I finish wiping tears of laughter off my face after Aegir tells me the funniest story about how he and Bergelmir burnt down their mom’s “she-shed” when they were teenagers. I shouldn’t laugh because I’m sure Bestla was totally pissed off, but still it’s hilarious.
“Can I ask you a favor?” I say to him.
“Yes.”
“Can I spend a full day with you tomorrow, working alongside you with the babies? After that I’m sure I’ll be able to do this alone. But I’d appreciate one full day of learning their schedules.”
“Schedule?”
“Yes.” I glance around the kitchen and the living areas. “Do you have the babies on a feeding, sleeping schedule?”
“Schedule?” he asks again, like he’s never heard that word in relation to a baby. “No, mainly, with the help of my mother or brother, we’ve tried to stay ahead of their needs.”
I can’t hide the grimace that flashes across my face. If I don’t have a schedule, I literally get the jitters. “I thrive on schedules,” I tell him. “These babies will too.”
He crooks an eyebrow at me but shrugs in agreement. “This is exactly why I need you,” he says.
“Well, if you don’t have a set schedule, I suppose you don’t need to stay home from work tomorrow. I can just wing it and try to get my own schedule started.”
“Oh, I don’t leave the house to go to work,” he tells me. “I have a home office set up in one of the spare bedrooms upstairs.”
I blink at him. “You do?”
“Yes. I work from home.”
“So not only are you a single male with twins, but you also work from home and you’re never going to leave?”
His black lips tug up at the edges, exposing the tips of his sharp fangs. “Yes,” he agrees. “I almost never leave the house except to exercise, shop for essentials I can’t get delivered, or to go to appointments. I’ll be here constantly.”
Holy crap.
4
Riley
“Good morning!” A pleasant voice rings out.
“Hi,” I respond with genuine warmth as I recognize the sound of Aegir’s mother entering the house. “We’re in the kitchen.”
I’m readying the morning bottles for both Kari and Loge. They’re gurgling and smiley, but the way Loge has his fist stuffed in his mouth and his tiny feet kicking, I have a feeling I’ve only got minutes before I’ve got a riot on my hands.
I’m kinda proud of the fact that I made it to the nursery this morning before they woke. My tablet was set to monitor the audio in their room to hear if they woke, needing a middle-of-the-night feeding, but they didn’t. Aegir stumbled, sleepy-eyed, into the nursery after I had already changed and dressed both babies, looking deliciously rumpled in his green pajama pants.
“I’ve got it,” I told him.
He stared at me with a look of such profound gratitude I almost teared up. Then he nodded and shuffled back to his own room. I carried the babies down to the kitchen as the distant rumble of his cleansing unit started.
The Hyrrokin “coffee maker” is percolating, although actually it’s making something called Traq, which I’ve noticed over the years a lot of other beings in the four sectors like to drink. Which is why I’ve already programmed the food dispenser to make some yummy New Earth coffee beans. Traq is okay, but it can’t compare to freshly ground and brewed coffee.
“Hi Riley,” Bestla greets as she enters the kitchen. She places a comforting claw on my shoulder, then her eyes light upon the two beings she’s really here to see. “My babies!” she squeals and rushes over to where they’re both propped up on matching bouncers.
I smile at the adorable way Bestla squats and gives them each a messy grandma kiss. Both of the babies smile and coo in return. This powerful red-skinned woman with no hair on her head, two black horns on her forehead, fangs, silver-tipped claws and a twitching black barbed tail loves her grandbabies. I instantly liked her yesterday when she was so warm and genuine towards me and easy-going about all the trouble when the babies lit the couch on fire. Now I see my instincts were correct.
“You want a cup of Traq?” I ask. “It’s ready.”
She stands back up surprisingly fast and puts out a claw. “Sure, I’d love another cup.”
I immediately fill a mug and hand it over.
She glances around at the changes I’ve already made to the kitchen. “Wow, you look settled in,” she says.
