Run to Ground(90)

She cried out against his mouth, gripping him as tightly as he was holding her, and he groaned, his rhythm changing, speeding up as he looked for his own climax. Still, he kissed her, not releasing her mouth until they slid down the door and landed on the floor in a sweaty, boneless, blissful heap.

It wasn’t until her muscles began protesting their position that Jules reluctantly stirred, lifting her head to meet Theo’s eyes. Her laugh was just a puff of air. It would take a while to recover from having her mind blown so completely. “You look so sleepy.”

He gave her a smile, a real smile, and what little part of her that wasn’t already in a puddle on the floor melted again. “Want to take a nap with me?”

“Yes.” Her answer was out almost before he’d finished his question, and it was Theo’s turn to give a little laugh. He stood, scooping her off the floor in the same motion, making her yelp and then giggle.

“How are you carrying me?” she asked as he headed up the stairs. “Why aren’t your muscles mush? Because mine are mush. Mushy mush.” She laughed again, giddy because Theo was holding her and they’d just had incredible sex, and she felt safe for the first time in a long, long time.

He smirked at her. “So you’re done, then? We’ll have to work on your stamina.”

When he hesitated at the top of the stairs, Jules pointed in the direction of her bedroom. “My stamina’s fine. Excellent, even. I could go another five rounds. I just said that about the mushy muscles so you didn’t feel bad if you were feeling weak.”

He laughed as he maneuvered them through the doorway. Although it was a little rusty, his laugh was the best sound she’d heard probably ever. “Nice of you.”

Jules tried to respond but couldn’t, because Theo was in her bedroom. Theo was in her bedroom. And then he took a few strides and tumbled onto the bed with her. Theo was now in her bed. In. Her. Bed. Amazed, she stared at him lying next to her.

“Five rounds, huh?” His smile was sweet and crooked, and Jules’s muscles suddenly didn’t feel like mush anymore.





Chapter 18


“You’re happy.” Dee’s glare was almost accusatory.

“I am.” Even now, an hour after Theo had left to pick up Viggy and get ready for work, she felt almost giddy. She sang to herself—sang and smiled and stared blankly into the pantry. She was supposed to be thinking about dinner options but couldn’t think about anything except Theo. As silly as it was, Jules was stupidly happy.

“Why?”

“Why not?”

Dee considered this. “Because the water heater is broken, so we have to take really cold showers?”

That did dim Jules’s happiness. Until she’d actually experienced one herself, Jules hadn’t realized how very, very cold a shower could be. She’d figured not having hot water would be annoying, but endurable. It was not endurable. She could stand the spray only for a few seconds before her lungs stopped working.

“I’m going to have to call someone to fix that.” She dreaded the thought only slightly less than she dreaded taking another icy shower. Not only would it cut a significant hole in their dwindling supply of cash, but having a stranger in the house felt risky.

“Your landlord should fix that,” a testy voice said from the doorway, and Jules spun to face Theo. It felt like her blood was carbonated, filled with tiny bubbles of excitement that rose to her brain whenever he appeared.

“Hey!” she said, trying to keep her giddiness under control. When he smiled at her, though, all her efforts were for naught. “How’d you get in?”

“Ty let me in.”

“Did you forget something?”

“No.”

“Then…” She paused, but Theo didn’t fill in the blank. “Why’d you come back? I thought you had a shift tonight.”

“I do. I wanted to see you first.” He held her gaze as he spoke without coyness or shyness or anything except flat-out honesty.

She couldn’t stop staring at him with what was probably a very silly grin on her face.

“Hi, Theo.” Dee’s voice snapped Jules out of her daze. “Is Viggy here?”

“He’s in the car.” At his answer, Jules realized Theo was dressed for work. She also realized he looked really, really nice in his uniform, even if it reminded her of why the two of them would never, ever work. “You can go see him if you want.”

Dee’s enthusiastic squeal made both of them wince as she ran from the kitchen, her feet pounding down the hallway in a rowdy, very un-Dee-like way. Jules loved it. “Thank you.”