A Moment of Weakness

by Brooklyn Skye

  Work…a single word that drew up a single thought. He’d questioned her about her future, but she hadn’t asked a thing about him. She tucked a stray piece of hair behind her ear. “How long have you owned The Alibi?”

  Barely noticeably, he tensed—the thin material of his shirt tightening against his biceps. But his face remained staid. “Ryan and I worked as bartenders there while we were in college. The owner was a family friend of Ryan’s, more like an uncle to him, and when he died of a heart attack, he left the bar to him. After the first few months, Ryan realized running a bar was a lot of work, so he asked me to co-own it with him.”

  “Wow,” Laurel said, watching Shae as she stopped to peek in a small cage that sat alongside the walkway. Some sort of bird exhibit. “I would never have guessed. How long ago was that?”

  Another pause, another clench in his arms. “A year before Shae was born.”

  Which would mean for the last seven years—and all of Shae’s life—he’d been working long hours. Most likely dragging his daughter to the bar, too.

  “Is it what you want to do?” she asked, feeling her chest tighten with the question, her heartbeat thumping against it. Or maybe that was because of the scowl he was now pointing at her.

  “What are you doing?” He leaned into her personal space, though it was nothing like the closeness they’d shared last night in his kitchen. His eyes grew darker as he ground his teeth, a vein pulsing down the side of his neck. It was a look she imagined he’d give to troublemakers in a bar. Not her, his nanny.

  She opened her mouth to answer, but his gigantic frame stepping closer—towering over her—cut short any words.

  “I don’t know you,” he grit out, his tone low and deep and much scarier than if he would’ve yelled the words. “And you don’t know me. So stop pretending you do.”

  Laurel pinched her lips, feeling the pressure of her brows cinching together. He didn’t want to get to know her. Either that, or he was scared to. And she didn’t see how this job would go over if the two of them weren’t able to have a civil conversation about the things that affected Shae—including the things he did in his past and his desires for the future.

  Throwing her shoulders back, she lifted her chin and looked him directly in the eye. “Well, isn’t that what people do…get to know each other?”

  “Not me.” Two words, sharp and biting. Were they meant to scare her? Get her to stop challenging him?

  Ha! If only he knew his reaction was doing the opposite. Maybe it wouldn’t have been that way if they hadn’t kissed. If he hadn’t called her gorgeous. But he’d crossed a line last night, which meant she had no reservations crossing one now. Daggering look or not.

  She cocked her head to the side, but whispered, “Because you’re scared?”

  “Because…,” he started then stopped, the single word hanging in the air between them. Slowly, his eyes searched her face, and with every second that passed, another one of his features softened. He was so beautiful when he wasn’t grimacing. “Because I’m not used to this,” he finished, pointing at her.

  A nanny? Being at the zoo with her and Shae? Or walking around with her, acting as if they hadn’t had a Pop Rock make-out session while his daughter had been in the shower? I have no idea what you’re referring to, Micah.

  “You’re not used to help with your daughter,” she said anyway. It didn’t take a genius to figure that one out. Though, what was meant more as a question, came out sounding like an accusation.

  “My best friend and my sister are the only two who’ve ever watched Shae, but that’s not what I meant.”

  Then what did you mean, Micah? Because this closeness and smelling you and knowing your hands are just inches away from me is about to make my heart explode.

  He leaned closer, lowered his voice so the people walking past wouldn’t be able to hear. “I’m not used to…this.” He gestured to the diminishing space between them. “The questions.” The dark look he speared her with sent the tiny hairs on the back of her neck springing up like an army standing at attention. A warning. And an intimidating one at that.

  The curiosity surrounding those last two words—the questions—suddenly blossomed to an unhealthy level. And it had her speaking before she really knew what she was saying. “No questions about anything? Or just you?”

  Why did she care about him? That question lingered in the back of her mind as she stood there, staring up into the intensity of his eyes. Sure they had kissed, and sure it was undoubtedly the best kiss she’d ever had, but this was a job. One she couldn’t risk losing.

