Prince Daddy's Nanny: An Older Man & A Virgin Romance

by Piper Sullivan

  “Let’s go,” Kole says. I feel moisture soaking through my sleeve and I assume Domino is crying.

  We scurry down the hallway in the direction opposite of Laithe. Kole leads and I follow behind, Domino hiding behind my hair. “Hey, Kole,” I say. He looks back at me and I wring my fingers. “What happened to Keagan?” I ask, afraid to know the answer.

  He looks at the floor. “I don’t really know. I hope he got out,” he says.

  “Isn’t it funny how we just risked our lives to get these ingredients and we’re not even using them?” I rant. I can’t convince myself to be quiet in such a stressful situation.

  It’s my fault that I distracted him, because when the Headmaster comes around the corner, Kole is entirely unprepared for the attack. When the Headmaster grabs Kole and drags him backward, my fight or flight instinct kicks into overdrive. Today the fight instinct wins.

  Chapter 10

  I pounce forward and tackle the Headmaster away from Kole. I know Kole wouldn’t have been able to do anything from his position, so I take it in my own hands. As the Headmaster and I crumble to the floor, Kole becomes an afterthought. Why did I just risk my life to save a man I hadn’t met once before today? And why is all hell breaking loose on my birthday?

  A strong hand tangles in my hair and pulls me toward the nearest door, so I instinctively kick everything around me, hoping to eliminate the threat. My eyes fill with tears and I feel locks of my bleach blonde hair rip from my scalp. I open my mouth in a silent scream. Kole chases after me and Domino picks herself up from the ground. I must have flung her from my shoulder when I went for Kole.

  When my hair is released, I jump from the ground and run to the opposite side of the room. Kole and Domino join me as we stare at the Headmaster. I hold the back of my head where my hair was yanked from my head and groan in pain. Kole pulls me to his side and I push Domino behind me protectively.

  It’s a three-on-one stare down until the sprinklers spring to life. I fall to the floor, legs no longer present. My long, heavy tail squirms beneath me and the Headmaster takes a step forward. Behind him, a black haired Laithe steps through the door. I soak the water into my skin and it gives me strength. “Do you even know what you look like?” I ask Laithe, irritated by his constant change of appearance.

  “I avoid mirrors,” he says with a cold smile. “So I’m sure you are all dying to know why I’m doing this, am I right?” He asks.

  “Not really. Where is Keagan,” Kole asks from above me.

  “He got lucky. That Keagan is a survivor if I must say. Humans had taken his eye before he got here, but that didn’t stop him. He escaped before I could get to him. He won’t be coming back. He wanted out from the start,” Laithe hisses. “Now I only have to kill three of you.” My eyes widen and I ball my fists, ready for a fight.

  Kole runs across the room at full speed toward Laithe and I’m left alone, facing the Headmaster. He takes a step forward, taking advantage of my weakened state. I try to scoot backward, knowing that I currently have no leg function.

  “I wouldn’t do that if I were you,” Laithe says, looking past Kole and into my eyes. The Headmaster picks me up with an arm around my neck and another around my waist as though I weigh nothing. Without my tail, I weigh about one-hundred and ten pounds. With the tail, I weigh well over two hundred. Mermaid tails are heavy and long. They are full of solid muscle. “One wrong move and I will snap her neck,” Laithe begins, “or rather the Headmaster. It’s basically the same thing at this point.”

  I realize that Domino is no longer behind us and I hope that she has a plan. Without her, I don’t know how we will get out of this situation. “Does he even know what he’s doing?” I ask angrily. The Headmaster tightens his grip slightly and I grab at his arm. It’s more uncomfortable than painful, but I don’t like the compromising position.

  “To answer your question, Snow, he does not know what he’s doing. Do you want to know what’s different between us and most duos?” He asks rhetorically. “With the Headmaster, I don’t need to speak my commands. I just think them,” He says with pride evident in his voice.

