by Sam Crescent
“That’s … sad.”
“Not really. I guess you can say that my company is my wife.” Even as he said it, Wayne couldn’t believe how damn empty he felt. This was all Temperance. With her being easy to talk to, he could imagine so many other things.
A family. A life outside of the company.
She leaned against the counter, watching him.
“Do you want kids?” he asked.
“Yes. I’d love kids. I’m thirty years old now, so I don’t see many of them in my future.” Again, she shrugged. “It’s what I have to live with for picking this way of life, I guess.”
“You’re still open to it, then? Kids, marriage, love?”
“Why not? There’s nothing wrong with wanting that. My parents had a wonderful marriage. They were in love so I know it can happen, and it’s not a lie either that parents tell their kids. There can be love so long as you’re willing to work at it. Do you want kids?”
His first thought was to say no, and it was even on the tip of his tongue.
“Do you even know what you want?” Temperance asked.
Wayne paused at her question. No one had ever asked him that.
“I’m the owner of one of the biggest companies in the world.”
“What is it that you always wanted when you were a little boy?”
Her question took him off guard, as did his instant answer inside his head. Pushing that to one side, he stared at her, wondering what the hell she was getting at.
She held her hands up. “I’m not trying to make you feel uncomfortable, but I can see that is what I’m doing. I’m sorry.” She finished her coffee. “So, what would you like to do today?”
Forget what you’re making me fucking feel.
“What did you have planned?”
“Another trip to the park is in order. I did promise him. He has so much energy, it’s a wonder I’m not asleep by the time you get home.” She rubbed her hands together. “I promised the little devil some pancakes. Want some?”
He’d never had pancakes before. He always considered it a childish food. “Sure.”
Drinking his coffee, he watched as she worked, whisking up the batter and putting it to one side.
“Do you like ham and pickle on your sandwich?”
“Why are you making sandwiches?” he asked.
“For us to have a little picnic when we’re done running around. It’s just a few things in a small bag.”
“Yeah, sure.”
His heart was racing as he watched her.
Damn it.
He wanted her.
He wanted Temperance. How was this fucking possible?
She wasn’t well-kept or even well-groomed.
She didn’t wear a single designer anything.
Temperance was the furthest thing from a woman in his circle. And she has the power to bring you to your knees.
All he’d ever wanted in life was to be fucking loved. How pitiful was that? His business wasn’t even at the top of the list, nor anything else. Not his homes, or his cars. The jewels meant nothing to him, and neither did the artwork. All of the things he owned were just an investment. Cold, insignificant details in his world.
The only value was what others placed on them.
Temperance valued emotions.
He’d disappointed her in the beginning, and he wondered if he still did, or if that had now changed. Had her opinion of him changed?
This couldn’t happen.
The jealousy he felt at other men getting to know her. Watching her now, humming as she made stacks of pancakes, he wanted her for his own. He wanted her underneath him, begging for more as he fucked her pussy hard.
It had been a long time since he was last with a woman, and right now, all of his pent-up need was screaming at him to take Temperance, to claim her as his woman, even though she was his nanny. She wouldn’t be staying with him, nor would Timothy.
As if his thoughts brought the boy to them, he rounded the corner, and he watched as Temperance’s face lit up. She leaned down, pressing a kiss to his cheek and lifting him up.
That wasn’t an act.
She was happy to see the little boy.
In one conversation, she woke a need within him that shook him to the core. All of his life all he’d ever really wanted was a family of his own, and yet he had nothing. No woman he trusted or even loved, no kids, nothing.
****
Temperance clapped her hands as Timothy went down the slide all on his own. She gave a little whistle and smiled. He jumped to his feet and ran back to do it all over again.
“What are you clapping for?” Wayne asked.
His arms were folded, and since their conversation that morning, he’d been really moody. She tried not to let it show for Timothy’s sake, but Wayne was really starting to piss her off. She hadn’t asked or even demanded that he be here with them. He wanted to come, had asked to come, and she’d seen the way Timothy lit up inside.
That boy wanted a father.
He wanted stability, love, and everything a child needed. What he didn’t need was mister grumpy pants spoiling the day.
“You can go back to the office, you know. Timothy and I can walk home.” He’d been determined to take his very flashy, very expensive car. She’d been so nervous to even move in case she cracked or ruined the fine leather inside.
Never had she been for a journey in a car that made her so damn nervous to even breathe. She felt for Timothy. The little boy had stayed perfectly still, especially as they climbed in, and Wayne warned them he’d just had the damn thing cleaned.
This was why she owned a cheap-ass car. First, there was less chance of it being stolen. It ran perfectly well, and she made sure it got its necessary checks, but it also wouldn’t gain any profit for anyone trying to sell it.
Also, she cleaned it with a soap that cost a couple of dollars, and one of those hand-held vacuums. She took care of kids who were known to get carsick. She’d never had a problem cleaning up her car, and she wouldn’t scream at a child if he decided her floor was the best place to land said sickness.
