Protecting Rayne

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Protecting Rayne Page 49

by Emily Bishop


  After a few minutes, I move her to the stair mill, then the elliptical trainer. Finally, we go to one of the benches for the rows.

  “So, just put your left knee and your left hand on this bench,” I instruct. “Keep your other foot on the floor.”

  “Like this?”

  “Move your hand forward so that your back is parallel to the bench,” I say as I stand over her then behind her, checking her form.

  For a moment, I grip her hips as I adjust her body but move away as I realize how awkward that feels. Her position is awkward enough as it is, making me want to just slide and settle, nestled against her ass.

  Maybe this was a bad idea after all.

  No. This is a serious workout, not play, so I have to be more serious. I’m supposed to be guiding her, not letting my imagination and my hormones get the better of me.

  “Now, with your right hand, just pick that dumb bell on the floor and pull it up to your side, making sure you squeeze those back muscles,” I continue. “And then lower the dumb bell back to the floor slowly.”

  She does that.

  “That’s good. Now, do that five more times.”

  Two… Three… Four… Five…

  “Now, let’s switch to the other side.” I go around the bench. “Just put your right knee and your right hand on the bench and pick up the dumbbell with your left hand.”

  She starts.

  “That’s it. Beautiful. One… Two…”

  Suddenly, though, she drops the dumbbell, falling off the bench. I catch her in my arms in time but I’m still worried as I look at her expression of pain and fear.

  “Sabrina?”

  “Sorry. I just…” She rubs her arm. “I guess my left arm isn’t a hundred percent yet.”

  “Yet? Were you injured?”

  Stupid. I should have asked that at the start.

  “It’s nothing. I just…” Sabrina stops, staring at me, this time with an expression of surprise.

  I feel my heart stop as well, her face just inches from mine, her body still against me. We’re so close I can smell her shampoo and the fresh sweat off her skin, so close I can feel her breathing and the heat from her body that’s still on edge from her workout.

  Fuck.

  She must feel how close our bodies are, too, because quickly, she picks herself up and scrambles away from me.

  “I think that’s enough for today, don’t you?”

  I can only nod.

  “Good. I’ll go take a shower.”

  Without waiting for me to say anything, she runs off. I stay on the floor, sighing, then frown as I look down at my pants.

  I suppose I should take a shower as well.

  Messy

  Sabrina

  I shouldn’t have agreed to work out with Randall, I scold myself as I stand in the shower, letting the water cool my body and wash the sweat away.

  I should have kept my distance. I should have stayed away from him.

  If I had, I wouldn’t have seen him in those workout clothes, which make him look ten times hotter than usual. If I had, I wouldn’t have had to drool over those gorgeous muscles. If I had, my heart wouldn’t have raced as I felt his gaze on me, over me and I wouldn’t have felt a shiver up my spine at his every touch. If I had, I wouldn’t have tumbled into his arms, speechless under those waves of heat and desire coming off him.

  Heat and desire.

  I thought he was interested in me but now, he wants me?

  I know he does. That look he had in his eyes was the same Vince had when he was trying to seduce me and like before, I find myself melting, wanting to give in, wanting him back.

  Even now, as I close my eyes and remember it, I can feel heat flowing through my veins, my breasts tingling and my sex swelling, aching.

  I almost stroke it, my hand feeling compelled to, but I reach for the soap instead as I open my eyes, turning the knob with my other hand to make the water slightly colder.

  No. I must fight this. I mustn’t want Randall.

  He’s hot, yes, and he’s sweet and caring and he’s single and a good father but I mustn’t want him. Didn’t I swear off men? Didn’t I promise myself I’d never go down that road again, never let my emotions and my hormones make a fool of me again? Haven’t I learned my lesson?

  As I soap my left arm, I wince, the muscle above my elbow still hurting. It’s healed now and yet, it still feels sore whenever I exert too much effort with it. I guess that means it hasn’t completely healed.

