Page 198 of Pucking Strong

Teddy sees me all but naked on the table, and his eyes go wide. He glances between us, clearly looking for the other PT. “I … you told me to meet you here. Am I interrupting something?”

“Nope,” Novy replies, his tone cheery. “I only beat you here by a minute. Cassidy just left. Actually, this is a bit of a bait-and-switch situation. Classic Novy, right? I’m a scoundrel. But hopefully this time you won’t mind because I’ve decided to donate my last Teddy massage to Karlsson. Poor guy begged and pleaded with me for long enough that I just had to give in.”

Teddy and I both stiffen, glancing from each other back to Novy. “But I can’t massage Henrik at work,” he says, his tone wary.

“Which is why the schedule will still read that it’s me in here with you,” Novy replies with a wink. “When, in fact, I will now be sneaking up to Poppy’s office to fuck her on her desk. It’s her own fault for wearing those heels with the ankle strappy things. She knows I can’t resist. We’ll all taste a bit of afternoon delight, and no one needs to ever know. Deal?”

Teddy waits for me to make the decision. Novy’s last words fill my mind, taking up all the space I was using for worrying and over-thinking:Run to him. Never stop. Locking eyes with my Teddy, I hold out my hand. “Come here.”

He steps right past Novy, so easily drawn in by my quiet command. I part my knees and lure him closer. He doesn’t stop until his thighs hit the table. Then he’s in my arms, his hands brushing over my bare shoulders as I cup his face and kiss him, staking my claim.

I barely register the door closing as Novy leaves the room. After a few more moments of kissing, Teddy pulls away. “Wait. What really happened before I came in here just now? What did he say?”

I smile, brushing my thumb over his parted lips. “He apologized for teasing us.”

“Really?”

I nod. “I think he’s grown a conscience since Poppy and Morrow broke into his home and moved themselves in.”

He grins. “Hard to believe, but I think you might be right.” He glances around the room. It’s little more than a repurposed closet, barely big enough for the massage table, with overhead lights set on a dimmer switch. There are four of these rooms situated along the same wall in the PT suite. “Should we … I mean, he was obviouslyjoking, right? We can’t do a massage in here. We could get in trouble.”

Teddy speaks sense. Rules are rules. But now I have him in my arms, and all that worrying I was doing has finally eased. My god, Lukas Novikov is right. With Teddy, it’s like the chaos of the world stops and my racing thoughts quiet. With Teddy, I find stillness. Only with Teddy do I find peace. I smile, brushing his locs off his shoulder. “No more trouble than fucking you over the hood of my car at a public beach.”

He blushes. Exactly the reaction I wanted. I love the way the warmth blooms in his cheeks under that soft spray of freckles. Each one is a fleck of caramel I want to taste. As he notes the hungry look on my face, a nervous smile spreads on his. “What’s gotten into you?”

“Hopefully you,” I tease. “After my massage, of course.”

He snorts a laugh, pulling away. “Are you serious right now? You’re finally gonna let me massage you?”

Feeling lighter than I have in days, I flip onto my stomach and place my face back in the cushioned cutout. “Lock the door and dim the lights.”

I listen to him move around the room. The softclickof the door lock already has my cock twitching. I regret lying so eagerly on my stomach, pinning it to the table with my hips. Music starts up on the Bluetooth speaker. Cassidy was playing something that sounded like spa music. Teddy plays smooth, soft jazz.

“Novy and I had agreed on an hour-long, full-body massage. Is that what you’d like as well?” His tone is clinical. My sweet man, he’s trying so hard to be professional.

Determined to rattle him, I shrug a shoulder. “Let’s just see how long we last.”

“What does that mean?”

“I can’t imagine we’ll make it more that fifteen minutes before you’re asking me to suck your cock—ah—”

I wince as he twists his fingers into my hair and pulls my head up and out of the face cradle, forcing me to look at him. He doesn’t bother hiding his smile or the heat in his eyes. “Keep pushing mewhen I’m just trying to do my job, and we won’t get to the part where I ask. I’ll just flip you over right now, jerk that ass to the end of the table, and make you take me.”

Before I can respond, he lets me go, and my head flops back into the cradle. I chuckle, adjusting my hips so I’m not crushing my hardening cock.

“I’ll start with your shoulders,” he declares, rubbing his hands with oil. “What level of pressure would you like?”

“Hard.”

He steps up to the head of the table where I can see his shoes. “Let’s begin.”

The moment his warm, oiled hands start to touch me, I relax. He moves them methodically over my shoulders, his pressure firm as he follows the line of each muscle, finding each nerve bundle, every knot and ache. His pressure is divine as he works the knots loose in my left shoulder first. I mutter a curse in Swedish and he eases up a little.

“Feel good? Not too much pressure?”

“’Sgood,” I mumble, my eyes closed in bliss as my body goes slack.

“I had no idea you were carrying so much stress in your shoulders,” he says after another minute or two. “Babe, you’re riddled with knots.”

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