Chapter 17
Casey
What in the hell was that? Sex wasn’t like that. It wasn’t supposed to make me feel like I was going to cry. Sex was just…
Hell, I didn’t know.
As soon as Mikayla got on the bus, I packed up my stuff. I wanted to go to Landon, but I felt crazy rushing over to see him. I hadn’t been able to stop thinking about him, and I wanted sex. Bad. With him.
So I asked for it. But I never expected it to be like that.
It was one more thing that told me Reegan was crazy to have ever let him go.
“Wow,” he breathed.
“Same,” I said.
He chuckled. “I should let you up.”
“You don’t have to hurry.”
He let me feel his weight again, then kissed me sweetly, no tongue, like we had all the time in the world. Then he got up.
He offered me a hand to help me to my feet, then pointed to the bathroom so I could go first.
I closed the door, feeling like it was crossing a line to leave it open, and quickly used the bathroom. I washed my hands and remembered that my clothes were not in the bathroom with me. Which left me to open the door in all my plus-size glory for him to see.
“Stop hiding from me,” Landon said from the other side of the door.
I chuckled. “You’re not supposed to be able to read my mind.” I opened the door slowly.
He waited, arms crossed and brows raised, for me to step out. He hadn’t bothered to get dressed yet, and I watched as his dick grew in size and pointed at me. “I’m really happy you came over early.”
I chuckled and pushed past him to get my clothes. I wrinkled my nose, hating that my clothes smelled like sex.
“What’s wrong?”
“I probably should have thought ahead to bring a change of clothes.”
“Did I ruin them?”
“No, they just smell like sex.”
“Want to borrow something? Or wash anything?”
“I…” How big of a line was I stepping over? “I should just run home and change.”
“Here.” He opened a drawer and tossed me a pair of sweatpants, then opened another drawer and handed me a tee. “Wear those for now. Stay up here until you have to go. I’ll toss your stuff in the wash. It won’t take long. Any special instructions?”
I shook my head. “No, but you don’t have to do that.”
“Well, I am the one who couldn’t resist you.”
“I came here hoping for that reaction.”
A slow, sexy smirk lifted his lips.
“Oh, stop,” I said with a laugh. “You know I want you.”
“I do now. You’re coming back here after your meeting, right?”
“I was thinking about it. You said I could work here. If you don’t mind. Sometimes I struggle to focus when I’m home with all the other things I need to do.”
“You are welcome here anytime you want to be here.”
I rolled my eyes. “Because you want more sex.”
He shook his head and moved close to me.
“No, Casey, because I like having you in my home. I like knowing my sheets are going to smell like you. My sweats are going to be right up against your naked body. My couch is going to have you on it. I like seeing you in my space and, yeah, I like fucking you in my bed, but it’s a lot more than that. ”
“Okay,” I breathed, because what the hell else could I say to that?
I stepped into his sweatpants, surprised when they were big on me, then I tugged his shirt over my head, again noting how big it was. He got dressed in clean clothes, then took everything we were both wearing to the laundry room next to his kitchen and started the wash.
“You said you have to open at ten?”
He nodded. “I do, but Gail and Carson will be here…” He checked the clock. “Soon.”
“I didn’t realize that.”
“All good. They have keys.”
A door slammed downstairs, and we looked at each other.
“Stay up here and get some work done. I’ll be back up in twenty minutes to put the clothes in the dryer.”
“I can do that.”
“Nope. You have work to do. You don’t need to let my home distract you.”
“What if I want to snoop?”
He chuckled. “Then by all means, get as distracted as you’d like.” He leaned over me and kissed me softly again. “I’ll be back up here soon.”
I smiled and watched him walk to the door. He winked before he closed it, then left me alone in his apartment.
The tears that lingered during sex raced back to my eyes, blurring my vision.
What was wrong with me? I’d been having sex for more than half my life.
I never got emotional about it. Not my first time, or when I found out I was pregnant, or even when Kyle and I got married and celebrated our wedding night.
But that wasn’t just sex. Whatever just happened with Landon was magical.
It was… the kind of thing they talked about at book club.
Sex with someone who knew you and whom you knew.
I thought I’d experienced that with Kyle.
We were married for years. We knew each other.
But sex with him was never more than an act.
I thought the women at book club were full of shit. I thought they were saying things to feel better about their marriages. But if that was what they were talking about…
I was in trouble. I was in so much trouble. That was the kind of sex I could get addicted to. Landon was the kind of man I could get addicted to.
