Page 11 of Bully Wolf’s Nanny (Silvermist Wolves #1)

“Of course I do,” he said, lifting his wine glass to his lips.

“I’ve contributed to the education of an exceptionally smart little girl.

And I got her to agree to get involved in pack life; who knows how much she might contribute when she’s older.

And I found a loophole to bypass her incredibly stubborn mother. ”

Daisy opened and shut her mouth a few times before standing in a slight huff, gathering her plate and Thea’s to take through to the kitchen.

“What you’ve done is sow the seeds to grow a little megalomaniac.”

Nicolas also stood, taking the plates from Daisy’s grasp while ignoring her protest. “I see absolutely nothing wrong with that.”

Daisy’s lips thinned and she picked up their glasses, spinning away from him to walk through into the kitchen.

Truth be told, he was rather pleased with his little idea.

Every time they interacted with the pack, Thea had enthusiastically thrown herself right into the thick of things, joining the rambunctious children as they yelled and chased each other around the place as if she had known them her entire life.

It would do her good to have more exposure.

And if he was taking advantage of the potential the girl so clearly displayed, well then.

That was just mutually beneficial to everyone involved.

He wasn’t about to pass up the opportunity to raise up the next generation of pack leaders.

Thea certainly showed a remarkable amount of potential, even in the short amount of time he had known her.

It was odd to think, but in a lot of ways she reminded him of himself as a boy.

Precocious and arrogant, for sure, but with the intelligence and wit to back it up.

She was almost nothing like Daisy, except for the intelligence, of course.

Daisy, who was always determined to be as kind and considerate as possible.

Like right now. Where she was insisting on doing the washing up herself when he not only had a state-of-the-art dishwasher, but enough staff on retainer to clear up after a banquet.

“You know I have chefs on speed dial. And cleaners. And sommeliers,” Nicolas said as he followed her through into the kitchen, the wine spreading through him, relaxing his limbs into a pleasant ease.

“No wonder you’re so spoiled,” Daisy snarked over her shoulder as she filled the sink with hot soapy water, “you don’t even choose your own wine.”

“It’s not that I don’t,” he said, leaning over her to put the plates in the sink, close enough that her shoulder brushed his chest, “it’s that I don’t have to. And neither do you.”

He meant it, as well. He would give her anything. Her and Thea. Now that they were here, in his house, they were his to care for. To look after. To protect. He realized there wasn’t anything he wouldn’t do for them.

She was silent for a while, her hands submerged in the suds, her gaze fixed out the window. He caught her eye in the reflection, still standing behind her.

She sucked in a breath. And then turned around to face him.

He didn’t step back, and she had to crane her neck to look up at him.

“Thank you,” she said softly, drying her hands on a dishcloth, “for Thea. I know it’s nothing to you, that money is nothing to you, but to me…”

“It’s not nothing,” he said, “to me, I mean. It’s not nothing.”

She looked up at him, her lips parted, her green eyes wide and innocent and entirely too trusting.

He swallowed.

“Thank you,” she said again, her voice impossibly quiet, “for all of this. I…I didn’t know what to expect. When I took the job. Things between us…I mean…I didn’t know how it would be. But it’s been…”

His heart thudded in his chest as she mulled over her words, her eyes flicking down.

“It’s been lovely.”

Slowly, he reached out and took her hand. It was impossibly small in his, warm and damp from the water, but soft, nevertheless.

“I’m glad.”

Her breathing hitched, her fingers tightening against his, and she tilted her head up. She smelled like sunshine and flowers and vanilla.

He dipped his head down, his other hand coming to rest at her waist.

Her eyes darted to his lips before her tongue peeked out to wet her own.

He pulled her closer towards him.

She closed her eyes, leaning up, and he leant down.

They were close now. So close. He could feel the warmth of her breath against his lips—

“Mommy! Mommy, I can’t choose a book!”

They leapt apart just as Thea tumbled into the kitchen, several books half-falling from her grasp. For the first time in his adult life, Nicolas truly considered cursing at a small child.

But Daisy was gone, slipped away from his arms to attend to her daughter, her motions jerky and frantic.

Nicolas rolled his shoulders back, frustration lancing through him, and Daisy shot him one almost desperate glance before letting Thea pull her out of the room.

His fist came crashing down on the marble slate of the kitchen counter.

He hissed at the impact, shaking his hand out, debating launching himself out into the woods to let his wolf run, wild and raging.

In the end, however, he decided a cold shower was what he actually needed.