“Lauren—how do I describe her? Lauren McCarthy comes from an old school Falls Church family. She was a patient of Regina’s, like I was. After she finished treatment, Regina asked to bring her to dinner. That was, I guess, six or seven years ago now.”
Casey grinned. “Sounds rich as you. How old is she?”
“Forty-two, but she looks younger. She keeps men at a distance, so don’t get any ideas,” Alexa said laughing, unconcerned at Casey’s pretended interest in Lauren. “Regina on the other hand is forty-seven and would bed you in a heartbeat.”
“I’m definitely not experienced enough to take on a sex therapist,” Casey said with a laugh. “Besides, I’m really into older lingerie models at the moment. Or at least I will be tonight.”
Alexa giggled at his innuendo. “You’re terrible, and I can’t believe I even laughed at that joke.”
Casey grinned. There was no better seduction than making a woman laugh.
“Lauren’s part of your business, isn’t she?” he asked, changing the subject before he was tempted to interrupt her cooking.
“Lauren has a family trust fund, which means she never has to work for money. Instead, she does a massive amount of charity and fundraising work, more work than many people do in regular jobs.”
Alexa reached into the cabinet for plates as she talked.
“Since Lauren doesn’t date, for personal reasons I can’t really share, she has a lot of free time. For fun, she learned to make organic soaps and scents in her kitchen. They’re all quite good,” Alexa said with shrug.
“You wear one of them, don’t you?” Casey asked.
“Yes. The others are just as good, and now I’m going to sell them. We’ll have to look into a way to mass-produce them if they take off. Strange as it sounds, I’m giving Lauren her first real paying job.”
“You make running a business seem like the most natural thing in the world,” Casey said to her. “In fact, you do everything with grace. I like watching you move through your life. It inspires me to keep thinking about starting my own business.”
Alexa carried the plated food to the table.
“I inspire you?” she asked, surprised by his comment.
Casey shook his head yes as he tasted the first bite. “Yes. You’re a good cook, too.”
“Thanks for both. I don’t know if anyone has ever said they were inspired by me,” she told him, taking the seat next to him.
“You have every right to be proud of your achievements, Alexa,” Casey said sincerely. “And you manage to inspire me while simultaneously driving me crazy. I’m coming to think of it as just your natural multi-tasking talent.”
Casey said the last around a grin and a mouthful of omelet.
“Oh, there you are,” Alexa said, forking up her own food and chewing. “I wondered where the rude Casey Carter had gone. You’re a real Jekyll and Hyde kind of guy, aren’t you?”
“Which do you like best?” Casey asked in what he hoped was a sexy tone. “I’ll be any kind of guy you want tonight.”
“Finish your dinner,” Alexa ordered, barely stifling a grin. “I can’t flirt when I’m hungry.”
After dinner, they went for a tour of the garages and vehicles, and then for a short walk in the gardens Alexa was still in the process of developing. She even showed Casey the tree house Jenna designed and helped build as a child.
Back in the house at last, Casey laughed as he walked through her living room holding her hand. Alexa had done just about everything possible to delay the inevitable.
“Are you done stalling now?” Casey asked her, calling her on it. When she tried to pull her hand away from his, he held on tighter. His patience was gone. He wanted—no, needed to be with her.
“I wasn’t stalling. I was being hospitable,” Alexa defended.
“A fancier phrase for stalling, but still the same thing,” Casey agreed. “I was in the elevator with you this afternoon, remember?”
Alexa dropped her gaze from his and swore.
“So what if I am stalling? Don’t you think I have the right to be a little nervous? You’re much younger than me. We disagree over some pretty big things. I still haven’t completely decided if this is a good idea or not.”
Casey laughed and pulled a reluctant Alexa into his arms. He dipped his head and hungrily sought her mouth, slipping his tongue in to dance with hers until they were both weaving back and forth, fighting to stand up.
“Fine. While you’re debating the wisdom of sex with me, be hospitable and finish the house tour,” Casey said as he freed her mouth. “Show me the master bedroom, Alexa.”
He kept her hand captured in his, not willing to let her run from her feelings or him.
She nodded and led him down the hall, crossing the threshold into a room containing an unmade queen bed and yesterday’s clothes in a heap on the floor. The dark woods of the furniture and soothing white bedclothes were immensely inviting. There were pillows in the bed and more on the floor.
“I wasn’t expecting company,” she told him with a shrug.
Casey laughed. “Good to know you have some normal faults. It makes you a little less intimidating.”
“I’m not intimidating,” she protested.
“Yes, you are, but it’s not going to keep me out of you,” he told her with a laugh.
Casey pulled her around to face him, holding her in his arms as he held her gaze.
“Kiss me, Alexa. I want you to be with you, and whatever happens this time, we’re not stopping,” he promised, closing his mouth over hers again.
When he broke the kiss, Casey sat on the end of her bed, then lay back, pulling Alexa down on top of him, dragging her body across his until she was draped there.
“Prone at last,” Casey said with a laugh. “Now kiss me like you mean it, or at least tell me what you’re afraid of.”
“I’m not afraid,” Alexa denied, “just—just nervous.”
