Page 17 of The Accidental Nanny (All Of You #1)

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

Gemma

F alling asleep in Alex's arms is even more magical than making love to him. His strong body wraps around me, and I wake up early in his bed. I can’t believe he bought a car for me to drive. It better be something I like.

A little person is staring at me when I open my eyes, poking me with her finger. “You’re in my space. Did you have a bad night’s sleep too?” She climbs over my body, getting in the middle of Alex and me.

“Hey, pumpkin.” Alex kisses her head.

“I’ll go back to my bed.” I swing my legs out.

“Stay. You can’t go back to bed if you’re having a nightmare. Daddy gets rid of the nightmares.”

Eden is so sweet. She nuzzles down, going straight to sleep. Alex and I look at each other from across the bed.

“Sorry,” he mouths.

Smiling, I shake my head, curling up to go back to sleep.

Two hours later, and I am half hanging out of the bed.

Alex is on the other edge, and Eden is fast asleep, her body stretched horizontally across the covers.

Her head is prodding in my back. I am staring at the wall, willing myself to sleep, when Ace walks into the room to find us all in bed together.

“Why is Gemma in your bed?” he asks, looking at the scene.

“Because she had a nightmare,” Eden says as she extends her arms.

I groan.

“Did you have sex?” Ace asks.

Sitting up, which is easier now Eden has moved, I look over at Alex. He bolts up, his eyes wide.

“Where… what?” Alex stutters.

I have to stop myself from laughing. Placing my hand over my mouth, I make myself cough instead.

“That’s how you make babies,” Ace says. He rubs his head like it is just so obvious.

“How… when… how?” Alex still can’t string a sentence together.

“George told me. You have sex to make babies.” Alex looks at him. Ace is unaware of the logistics, or at least I know both Alex and I are hoping that’s the case.

“What’s sex?” Eden asks, taking it all in.

“Making babies. Daddies will—” Ace starts to say.

I launch myself at him and put a hand over his mouth before he can say another word in front of Eden. “Okay, I think that’s enough. Eden, come with me while your dad talks to Ace alone.” I let go of Ace, who looks at me confused.

“Why? I want to know,” Eden demands, her arms crossed.

“I’ll talk to her later. After this one,” Alex says to me as he looks at Ace .

Alex

This is not how I planned on telling the children. I should have put more thought into this. I haven't even taken Gemma out on a date, not without the kids. Forcing my mind to focus on the current situation, I sigh; I need to speak to Ace.

“Where did you hear the word sex? How did you find out?” I ask him, sitting him on my bed.

“George told me. His cousin told him. He’s going to be a dad.

When he asked him, as he’s not married, he said he had sex and got her pregnant.

Penny told George what happens. A man puts his penis inside the woman’s vagina and makes a baby.

” Ace says it all innocently, getting the facts right, at least.

“But it’s not just like that.” I run my hands over my face. Explaining what I think a boy his age should know, I find myself talking about how it’s only consenting adults that do things like this.

“Are you and Gemma having a baby? Did you put your willy in her?” Ace asks, looking up at me.

“No, we’re not having a baby. She just stayed in my bed for the night,” I say, wanting to close the subject.

“Why?” he asks, raising his eyebrows at me just like I do when I ask a serious question. He isn't going to let it go.

“Because I wanted her to. That’s why," I say.

“Do you love her? Like you loved Mum?"

This one stops me. I did love Julia once, but now all I have is pure hatred for that woman. “No,” I say with finality, but now there’s a frown on my forehead. Gemma is different to Julia in the best way. Any memories of Julia irritate me.

“Why?” he persists.

“Stop with the whys. There are some things that should be between adults only." I leave him, going to find my five-year-old .

It seems Gemma isn't having much luck either. Eden is bombarding her with questions as I walk into the room.

“What’s sex? How do you make babies? Are you and Daddy having a baby? Are you going to get married? Can I be a bridesmaid? I thought you were having a nightmare?” She’s asking the questions in quick succession, her voice high-pitched as she hangs onto Gemma’s arm.

“Eden, enough,” I snap at her.

“Can we have a girl? I’m telling everyone at school.” She runs off before I can stop her.

Gemma and I look at each other. “I’ll stop her,” I promise.

Gemma doesn't look so sure. “Will you?” she asks. Her eyes fill with worry.

“Sure,” I say, but I'm not sure at all, and my answer isn't confident.

I manage to wrangle Eden and pick her up in the next room. My tongue ties itself in knots trying to give her a simple explanation for her age. I end up promising if anything happens between Gemma and me, she'll be the first to know. But she’s not paying attention, she’s talking about babies.

By the time I finish and get home from work, I find them all in the kitchen eating dinner. I want to go and kiss Gemma, but the three of them are talking about their day.

“Daddy.” Eden spots me first and dances on her chair excitedly. “Look, look.” She runs to get her school bag.

She is excited about something which doesn't necessarily bode well. Sitting down next to Gemma, my hand slides under the table onto her knee, squeezing it.

“Look, Daddy, look.” Eden slams her school bag onto the table, and her head goes all the way inside. “It’s here.”

After a while, she pops her head back out. She has retrieved two small brown things covered in gunk. What the hell was in her bag?

“Look. For Daddy.” She smiles, proud of herself, handing them to me. She waits eagerly as I take them from her.

I give the mystery items a close inspection. “Honey, what is it?”

