Page 3 of Deadly Tiger's Single Dad Crush

And then the car accident happened and my world was upended.

So, I haven’t made it a habit to have a lot of girls around. Of course, that’s because of the boys, too. Jake and Remy deserve to have the best. Honestly, I wasn’t sure I wanted to hire a nanny, but with my schedule, it was getting to be too much, relying on relatives and friends.

And with Samantha, well, I think I have found the best.

“Um, I think I’ve lost you. If you don’t think it’s a good idea for the boys to come down to the zoo, that’s okay.”

I look at her and see she seems a bit hurt. Without thinking, I reach over and pat her hand. “Thank you for the offer. I think the boys would absolutely love a special tour.”

Samantha smiles at me like she’s picking up signals I’m not intending to put out there. “Well, let me know when and I’ll get it all taken care of.”

I nod and jump up to grab a drink from the bar. Of course, I have a bar. I’m a tiger. I do all I can to make my house seem like a palace. It helps to put some distance between us. “So, how have things been going for you? Are you finding everything to your liking?”

She tilts her head in a way that makes her even more beautiful. “To my liking? Hmmm, well with that interesting phrase as a descriptive starting point, um, yeah, I’m finding everything to be very much to my liking.”

I turn and pour my drink and remind myself that this girl is only twenty and most likely doesn’t realize that her behavior appears flirty. Of course, it could be that I’ve been without a woman in the house long enough that I’m overreacting to some very innocent banter.

Bridget has been gone for a little over three years now. I feel that absence every second of every day. I know Samantha doesn’t know my whole background. She knows the boys’ mom passed away and that I’ve been raising them on my own for a bit, but I don’t know if she understands how very lonely of a job that’s been, and how much of an impact she’s already making on our lives in such a short time.

I don’t think she understands that she’s making quite an impact on me.

“Well, okay, I think I should get some sleep. As fascinating as the mating life of tigers may be, it won’t help me when I’m trying to hold it together with the boys tomorrow.”

She gets up and I walk toward her like a silly grade school kid being taught etiquette for the first time. “Yeah, I think I’ll be heading to bed, too.”

“Well, goodnight.” She walks away and heads down the hall to her room.

I watch her as she goes and I do my best to keep my eyes from traveling down to watch her ass.I try my best and fail. What do I think I’m doing behaving like this with this girl? I hired her for the boys’ sake, not so I could relieve some tension.

I berate myself some more and then I switch off the TV.

These nature shows can’t teach me a damned thing about tigers.

Chapter Three

Samantha

The kids shout and scream when I tell them I did the tour. They just watched a different employee do it. In a little while, their aunt will be by to pick them up.

“I did it every shift for two years,” I say with a giggle. “Four hours a day. Two for the Bengal tiger, one for the Antelopes of Southern Africa, and one for the World of Gibbons.”

“In different sections of the zoo?” Daniel asks.

“Yep. I did one tour when I was seventeen, got good reviews, and then I just kind of ended up being the go-to tour lady. I didn’t mind. It was fun, and I loved seeing the looks on everyone’s faces when they saw the animals and learned something.”

“Do a tour!” Jacob shouts.

I blush and say, “I gave them the antelope tour, just without the antelopes.”

“Do a tour!” Now Alex and Lena are shouting together. I swear I must look redder than a tomato.

“All right,” I say. “But you two are going to be on your best behavior tonight!”

The kids promise and instantly sit silently, staring at me. That earns me a look of adoration from Daniel, which makes me feel really good. I say, “Okay, we’ll do the tigers. You have to imagine seeing things in the exhibit.” I go through the process of describing the tour route and what would be seen and then I start the tour. I love how the kids pay complete attention, utterly unable to look away.

Daniel pays close attention, too, but it isn’t the information, I don’t think. In this case, he’s just… He’s just paying attention to me. I think. Maybe it’s just hopeful thinking. Hell, I don’t know. I know that this crush I have for him is ten times stronger now. It gets to the point where I’m afraid I might moan audibly. I don’t know if I can survive that kind of humiliation.

“The tiger possesses a combination of strength, stealth, speed, and powerful predatory instincts,” I say, “and that’s what allows it to efficiently take down large prey animals with one of the highest success rates in the animal kingdom.” Daniel smiles at me. Alex and Lena look at me with rapt attention. I gesture to the side even though none of the displays are here in the living room. I just do it out of habit.

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