Chapter 21
Casey
My orgasm rolled through me, carrying me to a place I had never been. A place with a man who made me want the things I’d given up on a long time ago. A place where a future wasn’t so scary because we were doing it together.
I let all my hopes and dreams out in my scream as I came hard against Landon’s lips. Tears welled up in my eyes and spilled down my cheeks. How did a man I’d only known a few weeks make me feel like he held the key to everything I’d wanted my entire life?
Landon’s tongue eased, licking me clean before he withdrew from between my legs. He kissed my inner thighs, then worked his way up my body.
I wiped my eyes, hoping to hide my reaction from him, but the man didn’t miss anything.
“What did I do?” he breathed, his entire body hovering over mine.
I shook my head. “Nothing. You didn’t do anything. I promise.”
“You’re crying. Something happened. What’s wrong, Casey? Please talk to me.”
“I just… It was good. So good it brought tears to my eyes. You’re amazing, and you make me feel like anything is possible.”
“Anything is possible.” He lowered onto me just enough for me to feel his skin not his weight. He kissed me gently, his lips brushing mine for a few seconds before he pulled back. “Are you sure that’s all it was?”
I nodded, keeping the things I wished I could tell him inside. Maybe one day I’d tell him I loved him. Maybe one day I would feel safe saying those words. But not yet.
“Do you want to stop?”
“No,” I blurted.
He exhaled a laugh. “Well, okay. I guess I don’t have to beg because you are.”
I chuckled. “I will if I need to. I want to feel you inside me, Landon.” I wrapped my arms around his neck and tugged him onto me. “I want to feel your weight on me.”
He let himself sink onto me and kissed me. His tongue teased my lips and snuck inside for a second before he retreated. He kissed his way to my ear and whispered, “I loved feeling you come on my tongue.”
“It was…” I swallowed roughly, my emotions fighting to the surface again. “You’re amazing.”
“We’re pretty amazing together.” He bit my earlobe, tugging with his teeth, then ran his tongue along the shell and nibbled his way across my jaw. He rolled off me long enough to grab a condom and sheath himself, then he was pressing into me with no resistance from my core.
I sighed as he filled me, stretching my body in that delicious way that told me it wasn’t just a toy but a live man inside me. My core trembled with awareness, my body feeling alive and awake and so fucking turned on it was insane.
And then Landon moved. Good Lord, the man had skills. He rotated his hips and shifted his angle, and I was helpless against him. Not that I wanted to fight. Oh, no, I wanted to surrender. I wanted to give all of myself to this man. To have all of him. To never doubt how he felt about me.
I swallowed back the fear that rose up as quickly as my orgasm and let my basic instincts take over. My core tightened around him as I came hard. My words were a jumbled mess of nothing, my feelings much the same.
He pounded into me, my orgasm triggering his. He grabbed my hand as if I were the only thing that could ground him.
I looked up at him and found him staring at me.
“Casey,” he groaned as he shook, his shoulders bowing up tight against his ears, his muscles tensing, then he let go.
He held my gaze as he erupted inside me. His mouth opened, his jaw slack.
I reached my free hand for his face, dragging my nails across his jaw before I cupped his cheek.
His entire body trembled before he collapsed onto me.
I held him, my legs and arms around him. He breathed into me, sweat dripping from his body onto mine. His lips moved against my neck, like he was whispering, but I couldn’t hear him say anything.
He stopped shaking a few minutes later and pushed himself off me enough to meet my gaze. “Thank you for being my date.”
I chuckled. “Thank you for teaching me how to flirt. Although I’m not sure I’m any better than I used to be.”
“You never needed lessons, Casey. All you needed to do was be yourself, and men would fall all over themselves for you.”
I snorted. “Not in my experience.”
“Maybe you just never knew the right one.”
My breath hitched. “Maybe.”
He smiled and kissed my nose, then rolled off me. He offered me a hand to help me up, then let me use the bathroom first. When I came out, he smiled and took his turn.
I wasn’t sure what I was supposed to do. Was I supposed to sit on the couch? Get into his bed? Ask to go home? Would he think I was being clingy if I stayed, even though he asked me to?
“What are you thinking right now?”
I turned and found him leaning against the bathroom doorframe.
He was completely naked, his cock half-hard, surrounded by a nest of dark hair.
He was completely confident in his body, but that was no shock when I looked at him.
