All Things Beautiful, page 31
Casey’s eyes glazed over. “When I woke, I thought I’d been dreaming. Then I realized where I was. It really happened, didn’t it?” She still looked a bit disoriented.
“It did, sweetheart. How much do you recall?” Leighton caressed her hand as different emotions flickered across Casey’s face.
She gingerly touched her throat. “I remember his hands around my neck, and I couldn’t breathe. Then nothing until I woke up in the ambulance or maybe when I got here. I’m not sure. It’s all sort of fuzzy.”
“I’m sure it is.” What a nightmare it must have been for Casey in those last few seconds, knowing she was being strangled and not being able to do anything about it.
“What happened? Where’s Jeffrey now? What made him stop?” Casey looked at her through narrowed eyes, her beautiful features twisted in confusion.
Leighton hesitated, unsure of how much to tell her. She didn’t want to inflict any additional trauma on her while in such a fragile state, but if she were in Casey’s position, she’d want to know. “Mark saved your life. I wasn’t there. I was still running down the stairs, but Maxine said when Erica got him from the back gallery and he saw Jeffrey choking you, he flew across the room and punched him out. She assured me Jeffrey was unconscious before he hit the floor.”
“Mark did that?” Casey appeared to picture it. “I don’t think he’s ever hit someone before.”
“He probably never had a reason to.” Leighton knew they were close, best friends since college, close enough for him to give Casey the child she wanted and for her to accept. It surprised her none that Mark hadn’t hesitated to step in and save her. Leighton could kiss him for what he’d done, for saving the life of the woman she loved. She just wished she’d been there for it.
And now, she wished she didn’t have to tell her the rest, but Casey had a right to know. Jaiden was her friend, too. She took a breath. “Darling, I’m afraid I have something else to tell you.” The tip of Leighton’s nose stung like it always did before she cried. “The alert? Jaiden sent it to warn us. He was taking out the garbage and Jeffrey punched him. Jaiden hit his head on the bricks and never regained consciousness. They did their best to save him, but he died, darling.”
Casey was already crying. “No.” She tried to cover her face with her hand.
Leighton set the box of tissues on the bed and gently caressed her arm. “I know he was your friend, and you were both so brave. He tried to protect us, and it cost him his life. You protected the kids and me, and…” She motioned toward the growing rainbow on Casey’s neck. “I thought I’d lost you.” More tears cascaded as she kissed Casey’s fingers.
Casey’s eyes held such tenderness. “You did?”
Leighton leaned closer, wanting to be near her, wanting to hold her. “The past few weeks have been torture, yet when I saw his hands around your neck on the camera, they paled in comparison. When you lay unconscious on the floor, everything changed. After experiencing that, I’ll never be the same. I saw what life without you looks like, and that’s not a life I’m interested in living. I’d known it before, but I’d never felt it as strongly as I did kneeling beside you before the EMTs arrived.” She kissed Casey’s hand. “I love you.”
Something between a joyous laugh and a sob escaped Casey. She opened her arms and Leighton moved into her embrace. Casey kissed her. “I love you, too,” she said against her lips. “These past few weeks, I realized just how in love with you I am. I also realized the extent I’d go to show you.”
Leighton tamed a lock of Casey’s hair. “By protecting the kids?”
“No, the night turned out different from what I’d planned.” Casey seemed lost in thought. “I had something I wanted to give you.”
Leighton remembered the envelope. “Would it be this, by chance? Maxine brought it and asked me to give it to you.”
Casey beamed. Her smile seemed so contradictory to the bruising on her neck. “Yes, I think it is. Open it.”
“Me?” Leighton flicked her nail under the flap.
With a warm smile, Casey nodded.
Leighton removed the pages. Whatever it was, it looked official. She recognized the name of the law firm Maxine used. As she read the papers, her vision blurred. When she reached the end, she touched Casey’s signature.
“You didn’t have to do this.” She laid the papers in her lap and blotted her eyes with a tissue.
