Defending Dani

by Kat Mizera

  “You two are making a mess,” she said mildly.

  “Hey.” Sergei turned, his eyes warm as he smiled at her. “Did you have a good nap?”

  “I did.” She smiled back.

  “Does your leg feel better?” Niko asked, wiggling to get down.

  Sergei set him on the floor and he ran to her, carefully hugging the leg without the bandage.

  “I feel much better. You and your daddy took good care of me.”

  “Does your boo-boo still hurt?” He put a tentative finger over the bandages.

  “A little, but it’ll be okay.” She tousled his hair. “How about you wash your hands so we can eat?”

  “Okay.” He moved to the sink as Sergei brought a big bowl of pasta to the table.

  “I used sauce from a jar,” he explained wryly, as if embarrassed about the use of canned pasta sauce. “I added some grilled chicken, garlic, and mushrooms. It’s probably not like what you make, but it’s edible. And there’s salad and garlic bread.”

  She grinned. “It sounds heavenly. Starting on the first of August, I’ll cut way back on carbs, so I want to enjoy them now.”

  He grimaced. “I hear ya. Now that I’m thirty-three, I have to be a lot more conscious of what I eat, though I stay active enough not to limit myself too much.”

  “I’d like to get my body fat down to fifteen percent again,” she said. “I think I’m at around nineteen now, so I have some work to do.”

  He glanced down, his eyes rolling over her like a surfboard riding a wave before settling on her face. “I can’t even imagine you more cut than you are, but I’m looking forward to helping you get there.”

  She flushed, both happy and exasperated at the way he seemed to be paying a lot more attention to her. Was he actually interested or was he just taking advantage of their close proximity? He wasn’t a jerk, she’d learned that about him by now, but he was still a hot single guy not looking to get serious. She’d originally made an unofficial deadline of losing her virginity before leaving for Colorado, but that had fallen by the wayside once she’d come to Alaska. Now she was thinking about it again, but he was a family friend, her boss, and the kind of guy she now knew could break her heart if she let him get too close. Maybe if she timed it to happen right before she left it wouldn’t be too bad, but she had no idea how to approach a conversation like that. In the meantime, when he looked at her the way he just had, it was all she could do to not throw herself at him. Luckily, Niko’s presence kept her from making a fool of herself. Especially today, when her injury had forced Sergei to be so attentive and solicitous.

  11

  They didn’t do much of anything for a few days. Niko was a little bored but they kept him entertained with movies and board games, and Sergei interviewed two more nannies. Unfortunately, they didn’t like either of them and he sat back in frustration after the second one left.

  “I don’t get it,” he said in exasperation. “I’m using a top-rated agency. How can they not have any good matches?”

  “It’s Alaska,” she said. “There may not be a lot of options, but I have a suggestion.”

  “I’m open to anything.”

  “My best friend, Sara, has been helping out in Vegas but she would probably be willing to come here for a year, give you a chance to meet people, get settled…”

  “I take it you already asked her?”

  “I mentioned it and she said she wouldn’t stay forever, but she’d consider it for a season or two. She’s getting her master’s as well, but she can only afford a class at a time, so she takes them online.”

  He looked thoughtful. “I’d like to meet her first.”

  “She’s good with Niko and she was with us when we went skating, so he was all about her being a girl hockey player.”

  Sergei winced, feeling guilty about the fact he’d only been on skates with his son twice. There was one time, his first year in Boston, when Niko was barely a year old. It had been his old team’s Family Day, and Tatiana and Niko had come along with the other wives, girlfriends and children. Niko had been on skates, wearing a mini-version of Sergei’s jersey, but it wasn’t the same. They’d all gone as a family with Toli, Tessa and the kids while he’d been in Las Vegas but no one wanted to ice skate in the summer so that had been the only time. There were so many things he’d dropped the ball on in the time since Tatiana had passed away; he really needed to stop.

