Protecting the Heiress

by Nana Malone

  I swallowed around the sawdust in my mouth. Holy freaking hell. Nannies did not look like this man. Nannies were pleasantly curved with wide smiles and soft voices and could endure endless hours of Elmo songs.

  This man looked like he might shoot Elmo.

  He was talking. There were words, and they were coming out of his mouth, and his voice was… feminine? What? No. His lips weren’t moving. So then, who the hell was doing the talking?

  He stepped aside, and all of a sudden, I could breathe again. Once he was out of my line of sight, all the air came whooshing back into my lungs.

  There was a woman behind him. She’d just been hidden by his massive shoulders.

  She stepped forward with a smile. “Ms. Wellbrook, it’s nice to meet you.”

  I blinked rapidly. “Oh, yes, nice to meet you too.” Had she said their names? My mind was drawing a complete blank. I’d been too busy ogling the giant gorgeous man, and I’d completely missed it.

  “I’m sorry, what was your name again?”

  Her smile was warm, but she didn’t look any more like a nanny than the badass with the model’s face. “I’m Ariel Scott. My associate’s name is Jax Reynolds. Mr. Bipps sent us.”

  I shook her hand. Firm. Warm. No nonsense. I got the impression she was a straight shooter and direct. While those were qualities I admired in a business relationship, they were not exactly ones ideal for a baby.

  I braced myself to shake Jax’s hand. It didn’t do any good. A jolt of electricity zinged up my arm. When he spoke, his voice rumbled, like a big cat purring. I had to focus to hear the words. “It’s a pleasure, ma’am.”

  Christ on a cracker, he was British. At least his accent was. The islands boasted many an ex-pat.

  With the low timbre and the accent, he could very well have said ’I’d like to lick you now, ma’am,’ and I wouldn’t have known the difference.

  His hand nearly enveloped mine, holding on for a second too long. Eyes the color of the Caribbean waters I’d loved my whole life, held my gaze.

  Lord, that gaze. He was the kind of guy that kept his eyes open during sex. He certainly would never miss a single detail.

  I needed to talk. Words in this moment would be great. Just because they didn’t look like nannies didn’t mean they didn't have a nanny company and weren’t trying to figure out my needs.

  Libido: I’m sure he can figure out your needs.

  Thank Christ he couldn’t hear what I was thinking. Or worse, see the scenes my imagination was conjuring up. It had been a long, long time since I’d had sex, and Jax Reynolds was ticking off every damn fantasy box.

  “Right, okay then. Have a seat.”

  They both took theirs, and just as I was about to take mine, I could hear Mayzie’s displeased wail coming from the other room.

  Damn.

  Was she hurt? Did she need more formula? Should I go out and mix it for her? Had she lost Mr. Ta? Mr. Ta was a sensory toy that looked like a butterfly. Parts of him crinkled. Other parts of him had zippers and buttons. Mostly, Mayzie chewed his face. She always called him Ta, so I assumed his name was Mr. Ta.

  I hesitated again but reminded myself Bex could handle her for thirty minutes. It would be fine. How did moms do this all the time? Every little wail. Every little cry. It was nerve fraying.

  I forced myself into my seat. Bex knew what to do. Mayzie would be fine.

  Ariel sat forward. “Mr. Bipps spoke with me, of course. I think Royal Elite could be what you need, but it would be helpful to hear from you exactly what you’re looking for.”

  Royal Elite? Something told me this agency might be out of my price range.

  Except you have money specifically for this.

  I forced my shoulders to relax again. “Okay. Well I think that—”

  More wailing from the outer office. Ariel and Jax turned their gazes toward the door. “If you need to get her, we understand.”

  I resisted the urge to run out there to solve whatever ailment Mayzie had. “No. Bex will handle it. So, I was saying, obviously, you can see that I need—”

  Full-scale tantrum crying had erupted.

  I stood, but Jax beat me to it. In less than three strides he was at the door and had it open. I heard the low murmur of his voice. “There, there. That’s a love.” The crying stopped immediately.

