"What?" I ask with a soft giggle when I catch Theo looking at me instead of the television screen for the dozenth time.

"I'm loving seeing you in my shirt," he explains while letting his eyes roam from my face down to my waist.

"Well, you're lucky I have limited clothes and am sick of doing laundry because this may start to happen more often."

"Hmm, you won't catch me complaining about that..." He speaks in a low rumble of a voice while he reaches across the small bit of space between us to toy with the bottom hem of the soft grey t-shirt I'm wearing. His eyes flick up to meet mine. "You can always wear my shirts, but let me take you shopping sometime."

"No."

A confused frown crosses his face. "Okay, well, at least take my card and bring yourself shopping. You can't live out of a single backpack forever."

"We've already been over this before. I don't want your money, Theo." I'm already relying on him too much, both materially and emotionally.

"You can pay me back," he suggests, though I think he's only saying that to convince me. "I talked to Heidi. The job at the diner is yours if you want it."

"Really?" I scoot closer to him, feeling excited at the idea of earning my own paycheque. "Did she say when I could start? Is there a dress code? How many hours a week does she want me?"

Theo chuckles and takes both of my hands in his. He gives them a reassuring squeeze before running the pads of his thumbs over my skin, effectively calming me down from the excited jumble of nerves that have sucked me in.

"No. I think there might be. And I don't know," he answers each one of my questions with a smile while continuing to run his thumbs back and forth over my knuckles. "I'll give you her number and you can call her tomorrow. I don't think she likes talking business on Sundays. Whenever she wants you to start, just let me know. I'll start going into work a little later so that I'm able to drive you in, and—"

"I'll just ask Cal to drive me," I cut him off to explain. "I don't think he'll mind. He works right in town, and his hours will probably line up better with mine."

The scowl that momentarily crosses Theo's face is impossible to miss. He attempts to cover it up with a tight smile and a short nod. "Yeah, okay. Makes sense." His eyes move back to the TV screen and his thumbs stop brushing against my skin before he releases my hands.

"Are you..." I begin, followed by a pause while I wait for him to look back at me. "Are you jealous, Theodore?"

My tone suggests I'm teasing, so I'm surprised when Theo looks away again with a sigh and then admits quietly, "Yes. Ridiculously jealous."

"What?" I laugh softly, unsure of how serious he's being.

"I know how much you love him, Emilia." He sounds a little defeated, and it pulls at my heartstrings. I'm reminded of his comment earlier about how I didn't want to think about Cal having a baby with April. Does he really think I'm still hung up on him?

"Well, yeah, I love him," I agree, "but nothing's going to come of it. Not just because Cal wouldn't but also because I wouldn't either."

Theo nods along slowly while I talk, busying himself by fiddling with the remote control to turn down the volume on the TV. "Yeah, yeah... Of course," he mumbles in reply.

"You know why I wouldn't?" I gently take one of his large hands in mine.

"He's married to April," he replies, "and you wouldn't get in between that. I know that now."

"Yes," I agree, "but that's not really why."

He finally brings his intense brown eyes back to mine, searching my face with a look of confusion. "It's not?"

"No." I smile at him and squeeze his hand while I reach up with my other hand to play with his beard. "Do you wanna know why?"

"Why?" he breathes out the word while I scoot closer to him.

I smile and lightly tug on his beard to bring his face towards mine. "Because he's not you, Theo. And you're all I want now."

I had planned to kiss him afterwards but Theo seals his mouth over mine before I have the chance to complete the action myself.

He tugs me closer with his hands on my hips, and I release his hand and beard to grab a hold of his broad shoulders. Using them as support, I pull myself up to maneuver my legs underneath my body, but before I can rest comfortably on my knees, Theo tightens his hold on my hips and pulls me into a straddling position on his lap.

"You really mean that?" he asks, gazing deeply into my eyes.

"Yes," I answer easily. "I only want you, Theo. I'm sorry if I didn't make that clear sooner."

"That's okay," he replies quickly with a wide grin. "I'm just happy to hear you say it now. So incredibly happy."

I grin back at him and lean down to bring my mouth to his again. Theo's hand runs up my spine to rake into the hair at the back of my head. He holds me tightly against his body while his tongue delves into my mouth, and when I push my hips forward I'm met with the unmistakable evidence of his arousal.

"Theo," I moan his name when he removes his mouth from mine and gives me a minute to breathe.

His hand travels back down my spine to once again grip my hip, and he pulls me closer to him, grinding himself against me while I simultaneously push my hips forward to match his rhythm.