  “You don’t have to consider her if you’d rather not,” Dani said, watching him intently.

  “No, I was just thinking about the fact I’ve only taken my son skating once. And he’ll be four this winter.”

  “My leg will be better in a few days and we can take him.”

  “Sounds good.” He took a breath and suddenly came up with an idea. “How about I fly us to Vegas for your birthday? It’s the first weekend in August, right? You’ll be able to celebrate with family and it’ll give me a chance to meet with Sara. If it works out, we won’t have to worry about the nanny thing and can focus on Niko and both of us staying in shape for hockey season.”

  The smile that lit her face momentarily blinded him, it was so full of happiness and excitement. “That would be the best birthday present ever. Thank you!” She caught him off guard when she leaned over and brushed her lips across his cheek.

  The area tingled from her touch and Sergei was fairly certain his cock took notice as well. They both seemed to have felt it because the air was suddenly charged with the electricity between them. There was an unspoken question in her eyes as she continued smiling at him.

  “Would you like to go to a team party with me?” he asked slowly, wishing she would look at him the way she had just now more often.

  “What?” She froze, staring at him as if she didn’t understand what he’d said.

  “I…” He cleared his throat and tried to formulate a sentence that wouldn’t make him sound like the horndog he was. “Dani, this is stupid. The chemistry between us is off the charts. If I’m wrong, I’ll apologize and stay at least ten feet away from you for the rest of the summer, but I know women, and I’m ninety-nine percent sure I’m not wrong. Am I?”

  Her cheeks were pink and her eyes got a little glassy, but she shook her head. “No, you’re not wrong about the chemistry.”

  “I sense a but coming.”

  She dipped her head. “I work for you, and even if I didn’t, our brothers, our friends, there’s Niko to think about… Everything would be really weird if we went there.”

  “You’re right.” His eyes never left her face. “But the alternative is walking around in heat for two more months. At some point, one of us is going to make a move and I’d be more comfortable if it was you.”

  Her cheeks burned pink. “That’s so not going to happen. I already told you I’m not real experienced with this kind of thing, so if you’re waiting for me to make some kind of sexual overture, forget it.”

  He took a step closer to her, one big hand cupping the side of her face. “Come to the team party with me. I want to spend time with you outside the house and it’ll be good for you to meet everyone. The invitation said no kids, so we’ll find a sitter for Niko and it’ll be just the two of us.”

  “Are you asking me to go as your date?”

  He hesitated. “I didn’t really think that far ahead, but you’re definitely not going as my nanny. You’re my friend. Not my nanny, not my brother’s best friend’s little sister, not my employee. If I introduce you as my nanny, it’ll start all kinds of gossip because anyone can see the spark between us the minute we’re in the same room together and that’s such a cliché. But if I simply introduce my friend Danielle, who’s helping me with Niko before she goes to train for the Olympics, even if people jump to the friends-with-benefits conclusion, it nips gossip in the bud and you can still work for any team in the NHL without feeling like there was too much speculation about us.”

  “So you’re taking a friend on a date?”

  She had such a strange look on her fa
ce he cocked his head, a small smile playing on his lips. “Is that bad? Do you want it to be a real date? A not-just-my-friend date?”

  “Like I told you, I don’t do a lot of dating, so being on a date as your friend is a little confusing for me. Can’t we just say we’re going on a date and leave it at that?”

  “Yeah, baby, we can.” He leaned forward, his eyes trained on hers, hoping beyond hope she wouldn’t turn away this time. She was watching him, too, and he moved closer. He brushed his lips across hers a few times, barely touching her, but when her eyes fluttered closed he knew he’d crossed the first threshold. The tips of their tongues touched almost tentatively, and he waited for her to give him some kind of signal she wanted more. There was something so beguiling about her he wasn’t sure how to handle it. He’d originally thought someone so innocent would bore him; instead, she was like a sexual blossom ready to bloom and sprout wings.