  Moments later, Jax was back with Mayzie and her diaper bag in tow. Without a word to either of us, he found a flat surface on top of my low book shelves, took out the changing pad, and changed her diaper quickly. No muss, no fuss.

  What sorcery was this?

  Ariel and I just stared. Jax carried her back to us and sat down with her on his lap, then nodded at me. “Carry on. Poor love was just wet. No one likes a wet arse.”

  I blinked at him then at the baby. “You’re hired.” I didn’t give two shits that he didn’t look how I expected a nanny to look. He’d just made Mayzie a happy camper. I’d check all their references, call Mr. Bipps and confirm, but it looked like I had just hired my new manny.

  Six

  Jax…

  Get your shit together.

  Holy hell.  What the fuck had just happened in there?

  It had all been so simple. Walk in there, ask the client what she needed from us, get a schedule.

  All I had to do was follow the script. But then she walked in, and every cell in my body had screamed GTFO. Danger, asshole, danger.

  I’d been ready to comply with the command, but then her dark-as-sin eyes had met mine, and holy fuck me. It was as if someone had sucked the air out of the room.

  Want.

  It was a single thought. Nothing extra or flowery added. It was clear. Direct. Uncomplicated. And way the fuck off limits. I wanted her so bad it sucker-punched me.

  Lucky for me, she’d turned her attention to Ariel. I’d been given some reprieve to think, but all the blood had already rushed to my cock, so the last brain cell I had working had a bitch of a time firing.

  After I’d gotten the baby, Ariel had gone over schedule and coverage with her. I’d be moving into her house, which was trouble. But I wasn’t going to call attention to it. When we had additional team members, we’d rotate out as necessary.

  I still wasn’t sure how the hell Neela Wellbrook was going to believe we were a bunch of nannies, since basically anyone Ariel hired would telegraph as badass. But that was Ariel’s problem not mine. I still didn’t know why we couldn’t just be upfront with her. In my experience, it would have made it easier on the client.

  I wasn’t sure what the fuck I’d been expecting from coming home and taking this job, but whatever it was, Neela Wellbrook, wasn’t it. Wasn’t I already in this shit because of a woman? Well, two women if I was counting Ariel, who at the moment was silent as a tomb.

  Her silence suited me fine. She’d noticed. How could she not notice? I’d had the subtlety of a rude-boy at a grime concert.

  Back to my earlier point of needing to get my shit together. Just because Neela had eyes that could see clear to my soul, and smooth, tanned skin that looked softer than satin, and a backbone strong enough to challenge someone like me…

  You can’t have her.

  I knew the rules. I knew the plan. I had a goal. I was going to get my life back. I could keep my shit in check. I was there for the baby. Poor little mite had just been wet. And Neela’s employees clearly had no idea what to do with a baby.

  “You and I are on the same page, right?”

  Fuck. Had she been talking? “Same page?”

  Ariel hooked a left on King’s Road. “Yeah. Where’s your head at? I know she said we’d officially start on Monday, but as of right now, you’re on the clock. I want you to keep an eye on her until then. The lawyer is concerned. So, I’m concerned until I have reason not to be.”

  I’d keep an eye on her all right. “Full coverage?”

  She shook her head. “No, just on the road. To and from appointments and things for now. I have a feeling about this one.”

 
; I narrowed my gaze at her. “A feeling?”

  She nodded. “Yeah. I’ve learned to listen to my gut by this point. Everything I’ve seen in the last few years taught me to be sure. I’ve already downloaded her schedule to the tablet, so you’ll be able to cover her.”

  I knew from my research that Ariel was a hell of a hacker. “Should I ask how you got that information?”

  “Probably best if you don’t.”

  “Fine. Will do. When will you be back?”

  “Couple of days. In the meantime, I have a list of clients whose needs I want you to assess. It’s mainly phone calls. Can you manage that?”

  “Got you, Red. This is your show.”

