by Wood, Lauren
“No games before dinner,” I reminded her. “You know how much your father hates that.” It was another one of his infamous rules.
She pouted. “Fine.” Paige let out a little sigh. “Is it time to eat?”
“As soon as your dad gets in here.”
“Okay.”
She settled at the kitchen table while I made her plate, unable to stop my mind from wandering through the events that had just happened where Paige’s father was concerned. After making all of the plates, I set them down around the table before taking my seat across from Paige.
I can’t stop thinking about Ezra in the workout room. How could one man be so dang attractive? I knew that these thoughts should be far away from my mind, but I couldn’t stop them. And I hated to admit it, but I didn’t want to, either. I didn’t want to think about anything else.
For so long, I’d been doing so well not to picture him in an unprofessional way. All of that work was gone down the drain. I would never be able to not see the sweat beading on his forehead and dripping down his chest. Those rock hard abs and rippling muscles. What I wouldn’t give to see them again.
“Everything looks good, Quinn.” My head snapped up, and I had to stop my jaw from dropping when my eyes looked over Ezra. I immediately grew frustrated with myself. He’d changed into sweatpants and had put on a shirt to hide the chest that I’d seen so well. His hair was wet from the quick shower that he’d taken after working out.
Even though his chest was no longer bare, I was still wildly attracted to him. Without my say-so, my thighs squeezed together, in an attempt to quench a hunger that I was unfamiliar with. I could feel myself getting wet, and the only thing I could do was avoid eye contact with Ezra, as if looking at him would reveal the truth of my thoughts and the secrets of my body that I was trying so hard to hide.
“Thank you,” I told him, trying to keep my voice steady. The last thing I needed to think about was how good Ezra looked after a shower. “I hope you enjoy it.”
“I’m sure I will.”
There was silence between us as everyone began to dig into the lasagna that I’d made. It was as if we were a little family, as weird as that sounded. I knew that I was only the nanny, the help, in Ezra’s eyes, but that didn’t stop the way that I felt.
As much as it hurt to say, I didn’t have much of a family of my own. The only person that I did have was my mother, and, as much as I loved her, I was hardly ever allowed to see her for the sole reason that she was unwell.
She’d been battling cancer for the last four years of her life, and I wanted to support her with everything that I had. But I didn’t know how. She’d been so insistent that I live my life, find a way to make money and finish my dream of being a vet. I’d argued because that had meant being away from her.
My mother wasn’t the kind of woman to accept no for an answer.
When a house fire killed my brother and my father, she’d been adamant that we would try to live our lives the best that we could and be as normal as we could manage. All of that was easier said than done.
Yet it was the ‘normal’ things that made me feel better at the end of the day. Sitting down, around the table, and enjoying a meal together with these people, that in this short amount of time I’d come to think of as family.
Well, in a way, anyhow.
I took a bite out of the lasagna and moaned at the taste. I hadn’t expected for it to taste so good. I had tried out a new recipe, and obviously it had paid off. I would have to remember to put it on an index card and add it to the list of good recipes that I’d managed to find on the internet.
Paige didn’t seem to notice, and I didn’t think anything of my little moan until I felt Ezra’s eyes burning holes into me. I didn’t even want to turn, but I couldn’t help looking at him, into those beautiful crystalline blue eyes.
And the lust that I saw in them nearly broke me.
If Ezra hadn’t made it clear before that he wanted me before then it was clear to me now. But what was I supposed to do with this knowledge?
“How was school today?” Ezra changed the subject the only way he knew how. Paige immediately began telling him all of the details that she’d told me, in the car, from the party to all of the candy that she’d gotten. However, I did notice that she neglected to talk to him about the boyfriend that she’d acquired. I, almost, wanted to laugh as I thought about it.
“And Quinn,” my head snapped when I heard my name. I finished chewing the rest of my food. “How was your day?” He’d asked me this question before, but I couldn’t help but to feel that this time was different.
“Good,” I answered and swallowed.
His eyes were trained on me. “I’m happy to hear that.”
Once everyone had finished eating, I began to clean up, always preferring to do so right after rather than having a mess to wake up to the morning after. I already had to make breakfast every morning, and it was easier to do that with a clean slate. It was just better to wake up like that.
I began washing the dishes and loading them into the dishwasher before wiping the counters off and then grabbing the broom to sweep up whatever left of the mess. By the time I’d finished, the kitchen was just about shining, and it looked as if I hadn’t even cooked in it. Perfect. That was just how Ezra liked it.
“Quinn,” Ezra called my name, and my head snapped up. I swallowed, setting the broom aside, and looked towards him, wondering if there was something else that he needed from me.
Maybe something a little bit more scandalous?
“Yes?”
“Put Paige to bed for me. I have some work that I need to get finished, and she seems to like when you do it far more.”
“I can do that.”
Ezra nodded his head, and he stared at me. I could tell that there was more that he was itching to say, yet he was holding back for some reason. Maybe because of Paige. Well, regardless of the reason, that didn’t stop me from hearing the words that were left unspoken.
