Page 18 of The Billionaire & the Nanny: Part 4

“Sure.” I push the door open slightly but don’t invite him inside, if that’s what he’s expecting. I cross my arms to cover the fact that I’m not wearing a bra and put on that professional Alana smile.

Kase’s eyes wander, aware that I’m braless. “I’m not sure what I’ve done to upset you, Miss Frasier. It’s clear there’s tension between us.”

I’m not sure how to respond to that. First of all, he’s even hotter than hell now that he’s in a T-shirt, not looking like the ad executive I saw yesterday but an athletic hot dad in gym shorts. I have to look away. Second of all, does he not realize the way he talks to me? Still, I can’t blame my boss so I err on the side of personal issues.

“Look, it’s nothing,” I sigh, rubbing my forehead. “I’m just stressed because I need this job.”

“Isn’t this one of the best nanny jobs around, though? Your agency assured me you would be thrilled to have it.”

“I am. It’s great. It’s just that…” I pause, wondering how much I should tell him. Maybe honesty would be the best policy here. He would see me as a human being and not a lower-level sex object he can order around. “I’m not even supposed to be nannying. I’m supposed to be working at Lodwick Brothers right now.”

His eyebrows fly up. “The bank?”

“Yes, the bank,” I say. “And once things calm down in the industry, I’ll be working at another bank, making what I was supposed to be making before everything went kaput. Without half the aggravation.”

“Aggravation?”

Is he really that clueless? “Yes, Mr. Hardwin. You’re micromanaging me. You’re watching every move I make, which is making me even more nervous. If you hired me, you should just trust me that I’m going to do a good job.”

“I’ll trust you when I can see that you’re handling things.”

“See, that’s what I mean. I want to be treated with respect instead of ridiculed.”

“I’m not ridiculing you, Miss Frasier. Telling you your tank top with the unicorn on it doesn’t befit the business woman you clearly are, now that would be ridiculing you.” He smiles.

And there goes my core again, melting under the heat of his gaze again. How does he compliment me and insult me in the same breath? I just sigh. “Okay, I suppose.”

“How long do you intend to work for me, because I had hoped to hire a nanny who would stick with Liam for the long run, and now you’ve told me you’ll be leaving the second you can. Doesn’t exactly leave me feeling confident about this situation. Just be honest.”

I did just say that, didn’t I?

That was stupid. He could let me go right now after that admittance.

“I’ll be working for you for a while,” I say, trying to save my ass. Think money, Alana. Think savings. “The industry won’t bounce back for a long time, so yeah, I’m here for the long haul. No worries.”

“No worries? It’s clear you don’t want to be here, clear you don’t think I’m respecting you. How can I keep you onboard when you’ll be out of there the first chance you get?”

Our gazes lock. His dark brown eyes and mine, searching, trying to figure this quandary out. Part of me wants to throw my hands up and just leave. I don’t need this shit. But then I remember that I do—I need this shit. I need it more than I’ve ever needed anything, except a good fuck by a man like Kase Hardwin.

Holy shit.

I wipe my forehead. “Please don’t fire me.”

It’s all I can say. I hear the idea in his mind, feel the words poised on his lips. I’m about to be let go.

“Why shouldn’t I?” he asks.

“Because I’m not a quitter. I need this. I’ll do anything you ask from now on, and I won’t complain about it. I’ll prove myself to you.”

My words clearly unlock some sort of deeply-rooted curiosity, because his eyebrow crooks upwards. “Anything I ask?”

I’m in trouble. So much fucking in trouble. I would do anything this man asks of me right now, even if it means stripping down naked and sucking his cock dry. I want him. My body knows it, as much as my brain doesn’t want to admit it. I want him so badly. I’ve never felt this way about any man before in my entire life. He goes against everything I’ve ever thought to be sexy, but that’s how little I know. How much I have to learn.

I’m stuck between a rock and a hard place, and that hard place is Kase Hardwin.

I just know, the minute he leaves me alone with my combusting self, that I’m going to take a long bath, that I’m going to use those arms and that mouth and that body as fuel for my fantasies all night, and that at some point, I’m going to come so hard just from thinking about his lips touching me. Oh, yeah. I’m going down with this sinking ship for sure.

“Anything you need,” I repeat. “And anything you want from me, too.”

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