“I did.” Casey rubbed Leighton’s arm. “I’d do whatever it takes to be with you.”
Leighton cradled Casey’s face and kissed her. “The next few years will be difficult, but I can’t imagine surviving them without you by my side. Even if the atelier isn’t profitable, as long as you’re with me, everything will be okay.” Her heart might burst.
Casey touched her face. “Shh, we’ll figure it out together. It’s not insurmountable.”
Leighton loved her willfulness. Casey had always possessed determination in spades.
“The agreement was Maxine’s idea. She wanted to protect you, but I don’t think she’s as opposed to the idea of us as she might’ve once led us to believe.” Casey adjusted her IV’s tubing.
“No, I don’t think she is.” Thoughts of Maxine and her mother rushed in. She’d share that story with Casey when the time was right.
“It was her idea, but I had no choice but to sign since you’re the only one Andy wants to read him bedtime stories.” Casey winked. “What’s a mom to do?” She slipped her hand behind Leighton’s neck and kissed her again.
It was soft and languid, as if they might not know what the future held, but they had a future together, and they’d figure everything out in time. Nothing needed to be rushed right now.
* * *
Someone cleared their throat.
Casey eased away from Leighton to find Mark standing in the doorway.
“Hi.”
She waved him closer. “Hey.”
Leighton stood. “I thought you went home to sleep.”
His tense shrug contradicted his nonchalant posture. “I tried, but I couldn’t, not when I didn’t know how Casey was doing.”
Leighton wrapped him in a hug, then pulled him into the room. “I would have texted to tell you she’s awake, but my phone died.”
“Yeah, I figured. I tried calling, but it went straight to voice mail.” He sat on the end of Casey’s bed, turning his attention toward her. “I wanted to see for myself that you’re okay.”
She gave him two thumbs up, making him laugh.
“Here.” Leighton folded the blanket she’d been using. “Take my seat. I need to change into more comfortable clothing and get a fresh coffee. Can I bring you anything?”
“No, thanks.” Casey and Mark spoke in unison.
When Leighton had gone, an awkward silence descended on them. Clearly, Leighton had left to give them privacy. Casey was grateful, though she didn’t know where to begin.
“You’re whispering.” Mark touched his neck. “Is it painful?”
“Not really, but they probably gave me something.” She coughed, and Mark moved her cup of water closer. She took a sip. “I’m lying here trying to think of the appropriate way to thank you for saving my life, but nothing that comes to mind seems worthy enough.”
He squeezed her arm. “You don’t have to thank me. I’d do anything for you. You know that.”
Emotion swelled in her chest, and she bit back tears. “If I didn’t know it before, I certainly do now. And of course I owe you a thank you. So, thank you.” She brought his hand to her lips and kissed it. “Not only for my sake, but Andy’s, too.”
“You would have done the same for me.”
She tried to laugh, but it made her throat feel raw. “I would have tried, but let’s hope I never have to repay the favor. Or I need to get a gym membership.” She studied him, his red eyes and pale skin, and the plain gray sweatshirt whose seams faced outward, as if he’d dressed in a hurry in the dark. “Thanks to you, I’m okay.”
He nodded brusquely, eyes downcast. “Yeah. When I saw that asshole’s hands on you…”
He didn’t finish, but he didn’t need to. They’d known each other long enough to finish one another’s sentences.
“I can imagine. I suppose you already know about Jaiden.” Again, her tears came as the realization she’d never see her friend again hit a second time.
“Yeah. I saw his family for a few minutes before I went home. There must have been forty people down there for him.” Mark sniffed. “I spoke to his mom and his girlfriend, then left them to grieve. I couldn’t just leave, you know?”
“I can’t remember the last thing I said to him, or him to me.” She used a tissue to dry the wet trails on her cheeks.
“Come here.” Mark took her in his arms. “You will. You’ve been through a lot.”
“I don’t even know what time it is or what day it is.” She wasn’t sure why it mattered, but it did.