We're all but fucking each other with our clothes on now, and it's driving me insane. I'm desperate for him. Ready to come apart in his arms.

"I want to see your cock." The words tumble out of me before I can stop myself, but I'm dying to see this man naked.

The fucker starts laughing at me. Not a mean laugh or even a taunting one. If anything, it almost sounds shy, but it still irks me.

"Well, sorry," I say with a bit of snark, "I can't control my fantasies. We can't all be as innocent and pure as you."

His laughter stops, and his expression turns serious. "There's nothing innocent or pure about my fantasies. Not when it comes to you, Princess."

"Oh yeah?" I lean back to trail a hand down the front of his chest to his stomach, forcing myself to halt the movement before my hand can travel too far south. "Tell me more."

"I don't think I should." He slides a hand from my hip to my back and attempts to bring me close again, but I hold my leaned back position.

"Tell me, Theo." I wiggle my hips and press them forward against his erection again with a teasing smile. "I want to hear them."

His head falls back with a groan, and his hand moves from my back to slowly stroke his beard. "I wouldn't even know where to start."

So there's lots of them then. The knowledge makes me smile all the more, and I lightly drag my fingertips up his chest and along his throat. "Start with the latest naughty thoughts you've had about me. What am I doing? What are you doing?"

"You're lying on my bed..." He surprises me when he starts talking and runs a hand from my hip down my leg to wrap it around my ankle. "One of your legs is bent up like this." He uses his hold on my ankle to bend my knee, positioning the bottom of my foot flat against the couch. His hand runs back up my leg, and then his fingers from each hand are running through the hair at the back of my head while he leans forward to trail open-mouth kisses up my throat.

"This gorgeous blonde hair is splayed out over my pillow," he says in a low voice near my ear, and then a hand moves from my hair to lightly tug the sleeve of the t-shirt I'm wearing. "This?" A mischievous grin pulls at his lips. "Gone."

His hand smooths down my spine to gently pull on the waistband of my loose pyjama shorts. "These? They're gone too. And..." He pauses while he slips two fingers into the back of my shorts. They gently stroke against the top of my butt cheek, and a quiet groan sounds in his throat. "Ahh, yes. We both knew you weren't wearing anything underneath these..."

My body is burning with desire. I wait for him to continue talking but his lips have found the warm skin of my neck again.

"And then what happens?" I whisper the question as my fingers find their way into his hair. My hips circle against his, begging him to give me more, both physically and mentally with the delicious scenario his words were painting.

His lips skim along my neck and jawbone, and he whispers lowly into my ear, "Then, you tell me what a good girl you've been for me."

His open palm brushes against my knee and then slowly drags along my inner thigh toward my center.

I turn my head to meet him in a powerful kiss and press my body closer to his. I'm screaming on the inside for his palm to continue moving along my skin to slip into my shorts. But of course, the saint of a man doesn't go there.

"You're right," I gasp out, feeling breathless after our kiss. "You shouldn't have told me that." I'm even more worked up now when I didn't think that could be possible.

His smouldering eyes run from my face down my torso to where his hand is pressed between us near the crotch of my shorts. "I won't tell you what happens after that then..."

"I can imagine," I whisper in a voice that's shaking with my need for him.

He brings his gaze back up to my eyes, and mumbles, "Probably best if you don't."

In a brash move, I reach between us and grab a hold of him through his tented sweatpants. Theo's eyes flash with surprise, followed by a look so heated I feel as though I may burn to ashes right here in his lap.

"Emilia," his low voice comes out as a warning. His fingertips press into my upper thigh near the edge of my shorts. His eyes drop from mine to watch my hand move against him.

"You would—" I begin to continue the narrative Theo set up for us, but his desperate voice interrupts me.

"Don't," he breathes out. He closes his eyes tightly and softly begs, "Stop, Milia," and yet, his fingers stay firmly pressed into my thigh, and he makes no attempt to move my hand away.

I decide to turn those two commands into one sentence, though I know he didn't mean them that way. "I won't."

A weak chuckle rumbles out of his chest which turns into a sexy groan. His hand that's not pressed against my thigh lands the lightest swat against my ass. "C'mon, sweetheart, be my good girl. Don't make me redden these pretty cheeks of yours."

"Do it." I rub my hand faster against his erection. "Slap my ass, Theo. Call me your dirty whore."

My words finally spring him into action but not the action I was asking for. A hand closes around my wrist to stop my movements, and his hand on my inner thigh slips over my leg to wrap beneath me. With one quick movement, he has me on my back on the couch.

