Page 89 of Marrying the Nanny

“You heard all that?” She wanted to groan in suffering at having a witness to her brother’s complete disregard of her. Instead, she mumbled “Thanks” for the beer he handed her. “I was thinking of asking Sophie if she wanted to do shots at the pub.”

“I’m sorry your brother’s an asshole, Em. Mine—I don’t know what to do with them, how to have a relationship with them, but at least they’re decent human beings. It’s worth my time to try to be friends with them.”

“Eddie never had to learn to be humble. He was always sporty and smart. Tall and good-looking and outgoing. I was a knobby-kneed C student who cried when she lost at cards. Which was all the time because he was older and smarter.” The utter patheticness of continuing to hope he would care about her weighed like a lead curtain. “I honestly thought he had come to give me away. That he wanted to be here for me as I got married again. Like it was a peace offering or something. I feel like such an idiot.”

Her chin crinkled and she turned away, setting down the beer and hugging herself.

“Don’t.” His bottle clinked onto the dresser top and he drew her around, wrapped his arms across her back, securing her against him. “The fact you can think the best of someone like him is a testament to what a good person you are. It would never occur to you to be that selfish.”

“I feel selfish. His kids miss me, and I miss them. They ask all the time if I’m coming home, but I keep thinking, How is that home? I don’t have anything there except them. I can see how they all think staying here for Storm isn’t a good enough reason.”

His arms tightened and he swallowed. “I was afraid he was going to talk you into leaving. He’s not wrong that we don’t know each other well. I didn’t know what reason I could give you to talk you into staying.”

She looked up at him. “The part where you want to talk me into staying is a good start. The fact you actually want me here means a lot. You heard why he wants me home. If he had stood by me with Kevin, I would have stayed and been fine with a supporting role in the family, but they wouldn’t even let me fight Kev for half the house because it was a wedding gift from his parents. It didn’t matter what he’d cost me, only what it would cost them at work and socially. I think they were all dreading me having kids anyway, worried I would expect reciprocal babysitting.”

She leaned into him, comforted by the way his hands tracked up and down her spine, soothing even though she could feel the tension lingering in him.

“I’m sorry he called you a wanker.”

“I don’t give a fuck what he calls me. I’m furious that he hurt you. That he’s continuing to hurt you.”

She smiled and tilted her head back. “Thank you. I’ve never had anyone stick up for me before.”

“You dressed him down to his banana hammock. You didn’t need me. Although, I don’t know if bringing up our sex life was strictly necessary.”

“I’m sorry.” She winced.

“I’m fine with it.” His mouth tilted with vengeance. “I only wish we’d had more time lately to bring that number up.”

“Yeah? What are you doing right now? We have an empty house and a sleeping baby.” She let herself sprawl against him and offered her mouth.

“We do have those things.” He glanced toward the closed doors, but hesitated.

“What’s wrong?” Her recent sense of scorn began edging back in.

“Nothing.” He kissed her, but with a disciplined care that was thorough and arousing, but frustrating. This wasn’t the playfulness of their first kisses or the exciting abandon of their ones on the boat.

She drew back, saw the flash of something behind his tight expression. “If you don’t want to—”

“I do. Believe me.” His hands tightened on her arms. “I’m still angry, Em. I don’t want that in here between us.”

“You’re not angry with me—you’re angry for me. It’s sweet.” She slid close again and dragged his head down.

“It’s really not,” he muttered against her mouth.

She crushed her lips against his, not entirely sure what she was doing, but wanting to light the fire of his passion. She didn’t hold back as she rocked her mouth beneath his, lips parted with invitation for him to take whatever he wanted.

His hand came up to her hair and he did. He raked his mouth across hers with possessive demand, plundering her with such greed, a punch of arousal made her heart thud in alarm. Rather than retreat, however, she instinctively hung on, unfurling her arms around his neck and moaning under the sheer force of desire he pulled forth.

His own desire was blatant and instantaneous. His erection pressed against her middle as he backed her to the bed. The mattress hit the backs of her knees. He came down with her.

“We won’t have sex,” he muttered against her throat, hands cruising over her shirt and hips and thighs. “But I want to feel you under me. Just for a minute.”

He was heavy on her, the weight of him a primal signal that made her half wild so she couldn’t touch enough of him. Couldn’t get her legs open quick enough to allow him to settle between.

He braced on his elbows and for a moment she thought he was going to rip her shirt open from the collar, but he slid down a little and pushed it up, cupped both her breasts, and scraped his teeth across the fabric of her bra. Searing streaks of hot pleasure flooded into her breasts, making them swell and sting. Making her moan and wriggle at the tight sensation.

“I wanna go down on you, Em. What do you think of that?”

---