7 Years Bad Sex (32 page)

~Casey~

 

By the time the train finally pulled into Gare du Nord, Casey could barely stand to be in close proximity with Alex. Every hair on her body tingled. She could hardly restrain herself. This couldn’t be happening. This
wouldn’t
be happening.

Fixing an overly bright smile on her face, Casey bounded off the train before Alex had a chance to hold her hand or touch her in any way. One more of those little electric shocks would be enough to send her over the edge. She would throw herself at him, and to hell with the consequences. Their adventure would end in tears.
No way.

‘Come on,’ she shouted. ‘Paris is waiting for us! Let’s grab a taxi and find somewhere to stay.’

‘All right, all right,’ Alex laughed, running to catch up with her. ‘Good job we don’t have any luggage. We might want to buy a toothbrush though.’

‘Yeah, whatever. Oh look. Taxis.’ Casey flung herself into the first taxi in line. ‘Bonjour, monsieur,’ she uttered breathlessly before Alex had even sat down beside her. ‘Can you take us to the nearest five-star hotel?’

‘Five stars?’ The driver looked at her for confirmation.

‘Five stars?’ Alex mouthed.

‘Yes, please,’ Casey replied to both. ‘We said we’d celebrate, right?’ she added for Alex’s benefit.

‘Absolutely,’ Alex confirmed. ‘Awesome.’

Casey swallowed and edged her body away from Alex as the driver put his car in gear and set off. To distract herself from her scandalous desires, she observed her surroundings as though her life depended on it. They had arrived in Paris shortly after four o’clock in the afternoon local time. It was getting dark, and the roads were illuminated by tasteful white Christmas lights and stunning decorations.

‘It’s so beautiful,’ she breathed. ‘I feel quite Christmassy all of a sudden.’

‘Me too,’ Alex croaked beside her, sounding most insincere.

‘Are you hungry?’ Casey asked. ‘Shall we go for a meal when we’ve checked in?’

‘Definitely hungry,’ Alex acknowledged. There was a dangerous gleam in his eye.

‘Then we’ll organise something to eat.’

‘Maybe room service?’

There was definitely a suggestive tone in Alex’s voice. She wasn’t dreaming it.
Oh my gosh
.

‘Room service,’ Casey agreed weakly. Her resolve was crumbling faster than you could say ‘annulment’. ‘Perhaps they can send up some bubbly too? We must have bubbly if we’re celebrating.’

‘Bubbly. Yes,’ Alex rasped.

‘And ‘ere we are,’ the driver interrupted their terse conversation. ‘Five stars, as promised. Quite possibly the best ‘otel in Paris.’

‘Wow. Thanks! How much do we owe you?’ Alex pulled a wad of Euro notes out of his wallet. He grinned at Casey. ‘Good job you reminded me to get some cash before we boarded the train.’

The driver named his price, and Alex paid without haggling. Casey was grateful for that. She needed to get out of that taxi as badly as she had needed to get off the train. Any minute now, she would spontaneously combust.

 

~Alex~

 

‘A room for tonight, please.’ Alex placed his credit card on the counter and flashed the receptionist his most dazzling smile.

‘Only for tonight, sir?’

‘Definitely for tonight. We’ll see about tomorrow,’ Alex replied. He shot a quick look at Casey.
Is that okay?
his eyes asked of her.

Of course
, hers appeared to reply. At least that was what he thought. He was finding it difficult to think clearly.

‘And your name?’ The receptionist tapped away at her computer.

‘Mr and Mrs Morgan,’ Casey chimed in quickly. Alex snorted.

‘What?’ Casey hissed at him under her breath.

‘Nothing.’ Alex shook his head. ‘This is one strange situation.’

‘Yeah, you can say that again.’ Casey sounded tense. Wired, somehow. He wondered if she was getting the same vibes as he was. But no, not possible.

‘That will be room number six hundred and fifteen on the sixth floor.’ The receptionist proffered a key card. ‘Is there anything else I can do for you?’