“For you to give to Gemma. It’s seeds from an apple. You said a man gives a woman seeds to grow inside her belly and make a baby. We can have a half-apple, half-human baby.”

“Not those kinds of seeds, dummy,” Ace tells her with his big brother face on.

“Ace.” Gemma glares at him.

“Daddy said seeds,” Eden insists, looking distraught.

“Man seeds… They come from…” Ace looks at his sister like she should know this, but he’s a shade paler than he was before.

“That’s enough, Ace. I’ll explain,” I tell him, my blood pressure rising.

“They have to be daddy seeds, sweetie. They come from me. Not from an apple,” I explain.

“You said seeds.” She bursts out crying. “I hate apples, but I ate it so I could get the seeds. Where do we get the seeds from then?” she sobs.

“My body,” I explain, wishing I could make her stop crying.

Gemma looks at me in sympathy.

Suddenly, Eden stops crying and gets off her chair, grabbing a spoon from the cutlery drawer. “Open wide,” she orders.

“Eden, what are you doing?” I ask, aghast.

“Getting the seeds out.” She climbs onto my lap, trying to pry my mouth open. “Eden, I think we need a girly chat.” Gemma comes over and takes Eden’s hand.

“Girly chat?” Eden asks, wiping a stray tear that leaks from her eye .

“Oh, yes. It’s when two girls talk about men without men,” Gemma says.

“Okay.” Eden gets off my knee before any damage can be done to my mouth or throat.

“You owe me,” Gemma whispers as she leaves us alone.

I don't see Gemma or Eden for the rest of the evening. It is only when I am lying in bed that Gemma walks in wearing a pink silk nightie.

“Hello.” I put my hand out for her.

“Hello,” she purrs.

“Come here. I’ve wanted to kiss you all day.” I sit up, just as Gemma’s lips meet mine.

“How did it go with Eden?” I ask once we break the kiss, my hand stroking her bare leg.

“Well, she is horrified and no man is ever going near her.” Gemma smiles. "Which I guess isn't a terrible thing."

I pull her into my lap, needing her close and claiming her lips. It’s hot, romantic even, until Gemma breaks the moment.

“And she knows about periods,” Gemma says, breaking the kiss.

“Well, someone was going to have to tell her. That should have been her mum,” I say with a heavy sigh.

“What happened? With your wife,” Gemma asks.

“Ex-wife. Soon-to-be ex-wife.” I groan before giving a quick summary of events.

“The school phoned while I was in a meeting saying that Julia hadn’t shown up to collect the kids.

By the time I picked them up and arrived home, her car was gone, along with some of her clothes and all her important documents. No note, nothing.

“I rang her parents, and they said she was safe and not coming back.

They put the phone down on me. They never had any interest in the children either.

Nothing. I tried several times to contact them and her.

Nothing. Absolutely nothing. It's been seven months now.

She's called me twice in all that time and only then it was because I hadn't yet signed the divorce papers. The only upside is, she is willing to give me full custody.”

“I don’t know how a mother could do that to her children?” Gemma shakes her head, her eyes sad. Her hands run down my chest.

“She’s evil. She will have no rights to those children. I’ll make sure of that,” I spit out.

"They have you." Gemma rests on top of me, crushing my arm. “Kiss me,” she says after a moment.

Rolling Gemma onto her back, her nipples poking up. I feel a desperate need to suck on one. “Am I not too old for you?”

“No.” She grins. “You’re my daddy.”

I stop and pull away; she has killed the mood. “My children call me Daddy. That is not what I want to be thinking about when I’m lying on top of you, rock hard,” I growl.

“No daddy talk, then?” Her laugh is wicked.

“No daddy talk.” I huff. “Take this off.” I pull her nightie over her head.

“What’s going on between us?” she asks.

It stops me. “I don’t know. My children always come first, you know that, Gemma.”

“I know that,” she says, leaning up on her elbows.

“And you’re the worst cleaner ever,” I smirk.

“I know that,” she smiles, her tongue running over her teeth.

I haven’t answered her question, even though she needs one. Instead I move my way down the bed, opening her legs wide. Perfection looks back at me. I need her now.

"Alex..." she whispers quietly. "What are you doing?"

Kissing her inner thigh, I spread her open and take a long, leisurely lick between her folds, tasting her sweet nectar.

Gemma moans as my tongue reaches her clit and circles it.

I groan as I enjoy her getting wet with my every suck and touch.

I bring a finger to her entrance and I push it in, teasing her, just as I hear Eden calling me.

"Fuck." In a panic, I jump off Gemma and get dressed as fast as I can. "Sorry," I say, pecking her on the lips. “You better get dressed too."

Gemma nods and pulls her nightie back on, slipping under the covers.

I check on Eden, who’s sitting up in her bed. "I heard weird noises," Her little brows pinch together.

“Sorry, baby. Daddy kicked his toe."

Eden tilts her head, I’m not sure if she believes me. "Did Gemma kiss it better?"

"Yes, she did," I say, lying Eden back down. "Now, try to get some sleep."

I go back to Gemma and sigh. "We'll have to wait until they go for a sleepover at Mum and Dad's."

"They're back soon," Gemma says reassuring me. "I liked what you were doing to me… before… with your fingers." She blushes. Of course, this is all new to her.

"I'm glad." I smile, kissing her. She turns around and I spoon her, sliding my arm around to cup her breast.