Page 43 of Bad Wolf's Nanny

Tucked into his side, one hand resting lightly over his stomach, her face relaxed in sleep.

Dane froze.

The blanket had slipped halfway down her shoulder, revealing the curve of her neck, the delicate collarbone, the rise and fall of her breath. Her features, usually drawn tight with nerves or masked behind a wall of dry sarcasm, were soft now. Bare. Peaceful in a way he’d never seen before.

He had absolutely no memory of her falling asleep there.

One minute they’d been talking quietly, Sam fed and fussing in his crib, and the next…

This.

Dane swallowed.

It should’ve felt weird. Invasive. Hell, if it had been any other woman, itwould’vebeen. He didn’t do this. Falling asleep next to someone? Waking up with his arm half-curled around her waist? That kind of comfort didn’t come easy to him. Didn’t come at all.

But right now?

He didn’t hate it.

In fact, the longer he looked down at her, the more that disorientation faded into something else…heavier and harder to name.

Possessive, almost.

His gaze flicked to Sam’s crib, a few feet away. The baby was still asleep, curled like a pup, one hand flopped above his head.

Dane exhaled slowly.

He wasn’t sure when his life had become this strange, quiet thing. A woman on his couch, a baby in his home, a calm morning that didn’t smell of blood or sweat or adrenaline.

And gods help him, he liked it.

Too much.

He shifted slightly, trying not to wake her. But as his fingers brushed her arm, just a ghost of contact, his phone blared to life on the table beside them.

The shrill buzz shattered the stillness like glass under a boot.

Lola jerked upright with a small gasp, her hair tumbling around her face. She blinked wildly, disoriented, pulling back from him as if she’d been burned.

“I…I’m sorry!” she blurted, clutching at the blanket. “I didn’t mean to…I must’ve…oh God.”

Dane sat up more slowly, rubbing the back of his neck. “It’s fine.”

She was already halfway off the couch, cheeks flushed scarlet, “I didn’t mean to fall asleep on you, I was just…Sam wouldn’t settle and…and you were warm, and then…oh,damn it.”

“Lola.”

She froze, halfway to standing.

He reached out and caught her wrist, gently. Not enough to stop her, just enough to make her pause.

Their eyes met.

“It’s okay,” he said softly, “really.”

Her lips parted. She looked like she wanted to say something, apologize again, maybe, or make some awkward joke, but the phone buzzed again, urgent this time.

Dane sighed and released her wrist, reaching for it.