by Carter Blake
“And you?” He gives a small jerk, pulling me against him, his other hand wrapping around my waist. “Did you enjoy having me there?”
A tremor skates across my skin.
“Yes,” I whisper.
His fingers slide up my back, then cup the back of my head, fingers tangling in my hair, thumbs tilting my jaw up, so that our mouths are close and I can practically taste his kiss.
“God, you’re beautiful,” he growls out, the sound sending a shiver of need throughout my body. “Do you have any idea how much I want to kiss you right now?”
I want him too. I know it won’t end well. But I don’t care. I want him. More than I’ve ever wanted anyone.
His eyes twitch and I can see the war behind them. I fear that he’s going to pull away, so I lean up and take what I want.
Standing on tiptoes, I press my lips against his.
He freezes. I feel his entire body tense, and I immediately regret it.
“Sorry,” I say, pulling back. But he doesn’t let me go. The next thing I know, my back is against the wall, his lips are devouring mine, and his hands are all over my body.
He kisses me with such hunger that it's nearly frightening.
Our tongues explore each other’s mouths, as I taste the vanilla and chocolate ice cream that he ate earlier. The only sounds are our lips connecting, and his hands lose all sense of propriety as they move over my ass and then up to my hips to squeeze my breasts.
His erection is hard, and heavy, pressing against my belly.
My entire body is on fire with need, and I’m ready for him to take me. I feel as if time has stopped as my breathing quickens and I whimper. Even if I want to, I can’t resist his touch. All I can do is dissolve into him. Enjoy every fiery sensation.
He breaks away and growls, “Good night, Miss Sanders. I hope you sleep well.”
He’s gone before I have a chance to catch my breath.
What. The. Hell. Was. That?
I’m here to look after his daughter, but there’s something between us that burns so strong I couldn’t put it out with a fire extinguisher. I don’t know why he left me hanging. All I know is that I’m going to need a cold shower tonight, and judging by the thick bulge in his pants as he walked away, I’m not the only one.
Chapter Eight
Lucas
I went into the office early today, like I have every day since I gave in and kissed Eliana.
She’s my goddamn nanny.
But what a kiss it was.
A ten-mile run and two cold showers didn’t get rid of my boner even after I jerked off. Eliana’s in my head like a fucking virus, and no amount of antibiotics is going to get rid of her.
And no matter how hard I try, I can’t stop thinking about the kiss. Which is why I’m back to working eighteen hours a day for the past week, trying to avoid her.
But that’s become increasingly difficult, because I’ve also made a new rule to be home before Lily goes to sleep. Meaning Eliana and my paths continue to cross.
“You’re always late,” I spit out as Sara enters my office.
She rolls her eyes at me. “It’s seven in the morning. No one else is even in the office.”
“No one else is here because they don’t work directly for me.”
“Don’t remind me,” she cuts her eyes at me.
I would have found that sexy before, but now I find it fucking irritating.
“So how’s the new nanny working out? She’s lasted longer than most. Do you think she’ll stick around?”
I glare at her. Not knowing what she’s getting at, but feeling like they’re more than just general curiosity in her question.
“For Lily’s sake I hope so. The kid likes her.”
“I like her too.” The smile Sara is wearing raises alarms in my head.
I grunt. “You only like her because she got you a day off.”
She laughs. “Maybe. Speaking of which–”
“No.” I narrow my eyes at her.
“You don’t even know what I’m going to say.”
I sigh and drag my fingers over my face. “Spit it out.”
“Your meeting with Jim Hutchinson has been rescheduled. So you’re afternoon is free.”
My nostrils flare and I grind my back teeth. “Please don’t tell me that there’s not another zoo trip.”
“No.” Sara chuckles. “But you can pick Lily up from school and take her to her ballet practice.”
Since when does Lily do ballet?
I rub my temples. “Let me guess, this was Eliana’s idea?”
“You’re on a first name basis already?” Sara cocks an eyebrow and gives me a knowing stare.
Shit.
“Tell, Miss Sanders, that I’ll be there.”
“Good.” Sara’s smile broadens and she turns to leave, but before she does, she says over her shoulder, “Since we have nothing else, I guess I’ll see you Monday morning.”
It takes me a few minutes to realize that she’s planning on taking the rest of the day off.
“Sara,” I holler, but the woman has already disappeared down the hall.
Bloody hell. I make a mental note to call HR and try once again to have the woman dismissed. She’s completely useless.
Sitting down at my desk, I bury myself in work, using it to distract myself from the ache in my balls, and the constant thoughts of Eliana’s sweet little mouth wrapped around my cock.
I groan and adjusting myself.
It’s well past noon when my phone rings, reminding me that I haven’t moved from my desk all morning. That’s usually Sara’s job. To come in and distract me. At least she’s good for something.
“Hello?”
“Mr. Philips, this is Ernie Walker over at Ankling Distributing. Mr. Katz has called for an emergency meeting. Are you free this afternoon?”
“Yeah.” I squeeze my eyes closed and pinch the bridge of my nose. “Tell him to be here are three.”