  I’ve heard of assassins who are controlled on a cellular level by their counterparts. It is actually quite common, but Laithe acts as though he has made an astronomical accomplishment. I try to think my way out of this situation, but no matter what we do, there isn’t an outcome that will secure our safety. “You’re sick,” Kole says, venom oozing from his voice.

  I jerk backward when Laithe’s eyes become a fiery red and he grows fangs, much like vampires do when preparing for a fight. He bulks up and swings his arm at Kole, who takes the hit standing. I’m sure the jab didn’t even tickle Kole, but he looks absolutely furious that Laithe would try. And when Laithe looks in my direction, I am terrified.

  The grip around my throat tightens immensely and I can’t catch even the smallest tendril of air. I claw at the Headmaster’s arm, but know it won’t do any good. “Stop. Stop hurting her,” Kole shouts in agony. The grip doesn’t loosen and I open my mouth, trying to find oxygen.

  “Say you’re sorry,” Laithe says. My vision is blurry and turning black, but I hear the teasing in his tone. I pray he lets me go.

  “I’m sorry, Laithe. Just let her go,” Kole pleads. I imagine it’s the closest to begging Kole has ever come. My hearing begins to fade and the pressure around my neck does not seize. I feel myself spasm, but can no longer control my limbs as they drop to my side.

  “I’m not cruel, but it’s due punishment to kill her first. She seems to be the most intelligent of all of us Elites. She’s my toughest competition,” Laithe says. I miss the tail of his sentence as my ears go out of focus. The pressure in my head is overwhelming and I try to hold onto consciousness—I really do—but I lose my grip and fall headfirst into the pit of darkness.

  Chapter 11

  I don’t think I was unconscious more than a few seconds. I drop to the ground and inhale as much oxygen as my lungs will allow. I look at the scene unwinding before me. Domino stands with a mirror in her hand, holding it to Laithe’s face. He looks equally mesmerized and horrified by the reflection. Kole springs from his knees and places Laithe in the same hold in which he had me.

  He whispers something into Laithe’s ear. Laithe begins struggling against Kole, but it is useless. By the time my breath finally evens, Laithe stops and the Headmaster falls to the ground beside me. The sprinklers were off when I awoke and my tail transforms into a pair of human legs. I realize I must have been out far longer than a few seconds if the water managed to drain so quickly. As a mermaid, my body absorbs any water near me and I dry far quicker than average, so it would have only taken a few minutes to switch back into my human form.

  Kole drops Laithe to the ground and runs to my side. Domino follows closely behind. He falls to his knees and pulls me into his lap, holding me as close to him as humanly possible. No words are spoken as Domino grabs my hand and we accept one another’s comfort. It takes me a moment to realize that Kole’s shirt has slashes and holes all throughout, so there is one less barrier between us.

  “I almost lost you,” he whispers into my hair, kissing the top of my head affectionately. I curl into him and allow the warmth of his body to seep into me. As a mermaid I am cold blooded. Vampires are more cold blooded than most, but their body temperature is still rather warm in comparison to ours. And after they feed on human blood, which they do only a few times a year, their body temperatures rise exponentially.

  I almost forgot about the other presence in the room and I turn to Domino. “Honey, are you all right?” I ask, looking into her nearly black eyes. Her dark brown hair falls over her face and she nods. She will undoubtedly be scarred by this situation, but at least we are all alive.

  “I heard him say that he doesn’t like mirrors, so I went and found one,” she says. I guess it distracted him long enough to save you,” she smiles.

  “I see you three have stopped the assassin,” the Headmaster says proudly.
<
br />   We nod and I pull myself to my feet, Kole’s arm never leaving my waist. “Did you know it was you? Why did he do this?” Domino asks.

  “I did not know it was me, Miss. Elvy. Will you all follow me back to my office?” The Headmaster asks kindly. I take a peek at Laithe, who is still unconscious on the floor.

  We each step over his body and the Headmaster whispers an incantation to Laithe’s body and it disappears. I don’t bother asking where the monster had gone. The wooden paneled hallways look completely different after everything that had just happened. I push myself further into Kole, knowing that my fears will subside if he is close enough.

