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Taking Care of Her
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2024-10-29 19:42:56Related chapters
Asking for a Friend A New One
LAYTONCraig’s breath created a mist in the cold air. He walked up to me on our new, bare job site, thrusting a cardboard cup of what was hopefully coffee at me with his gloved hand. “Here. Got you this. You’re going to need it today, what with it being cold as balls on this empty fucking site.”“Thanks.” I gratefully accepted the coffee, holding it in both hands as I took a sip of the scolding hot liquid. It was rich and bitter, just the way I liked it. “You ready to get started?”He nodded, jerking his head in the direction of the street behind us. Car horns honked and I heard the beeping of a truck. “My guys are out there now bringing in the first loads of equipment. What are you doing here so early?”“Pacing out the site.” I told him. “I was counting the steps before you got here.”Craig smirked. “Again? Really? How many are you up to so far?”“Three hundred and eighty four,” I shrugged, stretching my arm out in front of me. “But I’ve only just started. I still have all that left
Asking for a Friend Enter At Your Own Risk
LAYTON“It’s January,” I reminded Craig. “You’ve got plenty of time, but yeah. I’ll make sure Mama Hammel can get something besides scented soap this year.”Craig laughed again. “It was lavender. She loves lavender.”“Let’s see if we can get her at least a full lavender bath set this year then,” I joked. “If you work hard enough, you might even be able to throw in some of those fizz ball things.”He nodded solemnly, then winked. “I will make it my personal mission to be able to afford fizz ball things by December. Speaking of being able to afford things, have you thanked that Marissa chick for all the money she saved you on this project?”“Ah, yes. Marissa.” The thorn in my side, at this point. The hot blonde who made my body betray my mind. My brain knew she didn’t belong at the company. I was still irritated that my father forced her on me, yet my cock took over my logic where she was concerned.The damn thing wanted into her. Badly.As much as my brain tried to protest that she did
Asking for a Friend Everything In It's Place
MARISSALayton B, the D, was pacing around outside my office. I saw him emerging from the side stairwell and it looked like he was headed to me until he stopped dead in his tracks. Why, I didn’t know.I had been quite sure he was looking for me, since he’d been walking purposefully in my direction, but now I wasn’t so sure. These were his offices, though. Surely he knew how to get to wherever he wanted to go, even if he did seem more than a little lost right now.Green eyes flickered across my work space. I could’ve sworn he stopped breathing when they did. Slowly, he seemed to be taking note of everything I had in here. Even from the distance I was at, I could practically see the tension rolling off him.Crap. Had I done something wrong? I couldn’t think of a single thing. I hadn’t had any interaction with him since I brought him the file with my plans and reports on the new project on Friday. Though he hadn’t wanted to discuss them with me, I knew they were solid.If I had done som
Asking for a Friend Human or Robot?
MARISSAIf Layton were to ask me to locate absolutely anything he could name that I had in here, I would’ve been able to find it in less than thirty seconds. I would’ve bet on it.He didn’t ask me for anything, though. He merely leaned with his hip against the wall, looking like he genuinely believed something might slither out and bite him.Layton crossed his arms. If I had to guess, I would say he was supremely uncomfortable. For some reason, that thought kind of thrilled me a little bit. To have any kind of effect on a man as put together as him was a win in my book.“You said you had something to discuss with me?” I asked, drawing his gaze to mine and away from my stuff. “Are you sure you won’t have a seat?”He shook his head. “I’ll only be a minute.”“Sure,” I took my seat, crossing my legs primly and straightening my spine. I had no idea why I did it, only that it made me feel a little bit more comfortable and powerful in his intimidating presence.My office was the size of a ma
Asking for a Friend Drawing Her
LAYTONIt was dark outside, the city lights twinkling beyond my office windows. Everyone else had long since gone home, but I was still in the office. The blueprints I was working on weren’t coming together to my satisfaction, and I was staying put until I was happy. I would never be able to switch my mind off otherwise.My pencil scratched against the heavy duty paper, the only non-electrical sound in the office. The lights hummed, creating a low droning in the air.For some reason, I was having trouble focusing on my work. Usually I got so completely immersed that everything else faded away, but that wasn’t happening for me tonight. Every line I drew seemed off, wrong somehow.Images of a certain buxom blonde kept creeping into my brain. A few times, I even caught myself sketching her flowing curls or the curve of her eyes. Marissa and I had spoken a few times since that day in her office more than a week ago, but our conversations were trivial. Seemingly unimportant. Yet every time
Asking for a Friend The Hunger
LAYTONTearing my eyes away from the deep blue of hers, I looked pointedly down at the paper spread out in front of me. “Blueprints. What about you? Why are you here so late?”Marissa shrugged, the upward movement of her shoulders slightly lifting the hem of her bright purple dress. The temperature in the office was mild despite the bitter cold outside. She seemed intent on taking advantage of it, dressing in clothes that revealed more than any winter attire had the right to much less than I was partly hoping her summer attire would.“There was too much work just sitting there on my desk and staring at me when the others left,” she said. “I couldn’t leave it all until tomorrow. I’m here to do my job, so I couldn’t leave when there was so much left to do.”Something we had in common. It wasn’t a welcome realization that we might share the same work ethic or anything else, for that matter. It was bad enough that she was so physically appealing and appeared to be smart and dedicated. I d