  Her nod was brusque as she made a turn for the airport exit. “Yeah about this being my show. I need you to keep your dick in your pants around Neela Wellbrook. I’ve seen too many good men distracted and making rash decisions because they don’t have enough blood left in their brains to think.”

  So she had caught that. “She won’t be a problem.”

  “It’s not her I’m worried about.”

  I clicked my jaw shut. “Yeah, I hear you.”

  “Uh-huh. I’d believe you more if you didn't sound like the big bad wolf when you said it.”

  Ariel…

  I didn't exactly trust Jax to heed my warnings, but I didn't really have any choice. I needed to go on my next recruiting mission, and he was the man I had on the ground.

  Thanks to the crown, I was headed right back for the private jet. As the golf cart drove me out on the tarmac, I looked back at the SUV I’d left back in the parking lot. Jax was folding his big body into the driver's seat, and I was wondering if I'd made a mistake. The way he looked at Neela spelled trouble. A part of me thought he might eat her right there, never mind that I was in the room. Because hey, who doesn't love an audience?

  I shook my head and turned my attention back to my phone.

  Trace.

  Trace Lawson. He'd been in the military with Sebastian and Roone, but he hadn't been Royal Guard. Looking through his file, it looked like he had family. A little sister. He’d need to have a more regular schedule and be available for her.

  So he was a good option. His sister was fifteen now, a sophomore in high school. He'd have to start thinking about university. And I was certainly paying well.

  The golf cart stopped at the plane. The stairs were already down, and the pilot waved at me as I said, “I swear to God we've got to stop meeting like this.”

  His smile was warm. “It's nice to see you again, Miss Scott. We're all fueled and ready to go when you are.”

  I nodded. “Thank you. Hopefully it’ll just be the one stop.”

  “As His Majesty said, I am at your disposal whenever you need me."

  It did pay to have friends in high places. But the last thing on earth I wanted to do was take advantage. The sooner I got this done and had my team in place the better.

  I didn't really care where I sat on the plane. I picked the first seat I saw, plunked my bag into the seat next to it, flopped right in, and then jammed on my seatbelt.

  I hated take offs. To me, it was the worst part of flying. I always felt like the plane might break. To distract myself, I started scrolling through my emails.

  When my Google alert dinged, my stomach cramped automatically. I knew what that meant. I didn't want to look. At the same time, it was an impulse. I couldn't stop myself. I knew that only pain would come with looking. I knew how I would feel for the next several days after looking. It still didn't stop me, though.

  I used to play this game with myself whenever they would come in. Give myself a little reward if I went 30 seconds without looking, a minute, five. One time I even went a whole two hours. Granted, I'd been in the middle of a debrief at the time. But still, I got huge ass reward then. That one involved lots of liquor.

  Do not look. As a matter of fact, turn off the alerts.

  But I knew I was kidding myself. I was going to look. And no way in hell was I turning off those alerts. They were my only connection to former me. The part of me that still had a heart. They were the only connection to my past. I couldn't let them go. No matter how much I tried.

  You are an idiot. He's not coming back. None of that is ever happening. You need to move on.

  Penny, Bryna, Jinx and Jessa were all on me that I needed to try online dating. Hell, I even had my own app for that. Problem was I knew how many crazies were out there. A little light hacking and I could actually see what they were hiding.

  Having that much information at my fingertips was exhausting, it was also terrifying. I felt like online dating would work better if you could believe the lies someone told you upfront. Like I work here. I have this exciting job. I'm a good person. I won't leave you high and dry.

  I love you.

  All kinds of lies. And I was the moron who was prone to believing them.

  One guy. One time. Cut yourself some slack.

  There would be no slack cutting. And as the plane started to taxi onto the runway, sure enough, I checked my Google alert.

  Prince Tristan of the Winston Isles was out on the town with his fiancée, Ella Tisdale, at the opera during a benefit for the Clean Water Project. The beautiful couple were wearing Korgin James and Draco, looking very much in love.

  Gut punch.

