16. Leo
Chapter Sixteen
LEO
We dashed through the rain while I held my jacket above our heads. It helped a little, but not really. We were both laughing when we reached my truck. I held the door for Casey, and she scrambled inside before I jogged around to climb into the driver’s side.
I tucked my wet jacket behind my seat. When I glanced over at Casey, her hair was wet and she was still laughing.
The desire that seemed to grow in force the more time I spent with her sizzled through me when our eyes collided.
“What?” she asked through her laughter.
“We’re drenched.” A laugh rustled in my throat.
She shrugged. “We are.”
I loved that she thought it was funny. She seemed entirely unbothered.
“What now?” she prompted.
“Do you want to go to my place? I have a woodstove and we have that pie. It’s spring, but it’s chilly out with the rain. No expectations,” I added.
She bit her lip before nodding. “Let’s. I think dessert in front of a fire sounds perfect.”
On the drive to my house, the rain came down harder. Casey peered through the windows as my headlights angled toward my house.
“I live on my parents’ property. This is where I grew up. You know Beck Steele, right?”
Casey snorted. “It’s pretty impossible not to know Beck.”
“So true,” I returned. “Anyway, his parents live next door.”
“Next door in Alaska is a little different than in a lot of places,” Casey teased.
“Also true,” I said dryly. “Anyway, there are two homes on the property. My parents moved back from Juneau after my grandparents passed away. Since they help out a lot with Dora, it’s convenient. I honestly don’t know what I would do without them.”
“I imagine your life changed dramatically when Dora came into it,” Casey said.
I parked and glanced over at her. “Most definitely. I can’t imagine my life without her now.”
“I think that’s a good thing,” Casey said softly.
I was relieved my outside lights were on a timer. With the pouring rain, a little visibility was a blessing.
“Do you want to use my jacket, or just go for it?”
“I’m going for it. Race you!” Casey flung the passenger door open and dashed into the rain.
I was laughing as I followed behind her. She made it to the top step first. She stopped in front of the door and waited for me.
“It’s not locked.” I reached around her and opened it.
I flicked on the lights and closed the door behind us. She stood in the entryway, curling her arms around her waist. Water dripped down around us onto the tiled floor.
She looked at my hands. “I think you won. You remembered to get the dessert.”
I held the takeout box in my hands. “So what do I get for winning?” I teased.
When I saw her shiver, I hung up my wet jacket. “Just leave your shoes in here.” I kicked mine off.
“I’m soaked,” Casey pointed out. “I’m not sure this was such a good plan.”
“You can shower,” I offered.
“Are you sure?”
At my nod, she followed me out of the entryway into the living room.
The house was small, but perfect for me and Dora. There was a living room with a sunroom off to the side that offered a gorgeous view of the mountains and a field. We even had a small pond in the corner of the field. I’d turned the sunroom into a playroom for Dora. Beyond the living room was the kitchen and dining area with a table beside the windows, along with a small kitchen island. There was a bathroom with laundry off the kitchen.
To the opposite side of the living room was a hallway that led to three bedrooms. The main suite had a large bedroom and its own bathroom. There was also another bathroom with a shower in between the two smaller bedrooms. For a second, I contemplated showing Casey the shower by Dora’s bedroom. I didn’t, and I didn’t really want to think about why.
I told myself now wasn’t the time to take things further. I was a little unsettled inside with the sense of protectiveness Casey elicited. I wanted to bundle her up and hold her close until she was warm.
With a mental kick, I handed her a towel and a robe I never used and told her I’d wait in the living room. When she came out a few minutes later, her hair was still damp, but now her cheeks were flushed pink, and she was wearing my robe that trailed on the floor around her feet.
“Warm now?” I asked.
She nodded. “Your turn.”
“Give me five,” I said, as I walked past her. I raced through a hot shower and tossed on a dry T-shirt and sweatpants.
She had left her wet clothes in a tidy pile beside the hamper. I carried the hamper out to start a load of laundry. She was sitting on a stool in the kitchen when I returned.
“I feel silly,” she announced.
“About what?”
Her pretty hazel eyes held mine and the pink flush on her cheeks deepened. “I’m wearing your robe.”
When I met her eyes and saw her lips twitching as she tried to keep from smiling, a chuckle slipped out. “I started the laundry. You’ll have dry clothes soon. Now, let me start a fire and we can eat that pie.” I opened the refrigerator, peering inside. “Do you want anything to drink? I’ve got water, some beer, and cider from the winery.”
“Ooh, let’s heat up some of the cider. That would go perfect with the chocolate raspberry mousse.”
I got a fire started, while Casey heated up the cider on the stove. A few minutes later, she came into the living room carrying two mugs. I tried not to let my eyes linger on the shadowed valley between her breasts. My robe was way too big for her. It trailed on the floor behind her, and she’d rolled the sleeves up. She sat down on the couch and tucked her feet under her knees before taking a swallow of cider and letting out a satisfied hum. “This is so good,” she enthused.
“Everything from Fireweed Winery is good. Do they do the spiked hot cider where you’re from?” I asked as I sat down on the couch with her.
The firelight flickering through the glass door on the woodstove glimmered on her auburn hair, illuminating streaks of gold.
She shook her head. “Not really. It’s pretty hot there, so there aren’t local apples. With the popularity of small breweries, you can certainly get it.”
“Should we try that pie?”
Her eyes lit up as she nodded. A few minutes later, I realized my mistake. Watching Casey’s lips close around the fork as she let out a moan with every single bite left me tied up in knots.
After another bite, she set her fork down, announcing, “I can’t eat anymore.”
The pie was good, but, in all honesty, I was hardly paying attention. Her presence had taken over my senses. I wanted to tug Casey into my lap and unwrap her like a present.
I set my plate down. When I looked over, her eyes held mine.
There was maybe a foot separating us on the couch and she shifted, shimmying closer to me. “You know, it’s raining.”
“I know.” My voice was ragged on the edges.
“What are we doing?” she whispered.
I tried to take a breath, but my lungs felt constrained. My body was wound tight with energy, electricity racing in a circuit.
I shifted on the couch to face her more fully. “I don’t know. I think we’ve established that we might both want something more, but I don’t want to rush you.”
Casey’s eyes skated over my face. She was quiet for a beat before she leaned over and lifted her mug of cider to take a swallow. When her tongue darted out to swipe across her bottom lip, that electricity sizzled straight to my cock. I forced myself to rein it in, to keep control, not to reach for her and pull her into my lap.
She put her mug back on the coffee table. “You’re not rushing me. We’re here. It’s raining and I don’t want to leave.”
She leaned close, just enough for me to slide my arm around her waist. She pressed a kiss in the divot at the base of my throat. Her touch was like a drop of liquid fire on my skin, heat radiating outward. When she lifted her head, she whispered, “Am I rushing you?”
“No,” I said flatly.
She shimmied closer. Just before her lips met mine, I checked her, holding her still with a palm on her chest. Her skin was warm. “Tell me, and we’ll stop at any point. Okay?”
She blinked and nodded. “I didn’t want to stop the other night. I don’t know what this is, but we have to see it through.”
My pulse was rampaging out of control, and I barely had a grip on my control. “Right there with you, sweetheart, but what I said still stands.”
“The same goes for you,” she whispered. “Just to make sure that’s clear.”
A strangled laugh escaped.
“What?” she asked.
“I want it all with you.”
Her lips curled at the corners, her smile sensual and teasing. “We’re on the same page then. Now, can I kiss you?”