He was lean and muscled. Any woman would call herself lucky to have his attention.
And it was all on me.
“I don’t know what you want me to do, and I don’t want to overstay my welcome.”
He pushed off the doorframe and stalked toward me.
I resisted the urge to run away from him.
His smirk said he noticed I fought my urge, and he was happy I did. “You are never going to overstay your welcome because I want you here all the time. I asked you to pack a bag and stay. If you want to go home, I will take you, but I love having you here. I want you here.”
“Okay.”
He kissed me. “Okay. Do you need a drink? I was going to get some water.”
I nodded. “Sounds good.”
“Then I want you again. If you’re up for it.”
I grinned. “I think I could be persuaded.”
He kissed me hard, his tongue slipping between my lips. He tasted like mouthwash instead of me. “I wasn’t sure how you felt about tasting yourself on me.”
“I wasn’t either, but I think I liked it.”
He smoothed the hair back from my face. “Then I’ll have to get some more of you on my tongue before the night is over.”
I chuckled, my core clenching at the casual dirty conversation. Moisture seeped between my thighs. “I will not argue.”
“Good. First water. Then you on my counter.”
“Landon!”
“I saw the way you trembled. I might need a few minutes to recover, but clearly you don’t.”
My breath got stuck in my throat. The man was going to make me break all my rules. And I was going to love every minute of it.
I was awake before Landon the next morning. Years of getting up super early with a kid forced me to be a morning person. When I was married, I loved it. Being up before Kyle and Mikayla was the time of day I had to myself, sometimes the only time.
But watching Landon sleep had me wishing I could stay in bed longer with him. I wanted to see him open his eyes, see the look on his face when I was right there.
Which was part of why I slid out of his bed even though it wasn’t even six and made my way to the kitchen.
My cheeks heated as I leaned against the counter he’d perched me on and licked me until I screamed his name and made a mess of his counter.
He produced a condom and silenced my guilt by fucking me until we were both screaming and the counter was soaked from our sweat and come and kisses.
He cleaned the counter while I used the bathroom, then joined me in his bed. We talked for hours, kissing and getting to know more about each other than how quickly we could make the other come, and finally fell asleep with our arms and legs tangled.
I was letting myself fall for him. I didn’t expect it or plan for it, but I couldn’t stop it either. He was sweet and sexy and funny. I enjoyed being around him. And if I was being honest with myself, we wanted the same things.
I wanted a family. A husband. More kids. A life in MacKellar Cove. All the things my friends had. Everything Natalie and Omar shared.
The only thing holding me back was fear. Fear that whomever I picked next would end up like Kyle. Fear that we would barely speak by the end. Fear that he would feel trapped.
Fear that I would feel trapped.
I’d never regret having Mikayla, but I regretted going along with what others expected. I knew Kyle and I weren’t right for each other, but saying no when he asked if we should get married scared me more than saying yes.
My stomach tightened, making me feel sick.
Landon wasn’t the same. The situation wasn’t the same. I wasn’t pregnant, and he wasn’t proposing. Hell, I didn’t even think he felt the same as I did. He was having fun, and he said he liked me, but it wasn’t a forever kind of thing.
And I couldn’t worry about if it could be. I had a busy day, and an even busier week. I needed to get Mikayla, make sure she was ready for the week, and get started on my article. Gretchen wanted it first thing Monday morning, and while it was almost done, I still had work to do.
I started the coffee and grabbed my phone.
I made notes about the wedding and added in pieces I knew would complete the picture.
Gretchen kept asking about drama, but she hadn’t changed any of my articles since the first one.
If she was going to change one, this would be the one.
She knew Natalie and Omar were gone on their honeymoon and that I couldn’t get Natalie’s approval for changes.
But that didn’t mean Gretchen wouldn’t push for any.
My stomach rolled again. I had no interest in creating drama. Especially for two people who had been through enough.
The coffee gurgled to a stop, and I grabbed a cup, curling up on the couch to fill in pieces of my story.
Two hours later, Landon stirred. I heard the sheets move, then his hand slapped the mattress. His feet hit the floor and moved toward the living room, then he emerged.
“You’re still here,” he said, his voice rough from sleep, and his cock hard from the same. “I thought you’d left.”
“Did you want me to?”
He shook his head and walked over to me, dropping onto the couch next to me and pulling me into his arms roughly. He kissed the top of my head, then sucked in a shaky breath as he held me.