I hang up, a feeling like I’m forgetting something settling over me. But as my email blows up, with message after message from shareholders, the feeling dissipates, replaced by anxiety when the dreaded words that pop up on my screen.
Philip Industry Socks Plummet.
Chapter Nine
Eliana
Fresh anger barrels through me when I see Lily’s tear streaked face as she waits outside of the school, holding her teacher’s hand.
I can’t believe Lucas forgot to get her.
One day. One fucking day. And he couldn’t even do that.
I called him, but his phone is off. I can’t believe that he would let her down like this. I was naive to think that he was going to change overnight. A leopard can’t change its spots, not just like that.
Lily has come so far, and I’m not going to let her down.
“Daddy didn’t come.” Her lips quivers as she looks up at me.
“Silly me,” I say as I bend down and wipe away her tears. “He told me that we were to go and meet him at the office.”
“He did?” She sniffs, hope returning to her eyes.
“I’m sorry for being late.”
“It’s okay,” she says, a sad little smile pulling at her lips.
“Come on, let’s get in the car. The driver is waiting.”
She nods her head and takes my hand.
As we drive to the office, Lily confesses, “This is better than going to ballet.”
“Why?” I take her hand and lead her to the limo.
“Because I’ve never been to Daddy’s office.”
“Not even once?” I try to hide my frown.
She shrugs, “Maybe when I was a baby.”
I guess he’s going to be in for a surprise then. Because I’m not only bringing her to his office, I’m also going to make sure that he makes up for not getting her.
As we walk to the elevator that will bring us up to his office, my palms are sweating. I’m nervous. I feel as if I’m in the middle of the monsoon of emotions as I press
the button and the doors close.
He’s going to be pissed for me bringing her here.
But I need to do this. I will not have her in tears again. Maybe I’m too attached, and this isn’t just about Lily.
As soon as we walk through the office, I notice that Sara’s desk is empty.
“Is this Daddy’s office?” Lily asks, eyes wide as she looks around.
I’m about to answer when I hear a man’s raised voice coming from Lucas’ office, and he sounds mad. Really mad.
Maybe this wasn’t such a good idea.
I think about leaving, but then I look down at Lily.
She’s what’s important.
“Come on.” I grip her hand firmly, and we walk down the long hall.
There are three men sitting on the sofa in Lucas’ office, and Lucas is leaning on his desk, hair mussed, tie askew, and he looks stressed.
His mouth drops as Lily skips over to him.
“Hi Daddy.”
“I’m sorry, sweetheart. But this isn’t a good time.” Blue eyes narrow on me. “You should have called before bringing her here. I’m in the middle of a major–”
“I tried calling. Your phone is turned off, and Sara wasn’t answering.” All eyes are on me now, and the way Lucas is glaring at me, I’m pretty sure I’m going to be looking for a new job after this.
“Is there a reason you’re here?” He bites out. His words are meant for me, but I see the way they affect Lily.
Her face drops, and tears return.
Damn him.
I wonder if this man, the reason for the multiple cold showers I’ve been taking lately, is actually a monster? He doesn’t deserve this little girl’s love, let alone anything from me.
“Elly said you didn’t forget to pick me up. That you wanted me to come to your office. But that’s not true is it?” Lily blinks, and a fat tear slides down her cheek.
“Shit.” Lucas’ face turns red as he drags his fingers through his hair. “I’m sorry, sweetheart.”
One of the men coughs.
“Well, we can’t have a little girl crying can we?” one of the men stands up and says. The others look if they’re completely confused.
“I’ll call you later about the details we discussed,” Lucas’ says, ushering them out. He doesn’t meet my gaze as he walks by, but I can tell he’s upset.
When the men are gone, Lucas turns back to Lily, and crouches to her level and takes her hands. “I really am sorry that I forgot. It won’t happen again. I promise.”
“Okay, Daddy.” She smiles at him. So easy to forgive.
When he stands and turns to me, my knees practically shake when I finally meet his gaze and see the anger there.
“I’ll deal with you, later.”
I lick my lips, knowing I’m in big trouble.
Chapter Ten
Lucas
She hasn’t got a clue what I’m going to do to her. I have every intention of punishing her for what she pulled today. She’ll be lucky if she can get up in the morning and walk, let alone ride with Lily to school tomorrow. But I’ll make sure she enjoys every fucking minute of it.
As we walk to the car, I glance at the woman. She keeps looking at me from the corner of her eye, and I can tell she’s nervous.
Good.
She should be fucking nervous.
Yeah, it was an asshole thing to do forgetting to pick Lily up. But there was no reason for Eliana to bring her to the office, making me look like an ass in front of my business partners and my daughter.
Lily scoots beside me when we get into the car. “Can we go get ice cream again?”
I smile down at her. “Yeah. Why not.”
It’s not like I just lost a quarter of a billion dollars in one fucking day. Why shouldn’t we have ice cream.
“Are you okay, Daddy?” Lily looks up at, concern flashing in her eyes. She’s always been too smart for her own good.
