CHAPTER 20 #2
This is such a bad idea. It really is. It’s going to complicate the hell out of our lives, from the way we work together, to his injury management program, to just every single day we spend together. At the same time, I am all too aware how utterly powerless I am to say no to him.
But we do need parameters. “Just kissing?”
He grins, knowing he has me. He’s always had me. This is not new or surprising.
“For now,” he agrees.
Slightly less committal than I would have liked but I’ll take it. “Okay then.”
A smile spreads across his face, lighting up those blue-green eyes I’m admittedly quite obsessed with but his confidence falters at the same time which is a good reminder of where we’re at with each other.
“So, how do we … do I just … or do you …” he stammers, eyes dropping to my lips again.
“Do you ever stop talking, Case?” I chuff, leaning forward and pressing my mouth to his. He responds with a moan that hits me deep in the gut before sinking lower and I am powerless to stop myself from pressing into him, gliding my tongue along the seam of his lips as he opens for me.
And then I’m kissing him. Again. And it is just so monumentally good, even better perhaps because we’re here alone and there are no extra footballers providing the probably necessary buffer to make sure this doesn’t escalate too far and too fast.
His tongue grapples with mine and my hand slides into his hair, the damp strands gliding between my fingers. He presses closer to me, little moans and whimpers leaving him that send a direct message straight to my rapidly filling cock.
His hand reaches out, tentative at first as he clutches my hip, sliding along the skin above my waistband.
A groan leaves me as we press even closer, my hand now sliding down to feel those biceps I’ve spent many a night dreaming about.
But it’s not enough, I don’t think it will ever be enough, and I’m not able to stop that hand from moving to feel his pecs, palming him there as he moans into my mouth.
This is escalating faster than I intended.
I’m also not sure why I ever thought I’d be able to control myself around Casey Calloway, the guy that is literally a dream walking.
His mouth is what heaven is made of, his tongue like candy.
And his abs? It’s like running my hands over a washboard, feeling out all those little dips and grooves that are making me positively throb for him.
We’re at the tipping point, right where we could easily fall into the point of no return, somewhere I desperately want to go with him.
But that stupidly annoying thing at the back of my mind, quite possibly my conscience, is reminding me of what we agreed, of what I need from him before we take this any further.
It's with no small amount of personal sacrifice to my soul that I eventually pull back from him, chests heaving with the need for the air we’ve sucked from each other’s lungs. His eyes are dark and hooded, no more blue or green to be seen as he looks back at me.
My eyes dip down that athletic body, right to those bloody budgie smugglers that are doing absolutely nothing to conceal how hard that kiss has made him, the material straining to cover him.
I can’t stop the groan that leaves my mouth as I stare down at the wondrous sight. “Damn, Case, you’re not making this easy.”
“In other words, I’m making it hard?” he replies, quick as a flash.
I can only laugh at that, nothing I can do to disguise the very evident facts at hand. “Very, very hard,” I agree.
“You sure you want to leave it at just kissing?” he asks, still slightly breathless.
“I’m not even sure I remember my own name at this point,” I reply, tracing a solitary finger along his stomach.
“I can help you with that,” he replies, tone so flirty I find myself chuffing out a laugh.
“I’m sure you can,” I agree, resting my head back against the sun lounge as the haze starts to lift from my head. “Case? Can we leave it as just kissing for tonight? Is that okay with you?”
His eyes soften as he looks back across at me. “Of course it’s okay, H. Whatever works for you is fine by me. You want me to be sure about this and that’s totally fair. I’m trying to show you how much I want this at the same time. We can meet somewhere in the middle.”
I smile down at him, struck by how very wise he suddenly sounds. I expected I’d have to be the one to hold this fragile thing together but maybe I should have had more faith in him.
“You’re kind of amazing,” I mull, eyes skirting over his face.
“I would have thought you of all people would know that by now,” he grins back, making me smile again.
I sigh as I lay on the sunlounge for a moment, giving my body time to cool down. Casey curls into me a little more but he doesn’t do anything to escalate the tension, other than perhaps that solitary finger painting stripes along my side.
He feels right here, like he’s always had a place at my side. And really, minus the kissing, there’s not a whole lot different about tonight and the way we usually are with each other.
Eventually we’ve both cooled down enough to head inside and make dinner together.
Or rather, I make dinner while Casey provides unnecessary commentary and otherwise gets in my way.
But I let him. I’ll always let him. He’s more of a distraction than anything else as he hovers around me in those sexy little budgie smugglers but I’m good at ignoring him. I’ve had loads of practice with that.
Casey loves the creamy broccoli chicken I make for us. I used the almond milk he keeps in steady supply in his pantry for my green smoothies so it’s actually really, super healthy even though it tastes decadent. Kind of like my Casey really.
The scent of chlorine is still strong in my nostrils so we both take a shower—separately—and then Casey curls up beside me on the sofa downstairs as we flick through Netflix.
I avoid the sexy show we’ve been watching over the phone together because I am not quite prepared to witness those scenes with Casey in touching distance, but we settle on something tamer.
We’re kissing again by the end of it, Casey pressed down on top of me as I try once again to remember who I am. He is just bliss, absolute heaven on a stick as I allow my hands to trek down to that incredible ass and just let them have their moment. They’ve waited a long time for this.
Surprisingly, he is the one to break the kiss before we reach the tipping point once more and I think I appreciate him more in that moment than I ever have before. Even if my cock absolutely hates the both of us right now.
“Want me to drive you home?” he asks as he sits back across from me.
“I’ll get an Uber,” I tell him. “We have an early start tomorrow.”
“You know I don’t mind driving you,” he says.
“I know,” I reply, pulling out my phone and ordering a driver anyway. The car is three minutes away and I glance across at Casey, seeing the way his gaze drops back to my mouth. “Three minutes,” I tell him.
He doesn’t hesitate, crawling straight back to straddle my hips as his lips find mine again. We use up every last second of those precious three minutes until I am left breathless, horny and desperate, and seriously reconsidering my morals.
What were they again?