“Thanks. Last night Aegir gave me a tour and showed me where all the supplies were. All I’ve really done so far is reorganize a few items on the counter for easier access.”
“How was it, the first night taking care of two babies?” she asks. “I’ve been here in the past, I know how hard it can be.”
And as I answer and tell her all about their diaper changes, what they ate and how they slept, I notice that today she’s wearing a billowy blue tube top, of some kind of fancy material, along with black slacks and sparkly jewelry. She looks very professional. The lack of shoes and hair on her head is still throwing me, but this is starting to seem normal.
“Are you on your way somewhere?” I ask.
“Yes, I’m going to work, but I thought I’d stop by here first to see how you were doing and if you needed any help and… Where’s Aegir?”
“Aegir? Oh, he’s getting ready. I think he’s using the cleansing unit?”
“Good.” She takes a sip and sits in a chair nearest the babies. “That’ll take him a while. Meanwhile that gives us time to talk alone. Tell me, has my son told you the whole story about the female who bore his offspring?”
“Not really,” I answer carefully as I bring two warm bottles of formula to the table. “He explained a little when I first arrived, but nothing more…” And I’m so, so curious. “You want to help me feed Kari and Loge?” I ask.
“Sure.”
I toss Bestla a towel, which she expertly catches and drapes over her chest. Then she picks up Kari who is closer to her and I settle into an opposite chair with Loge. We each now have a baby to feed in our arms, a cup of Traq at the ready and we’re ready to chat.
“Hmm.” She glances around, making sure we’re alone in the kitchen, then continues, “Well, I think you need to hear the whole story.”
“Okay,” I agree, because I think I need to hear it too.
“The babies’ mother’s name is Kritan Softstone. She met my son through his business. Aegir went on one date with her a year ago. One date. This was really unusual that he even went out with her because for the last five years my son has basically been a recluse, working on his business and that’s it. He doesn’t date. And after that one date he immediately decided she wasn’t the kind of Hyrrokin he wanted to pursue a relationship with. He broke things off with Kritan. But she couldn’t accept no, and turned into a stalker. He had to get a restraining order. It was terrible. And not once during that whole time did she mention that she was pregnant. He lost touch with Kritan for almost a year. He’d gratefully thought she’d moved on. But instead she was actually pregnant with the twins and hiding it from him.”
“Hiding it from him? Why would she do that?”
“I think it’s because she wanted her freedom. If she’d told him before the birth, he still wouldn’t have wanted her, but he wanted his babies. Since she was carrying his twins, he would’ve demanded restrictions, but he wouldn’t have declared her his bound.”
“Hmm. So for a whole year she was gone and then she shows up and drops off the twins?”
“Yes. And she’s suing him for the right to be declared his mate.”
“What?” I sputter.
“Because Kritan bore his offspring, she says she’s his bound, which in our species really is a thing. If a female bears the offspring of a male, she’s legally his bound.”
“But what if he has more than one living female who’s born his children? What if he has two children from one woman, and a few from another?”
Bestla gives me an assessing look. “Well, t
hat does happen, rarely and it’s a terrible, messy situation. But don’t worry, this accusation is working through the courts right now. There should be a judgment on this soon. I’m certain that Aegir will be cleared. She tricked him into getting her pregnant and then she left her babies. She’s no mother, or a mate. Aegir needs to have the freedom to find an appropriate bound for his offspring.”
“Well, I’m not worried. I’m worried for Aegir, and the babies.”
“Uh huh. Well, right now my son is legally in limbo and cannot declare himself for another. But the moment he is freed from this judgment, then he can work on finding a mate and a real mother for his babies.”
A stab of pain jabs me right in the heart at the thought of Aegir being free to start dating again. I imagine being in my room as he readies for a date. I remind myself that I’m just the staff, the nanny, the hired help and nothing more. But it’s difficult.
“We do not commit adultery on Tarvos,” Bestla announces.
