Unexpected Heat: An Enemies to Lovers Romance

by Sarah J. Brooks

  “Hi,” Brad says, and it hits me just how handsome he is.

  “Hi,” I say. “Come on in for some cake and coffee. “We’re in the middle of a game of hide and seek.”

  “Thanks,” he says, and he enters.

  Masculine cologne surrounds him, and I inhale a wisp of it as he goes past me.

  “Isaac, your dad’s home,” I shout.

  “You have to find me first,” a voice calls from one of the bedrooms.

  “I’ll find him while you make the coffee,” Brad says.

  “Go on,” I tell him and go into the kitchen.

  As I set up the coffee, I can hear their laughter. It brings tears to my eyes. I’d thought that being left when you had a child was difficult. It wasn’t. The child makes it easier to bear. They give you a reason for going on.

  Brad and Isaac walk into the kitchen, hand in hand.

  “You have to taste Mila’s cake, Dad,” Isaac says.

  “Can’t wait,” Brad says and winks at me.

  I serve him coffee and cake, and we all sit down at the table.

  “Wait, are you all going to just sit and watch me eat?” Brad says.

  I laugh. He’s right. It’s uncomfortable for him. “I’ll serve us each a tiny piece; what do you say, Isaac?”

  “None for me, thanks. James gave me a storybook. I’m going to read it.” He slides off the chair and goes off to the living room.

  I serve myself a tiny piece just to keep Brad company.

  “I can’t tell you how grateful I am,” he says in between mouthfuls. “Isaac’s right. It’s delicious.”

  “You’re welcome on both counts,” I tell him. “If you like, I can mind Isaac for you.”

  He pauses. “Really, like a job?”

  I hadn’t meant it like that, but why not? I might as well keep myself occupied while I’m here. As much as I’m enjoying my time here in LA, time does crawl by when you have nothing specific to do. Plus, if Brad is paying me, he wouldn’t feel like he’s imposing.

  “Yes. I’m between jobs, and I don’t really mind. I can even throw in some cooking and cleaning in there.” I’m not hot on cleaning, but if it’ll sweeten my offer…

  “I can’t afford to have you do all that,” Brad says.

  “The official job is a nanny. The rest is a bonus.”

  He peers at me. “Are you sure?”

  “Absolutely.”

  “Okay then,” he says, and we sit smiling at each other. “I’ll show you around the house.”

  He finishes his coffee and cake, and we all leave my house and go to theirs. Isaac disappears into his room as his father gives me a tour. The rooms are large and airy, and everything looks so neat.

  “I like to clean,” he explains sheepishly when I make a comment to that effect. “A dramatic person could even describe me as being OCD.”

  I laugh. It’s refreshing to meet a clean man. I can’t help comparing him to Clay. When he left a room, you knew he had been there by the trail of a disaster he left behind.

  Isaac’s room is on one side of the hallway opposite his dad’s, and right opposite is the guest room. I troop in after Brad.

  “Is Monday to Friday okay with you?” he asks. “And weekends off.”

  “It’s fine.” I stare at the queen-sized bed and imagine tumbling on it with Brad on top of me. I look up and meet his eyes, and for a few seconds, I see a reflection of what I’m feeling. Heat courses through me at the realization that he wants me as much as I want him.

  “Is it easier for you to sleep here during the week?” His voice comes out husky, and his words hold so many promises.

  My chest rises and falls. The downside of having a big bosom. When I breathe fast, anyone can see it, and now Brad’s eyes are clamped on my chest.

  “I think so. Thanks.”

  He raises his glance to my mouth. Unconsciously, I part my lips and then realize what I’m doing and shut it.

  “That’s settled then,” Brad says. “We haven’t talked about money ...”

  I wave a hand away. “We will. I know you’ll be fair.”

  “Thank you.”

  He stands to the side of the door, and I sway my hips the slightest bit as I walk past. I can feel his eyes burning my back, and I feel sexier than I ever have. Jessica will shit her pants when I tell her I’ll be living in the same house as my crush.

  I chuckle at the person I’ve become. Brazen, careless, and a total slut. And I’m loving every moment of it.