Mark released her and pulled out his phone. “Almost four in the morning. Why?”
She placed her hand on her forehead. “I’m not sure. Everything feels foggy and confusing.”
“You went through something traumatic. The time or day isn’t important. Just rest and recover so we can get you out of here.” His rapid blinking made him look even more fatigued.
“Will you go home and sleep now that you know I’m okay?” She took his hand again. “You’ve been through a lot, too.” She noticed the abrasions on the knuckles on his other one for the first time.
He grinned. “Are you worried about me, or do you have more plans for kissing when Leighton gets back?”
Casey considered how to answer honestly. “Yes.”
Mark had worried enough about her in one day to last a lifetime, and it showed. Later, she’d tell him what wonderful things had transpired between her and Leighton, but he was right. Time didn’t matter right now, and it could wait.
* * *
Upon her release from the hospital, Casey accepted Leighton’s offer to let her and Andy stay with them while she recuperated, even though the assault had happened in the same building. She’d needed to steel herself before she entered the gallery. However, the episode had exhausted her, and she didn’t want to be alone. Besides, her bed and Andy’s crib made her bedroom cramped. It’s not like Leighton and Kalyssa could stay with them. Leighton’s help with Andy would be welcome, too.
Her neck had started to turn a color between yellow ochre and olive green. She wore a turtleneck so she didn’t recall the incident every time she looked in the mirror. In addition, they hadn’t told the kids what had happened and didn’t plan to. She and Leighton believed in preserving childhood innocence as long as possible. If she covered her bruises, it prevented questions she wasn’t sure how to answer. It might have been unnecessary, because an open-ended sleepover excited the kids too much for anything else to matter.
Andy and Kalyssa had spent an eventful day with Aileen ice skating and making fudge. Leighton had craved the pizza she’d eaten at Casey’s, so while Casey napped, she’d found a location in Queens and called in a delivery order.
An hour later, they gathered around the table and ate. Kalyssa and Andy regaled them with snippets of their ice skating adventure. After, Leighton allowed the children one piece of fudge each after musing how she’d bet they’d eaten their weight in it earlier in the day. She impressed Casey with how quickly she’d picked up on how life worked at Aileen’s. Between the two activities, Kalyssa seemed to have found a kindred spirit in Aileen. Perhaps Leighton had, too. Casey saw her sneak more than a few pieces Aileen had sent home.
After giving Casey strict orders to sit and rest, Leighton cleaned up dinner, washed fudgy fingers and faces, and helped the kids into their pajamas. With the four of them snuggled on the couch, she read Kalyssa and Andy a bedtime story and then tucked them into Kalyssa’s bed. She kissed both children, so Casey did, too.
Depending on another person wasn’t so bad. It felt nice not to have all the responsibility fall on her.
Leighton lit a fire. They reclined on the couch and enjoyed the quiet. After a while, Casey turned to face her. The random patterns Leighton had been drawing on Casey’s hip had moved past distracting. She pressed a kiss to Leighton’s collarbone and slid her hands beneath her shirt.
“Casey.” Leighton’s tone carried a warning.
Casey grazed her skin with her teeth.
Leighton sighed. “Don’t you think it’s too soon?”
They hadn’t had sex since the night of the exhibition. Casey kissed up the incline of her neck. “No. I’m ready, very ready.” It was all she’d been thinking about for some time.
Leighton caressed her face. “I don’t want to hurt you. You just got out of the hospital.”
“You won’t.” Casey pulled down her collar and fingered where the bruises were the worst. “Avoid this area or just be gentle.” She slipped her hands under Leighton’s shirt again, higher this time. “Gentle.” She caressed her breasts with a touch so light Leighton’s nipples tickled her palms, and it made Casey shiver.