“What?”
“I researched this recently. I was trying to learn more about your species, about humans. I read that when humans mate, or marry, that often the partner will stray with another and pleasure mate outside of the bonded pair. It is called adultery? We do not do that here on Tarvos. Once we commit with another, or if there’s even the taint of a bound, Hyrrokin will not practice sex with another.”
“Oh, okay, thank you for explaining that,” I answer, my cheeks hot with embarrassment. Apparently Bestla doesn’t understand the concept of TMI.
“Aegir told me Kritan said she was on birth control. Plus, he used his own. He now suspects she tampered with the birth control.”
This was getting worse and worse. “So she tricked him into getting her pregnant?”
“Yes.”
“And then she got pregnant with twins? Wow. And he didn’t know?”
“No. She didn’t tell him anything about it until she’d had the babies. She was waiting to make sure she delivered healthy babies before surprising him with it. But it must’ve been too much for her. She didn’t have those children because she actually wanted to be a mother, she just wants Aegir.”
“Really?”
Bestla gives me an indulgent smile. “Yes. My son is a good match for a female.”
Oh yeah. Aegir’s got plenty of currency, I’d forgotten about that. I’ve been hired by many wealthy beings, and Aegir and his family are certainly the most laid-back of any of them. He drives a really fancy car and lives in some kind of exclusive gated community, but I’m used to working for beings with such extreme wealth that Aegir’s lifestyle seems much more normal. Usually I have a very defined client/worker relationship with my employer. I become close with the client I’m attending, or in this case the babies I’m caring for, but I’m always friendly, if not a bit distant, with the being actually paying my checks.
But Aegir is different. I feel so very comfortable around him. A male with red skin, a barbed tail, horns, fangs and claws? And a male who I suspect has a cock in proportion with the rest of his body.
My cheeks heat and I glance away, avoiding Bestla’s gaze, because I cannot believe I’m daydreaming again about my boss’s dick.
“Good morning, mother,” Aegir announces as he strides into the spacious kitchen.
Bestla leaves for work, and Aegir and I are alone with the twins.
Tall, muscular, shirtless Aegir Touchstone.
Clean and smelling like soap and sunshine with his wide chest and tight abs on display. The longer I spend around him, the more I notice his skin isn’t scary-red, but instead it looks more of a dark magenta red. And jeez his cut, muscular arms are basically works of art. The shiny black horns on his head are also less scary. But I have to admit that barbed tail is still freaking me out a little. All of the Hyrrokin wear clothing that allows for the tail. His trousers button in the front and at the back. And I suddenly wonder how they’re able to button the back…
Aegir settles his large frame into a seat at the kitchen table and starts eating a platter of meat that he’s shredding with his shiny, almost metallic-looking claws and eating with his bare hands. Loge is reclining next to him on a bouncer. And I’m holding Kari in my arms and playing with her perfect little feet while I eat pancakes and bacon. Kari’s wearing the most darling pair of lavender socks with tiny bows on top. And I’m inordinately pleased that I was able to program the Hyrrokin food dispenser to make human food. My breakfast is delicious.
And then I remember something really important. I look up.
Aegir’s not leaving the house and going to work and returning at dinner time like most beings. Will he eat lunch with us? How is this going to work out?
“How is this going to work out?” I ask.
Aegir swallows a bite of food. “I don’t understand your question.”
I wave a fork around. “You, me, the babies, with you working from home. How is this going to work? Are you going to eat lunch with us too?”
He seems to think about it. “I can eat lunch with you. I’d like that. I enjoy this, eating breakfast with you. I’ve hardly been able to work at all for the last two weeks, so I’ll be working a lot right now trying to catch up. I appreciate that this morning you were already taking over the babies’ care. Thank you.”
I duck my head, hiding my smile. “You’re welcome.” I shrug. “But it’s my job. Of course I’ll be there first thing in the morning and even late at night, so you can sleep and work when you need to.”
