Page 11 of My Demon Manny

He followed me into the kitchen, and we stocked the shelves side-by-side in companionable silence. That was, until he found the bill.

Archer

"What's this?" I teased, glancing down at the number. It wasn't surprising that some girl had given him her number.

Lux was good-looking with his blond hair and blue eyes, and his easy smile gave him a very strong boy-next-door vibe. I was sure he never had trouble finding a date. He'd certainly never have trouble trying to figure out if the girl was into him or his money.

"It's nothing," Lux said with a shake of his head, and I frowned. Did he think I'd mind or something?

"You can go on a date if you want, you know. I won't mind. You're allowed to have a life," I reminded him, and he ignored me, stacking the baby food into the cabinet.

"I'm not interested," he said after a long moment, and I nodded, deciding it was none of my business after all. Lux could date or not date whoever he wanted. As long as he did his job properly, it didn't matter to me what he did outside of it.

Right?

Then why did I feel the slightest hint of relief when he crumpled the bill and threw it into the trash?

It was probably because I'd prefer him to not be distracted. I'd heard quite a few horror stories about nannies bringing over a romantic partner to their job when the parents weren't home. I was sure that's all it was.

Since he'd done the shopping, I told him I'd make lunch and sent him to watch over Gunner. He could use a few minutes of downtime, and I could use a few minutes away from him to deal with my messy thoughts.

I'd always prided myself on dealing with my emotions. My dad used to bury his emotions a lot, and then they would explode out in the worst possible ways. I never wanted to be like him, so I'd promised myself early on that I'd never ignore my feelings.

After finding out Maya was going to have my baby, I'd visited a therapist just so I could talk it all out with someone safe, where I wouldn't be judged for what might sound like dumb worries tosome people. It'd helped a lot, and by the time Gunner came into this world, I'd felt like I was ready to be a dad.

If it was up to me, I'd make therapy a requirement for all prospective parents. Either that, or a training course similar to the one Lux had to complete.

And there I went thinking about Lux again.

What was it that kept my thoughts returning to him?

Lux was amazing with Gunner, and he took care of the rest of the house—and me—like it was nothing. Like I'd told Jerry, I almost thought he had magical powers because of how excellent he was at his work. It was uncanny.

Was it just his work ethic I was inspired by? Or was there something about the man that'd caught my attention?

I really wished I could talk to Jerry about this, but his meeting on Wednesday had run late, and then he'd had plans on the weekend, so the dinner had been postponed indefinitely for now.

Shaking my head, I focused on putting together the sandwiches as Lux and Gunner's voice drifted in from the living room. Lux was explaining to Gunner how he'd brought him special toys to chew on, and Gunner seemed intent on munching on his definitely-not-made-for-chewing toys.

With a smile on my face, I plated some sandwiches and carried them to the living room, where Gunner had migrated from his spot on the floor to Lux's lap. Lux was rocking him gently as he chomped on the toy, and both sets of blue eyes turned to me. Lux smiled, while Gunner held out his drool-covered toy to me.

"Oh, is this for me?" I asked, placing the tray on the coffee table and taking the toy from Gunner. I laughed when he immediately reached out for it again.

Returning the toy to him, I picked him up, cradling him against my chest as I waved Lux over to the couch. "Lunch is served. I'm just going to put this little guy in his crib."

Nodding, Lux got to his feet and went off to wash up, returning just as I was settling on the couch.

Gunner seemed happy with his chew toy, and I took the moment to grab a sandwich, taking a large bite as Lux sat down on the other end of the couch.

Taking a sandwich, Lux bit into it, then groaned happily as he chewed, and my cock twitched in my pants at the sound, stunning me speechless.

Wait, what? That made no sense. I wasstraight.

Wasn't that the whole reason I'd picked a male nanny? So there would be no risk of me getting interested in him?

I'd known I had a fatal flaw, that I was attracted to skilled people, people who were good at what they did. It was what had drawn me to Gunner's mom in the first place, even if it'd just been for a night of fun.

It was also why I hadn't picked a female nanny. What I hadn't expected was that my attraction to skillfulness was stronger than my sexuality.

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