  It hasn’t completely healed and here I am, making the same mistake again.

  But he’s not Vince.

  How will I know for sure until it’s too late? I used to think that Vince was perfect, too.

  It isn’t worth the risk. In a mansion this size, I could stay lost forever.

  Besides, Randall is my boss. The fact that he wants me doesn’t change that. If I screw up, I could lose my job – I’m pretty sure the contract I signed with Stargazers included something about not sleeping with the client- and even damage the agency’s reputation. I can’t do that to Carol, not when she’s done so much for me.

  Then there’s the fact that I’m his son’s nanny. I don’t want to be like the other nannies who only wanted to go to bed with Randall and not take care of David.

  No. I should focus on David. Randall may want me but David is the one who needs me, and he’s the one I’m being paid to take care of.

  Right. David. Just think of David.

  I wonder what his next challenge will be.

  ***

  “A bath challenge?” I look at David with wide eyes, stopping in the middle of picking up a discarded shirt off his bedroom floor.

  What is that supposed to be?

  “All the good YouTubers have done it,” David says. “All I have to do is fill the tub with weird stuff and you just step into it and soak in it for a few minutes. It’s that simple.”

  “Weird stuff?” I arch an eyebrow at him.

  “Yeah. Weird stuff like lemonade or hot chocolate or cotton candy…”

  I blink. What on earth are YouTubers thinking?

  “Or blood,” David adds.

  “Blood?”

  “Well, it’s not like I have real blood around. I’ll just use whatever I find in the kitchen, I guess, and mix it all up. It will be really gross.”

  Okay. “And I just have to soak in it for a few minutes?”

  “Yup.”

  Something tells me I’m going to have to soak in a real bath for hours after.

  “So, are you up for it? Are you giving up?” David asks with a sly grin.

  I’m definitely not giving up.

  I stand straight. “Sure, let’s try it.”

  “Are you sure?” David’s eyes narrow.

  “Yup.” I nod.

  “You’ll have to soak in gross stuff for like ten minutes.”

  He’s really trying to scare me now but I’m not going to flinch. “I think I can handle that.”

  I think I can handle that better than I can handle his father.

  “We’ll see,” David says. “Now, why don’t you go changed into a swimsuit?”

  “A swimsuit?” I give him a puzzled look.

  “You have one, don’t you?”

  “Yes.” The agency issues one for every nanny along with the uniforms, just in case the nanny has to go swimming with the child.

  “Good. So, change into that while I get all the stuff for your bath. When you’re done, you come back here and just hide over there.” He points to the tower in his fortress. “And don’t come out until I tell you the bath’s ready.”

  “Okay.”

  I leave the room to do just as David told me, changing into my one-piece black swimsuit and then putting on a robe. When I come back, I hide in the tower, trying not to peek as I hear him coming in and out of the room and pouring stuff into the tub.

  I wonder what he’s putting in there. Juice? Soda?

  Finally, I hear him calling. “Bath’s ready, Sabrina!�
��

  “Okay!”

  I head to the bathroom, gasping as I see what I’m supposed to soak in.

  I can’t tell exactly what’s in there but it seems like there’s tomato sauce, soy sauce, mustard, vinegar, flour and chocolate syrup. At least, those are the stuff I can identify and smell. I can see an empty bottle of cooking oil and an empty bottle of maple syrup in the corner so I guess they are in there, too.

  Boy. This is going to be one sticky, smelly bath.

  “You did tell Mrs. Wilson you were getting some stuff from the pantry, didn’t you?” I ask David.

  “No,” he answers. “Why should I? My dad is the one who gives money for the stuff that’s in the pantry.”

  He has a point. Still, I’m sure Mrs. Wilson won’t be pleased when she sees all those missing condiments.

  “Do you still want to go in or are you backing out now?” David asks.

  I’m sure he’s hoping for the latter.

  “Sorry to disappoint you, kid, but I’m going in.”