Casey moved one of her legs between his, until his erection was directly under her thigh. He felt a tremor shake her.
“See how much I want you, lady? Granted, it’s not going to last long the first time, but there’s only one way to get to the second and third times. Let me inside you, Alexa.”
With every movement, Casey made sure she brushed against him. The contact was exquisite torture.
“You said,” she breathed hard, “you said you had some limitations.”
“Hip replacement. Not all positions are safe. I’ll let you know what’s okay as we go along. You can trust me to tell you,” he said quietly. “I’m a very honest man in bed.”
Casey moved his hands to her backside, cupping her through her jeans and holding her. “Woman On Top can be good,” he suggested, moving her hips across the front of him until he felt her heat directly on top of his erection. “But it doesn’t seem fair to make you do all the work the first time. Maybe later.”
Casey watched her sigh and close her eyes in pleasure as she tried to get closer to him through their clothes. He was going to thoroughly enjoy banishing every concern she had about him.
Thankful for the last year he’d put in at the gym, he rolled them over on the bed until Alexa was completely under him. Putting both his legs between hers, he pushed his now aching erection down firmly into the center of her heat. Even through their jeans the contact was electric. She groaned and arched hers hips up to get closer to him.
“Okay, Man On Top is as fucking awesome as I imagined. I think we’ve picked a winning position for our first time, honey.”
Holding Alexa in place with his hips pressed down on hers, Casey raised his upper body and made short work of the buttons on her shirt. Casey didn’t slow his efforts until Alexa was bare except for the plain cotton bra she wore.
Later he would remember this and think about how much fun he was having with her. Her face was flushed and he could still feel her hesitation. It was like undressing the sexy girl next door instead of the lingerie queen that had kissed him senseless in the el
evator. God only knew, he liked the idea of being with both. The woman beneath him was so damn interesting.
“I like how strong you are,” Casey told her, his voice rough now with lust, husky with approval. “I like how our bodies match up so well. I like how absolutely unashamed you are of being turned on by me. It’s all I can do not to rip off your clothes.”
He bent his head to her neck, ran a trail of burning kisses from ear to collarbone, and then further down to a center point between her straining breasts. “You are absolutely the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen.”
Casey reached down and lifted both her legs under her thighs, encouraging her to wrap them around his waist. When she did, he pressed her into the bed and kissed her deeply, groaning into her mouth. “One day I’m going to find the right words to tell you how much I love having your long legs wrapped around me. It’s the sexiest thing I’ve ever known.”
“Casey,” she choked, and had to clear her throat to get his name out clearly. “I want you so badly. Get me out of these damn clothes.”
Laughing at her honest command, he rolled them to their sides. He pushed her shirt down her arms and reached behind her to unclasp her bra.
Alexa struggled to unbutton her cuffs while he was sliding the jeans from her hips and down her legs.
He kissed her stomach above the plain cotton panties she wore, and she bucked.
“No,” Alexa pleaded. “Too much. I need you—“
“—inside the first time,” Casey finished. “I know, honey. I feel the same way.”
When Casey finally stripped her down to her underwear, Alexa rolled to her knees and made short work of stripping his shirt from him. She paused only to run her hand down the front of his chest, admiring the taut nipples and tight abs she found along the way.
Her hands shook in anticipation as they unfastened his jeans. She was working on the zipper when Casey finally stopped her with his hand.
“It’s too dangerous for you to touch me. Next time,” he promised, all but destroyed by her trembling, eager touch.
To show him her compliance, Alexa moved her hand to his shoulder while he pushed his jeans and underwear off together. She heard him retrieve a condom from the pocket before tossing them in the floor.
“Do that now,” Alexa said firmly, staring into Casey’s eyes. “Next time I want to do it for you.”
“Okay,” Casey agreed harshly, pulling her close again and kissing her fiercely. He rolled on the condom while he watched Alexa remove her underwear.
When she was completely naked, he pulled her into his arms again. “I’m not going to be able to wait, or be gentle. I’m too far gone, so just let me apologize in advance if this goes badly. You can kick my ass later.”
Alexa touched her fingertips to his lips, stroking them to silence.
“I thought Marines were the strong silent type. You talk more in bed than any man I’ve ever known,” Alexa said, teasing him, but being truthful as well.
Casey smiled and rolled them again until he was back on top and between her legs once more.
“No, Marines are the loud, passionate, get drunk, and go for it type,” he corrected.
“Really? Could have fooled me,” Alexa said laughing.
She lifted a leg, sliding it slowly up the back of his good one, and finally hooked it across his hips letting her knee rest in the small of his back.
“Go for it, then,” she demanded.
“Oh, hell,” Casey said, sliding as slowly as he could into her wetness, noticing all the little resistances of her along the way. The pleasurable heat of her had him groaning.
Before he was even all the way inside, Alexa arched and called, “There. There, Casey. Harder.”
He stopped and backed off, and when he slid in again, it was all the way and in perfect sync with the arch of her hips against his. He repeated the action twice as hard as he could with his heart hammering against her breasts. He felt Alexa pulsing in release around him. Her body gratefully responding to his.
