Page 23 of The Nanny and the Don

“Please tell me you did. He needed to get laid. I knew it! It’s been months since I’ve seen him taking a woman out of here.

Now I come in and his bed is already made.

He even changed his own linen. He never does that.

I know something happened. You don’t have to say anything.

Just nod your head yes or no to confirm. ”

“Wow,” I said, shaking my head again. I had never been big on kissing and telling, not even with Kelsea. Part of me wanted to confirm their suspicions, but it was kind of fun letting them wonder too. “What are y’all grilling?” I asked Miguel in an attempt to change the subject.

“Mr. Gray wants me to prepare some Ribeye steaks and chicken with all kinds of veggies and potatoes. It’s going to be a feast. We haven’t gone outside and used the grill in a long time.

He wants everything set up so the kids can play outside.

He claims that he’s going to do all the cooking.

I’ll believe it when I see it. Even if he does come out there, I’m sure he’ll be working, but at least he’s trying to add a little adventure to the day. ”

“Sounds fun.”

“Fun my ass. Miguel, you owe me twenty bucks,” Sicily told him.

We had a freaking blast outside. The best thing about the entire day was seeing Mr. Gray laugh and actually enjoy himself. I loved to see how he interacted with Miguel and Sicily. You could tell that he really valued them as his employees. It was easy to see why they loved their jobs.

After spending the day out in the sun, everyone was down for the count.

I’d let Sicily go home promising that I would do the dishes and finish cleaning up the kitchen once I put the kids down for the night.

The kids were so exhausted that I gave both of them baths while they were asleep. They didn’t even need a bedtime story.

As I stood in front of the sink, I started to imagine this being my life for good.

It wasn’t the worst thing that could happen to me.

Aside from the lingering Brendan issue, everything was going well.

It felt good to have Steel loosen up for a change.

My heart swelled as I watched him play with King and Evie when Miguel inevitably took over the grill duties.

Hands on my shoulders caused me to jump, but I quickly recovered once I felt Steel’s calming energy.

“When I came in and saw you cleaning up for that nigga that night, I wanted to kill him even more. My princess is nobody’s servant. You need to be sitting on your throne resting so you can take care of me and the kids. That’s why I hire people.”

“I don’t mind pulling my weight,” I said, turning to face him.

“Pulling your weight is taking care of me and the kids,” he countered.

“If you’re not careful people are going to think something is going on between us. They’re already suspicious.”

“There is something going on between us. Let them suspect.”

“Is that why you kissed me in front of everyone?” I asked the question that had been nagging at me all day.

“What?” he asked, knitting his eyebrows.

“I’m just asking if you wanted them to know,” I stated.

“When did I kiss you?”

The puzzled look on his face made me laugh. “This morning when you came in the kitchen, Steel. You kissed me on the temple and made everybody’s jaw drop. Do you not remember doing that?”

He narrowed his eyes as if I was playing a joke on him or something. “I honestly don’t.” He chuckled.

“Do you even remember coming in the kitchen this morning?” I asked him.

“Yes, I came in and spoke to everybody and reminded Miguel to set up the grill.”

“And when you came in and spoke to everybody, you walked right up to me and kissed me on the side of my head before you went to the dining room and tickled Evie.”

“I remember tickling my sweet face. You’re telling me I kissed you good morning in front of everybody?”

“Yes!” I raised my voice.

“How did that make you feel?” he asked.

That wasn’t the response I expected from him. Well first of all I didn’t expect him not to remember kissing me.

Lifting my shoulders, I told him. “I don’t know.”

“Hm, what did they have to say?” He wondered.

“They were excited. Miguel lost twenty dollars. Apparently, he thought it would be three months before you gave in to your attraction to me and Sicily said it would be less.”

“So, everyone around here knew that I was attracted to you?”

“Everyone but me.” I grinned.

“I don’t think you were oblivious. I think you were in denial.”

“Let’s see, you kidnapped me and locked me in an attic. You yell at me every time I ask a question. You avoid me most of the day, then lock me back in the attic again. I don’t see where I would have thought you were attracted to me.”

“I took you out of a situation where a guy left the country and abandoned you in his house. I brought you to a beautiful mansion and gave you an apartment rent free. I stayed away from you in an attempt to fight my desire for you. I avoid conversation to keep you from getting too close to me, but shower you with gifts. I gave you access to a chef and a maid. Not to mention the fact that I’m building you a library one book at a time,” he said with a wink.

“I’m sorry. It’s been a while. I’m not too good at courting. ”

I actually laughed at his statement. “Tell me about it.”

“Come here let me show you one of the things I’ve been working on while I was locked away in my office,” he requested, taking my hand and pulling me with him to his office. “I got into woodwork after I got out of the hospital. It was a long time before I could walk.”

“What happened?” I asked. He’d mentioned something about the hospital before but so far, the details were hazy.

“It’s a long story. Anyway, I wanted to ask you about the project I’m working on,” he said, snatching a sheet off of a wooden dollhouse. “You think Evie is too little for this?”

“Steel, did you make this?” I questioned as I kneeled in front of it.

The pink and white farmhouse design was absolutely adorable.

As I sat in front of it, inspecting the intricate design, he turned it around so that I could see the back.

There were two floors, and he had already started to put furniture in it.

There was a little wooden rocking chair and even a bed and a dresser.

“The first one I made was just a replica of this house I live in. I designed it from top to bottom.”

“Wow!”

“The furniture too. I think by the time she’s five she will be ready for it,” he stated.

“Steel, I don’t know what to say. This is beautiful.”

