41. Leo
Chapter Forty-One
LEO
Casey was soft and warm where she rested against me. I could feel her heartbeat pounding along with mine. I felt one last gust of her breath across my collarbone before she lifted her head from where it was tucked against my shoulder.
“Yeah?” she repeated.
My lips tugged into a smile. “I don’t remember what I was gonna say,” I said honestly.
She giggled and the sound curled around my heart. Her gaze sobered and she bit her lip. “Was I loud? I hope I didn’t wake Dora up.”
I bit back another laugh. “I doubt it. It’s usually only the first few minutes after she falls asleep that I have to worry about her waking up.”
The reality of being a father slammed into my chest, as it was wont to do every so often.
“What is it?” Casey pressed.
“Every so often, I realize I’m a dad and that I know Dora well enough now to know something like that.” I shook my head in wonder. “It’s a little crazy.”
Casey’s smile was slow and warm. She lifted her hand, trailing her thumb along the stubbled edge of my jaw. “You’re a really good dad and I’m glad Dora is with you.”
The following morning when I woke up with Casey curled up beside me, my heart felt full. I wanted to linger in bed with her. I wanted to tug her into the shower with me and tease her to another climax.
Alas, that wasn’t to be and I knew it. Dora was an early riser and more energetic than the average adult, and specifically me. I gave myself a few minutes of bliss to rest with Casey and pressed a lingering kiss on the side of her neck before I forced myself out of bed. Casey was already awake as well and got up with me.
When she stood there with one of my T-shirts hanging down around her thighs and her hair tousled around her shoulders, it was all I could do not to drag her back into bed. “Do I have time for a quick shower?” she asked.
I whisked my gaze toward the clock beside the bed. “We’ve got a few minutes.”
Casey’s eyes widened. “Let’s go for it!” She dashed into the bathroom.
Roughly ten minutes later, we were toweling off, and I grinned over at her. “If Dora’s awake, I’m blaming that on you,” I teased her.
We could’ve showered in five minutes, except when I couldn’t will my arousal away, Casey curled her palm around my length.
She giggled and yanked on her clothes. “I’ll start coffee.”
After she hurried out, I chuckled at my reflection in the mirror. I looked downright giddy.
When I walked out to the kitchen a few minutes later, Dora was talking at full-speed to Casey about otters. She grabbed Casey by the hand to pull her over to the windows to show her a moose and two calves standing in the field outside. Casey was more alert than me at this hour, but seeing as she often went into work at the coffee shop over an hour earlier, that made sense. As I watched them, my heart felt so full it ached.
Dora turned toward me and beamed. “Daddy!” That tightness in my chest eased, my heart feeling cracked wide-open as if sunlight were pouring directly into it.
Dora ran across the room. She hugged me briefly, but she didn’t linger. She caught my hand. “We’re making scrambled eggs.”
My gaze arced over to Casey who was following us. This was one night, and I knew I couldn’t start playing house with Casey. And yet, it was the first step in the direction I knew I wanted to go.
Dora let go of my hand to open the door to the refrigerator, calling out, “How many eggs should I get out?”
Casey stopped beside me, her eyes crinkling at the corners with her smile. “What do you think? Eight?”
“Yeah. Trust me, we’ll finish them.”
Casey giggled and started to move away. I curled my arm around her waist. Dora was preoccupied with counting out the eggs. “Can we really do this?” I asked.
Casey smiled at me. “We already are.”