Her touch seemed to have a different effect on Leighton, whose breathing caught. Leighton pressed her into the cushions and kissed her. Their mouths met, wild and hungry, and soon their panting eclipsed the sound of the fire. Leighton kissed a path from the corner of Casey’s mouth to her jaw, to her ear, then stopped. She pulled back her collar and looked at her neck. With a precision Casey had learned was part of her personality, Leighton appeared to choose which places were fit to kiss. Even when she did, her lips felt like a puff of air or the touch of a butterfly’s wing, so featherlight that Casey wasn’t sure they’d happened at all.
She moved lower, kneading and kissing Casey’s breasts through her shirt. “Take it off.”
Leighton gave her room, and Casey pulled it over her head. Leighton’s mouth was on her in a flash, and she pushed her hand past the waistband of Casey’s yoga pants. She cupped Casey through her underwear and rubbed where the wet fabric clung to her. Then she slipped her hand inside.
Casey pushed Leighton’s shirt over her breasts, then shifted their bodies so they faced one another. “I need to touch you, too.” She pulled at the strings tying Leighton’s sweats. Her hurry was real. Leighton already had two fingers inside her.
“I need a bigger couch.”
Her exasperation made Casey laugh.
Leighton stopped and smiled at her. “I love it when you laugh like that, so pure and full of delight.” She caressed her cheek. “Hearing it fills me with—I don’t know—joy.”
“Aren’t you sweet?” Casey slid her hand past Leighton’s waistband. “We have plenty of laughter in our future, among other things.” She dipped her fingers into Leighton’s arousal. “I look forward to many things with you.”
“Sexual things?” Leighton stroked inside her.
Casey moaned. “Yes, and much more.” She liked how they talked a bit during lovemaking. When she’d had sex with people who were silent the entire time, it’d felt impersonal. She’d also learned in their one night together that a few choice words, not even dirty ones, at the right time could have quite the effect on Leighton.
Though at the moment, she was having difficulty stringing words together.
Leighton pressed her palm against her like she was trying to make her come like she needed it, like all she wanted was to watch Casey come undone. The thought sent a wave of heat through her. It was working. Even so, Casey needed to touch her. Feeling how much she aroused her and watching Leighton respond were powerful turn-ons.
Leighton slung her leg over Casey’s hip, and Casey slipped inside her. Every one of Leighton’s thrusts rocked her against the couch. Casey tried to match her pace, but it was useless. Pleasure coiled inside, ready to strike.
“Look at me.” Leighton slowed, her strokes purposeful and precise.
She met Leighton’s soft gaze, held it as long as she could, and came. For the duration of her orgasm, she floated, just letting it take her. She didn’t recall closing them, but when she opened her eyes, Leighton wore the most peaceful and proud expression.
Casey exhaled. “God. Incredible.” She rested her forehead against Leighton’s neck and pressed a kiss to her hot, damp skin. “Where was I?” She moved her fingers, and Leighton jumped. “Do you want my mouth?” Casey kissed her collarbone.
“No, just like this, so I can see you.” Leighton tilted Casey’s face so their mouths met. Her tongue was hot and fast, stroking against Casey’s with urgency.
Casey did the same with her fingers and used her palm to give Leighton that needed pressure. At this angle, its effectiveness was uncertain, although Leighton surged her hips to meet each thrust. Leighton’s request to stay close pleased her. She also needed the intimate connection.
She nudged Leighton’s shirt aside and sucked her nipple into her mouth. Leighton moaned, so she moved to the other one. Casey moved up to taste her, to meld their mouths, and together, they found a rhythm.
Casey paused to breathe. “If you don’t come soon, I’ll have to bend you over the back of this sofa again.” She nipped her earlobe.
Leighton came with a small cry against her neck.
“Yes, just like that.” She gentled her movements and smiled. A few choice words. She couldn’t quite wrap her head around the fact she had that effect on Leighton.
After a few minutes of lazy kisses, Casey turned and pulled Leighton’s arm around her. Leighton nuzzled the back of her neck, and a pleasantness enveloped her. She felt safe, cherished, and satisfied. Casey hummed in contentment. “It’s hard to beat this.”