“Your job,” he mumbles to himself. A pensive look settles on his features and for some strange reason I feel bad at the way I answered. Bad for what? Shouldn’t he be happy that the nanny he hired is doing what she’s supposed to do?
“I’ll be here each morning to eat breakfast with you and Kari and Loge,” he continues. “I’ll stop working to eat lunch with you too, and we’ll also have dinner together each night. I’ll stop work at final meal, and I’ll spend time with you and the babies. I’ll help you wash and change them, feed them and put them down at the end of the evening.”
“Oh okay.” Wow, I hadn’t expected all that help. Or even to see him that much.
Kari kicks her tiny legs and I impulsively bend down and kiss one of her darling little feet. I look back up to find Aegir staring at me with a heated gaze that drops to my chest then rises again to my face.
I catch my breath because it suddenly feels like a million butterflies are taking flight in my belly.
He exhales and then quietly returns to his meal.
Wow. Just…wow. Does Aegir feel the same attraction for me that I feel for him?
No. No way. I’m not exactly some Hyrrokin babe. I’m human and his employee.
Finally, we both finish eating and Aegir announces he’s going upstairs. He picks up both babies, one in each sculpted arm, and gives them each a kiss goodbye. I think my ovaries are going to explode.
“Wait, wait. I’ve got to take a picture,” I tell him.
He shrugs. I grab my tablet and take quick pictures of Aegir holding his babies in the crook of each arm, the both of them staring up at him with bright smiles on their fierce little red faces. Then he lifts his regal head and huffs out a bright flame and both of the babies ooh in wonder and copy their daddy by opening their mouths and breathing out tiny flames at the same time. All three of them are illuminated by the streams of orange and yellow fire at the same time. It’s so fucking precious I can’t handle, and I get a picture of that too.
It makes me almost wish I could breathe fire. Almost.
I take tons of pictures and delete the bad ones and keep the few that I’m proud of. I show them to Aegir and he’s pleased.
“This one we should frame,” I tell him.
It’s so cute how embarrassed he looks.
“Can I share that picture with your family and a picture of the babies to my best friend too? She’d love it.”
“Yes,” he agrees.
Then Aegir leaves to go upstairs to start work and I settle the ba
bies onto matching play mats on the living room floor. I sit next to them and send a picture I took earlier of the twins being adorable to my best friend because I know she loves babies. She answers right away.
OMG where did you find those cute babies?
I’m a nanny now.
Nanny? I thought you were a heartbeat away from ending your indentured servitude and you were super serious about a career in geriatrics. What happened?
I know, right? I’ll tell you more tonight.
Okay, I want the whole story!
I can’t believe I’ve been so busy that I haven’t even told Chloe what happened. Crazy. I tell Chloe everything.
I send the picture of Aegir and his twins breathing fire to Bestla and also to Aegir’s brother. Bestla immediately responds with ten Hyrrokin happy faces and a line of flaming hearts. And Bergelmir ghosts me.
5
Aegir
In the evening I eat dinner with my human nanny and the twins.
It’s frightening how much I enjoy this “family time” with this female and my two offspring. There’s an expansive never-used table in the formal dining room we could use, but Riley and I both enjoy the proximity of the smaller kitchen table.
Before the arrival of my offspring, I hardly used this kitchen. I worked nonstop, ate nutrition bars, consumed healthy dinners from the food dispenser and exercised in the evenings. But one fateful morning the guard at the gate called to ask if I wanted to allow Kritan Softstone and two babies entrance. Babies? I allowed it because I couldn’t get past my curiosity. And then I find twins in baskets on my doorstep. Kritan is there, babbling about how they’re mine, she’s leaving them with me, but this still means I’m legally her bound. I barely heard a word she said, my eyes dropped to the babies. And the moment I crouched down and inhaled their scents and met their gazes and touched their delicate claws, I knew it was true.
His Human Nanny Page 4