  Chapter 5

  Brad

  Today was a long day, and I’m glad it’s over. We’ve responded to three MVA’s, and we lost one of the accident victims. He was stuck in a mangled vehicle, and we managed to get him out. The medics were ready and waiting, but he couldn’t be revived.

  It’s always a bad day when there’s a loss of life, and no matter how many times you experience it, the sadness never goes away.

  Collins claps me on the shoulder and walks me to the exit of the station.

  “Bet you are glad to be going home,” he says.

  I think about Mila and Isaac, and the knots in my stomach begin to untangle. “Yeah, I love the job we do, but sometimes it’s an absolute drainer.”

  We stand outside the station, and I get the feeling that Collins had a reason for walking me out. He clears his throat. “Debbie told me you have a new neighbor watching Isaac.”

  I smile. Just the mention of her existence is enough to make me smile. I have to keep reminding myself that she’s Isaac’s nanny now, and any ideas I might have had must be nixed. I’m not one to mix business and pleasure, and I’m not about to start now.

  That doesn’t mean that I can’t enjoy her company and beauty.

  “Yes, her name is Mila.”

  Collins rubs the back of his neck. “Look, I don’t want to butt into your business, but I promised Debbie I’d ask. Is it safe to have a stranger watch over Isaac?”

  I understand his worries, and I appreciate how the firefighting community and their families have rallied around Isaac. I can see why Debbie is worried; after all, Mila is a complete stranger. The thing is, I trust my gut instincts, and from the moment I met Mila, I was at ease.

  She’s not a danger to Isaac. She’s a danger to me and my heart if I allow that to happen, but I won’t. I can’t tell all that to Collins. These are not the kind of things that men talk about.

  “I’ve employed her,” I tell Collins. “She’s Isaac’s part-time nanny now. Please tell Debbie not to worry. Mila’s safe.”

  Collins runs his fingers through his hair. “I can have her checked out, you know, to be sure.” He has a contact in the FBI that we’ve all used at one point or another. I’m grateful for the offer, but there’s no way I’m having Mila checked out. It’s not fair, and all she has done is be kind to us.

  “We’ll see,” I tell Collins.

  He looks relieved when the conversation is over. I stifle a chuckle. Collins is the buffest of all the guys in the station, but when it comes to his wife, he’s a pussy cat. Love does that to a man. I remember my marriage to Brenda. I’d have done anything she asked, including walking on a tightrope hanging a hundred feet off the ground.

  The loyalty had not been mutual. I’ve come out of my marriage a wiser person. Your heart is yours to keep, and I have every intention of keeping mine under lock and key. The days of giving my all to a woman, no matter how beautiful or sexy she is, are over.

  Collins claps my back. “Tomorrow then.”

  The drive home is smooth, and the traffic is not too bad. I’m home in fifteen minutes. I grab my bag and sprint up to the front door.

  As soon as I enter, a tantalizing aroma hits me. I make out the smell of garlic and roasting meat. My stomach growls in response.

  “I’m home!” I shout, and I hear running feet as Isaac comes to greet me. I drop my bag and open my arms. I catch Isaac as he runs to me.

  “Dad!”

  A thrill runs through me. It does every time he calls me dad. Any tensi
on or worries or pain melts away when I am with my boy. He makes it all worth it. As long as we’re together, I’m happy. Sure, it would be nice to have a good woman, but the risks are too great. Brenda left me feeling like I’d been run over by a truck. There were days when I wondered if I’d ever feel like myself again.

  Mila comes into the foyer. Her gorgeous blonde hair is held away from her face in a ponytail at the top of her head. Several strands of hair have escaped, and my fingers itch to smooth them back into place. She is wearing my white apron over a pair of shorts.

  “Hi.” It’s a wonderful thing to have a woman in the house again, even if she’s paid to be here.

  “Hi,” she says and gestures at the apron. “I hope you don’t mind that I borrowed this.”

  “Not at all. It suits you.”

  “Dad, Mila and I are cooking dinner,” Isaac says, looking up at me.

  I break my stare and ruffle his hair. “Whatever it is you are cooking, smells wonderful.”

