“Share,” was all Casey said. I glared at Merit and wasn’t sure if I was playing right now. It was sometimes fun to have Casey tell me how to act, however, I was really fucking irritated that I was losingmycupcakes. I was so confused, I let it go.
“So you wanna hear the good news or the bad news about the house? Let’s start with the existing cracked foundation and work our way out to new problems.” He grinned at Casey, and I winced. My happy mood vanished as I shoved the lid on the game box and sat down with my hand on my face.
Casey came over, and I was shocked when he made me stand up and then put me on his lap. I superheated because Merit gave me an eyebrow waggle. Casey smacked him—hard—and then wrapped both of his arms around me.
Merit cleared his throat and then continued detailing all the issues with Dad’s house. “Oh,” he said, after he’d already mentioned about fifteen things I didn’t have the money to cover. “Windows. We actually popped out all those old windows because they were due for a replacement.” He shrugged and glanced at Casey. “I had some at the warehouse the right size, so no worries on those.”
I leaned my head back against Casey’s chest and sighed. “Thank you. Both of you. I don’t know what else to say. I don’t deserve this.”
“You keep that big lug happy, and I’ll call it fair and square.” Merit unwrapped his fifth cupcake, somehow he’d managed to shove four in his face while he talked, and I was jealous. When I sneaked my hand toward the box, Casey caught it in his and trapped it against my stomach.
I yawned, wondering if he’d believe I was tired and let me go to bed… and then I could steal another cupcake.
“We’re done tonight, Merit. We all had a long one last night.” He leaned around to cut me a look, and I wondered if maybe my evil plan had been less clever and hidden than I’d thought.
Merit nodded and stood, and I sighed as he took another cupcake for the road. Casey only laughed at me. “There are still at least a dozen in there.”
“They’re good!”
“I know. I expect to have at least one.”
I snorted. “You snooze you lose.”
Merit chuckled and nodded. “Exactly.”
Casey covered the cupcakes with the lid before we walked Merit to the front door, and he didn’t take his arm from around me as we went upstairs.
“Is it like this here a lot?”
He gave me a squeeze. “Sometimes. I have a big family. What do you think about that?”
“Like it,” I murmured, “ ’specially if your other sisters bake.”
He laughed and kissed the top of my head.
In the bathroom he finally let me go so I could get ready for bed. I was halfway through brushing, with the cinnamon toothpaste he’d bought for me, because I hated mint, when I remembered a problem. “Clothes,” I garbled around my toothbrush.
He spit out his toothpaste in the sink and put his electric toothbrush back on the charger. “We’ll get up early enough to run a load through in the morning. Or stop at your place.”
I nodded, and he stood there watching me with a crooked smile as I finished up. I loved the way he swept me toward his bed with a hand on my back. He lifted the blankets and turned them aside for me. I waited because every night he did the same thing, and I got a happy squirm in my belly as he snagged Spidey to put him next to my spot the way I liked. He’d guessed that I wanted everything that way—I hadn’t had to tell him. Not that the stuffie mattered as much now that I had Casey to sleep with. I climbed in, and he went around turning off lights, and then the bed dipped behind me. He snuggled in at my back and wrapped me up. I leaned against his chest and sighed at the pure pleasure of his body heat.
“You can fuck me if you want,” I said, feeling ridiculously grateful. Tears prickled my eyes again. “You deserve whatever you want for all the help you’ve given me.”
“You’re not ready. I won’t hurt you.” He laid his cheek on the top of my head. “I want you to have fun every time we’re together that way.” He kissed my ear, and I smiled into the darkness. “In fact, your new toy shouldn’t stay in overnight.”
“Want it to.”
“It can’t.” He slid his hand down my back and into the shorts. I moaned as he found the end of the plug and gripped it. When he eased the toy out I felt hollow inside.
“Empty now. Want you.”
“Oh, Angel. I want you too.” Warm lips traveled along my skin and heat scrabbled through me as he licked the nape of my neck low, where my spine started.
“I owe you. A little pain is fine.”
His lips stilled on me. “This will never be about owing me,” he growled in a warm gust against my skin.
I shuddered. “Why are you doing all this nice stuff?”
