“That’s what I have been led to believe,” Hanish said. “I will not have my son treated poorly. Consider this a trial employment. If things work out, you can stay. If not, I will pay you for a month, and you can be on your way. I hope that’s agreeable to you.”
“It sounds perfectly reasonable, Captain, and I’m glad you suggested it. I wouldn’t want either of us to be surprised or disappointed in our partnership in raising young Tor.”
“You should know, Ms. Morris, that I am not a man who is used to taking orders from anyone.”
“Well, it would make sense that you would have a hard time accommodating me or the demands of child-rearing. Children, especially as young as Tor, are seldom good at taking orders.”
“That much, I understand.”
JoJo crossed the kitchen, brushing past Captain Hanish. The heat of his body radiated across the space between them. The scent of his cologne filled her nostrils. She felt a rush of inexplicable desire and immediately felt lightheaded. This would not do at all. She couldn’t behave like a swooning teenager with her employer, especially an employer who was as difficult as Captain Hanish.
“I will feed Tor his formula now,” she said, pulling the mysterious liquid from the refrigerator.
“I’ll give it to him myself,” he grunted. “I didn’t hire you to replace me. I hired you to help me.”
“I would never presume to replace you as a parent. I only wish to be an asset to the family.”
He took the bottle from her hands. “I’m glad we’re in agreement.” Hanish gathered his son in his arms and cradled the baby close as he offered him the bottle.
JoJo watched Hanish hold his son, and the sight of the big man’s affection for the child filled her heart with warmth. She practically melted as she watched him. She knew it shouldn’t affect her so much. She had worked for parents like him many times in the past. But something about Hanish and his love for his son made her weak in the knees.
“You’re doing well,” she said.
He looked up at her with a mixture of appreciation and annoyance. “We’ve had a bit of practice.”
“You’ve been taking care of him by yourself his entire life. You should be commended.”
“Thank you,” he said, not meeting her gaze. His tone was sincere, and she could tell he appreciated her approval.
When Tor was finished with his bottle, Hanish handed him back to JoJo. She held the baby in her arms, gently rocking him and patting his back. The little boy let out a loud burp, and his father’s eyes grew wide.
“Have you been burping him after his meals?”
“I have not,” Hanish said.
“That could lead to some colic.”
“I had no idea.”
She smiled. “That’s why you brought me here.”
“I appreciate everything you’re doing for me and my son.”
“I’m here to help,” she said, holding the child close.
His father observed her, his eyes twinkling. Hanish had the same hint of attraction in his expression that she felt for him.
She smiled and tried to slough it off. “I’ll take him upstairs for his nap now if that’s all right.”
“It’s the new schedule.”
She nodded once and turned to leave, but Hanish called her back.
She turned to him. “Yes?”
“I hope this works out.” His expression was strange and unreadable.
“As do I.”
She turned to go and hurried up the stairs to the nursery, where she put Tor down for his nap. The baby quickly fell off to sleep. Upon arrival, she’d installed a white-noise machine and new blackout curtains. They provided a much more restful environment for the child. She gazed down at his sleeping form and noticed he’d kicked off his blanket. She blinked once and flicked her finger, pulling the blanket up over his shoulder. Nodding, she smiled, satisfied that she was able to help another child.
Chapter 5
Hanish punched the punching bag until a hole burst in the tough surface and his fingers bled inside his boxing gloves. He growled and kicked the bag, sending it flying off its hinges, across the room into the wall, narrowly missing the window. A loud crack echoed through the room. He just knew that JoJo would hear it. “Dammit.”
“What’s the matter, Hanish?” Zephyr asked, walking through the door.
“The nanny. She’s an insufferable, bossy woman. I don’t know how I’m going to endure her presence.”
“The offer still stands to create a robotic nanny. Then you will not have to accommodate this human or her demands.”
“I’ve put her on a trial basis.” Hanish picked up the punching bag and frowned as he inspected the broken fixture.