“Nope. Not happening,” I told myself, shaking off the thoughts and looking around for my bag.
Only to remember it was downstairs by the door where Landon kissed away all rational thought.
“Shit.”
He was coming back up soon, and hopefully he noticed my bag and would bring it with him. Until then, I… could snoop.
I chuckled to myself and realized I had no desire to go through his things. I trusted him. He told me whatever I asked him, and I knew he wasn’t lying to me.
I laid back on his couch and closed my eyes, letting the silence surround me and settle in.
I wasn’t used to quiet since Mikayla was born, and living in an apartment was louder with neighbors who shared walls.
Listening to the silence gave me a kind of peace I didn’t realize I was missing until I focused on it.
My entire body relaxed. My shoulders eased. Tension seeped from my body. Between the amazing orgasms and the quiet, I wasn’t sure I’d ever want to leave his apartment.
Footsteps on the stairs outside the door had my eyes opening before the door did. Landon let himself in, my bag in his hand. “I just noticed this. Sorry. I didn’t mean to interrupt you.”
I smiled. “I was enjoying how quiet it is here.”
He exhaled a laugh. “Usually the silence makes me crazy. I always have the TV or music on.”
“It’s so loud at my apartment that it’s hard to focus sometimes. I would get so much work done if it was as quiet as it is here.”
“Then come back. Work here whenever you want.”
I was already shaking my head. “No. I couldn’t do that. It’s not fair to you.”
“Says who? I’m downstairs. I won’t bother you. No one will. I come up here for lunch most of the time, but no one else does. Except Andre once in a while, but less now that he’s with Joelle.”
“I don’t know.”
“Think about it. See how much you get done and see if you want to come back. You are always welcome.”
“Thank you.”
“I’m going to check the laundry, then get out of your way again.”
I nodded, wanting to ask him to stay more than I should. I could not fall for this man.
He changed the laundry and said everything would be done in forty-five minutes, then kissed me and disappeared again.
I listened for his footsteps going down the stairs, then grabbed my laptop and got to work.
The next thing I knew, Landon was opening the door, and my article was fully outlined.
“How is it going?”
“I’m almost done,” I admitted. “I’ve never written this much in such a short period of time.”
“I think my place is magical.”
“You’re magical,” I said without thinking.
He chuckled. “Good to know you think so.”
My cheeks heated.
“What time is your meeting?”
I checked the time and stood. “I should get going.”
“After you change,” Landon said, looking down at his sweats.
“Ooh, yes. Thank you. I can wash these before I give them back to you.”
He shook his head. “And miss out on having your scent on them? Nope. I’m good.”
I chuckled, my cheeks burning.
“Are you coming back after for lunch?”
I nodded. “If that’s okay.”
“Absolutely.” He crossed the room to me and pulled me against his body. “I like having you here.”
He kissed me slowly, his fingers finding my bare skin and his tongue slicking over my lips. I licked his tongue, and he groaned, sucking my tongue into his mouth.
It wasn’t long before I was panting and slick between my thighs.
He pulled back with a curse. “I am going to lose my mind with you. I know you need to go, but when you come back for lunch, I hope you can work really fast so I have time to make you come again.”
“You’re not afraid to say what you’re thinking, are you?”
He smoothed my hair back from my face. “Not usually. Is that a problem? I want you to know where you stand with me. It was… It was the reason things ended with Reegan. We weren’t on the same page.
I know you’re not looking for the same thing I am, but I’m not going to lie to you about what I want or make you think I’ve changed my mind about anything.
I want you, Casey. I want to hear you come and feel you and taste you and enjoy your body.
I want to make you laugh and dance at the wedding with you and have fun as long as you’re feeling the same things. ”
“Okay.”
He smiled, his eyes crinkling and lighting up. “Good. Then get changed and go before I convince you to cancel.”
I chuckled, knowing it wouldn’t take much for him to convince me, but I had to focus on the article. The series was good money, and having a regular column, even if it was temporary, was significant for me.
“Gail and Carson are downstairs, but they won’t say anything about you being here if they see you. The backdoor is unlocked, so you can go out that way and get to your car, then come back in and come right up here if you want.”
“Okay. Thanks.”
“And if you want people to know you’re here, come out front and kiss me like I belong to you.”