  We enter the Headmaster’s office and I take a seat. Kole remains standing and peels his shredded shirt from his body, still facing me. Domino stands directly behind him.

  “So did he not mention his motive?” The Headmaster asks. We all shake our heads. “Well, if you haven’t heard by now, I am leaving Edmund’s Academy for a few years to assist in building another academy just like this. This year, I was planning on choosing an Elite to temporarily take over as the Headmaster or Headmistress. I don’t know how Laithe heard about the opportunity, but the power drove him to madness,” he says. I notice that the Headmaster called Laithe by his actual name. He stripped it of any form of respectful title. “But because of your accomplishments, each of you will run your own sectors of the academy while I am gone. If you accept, you will all three be in charge and can remain with us for as long as you would like.”

  “Of course,” I answer immediately.

  Kole merely nods and Domino jumps up and down excitedly. It is a great honor to receive this position, especially as a twelve-year-old.

  “Spectacular,” the Headmaster says. He turns away and walks toward his desk.

  Domino tilts her head and looks at Kole curiously. “How did it get shredded?” She asks, referring to the shirt he stripped. She still looks excited, but the distraction calms her. Kole turns in her direction.

  “Laithe thought a knife would do damage to my skin,” he begins. I miss the rest of his statement as I look at his marking. The intricate drawings are clear and beautiful with two faceless souls connected in the center. Because I see only the part of his destiny most relevant to myself, I furrow my brows in confusion. What does this have to do with me? I widen my eyes in realization.

  “I’m your soulmate,” I mutter, not trusting my voice. Kole turns to me and smiles. His white teeth and dimpled smile are gorgeous and I stand, staring at him.

  “I’ll leave you two alone,” the Headmaster says, understanding the importance of finding a soulmate. He sets a sealed envelope on the sofa beside me as Domino follows him out of the room, giving us a suggestive look. I look at the letter in anguish.

  “Open it,” Kole says. I look at him and don’t give my actions a second thought. I rush into him and crush our lips together. I don’t know what I was expecting, but he is so much more. He wraps an arm around my waist and pulls my body into him so we are linked together in virtually every sense.

  His chest is warm and firm beneath my fingertips. One of my arms circle around the back of his neck as my fingers wrap themselves around dark strands of charcoal hair and pull at the tips. One of my arms remains pinned between us, laying gently on his chest. I groan onto his lips as he lifts me with one arm and presses me into the couch.

  His lips break from mine and they deliberately work their way down my throat and onto the most tender sections. His touch sends sparks through me and I enjoy being with him. He pulls back as though it pains him to do so and grabs the letter from the table. “Snow, open it,” he demands. I don’t know what motivates me into listening to his demand with open ears, but I grab the letter and tear it open.

  Kole sits in front of me on his knees and I lean forward on the couch, staring at the open envelope for a moment. This is from the people that abandoned me as a child and I don’t know how to feel about this letter. I pull it from the envelope slowly and examine the brown tinted paper. While I still have the nerve to do so, I open the letter and begin reading

  My dearest Snow,

  Do you know why you are named Snow? Your mother and I had experienced the last snowfall years before you were born. Like many animals and plants in this world, snow became extinct. I’m sure you’ve learned about it, but never seen it.

  When your mother became pregnant, we hadn’t the slightest idea what to do with you. She was a mermaid, so she could live in the sea if she pleased, but as an infant, you couldn’t. I am human, but raising a mermaid child would mean death for the both of us, so that was out of the question. We loved you more than you will ever understand, but we had to do what was best for you, and that was Edmund’s Academy for the Gifted. There are schools for the gifted everywhere, but yours is the most prestigious.

  Snow, I love you and your mother loved you. Don’t think for a moment that we don’t. Unfortunately, when your mom gave birth, she could not receive medical attention because of her origin. Nobody accepted her kind, so we had to deliver you at home. Your mother did not make it, but she loved you more than you can imagine.

