Total pages in book: 59
Estimated words: 56208 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 281(@200wpm)___ 225(@250wpm)___ 187(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 56208 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 281(@200wpm)___ 225(@250wpm)___ 187(@300wpm)
I can practically feel his pain. I squeeze his hand even harder, telling myself I’m just the nanny offering her employer some support. But that’s crap. We both know it. No nanny would ever behave this way with her boss if something weren’t growing between them.
“It was hard to do that,” he goes on. “I already loved Emery, but I had to know she was mine. She was—she is. So I told Sloane I was willing to try and make a family out of the three of us. For a few months, she did her best. But then she got bored, and she left. It sounds wrong, Callie, but I was relieved when she went. I was much happier with it just being me and Emery. Sure, Sloane would visit from time to time, but never with any serious intent. I was happy it being just the two of us until…”
He looks down at me. He’s smoldering with emotion and desire. I’m getting a little too good at reading him to be able to tell myself any different. He slides his hand up my arm, to my shoulder, then finally to my face. He cradles my cheek, his warmth sinking into me.
Stop, I almost say, as he leans down. We can’t keep doing this.
But I don’t have the courage to produce the words. Instead, I meet him halfway, pressing my lips against his. This is our most emotional kiss yet. I don’t know how I can tell the difference. It feels more intense, but not in a steamy way, not like he’s hungrily claiming me so that he can move on to the next step.
I know what it is. We’re kissing for kissing’s sake. He groans as our tongues meet each other, cradling my face in both hands now, his passionate noises sounding like pure possession. And, even if I’ve run from it my entire life, I want to be possessed. By him. If only for a moment.
The kiss keeps going, my entire body blooming with heat, my cheeks feeling like they’re on fire with his touch.
I only stop when I hear footsteps approaching. I lean back just in time for Emery to appear on the back porch. The last thing we need is her catching us together. I think she’d be happy, and that would be wrong. What if this doesn’t work out? What if I have to leave? She’s already been abandoned once.
“C-A-L-L-I-E,” she says. “Can you make me a story, please?”
I smile. “Sure, Emery. Which one would you like me to read?”
“No, not read.” She giggles, sounding so stinking cute. For a crazy, unbelievable moment, I imagine her leaning over a crib, laughing at a baby, her brother or sister—my child. I actually rub my eyes as if to dispel the image. What’s wrong with me? “Make me one.”
“Make…”
“You’re really clever, Callie.” She walks over. “I bet you could make the best story ever. And, and…” Her speech speeds up in tandem with her excitement. “And maybe Daddy, you can act out what she’s telling. It’ll be like the TV, only way better because it’s Callie and Daddy!”
After the evening she’s had, there’s no way either of us is going to say no.
***
Emery lies in her big bed, the skylight letting in swathes of moonlight and starlight. She’s got the covers pulled up around her chin, her little face brimming with joy as she looks over at me. Gray stands just behind me, ready to act out whatever I say. This whole thing feels very family-like. Like I’m her mother. And if I were, I’d never treat her the way Sloane did. It’s a dangerous thought. It all feels far too natural.
It's just a job—I’m just a nanny.
Blah. Blah. Blah.
“Once upon a time, there was a princess who lived in a big castle,” I say.
Emery giggles. “Are you a princess, Daddy?”
He chuckles. “I’m doing my best.”
“This princess—”
“What’s her name, Callie?”
“Uh, Cassandra,” I murmur, then go on. “Princess Cassandra wasn’t allowed to choose what she read, what she wore, or what she thought about, even. There was a big bad dragon called Josh… raka. Joshraka.” I’m not doing a great job at masking the fact I’m talking about my past, but it’s not like Emery will know.
Emery giggles. “That’s a funny name for a dragon.”
“He wasn’t a very funny dragon,” I tell her, turning to see Gray walking up and down and waving his hands in front of his face.
“What?” he says. “They’re supposed to be flames.”
I burst into laughter. Emery does, too.
“One day, Princess Cassandra decided she wanted to choose what she wanted, so she ran away from the castle. But life was difficult outside the castle walls. She had to learn how to live on her own and how to make money. She had to learn to be strong when she felt scared. She had to learn to be tough. And that meant closing herself off.”