‘Oh yes, please.’ Alex remembered his and Casey’s conversation from the taxi. ‘Could you send up some champagne please, and maybe something to eat? Anything from your bar menu will do.’

‘Certainly,’ the receptionist agreed. ‘Would you like to see the menu?’

‘Errr…’ Alex looked at Casey. She shook her head. Alex swallowed hard. Casey seemed to be shaking.
Or was it he who was shaking?

‘No, thank you. We’ll have—we’ll have some appetisers and bread, like—a mini buffet. Anything you fancy—you pick for us. A light meal for two.’

He realised he was gabbling, but he couldn’t stop himself. His head swam, and he was dizzy. Without knowing what he was doing, he took Casey’s hand and led her to the lifts.

 

~Casey~

 

Alex was hot, there was no doubt about it. Casey could feel his excitement through his hand. He was trembling. Plus his breathing was fast and shallow like he was on the cusp of, well,
that
. Not possible, of course. But still.

The lift doors opened, and Alex pulled her inside impatiently. He hit the button for the sixth floor with more force than was strictly necessary. Neither of them said a word, but there was a certain tension around them. The lift doors closed, and the car moved up.

‘I’m sorry,’ Alex yelped suddenly. ‘I—I can’t help it.’

And before Casey could ask a question, he had wrapped her in his arms and was kissing her deeply. She closed her eyes, and her mind went blank.

 

~Casey and Alex~

 

Deep though it was, the kiss only lasted a few seconds before they realised what they were doing.

‘Oh my gosh,’ Casey exclaimed. ‘What was that?’

‘I don’t know what came over me,’ Alex replied breathlessly. ‘But it was good!’

He flung out his arms and burst into a Blue Heart song. Even though he wasn’t a confident singer, his voice rose powerfully, and Casey found herself swept along by the emotion. She joined her own voice to the duet, and the two of them became one in music.

All at once, the lift shuddered and stalled, and the lights went out.

‘Oops,’ Alex yelped even though he was mid-song. ‘I’m sure our singing isn’t that bad.’

Casey gripped hold of his arms tightly. She hated confined spaces, and getting stuck in a lift without lights didn’t feature on her list of things to achieve before she died. ‘I hope they fix it quickly,’ she whispered fearfully.

No sooner had she spoken than the lights came back on, and the lift started moving again.

Alex and Casey looked at each other. ‘Did that really happen?’ Alex asked with an uncertain laugh.

‘I think it did,’ Casey replied, equally shaky.

The lift shook and rattled slightly as it continued its upward journey. Casey held on tight to Alex’s hand.

‘Thank goodness. Here we are.’ Alex breathed a sigh of relief as the doors opened onto the sixth floor. He took hold of Casey’s hand again and led her towards their room.

‘Six hundred fifteen. In we go.’ He opened the door and gave a chivalrous bow. ‘And look, room service got here before us. They must have been quick!’

‘Maybe we lost a few hours in the lift,’ Casey joked as she closed the door behind her. ‘Maybe it was a magic lift, and lots of time has elapsed.’

‘Don’t be silly. That’s almost as ridiculous as your seven-years-bad-sex curse.’

‘Is it?’ she grinned.

‘Definitely.’ Alex rubbed his hands together and began lifting lids to explore what food had been delivered. ‘Mmmmh, steak frîtes,’ he exclaimed gleefully. ‘And cheese. And croque-monsieur. Where do you want to start?’

‘A toast,’ Casey blurted out. ‘I feel this deserves a toast.’

‘You got it.’ Alex located the bottle of champagne he had requested and poured two glasses. ‘What shall we toast to?’

‘To us. And to life,’ Casey suggested. ‘And friendship.’

‘To us. To life. And friendship,’ Alex repeated. ‘Cheers.’ He and Casey clinked glasses, smiling at each other and looking each other in the eye. Still smiling, they each sipped at their champagne.