His body comes down over top of mine, and he covers my face with kisses before he growls into my ear, "I will never call you that. Why would I call you that?"

"I... I wasn't being a good girl?" I offer my answer in the form of a question.

"You're always a good girl, Milia. Always. Doesn't matter what you say or do. You're my good girl. Do you hear me?"

I nod and try to say, "Yes, Theo," but instead the words, "Touch me," spill out of my mouth.

"Fuck."

That single word speaks volumes. He's past his point of control now. If he wasn't, there's no way in hell he'd be swearing.

His hand slips from the back of my leg to my inner thigh again. His thumb extends to the side, slipping under my shorts and brushing against my outer labia in the softest caress.

The simple touch sends my hips shooting off the couch. Theo's eyes check in with me, searching my face for any signs of hesitation. When he doesn't find any, he smiles. His palm on my thigh presses my hips back down, and he continues his sensual exploration with his thumb while he brings his mouth to mine for another kiss.

"You're incredible." He speaks next to my ear in a voice that makes me as desperate as his thumb lightly moving against me. "You're caring. You're intelligent. You're simultaneously so adorable and so, so sexy. You're feisty, and you're so dang funny sometimes. I love holding you, and talking to you, and just being around you."

With every compliment his thumb strokes against me, slowly moving closer and closer to my center. I squeeze my eyes closed, enjoying every second of the sweet torture.

"You're never a dirty whore, Emilia. You could never be that to me. Don't ask me to call you that again. You want me to slap your ass sometimes? I can do that. But I can't call you names. Not ones that aren't true. Okay?"

I'm too lost in the sensations overtaking my body to answer him.

Theo pauses his movements and waits for me to open my eyes and make eye contact. "Okay?" he repeats with a familiar stern look.

The moment I gasp, "Okay," the stern expression is replaced with a grin that lights up his face, and his thumb presses against my clit exactly where I've been aching for it.

"Good girl," he praises while his thumb circles against me. "My good girl. Love my good girl."

That's all it takes for me to come.

Theo talks to me through it, drawing out my orgasm by continuing to strum his thumb against me with slower, gentler movements. "I love you, Emilia. I am so in love with you. Love you so damn much, Princess."

I love you too. I love you too. I love you too.

I know in my heart and soul how true those words are, but I can't possibly say them out loud. However this time, it isn't only the fear making me keep the words inside. I just literally can't talk right now. I'm spending what little energy I have reminding myself to breathe.

Theo brushes my hair back while he waits until I've managed to get my breathing under control. He gently kisses my lips and lays a hand against my cheek. "I'm never going to call you something that isn't true," he reiterates. "Tell me you understand."

"I understand. It's just, Cal would—"

"I don't want to hear about Cal, Emilia." There's a bit of snap to his voice that I'm not used to anymore.

I blink in surprise and nod as he climbs off of the couch. "Shit. I'm sorry. I—" My mouth immediately closes when he holds up his hand to silence me.

"I'm sorry," he returns the apology. "That was rude. I apologize for my tone." He pauses and then seemingly forces out the question, "What were you trying to say?"

I shake my head and keep my lips firmly pressed together. Theo may be my rock that I can share anything with but I'm sure the last thing he wants to hear about is the filthy, degrading words his brother-in-law used to whisper to me.

It turns out I don't have to tell him. He's already figured it out.

"If... If you're into that, I'm sorry, but I can't do it," he explains in an awkward voice. He clears his throat and speaks again, sounding stronger and more sure this time. "I'm not Cal, Emilia. I'm never going to be Cal."

"I don't want you to be!" I answer quickly while I sit up and move my feet to the ground. "I just want you, Theo. I promise. Just you."

I hold out my hand for him, hoping to make amends for this misunderstanding. My sigh of relief accompanies the moment that Theo steps closer to take my hand in his.

"Good," he replies simply.

"Speaking of wanting you..." I let my sentence hang, following it with a flirty smirk as I tug on Theo's hand to coax him closer.

His free hand pets the top of my head before curling around the base of my skull to pull my head against his stomach. "I think I've crossed enough lines tonight, Milia..."

I release the hand I'm holding to wrap my arms around his midsection, leaning into his warm body for a hug. "Right," I tease, even though my thoughts make my heart ache in a hundred different ways, "We don't want to add too many sexual encounters that you'll have to confess to your future wife one day."

When he doesn't reply and only massages the back of my head with his fingertips, I lift my chin to look up at him.

He remains quiet with his gaze staring straight ahead, looking deep in thought for a moment before he replies softly, "I have a feeling she'll know without me needing to tell her."