LAYTONAnnie leaped off the stool she was sitting on when she saw me walking into the kitchen. “Layton! I’m so glad you’re here.”“So am I, kiddo.” I bent down to hug her, noticing both Denise and Marissa watching me do it. “What?”Marissa shook her head, her ever present smile relieved. “Nothing. How was your day? Thanks for coming.”It clearly wasn’t nothing, but I wasn’t going to push her. I assumed it was weird for her to see me in her house with her daughter and friend. Lord knew it would be strange for me to have her in my apartment with Craig around. If Annie was there too, I would think I was dreaming.I would probably have to childproof my apartment before Annie ever got there, though. If you needed to child proof when a kid was six. I was going to have to look into that. I was drawn out of my thoughts when I realized Marissa and Denise were both looking at me expectantly.And then I realized I hadn’t answered her yet. “My day was you know, day-ish. Nothing exciting to report
MARISSASeeing Layton sitting down to dinner with all of us was a little surreal. When I first met him, I never would have been able to picture this scene. I wouldn’t even have been able to picture him in my home.He seemed too big for it. Both in physical stature and in presence.And yet—it felt right that he was here. I’d been thinking that way a lot lately, but somehow everything about him just felt right to me. I took it as a sign that we were both exactly where we needed to be and tuned back to the conversation happening around me.Denise had been drilling Layton since—oh, pretty much the moment he set foot in the house, but it didn’t look like he minded it. He kept up with her and worked through it all, question by question, and seemed to be enjoying himself in spite of the inquisition she was putting him through.Before he arrived, Denise and I had talked about all the questions she had for him. I asked her to take it easy on the poor guy, but evidently she had decided against
MARISSADenise pushed out her chair, standing and giving Annie a hug goodbye. “I should get going, too. I’ll see you first thing in the morning.”Layton followed her out after saying goodbye to both Annie and Denise, but he paused when we got to the porch. Denise drove away and he took my hand, holding it gently. “Thanks for supper. That was really fun.”“Despite the world’s most comprehensive game of twenty questions?” I asked jokingly.He nodded. “It felt a little like giving an interview for an autobiography I didn’t know was being written, but that’s fine. I like that she’s so protective over the two of you.”“She’s been an angel in our lives.” I agreed, seeing an opening to ask him my burning question, even if I was unsure about whether I should pile on any more tonight. “Can I ask you one question of my own?”“Sure,” he said wearily. I held onto his hand tighter, rubbing my thumb over his knuckles. “What’s one more question?”My lips quirked up into a smile. “You’ve answered so
LAYTONMarissa arrived at my apartment fifteen minutes after we left the office, which told me she’d headed right over since I only got there seconds before she did. For some reason, I was relieved to know she hadn’t wasted any time in getting here.I was already nervous about her reaction when she saw the video. I wanted to get it over and done with, but I was also worrying about what she was going to think about me when she did see it. The video didn’t exactly show me in a great light.It was the way my father saw me and I knew that, contrary to what Marissa might’ve thought his views of me were. The thing was, I didn’t really want her to see me the way he did. A part of me was afraid that showing her this video might make her see me the way he did—a good for nothing disappointment who couldn’t do anything right.Vulnerability wasn’t something I felt often, but knowing she was about to see that video left me feeling like I was about to flay myself wide open. Marissa smiled when I op
LAYTONWe watched the video in silence. Marissa was engrossed the whole way through and thankfully, didn’t look back once. Hearing his words with her in the room was painful, more painful than it had been to watch the video by myself.To her credit, she didn’t look at me any differently when the video was done. I was afraid to look her right in the eye at first, but when I did I was relieved to see nothing had changed. There was a hint of sadness in her eyes, but that was to be expected. As she pointed out, she knew my dad and from the sounds of things, she actually liked him.“Do you have any idea what he was talking about when he said I was part of his plan?” She asked curiously.“None,” I shook my head. “I was hoping you would, if I’m being honest. He never said anything to you about a plan?”“No,” she said, pursing her lips and moving them from side to side. “I’m really trying to think, but he never mentioned anything. When we talked about you, he just talked about how proud he wa
MARISSAWhen Layton got going, he really got going. Every. Single. Time.The man was a machine in bed, against a wall or, as I was fast learning, on a desk. He kissed me with purpose, burrowing his hands into my hair and touching me like he wanted me. Really, really wanted me.It sent heat rushing through me, pooling right between my legs. By the time I started aching there, he was already there making me moan and rub up against him.“God, Marissa. You drive me crazy with those noises.” He hissed between kisses, punctuating his words with thrusts of his hips that made me let out more noises—which was probably the reason he did it.Hands trailing up and down my sides, he reached for the buttons of my shirt and started sliding them out. The heavy breathing got deeper and every time he brushed his hands over one of my nipples, I sucked in a gasp that momentarily broke our feverish kisses.My hips arched, pressing me harder against him. Layton hissed, rolling his hips to brush against me
MARISSABesides, the sexiest man I’d ever met had his head between my legs and was practically begging to give me another orgasm. Who the hell was I to argue? “Yes!”Layton withdrew his mouth from me and I nearly protested out loud, until I realized it was so that he could use his tongue to draw lazy but rhythmic circles around my clit. He was in no rush and took his time, handling me gently while I was still coming down before he slowly started building me back up again.Never staying in one sensitive spot for long enough to overstimulate it, he alternated between his fingers and his mouth. He massaged my thighs and my breasts, teasing me until I was ready to beg for release again.I never had to do it, though. Layton knew my body well enough to know when I was ready and amped up his efforts at the perfect time. Bringing his mouth back to me, he repeated his earlier motions and sent me flying right off the edge again.When I surfaced this time, I was desperate to do something for him
LAYTONWhenever I spent the night with Marissa, I woke up feeling like a billion bucks. She had that effect on me, making me feel sated and wanted. After everything she heard straight from the horse’s mouth on that video last night, I didn’t think that would be possible for me today.As it turned out, I was right. I knew before I opened my eyes that my bed was empty. When I rolled over I was met with cold sheets instead of a warm body.My eyes flew open to confirm what I already felt, and sure enough, she was gone. I sat up, rubbing my eyes before calling out. “Marissa? Where are you, babe?”Dead silence met my ears. Aside from the near silent hum of the fan, there was no noise in my apartment. No toilet flushing, no shower running, no clanging coming from the kitchen and no soft padding of footsteps from the window.Dread washed over me. I jumped out of bed, naked as the day I was born, and didn’t bother to put on clothes as I carried out a search of my place. As I suspected, she was