Page 34 of Bad Wolf's Nanny

“That’s not fine.” She stepped closer, nose wrinkling. “You’re covered in mud. And…is that blood?”

He glanced down. “Some of it’s not mine.”

“That doesn’t make it better!”

He opened his mouth to deflect, but she was already turning on her heel, marching into the kitchen. Cupboard doors opened. The clatter of a bowl. She returned with a damp cloth and a disapproving scowl that made her look like someone’s irritated librarian.

“Sit down,” she ordered.

“I’m not—”

“You arebruised,Dane. You’re limping and you smell like…well, like a wet dog. Sit.”

He obeyed. Not because she sounded particularly threatening, but because it was kind of funny. And because her hands, when they touched his cheek to dab at a scrape, were warm and soft and very, very distracting.

“What happened?” she asked, voice quieter now.

“Bunch of hotheaded shifters got into it behind the club. I broke it up.”

“With your face?”

“With my fists. They just fought back.”

Lola huffed, but her movements slowed. She was focused. Gentle.

“Sam’s napping,” she murmured as she worked. “He took the bottle early today and passed out like a drunk sailor. I was going to wake him soon for the next feed.”

Dane nodded, watching her out of the corner of his eye. Her face was pinched with concentration. There was a smear of something on her sleeve, baby spit-up or mashed banana, probably, and her hair was coming loose in frizzed wisps around her face.

She looked exhausted.

And absolutely beautiful.

Shit.

“I’m fine, you know,” he muttered.

“I know,” she said. “Doesn’t mean I’m not allowed to worry.”

His chest tightened.

She didn’t say things like that, not usually. She deflected, huffed, snapped. But the way she said it now, gentle, a little breathless, like she hadn’t meant to let it slip at all…

He looked down at his hands.

“He smiled this morning,” Lola said suddenly, “a full gummy grin. Just for me.”

He smiled faintly, “He’s been doing that more lately.”

“He’s getting chubby.”

“He’s eating better with you around.”

Lola hesitated, and Dane continued,“He’s always better with you around.”

He looked up. Their eyes met.

And for a second, just a second, he forgot how to breathe.