I moved an errant lock of hair from his lashes and tucked it aside. His nose wrinkled and he made a noise in his throat, but he didn’t wake. I ran the back of my fingers down the side of his face and couldn’t help but smile. He looked so young, soinnocent. I wanted to wrap him in cotton wool and hide him away.
I felt guilty for even questioning what he’d told me, or implied, but there was no escaping the truth that I’d offered him a place to stay partly because I’d thought he didn’t have a place to return to. He’d said as much himself, and I’d come to terms with that. It wasn’t like he owed me an explanation of his finances, especially since he was more than contributing to the grocery bill as well as mucking in with the housework.
But something still didn’t seem quite right, and I hated the feeling. So what if Thaddeus had a bit of money stashed away? It didn’t change the fact that he’d been cheated on and was looking for a place to lick his wounds. We weren’t even officially dating... I didn’t think. That conversation had fallen into the elephant-in-the-room basket, along with the one about when he was leaving. And what did that say about what we were to each other, that we were actively avoiding those conversations? Just like I’d done with James.Oh God.
I leaned forward and pressed my lips to Thaddeus’s forehead. I was so gone for this man; I didn’t know which way was up. I’d thrown common sense to the wind and decided to go with my gut. Only time would tell if I’d been courageous or just another fool. Thaddeus was a good man, I knew that much. A little lost and a whole lot hurt, but with a stellar brain and a wicked sense of humour. Did I really need to know more than that?
“You’re creeping me out.” Thaddeus’s eyelids flickered open and a smile tugged at his lips. “And if my breath smells as bad as yours, we’re at risk of breaching the clean air act.”
I straddled his hips and pinned his arms above his head. “Alternatively, we could harness its power as a weapon of mass destruction. Whole armies will be lining up to invest.”
He laughed and tried to wriggle free. “I don’t know aboutmassdestruction, but I reckon we have a better than even chance of felling at least the first line of attack.”
“I think you’re right.” I released his arms and cradled his face, lowering my lips to his. “You got any complaints if I kiss you, stinky breath and all?”
His arms slid around my waist, and he lifted his head to nip my bottom lip. “At least I’ll die with a smile on my face.”
“You’re such a jerk.” I lowered my mouth to his in a slow morning kiss that moved through my body like a languid flame, rekindling the fire that sparked between us whenever we touched.
Thaddeus freed his legs and wrapped them around my waist, arching his back and bringing our awakening erections together, his heels digging into my arse, his mouth more demanding by the second.
“I’ll be late for work,” I murmured against his lips.
“You’re the boss,” he reminded me, pressing his groin hard up into mine and eliciting a groan. “You make the rules.”
“Tap will be here any minute,” I tried again.
Thaddeus responded with a chuckle and a fingertip in my hole. I let loose another groan, louder this time, and Ziggy jumped off the bed in disgust. “We can be quick.” Thaddeus’s finger slid all the way in, and electricity shot through my body. “Can I fuck you?”
I pulled up and grinned down at him. “I thought you’d never ask.” I glanced at my phone on the bedside table. “Would twenty minutes cramp your style? Shame to rush a first time.”
Thaddeus’s mouth tipped up in a sly smile. “I can be quickandgood. Hit that timer, and you’re on. Last to shoot gets to make breakfast.”
I kissed him on the nose. “Get ready to lose then, arsehole.”
Thaddeus waggled his eyebrows. “I do believe it’s your arsehole on the line,baby.Fast means hard, right?” He looked at me sideways. “You ready to play with the big boys?”
I couldn’t help but laugh.“Absolutely, you cheeky little shit. Bring it on.”
Thirty minutes later,Thaddeus was smirking at me from the other side of the breakfast bar, coffee in hand. “Maybe not quite so ready to play with the big boys as you thought, huh?”
I flipped the eggs and pushed the bacon around the pan, steadfastly ignoring him. He’d beaten me by a good twenty seconds, coming undone and unloading in my arse at the twelve-minute thirty-second mark. And yes, it’d been fast. And yes, it had been hard. And yes, my arse was killing me in the best possible way. I hadn’t been fucked for years, and I’d loved every second of it, including the way Thaddeus had babied me into the shower and proceeded to wash and then dry me thoroughly like I was a six-year-old kid with an owie.
“Aw, don’t be like that,” Thaddeus teased. “You gave it an admirable go. It’s all in the technique, and you clearly—” He stopped abruptly, his eyes going wide as I pushed the pan off the heat and began stalking him around the breakfast bar.
“Oh, shit.” He put his coffee down, slid off his seat, and backed away with both hands raised. “Now, now, now.” His eyes danced over mine. “You know I was only joking. What you can do with your cock has legendary status. Why, just the other day, I was telling someone just how magical that particular appendage of yours is and—wait... no... don’t you dare... oh... fuck! Put me down!”
I carried him over my shoulder into the family room and dumped him unceremoniously onto the sofa. “You have a smart mouth, Thaddeus Grey, but I have a solution.” I crawled up his body, and once he’d stopped laughing, I kissed him long and slow, until we were gasping for air and a deluge of cold water landed on my back.
“What the—” I sprang to my feet to find Tap standing there with an empty cup in his hand and a frustrated sigh on his lips.
“Dammit, Tap.” I pulled my shirt over my head and swore at the large wet patch in the middle of the back.
Tap shrugged. “It works for cats in heat, so I figured it was worth a shot.” He walked nonchalantly back toward the kitchen. “The eggs are overdone, by the way.”
“Shit.” I raced for the stove to rescue breakfast, but Thaddeus quickly pushed me aside.
“I’ll finish these. You go change your shirt,” he ordered. “Tap, you better sit down and keep out of trouble or there’ll be no breakfast for you.”
