Page 38

Thirty-Eight

RHODES

Why did she have to go and say that?

I stand alone in the kitchen with my heart beating like a caveman’s.

There’s an animalistic touch to what’s going on inside my body.

Fuck, fuck, fuck.

With agile legs, I turn and search for her.

Like a ghost, she rushes away on quiet feet and heads for the stairs.

I chuckle.

Does she really think I’m going to let her get away after she said something like that?

“Not so fast,” I say in a low voice.

My arm comes around the front of her waist, and I press her against me. I lower my mouth to her ear, and she stills in my arms.

“You can’t just run off after saying something like that.”

Her voice shakes. “You’re going to just have to forget I said anything.”

Yeah fucking right.

“I don’t want to lose my job,” she whispers.

Now it’s my turn to pause.

Of course she thinks I’m going to fire her over this. Why wouldn’t she, given what I’ve told her about past nannies?

The difference between Sunny and the rest are her intentions. She isn’t trying to get me to fuck her. She doesn’t crawl into my bed late at night with desperation and hope that I’ll marry her and shower her with my wealth.

This is impulsive behavior.

Not sought-out and well-planned.

I mean, I basically had to force her to spill the dirty little thoughts to begin with.

“I’m not firing you because you enjoyed my touch, Sunshine.”

My heart is flying faster than it ever has before. It’s impressive that she can do this to my body.

Her gulp catches my attention, and I hate that I can’t see her face. Not that I can read her. She’s always catching me off guard with surprise. But still, I want to see the look on her face when I tell her what I’m thinking.

“I should have never touched you to begin with.” It’s the truth. I shouldn’t have stepped in after that asshole got her all flustered. “But I did.”

She surprises me, again, by turning around in my grip. We’re surrounded by the dark, yet I’m still able to trace the curve of her lips. “It didn’t make me recoil or panic…” she whispers. “Instead, it got me all twisted. It woke something up and?—”

“Then let me finish.”

This is not a good idea.

“What?” Her sweet breath, still smelling like birthday cake, fans against my face.

My mouth waters.

“There are no feelings involved,” I admit. “You need someone who you can trust to help you through your fear.” I let my words linger for a second. “It can be a one-time thing.”

I feel her stare, and it makes me burn.

I’m desperate. My blood runs hot the longer she’s pressed against me. The sweet scent of her breath, the way her long hair brushes against my arm. I picture the way she kissed that guy, and my stomach drops.

“If you don’t want me to finish”—I creep my hand up the side of her body and push her hair behind her ear—“that’s okay. We can act like this never happened?—”

“Don’t fall in love with me.”

My body tenses. “Is that what you’re afraid of?”

She nods. “If we do this, it’s a one-time thing. Just to see if I can keep it together throughout...”

Throughout me touching you.

My dick twitches, and I’m hungry. So fucking hungry. For her .

I grab onto her hand and slowly guide her back to the kitchen. Going to either of our bedrooms seems too intimate, and not to mention, my five-year-old is asleep upstairs.

My hands slip around her waist, and I haul her up onto the counter. The light of the oven shows off her pretty features, and all I can stare at are her lips—the same lips that kissed some other guy earlier.

It was hot watching her kiss.

She’s hot.

I was drowning in jealousy, and it’s backing this entire spur-of-the-moment idea to finish.

Sunny gulps when I set her on the cool counter. I step in closer at the same time I drag her to the edge. Her legs spread, and I’m right there at the center, silently begging to touch her.

I catch her eye. She’s full of desperation. I’m not sure if she’s desperate for me to touch her or for her to see if this whole thing works. Either way, it pulls me in closer.

“Promise me this won’t affect your ability to nanny Ellie.” Don’t turn me away now.

A breath slips from her parted lips. “Of course I promise. I would never let that happen.”

I exhale slowly.

“And I promise not to fall in love with you, Sunshine.”

I hate making promises. My father made a lot of promises, and he broke every single one. They have little to no value in my life. But when it comes to Sunny, I’d do a lot more than promise if it meant I got to touch her.

I place my hand on her thigh and gently spread her legs even farther apart.

“The little bit of emotional bandwidth I have goes to Ellie. This won't be anything but physical for me.” Right?

She sucks in air and lets out a heavenly breath. “I thought you didn’t make promises.”

I peer up at her while slowly sliding my hand up her inner thigh. So soft.

“For you, I’ll make an exception.”

Her eyes flutter closed as I drag my fingers against her smooth legs. She should probably burn these sleep shorts. They don’t leave much to the imagination, and the fact that my dick is this hard, even after I fucked my hand in the shower, says a lot.

I’m highly attracted to my daughter’s nanny.

In more ways than one.

“Put your palms flat on the counter.” I try to keep my tone even, but my vocal cords strain with need. “If at any time you feel trapped or you want me to stop, you tell me.”

Sunny nods. “I will.”

Once her hands are face down, I hook my fingers around the waistband of her shorts and panties. I slowly pull the fabric down and glance at her face one last time to make sure she’s okay. All I see are two seductive brown eyes watching my every move.

