by Nana Malone
"Oh, right. Okay, um, I guess I'll need a cleaning service?"
He nodded. "I’ll get someone to come once a week."
"Just like that? You’re like a fairy godfather."
“As long as you need me, I'll be here."
"Just like Mary Poppins."
He flashed a grin. "I’m better looking than Mary Poppins."
“Fair enough. A buff Mary Poppins.” Shit. I covered my face with my hands. “Can we just forget that I said that, again?”
"Well, maybe I don't want to forget that you said that."
"Um, it’s just—you, uh, I guess you're working for me now, so let's just pretend I'm professional."
He chuckled then. "It's forgotten. Besides, you should probably be more worried about the part where you grabbed my dick."
My mouth fell open as heat flushed my body. "Oh my God, I grabbed your belt."
"I mean, your mouth was like an inch from it. So, you were basically grabbing my dick."
I covered my face. "Oh my God, I'm going to die."
He chuckled. "You know what else I'm going to work on? Loosening you up so you don't take everything so seriously. I'm teasing you. Everything is forgotten. Strictly professional."
"Exactly."
Lies. All lies.
Ariel…
For some reason, it was easier to talk to Tamsin than it was to talk with the men. She wasn't immediately distrustful.
Trace hadn't been distrustful exactly, but it was clear he wasn't exactly sure about working for me until I used Lucas’s name.
"Wait, so you have your own shop?" Tamsin seemed either a little incredulous or impressed. Maybe both.
"Yeah. I just started it. It's small, and we are hustling for clients, but we already have some on the roster. I need a team, and I need to build one fast. You always had a great reputation in the academy. And you had exemplary military service. Honestly, I'm surprised you didn't go into the Royal Guard."
Tamsin shook her head. "Yeah, well, when you make the mistake of dating your commanding officer and find out he's going in the Royal Guard, it kind of sours you on the whole for king and country thing. So, I went into the private sector."
"Okay, so what's it gonna take to woo you away from your current employer?"
Tamsin sat back and fiddled with her drink. I was already here when she arrived, sitting in the far corner. I'd watched her as she ordered a seltzer water with lime. But to anyone else watching, it would have looked like a gin and tonic or something. She appeared to be cool and relaxed, completely in control of all her faculties, which I appreciated. "Do I get to set my own hours?"
"Not entirely, but we can work around that."
Tamsin nodded. "If I say I don't want to work with a client, is that gonna be a problem?"
"Well, I will ask you why. I want to know if a client is abusive or harassing any of my team members."
She nodded. "Thank you."
I lifted a brow. "Has that been a problem at your current place?"
"Let's just say that sometimes the people you're protecting don't know that your only job is protect them not anything else."
I ground my teeth. "No. Not on my watch."
"Do you have any particular rules?"
"Um, I think there is only one, or maybe two really. One, don't date the clients. That'll look bad."
"Of course. Trust me, I mixed business and pleasure once. I will never do that again."
I winced. "Ended badly?"
"That's an understatement."
"Okay. The second one is just team dinners on the last Sunday of the month. I think it's important, team bonding and all that."
Tamsin nodded slowly. "Sure, as long as no one's a dick that shouldn't be a problem."
I laughed. "Well, the guys are actually pretty cool. Don't tell them I said that, though. I like to bust Jax's chops. He's British, hot, and he knows it. But he's a good soldier. He knows what he wants. And considering who referred him, he's solid. I know I can trust him with my life, and I haven't even known him that long. Trace is coming back home, and he's in charge of his kid sister, so he has his own reasons for what he's doing. And he's also a good-looking son of a bitch, but he's cool. More relaxed, less intense than Jax, but good at his job. I have a strict no assholes policy. If anyone's an asshole, they get booted. Sound good?"
Tamsin nodded. "Yes, that sounds pretty good to me. And it would be nice to work with a woman for a change."
"Yeah, down with the patriarchy and all that. But honestly, if you have a problem, you just need to talk to me. We'll figure this out as we go. I thought I'd be Guard my whole life, you know?"
Tamsin nodded in solidarity. "That was my path. That was where I was going to go." She shrugged. "Plans change. And now, they're changing for the better I think."
I grinned at her. My phone buzzed on the table, and I scowled at it. No one even had my new number except for Trace and Jax, and Penny and Sebastian, of course. I’d changed my number after the whole my dad was a traitor thing. The only people that needed to reach me were the palace, Penny, and my team anyway. I'd whittled down on the outside friends since when you're a traitor's daughter, everyone has something to say about it. "I am so sorry. It might be one of the team."
Tamsin waved a hand. "Stop, it's fine." When I turned it over and saw who was calling, the bottom fell out of my stomach. "I'll be right back."
I left her at the bar and marched to the far corner where I'd previously been seated and no one could overhear me. "Hello. Sebastian? What's wrong? Is Penny okay?"
The king paused for a moment. "Yeah. Why would you ask that?"
"Well, you don't usually call me unless there's a problem."
"Yes, I do."
I groaned. "Oh my God, what do you want?"
"I do call you."
