15. Casey
FIFTEEN
Casey
Casey
This was supposed to be easy.
It had been a week since the incident, and my hunger, my need, had only grown.
I was trying so fucking hard to forget Adam, but it just seemed impossible.
He lingered in my every thought. I thought of him when I closed my eyes to fall asleep, and he was still there when I opened them the next morning.
I replayed every moment we shared together so many times, he was seared into my brain.
The only time I could push those thoughts away and truly focus was at work.
With a spray can in my hand, and a vision in my mind, I let the wall speak to me as the artwork took form.
A spray here, another there. Switching cans to add more color, more depth.
That moment of pure zen overtook me, and the only marked passage of time was the building’s shadow slowly moving away from me.
Taking a step back, I held one hand up to my forehead to block the sun and pulled off my respirator mask with the other.
The mural was coming along nicely. It was a chef with long black curls holding up an iron skillet that had various ingredients flying out of it.
Her hair was the biggest part of the mural, curling around the building to the other side.
I still had hours of work left, but I was pleased with it so far.
“What’s up, West?”
My two co-workers approached my station carrying their caddy of spray paint cans and other supplies. Devon’s omega pheromones swirled around us, built up from sweating all day in the hot sun. Lyle was a beta, so neither of us had to mask around him.
“You still here, Casey? You know Miranda is going to be up your ass if you keep working overtime.”
I tossed another can into my caddy and wiped the sweat from my forehead.
“I know, I know.” It was worth the scolding I would get later.
Working was the only time I didn’t think about Adam.
Except now, damn it. Just a single moment brought back flashes of that night.
My nipples were still a little raw from his love bites.
He sucked on them over and over, as if he hoped something would come out.
“Sooo,” Lyle said. “We haven’t caught up in a minute. You’ve been in a mood ever since your weekend off. Things rocky with Marshall?”
Of course they sniffed me out. And here I thought I was being cool about it. “No, we’re fine.”
Devon playfully put his arm around Lyle’s neck, a knowing smirk on his face. “There’s gotta be tons of hate sex, though. Your scent has practically disappeared. You’re never like that. That’s how you know the sex is wild.”
He was right about that. My pheromones had been tamed in one night. My inhibitors were merely a formality, just in case I went back to normal on the job.
“There’s no… we’re not fighting.” I packed my stuff up and stowed it in the backseat of my car. If my co-workers could sense something off about me, Marshall might too, and then everything would be ruined. “Catch you guys later!”
I got into the driver’s seat and sped off before they could interrogate me further.
If I got home fast enough, I could have dinner waiting when Marshall’s double shift ended.
A nice meal and a bottle of wine, followed by some raunchy sex.
We hadn’t had sex since we got back. That’s exactly what I needed to clear my head.
After dropping my caddy off at the office, I drove home and raced upstairs, already planning what I was going to cook for dinner, how I would set the table, and what I was going to wear.
Being naked seemed too extreme. We might not get through dinner if Marshall came home to a naked boyfriend. Briefs, maybe. A taste of what was… to…
That smell…
Earthy, like a potted plant. I knew that smell. What the fuck was that scent doing in the hallway?
Adam. He was here. Fumbling with the lock, I got the door opened and walked into our living room.
There he was. Standing beside Marshall, and looking like a fucking snack.
His green eyes locked onto mine, and I almost moaned under my breath, catching myself at the last second before it slipped out.
Everything came rushing back to me, and I wanted him more than I ever had before.
So much for quelling that thirst after one night.
“Case! Look who’s here? I came home early when he called me.
” Mother fucker. Why was he here? What did he want?
“Dad, I need to make a phone call. I rushed out as soon as my surgery was done, and I didn’t finish my post-op notes.
Be right back.” He trotted over to the front door and stooped to kiss my lips.
“I brought dinner. Could you set it out for us? Thanks, Case.”
And then he left, and I was alone with temptation. Again.
I dropped my bag on the floor with a loud thud, narrowing my eyes at Adam as I approached him. God, his pheromones were like a drug, and I wanted to bury my nose in them. “What the fuck are you doing here?” I hissed, keeping my voice low just in case Marshall could hear us from the hallway.
Adam gently brushed my hair back, tucking it behind my ear. I moaned before I could stop myself, my eyes rolling back into my head from the pleasure of his touch. “You know why I’m here.”
I tried to pull away. I told my body to move, but my feet refused to budge with his thumb on my ear.
“You can’t do this to me. It was…” He stroked my head again, eliciting a soft moan from my lips, proving me wrong with a single touch.
On purpose, if I had to guess. I leaned into his touch like a cat begging for pets. “It was one time, Mr. Wilson.”
The hand that delicately stroked my skin firmly grabbed a fistful of my hair and yanked my head back.
His eyes glowed with a feral growl, and I winced from the pain even as my cock throbbed to life.
“If you call me Mr. Wilson again, I will shove my hand down your pants and make you shoot all over it. And then I’ll put my cum covered fingers into your mouth and make you clean them off. ”
He released my hair and I stumbled backwards, almost falling flat on my face. My skin went hot, hearing him say something so utterly filthy, and liking it. That wasn’t a threat. It was a promise.
I lost the ability to speak for a second but quickly found my voice to respond. “What am I supposed to call you, then?”
“Sir.”
“Sir. You’ve got to be kidding me.”
“I’m not. And we both know you will.” He retrieved a small paper sleeve from his pocket and lifted my wrist, placing it firmly in my hand.
His eyes fluttered close, and he brought my fingers to his lips, inhaling my scent with a low growl.
The wrinkle in his forehead, and the reverent way he kissed my fingers…
I could tell it was both a relief and maddening for him to smell my pheromones again.
I felt the same way about his. “I want you to call me Sir.”
Marshall returned before I could say anything, and I quickly hid the paper in my pocket. Adam took a careful step back from me, giving his son a disarming smile.
“Sorry about that. We’ve got dinner if you’re hungry, Dad. I’ll set up the couch bed for you.”
“No need. I found a hotel room.” He locked eyes with me before smiling at Marshall. The paper sleeve. It was a hotel key card. He was inviting me to join him.
“You sure? It’s no trouble.”
“I’m sure. You two need your privacy, and I respect that. The trip wore me out, I think, so I’m heading back to my hotel. I’ll see you in the morning, son.” His wording was so specific. He’d see Marshall tomorrow, but not me. He expected to see me much sooner than that.
With one last look in my direction, he left the apartment. His pheromones lingered in the air. So nice. The warm, earthy scent relaxed me from head to toe, and I smiled for the first time that day.
“I rush home, and he just leaves.” Marshall chuckled, despite the slight frown on his face. “Typical Dad. Wash up. I’ll unpack dinner.”
Once I was alone in the bathroom, I stared down at the key card in my hand. He’d written out the hotel address and his room number for me. Room 607 at the Plaza on eighth street. Adam was so certain I would go. He came all the way here just to see me again.
I shouldn’t. I should throw it away and eat dinner with Marshall, then have lots and lots of sex with him, just like I planned. I should…
But I didn’t.