Page 40 of Defending Casey

Not without protection.

Slowly, he peeled his body away from hers and felt her legs slip down onto the mattress on either side of him.

Everything was fine, until he looked down and saw the way her skin was flushed pink and glimmering with his sweat, her skin’s pale perfection against the sheets and the dark silken curls of her sex against his.

Just a little further and he might be able to make it out of her without embarrassing himself, but as soon as he saw her slick heat painted along his cock, he felt it.

A single, searing bolt of electricity through his spine and then a single twitching release.

He’d stopped it there somehow. Maybe it was just the sheer terror of the idea that stopped him, but he’d felt that before when he’d first started touching himself, seeking pleasure with his hand.

Just a quick misfire that ended up falling down rather than shooting out.

He pulled out of Casey and sighed in relief as he reached over the edge of the bed for his wallet.

He knew he’d never be able to lose his concentration like that again. He had to protect Casey until they were ready to start a family.

Hale came awakein his bed, sweating profusely, his hand wrapped around his erect cock.

“Fuck.”

Well, he’d wondered how.

And now he knew.

He’d forgotten that part of the night, probably because it was so damn close to embarrassing for him, but now it was crystal clear. That first time. He’d let himself be distracted. He’d let himself give in to the demands of his body.

He’d wanted to know when Nora had been conceived, he knew now.

Yes, it had been an accident. If anyone wanted to point at either one of them to indicate fault, it was his, completely.

There were a thousand things he would have changed over the years, but not that.

He was a father.

He was going to be the best dad he could.

His daughter’s conception had been a surprise, but he wouldn’t change it for the world.

* * *

Casey wasup before the sun the next morning.

She felt lighter than she had in years.

Telling Hale what she’d done all those years ago had been a scary thing for her.

Admitting that she’d let fear push him away?

She had been ready to have him walk away and wipe his hands clean of her.

Knowing that he didn’t blame her? That he understood?

She couldn’t ask for anything more.

Slipping into Nora’s room, she’d seen their daughter sleeping like a rock. The room smelled sweet thanks to Hale’s flowers which still sat on Nora’s bedside table in a vase.

Casey pressed a quick kiss to Nora’s forehead and slipped outside, making her way to the barn.

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