"No, you wait until Penny calls me then you grab the phone from her and chat with me for a minute, and then you hand the phone back to Penny. You never actually call yourself."
"Well, I've called you now."
I rolled my eyes. "Okay, what do you need?"
"I do resent the fact that you think I'm calling because I need something."
"Well, don't you need something?"
"Yeah. Actually, it's a little sensitive. Do you mind coming out to the palace? There's something I want you to take a look at."
"You're freaking me out. Do we still have assassins on our ass? Because last time you had a special job for me, we got shot at. All of us."
"No, I don't think it's something like that. I don't know. I just want you to look into it for me. Can you come to the palace?"
"Actually, I'm not in the islands at the moment. I'm on a different set of islands entirely. Can I come up tomorrow? I fly back tonight."
I could hear the frown in his voice. "Where are you?"
"Well, when the prince sends you a file of someone to recruit, you do as you're told."
I could almost hear him relax. "Oh, you found Tamsin."
"Yes, Your Majesty. And, I think she's perfect."
"Good, I always liked her. I never knew why she didn't join the Royal Guard, and Lucas and I figured she'd make a great addition to your team."
"Yeah, I think she's perfect."
"Great. So, I'll see you tomorrow?"
"Yeah, I'll text you when I land and see what time works."
"Perfect. See you tomorrow."
"Okay. Give Penny a kiss for me."
He chuckled low. "I'll do a lot more than that."
"Ew. Do you have to say shit like that? My God, the two of you, I'll tell you right now, get a room."
He laughed then. "I have a whole palace."
"Jesus Christ. I'll see you tomorrow." And then I hung up on the king. I glared at the phone for a long moment. I probably shouldn't have hung up on the king, but who cares? By that point, Sebastian had taken on big brother status with me, so I figured I could hang up on him.
As I returned to the table, I tried not to let my mind spin about what
he needed to see me about. Whatever it was, I could handle it. In the meantime, I had a new teammate. And I needed to lock that in. Something told me I was going to be very busy going forward.
Ten
Neela…
This was a mistake. What else could it be?
The hottest man I'd ever seen in my life, was living under my roof now, which was less than ideal.
And of course, Mayzie adored him. Even from upstairs, I could hear her squealing and giggling. The little traitor had loved his concoction of white sweet potatoes and peas and apple sauce. She’d tucked in as if she’d been starving for days.
To make matters worse, the man could cook. He pulled out some chicken, taken those same potatoes and seasoning, and put together something that smelled insanely delicious. Even upstairs, where he’d sent me to have a long hot bath, I could smell it.
A bath.
When was the last time I'd had a bath?
My old flat didn't have a bathtub, but there was an insanely deep, giant soaking tub at Willa’s.
He told me it would take 45 minutes for dinner to be ready. That was enough time to soak, wasn't it?
I stared at the tub and couldn't help myself. I turned on the water. I tossed in some bubble bath really quickly. I wouldn't have time to completely fill it, but there would be a good amount of water in there, even if I only got to soak for ten minutes.
I quickly undressed and piled my hair up high. I'd straightened it yesterday, so if I got it all wet, the curls would divert back. And they wouldn't be cute springy curls. They would be fuzzy and all over the place.
I needed to get it together. I needed a set of rules to remember why I could not shag my new nanny. He worked for me, and it would feel like I was paying for sex.
He probably didn’t want to sleep with me anyway. Never mind those stares that make me feel like he was looking at me naked.
He was there to take care of Mayzie, and I need that more than I need an orgasm.
Nope. We would argue you need a lot more.
I shoved my libido out of the conversation. It had been so, so long since I'd had satisfying sex. Hell, since someone had even touched me in a sexual way.
Something told me my new nanny knew how to go down. But I really needed to stop because it wasn’t going to happen.
I picked up my phone that I’d left at the edge of tub and texted Bex.
Neela: SOS. I need you to help me not bang my new manny.
Bex: You mean the hot guy with the incredible eyes and the body that says 'Hi, I know how to fuck?’
Me: Yes.
Bex: I'm sorry. I can't get behind this plan. I think you should fuck him.
Me: Bex, are you serious? I need him for Mayzie.
Bex: I would argue that your orgasms are just as necessary as Mayzie's happiness. I vote shag him to bits.
Me: I’m not shagging him.
Adam: Yes, I vote for shag as well. Although, why am I included in this conversation?
My face flamed.
I’d forgotten that when I typed in SOS, it automatically added both of them to the message. It was a feature I'd asked for within our messaging app.
Me: Damn it. Sorry Adam.
Adam: No problem. But look, I'm straight, and even I know that dude is hot. I felt very insecure just being in his presence.
I snorted a laugh. Adam was gorgeous. Sandy blonde hair, chocolatey brown eyes, a smile that was quick and roguish. Girls loved him. When I had female clients, no matter the age, I took him along. He worked it for our benefit, which meant my benefit. It also helped that he was dangerously smart, and from what I had seen at a beach day we'd all had together, he had a hell of a six pack.
Me: I'm pretty sure you feel secure enough.
Adam: Nope. The guy is huge.