  “We thought we’d get dinner started early,” Mila said. “Isaac’s been a lot of help.”

  Isaac grins. “You did a lot, too, Mila.”

  We troop into the kitchen, leaving Isaac in the living room playing with his toys.

  “How was your first day of work?” I ask Mila. The kitchen is spotlessly clean.

  “Good, not much to do, to be honest. The house is very clean,” Mila says. “Isaac and I did some coloring before we started preparing dinner.”

  “Thank you. He really likes you.” And so do I.

  She has her back to me as she bends to check the food in the oven. My eyes are glued on her fine ass and legs. I inhale sharply. Staying away from the new nanny will take all of my self-control. I can already feel the beginnings of a hard-on. I need to escape before I scare Mila off.

  “I’ll just go and grab a shower before dinner,” I tell her and leave the kitchen.

  She turns and smiles. Her face lights up. My eyes are pulled to her mouth. Her lips are made for kissing.

  “Enjoy your shower,” she says.

  By the time I reach the privacy of my room, I have a raging hard-on. I strip and pad into the bathroom and turn on the shower. I turn the knob to cold. I need all the help I can get to cool down my body.

  The shower sprays my face and cascades down my body. I can’t stop thinking about Mila. She’s all curves. A real woman. I imagine snapping her bra open and feasting my eyes on her tits as they spill out. I hold the weight of them in my hands.

  The cold water is doing nothing to my cock, which is rock hard now. I grab my washcloth, pour a dollop of shower gel, and proceed to clean myself. My cock throbs painfully as I wash around it. When I’m done, I wrap my hand at the base and close my eyes.

  Mila’s tits pop into my mind. I groan softly as I think of what I’d like to do to them. I’d worship each nipple, teasing it with my tongue and sucking on it hard until she lets out a cry of pain and pleasure. I stroke my shaft as the images grow more vivid in my mind.

  I spread Mila’s thighs and bury my face into her pussy to inhale her special scent. When I’ve ingrained it into my mind, I spread her pussy lips open and take in the sight of her swollen clit. Juices leak out, and I capture every drop with my tongue.

  Mila’s moans and cries surround me.

  “You taste so good,” I tell her. With long strokes, I swipe from entrance to entrance with my tongue. I feast on her pussy as she cries for more.

  I push one finger into her pussy and tease her clit with my thumb. I insert a second finger and finger fuck her while licking her clit.

  “I want you,” she screams.

  I tease her slit with my cock before plunging it into her pussy. I thrust into my hand as I imagine my cock buried deep in Mila’s pussy.

  Fuck me, Brad.

  The voice sounds so real that I pop my eyes open. I’m alone in the shower with a painful hard-on. I pump furiously, all the while imagining plunging my cock into Mila’s pussy over and over again.

  My cock fills her completely. Her fingernails rake my back. She bites my neck, all the while calling out my name.

  Harder.

  I thrust faster into my hand. I’m lost completely in her. Her pussy tightens on my cock as her orgasm builds up. I slam into her, and she arches her body to meet every hard thrust. Her nails dig into my butt, pulling me in deeper.

  Fuck yeah. She whimpers. Her orgasm is close. So is mine.

  Her pussy tightens and clamps down. She screams. This spins me off to my own orgasm. I growl as I spill my cum onto the floor. When it’s over, I turn the knob to hot water and stand there as the water cascades down my body.

  I feel both relieved and ashamed. It’s been a while since I jacked off. Worse, to fantasies about the woman who is working for me, and that makes her a no-go zone. What would she say if she knew that her new boss had just mind-fucked her?

  I turn off the shower and towel myself down. I dress and head downstairs. Mila has already set the table. In the middle is a vase with wildflowers.

  “It looks beautiful,” I tell her when she comes in carrying a casserole dish.

  “Thanks,” she says.

  Just like you. The thought pops into my mind, but I don’t say it. “Do you want me to fetch Isaac?”

  “Yes, please, dinner’s ready.”