“Yuki can fix that,” Zephyr said.
“Now I have nothing to punch.”
“What is the problem? This is your home, and Tor is your son.”
“I don’t feel like I have any control anymore. She’s been telling me what to do since the moment she stepped through the front door three days ago. And instead of telling her to take a hike, I’ve obeyed. What’s wrong with me?”
“You only want what is best for your son.”
“Yes. But it’s something else. My inner dragon is agitated.”
Zephyr raised an eyebrow. “Agitated? Could you explain?”
“He growls incessantly, demanding that the nanny is my mate.”
Zephyr stroked his chin, a thoughtful look in his eyes. “That is interesting.”
“Do you think it’s possible?”
“Of course it’s possible. Why wouldn’t it be?”
“She’s insufferable.”
“And what is it about this woman you find insufferable?”
Hanish hissed out a long breath. “She keeps telling me what to do in my own home. I am the captain and the prince of the House of Storms. I’m in charge.” He stabbed his thumb to his chest.
“Keep her or get rid of her.” Zephyr shrugged. “It’s quite simple, sir.”
“Zephyr, you are my oldest friend and my closest advisor. I trust you to tell me if I’m being a fool.”
“I know.”
“And am I?”
“I have never known you to be indecisive, Captain.”
“There’s something definitely wrong with me.”
“Have you considered that your dragon is correct?”
Hanish dropped the punching bag and paced across the room, looking out the window onto the grounds. JoJo had Tor in a stroller and was walking him at a quick pace down the trail in the back garden. She was speaking to him and pointing out flora and fauna as they walked. The child gazed up at her, seeming to observe and take in every word she spoke.
“What should I do?” he asked Zephyr, not taking his eyes off JoJo.
“I suggest we take a sample of her DNA and perform a mating analysis. It’s the only logical reaction.”
“Perhaps. But I have many illogical impulses surging through my blood as we speak. My dragon wants nothing more than to crash through this window, swoop down to the garden, scoop JoJo up into my arms, and plant a hot, wet kiss on those beautiful lips. I want to see her hair tumble over her shoulders and pull that tweed jacket down her arms. I want to slip her out of those sensible-heeled boots and see her writhe naked on my sheets.”
“Those are illogical thoughts, sir,” Zephyr said.
Hanish turned to him, frowning, a deep grimace on his face. “Let’s get a DNA sample. What can we use?”
“A bit of hair will do. It’s best if it has a follicle.”
“How am I going to get her hair?”
“We could rifle through her things.”
“Well, let’s hurry and do that before she gets back and catches us.” Hanish charged past his science officer and out of the gymnasium, hurrying down the stairs to JoJo’s second-floor bedroom near the nursery.
Hanish used his wrist device to quickly unlock the door, and they both stepped into the nanny’s room. Her things were unpacked and orga
nized neatly on the shelves and in the closet. He went into her bathroom, hoping to find a hairbrush. Inside a drawer, in a compartment that fit her brush perfectly, he discovered the instrument and pulled it out. Inspecting the bristles, he found them completely clean. He held it up to Zephyr, and his friend nodded.
“Ms. Morris has excellent hygiene,” Zephyr observed.
“How are we going to find a hair now?” Hanish looked around the bathroom. After staring into the garbage can for a moment, he spotted a bit of dental floss. “Will this work?” He pulled the floss from the garbage, unable to believe he was rifling through his employee’s trash can. It was a new low.
Zephyr inspected it with his wrist device and shook his head. “No DNA.”
Hanish pulled out a piece of used tissue and held it up. “This?”
“No DNA on that, either.”
Hanish growled and dropped it back into the garbage can.
“Her toothbrush?” He grabbed it out of the holder on the counter.
“We’d have to take it with us.”