“Good night, baby,” he told her, kissing her cheek. Then, he turned around and went upstairs, leaving me with Paige. Getting her to bed was easy in theory, but on a normal day, getting her in pajamas and in the bed was a hard task. Not tonight, though. With all of the fun and partying that day, she was exhausted.
She slipped into bed and let out a yawn. “I’m tired,” she muttered.
“I can tell, honey.”
“What are you making for breakfast tomorrow?”
I laughed. She was always thinking about the important things. “How do pancakes sound?
“Amazing.” I could tell that she was excited, but it was quickly covered up by her tiredness. Paige yawned again, settled into bed and gave me a sleepy smile. “Good night, Quinn,” she told me. “I love you.”
My heart warmed. “I love you, too.”
I gently ran my fingers through her hair before shutting the light off and walking out of the room. I was parched, so I went back to the kitchen and prepared to grab a glass of water before I went to bed.
When I went into the kitchen, I paused when I saw Ezra. He was leaning against the counter, with a Gatorade in his hand. I watched him drink it, my lips separating slightly before he turned around to look at me.
I let out a small sigh. The fire between us was unquenchable.
And without Paige there, nothing would stop us. How many times had we ignored whatever electricity was between us for the benefit of his daughter? Because we didn’t want her to find out? Well, right now that was one less thing that we had to worry about.
5
Ezra
As much as I wanted to deny that there was something between us, I knew that I couldn’t, not anymore. The more that I tried to push Quinn away, the closer I brought her to me, as crazy as that sounded. Something drew me to her, and I was sick of fighting the truth, the one that I knew we both knew.
I wanted Quinn with every fiber of my being, and I knew that it was mutual, that she wanted me just as much. I had n
ever faced such temptation with another nanny before, or anyone for that matter. In the past, even when I had wanted a woman, I was able to control it, and I could numb the feeling.
Not with Quinn.
I stared at her, at how beautiful she really was. Short enough to fit against me. Her blonde hair, so beautiful yet simple in its natural waves. Her eyes, big and green, and full of lust. Her lips were nice and plump. Her body was beautiful and curvy. Everything about her was screaming at me to claim her. And I couldn’t keep fighting against it. I couldn’t keep fighting against her. My brain and my body knew what it wanted.
Then, she used those perfect teeth to tug against that bottom lip, and I knew that I was about to lose any ounce of control that I’d managed to keep. That little gesture was enough to set me off, even more so when her pink little tongue darted out to soothe the damage that her teeth had done. What I wouldn’t have given to bite that lip for her.
And maybe I could.
Before I could over analyze and think about how bad of an idea this was, and how much I’d protested against work relationships before, I walked to Quinn, wrapped an arm around her waist and planted a kiss against her lips, just the way that I’d been dying to do for the last couple of weeks.
She gasped against the kiss, and I could tell that she was surprised. I understood why. Despite the fact that I’d countlessly given her signs over the course of the last few weeks that I wanted her, I’d also given her several signs that I wanted our relationship to stay strictly professional.
Now, she would know exactly what I wanted.
I knew exactly what had come over me. She’d pranced in here wearing mere pieces of cloth. How was I supposed to be able to resist taking a bite out of her? Everything about her screamed, ‘take a piece out of me,’ and I was finally doing just that. For once, I was making a decision with the head between my legs, rather than the one attached to my neck.
Everything I’d tried to suppress was now coming out and making itself obvious. I was attracted to her, and tonight, I was prepared to get the thing I wanted more than anything else in life.
Our lips started out gentle together, a simple push and pull, as she got over the surprise that I was kissing her. I realized that she was getting more into it every single second, and I liked that. I enjoyed the fact that she was coming alive. I wanted to see more of this fiery side of her that I hadn’t known even existed.
I was a bit disappointed in her, though. I didn’t know what I’d expected, but I’d thought that, surely, she would have had a bit more self control than I did, that she would pull away from the kiss and say what I’d been saying all along, that we couldn’t be doing this. That the chances were sleeping together, being intimate with each other, was likely to ruin the perfect work relationship we’d come to have.
Those thoughts were looming in my own mind, but I didn’t care, not at the moment anyways. For what mattered to me at that moment, our work relationship could be as good as gone if it meant that I could keep doing what I was doing.
That I could run my lips against her soft skin and caress her, that I could lay her down and look into her eyes while I pushed in and out of her. I wanted to watch her back arched, as she was plowed into better than any one had ever done her before. Not to mention, I wanted to hear those lovely screams, as I pleasured her relentlessly without end.
She was supposed to tell me that I couldn’t do that. She was supposed to have self control where I couldn’t, but I knew that was hardly possible. How would it be, when it was obvious that she desired me just as much as I did her?
Her hand curved around my neck as she pulled me closer, her tongue darting into my mouth. It caught me off guard, but I wasn’t complaining…far from it, actually. I wanted to feel more of her, so much more. My hand tightened around her waist, and I pressed her against the counter to get better leverage.
