It’s like a puzzle piece clicking into place.

He grips the cup of my bra and tugs it down, his tongue finding my pebbled nipple as my breasts pop out of their cage, and I throw my head back with a soft moan. Every single touch brings me closer to release as I bounce on him, filling my pussy up in the best way, and his groans of pleasure are even sweeter.

His hold on me becomes tighter as I become more erratic with my movements, chasing my release while also making sure he feels everything as well, and I know he’s close to coming. I let my head fall back down and stare deeply into his eyes, my movements never faltering even though I’m completely out of breath.

“Fuck,yes,” he groans as his eyes fall shut, and I feel his cock pulsate inside of me.

That alone has my orgasm crashing through me right along with his, my lips crying out his name this time as the flash on the screen bathes us with light. His hand comes up to my face as we stare at each other, and an emotion swirls in his irises that I can’t put my finger on, and then he presses his lips softly against mine. “Stay at my place tonight. Have breakfast with me.”

I couldn’t deny him even if I wanted to so I nod before pulling away from him.

This isn’t how things were supposed to go. It was going to be simple – fuck him out of my system – but it seems as though he’s worming his way right into my heart, and I don’t know what to do about that. Tonight isn’t the night, though, not with the hours ahead.

***

Waking up this morning in Emmett’s bed felt like a dream. I remember waking up in the middle of the night, his arm hanging loosely around my waist, and thinking that it could be an everyday thing. That quickly went away when I remembered that it’s not as simple as that with Dominic not in the loop with everything.

I fix the shirt of my pajamas before heading out of Emmett’s room, the smell of bacon already causing me to quicken my steps, and the sight of his ripped muscles brings me to a halt. He turns his head, a smile forming on his face as he looks at me, and says, “Good morning. There’s breakfast ready if you’re hungry.”

My stomach grumbles dramatically at the mention of food and he chuckles, passing a plate over to me. I’m nervous as I sink into a barstool, my eyes darting from my plate to him every few seconds, and he turns the stove off before walking over to sit next to me.

“Morning,” I mumble.

“Should we talk about the baby?” He asks, getting right into the one conversation we’ve yet to have and that I’ve been dreading.

“What about her?” I still get internally excited every time I get to reference the gender.

He clears his throat. “About how we are going to do things once she arrives.” I open my mouth to say something just as he adds, “I want you and her to stay in my home, live with me.” That has me clamping it shut and I push away from the island.

“Uh, I think this was a bad idea.” Why did I let him convince me to stay with him last night? He could’ve easily left me behind at Dominic’s, but I just had to follow him out the door and this is what it led to.

“Casey, wait,” Emmett mutters, following me to his front door.

I shake my head aggressively. “I can’t do this right now, Emmett. Just, give me some time to figure all this shit out.” And find the nerve to tell Dominic everything I’ve been keeping from him.

He nods and runs a hand through his hair. “I didn’t mean to upset you, Casey.” This time he doesn’t stop me from rushing out of his house and into the morning sun.

When I finally walk through Dominic’s front door, he’s sitting on the edge of the couch and looks at me with a frown. “Casey, where have you been?”

I can at least give him some sliver of truth, he deserves that much. “Dom, I’ve been seeing the baby’s father for a few weeks now.” It hurts that I can’t tell him who that is, but a weight is lifted from my shoulders that I’m giving him something to go on. Maybe now he’ll stop hassling me about coming to appointments and wondering what I’ve been up to late at night.

I’m not sure how much longer I keep this huge secret before I’m shouting it and ruining everything around me. As soon as Dominic knows the truth, this bubble Emmett and I have created around ourselves will pop and I’m not quite ready for that yet.

Chapter Eighteen

Emmett

IshouldlistentoCasey and let her figure out what she wants to do, but instead I’m walking through the front entrance of the casino for just a quick glimpse at her. She’s on the far side of the floor, smiling politely at a couple sitting at the machines, and I lean against the doorway to watch her. I’ve never felt such a need to be around someone as I do her, it’s infuriating while at the same time calming – if that even makes sense.

She turns around, prepared to head back toward the bar for whatever the couple had ordered, but a large hand shoots out and clings to her thigh. My pulse jumps, blood running hot, as the guy touching her leans too close and says something to her. Casey backs away nervously, shaking her head at whatever he said, then quickly darts across the floor and up to Hannah at the bar.

A few of the security guys are standing at the counter situated in the center of the room and I walk over to them. “Keep an eye on the waitress tonight, would you? If anything is concerning, just give my assistant a call and tell her to notify me.”

They nod, their eyes cutting over to Casey immediately, then I walk back out of the large space and toward the elevators. Something feels off about the guy who touched her, especially with the darkened look he gave her, and I’m not taking any chances right now.

Fran eyes me when I walk past her desk, choosing not to say anything to me. She’s been very quiet since I told her the news about the baby and it’s making me nervous. When I get into my chair, I bring the security camera footage up on my computer and look at it until my eyes land on the guy who grabbed Casey.

He’s still sitting in his seat, but his gaze keeps following Casey’s movements as she walks through each aisle with a bright smile on her face. Don’t get me wrong, I’d be watching her the entire time too if I were him, but there was a predatory glint in his gaze earlier that I don’t trust. My spine straightens when she walks over to him, that same polite smile on her face that she has with everyone else, and he squeezes her ass with a smile.