“I want to know why you’re clapping.”
She waved at Timothy, and then turned to the man beside her. “You’re spoiling the day. You wanted to come, and since you’ve been here all you’ve done is glare. Timothy wants to impress you, and all you’re showing him is what an ass you can be. Go back to work. You clearly miss it.”
Timothy had moved onto the swings. He looked toward her, shaking his head, which was his signal for her not to come and push him. Only when he was ready would he wave for her to go.
He was growing up so fast, and she loved watching him thrive.
“Love,” Wayne said.
She frowned, turning back toward him. “Excuse me?”
“That’s what I’ve always wanted, even growing up. I didn’t have parents like yours. They didn’t care about me. The room that I gave to Timothy had more in it than I ever knew. I didn’t have parents growing up, I had roommates. They didn’t care if I got fed, or what was happening. At Christmas time, there were never lots of presents waiting for me. I had nothing, and no one cared. All I ever wanted was love and to have a family of my own.”
Wayne didn’t stay by her side after that revelation. He moved toward Timothy and she watched, feeling a lump in her throat as she watched him began to push the little boy on the swing.
He’d not even looked at her while he spoke, and she wondered if that was the first time in his life that he’d admitted that.
She glanced around the park. No one was paying them any attention, and she looked down at her feet, trying to stop the tears from filling her eyes. She had never expected him to answer, or if he did, certainly not with something filled with so much emotion. She couldn’t even think right now.
Wayne wanted love, and the truth of his childhood put several things into perspective. He didn’t know how to care for a kid.
Looking up, she watched him with Timothy, seeing how he
sitant he was with the little boy.
Wayne cared, even if he didn’t think he did. Wayne cared a great deal. What he was an expert in was hiding his feelings. She wondered, not for the first time, if anyone even knew the real him.
If anyone had even taken the time to try to know him.
Once Timothy was finished on the swings, it was time for lunch, and she set up their little picnic on the ground, on a small blanket. Handing out their small bags of goodies, she smiled at Timothy, who was talking a mile a minute. He wanted to be an astronaut, police officer, fireman, and even a pirate.
“Will I be allowed on your ship, oh Captain Timothy?” Wayne asked.
“Yes. You can help me run it.”
Temperance laughed. Leave it to a child to defuse any tension that might be building. The rest of the day they went shopping, looking for some fun games to play as the weather had forecast rain. They got several movies and then headed back to the apartment.
She left Wayne and Timothy watching movies as she looked in the fridge and figured out what to cook.
“He’s out for the count,” Wayne said five minutes later as she was putting everything together for a casserole.
“He’ll wake in a little while then.” She glanced over at him, offering him a smile.
“You’re not going to mock me?” he asked.
She stopped what she was doing, turning toward him and resting a hand on her hip. “Why would I mock you?” He was still her boss, and she had to remember to keep this barrier in place, even as she wanted to hug him.
“I wasn’t just saying a damn line either.” He stepped into the kitchen. “I don’t tell lies.”
She didn’t say anything as he came close. The tips of his toes touched hers.
“I had a lot of fun today.”
“You’re sure? You seemed to be in a bit of a mood.” Her heart began to race. He was so close, and right now she couldn’t seem to shut her body off. He was the boss; she was the employee.
She was a professional.
Never in all of her nannying life had she spent this much time with anyone, nor had she wanted to.
There was something about Wayne. He seemed to need something from her.
It was why she made sure to spend a little time with him at night even though all she wanted to do was fall into bed.
They talked, and she truly believed that in everything he was honest.
He reached out, taking a stray curl and wrapping it around his finger. She wondered if other women were wrapped around his finger as easily as her damn hair.
“I don’t like being reminded of everything I don’t have.”
Had his voice gotten sexier?
They were whispering now.
His gaze was on her lips, and she knew without a doubt that it was dangerous territory.
Before she could stop him, he’d cupped her face, and his thumb ran across her bottom lip. She swallowed a moan, refusing to let it escape.
“I’m your nanny, Wayne. This crosses so many lines.”
“Have you ever crossed any lines?”
She shook her head.
“Have you ever been naughty?”
She laughed. “No.” She’d always been the good girl. She’d always done the right thing. Never had she broken any rules or been wrong in all of her life.
Her pussy was slick as his thumb teased inside her mouth.
Dangerous.
You have to stop it.
Her brain refused to work, and within seconds he had her pressed up against the fridge. She had her hands on his chest, and every part of her brain was telling her to push him away, not to let him get any closer.
Only, she didn’t push him away or shove him. No. Her hand rested on his chest, waiting, expecting something. What? She didn’t know.
Her heart continued to race. Her nipples tightened, and arousal unlike anything she’d ever felt before washed over her, demanding her to give in.
No man had ever got this close before.
No man had ever made her break her control.
Wayne, a man she’d first despised and now seemed to understand more than ever, was breaking down her walls.
She had to fight it.