  When her mouth opened for him, he made sure to keep the pressure light and let her lead their progress. Niko was in the next room and he wasn’t ready to take this to the bedroom yet anyway. A sweet but sensual kiss seemed like a good place to start, though, and the nearly undiscernible whimper of pleasure that escaped her told him he was right. Her inexperience was coupled with an almost tangible desire to experiment, but something in his gut told him to go slow. She wouldn’t be one of those women who just jumped into bed with him, and though a tiny part of him was nervous about pursuing a woman who wanted more than sex, it would be silly to deny how right it felt now that he’d touched her.

  “Mama D—what are you doing?” Niko came barreling into the room and skid to a stop as they jumped apart.

  “Kissing.” Sergei was unprepared to have this conversation with his toddler, but he wasn’t going to allow it to be something his son thought was taboo either.

  “Why?” Niko was frowning.

  “Because we like each other,” Dani responded with a soft smile. She held out her hand to him and Niko took it, climbing into her arms and firmly settling himself between her and his father.

  Sergei smiled at the child’s sneakiness, but sat back, wondering what she planned to say.

  “You don’t kiss me like that,” the boy pointed out.

  Dani threw her head back when she laughed. “No, of course not. That’s how grown-ups kiss, not how we kiss friends or our children.”

  “Am I your children?” he asked solemnly.

  Dani blinked rapidly, a tiny shimmer of tears glossing her eyes.

  “Child,” Sergei murmured. “You’re one child.”

  “You’re a child of my heart,” Dani whispered, regaining her composure, and putting one of Niko’s hands on her chest. “You’ll always be right here with me, no matter where I am.”

  “When you’re in ’rado for hockey?”

  “Yes, when I’m in Colorado or Las Vegas or anywhere.” She kissed the top of his head. “Now go find us a book to read. We’ve been watching too much TV.”

  “Okay.” He took off up the stairs to find a book from his room and the adults looked at each other.

  “Sorry about the interruption,” Sergei said quietly, reaching for her hand. She twined her fingers with his and for a moment they were quiet.

  “Did I say the right thing? To Niko?”

  “Absolutely. It’s hard to know exactly what to tell a three-year-old about kissing, you know? I thought I had a little time before I had to have that talk with him.”

  She chuckled. “Well, he caught us red-handed.”

  “Honey, are you going to be okay with casual?” He was intently aware of her closeness, the scent of her shampoo, everything about her, and it was enveloping him, making him think things he had no business thinking.

  She was mulling over what he’d said, the look on her face a delightful mixture of mischief and determination.

  “One date,” she said finally. “Then we’ll reassess. Is that fair?”

  “More than fair.”

  “I just have one question.”

  “Sure.”

  “What am I supposed to wear?”

  12

  The day of the party was bright and sunny. Dani and Sergei had gone to the gym and she focused on her upper body to give her thigh time to heal while he did cardio. They kept it short so they had time to get home and get ready. The agency had sent a sitter they both liked, and though the woman wasn’t available for overnight or long-term stays, she was happy to come for afternoons or evenings.

  As Sergei got her settled with Niko, Dani looked in the mirror skeptically. She didn’t wear dresses very often, and though she didn’t consider herself a hardcore tomboy, her lifestyle had never really included dressing up like this. She’d called Tiff to ask for advice since Tiff had been the wife of a coach and was now engaged to a player. Tiff had sent her pictures of what to look for and Dani had texted her photos of herself as she’d been trying on different outfits. They’d agreed on a beige, cold-shoulder dress made of eyelet lace. Her slender neck and shapely shoulders were on display without the dress itself being overly tight around her torso.

  The loose fabric flowed around her trim waist while still showing off her nice figure. It covered the muscular thighs she was self-conscious about while accentuating her shapely calves, and the outfit was finished with high-heeled strappy beige sandals that were a shade darker than the dress. The heels would make her the same height as Sergei, but as a tall woman herself, Tiff had assured her that any man worth his salt wouldn’t mind.