“Oh wait, I haven’t added the best part,” he said, rushing over to his desk.

His excitement was so cute. I stood as he walked back over carrying something in the palm of his hand. My jaw dropped when I saw the little figurines in his hand.

“This one is Evie, and the other one is King.”

“Wow,” was all I could manage to say.

“It’s just a hobby. Something to keep the demons in my head at bay, you know.”

“You’re really good.”

“I’ve only shown you and the architect that helped design this place that I do this.

I learned from an old man that used to buy crack from me when I was about fifteen.

I dabbled with it over the years, but it was just one of those things that I could do.

Once I was out of the hospital, I didn’t have anything else to do for a long time.

So, I started figuring out how to make furniture to go in the houses.

I never keep them, and they sell for a fortune wherever my guy sells them. ”

“Every time I think I’m starting to understand you, you show me something else.”

“Good things I hope,” he said, taking a step to get closer to me.

Reaching out to him, I touched the side of his face.

When I was around him, I always got the urge to touch him.

Now it finally felt like it was OK. At one point, I thought it was the whole reason I’d gotten fired.

As my hand swept up the side of his face, he nuzzled his cheek into the palm of my hand.

“Why were you in the hospital? Did someone try to kill you?” I asked.

“You don’t have to go upstairs unless you want to,” he replied.

“Why don’t you want to talk about what happened? Is it one of those ‘if I tell you I’ll have to kill you’ things?”

“It’s just hard to talk about. I don’t like dwelling on the past.”

“I get that I guess,” I said, removing my hand from his face and turning to walk away.

“You never answered my question.”

“You never answered mine,” I countered. “And you never asked a question.”

“Sleep with me and I’ll talk. Not for sex this time. I just want you with me. That’s why I said you don’t have to go upstairs if you don’t want to.”

“I don’t want to,” I confirmed.

“Good because I’m tired of not having you with me.”

I yelped when he scooped me up bridal style and carried me to his bedroom.

Just like the first time, he dropped me on the bed.

Only it was gentle this time. I kept my eyes on him as he undressed.

He removed his shirt first allowing me the perfect view of his sculpted chest and abs.

A smile curved my lips as I enjoyed my own personal strip tease.

“It’s hard for me to navigate this shit, but make no mistake, I want you.

I haven’t let anybody new get close to me since the woman I built all this shit for walked out on me and aborted our baby.

She thought I was going to have one of my legs amputated.

That was the plan. My sister made the doctors wait until I woke up to make the decision,” he explained as he stepped out of his shoes and shoved his jeans down over his hips.

When he was down to a pair of navy-blue boxers and his socks, he sat next to me on the bed and crossed his left leg over his right thigh. Instinctually my hand moved to the scarring near the inside of his ankle.

“Obviously, they made a different decision.”

“Every day I have to remind myself that it could have been worse, especially when the nerve pain is kicking my ass,” he said, as he slowly removed his sock.

“I’ve always hated my toes. Not that I cared, I just knew they were fucked up.

Men have fucked up feet. I was OK with that.

The decision to allow them to amputate was one of the hardest I’ve ever had to make.

A big toe is way less important than a whole damn leg. ”

I was careful as I hesitantly trailed my fingers to the spot where Steel’s big toe should have been.

How the hell had I not been able to tell he was missing part of his foot?

His sexy ass walk was one of the first things I noticed about him.

To think that it came from a physical deformity was mind blowing.

He had never been so attractive as he was sitting on the side of his bed baring his most personal flaw.

I didn’t see it as a flaw at all. I massaged his foot hoping that my touch was enough to soothe his deep-seated pain.

“My foot was crushed in an accident. It was a car wreck. I was speeding and so was the other guy. A drunk driver hit me when I was on my way home from taking care of some nigga that used to work for me. I can barely remember anything that happened that day aside from that. I was out for two days before I woke up in the hospital. My sister Angela was waiting at my bedside with a note from the woman I loved saying she couldn’t do this and the last thing I needed right now was a baby.

It took over a week for me to get in touch with her and by then she had already been to Planned Parenthood. She asked me to let her go, so I did.”

“I’m sorry that happened,” I said, as I continued to rub his foot. “I had a bad wreck in high school that caused me to stop driving. I don’t even think I can anymore. I can only imagine what you went through. I really am sorry.”

“You called my house a prison. For a long time, that’s what it felt like to me too.

Then I brought you here. The sun shines brighter these days.

There are children laughing and playing.

For the first time in a long time, my house feels like a home.

I don’t want to let that go. That’s why I can’t let you go,” he confessed.

“I guess I get that. I can’t remember the last time I felt like I had a real family, but I feel it here and it terrifies me because I know it can’t last. Not under the circumstances.

What happens when you find Brendan? What happens if you don’t?

Those are the things that I think about when I go to bed at night. ”

“Maybe tonight you’ll finally understand that you don’t have to worry,” he said, standing and pulling the covers back. He climbed in bed and slid back making room for me to get in. “Come on. Just let me hold you for tonight.”

Once I was comfortably situated in bed, he pulled me on top of him and wrapped his arms around my back. With my head on his chest, I allowed myself to relax for the first time since he’d brought me to his house.

“I’m so disgusted with myself for all the time I wasted meeting women and thinking I was in love over the years.

What a fucking coward I must be that I didn’t have the courage to wait for you.

I’m so sorry for giving up on finding you, princess.

Now I can’t let you go. If you’ll let me, I promise to worship you every day that I live until I don’t have any life left in me,” he declared, kissing the top of my head. “Good night, Devlan.”

“Good night, Steel.”