Page 6

Chapter 6

Ollie

“P op-Pop!” Opaline babbled, slapping her spoon against the highchair. It was absolutely stinking adorable the way all three of them loved their grandfather.

“Yes, I believe Pop-Pop is on his way.” I had to smile at the nickname.

He was “Pop-Pop” to Opaline, “Mali” for Flint, and just “Pop” to Ruby. They each had their own special nickname for their grandfather.

Grandfather. Obviously, it was true, but also, it felt impossible. He was so sexy and strong and… I was traveling down a path I shouldn’t be once again. Malric was the father of my boss and the clan leader. I shouldn’t have been thinking of him as sexy, and I sure as sunshine shouldn’t have been wondering how his lips would feel pressed against my own, even if that had become my favorite pastime lately.

From what I’d gathered in the limited time I’d spent with Lord Malric, he was a doting grandfather—even if he didn’t look like a typical grandpa.

“Hello?” Malric’s voice called out as the door clicked open, followed by the little alarm that chimed every time it did. I was still getting used to all of the noises this place had.

The beeps were one of those security features I truly appreciated about this household. As big as it was, with me staying there alone with the kids, the extra security gave me peace of mind. In addition to the door alarms, there were cameras at the front and back door, and in the nursery. I wasn’t normally as timid as a mouse, but I had three little ones in my charge, and they counted on me to keep them safe.

“We’re in the dining room!” I shouted—then winced. Shouting probably was not the proper way to greet the lord of the clan. But it was either shout or repeat myself a bunch of times with the size of this place.

He came into the room wearing a pair of black slacks and a blue button-down shirt, his tie undone and loose around his neck, the top button open. My mouth went dry. Peeking out from the V of his shirt was dark chest hair… the kind you could tangle your fingers in. The fabric of his shirt stretched against the broadness of his shoulders.

Thankfully, Flint didn’t let me sit there staring for too long. He let out a squeal when I took too long to feed him, and I snapped my head back to my young charges.

This weekend was going to be rough and not because the kids were energetic and missing their fathers or because I was on round-the-clock duty and would be sleeping poorly. Nope. It was going to be rough because I had a full-on crush on the this alpha. I tried to deny that was what this was. It would be easier to have this be simple attraction, but nope. I liked this alpha, despite him being off limits.

“I came bearing gifts,” Malric said. “Don’t tell Kier.” He winked.

There I went being mesmerized by him again…

The kids all let out delighted squeals, and I had to bite back the urge to join them. I’d be surprised if he ever showed up without gifts. That wasn’t his way. I didn’t need to tell Kier, there was no way he didn’t know.

“It’s nothing too extravagant,” he said. “Just cookies from the bakery.”

“That sounds delightful. I didn’t have dessert picked out for the evening. Would you like some dinner? I’m afraid I didn’t make anything too exciting—the kids were a little extra clingy this afternoon without Kier and Tavian here.” I was babbling and oversharing, but it was that or accidentally saying something that would give my crush away, something like I couldn’t wait to watch him wrap his lips around his fork.

“I actually ate at work, but thank you for the offer. Is there anything I can help with?”

So much for watching his lips.

“Well… it’s bath night,” I said. “You could help wrangle all three of them?”

My original plan was to do each one of them as they woke up from their naps, but without their fathers home, their naps were one on my back, the second in the front carrier, and the third in the stroller as I paced in the backyard. That hadn’t been the plan. We’d gone out for some fresh air, but life was what happened when you made other plans or whatever it is they said.

He chuckled, probably envisioning the mess bathtime brought. “I’d be happy to do that.”

I hadn’t expected help for the evening. Kier told me that Malric often stopped by on the weekend and to call him if I needed help, but I’d assumed he was just letting me know I wasn’t alone, not that there would actually be company. If I had suspected as much, I’d have been sure worn my good ass jeans.

Part of me wondered if I should let him help—considering it was my job, not his. He should be enjoying his time with his grandkids, not doing free labor.

“If you want to just entertain one while I bathe the other two, then we can swap—”

“Nonsense,” Malric said. “I can do the bathing. It’s actually my favorite part, the way their eyes light up as they pour the water out of the measuring cups or push the little boats around. And besides, there are so many modern conveniences to make the process a lot easier than when my boys were younger. When Tavian was born, we just dunked him in the river to get him clean.”