  The look on Sergei’s face when Dani descended the stairs filled her with warmth. She sent a mental thank-you to her brother’s fiancée for steering her in the right direction and closed her eyes when he leaned in to kiss her cheek.

  “Absolutely stunning,” he whispered against her ear.

  “Thank you.”

  “That’s a beautiful dress,” Marj, the babysitter, said warmly. “I wouldn’t have thought a blonde could pull off beige, but I would’ve been wrong!”

  “Mama D, you look pretty!” Niko gushed, his mouth full of Cheerios.

  “Thank you.” She hugged him. “You be good for Marj, okay?”

  “We’re going to watch Doc McStuffins.”

  “You’ll tell me all about it tomorrow?”

  “Okay.”

  “See you later, buddy.” Sergei kissed his son’s head.

  “Bye, Daddy!”

  * * *

  The drive to Gage Caldwell’s house was quiet. Dani seemed preoccupied and Sergei was simply in a lust-filled haze. He wanted to turn around and go right back to the house, tell Marj to keep Niko downstairs and then lock the door of his bedroom—with Dani naked in his bed. That was probably a little too Neanderthal even for him, but he was beginning to second-guess this idea of taking her to the team party. He wasn’t worried she would embarrass him or that he would have to answer difficult questions about what she was to him—he was more concerned with the single guys on the team going after her. She had no idea how gorgeous she was and a group of randy hockey players would be pushing each other out of the way to get to her. If he didn’t stake some kind of claim on her, she would have a dozen dates set up by the end of the day.

  The problem was he didn’t understand why he cared. She wasn’t going to be around for anything long-term, so he should’ve been happy she might get involved with someone else. Except he wasn’t. Not even a little bit. He wasn’t sure what he wanted but the idea of someone else being with her made him a little crazy. A casual fuck definitely wasn’t in the cards, but if he didn’t want a relationship, what else was there? He didn’t want to start a relationship with a woman who could not only hurt him, but Niko too. Did he? Technically, they were already involved. What else could he call what they’d built over the last two months? They’d become friends gradually, and since moving to Alaska, she’d become an integral part of his life. Even without sex, he was as happy as he’d ever been when spending this much time with a woman. Except for the lack of sex, it was very much like being marr
ied.

  Wait. What?

  He shook his head, as if trying to shake the thought away. Where had that come from? He wasn’t interested in getting married again, and definitely not to a woman leaving in less than two months. This was just fun, a casual reintroduction into dating life as a widower. Right? God, he hoped so.

  “Are you nervous?” Dani’s voice brought him out of his reverie.

  “No.” He frowned. “Well, maybe a little. Not nervous exactly, but I’ve played on quite a few teams in my career, and the seven weeks I played with this one were…different.”

  “In what way?”

  “The guys are kind of uptight. I can’t put my finger on it, but it’s like everyone walks on eggshells. The only guy I’ve met so far who’s been laid-back is Aaron, and he was out with a broken hand for the end of the season. The team captain, Jake Carruthers, is okay but everyone seems out of sorts, as if they’re constantly worried about something. It’s a strange vibe. I’m hoping with the new owner—”

  “New owner?” Dani frowned. “I know the original owner passed away in December, but I thought it had been taken over by his corporation or something?”

  “Not exactly. He willed everything to his nephew, but this guy’s young, around my age, with no experience in hockey. There was a lot of talk in the locker room about him. I don’t really know him, so I was a little surprised when he called to invite me to this.”

  “He called you personally?” Dani glanced at him. “Wouldn’t he normally have his assistant do that?”

  “You’d think so.”

  They glanced at each other and chuckled. “So today should be interesting, right?”

  “For both of us. You’re going to meet everyone and maybe you’ll get a different vibe than I did. I’ll be interested to hear your thoughts.”