  Your mother and I had decided before you were born to send you to the Academy. When people see me walking in with a child, I will no longer be considered human, so as you read this, know that I did all I could to keep you safe. We never left you, Snow. We will always be with you.

  I love you my dearest Snow—more than anything.

  Love, Daddy

  Tears run down my cheeks by the end of the letter and I set it on my lap. “You weren’t abandoned,” Kole comforts. A small smile finds my lips. My parents aren’t here, but they loved me. I want to be saddened that they are likely both dead, but I never knew them. I never even knew of them. I’m happy that I was loved, despite going my whole life believing the opposite.

  I lean into Kole. “I had parents who loved me,” I mutter. The realization that I was never unloved is surreal.

  “And you have me,” he says, kissing my temple sweetly. I skim the letter once more and look into his hazel eyes. We caught the murderer, made new friends, and found each other. And on top of everything, I now know I wasn’t abandoned. After all these years, my life finally feels right. I stare into his soft hazel eyes and push a strand of charcoal hair from his face. I couldn’t be happier; because for once, everything is exactly as it should be.

  “And I have you,” I agreed wholeheartedly.

  ***

  THE END

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  witch bride

  Chapter 1

  Arabella

  My head throbbed excruciatingly as I started to regain consciousness and for some reason opening my eyes was nearly impossible. It felt as if my eyelids were glued together. I was also well aware of the fact that I was not in my own room, in my cosy bed, with my cat Silvester. My stomach turned and I tensed nervously. If I was not home, and this was no dream, then where was I? Fending off the sudden sense of panic threatening to hijack my mind, I took a few deep breaths to calm myself.

  “Hello?” I asked in a croaky voice knowing it was a weak attempt at drawing attention. Just as expected, there was no answer. The silence that shrouded me was deafening, something was horribly wrong.

  I managed to push myself off the hard slab I was laying on and then dropped to my knees. The cold concrete floor beneath me was rough and as I slowly crawled forward, I kept feeling ahead for anything of substance. Barely a few feet ahead of me was a wall and with trembling fingers I felt my way up against it, using it as leverage to stand on my own two feet. There had to be a door or a window, unless I was in some sort of a pit. A nauseated feeling clenched around my insides, but I forced myself to move.

  “Hello!” I cried anxiously, hoping that someone would hear me, and although I had no idea where I was, or who would come to my aid I knew that just the mere presence of another living being would be comforting, in some strange way.
But what if…no, no, no, I could not allow myself to panic. Just stay positive Arabella, I encouraged myself, because I knew the moment I lost heart, I might as well kiss my backside goodbye.

  As time slowly ticked by I started to feel a sense of normality return. The hazy fog that wrapped around my mind and limbs started to subside slowly and soon enough I managed to open my eyes. Although things around me were still very blurry the room started taking shape. On the far left was a single bed, a basin to the right and a toilet, very similar to that of a prison cell. I kept hunting through the recesses of my mind to figure out what happened, but I came up blank. The locator spell, that’s what I was doing before I lost consciousness, I must have been trying to locate something of relevance, but what was it?

  The sound of footsteps drew my attention as they got closer and closer, but my sense of relief was short lived. My good old friend panic reared its ugly head. Whoever locked me away in this cell was definitely not friend, but most likely foe, and I clearly had something they wanted.

  The door glided open and my heartbeat drummed loudly in my ears. Immediately, I backed away from the door and stood with my palms turned upwards, ready to call on the four elements to ward myself against the impending threat.

  Two larger than life men stepped into the cell, both wearing some sort of a uniform. And the deadpan look on their faces, made the hairs on my neck stand up. With my trembling heart I focused on the two men and willed the power of the elements to ward them off, but to my surprise the warm glow of magic dissipated like a candle lit in a drafty room. What the hell?!

  “You’re magic won’t work here,” the taller one of the two said as if he could read my mind and reached for me, but I jumped back and flattened myself against the wall.

  “Where am I and who are you?” I asked them raising my fists to shield myself, ready to strike if I had to, and by the look on their faces, I was not intimidating them at all. In fact, it looked like they found me more amusing than frightening.