  She had to give it to her mind. Great way to be realistic. Although, nothing about the jittery, fluttery, jumpy feeling that overcame her every time he looked at her was realistic. It was the kind of feeling that only happened in make believe.

  “April never told me you were so nosy,” he said, easing a step back. The space made it easier to breathe. She stole a replenishing breath.

  “I’m just trying to understand you.”

  “Well, don’t.”

  She held up her hands, palms out. “Fine, asking you questions is off limits.” They were just words…words her mind couldn’t quite grasp, because she was already searching for clues as to what he was trying to keep from her. She forced a smile, feeling oddly disappointed at the growing space between them. “I guess I can handle that. But if we’re making requests, I have one too.”

  “A bargainer. My sister didn’t tell me that, either.” His arms lifted out to his sides, a tight, yet amused, pinch to his lips. “Lay it on me.”

  Her eyes found Shae, who had turned from the bird cage and was watching them, creases crinkling out from the corners of her eyes. “Can we just have a normal day at the zoo? For Shae?”

  Seconds ticked by, drawn out and far past the moment of becoming uncomfortable. What would normal mean to him? Getting in her bubble and intimidating the heck out of her? Or knowingly sending her insides into a flurry?

  Micah’s eyes flicked to the large wooden sign standing tall above them. Take a picture with the tallest animal on earth. Underneath the severe look in his gaze, something twinkled. “Normal,” he muttered beneath a quiet chuckle and a shake of his head. “Baby girl,” he called out to his daughter. “How would you like to pose with a giraffe?”

  Shae bounced up and down, clapping. “Let’s do it now!”

  Micah speared Laurel with a look. “Is that normal enough for you?” Exacting and dangerous, but laced with a playful glint, and Laurel had no idea what to make of it. He started up the walkway, leaving Laurel frozen on the pathway.

  Am I ever going to understand this man?

  At the ticket booth, Micah paid the fee, and an attendant directed the trio to step onto the platform where several zookeepers held out long branches of Acacia over the railing. One by one as the zookeepers shook the branches and called out names, giraffe heads started popping over the barrier.

  Shae shrieked with a giggle and tugged Laurel next to her. “Don’t let them bite me!”

  Laurel’s heart was all over the place, especially filling that hollow spot at the base of her throat. Micah’s words and the closeness of him… You asked him for normal, which means you have to act that way too.

  Laurel blew out the tightness in her chest and crouched down to Shae’s level, hands on her knees. “Pretty sure we won’t have to worry about that once your dad steps up here. Giraffes don’t like big, scary, tattooed men.”

  They both snickered then Shae shook her head. “My daddy isn’t scary. He sings songs to me at night.”

  All of a sudden, Micah lunged between them and gently pinched his daughter’s lips together. “You little stinker, that was our secret.”

  Through her pressed lips, Shae’s tongue shot out and licked Micah’s fingers. All three laughed then straightened at the photographer’s signal for the picture.

  “Mom,” the man behind the camera said, glancing to Laurel, “you’ll need to stand behind your daughter and closer to
Dad. Giraffe will be coming in on your right.”

  “Oh,” Laurel blurted, “I’m not—”

  “Right next to him,” the man added. “Closer, closer…”

  Laurel opened her mouth to explain, but the zookeeper guiding over the giraffes spoke first. “Hurry.” Laurel snapped her mouth shut and positioned herself as the man directed, careful to keep her arm from brushing Micah’s.

  “A little more…” the man coaxed. Laurel hesitated. Jeez, weren’t they close enough? Mere inches separated his bare arm from hers. Micah’s eyebrow rose. Normal enough now? his amused eyes seemed to say.

  The woman with the giraffes jiggled the branches. “You only have a second. They’re losing interest!”

  In fear of ruining the picture and disappointing Shae, Laurel jumped closer to Micah and bounced right off his huge chest. Reflexively, he swathed his arm around her waist, his gigantic muscles both steadying and swallowing her. Then the camera’s shutter snapped.