When was the last time that I’d been with a woman, intimately, sexually? It’d been a long time, probably since before she was hired. My brother, Klaus, was always the one who made me go out to scout for women or be a wingman for him. And considering that I had nothing better to do, and I was sick of hearing him constantly bother me about it, I always gave in, especially if it meant that it was going to shut him up.
Besides, I was a man, and I had needs. I may not have wanted a relationship with anyone since the death of my life, but that didn’t mean I hadn’t wanted sex. It was the exact opposite, honestly. The loneliness I felt made me crave sex. And who was better to please me than the woman in my arms? It’d been months since I’d been intimate with a woman, and I was eager to get back into the game.
The counter proved not to be enough for us. I wanted to completely dominate her, and to do that, I needed her to be able to bend under my will. Unless I was about to fuck her, on the counter, in the kitchen, then I knew that I needed to move us, and quick, before we were too far along to care.
I hooked my arm underneath her leg and picked her up, unsurprised by how light she was. Quinn really was a small little thing, and I hadn’t expected for her to weigh much of anything. This was exactly what I’d thought it’d be like.
She moaned, encouraging me to continue. I pressed her back against the wall, almost slamming her against it, as our lips came back together. I could feel her heart racing, but I didn’t care. I didn’t think she did that much, either.
Gone were the gentle kisses. Now we were both fighting for dominance. She was thrusting her tongue into my mouth, doing a little dance with mine. I was nipping at her bottom lip to put her back in her place, but Quinn was far from the timid girl that I’d originally thought that she was.
This really was a surprise. After all, she’d always been so nervous and awkward around me. I hadn’t thought that she could be such a fighter, but that didn’t mean that I didn’t like it. In fact, it was quite the opposite. I found myself becoming completely obsessed with this side of her and wanting to see more of it, so much more.
Our make-out session continued to increase in intensity, as I thought about how bad I wanted her. It was a dire ache inside of me, demanding me to claim this woman as mine. And there was nothing that I wanted more. All of my rules were being thrown out of the window for this one woman.
If I was in my right mind, I would put an end to this. I would stop and fire her for being such a temptation. But I was far from my right mind. I could only think about her in the way that I shouldn’t, and there was nothing that I could do about that. There was no stopping me now.
Quinn jumped up, against the wall, and wrapped her legs around my waist. I smiled against the kiss, and pressed her harder into the wall. My hand drifted down towards her breast, and she moaned at the first contact. She was trying to thrust her hips against me the best way that she could.
I allowed my fingers to graze her breast, and she pulled her lips away from me, focusing her attention on kissing my neck, something that felt way better than it should have. Why was everything about this woman so damn intoxicating?
As much as I was enjoying her lips around me, I could’ve sworn that I heard footsteps and paused for a second. Paige was always my priority, even in my lust-filled mind. Quinn was confused and frowned before grabbing my chin and pressing our lips back together.
The coast was clear, and I knew that Paige wasn’t going to pad through the kitchen. But the one moment of pause had been enough to completely clear my mind and make me realize what I was doing. Was I out of my ever-living mind?
I yanked my lips away from Paige and pulled away from her, putting some distance between the two of us, so we could access the situation without just thinking sexually. I couldn’t believe what we were doing, what we were about to do. Just a few more minutes, and I would have been too far gone to stop.
Quinn looked utterly confused. Her hair was disheveled. Her chest was moving up rapidly, as she attempted to catch her breath and lower her heart rate.
“Ezra,” she whispered before swallowing. “Did I…did I do something w
rong?” There were so many emotions in her eyes. Confusion, want, lust, fear.
She would think that even though it was the farthest thing from the truth.
“Not just you,” I answered her question. “Both of us, this shouldn’t have happened.” As much I hated to say the words, we both knew that it was the truth.
I was incredibly frustrated with myself. I’d never failed to separate business from pleasure before. I was the king of keeping those two worlds apart, yet here we were. And the worst part about all of it was the fact that I hadn’t wanted to stop. And if I hadn’t thought Paige was making her way to the kitchen, then I wouldn’t have.
“I’m sorry,” she apologized, quickly, staring into me, as she bit into that bottom lip again.
“Stop that,” I snapped at her.
She frowned in pure and utter confusion. “What?”
“Stop biting your lip like that.” Couldn’t she tell that it was driving me absolutely insane? It was making me want to forget everything I’d just told her and continue what the two of us had already started.
“I’m sorry,” Quinn said again.
“And quit apologizing,” I growled. “Is that all you ever do? Damn.”
Her eyes squinted. “Don’t talk to me like that.”
I raised an eyebrow at her. “Do you really want to tell me what I can and can’t do?”
During our make-out session, I’d noticed that there was more to Quinn than met the eye. I wondered if everyone else got to see that side of her or just me.
Now that personality was peeking out, and surprisingly enough, I liked it.
She mustered all of her courage and looked me dead in the eye. “Am I fired?”
The question was one that had yet to slip into my mind, but now that it had, I knew I had to consider it. Quinn was a phenomenal nanny, and Paige loved her. But this line that had been crossed, we couldn’t go back. There was no changing what we had done. Should I really keep her when she was such a temptation to me? When everything about her encouraged me to break my own rules?