Asking for a Friend Heat
MARISSAI barely had time to make sense of what was happening. One second, I was looking over Layton’s design, acting on an impulse to move the balcony that he appeared to be struggling to position. The next, he began tapping again and my hand shot out on reflex to soothe him.All of a sudden, out of absolutely nowhere, the kind of heat I wouldn’t have imagined he had in him jumped to the surface of those green eyes. It burned with an intensity I couldn’t quite fathom in a man who was usually as cool as a cucumber.But I couldn’t deny it either. It was definitely there and it took my breath away. With one look, he got me wetter than I’d been in a very long time. A testament to my current sex life, or lack thereof, that a freaking look would get me hot, bothered and throbbing in an instant.The insistent need between my legs came on as suddenly as his lips moving toward mine. Before I could overthink the situation, before I could convince myself that this was a bad idea, Layton had sea
Asking for a Friend Just a Quickie
MARISSA“Let them,” I breathed, my chest heaving as I practically panted with need. Holding him to me by resting one hand on the nape of his neck, I allowed the other to trail over the lean muscles in his back. Dirty talk wasn’t really my thing, but words just came rushing out of me under his skilled touch. “They’re all for you, Layton. Every moan, every gasp is because I can’t hold them back. Let me feel what they do to you.”Groaning loudly, he reached up to grab my hand on his neck. He brought it down roughly, his eyes wild with desire as they bore into mine. Without any shame or hesitation, he planted my hand firmly over his erection. “This is what you do to me.”I wasn’t used to a man being so assertive in the heat of the moment. There was no fumbling, no uncertainty. Every move he made was done with no doubt or reservation, yet somehow was gentle enough to let me know I could walk away if I wanted. That he would let me go even if it killed him, or more likely, doomed him to week
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Asking for a Friend Epilogue Part 2
LAYTONIt was still early, the sun wasn’t even fully risen yet. Annie and I had both snuck out of bed early this morning to make this breakfast. Marissa was fast asleep, lying on her side on the bed.Annie set down the tray and the glass and shook Marissa’s shoulders. “Mommy! Wake up Mommy! We have a surprise for you.”Marissa’s eyes blinked open slowly, confusion clouding them until she rubbed it away as she sat up and took in the scene in front of her. “What’s all this?”“We’re celebrating,” I told her. “I spoke to Craig earlier. They’re on their way to the site for the final clean up. The building’s finally done.”Her lips curled into a sleepy smile. “I can’t believe that it’s over. It’s really all done?”“It’s really all done,” I confirmed, picking up the tray and placing her plate on it on her lap. “Eat up, we’ve got a lot of celebrating ahead of us today.”“Shouldn’t I be the one feeding you breakfast in bed for this?” She asked, frowning slightly. Lifting up the duvet, she patt
Asking for a Friend Epilogue Part 1
LAYTONIn the past two months since Annie’s first ballet recital, there had been three more. Which were four more recitals than I ever thought I would attend. Or actually enjoy.But I did enjoy them. I enjoyed them so much I was even starting to consider myself something of an expert in ballet. I knew was arabesque meant, what pas de deux was, and that attitude referred to a position in classical ballet, and not a little girl shaking her finger in your face.I watched Annie practicing every night, since I had now officially moved in with them. So officially that there was a tenant renting my place and everything. Marissa didn’t know it yet, but I had been looking at houses for us online for the last couple of weeks.Most of my furniture was now in storage since our house wasn’t big enough for all my furniture and all of Marissa’s. I didn’t love the thought of my stuff gathering dust in a storage unit and I wanted us to have a place that was truly ours, not mine or hers.I had to wait
Asking for a Friend Tiny Dancer
MARISSALayton also threw himself deeper into his commitment to our family. He started driving Annie to school sometimes or offering to pick her up. He took her fishing a few more times and taught her how to play catch.Our lives together was everything I was ever too afraid to hope for. Watching him watch her recital now, tears burned the backs of my eyes.His eyes still hadn’t left the stage for so much as second and I could see the pride he was feeling, I felt it too. He was so much better of a father to Annie than Brice ever could have been. And he stepped into that role gracefully and seriously.I wondered if he would bolt when he eventually realized she was starting to look at him as her dad, but he’d done the complete opposite. On the contrary, he freaking loved being her ‘dad.’The final notes of the recital ended, the girls all dipping into low bows as the hall exploded in applause. Parents leaped to their feet and Layton and I joined them.“She was fantastic,” he yelled into
Asking for a Friend Sixth Months of Heaven
MARISSALayton’s eyes were glued to Annie on stage. Watching him now, it was hard to remember a time when I doubted his love or his commitment to her. Or to me, for that matter.The past six months had been perfect. A fairy tale I never believed was in the cards for me. But somewhere, somehow, someone sent Layton to me and let me keep him.After I finally told him I loved him, there was no turning back. And neither of us wanted to. We came clean to Annie about our relationship that same week and she was thrilled.She hugged both of us and refused to let us go. That next week Layton stayed over for the first time that Annie knew of. She was so excited when she saw him arriving with an overnight bag that she zoomed and bounced around all night before finally crashing hard. When she fell asleep, it was on the couch between us.Layton had insisted on being the one to carry her to her bedroom and when he came back to the living room, he had this expression of absolute serenity on his face.