  A feeling of Deja vu comes over me. The scene unfolding reminds me of the early years of my marriage with Brenda. She had cooked every evening and seemed happy to be a stay at home mom. I had asked her countless times whether she wanted to go to school to study or get a job. It wasn’t for the money. I just thought it would be nice if she could also find fulfillment in a career or a job as I was. She always said no and that she was just happy to take care of me.

  Then Isaac had come, and that had been the end of that. Two years later, I happened to arrive home early and found Mike fucking my wife in my living room. With my son napping down the hallway. I went ape-shit.

  Chapter 6

  Mila

  “Did you always want to be a firefighter?” I ask Brad while skimming his wide chest and muscled arms. He’s in a V-neck T-shirt that hugs his chest.

  “Pretty much,” he says, his eyes dipping to the cleavage peeking from my blouse.

  I’m ashamed to admit that after Isaac went to bed, I undid the first button of my blouse. Anything to tempt Brad into grabbing and kissing me. I’m in no doubt that he feels as I do. He wants me too. But something is stopping him from taking that first step.

  “My dad was a policeman, and I have two uncles who were firefighters. Public service is pretty much a family thing.”

  I stop lusting long enough to digest what he’s said. A tone of pride creeps into his voice as he speaks about his family.

  “They live north of the state,” he added with a soft smile. “What about you, Mila? Where are you from?”

  What about me? I was as fucked up as they came when it came to family. My father passed on five years ago in the middle of his third divorce. My mother is on her fourth marriage. I find it puzzling when people speak about their families and don’t roll their eyes.

  “My father passed on a few years ago,” I say, and a sympathetic look comes over Brad’s features. I’m tempted to tell him to save his emotions. My father is not worth it. He was not a good person. I shrug instead.

  “My mother lives in Spain with her husband,” I tell Brad.

  He nods. “It’s a good thing she found someone else to love.”

  I almost laugh out loud at that. A bitter laugh. I don’t think it is love that mom usually looks for. “He’s her fourth husband.”

  I stifle the urge to laugh at Brad’s reaction. He’s shocked but trying very hard to hide it. There’s silence as he takes that in. I sip my coffee and stare at him over the rim of my mug. He has the kind of face that you want to keep staring at.

  I realize suddenly that all along, I’ve assumed his relationship status. Horror comes over me, and I almost choke on my coffee. What if I’ve been
lusting over a man who is in a relationship? I take a deep breath and think logically. I’m sure there is no girlfriend. He or Isaac would already have mentioned it.

  “I’m sorry. That must be tough for you,” he says, his voice sincere.

  Tears immediately spring to my eyes, and I gulp my coffee to hide them. It is how he says it—full of genuine sympathy. As if he understands the rough childhood I’ve had.

  I have a slew of siblings and step-siblings. When I was growing up, we all moved around a lot, depending on who was married to who. It was chaotic, and forming lifelong friends was impossible. I met Jessica in college, but before that, I’d never had a permanent best friend.

  I grew up believing that everything was temporary.

  When my tears are not a threat anymore, I meet his gaze and smile. “It was, but there were a lot of us. That made it easier, knowing I wasn’t going through all that alone.”

  “You have many siblings?” he said.

  “And step-siblings,” I say. “What about you?” I always feel emotionally rung when I talk about my family.

  “Three brothers, all married and living with their families near my parents. I’m the only one who ventured further out.”

  Brad tells me all about his family, and I laugh along with him as he describes each of them. I don’t feel envious when I hear the closeness other people share with their families. I came to terms with it. I may not understand how it works, but I’m okay with it.

  He’s easy to talk to, and then when next I glance at the time, it’s eleven o’clock. Definitely, time for me to go to bed. I stretch and yawn, and when I next look at Brad, his eyes are on my chest. He looks away quickly. There’s no doubt that he wants me, but something is stopping him.

  “I’ll call it a night,” I tell him as I carry our cups to the kitchen.

  He follows me. “Me too. I hope you’ll be comfortable in your room.”

  “I’m sure I will, thanks.” I turn on the tap and rinse the cups. When I finish and turn around, I find Brad watching me.

  My gaze is pulled to the visible bulge at the front of his pants. My mouth waters as I imagine running my hand over his bulge and teasing his cock through the material of his pants.