Just once, I could be naughty.
I could give in.
His lips were so close, and when he finally claimed hers, she was lost. She moved the hands on his chest up, circling his neck, holding him close.
Chapter Seven
Wayne paced his bedroom later that night. The kiss had been like fire, consuming, and made him ache in ways he didn’t think were possible. Before he’d been able to go any further, Timothy had interrupted them, and Temperance used that as an excuse to escape him.
He knew without even asking that she was torn between taking what she wanted and being professional.
Screw being professional. He got it. She was a good girl who did no wrong, and his respect for her was high, higher than any other woman he’d ever known.
Sitting on the edge of the bed, he rubbed his hands together. He should leave her alone. Let her live her life, and ignore this burning desire inside him, but he couldn’t do it. No matter how much he tried to stem the need within him, he couldn’t.
He wanted her.
Both of them were consenting adults.
Fuck, he’d even told her the truth about his own wish from the past he’d long tried to bury. That man was long gone, and yet no matter how much he tried to shake it, there was no getting away from what he wanted or needed.
The clock read eight o’clock. This was the longest day he’d ever spent away from home.
Rubbing the back of his neck, he knew he couldn’t let her walk away.
He left his bedroom and walked the few feet to her door.
She’d already put Timothy to bed, and he knocked, entering without even waiting for her to answer. He stood in the doorway of her bedroom. She’d just gotten out of the shower, and water dripped from her hair down her body. The towel she wore gaped a little at the side, and she clutched it to keep it closed.
Her normally wild hair was tamed with the weight of the water.
“Wayne?”
“You knew this wasn’t over.” He closed the door but made no move to step forward.
“You’re my boss.”
“I don’t care.”
“This breaks every single rule.”
“At thirty years old you’ve followed the rules and look where it has gotten you. You’ve been dismissed from several homes due to jealousy of other women. They want to be like you. You’ve got no family, apart from a roommate who does porn. No boyfriend, no prospects, and just another family waiting to tempt you with the promise of things being different. Is this where you intended to be at thirty years old?” There were tears in her eyes, but they didn’t fall. She merely shook her head.
“You know this isn’t where I planned to be. I wanted more, so much more.”
“And instead, you’re taking care of kids that are not your own. Caring for them, loving them like a mother should.” He stepped closer to her. “Tell me you don’t feel this? That you don’t ache to have my hands on you, and you’re not desperate to see how good it could be between us.”
“You’re not offering me forever.”
“I’m not. I’ll never lie to you, Tempe. I’ll always tell you the truth. I’ll never lie, and I don’t cheat.”
She snorted. “Please, you’re the classic playboy.”
“Don’t believe everything you’ve read. I’ve never cheated on any woman that I’ve been with.” He stepped a little closer, and she didn’t tell him to leave.
“I’m not like you.”
“I know.”
“This is crazy.”
“Then tell me to go.” He stood in front of her. “Tell me to leave your room, and I will not hold it against you. I won’t beg, Tempe. I’ll accept your decision. However, if you don’t want me to leave, then tell me to stay.”
He waited, watching as her gaze landed on
his chest. Never in all of his life had he felt so fucking nervous. She did this to him. She made him want. She made him ache and yearn. At the click of his fingers he could have anything he ever wanted, and yet right now, everything he had seemed rather pointless. Nothing that he owned impressed this woman.
In fact, only the truth had impressed her.
His honesty.
It was one thing he’d always give her.
“Stay.” The word was whispered, and for a few seconds, he thought he’d not heard correctly. Glancing down at her, he saw she was finally looking up at him. “Stay.” Her voice was clearer now.
He wanted to fist-pump the air. Instead, he cupped her face, pulling her those last few steps and slamming his lips down on hers. Sinking his fingers into her wet hair with one hand, with the other, he gripped her ass, holding her tight against him.
The towel and his own clothes were in the way. He wanted her naked right now.
Wayne didn’t want her hiding anymore. Releasing his hold on her ass, he reached between them and tugged on the towel that was bound between her breasts. The towel gave way, dropping to the floor.
When he made to step back to admire her, she wouldn’t let him.
She gripped the back of his head, pressing her body flush against his.
He couldn’t resist holding her ass. The juicy flesh filled his palms and he kneaded it, groaning as she rubbed against his already swollen cock.
The pants were too tight over his shaft, and he released her, stepping back, and opening them up to relieve the pressure.
His gaze stayed on her face until he couldn’t wait any longer. Staring down the length of her body, he couldn’t find a single fault. He didn’t care what other men liked. Wayne was only ever interested in what he liked in a woman, and staring at Temperance, he was in heaven. Her body was beautiful, full, lush, and so fucking womanly. Her curves drove him crazy.
“You know part of your charm is the fact you don’t realize how fucking sexy you are,” he said. “You drive other women crazy because you don’t even try. You’re natural. There’s nothing fake about you, and yet women try to gain attention by using every single trick in the book.”