Asking for a Friend Living the Dream
LAYTON“I was just thinking about something that happened with Annie a few weeks ago,” I told him, shaking the memories out of my head. As the site came back into focus, I noticed how much progress there had been in the week since I was last here. “It’s looking good, Craig. You guys are really outdoing yourself on this one.”“We’re doing our best,” he said, shrugging. “I encouraged you to do this by yourself without that other asshole involved. Least I can do is to have your back now that you’re actually doing it.”“Thanks, man. I appreciate it.” I still couldn’t believe some days that this building really was all mine. I tried not to think about it too much, since there was still a lot that could go wrong. I didn’t want to tempt fate by thinking about how well it was going. “Has the flooring been delivered yet?”“Right on time,” Craig said. “They delivered on Friday morning as promised.”I breathed out a sigh of relief. The people who manufactured the flooring called two weeks ago to
Asking for a Friend We're a Family
LAYTONSix months after Marissa first told me she loved me, I walked onto the construction site where the museum was just about done. The scaffolding was coming off today and the team was moving inside. We had two months left to go, tops.The past six months had been the best months of my life. By a long shot. The museum was progressing without any major hold-ups, which was more of a relief than I cared to admit out loud.Marissa, Annie and I were doing better than ever. In the last few weeks, we’d started talking about moving in together, and I was sure it was going to happen soon.I knew it was going to be an adjustment to live together, especially for Annie and me, but it was what I wanted more than anything. I wanted to wake up next to Marissa every morning, to have breakfast with her and Annie before we headed to work.I wanted to be there to tuck Annie in at night and to spend lazy weekends with them. Only a year ago, if anyone had told me I would ever want that kind of life, I
Asking for a Friend Tasting Him
MARISSAStars exploded behind my eyelids. The intensity of the orgasm building inside me was astonishing. My body was going to be blown to dust when it hit, but I couldn’t freaking wait for that glorious release. I gripped the sheets harder, trying to anchor myself against the powerful sensations ripping through me.My hands flew to his hair next, tugging it as I held him to me. Knowing my body better than I did, he knew exactly what I needed. Bringing his lips to my clit, he sucked the little bud in between them and flicked it with his mouth.That perfect pressure sent my body skyrocketing. I stifled a cry, relieved somewhere in the back of my mind I had the pillow handy and crushed it over my face. Sensation crashed into me as I came, overwhelming me with a pleasure I would never get used to.Floating in a bubble of ecstatic bliss, my body went limp. When I opened my eyes, Layton was there wearing a satisfied smile.But it was too tight, too strained. His muscles were tense and his
Asking for a Friend Raw
MARISSALayton’s lips on mine were the best thing that I’d ever felt and I never wanted him to stop. I writhed against him, feeling him hard as steel against my center as he continued to kiss the crap out of me. He dipped his head lower and licked a path to my breasts, his hands on the hem of my shirt.There was something we had to do, somewhere we had to go. But I’d lost track of my train of thought. Warm hands came up to cup my breasts over my pajama top, his thumbs dragging over my puckered nipples. A shiver ran through me. I was so damn wet. I wanted him so bad.“Cold?” Layton asked huskily.I shook my head, closing my eyes for a second as I tried to find words. And figure out that gnawing feeling that we had to move. “No, just—”Layton gave me a sexy, knowing smile. “Me too. Let’s take this to your bedroom, shall we? We definitely shouldn’t let Annie find us like this.”Fuck.Annie.Of course, that was why we had to move. I nodded at Layton. “Let’s go.”His hands dropped to cup
Asking for a Friend Prove It To Her
LAYTONHolding the NDA out to her, she took it and her eyes dropped immediately to the signature line. Which was blank. “I didn’t sign it. I told him to tell Banks where he could shove his insane requests.”Marissa blinked, a huge smile spreading on her face. “Annie’s sleeping, but would you like to come inside?”I nodded, pulling her into my arms as the door closed behind me. Marissa lifted herself up on her toes and kissed me, her fingers winding into the hair around the nape of my neck. When we broke apart, she kept her hands where they were and spoke with her lips inches away from mine. “I love you, Layton. I love you so much.”My heart hammered louder and harder than it ever had before. It was trying to beat its way out of my chest to climb into hers. That was what it felt like, anyway. It already belonged to her, it might as well have done it.I blinked at her, taken aback by hearing the words I wasn’t sure I would ever hear from her. “Could you repeat that?”She smiled. “As man
