

Oh, this is so fucking happening. I can ponder what a mistake it is later. Climbing into his lap, I straddle him, wrapping my arms around his neck. His intoxicating, shower-fresh scent hits my senses, setting me on fire. His hands brace my hips, and my fingers weave into the damp hair at his nape as I tip his head back. “You are my husband. Henrik, you’remine.”

We crash together in a fierce kiss. It’s hot and needy, our handsseeking. In his starched dress shirt, he reaches the limit of his flexibility, trying to wrap an arm around my shoulders. But I’m just in a T-shirt and sweatpants. I wrap myself around him, grinding on his lap. “Tell me what you feel,” I pant against his lips. “Please,god, tell me you feel something more than nothing—”

He pulls away, breathless, his blue eyes searching my face. Slowly, he nods. “I feel.” Taking my hand, he presses it to his chest.

I lean in, fingers brushing over his dress shirt as I feel the erratic pulsing of his heart under my palm. “Do you like it? I mean, do you like kissing me? Fuck—don’t answer unless the answer is yes—”

He silences me with another kiss, his beard tickling my mouth as our faces tilt, our bodies seeking more closeness. I’m about to grind my dick against him again, but then I’m groaning, all but stumbling out of his lap. “Okay—fuck—new rules.” I back away, shoulders heaving, adjusting my dick in these formfitting briefs. “Henrik, we need new rules.”

He sits forward, shirt untucked, hair a mess. With a practiced flick of his wrists, he undoes the buttons at his cuffs. Which is so fucking hot, I could probably come without even touching myself.

Focus.

No more pouncing. No more kissing. New rules, Teddy. This man is your fucking kryptonite.

“Teddy—”

“I need a minute,” I bark, raising a hand to warn him back. I swear to god, if he gets off that couch, I’m gonna be dropping to my knees, and then it’s all over. “Just …stay.”

He sits back, watching me pace in front of the TV.

So, here’s the deal. Intern Teddy would have done literally anything for this man. Because Intern Teddy was weak, hopeless, and desperate for love. But I’m Doctor Teddy now. Therewillbe ramifications if and when this falls apart. And I have a career to think about. I have a custody agreement with the little girl asleep in the next room. And my family’s voices are all screaming like a klaxon alarm in my head:Protect yourself.

I mean, my god, we don’t even have a signed prenup agreement. Or a postnup. There are no nups! No protections in place. For me,for Karro. Worse, there are no protections for Henrik, and he has the most to lose. The man is a multimillionaire. He owns real estate in two countries. And don’t ask me how I know, but Florida is a nofault state. If I divorced him now, I could walk away with half his earnings. And alimony. And if I took full custody of Karro, we could throw in a little five-figure monthly child support.

Not that I wouldeverdo any of those things. But we’ve never even talked about it. And now he wants to practice wanting me? He wants us both to be more deeply, emotionally entangled? What, so this can blow up even more spectacularly in our faces?

“What new rules do you require?” he asks, watching me pace.

I stop, spinning to face him. “Oh, don’t even pretend these rules are only for me. They’re for you too. Because apparently, we can no longer be trusted to be alone in the same room. I mean, fuck! If you tell me kissing is finally on the table, I’m never gonna stop. Andyousaid you wanted this to go slow,” I add, pointing a finger at him.

God, I’m worse than the judgy chicken!

“I do,” he assures me. “Teddy, I don’t want to hurt you. I don’t want to ever say or do the wrong thing.”

“Well, that’s not possible for anyone. We’re both gonna say and do the wrong thing eventually. More than once. That’s just what it means to be human.” I spin in my socks, facing him again. “But there’s shit we definitely have to discuss, before this can go any further.”

“Like what?”

I cross my arms, staring him down. “Like, a postnup.”

“What?”

“A postnuptial agreement. It’s a legal contract that outlines how our assets will be handled in the event of our inevitable divorce. Because that’s where this is still going, right? This was all only meant to be temporary, right?”

He leans away, his expression impossible to read. “I said I wouldn’t trap you with me, and I meant it.”

Awesome. Ripping that arrow from my fucking spleen, I go on. “Right, well you have to call Laura. Tomorrow. I want a draft of a postnup on our kitchen island by end of day. We walk out of thismarriage only with the assets we each brought into it. I want nothing from you.”

He sighs. “Teddy—”

“The only sticking point will be custody of Karro. Because I’ll be fucked if you think I’m walking away from that little girl,” I add, pointing a finger at him again. “She’s mine too, Henrik. What’s the Swedish for that? I’m gonna tattoo it on my fucking chest.”

A smile flits across his lips. “Karolina är mitt barn.”

“Right. Mitt barn, Henrik. You asked for my help, and now you’ve fucking got it. For life. Because that little girl deserves to have people in her life that love her and are gonna fight for her. And I willfightyou, Henrik. I will fight you for her—”

He stands. The move is so sudden and deliberate that it stops my rant in its tracks. Sweeping around the coffee table, he descends on me, pulling me to him with both hands. But he doesn’t kiss me. Instead, he just wraps me in his arms, hugging me with his whole body.

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