Page 36 of Beneficial Misfortune

I’m glad he seems to like me because I’d thought he was scary just from the size of him, but when he’s in protection mode, he goes from scary to the thing of nightmares.

“There has to be coffee in here somewhere,” I mumble, looking around.

It takes me entirely too long to figure out which high-tech gadget is the coffee machine, and even when I do, I have no idea how to use it. It’s got knobs and buttons and a whole touch screen.

Ugh, why is this so complicated? Who wants to do all of this for a cup of coffee?

Twenty minutes later, I’m still no closer to figuring it out than I was when I started, and I let out a groan of frustration, letting my head hit the machine with a thump.

A chuckle behind me makes me whip around to find Alex standing in the doorway that leads to the dining room. He’s leaning against the door frame with his arms crossed and a smile on his face as he watches me.

Crap! How long has he been standing there?

My cheeks heat at the idea of him watching me struggle like an idiot.

“Don’t stop on my account, Red.”

The nickname he gave me all those nights ago rolls off his tongue and caresses my body, but as much as I might like it and the way it sounds coming from him, Trevor tainted it. Now, it leaves a bad taste in my mouth, and I can’t help but cringe when I hear it.

“Oh, not a fan of that nickname anymore, huh? Don’t worry, I can find a new one,” he says, and the idea shouldn’t excite me, but it does.

People don’t nickname nannies, right?

Crap, they might. I have no idea.

I stand there for a moment, lost in thought, before I realize I’m staring and quickly whip back around to the coffeepot. As annoying as it might be, it's definitely the safer and easier option right now.

Mindlessly, I push a few buttons, trying to get it to do literally anything, and for a moment, I convince myself he’s not there, that he’s left.

Of course, I’m wrong.

I feel him before I see him, the heat of his body behind me a moment before his hands come down on the counter on either side of me, trapping me.

With a squeak, I spin around and come face to face with him. He’s leaning forward so that we're almost nose to nose, and his sudden proximity has me backing up into the counter's edge.

Crap.

“That color on your cheeks is beautiful,” he says, slowly reaching up to brush the back of his hand over my heated skin. I remain as still as a statue, unsure if I should run or if I want to lean into him. He pulls back before I can decide, and I’m left gaping at him as I try to get my brain to function with him so close.

“I don’t remember you being this shy the last time I was this close. No, last time you were a real firecracker.”

His mention of our night together opens the floodgates in my mind. The memories mix with my dreams from last night, and just like that, I can no longer meet his eyes.

He chuckles; the sound is low and sexy, and I get the feeling he knows exactly where my mind just went.

Careful as not to touch him, I turn back around, letting him stand at my back and hoping maybe he’ll just leave me be. It’s too early for this; I haven’t even had coffee yet, and with my dreams last night, I’m so on edge that one wrong move might have me jumping his bones.

Nope, bad idea, Kat.

You work for his brother, and you already fucked him and Des once.

Shit, I fucked his brotherandhis son. There’s no way he’s going to keep me as his nanny when he finds out, and I can’t keep it from him. Not only is that wrong, but from the way Alex is acting right now, I know it will be impossible.

I just need to find a way to tell him.

Ugh, I don’t think they make a card for this kind of situation.

'Sorry I fucked your family, but that was before you hired me.'

---