  I take off my robe, hanging it behind the door, then put one foot in the tub, gripping the edge so I don’t slip and grimacing as I feel the mixture against my skin.

  It feels gross already.

  I put my other foot in, then slowly lower myself into the tub up until the mixture is up to my chest. Even with my swimsuit on, I can feel the mixture sticking to me, rubbing against my skin. And it does not feel good.

  I’m tempted to say ‘yuck’ but I don’t, knowing that David is expecting that.

  Don’t worry, Sabrina. It’s just food.

  “Lower,” David says. “Like the stuff should be up to your chin.”

  Really? I don’t complain, though, just obeying and trying not to get any of the stuff in my mouth. Sure, they’re edible and I love them when they’re mixed with food but I’d rather not eat them like this.

  Thank goodness this isn’t an eating challenge.

  This really is such a crazy idea, not to mention it’s such a waste of good stuff.

  I don’t say that out loud, though, smiling at David. “So, ten minutes, right?”

  “I’ll start counting now.”

  I nod then take a deep breath, doing my best to relax and shut out all the smells and textures as I wait for the time to pass.

  Just ten minutes, Sabrina. You can do this.

  Then, just when I feel like everything is going to be all right, I hear someone approaching, along with panting.

  Zombie.

  Shit.

  “Now, Zombie, stay away,” I warn him.

  “Why not?” David grins as Zombie sniffs the mixture. “I think there’s still room for him in the bath.”

  As if Zombie has just read David’s mind, he jumps in, causing a splash. I scream. I regret it, though, some of the mixture going in my mouth as Zombie moves around.

  “Zombie,” I scold him between coughs but he just keeps moving and splashing as David laughs.

  Just when I think things aren’t going to get any worse, he turns around and starts licking me.

  “No! Zombie!”

  “What on Earth?”

  At the familiar voice, I look at the doorway, surprised as I see Randall standing there.

  Shit. I did not want him to see me like this. Why does he always see me at my worst?

  “It looks like you’ve gotten yourself into a mess again,” Randall says, leaning on the wall with his arms crossed over his chest. “Significantly worse than yesterday, I must say.”

  “I agree.”

  At least, Randall’s presence has made Zombie stop licking me. In fact, he’s stopped moving, just sitting there near the other end of the tub.

  “So, this is another challenge?” he asks.

  “Yes.”

  “And what did you get yourself into this time?”

  “Ask your son.”

  He looks at David.

  “Just a bunch of stuff from the pantry,” David answers with a shrug.

  “And Zombie,” I add.

  “I see. No wonder it smells like food in here, except for Zombie, of course.”

  “Trust me,” I tell him. “It does not taste like food.”

  “How long is she supposed to be in there?” Randall asks David.

  “Just two more minutes,” David says. “If she comes out before then, she loses.”

  “I won’t come out,” I assure them.

  “Okay.” Randall taps his fingers on his arm.

  Like with the burger challenge, he seems to be anxious for me to finish.

  Finally, David puts down the clock in his hand with a sigh. “All right, time’s up. You win.”

  “Great.” I smile. “Hear that, Zombie? Time to get out of the tub.”

  He doesn’t budge.

  “Fine. I’ll get out first since I have to towel you off so you don’t make a mess.”

  I try to get up but I can’t.

  I look at David. “Any help?”

  He, too, doesn’t budge, sulking.

  “Here.” Randall offers his hand.

  “Thanks.”

  I grab his arm and try to get up but the tub is too slippery. I end up slipping back into the mixture, dragging Randall in with me. At the same time, Zombie bounces out, causing a splash. He starts shaking, getting drops and puddles of the bath mixture all over David–who runs out of the room–and Randall.

  “Oops,” I say as I stare at him, his shirt now splattered with all the sticky, smelly stuff. “It seems like we ended up in the same mess… again.”

  He says nothing and I start to worry that he’s angry when all of a sudden, he starts laughing.