  It had been nearly a decade, but it still hurt because I was an idiot. But it was the article I saw next that had my eyes focusing in on it. A disturbance at the opera where Prince Tristan of the Winston Isles was in attendance. News story developing.

  A disturbance?

  I spent the next five minutes down a rabbit hole. I couldn't escape from reports of gunfire at the Vienna State Opera in Austria following a fundraiser. Prince Tristan's soccer team had been honored for their charity work.

  It didn't say who'd been shot or if anyone had been hurt at all. Fear gripped me like a cold fist around my stomach. Had he been hurt? After his brother’s betrayal of the crown, the whole family had been in a kind of exile outside of public life for the most part, and they had decreased security because of those circumstances. They were each assigned one guard. That was all the Council would allow.

  Why can't you let this guy go?

  Because there was a part of me that was still holding onto him.

  You can't do it. Let it go. Shut it down.

  That time, I listened. I closed the app and leaned back. It was a gossip site. Who knew if it was even true? More than likely, someone's car had backfired, and here I was eating it up.

  I went to Google and pulled up my alerts. My finger hovered over the off/on switch. This time I was going to turn it off. This time I could manage it. But before I could force my finger to press off, I chickened out. Again.

  Finally, I closed down the app, chucked my phone into my bag, and deliberately clipped it shut. No more. Not today. I couldn't take it.

  Seven

  Neela…

  I’d made a mistake.

  What in the world had possessed me to tell Royal Elite I didn’t need them until Monday?

  You wanted to do your research on them.

  All I’d found was a website with pictures of happy looking babies and parents on it with testimonials. Mr. Bipps had provided me references, and they’d checked out.

  "So let me get this straight. You hired that fine specimen of man as your manny, and then you told him not to start until Monday?"

  I groaned. "I know. I know. I was having reservations and thought maybe a couple of days to check everything would do me some good.”

  “What reservations? That man was amazing with Mayzie. And amazing to look at. You deserve some eye candy,” Bex said with a wicked gleam in her eye.

  “I don’t know. It all happened in a blur. He was too much, too intense. So I said ‘you’re hired,’ but then I freaked out and said ‘Start Monday,’ completely forgetting that I’d be on my own for four more days. And I don’t know. Don’t you get the impression he’s bossy? Like aut
horitative. I don’t think I’d like bossy."  I had zero to go on, except that intense way he watched me. There was something about him that said he was used to being in charge.

  I adjusted Mayzie on my hip as I checked the diaper bag. I needed some fresh air. When I was little and had a bad day or was sad, my father used to take me down to Prince’s Beach, and we’d walk the promenade, eat enough gelato to put a six-year-old into a sugar coma, and talk. We’d stay out until I’d at least giggled a dozen times. It was also where he’d walk me through puzzles. They were a surefire way to calm my brain. It was the one time I hadn't noticed the constant presence of armed guards.

  Whenever my life was in disarray, I still went for that little walk. Kind of like now.

  Bex saw me struggling and rolled her eyes. She grabbed the bag and shoved the essentials inside.

  "So what if the man is bossy. Did you see how hot he was? He could boss me around anytime with that voice. Holy mercy. I’m good at taking orders. Also, he got Mayzie to stop crying."

  Mayzie gurgled and slapped my boob. "Sorry kid, nothing is coming out of there. But if you need a bottle, I’ve got you covered."

  “Don’t you dare deflect with the baby. There was a hot man in here, way hotter than Richard.”

  “It’s not like he was here for a date, Bex. He’s my new manny, so he’s way the hell off-limits. He’s here for Mayzie. Thanks to Willa, she is my priority now. Not my lady parts.”

  Bex rolled her lips then and said nothing. She and Willa had not gotten along. Bex had always thought that Willa took me for granted and insisted on always shining, never letting me step front and center.

  I didn't necessarily agree with that, but Bex was entitled to her own opinion, and she was protective of me. Willa had been protective of me too, in her own way. But I couldn't help but agree that sometimes, Willa had stepped on me so that she would be seen instead.

  “Sounds like Willa, leaving you to clean up her messes again.”