A faint rumbling sound filled the room, and, for a second, the cutlery and crockery danced on the serving trolley. Casey and Alex froze in their toasting movement and stared at each other. Only when the room was once more quiet and still did Casey lower her glass and speak.

‘Please tell me you felt that too.’

Alex shook his head and nodded at the same time. ‘I did. I most certainly did.’

‘I don’t believe it.’ Casey giggled. ‘I—this can’t be happening.’

‘We toasted,’ Alex panted.

‘We did.’

‘And the earth moved. Again.’

‘It did.’

‘Do you think—’ Alex couldn’t finish his sentence.

‘No idea. But I know what I want.’ Casey set her glass on the table.

‘Do you now?’ Alex put down his glass too.

‘I do.’

‘So do I.’

Alex cupped Casey’s face in his hands and kissed her on the mouth. She responded eagerly, feeling his arousal and matching it beat for beat.

‘Sing to me,’ she whispered when they parted for air. ‘Keep singing. It ain’t over until the newlyweds sing.’

‘Or the nearly annulled,’ Alex corrected softly. He thought for a second and selected a song. Gently, tenderly, he breathed line by line into Casey’s ear as he began to undress her. He could feel her reacting to his touch; he could feel her heat and her passion, and his longing could barely be contained.

Abruptly, he scooped her up in his arms and carried her to the bed.

‘Are you sure?’ he murmured.

‘Love me, Alex,’ came her dreamy response. ‘Love me like you’ve never loved me before.’

‘What about the annulment?’

‘We’ll annul it.’ Casey grinned. ‘Or we’ll get married all over again.’

Alex laughed. ‘I love you, Casey Morgan.’

‘And I love you, Alex Morgan. Now take me to heaven.’

‘With pleasure.’

And for the first time since their wedding day,
nothing
came between Alex and Casey.

Not that time, nor the time after that, nor the time
after
the time after that, nor first thing the next morning, nor back at home the following evening, nor when they finally got to christen their brand new super-king-sized bed in their newly decorated bedroom.

In fact, nothing ever came between Alex and Casey until the arrival of the pitter-patter of little feet—in whose conception no turkey baster was harmed—but that’s another story for another day…

 

~The End~

 

Acknowledgements

The first big ‘thank you’ must go to the many people who were involved in the creation of this book in one or several ways. As always, I couldn’t have done it without you: Jon, JB, Jessie, Kelly, Hayley, Magali, and Ruth.

 

Thank you also to the wonderful bloggers who give so generously of their time and support. The social media world would be an impenetrable jungle without you, and I hope you know how much I appreciate what you do! Here’s to Allyson, Ana, Andrea, Brandee, Charlotte, Christina, Dawn, Elizabeth, Evelyn, Heidi, Inga, Jane, Jo, Jonita, Julie R., Julie V., Kathleen, Kim, Margaret, Melissa, Nicole, Rosie, Sam, Sharon, Simona, and Stephanie.

 

In July 2014, I put out a call on Facebook asking my readers to pick names for the leading characters in
7 Years,
as the work in progress was then known. Within minutes, suggestions came flooding in, and I was almost overwhelmed by the response. I picked the winners out of a hat, and a big thank you goes to Melanie Foster, for being fairy godmother to Casey and Alex, and to Caz Scot, for naming Sasha.

 

Obviously I’m an author, not a lawyer. However, I did some significant research into matters pertaining to divorce and annulment, and I pieced together Casey and Alex’s closing sequence of events with information from many an official institution, including the UK government’s information portal at
www.gov.uk
as well as the website of the Citizen’s Advice Bureau. Any mistakes or misinterpretations are entirely mine and may be the result of artistic license. Because, at the end of the day, that’s my job.

 

Last, but not least, this book was written for
you
, and I want to thank you for reading it. I hope you laughed and chuckled and cheered along the way, and I would love to hear from you. Please get in touch via Facebook or Twitter. Rock on until the next time!