by K. L. Ramsey
“Zara can sleep with me,” Lucy piped up. “My bed is super comfortable,” she added for good measure.
“Me too,” Laney added. “Sleep in my bed, Z,” she said, calling Zara by the nickname she had given her. It was what Ava called her too and that thought made her miss her best friend. It was one of the things holding her back from outright accepting Aiden’s offer. She knew keeping her relationship a secret from the one person in the world she trusted the most wasn’t going to be easy. Ava would demand answers and Zara knew her best friend well enough to know she’d have plenty of questions.
“Thank you both for the kind offers to share your beds but I’m afraid I can’t accept,” she said to a chorus of both girls groans of displeasure. “You see,” she continued, “I snore something awful and I’d just keep the two of you up all night.”
“Daddy snores too,” Lucy offered. “Sometimes, at night, I hear him and he sounds like a bear,” she said. Laney growled and snarled, causing them all to laugh at the girl’s theatrics.
“Now come on girls, you’re making Daddy look bad in front of your new nanny. How about we change the subject?” Zara loved that idea. Thinking too much about which bed she wanted to end up in wasn’t something she wanted to do. Especially not now in front of both of the girls.
“You both look like you’ve already had baths,” Aiden said. He stood and started clearing the table. “How about I give Zara a hand with the clean up and you two pick out a game to play. And, no Monopoly—I want to get to bed sometime this century.” Lucy agreed to pick a game that wouldn’t take all night to play and helped Laney down from her chair. Lucy was used to doing so much for herself and Zara didn’t want to stifle her independence, but she wished Lucy would learn to lean on her a little more. She had only been there a week and knew it would take some time for both of the girls to fully trust her but she was hopeful it wouldn’t take too long.
Zara carried her dish into the kitchen and grabbed the rag to dry the dishes Aiden had started washing. “I wash and you dry?” he asked. She nodded, hoping he’d wait to ask her what she knew he was dying to ask. Honestly, she hadn’t made up her mind about his offer yet and she was hoping playing a game might give her some more time to think things through.
“So really, how was the rest of your day?” Aiden asked, handing her another plate. She could tell he was a little nervous and she found the whole domestic scene endearing. The least she could do was meet him halfway, since he was trying so hard.
“After I left your office, I picked up the girls and we spent the afternoon at the park. They sure do love the playground,” she said.
Aiden laughed, “Yep. I usually have to bribe them with ice cream to get them to leave.”
“Yeah well, we had ice cream cones on the way home,” she admitted. “Negotiating with Lucy is like trying to talk down a terrorist. She knows exactly how to get what she wants and goes to great lengths to make things happen. She even got Laney in on her scheme to make me stop for ice cream.”
“Lucy can be ruthless when it comes to snacks,” he said.
“When we got home, I made them take their baths since they were covered in dirt and chocolate ice cream. I sat in the bathroom with them while they played in the bubble bath and signed up for my last college class I need to graduate. I will need Tuesday and Thursday mornings off this fall, but Rose said that shouldn’t be a problem when she hired me. I hope that is still true.” Zara waited him out, worried that might be a deal breaker for Aiden. She could see how busy he was with his company and the campaign. Having her take off twice a week, for a few hours might not suit him.
“No, it’s fine. Of course your education should come first. You take the time you need and I’ll take the girls to school on those mornings. I promise to give you study time too,” he said.
“I won’t need to take too much time away from the girls,” she admitted. “I will try to get ahead on my Sunday off.”
Aiden shrugged, “Whatever works for you, Zara. What happens after you graduate?” She really hadn’t given that much thought. Her plan was to get a job teaching and move on with life but telling him that seemed harsh. She knew she couldn’t just leave him high and dry. Walking away from the girls might hurt them more than she planned, knowing how their mother so easily left them.
“I haven’t given that much thought,” she admitted. “I promise to work things out with you and do what’s best for Lucy and Laney though. I won’t just leave, if that is what you are worried about,” she said.
“I appreciate that, Zara,” Aiden said. He handed her the last dish and when his fingers brushed hers, she looked up at him to find him watching her. His piercing blue eyes seemed to look right through her and she couldn’t help her shiver. “Tell me you’ve thought about my offer,” he demanded.
Zara wanted to lie and say she hadn’t really given it much thought but she was sure he’d be able to see right through her. She sighed and nodded, “I have,” she admitted.
“And,” Aiden asked. He wasn’t going to give her a pass on this. He was going to demand an answer and she wasn’t sure she had one to give yet.
“It’s all I’ve been able to think about, Aiden,” she said. “I just don’t—”
“Daddy, we want to play Candy Land,” Lucy shouted, running into the kitchen to find them. Zara realized she was standing so close to Aiden she could feel his breath on her face. She took a step back, not wanting to confuse the girls, and handed the dried plate back to him. Aiden looked as frustrated as she felt and she shot him an apologetic smile.
“We will pick this up later,” he promised gifting her with his sexy smirk. Zara wasn’t sure if she was looking forward to his promise or if she wanted to run and hide away until he forgot he made her the offer in the first place. Becoming his sub was something she wanted more and more with each passing minute, but she also knew wanting something wasn’t always a good enough reason to dive into the deep end. Zara was worried she was going to need to learn to sink or swim because Aiden was going to demand his answer and the time was ticking away quickly.
