Page 169 of Nanny and the Beast

But lately, it’s all been too much.

My grandmother. The antidote. My stalker. The strange noises I keep hearing in the middle of the night.

“Is everything okay?” I ask, searching his eyes.

“No,” he replies. “Everything is not okay. But it will be.”

“I guess I should be happy that you’re at least being honest,” I say.

“I’m taking care of some things, and it’s taking longer than I thought it would,” he says.

“But we’re safe?” I ask. “All of us?”

“You’re always safe with me.” He tips my chin up to kiss me. I breathe him in like he’s the only source of oxygen to my lungs. “Always.”

When we’re kissing like this, the rest of the world falls away. We’re the only two people in the world, and all the thoughts that invade my head fall like dominoes.

His hands fall to the curve of my hips. He tugs me closer until our bodies are flush together.

He kisses me possessively.

He kisses me like we’re already at the altar. He holds me like I’m already his wife.

“You don’t even know, Emma,” he says. “You’re the miracle I’ve been waiting for. You’re my saving grace.”

“Klaus,” I say, placing my hands on his broad chest. His heart beats like a drum underneath my fingertips. “You’re getting too good at this.”

“At what?” he asks, stealing another kiss from my lips and leaving me breathless.

You’re making me fall more in love with you.

“At distracting me,” I whisper.

The intensity in his eyes is too much.

I’ve done this before. I romanticized things and got carried away only to be disappointed by reality. What I found with Klaus feels sacred, but sometimes, it also feels too good to be true.

“I should get back to the kids,” I say. “They’re waiting for the hot chocolate.”

“They’re occupied,” Klaus says, digging his thumbs into my hips. The simple pressure is enough to make my heart flutter in my chest. “You’ve been taking care of them all day. Let me take care of you now.”

I gasp when he drops down to his knees.

He lifts my skirt and kisses the inside of my thigh. The sight of him on his knees has a visceral effect on me.

In a swift motion, he grabs the back of my thighs and lifts me up onto his shoulders, carrying my body weight like it’s nothing. My feet dangle several inches from the ground.

I nearly come undone just at the sight of him between my thighs.

He spreads me open even wider for his pleasure and then looks up at me.

“What did I tell you about your dress code, Miss Turner?” he asks.

I can’t form a single thought, let alone speak. He bites the inside of my thighs in punishment.

“You asked me not to wear panties,” I gasp.

“So why do you insist on breaking the rules?” he asks, tracing his index finger over my slit.

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