Deciding the bathroom wouldn’t yield any results, he charged back into the bedroom and glanced out the window. JoJo was strolling Tor toward the house. He grumbled and turned in a circle, inspecting the room. The bed was perfectly made, boots were polished and sitting in a line in the closet, books were alphabetized and neatly arranged on the shelf. He threw back the covers of her bed and examined the pillow. Nothing. Just as he was about to give up, he turned the pillow over. One long brown hair was stuck to the sheet underneath, follicle and all.
“Aha.” Hanish pinched the hair and lifted it off the sheet. Zephyr produced a vial, and Hanish dropped the hair inside. “Let’s go.”
Hanish and Zephyr quickly departed the bedroom, closing the door behind them just as JoJo stepped up the last stair into the hallway.
“Tor got a little dirty outside, so we are having a midday bath,” JoJo said as she approached. “What are you two up to?” She observed their sheepish expressions.
“We just wanted to ask if you had everything you needed,” Hanish said, trying to throw her off his trail.
“You don’t seem to have any English tea. I prefer it to coffee. If you would procure that for me, I would appreciate it.”
“No problem,” Hanish said, not sure how else to respond. He was feeling more and more as if this woman was his employer and he was the employee. “I’ll have Akash bring some back from the city for you.”
“That sounds lovely. Now if you’ll excuse me,” she said, stepping between the men, “I’m taking Tor to his bath.” Hanish nodded as she disappeared through the nursery door. He let out a long breath he hadn’t realized he was holding.
Zephyr gave him a confused look and hurried down the stairs. Hanish followed him, wanting to get the news immediately. On the first floor, Raiden was playing a video game on the big-screen TV in the living room. The quick-witted warrior was laughing and grinning as he shouted profanities into a headset microphone.
“What are you doing?” Hanish asked.
“Battleground,” Raiden said as if that explained everything. “Don’t distract me.”
Down in the basement, Zephyr greeted Azure, the ship’s AI, and dropped JoJo’s hair onto an analysis plate. Every ship in the Dragonian armada was equipped with its own advanced Artificial Intelligence, and each one had an individual personality. The AI was linked to the dragons’ mental links and helped them with everything from navigation to music selection.
“I would like you to run a mating analysis for JoJo Morris and Captain Hanish, prince of the House of Storms. This is a DNA sample for JoJo Morris.” Zephyr turned to Hanish. “I will need a sample, Captain.” He produced a swab from a container. “Open up.”
Hanish opened his mouth, and Zephyr scraped a sample from inside his cheek. He then dropped it onto the analysis plate.
“Commencing analysis,” Azure stated.
“How long is this going to take?” Hanish asked.
“It could take several days, Captain.” Zephyr slid his finger over the holographic screen before him, entering several commands into the computer. “The House of Flames perfected the test with humans, but it is still not instant.”
“What am I supposed to do in the meantime?” Hanish was beside himself. His inner dragon wouldn’t stop screaming. As irritating and annoying as JoJo Morris might be, his inner beast couldn’t seem to get enough of her. The dragon wanted to be with her every moment, fawn on her, kiss her, hold her, claim her. It was all the beast could think about, and it spent every waking moment sending Hanish images of doing all those things.
“Carry on with your life?” Zephyr asked.
“Obviously.” Hanish charged out of the room. On the way upstairs, he passed Raiden and smacked him in the back of the head.
Raiden grunted and looked up at his captain. “What was that for?”
“For being you.”
Hanish stormed through the first floor and up to the gymnasium in the attic. His inner dragon screamed for release. Hanish growled and punched the wall until a hole formed in the plaster.
“Dammit.” His knuckles bled, his pride wounded. Sweat dripped from every pore as he sat down on a bench. He wiped his brow with a towel and slid it over the bulging muscles of his chest. JoJo Morris would be the death of him. If he couldn’t claim her soon, he was going to lose his mind.
Chapter 6
JoJo sat with baby Tor under the shade of a weeping willow in the backyard. He’d been doing so well. The tooth that had been bothering him had finally broken through the gums and was now protruding from his slobbery grin.