“Got to love a woman with a short fuse,” he growled in her ear, letting himself happily pound and stroke the rest of her climax away as he found his own release.
“You were right about your enthusiasm. I actually felt you emptying yourself inside me,” Alexa told him afterwards, kissing his cheek and stroking his face. “I love the way you feel. Now all I can think about is doing this again with you.”
Casey kissed her below her ear, and then moved to her mouth with gratitude.
“That’s a good thing, honey, because we’re just getting started,” Casey promised, reveling in the answering shiver that shook her body beneath his.
Chapter 14
After the first time, there were two other times that night, each more vigorous than the last, until they both finally fell soundlessly asleep around ten with the bedroom lamp still burning.
Alexa was used to sleeping alone, so she woke up surprised when Casey adjusted her in his arms. Looking at the clock on the nightstand, she saw it was only two. It had been almost a year since she’d been in bed with a man, but it had been much longer since she’d woken up with one.
Much, much longer than that since a man had pleased her so thoroughly. Maybe never. A satisfied sigh slipped out. It was apparently loud enough to have Casey opening his eyes.
“Hi,” he said, smiling, tugging her closer.
“Go back to sleep. It’s only two,” Alexa told him, brushing a hand across his forehead and through his hair. “The light woke me.”
“Too late, I’m completely awake now. Anything you want to do?” Casey asked sleepily, moving a leg across hers.
“No,” Alexa said with a laugh. “You’ve worn me out. My fifty-year old libido isn’t up for an all-nighter. I warned you to pick a younger woman.”
“When the hot burning fires are banked, that’s when the real magic can happen,” Casey said softly, tracing her lips with his finger.
Alexa smirked and patted his erection with the palm of her hand.
“This is as impressive and promising as it was the other three times, but I seriously need some rest, Carter.”
“Just once more, Alexa. I need you again. Do you want to hear me beg?” Casey asked. “I know how to beg really well.”
He moved a hand to cup her breast and stroke her nipple with his thumb, causing her to release a series of broken sighs as a tight bud formed instantly.
Alexa couldn’t hold back the moan rising up in her throat. Casey was drawing responses from her that she hadn’t felt for decade or more, but there were still limitations to what she could accommodate.
“Casey,” Alexa said softly, laughing at his earnestness. “I simply don’t think I can do this again.”
“Can you still get pregnant, Alexa?” Casey asked seriously, peering into her face, trying to see the answer there.
“No,” she said, surprised at the shift in topic. “No chance of that. I had surgery in my late twenties. Disappointed?”
“Relieved,” he clarified. “I don’t want to use a condom with you this time. I want to feel all of you.”
That got her attention. “Why?”
Casey just raised his eyebrows in reply.
“Sure, I guess it’s okay,” she said at last, because it was what she wanted. She just hadn’t made complete peace with it yet.
Casey rose over her and pushed her completely to her back, pressing her down into the mattress and the pillow they had been sharing.
“Trust me, Alexa. I won’t hurt you. I just want us to be completely connected.”
He held himself off her with one arm while he ran a possessive hand down her side.
“After this, I’ll let you sleep all you want. Maybe even during.”
“During?” she asked, looking at Casey in mild alarm.
It already baffled her how he could talk about nailing her in one breath, and then sweetly beg to be inside her the next.
Now he was telling her she could sleep while they had sex.
Alexa couldn’t keep up with him.
Casey tilted just enough to stroke a hand down her stomach and between her legs, groaning softly at what he found there.
“See? You’re still wet for me and I want inside again. I’m willing to beg if that’s what it’s going to take.”
“Fine. Whatever,” Alexa said, moving her legs to let his hips slide down between them. “Go slowly.”
“Don’t worry, I plan to,” Casey said, his voice a laughing whisper in the dark.
Casey entered her body a little at a time, stroking and praising every inch he gained until he was seated inside as far as possible.
He could feel Alexa adjusting to his length, accommodating his hardness, and struggling against taking him. It said a lot about her that she didn’t complain even though he could tell she wasn’t comfortable.
“Look at me, Alexa,” Casey commanded, which she did with her blue eyes stripped bare of everything but an acknowledgment of what they were doing together.
Casey stared at her for a long time before he could trust himself to speak sanely. Vulnerability looked so damn good on her.
“You feel more amazing than any fantasy I had about you. I love being inside you. Thank you for letting me be with you.”
“You’re welcome,” Alexa replied politely. “I guess.”
She closed her eyes and swallowed hard. “You—you feel amazing, too. I almost never do this without protection.”
“Thank you for that as well—and for trusting me not to hurt you,” Casey said, pushing into her a little more, bumping against the core of her in the process, emphasizing the fact he was thrilled to be filling her completely.
He was rewarded by a sigh as she relaxed a little more around him.
“Being inside you is very important to me. I don’t take it lightly, Alexa,” Casey said, kissing her temple. “Whatever you believe or don’t believe about men in general, you can one hundred percent take my word on this being the truth between us. It’s not about your cars, your wealth, or anything other than the fact you make me feel like life is worth living again.”
Casey lay down on her fully, letting her cradle his weight as he kissed her cheek.
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