Page 60 of Knot Just Their Nanny
My mind races, thoughts scattering like leaves in the wind, all of them trailing back to him. The crisp bergamot, the clean freshness of linen—it’s everywhere, suffusing the air, filling my lungs, making it hard to think about anything else. But it’s not just that. I glance out the window to see if the rain has started and is hitting the warm ground outside. It hasn’t. It’s as sunny as it was a few minutes ago.
“Liam,” I moan softly and drop to the floor as Ben’s scent of fresh pinecones hits the back of my nose. All of a sudden, the scents have surrounded me, are taunting me, haunting me, even.
“Breathe,” I mutter, trying to find even a sliver of control. I take a deep lungful of air, gasping for breath, but it’s a big mistake. Their scents cling to my senses, potent andintoxicating, sending a clear message to my body that’s getting harder and harder to ignore.
Crawling to my nest, stripping my clothes off as I go, I sink into it, hot, fuzzy-headed and aching, surrounded by my fortress of softness, yet feeling entirely vulnerable.
“Zara?” Henry’s voice cuts through the haze of my heat.
I open my mouth to speak, but it is too dry. “Mia!” I suddenly croak, ripping the word from my throat.
“What?” Henry asks, pounding on the door at my panic. “Zara, are you okay?”
I try to answer, but I can’t. I need to get to my phone to ring Susan to come over and make sure Mia is taken care of.
Sitting up, the room spins, and I let out a low moan as I sink back.
Two minutes. I need two minutes.
“Zara?” Henry knocks again. “Zara, you’re worrying me. I’m coming in.”
“No, wait!” I call out in panic, scrambling with the blankets to cover up my red-hot naked body.
He steps into the sanctuary of my room. My breath hitches as his scent intensifies, wrapping around me like a warm blanket. There’s no hiding now; he knows.
Henry stops as if he’s walked into a brick wall as my scent hits him in the face as much as his is doing to me.
“Stay there,” I croak.
“Zara...” His voice trails off, and when I dare to look up, I see the understanding in his eyes, the raw edge of his restraint. He’s like a statue, every muscle taut as if he’s fighting his natural instincts with everything he’s got.
“Sorry, I—I thought you were…” He trails off, unable to tear his eyes away from me.
“Please, just stay there,” I plead, gesturing at the imaginary line he mustn’t cross. We’re playing with fire here, and neither of us has a drop of water to spare.
“Okay,” he nods, but he doesn’t move back. Instead, he stands firm, like he’s the only thing keeping the world from spinning off its axis. Our eyes meet and every nerve ending in my body sparks to life. He’s so close, too close, and all I want is to close that gap.
“Zara,” he breathes out, and it’s like he’s saying more than just my name. It’s a question, a plea, a temptation all rolled into one.
“Don’t,” I whisper fiercely because if he says anything else, I don’t know if I’ll be able to stop myself from leaping across this chasm of desire.
He clenches his jaw, eyes darkening, but he respects my wish. “I’m here if you need me,” he says, an unsaid offer hanging between us, charged with the potential to shatter our carefully constructed boundaries.
He steps back, and my body cries out for him. I don’t even know why. I barely know him, and yet his unexpected presence has literally thrown me into my heat.
“Mia,” I murmur. “I can’t…”
“Don’t worry about Mia,” he mutters. “Can I get you anything?”
I shake my head, hoping he knows to ring Ben because I can’t talk anymore. I’m too far gone now.
Henry leaves quietly, and closing my eyes, I picture his face, the unresolved tension swirling between us. We’re both caught up in this; steps dictated by rules we’re struggling to abide by.
Chapter 33
Henry
My head is a mess, and it feels like my body is on fire, but not in the usual way. It’s Zara. Her heat is kicking up a storm, and I’m caught smack in the middle of it.