While Tor played with his toys on the blanket she’d spread across the grass, JoJo read a book on child development by one of her contemporaries she’d gone to university with. It was really quite fascinating. JoJo’s own book on child development had recently won an award, which was one of the reasons Captain Hanish had been so willing to pay her astronomical fee.
She looked up from her book to see Captain Hanish walking toward her down the path. He was wearing a pair of slim-fitting slacks and a V-neck T-shirt that showed a hint of his muscled chest. JoJo gulped, trying to shove down the growing attraction she felt for her employer.
He stopped and knelt on the blanket beside Tor, smiling at the child. The boy shrieked with glee upon seeing his father and climbed into Hanish’s lap. Hanish held his son in his arms and spoke to him in gentle tones. When he looked up at JoJo, a storm was swirling behind his eyes. JoJo was taken aback at the intensity of his gaze and blinked several times as if trying to see something else.
“Tomorrow we’re having people over for a barbecue,” Hanish said. “Some old friends from my military days and their families. I thought you should be prepared.”
“That sounds quite nice.” She didn’t know why, but she looked forward to meeting more of Hanish’s friends. His brothers were all odd, for various reasons, but she had grown to like them and enjoy their company. She assumed that his other friends would be the same. She also looked forward to meeting some other women on this side of the Atlantic. It could be a little lonely living in a house full of men.
“They might seem a bit odd.”
“I was just thinking the Storms are odd,” she said.
“You think we’re odd?”
“Yes, but in an endearing way. Now that I have lived here for a while, I’ve begun to recognize your loyalty to each other. I think Tor has a strong, supportive family.”
Hanish rubbed the back of his neck. “It’s nice to hear that coming from you.”
“It’s true.”
Their eyes met briefly, the spark of understanding zipping between them. Hanish stood, taking Tor with him. “I’ll put Tor down for his afternoon nap. You can have some time to yourself out here in this lovely weather.”
“It’s quite all right. I’m prepared to do my job.”
“I want to spend some time with my son. You stay, read your book. I’ll take care of him.”
JoJo watched Hanish walk away with Tor. The man’s behind was deliciously tight in those slacks. She gritted her teeth, unable to believe she was having such thoughts about her boss. What has gotten into me? She had never been a woman given to simple lust. Not even when the incident happened in college. But now that she lived with Hanish, it seemed to have taken over her entire consciousness. Not a moment went by when she wasn’t thinking about the attractive captain. When she dreamed at night, he was there, kissing her and speaking sweet words into her ear. When she woke in the morning, the memories of those fantasies lingered in her mind as the echoes of pleasure tingled through her body. When she showered and brushed the soapy sponge over her skin, she saw his face and that boyish smile he showed when he spoke to his son.
Hanish tried to present himself as hard and dictatorial. His brothers certainly respected him. But underneath, Hanish was a man given to intense affection and playfulness like she’d never seen. Each day she spent living in his home, it became more difficult to keep up the appearance of professionalism. Soon, she would have to admit her attraction and accept the consequences. She had grown attached to Tor the way she had with her last family, and she always hated to leave a position when her attachments had grown so strong.
But being caught up in her desire for her employer would not do any of them any good. It would be better to nip it in the bud and admit her inappropriate feelings sooner rather than later. Then she could move on to work for a new family in which the father wasn’t so unbelievably attractive, and JoJo didn’t wake up every morning with the memory of her inappropriate fantasies lingering in her mind.
JoJo wiggled her nose and pointed at the toys on the blanket. Each teething ring and stuffed animal rose in the air and glided to the basket, popping inside at the flick of her wrist. She stood and used her magic to fold the blanket. Then she flicked her finger and dropped it over her shoulder. With her other hand, she used her magic to raise the basket into the air and plop it onto her arm. On the way back to the mansion, she thought about her life as a single and solitary magician.
Hanish: House of Storms (Dragon Guardians Book 6) Page 3