He had to be exaggerating, right? I’d never asked them how old they were, so maybe not. Either way, the thought of my boss being dunked in a river amused me.

“Yeah, I suppose it had to be different back in the day, without everything we have now.”

“You’re not kidding. Though, lucky for me, we did have some modern conveniences. We didn’t actually use the river. After all, it was easy for dragons to keep bathwater warm when we could just breathe fire onto it. Thank goodness for modern plumbing.”

I laughed heartily, trying to imagine such a thing. “I never thought of that. But how convenient to be able to breathe fire. You didn’t have to worry about keeping a fire stoked either.”

“Nope. Ready-made fire all the time.” He leaned in slightly, a smile tugging at his lips. “And chopping down trees was incredibly easy when you could turn into a dragon the size of a house and clear out a forest with the swipe of your tail.”

My eyes widened. I could almost see the dragon in his eyes. It was easy to forget how small I was compared to all the shifters I was surrounded by, but I didn’t think they were that ginormous.

“Are you really that large?” Then I realized how that sounded. I slapped a hand over my mouth. “My apologies, Lord Malric, that was—”

He chuckled. “It’s not inappropriate to ask a dragon his size. The same can’t be said for our age. And yes, I am that large.” He winked.

My heart thundered in my chest, and goddess help me, if I wasn’t thinking about something other than his beast.

Opaline let out a squeal and tossed her plate to the floor.

Right. I was working. Not flirting. I was most certainly not having inappropriate thoughts about my boss’s father and the size of his cock. Nope. Not doing any of that.

“Looks like that one’s done. How about I take him upstairs first?” Malric gestured to Flint.

“That sounds wonderful. Thank you.”

Together, the two of us worked in tandem. Malric bathed them, then handed them off to me so I could get them into their pajamas. Although I wasn’t sure how much was bathing and how much was playing sink-the-boat in the water.

We managed to get the job done with no screaming or crying, an abundance of giggles, and only a small lake of water on the floor.

I laughed when Malric came down the stairs with Ruby in his arms. She was patting his cheeks like they were a drum set while he made silly noises.

“Sir, your shirt is soaked through.”

He looked down at himself. “Ah. It is. That’s no bother.”

He set Ruby on the floor, then finished unbuttoning his shirt and pulled it off. Now I was the one bothered—hot and bothered that was.

He wore a white tank top underneath—and my mouth went dry just looking at him. That chest hair that’d piqued my interest earlier in the evening was on full display now. It too was damp and clung to him in all the right places. Letting him help with the bath wasn’t the best idea.

“They seem quite sleepy. I suppose putting them down for the night shouldn’t be too hard,” Malric said.

I cleared my throat. “Nope. I have their bottles ready.”

“Fantastic,” he said. “I haven’t mastered carrying two at a time.”

“That’s fine. I have.” And then what did I do? I winked. So much for the don’t flirt with the boss’s father plan. Thank gods, he didn’t notice, or if he did, he was gentleman enough to ignore it.

Putting the kids to bed was a lot easier with the two of us working in tandem. Not a single fuss was made, and we were able to walk out of the bedroom with all three of them sound asleep in record time. They wouldn’t stay that way, of course, but they’d be down for at least six hours. Eight if the wind died down.

“Thanks for all your help.” I wanted to ask him to stay, maybe watch a movie. I knew better. The best result would be him politely declining and then avoiding being alone with me. The worst? I’d lose my job. I needed to keep everything professional.

It would be so much easier if he was mean or ugly or looked even a fraction of his age. But he was none of that.

“It was no problem. I enjoy spending time with… with the kids. It’s nice being able to dote on them and then hand them back to their parents when they get grumpy. Not that they get grumpy. They are practically perfect.” He chuckled at his own joke.

“As perfect as they are, it was nice having a second set of hands.”

He watched my mouth as I spoke, and for half a second, I thought he was going to lean in for a kiss. Or maybe it was wishful thinking. One thing it wasn’t, was reality. Because the next thing I knew, he was walking out the door, leaving me standing there and wondering if maybe this wasn’t the job for me, after all.