He moves into my space, his huge frame looming over my smaller one. I rest my hands on his chest, underneath his cut. His skin is warm, but it’s the racing of his heart that has my attention. “You think there’s nothing that scares me?”
I hesitate. “I don’t know. You always seem so in control. I’m the one who’s always freaking out about things.”
“Babe, I’m fuckin’ scared all the time.”
“About what?”
“About you, our kid.” His hand rests over my stomach as he says it. “About the club and the people I’m responsible for in it. I worry that you push yourself too hard to prove to me that you’re tough because you’re surrounded by hard men.” He rests his forehead to mine, his hand still on my belly, his fingers circling back and forth. “I’m scared that one day you’ll wake up and realize you can do better than me. I’m scared that if you did, I’d never let you leave.”
If anyone else said those words, I’d be filing a restraining order and keeping mace in my purse. But I know Casey, how he ticks, how he thinks. I know how deep his feelings go, even the ones he tries to bury.
I press my hand over the top of his, interlacing our fingers over our baby. “I’m not going anywhere. You put your property patch on me, Casey. You gave me a ring and your last name. Now you’ve given me the chance to be a mother. You think I’m leaving? You really think I could do better than you?” I trail the fingers of my other hand over his face. “No one could ever love me as big as you do. And I wouldn’t want anyone to.” I press a kiss to his mouth, soft and as sacred as he gives to me every time he touches me. “You tell me constantly that I’m yours, but you’re mine too, Casey.”
Our mouths fuse, every swipe of his tongue possessive just how I like. “I don’t know how to breathe without you.”
“Well, luckily you don’t have to. Come on, take me back to work and you can show me tonight exactly how much you need me.”
He smirks, then opens the car door for me. He helps me into the truck, then as always, tugs my seat belt around me.
When I’m secure, I expect him to close the door, but he stays crouched, his eyes locked on my stomach.
“Casey?”
He lifts his gaze mine. “I fucking love you.”
Tears prick my eyes. “You can’t say shit like that to me and expect me to sit in my depressing little cubicle for the next five hours.”
“So don’t go. Come home with me, we’ll crawl into bed, and I’ll worship every inch of your pretty pussy.”
My thighs clench, even as I look around to make sure nobody heard him say that. “I wish I could, but James is already up my ass.”
And that’s an understatement. He is picking apart every aspect of my work, belittling me in front of my colleagues, and those little fucking touches he does as he passes by me…
I know if I told Casey it would stop, but only because he’d put James six feet underground.
He tenses. “I’m hearing this guy’s name from you too fucking much. He giving you shit? Because if he is?—”
I cut off before he loses his mind and James becomes a footnote in history. “No, it’s fine. It’s nothing I can’t handle.”
His eyes narrow. “I don’t want you to handle shit, Lexi. What exactly are you handling?”
Dammit. Me and my big mouth. “Nothing. Everything is fine. It’s just corporate bullshit. Works busy and everybody has a lot of pressure on them right now.” I stroke his face. “But I love you for trying to fix even the things you can’t.”
He grunts, clearly offended. But he stands, kissing my forehead before he closes the door. As he walks around to the driver’s side, I let myself breathe. I should tell him about James, but I don’t really know what to say.
He’s subtle, friendly even. Not that it would matter to Casey. The fact I’m uncomfortable would lead to a bloodbath.
So I hold my tongue, and I let him drive me back to work.
Outside my building, he puts the car into park and then kisses me like he’s never going to see me again.
As always, he waits until I’m inside before he drives off.
By the time I get to my desk, I’m smiling and counting down the hours until I’m back in Casey’s arms.
Tasha lifts her head over my cubicle wall.
“So? How did the scan go?”