  Sticky fingers circled Laurel’s wrist, and then her hand smashed against Micah’s. Skin on skin. Palm to palm. There went the composure she’d gained over the last hour.

  “You need to hold hands with Daddy so we don’t lose you,” Shae said, sugary sweet as the pink cotton candy in her grasp. The scent of it reminded Laurel of strawberries. Of Pop Rocks. Of Micah— No, she wouldn’t go there again. “The train ride has a lot of people.”

  “Sweetie, you won’t lose me,” Laurel rushed out, her words sounding more like a whinnying horse than a convincing caretaker.

  “Besides,” Micah said to his daughter, “how am I supposed to steal bites of your treat without both hands?” He pretended to swipe at the ginormous mound of fluffy sugar and missed. His other hand, though—the one cradled around Laurel’s—held firm. And although the afternoon sun was shining bright over the expanse of the animal park, the warmth surrounding her hand sent a tingly shiver up her arm. When was the last time she’d held hands with a man? Touched a man, even?

  Way too long. Obviously that was why April had given her The Tickler.

  Shae ripped off a hunk of cotton candy and thrust it at her father. “I’ll feed it to you, silly.” Granules of sugar floated through the air and stuck to Micah’s T-shirt as she jumped and attempted to shove the piece into his mouth. After several tries, cotton candy covered his shirt and chin, looking more like a stuffed animal had exploded on him.

  Laurel laughed, glancing side to side as families passed by. What did they think—seeing the huge, tatted man she’d first seen walk through The Alibi’s door standing in line with two girls and cotton candy all over him? Did the sight of him unnerve them like it did her? Make their feet twitch with the urge to run away from him?

  Micah glanced to Laurel with a childish grin, so genuine it disarmed her instantly. “A little help here?” he said, pointing to the mess on his shirt.

  Or maybe that twitchy feeling in her feet was the urge to run to him?

  She lifted the hand he still had clutched around hers. “I’ll probably need this back, then.”

  “No,” he said immediately, a small shake of his head. He was still smiling, and that darn smile was like a magnet, pulling her closer. “It’s crowded.” His thumb swiped over hers. “Wouldn’t want to lose you.”

  A swarm of dragonflies stirred in her belly. Oh.

  Laurel had no idea what he was doing. If it was all a joke to appease his daughter’s earlier request or something more.

  Not something more. Couldn’t be.

  So why, then, when she ran her fingers delicately over the front of his shirt, plucking off puffs of sugar one by one from his shoulder to the center of his chest, did she suddenly feel so flushed? Like she’d been dipped in molten hot lava?

  Because cleaning your boss’s shirt was never included in the job description.

  Once at the front of the line for the kiddie train ride, the attendant directed them to sit three to a seat—straddling one in front of the other, their feet dangling onto the imitation wheels. “A bit of a squeeze for your family, eh?” the attendant spouted before moving on to the next family in line.

  A squeeze? More like a sandwich with Shae sitting in front of Laurel and Micah behind. Right behind. So close she was pressed completely against his chest, his thighs tight alongside hers. Warm. Firm. Solid. Oh dear. The nearness did funny things to her insides, wringing her nerves and igniting her libido, and that realization suddenly had her cheeks heating.

  As much as she could in her tiny sliver of space, she turned to Micah and mouthed “sorry” with a crumpled-up expression. His playful air was gone, replaced with the muscle of his jaw clenching just below his ear. Not mad, but more like he was…holding something back. Before he could respond, the train jerked forward and started its tour through the African Savannah section of the park. Laurel let out a startled yelp and gripped onto Micah’s knees.

  “Maybe I should’ve told you guys,” she said, glancing side to side as the train picked up speed, “I’m kind of scared of things that move fast!”

  Animal-scented air blasted her face. Crowds of people whizzed past, and suddenly a solid hand planted on her waist and secured her body to the one behind hers. “You won’t go anywhere.”