Pulling her close, I say, “Better now that I’m with you.”
It’s true. When did I get so fucking off course that I forget to enjoy the little things.
Maybe I’ve always been an asshole.
But the last thing I want is for my daughter to hate me as much as I hated my own father when I was growing up. He was just as work obsessed back then as I am now. Always telling me that I'd be in charge of his business one day.
That’s what was drummed into me. I couldn’t even think about just being a boy and having fun.
I had everything handed to me on a silver platter, and I was supposed to revel in it. As if money could somehow replace the parents that were never around.
History has a way of repeating itself.
I wasn’t pushing Lily out of my life. I was just leaving her out of it. Making out that the only way to protect her from it all was to not bring her into my world.
My phone rings again, this time I do more than just leave it in my pocket, I turn it off.
Eliana is quite, watching me.
By the time we get home, she hasn’t said more then a few words to me, and I can see that she’s pulled away from Lily too, but the kid is so happy to be with me, she doesn’t seem to notice – but I do.
When Lily races into the house, I stop Eliana at the front door.
“You shouldn’t have brought her to my office.”
“And you should have remembered to pick her up. You should have seen her when she thought you’d forgotten. I don’t care how much you’re worth Mr. Sanders. You have no right to treat a child like that.”
God, why is she always so argumentative.
“It’s not your job to tell me how to raise my daughter,” I growl out.
“The problem is you’re not raising her,” she yells back. “You might as well have walked out of her life just like her mom, for all the parenting you’re doing.”
Her words are a slap to the face, because I know she’s right.
Eliana’s hands go to her mouth and her eyes widen. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have said that.”
“You’re right. You shouldn’t have.”
“I’ll…” She glances down. “I’ll go pack my things.”
She starts to walk away.
“Miss Sanders,” I bark, but she continues towards the house. “Eliana, stop.”
She does, but she doesn’t turn around, and I can practically feel the tension radiating off her.
“I’m not firing you.”
She turns then, and I can see the tears that she’s trying to hold back. “You’re not.”
“Of course not. You’re the best goddamn thing in Lily’s life.” And mine. “I’m not going to take that away from her.”
“Thank you. I won’t speak to you that way again.”
I chuckle. “Yes you will.”
She frowns before joining my laughter. “I’ll try not to.”
Sighing, I take her in. All of. She’s more than just beautiful.
She’s good.
Maybe that’s why I’m so drawn to her. Other than Lily, there’s never been a lot of good in my life.
I want to soak in her beauty, be surrounded by her goodness. Let some of that stubborn, wonderful light that shines around her, illuminate my life, my family, and my home.
“What?” she asks, chewing on her bottom lip.
As I move towards her, I know I shouldn’t do what I’m about to do, but I can’t stop myself. Taking her chin in my hand, I tilt her face to mine.
“I shouldn’t have kissed you the other night.”
A flicker of disappointment crosses her expression. “No.”
“And I shouldn’t kiss you now.”
She doesn’t disagree, not with words, but I can feel the tremble that gives away her own desires. It’s so damn hard to stay away from her.
“But you want to?” she asks, her tongue darting out across her lips.
“Yes. I want to, Eliana. More than you can possibly know.” I trace my thumb across her bottom lip. “But for Lily’s sake, I won’t. She nee
ds you more than I do.”
“Are you sure about that?” There’s a boldness to her words that make my chest tighten.
A sliver of hope stirs in my chest and I immediately suppress it. I lean in, ready to take what she’s offering.
“Daddy. Elly. Come look.” Lily’s small voice breaks through the tension and I pull away.
“I should go check on her,” Eliana says, taking a small step back.
“I need to make a few phone calls. And before you give me that look–”
“What look?”
“That one. The one where you disapprove.”
A small smile replaces her frown.
“There was a major fall in our stocks today and I need to make sure the right people are notified.”
I expect her to argue, but instead, she nods. “Okay. We’ll stay out of your way. Come down for dinner if you can.”
Despite the enormity of what happened with the business today, my chest feels a little lighter as I watch her walk away.
I don’t know how she does it. Gets me all wound up, and yet calms me at the same time. I just know that I need more of it – more of her.
Chapter Eleven
Elaina
It’s past midnight, but Lucas was still in his office working when I last checked.
I shouldn’t have said what I did earlier today. Yes, it was the truth, but it’s not my place. It’s just when I’m with him, I start to feel like I’m not just the hired help. That I’m something more. Something needed.
Silently, I move down the hall, catching a glimpse of the light on in Lucas’ office.
I’m just going to get a drink. Or at least that’s what I tell myself as I make my way down the stairs.
“I don’t know what to tell you,” Lucas’ spits out to someone on the other end of the phone.
His shirt is half-unbuttoned, his hair is disheveled, and he looks incredibly sexy. But it’s the command in his voice that has my insides clenching. There’s no denying that he is one hundred percent alpha male.
“There’s nothing we can do on our end. All we can do now is wait and pray to fucking God that this was just one lousy day.”