I snorted to myself again and typed out: 'That's what she—' and then I started deleting it. I was their boss. I couldn't say things like that. That's what I had Bex for.
Bex: That's what she said.
And then she admonished me.
Bex: I swear to God, Neela, you're slipping.
Me: You guys are no help.
Adam: So, what's the consensus? Are we shagging him?
Me: I'm getting off the phone now.
Bex: Smiley face.
Adam: She's getting off the phone now, so she can go shag him.
I groaned and slipped further in the water, the warmth lapping at my tight muscles. I absolutely, positively was not going to shag the manny.
You just keep telling yourself that.
I had to. Because until I got my life in order, shagging someone who worked for me was out of the question.
Eleven
Neela…
What was I missing?
I'd been through this journal over and over again.
These symbols meant something, the way they were organized, certain symbol combinations on the left, other symbols located on the right. It was in a diary of some sort. But it didn't look like it was in a fluid style of writing.
What are you?
Or maybe it was nothing at all, and Willa was just fucking with me. It was classic Willa. She’d have loved the idea of me spinning out over a puzzle. She’d have loved to give me some nonsense just to make me squirm.
But why leave it to me, the one person who would obsess over it forever?
I felt rather than heard Jax in the doorway, his nearness making my hair stand on end. When I glanced up, he had a mug in his hand. "You were concentrating so hard I didn't want to disturb you."
I shook my head. "Sorry, were you asking me something?"
He shook his head as he chuckled. "No. I just brought you tea."
Tea? He’d brought me tea. Great. Just when I’d convinced myself that going anywhere near him was a terrible, very bad, no-good idea, he was being sweet. Which was possibly even more difficult to shake off than the tight quarters with a sex god who was so hot he could burn layers of skin off. "Um, thank you. You didn't have to do that."
He shook his head. "I know. But you've been holed up in the library so long I figured you might need sustenance. I even included a digestive or two. The chocolate ones."
I blinked at him. "Digestives?"
He shrugged. "You know, they’re a British cookie, I guess? I never know which ones I'll find on the island."
I sighed and put the journal down. I took my glasses off then rubbed my eyes. "Thank you. I've just been kind of diving headfirst into this journal thing, and I can't figure it out, so it's making me crazy."
"What is that?"
"When Willa died, she left me this journal. The problem is I can't read it, and I have no idea what it means."
Jax frowned. "Do you mind if I take a look?"
I laughed. "Be my guest." I handed it over to him, our fingers lightly brushing in the transfer. I snatched mine back quickly, hoping he didn't notice the zing of electricity that furled its way into my bloodstream, heating me, making me want more of that kind of touch.
Nope. Not going to happen.
Jax frowned as he stared at the journal. "I have no idea what these symbols are."
"Join the club. At first, I thought they were maybe some take on a fluid artistic language like, Arabic or Samarian, but it's not. I checked. None of those symbols are familiar. I have a program I ran them through, and it should at least tell me the language so I’d know where to look, but it's not recognizable. And you know, taking a closer look, the styling is different. It's certainly not Eastern. It's not related to Chinese, or Japanese, or Korean, and I can't pinpoint what it is. I just... ugh! The frustration. And it’s not even as if I can’t just pinpoint the swirl in these symbols over here, but then there are also these block symbols, as if they're part of some symbolic computer language or something. I don't know. The mixing of the two is just really throwing me off. Fuck if I know."
He chuckled and it sounded like a low rumble. "I don't think I've heard you swear before."
I flushed. "I'm trying really hard
for the baby. With my luck, her first word would be fuck."
He grinned. "Didn't know you had it in you."
"Oh, I have it in me. It just depends on how pissed off I get."
"How do you do that anyway? Decode a language?"
I took the journal back as he offered it. "I mean there’s all this number theory that goes into it, but I just like puzzles. I’m not a natural or anything, but my brain won’t ever let one go. Honestly, I'm just one of those people who can't leave something unsolved. I have to figure things out. The human brain is fascinating. Sometimes I leave something alone for weeks, or months, or a couple of years, and then my brain will magically just unlock it for me, and I can go back and solve whatever it was I couldn't solve before."
"And you do that for work? Computer programs?"
I nodded. "For work, I do all the boring number theory stuff because I don’t have the luxury of being precious about the puzzle muse. Most of my biggest clients are governments or video game builders. My company was built on the backs of video game companies, all trying to outdo each other, create the unwinnable game or the uncrackable code, and they hire people like me to do just that or to build it for them. Something so insanely encrypted no one can get past it, except for the very, very few."
"That's amazing. I don't think I ever even solved a Rubix cube."
Lie.
I didn’t know how I knew. It was more than a feeling though. He was lying. I don’t know how I knew, but I did. I studied him closely. "There is something about you that makes you seem nice and affable, but there is something about your eyes that tells me that you're extremely shrewd. That you have experienced solving enough puzzles of your own, or maybe you're a little like me and you can't let something go."
His brow furrowed, and his gaze narrowed on me. "You're going to figure me out, aren't you?"
"Probably. Sorry. It's a hazard of the job. I tend to over analyze."