It sends me to a new high.

I drop my gaze in between her legs, and the sight of her is maddening.

I can’t hide my appreciation. “Perfect.”

Her back arches, and the only thing it does is pull my attention to her nipples straining against the cotton T-shirt she’s wearing. A yearning rushes through me. I want her completely naked. I want to take my time touching every single inch of her body. Then maybe I can stop fantasizing about her every single time I’m in the shower.

I drop to my knees.

She snaps her attention down to the floor. “What are you?—”

“Tikho,” I shush her in Russian.

I’m clearly not in my right state of mind if Russian is slipping out.

“Did you just tell me to be quiet?”

I pause my fingers trailing up her thigh. “I did.” I pull my gaze away from in between her legs. “Did you just understand Russian?”

The tiniest smile plays against her lips. My chest does something weird, and I immediately place my attention back to the most important thing at the moment: her glistening, pretty little cunt.

“Pick a safe word, Sunshine.”

My mouth waters.

Enough talking.

I need to touch her.

Immediately.

She isn’t the only one who hasn’t been with someone in a while.

“Moscow.”

Moscow? She isn’t safe in Moscow. Those Russian men would eat her up in a second.

Me included.

“Moscow?” I repeat. “Good.”

Her sharp inhale ignites my anticipation. I swipe a finger against her arousal, and every muscle in my body locks.

“So wet,” I mutter in awe.

I slowly slide a finger inside of her. She’s warm and tight.

It takes my breath away.

It isn’t difficult to know what her body needs after touching her for a few seconds. Each time I slowly pull my finger away, she whimpers until I put it back in. She likes it slow, and she likes being teased.

Not trapped, though.

I press my mouth to the inside of her knee and place a kiss there while playing with her pussy.

She makes a noise, and I quickly dart my gaze to her face.

Her nipples strain against her T-shirt, showing off her perfectly sized mounds. Flushed cheeks. Parted lips. Fuck, I crave to kiss her. I want to know what it would feel like to slip my tongue inside her mouth and feel her lips against mine.

Instead of entertaining that idea, I go for the next best thing.

I trace the inside of her thigh with my nose. Her breaths are sharp and fast. I pause, only for a second, to make sure she’s still okay. When I’m confident she isn’t going to say the word Moscow , I blow a hot breath against her wet pussy and start to work her body.

My tongue slides against her folds, and I barely suppress my own groan. She’s warm and silky. Tasting her is downright dangerous. If I didn’t think it would be a step too far, I’d have her sit on my face. I’d love nothing more than to be fucking suffocated by her.

I’m out of control. Get a grip.

“Oh my god,” she moans.

I smile to myself and play with her some more. Her pussy starts to tighten, and I suck her into my mouth. My fingers and tongue work together to bring her to the edge of bliss.

“There it is,” I coax, hooking one finger while tugging on her clit with my teeth.

Sunny’s rich brown hair brushes against the counter when she throws her head back. My cock strains against my boxers, but it’s not hard to ignore as I stare at her hips jerking to meet my knuckle.

“More,” she moans quietly.

“Idealna.” I mutter in Russian again. My god, she’s exactly what it means: perfect. Her eyes roll back as her body chases the high.

It’s addicting to watch her.

So addicting I can’t stand it.

I shut my eyes, suddenly afraid I won’t be able to keep my own promise.

Feelings are definitely involved, but they’re not the kind she is afraid of. These are the kind that will have me fantasizing about her on her knees in my shower.

“Jesus fucking Christ,” I mutter.

Sunny smothers me with her arousal. Her pussy traps my finger, and she moans. I quickly look at her face and watch her come. Her mouth is there for the taking. I have to physically hold myself back so I don’t reach out, grip her jaw, and bring her lips to mine.

In an attempt to break free of the trap I’m in, I heave out a breath. I wait until she stops pulsing around my finger to whisper, “Good girl.”

Her brown eyes are hazy with lust. Those thick eyelashes flutter against her pretty pink cheeks, and her tongue darts out to wet her lip. I slowly pull my finger out of her and suppress a groan.

Nope. That’s all.

A look of satisfaction comes over her, and my job here is done.

I can’t touch her again.

I’m as high as she is.

Unable to stop myself, I swipe her panties and shorts off the floor and slowly glide them back up her legs. She lifts her hips to help, and I choke down a swallow.

I want to fuck her so badly I can’t think straight.

For a brief moment, I entertain the idea. It’d be so easy to pull her forward, spin her around, push her flat against the counter, and push my dick in her so far she’d never be able to think of another man without remembering me.

Wait, shit. Stop .

I crowd her space while restraining myself at the same time.

She peers at me with a look of awe.

I push her messy hair behind her ear. “Now that’s how you do it, Sunshine.”

The smallest smile twitches against her lips when I back away.

“Happy birthday, Sunny.”

Those white teeth clamp onto her lip, and I see red.

By the grace of God, I take a step backward and force myself to go back to my room.

Alone .

Then I work my dick until I can’t anymore, in hopes that I’ll be less turned on by her in the morning.