  I laugh as well. What else can I do?

  “I’m beginning to wonder if it’s you who’s trying to get David out of trouble or if it’s the other way around,” Randall says.

  “Sorry,” I tell him with a sheepish grin then look at my body. “I guess we have a lot of work to do to clean ourselves up.”

  Just then, we hear David screaming.

  “Zombie, no! Stop!”

  Oh, shit.

  I make another attempt to get out of the tub, this time succeeding, then reach for my robe.

  “But first, we better catch Zombie before he makes a mess of the whole house.”

  Requests

  Randall

  I don’t remember clean feeling this good.

  I heave a sigh as I lie on top of my bed in my robe, staring at the ceiling.

  It seems like I’ve just been through the washer, having spent more than an hour in the shower and then in the tub. For a moment there, I thought the smell of the soy sauce and the mustard would never come off.

  I sniff my arm. Finally, I smell more like a human than a piece of marinated meat.

  As I put my arm over my head, I wonder if Sabrina has been able to get rid of the smell. She was soaking in that tub, after all, whereas I just fell in. She’s even dirtier and smells worse than Zombie since that dog had his fur to protect him and he managed to shake off most of the mixture, which ended up on the carpet of David’s room, on the walls in the hallway, on the stairs and on some of the living room furniture before we managed to catch him. But the mixture probably clung to Sabrina’s skin.

  Sabrina’s skin.

  I still remember how she looked like in that swimsuit, which fit her like a glove. Strangely, in spite of all that stuff she was coated in, she still looked amazing, the piece of clothing showing off her slender shoulders, the curves of her breasts and the other pair of curves past the small of her back, which are just as firm and rounded – a cute ass that I just wanted to squeeze and bite into.

  That ass.

  But then I saw something else, too – scars.

  They were on her back, peeking above the curve of her swimsuit. If the back of her swimsuit had been any lower, like most of those I’ve seen, I would have seen the length and extent of those scars. As it was, I could only see the tips. They’re brownish, too, which means they’re fairly new. Even so, I can’t help b
ut wonder what caused them and maybe more importantly, who. After all, there’s no way such scars on the back can be an accident.

  Then there’s her arm, too, which seemed to have been injured not too long ago.

  What happened to her before she came here?

  I go to my computer, checking the file that Carol sent me in hopes of finding a clue, but it isn’t helpful at all. All it says is that Sabrina is new at the agency and that she dropped out of Youngstown State in Ohio after studying Biology for just a year.

  Why? If she was good enough to enter college, why leave? Sure. It could be because of financial reasons but Sabrina doesn’t strike me as the kind of person to easily give up. If she really wanted to finish college, she would have found a way. So, why didn’t she? Why just drop out and become a nanny? Usually, the nannies I’ve employed haven’t gone to college or even tried and most of them say they became nannies so that they can provide for sick parents or put younger siblings through school. According to this file, though, Sabrina doesn’t even have a family, both her parents long deceased.

  Why did she decide to become a nanny? Why go all the way from Ohio to Texas just to be a nanny? And what was she doing during those two years between dropping out and joining the agency?

  Something is off. There’s too little information. Her file is too clean, almost like she just appeared out of nowhere and can easily disappear into nowhere.

  I look at my phone, wondering if I should call Carol’s number. I still have her card. But then I remember that Carol and Sabrina are friends.

  I pick up my phone. There’s still someone else I can call, and I’m sure he can help me.

  After the second ring, Gil picks up.

  “Hey. What’s up?”

  “Remember how you ran a background check on Peter Nelson before I made him VP?” I ask.

  “Yup. Why?”

  “Because I need you to do another background check for me, this time on Sabrina James and I need it ASAP.”

  The sooner I find out what she’s hiding, the better.

  ***

  “I’m not hiding anything.” Sabrina shows me the hands she’s been holding behind her since she entered my office. “I’m just nervous, I guess.”

 

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