  Cramped in the tiny space, so focused on the fingers holding tightly to her, Laurel’s heart climbed into her throat and settled there. How long was this ride going to be?

  “Scared of things that go fast,” Micah spoke into her ear, once the speed of the train stabilized. “A childhood fear, I assume.”

  Laurel shook her head. “More like an after-high-school fear. I was in a car accident with some friends the summer before I went to college. Driving too fast on a curve in the rain… Nobody was hurt too badly. I got the worst of it being in the passenger seat where the car hit the tree. But, I don’t know…I’ve never been okay with going fast after that.”

  His finger traced a line down the side of her forearm and along the inside of her wrist to the thin white scar. “This is from the accident?”

  She nodded, trying not to get caught up in the feel of his touch. “One of the tree branches came through the window with the impact. I’d had my hand up to protect my face.”

  The train swerved down a dusty line across the replica desert, throwing Laurel’s rear back and forth like a ping pong ball between Micah’s thighs.

  Zebras, giraffes, lions… The ride had promised a view of all of these, but the overwhelming presence behind her—pressed against her—kept Laurel from seeing any of it. His hard chest holding strong to her back. His muscular thighs embracing hers. And his…bulge rocking into her rear with every bump and turn.

  It was awkward.

  And uncomfortable.

  But really, really…hot.

  Micah tried to ignore the back arching against him, the slice of smooth skin that flashed as Laurel’s shirt lifted with the movement, the images flashing through his mind of her legs wrapping around him—images he should not have about his daughter’s nanny. He wanted to touch her. He wanted to pull her closer and feel that sexy-as-hell body against his. The urge consumed him, so much that he hadn’t realized the ride was coming to an end until the train shuddered to a stop, Laurel’s ass vibrating against his cock. He couldn’t help it—a torturous groan sounded out of his lips.

  They peeled themselves apart and off the train car.

  “Ooh, penguins!” Shae shouted, already running for the cave-like entrance. Yes, something cold would be awesome right about now. Laurel smoothed her shorts, letting her long hair cover her face. And then they walked in silence toward the exhibit’s entrance.

  Cold air blasted his face and neck, but even as they followed Shae deeper into the dark building and past the informational displays about the variety of penguins, Micah couldn’t gain control of the way his body had reacted. He was on fucking fire, and there was no way to quench it.

  If this had been any other girl, he’d already have made a move—pulled her into a poorly lit alcove and kissed her
senseless. But this was his daughter’s nanny. His employee. And getting mixed up in that would no doubt end in disaster. He’d already crossed a line with the way he’d been unable to resist her last night after work.

  He kept walking, looking for anything that could help erase the feel of her rubbing against him. The penguins in their enclosure; grandma and grandpa shuffling past…definitely not the woman beside him, who apparently wouldn’t look at him either.

  Shae ran up to the enclosure and smashed her face against the glass. His body so wound, he started for his daughter, but then—fuck it—he snatched Laurel’s wrist, tugged her into a darkened recessed area, and lowered his face merely an inch from hers.

  “The next time,” he said, low enough that only the two of them would hear, “you press your body against mine like on that train, I will strip you bare and pleasure every single part of you…” He leaned in close to her ear. “With my tongue. I will make you scream my name until it’s the only word you can speak. Are we clear?”

  Her warm breath on his neck, followed by a tiny whimper that sent his blood flowing south, was the only response he got.

  “Good.” With his teeth, he nipped at her bottom lip then said, “I’ve got to go to work.” He retrieved some money from his wallet and pushed it into her front pocket. “In case you need a cold drink.” Lord knew he did.

  Laurel’s wide-eyed gaze turned suspicious as she watched him say good-bye to Shae, promising to be home in time to tuck her into bed, though she was smart enough not to call him out on his lie—that he’d had the day off from work. Technically, from the bar, he did.

  He gave her one last searing look, wishing to hell that he could claim her mouth and see if she tasted as good as last night.