Zara watched as Aiden read to the girls not just one but four bedtime stories until he told them they had enough and tucked them into their beds. She knew both girls usually ended up in one or the other’s bed together and Lucy would be up about fourteen times, asking for water and saying she had to use the bathroom; all the while just checking to make sure someone was still there. It broke her heart knowing Lucy felt the need to check to make sure she hadn’t been abandoned. Zara wished she could take that uncertainty away from the little girl, but she knew only time could do that. All she could do was show Lucy patience and that she wasn’t going anywhere.
She thought about hiding away in her room, but she knew Aiden would search for her and sooner or later she’d have to face him. Zara sat in the family room after putting away all the girls’ toys and getting their school bags ready for the next day. When she worked for other families, this was the time she would either go home or to her own room to unwind for the day. But nothing was normal working for Aiden. The fact that she had already slept with her boss was a major difference from her past employment history. She had a feeling working for Aiden was going to be anything but normal and she wasn’t sure how she felt about that.
“Hey,” he whispered, finding her in the family room. “I thought you might have headed to bed. Sorry, Lucy put up quite the fight tonight,” he said.
“I heard,” she admitted. “You got out after only four books. That’s pretty good. Last night, I had to read six to them before she gave up the fight.” Aiden chuckled and sat down next to her on the big sectional sofa. His thigh touched hers and she could feel those same damn sparks like she had every time he touched her body. She wondered if he felt them too but that wasn’t something she was ready to ask him. He wrapped his arm around her shoulder and she leaned into him, almost on instinct.
“Zara,” he whispered. She squinched her eyes closed and took a deep breath. She knew he wa
s going to ask for her answer and she was no closer to having one to give to him. “Please look at me,” he asked.
“I can’t,” she admitted.
“Why not?” he asked. Aiden rubbed his thumb over her bare shoulder and she shivered.
“Because if I open my eyes and look at you I’m going to see that same hope I saw earlier. You want for me to tell you yes and I’m afraid if I do, it won’t be enough,” she admitted.
“What won’t be enough?” he asked. She could feel his breath on her face, his lips were mere inches from hers and she wanted to open her eyes but knew better.
“Any of it,” she said. “I don’t want to be a secret, but I know why you can’t tell the world about your wife.”
“Ex-wife,” he amended.
“Right,” she said, her eyes still tightly closed. “Listen, I know I was just some woman you picked up at the club and well, things didn’t end well. That doesn’t mean we should end up together, Aiden. Maybe we should just leave well enough alone and move forward—me as your daughters’ nanny and you as my employer.”
“What if that’s not enough for me, Zara?” Aiden whispered. She couldn’t help herself, she peeped one eye open and found just what she expected. He was so close; she didn’t dare move for fear of accidently touching him again. If she did, she knew she would agree to just about anything he wanted.
“What do you want, Aiden?” she questioned.
“You,” he admitted. He inched closer to her, his lips brushed against hers and she couldn’t help but let him take everything he wanted from her. She snaked her arms around his shoulders as he deepened the kiss, sliding his tongue into her mouth to find hers. It was an all consuming kiss and Zara wasn’t sure where Aiden ended and she began. He kissed her that night at the club but this was something different, something new and raw. Aiden broke their kiss, leaving them both breathless.
“Wow,” she whispered.
“Fucking right, wow,” he agreed. “You make me crazy, Zara,” he admitted.
“Sorry,” she said. “I don’t mean to.”
“No, it’s not something you can control. It’s just who you are. Since that night in the club, I’ve been miserable. I’ve been beating myself up over how we left things. God, I was an ass and all I could think about was the fact I’d never get another chance with you. I’d never get to tell you that you are all I can think about and I haven’t been able to be with any other woman since our night together. But then, you show up here in my bathtub and it’s like fate is giving me another chance with you. Please, don’t deny me another chance to make things right, Zara. Let me show you how good things can be between the two of us. Let me make up for being an ass and not taking care of you. Your first time should have been so much more than I gave you. Give me a chance to make it up to you. Don’t tell me no—not yet. Give me tonight to prove to you I can be enough and if I don’t, then tell me no tomorrow.”
Zara knew telling him no wasn’t something she could do, not now. Not when he was offering her everything she ever dreamed of. She didn’t want to hope but she couldn’t help it. Aiden was saying all the right things and her brain couldn’t sort it all out. Her body was in overdrive from just one scorching kiss and she found herself nodding her agreement before she knew what she was doing. Aiden didn’t seem to need any other reassurances from her. He stood and lifted her into his arms, making his way back to his bedroom.
He laid her across his bed. “Be sure, Zara,” he commanded.
“I’m sure, Aiden,” she said, holding out her arms for him. He covered her body with his own and nothing had ever felt so right as being with Aiden. She felt it the first night they were together at the club and tonight was no different.
“Don’t move,” he commanded. Aiden took his time kissing her, working his way down her body, taking off her clothes as he went. Once he had her fully naked he stood over her, looking at her. Zara wanted to cover herself and Aiden seemed to be able to tell. “Don’t,” he warned.
She smiled up at him, “It’s like you can read my mind,” she teased.
“No, but your expressions give you away, baby. I can see every one of your insecurities looking back at me and there is no reason for any of them. You are so fucking beautiful, Zara,” he whispered.
“A girl could get used to hearing those words,” she sassed.
“All a girl has to do is agree to be mine and she’ll never doubt the validity of those words. I’ll prove to you every day just how gorgeous you are, Zara,” he promised. “Do you want to play?” he asked.
She wasn’t quite sure how to answer him. “Play?” she questioned.
“Yes,” he breathed. “Like the night at the club,” he said. “Will you give me control over your body tonight?”
Zara nodded, not needing time to think about his request. She loved the way Aiden took care of her at the club and she couldn’t wait to see what he had in store for her tonight.
“Good,” he said. “Now, get on your knees like a good little girl,” he commanded. She hesitated and Aiden waited her out, watching her to see if she’d follow his command. When Zara didn’t make a move, he pulled out the big guns, already knowing one of her major weaknesses from their one night together. “I dare you,” he amended. Zara felt her breath hitch at his taunt.
“That’s not playing fair, Aiden,” she pouted.
“No one said I was going to play fair, baby,” he said. “What’s it going to be, Zara? Are you going to accept my dare and do as I ordered or does this all end here and now?” She thought about getting up and walking out of his bedroom but she remembered how it felt to walk away from him at the club. It hurt and she had to admit, she spent more than one night awake and restless dreaming of being in his bed again. No, she wouldn’t walk away again. This time, Zara would accept his challenge because she wasn’t going to take the chance of losing him again. She wanted to be daring and take whatever he had planned for her, even if that meant getting on her knees for him.
She slid to the end of the bed and sankdown to her knees in front of Aiden, looking up at him through her lashes. Aiden ran his hand down her face and smiled. “Good girl,” he praised and her crazy heart did a flip-flop in her chest. What was it about this man that made her into a giddy schoolgirl every time he told her she had pleased him? She wasn’t sure what that was all about but she didn’t care. Zara would do whatever it took to hear Aiden call her his “good girl” all night long.
Aiden
Aiden watched as Zara decided if she wanted to obey his command or not and he knew he was holding his damn breath. She had that effect on him though and his tightly held control would do him no good if he lost his shit and tried to push Zara into something she wasn’t ready for. She had the strongest will of any woman he had ever met but their one night together had proven to him she was a natural submissive. She did exactly as he asked of her that night in the club and he hoped she would give him her submission tonight. Hell, if he was being honest, he wanted her submission every night for the foreseeable future but he wouldn’t admit that to her for fear of scaring her off.
When Zara sunk to her fucking knees he nearly did the same. He felt himself exhale and when she looked up at him through her long lashes and her tongue softly licked her bottom lip, he couldn’t help the moan that escaped his chest. She was his walking wet dream and having her gift him with her submission was everything he could have ever wanted and so much more.
“You are so fucking perfect, baby,” Aiden growled his praise and she smiled up at him. His heart felt as if it might beat out of his damn chest and he wasn’t sure what to ask for first. He wanted everything from her and all the possibilities played through his mind at once, making it hard to form his next sentence.
Zara waited for his next order and he needed to make a decision. He didn’t want to fuck things up with her, but everything he had learned at the club in the last half a year felt like a jumbled mess of information in his head.
“Did I do something wrong?�
� Zara stuttered. She looked up at him and he could see her uncertainty. That was the last thing he wanted.
“No, baby,” he whispered. “You are just so fucking beautiful I needed a minute to get my head together.” She gifted him with her shy, sexy smile again and he wasted no time. Aiden stripped out of his clothes, loving the way Zara watched his every move as if she couldn’t seem to get enough of his body. When he tugged free from his shirt, Zara’s hands darted up to his torso and to his bicep where her fingers traced the outline of his only tattoo.
She softly giggled, “Well, I didn’t have you pegged as a shark lover,” she teased.
He smiled down at her and shrugged. “That was a very bad decision and a long story,” he admitted. “Let’s just say I learned not to get drunk with Corbin and let him pick my tattoo.” The sound of Zara’s laughter filled the room and it was magical. He couldn’t remember the last time he felt so at ease with a woman. Towards the end of his marriage to Allison, everything about their relationship felt forced and wrong. He saw that now that things were officially over and they were legally divorced. She couldn’t give him what he needed and that wasn’t anyone’s fault. The only thing he could really fault Allison over was she didn’t see the girls often. She’d show up for special occasions, but other than that her visits were few and far between.
“Hey, were did you just go?” Zara asked.
“Sorry,” he said. “I was just thinking about how easy it is to be with you.” Zara’s smile faded and he worried he was admitting too much, too quickly. “No, sorry—just forget I said anything,” he covered.
“It’s alright, Aiden. I feel the same way about being with you. I know we don’t know each other—well, at all but I feel like we do. If that makes any sense,” she said. Zara looked down at the floor and he hated he was making her feel so unsure of herself again. He crooked his finger under her chin and lifted her face to look up at him.