Page 48 of The Nanny and the Don
“I don’t want to,” I confirmed.
“Good because I’m tired of not having you with me.”
I yelped when he scooped me up bridal style and carried me to his bedroom. Just like the first time, he dropped me on the bed. Only it was gentle this time. I kept my eyes on him as he undressed. He removed his shirt first allowing me the perfect view of his sculpted chest and abs. A smile curved my lips as I enjoyed my own personal strip tease.
“It’s hard for me to navigate this shit, but make no mistake, I want you. I haven’t let anybody new get close to me since the woman I built all this shit for walked out on me and aborted our baby. She thought I was going to have one of my legs amputated. That was the plan. My sister made the doctors wait until I woke up to make the decision,” he explained as he stepped out of his shoes and shoved his jeans down over his hips.
When he was down to a pair of navy-blue boxers and his socks, he sat next to me on the bed and crossed his left leg over his right thigh. Instinctually my hand moved to the scarring near the inside of his ankle.
“Obviously, they made a different decision.”
“Every day I have to remind myself that it could have been worse, especially when the nerve pain is kicking my ass,” he said, as he slowly removed his sock. “I’ve always hated my toes. Not that I cared, I just knew they were fucked up. Men have fucked up feet. I was OK with that. The decision to allow them toamputate was one of the hardest I’ve ever had to make. A big toe is way less important than a whole damn leg.”
I was careful as I hesitantly trailed my fingers to the spot where Steel’s big toe should have been. How the hell had I not been able to tell he was missing part of his foot? His sexy ass walk was one of the first things I noticed about him. To think that it came from a physical deformity was mind blowing. He had never been so attractive as he was sitting on the side of his bed baring his most personal flaw. I didn’t see it as a flaw at all. I massaged his foot hoping that my touch was enough to soothe his deep-seated pain.
“My foot was crushed in an accident. It was a car wreck. I was speeding and so was the other guy. A drunk driver hit me when I was on my way home from taking care of some nigga that used to work for me. I can barely remember anything that happened that day aside from that. I was out for two days before I woke up in the hospital. My sister Angela was waiting at my bedside with a note from the woman I loved saying she couldn’t do this and the last thing I needed right now was a baby. It took over a week for me to get in touch with her and by then she had already been to Planned Parenthood. She asked me to let her go, so I did.”
“I’m sorry that happened,” I said, as I continued to rub his foot. “I had a bad wreck in high school that caused me to stop driving. I don’t even think I can anymore. I can only imagine what you went through. I really am sorry.”
“You called my house a prison. For a long time, that’s what it felt like to me too. Then I brought you here. The sun shines brighter these days. There are children laughing and playing. For the first time in a long time, my house feels like a home. I don’t want to let that go. That’s why I can’t let you go,” he confessed.
“I guess I get that. I can’t remember the last time I felt like I had a real family, but I feel it here and it terrifies me because Iknow it can’t last. Not under the circumstances. What happens when you find Brendan? What happens if you don’t? Those are the things that I think about when I go to bed at night.”
“Maybe tonight you’ll finally understand that you don’t have to worry,” he said, standing and pulling the covers back. He climbed in bed and slid back making room for me to get in. “Come on. Just let me hold you for tonight.”
Once I was comfortably situated in bed, he pulled me on top of him and wrapped his arms around my back. With my head on his chest, I allowed myself to relax for the first time since he’d brought me to his house.
“I’m so disgusted with myself for all the time I wasted meeting women and thinking I was in love over the years. What a fucking coward I must be that I didn’t have the courage to wait for you. I’m so sorry for giving up on finding you, princess. Now I can’t let you go. If you’ll let me, I promise to worship you every day that I live until I don’t have any life left in me,” he declared, kissing the top of my head. “Good night, Devlan.”
“Good night, Steel.”
Thirteen
Steel
The look on Sicily’s face as I sat the kids down for breakfast was priceless. You would think she had never seen me use the stove. Now I know I had been lax in contributing with the kids which was what I was trying to do.
“Look at you, Mr. Domestic,” Sicily teased. “Are you and Devlan seeing each other?”
“Her business is not for me to discuss. I will say that I’m attracted to her and want to pursue her, but I also want to give her a chance to make her own decision. I don’t want her to feel like her job is on the line if she isn’t interested in me. I want her to want me just because, if that makes sense.”
Sicily’s genuine smile made me feel good. “This is so romantic. I’m happy for you. She’s a sweet girl and you seem so much happier since she’s been here.”
“I am,” I confessed.
I liked Sicily. She’d been working for me for about five years. She was a beautiful woman with a husband who was a truck driver. Knowing that she was married, I had never looked ather as anything other than an employee. As long as she did her job, I made sure she knew that she was valued around here. She stayed out of my business for the most part and did an excellent job. She and Devlan seemed to be getting close, so I didn’t mind telling her that I was interested in her. Shit, I wanted the world to know.
“I hope she is willing to accept that you genuinely like her. I honestly don’t think she believes someone like you would be interested in the help.”
“Someone like me?” I said, lifting my brows. “I’m human just like her. I’m just like you. I worked hard doing everything I could and learning everything I could to claw my way to the top. That doesn’t mean I’m not the same person. I’ve grown in a lot of ways, but I’m not out of touch. Plus, I’m not a fool. I know when something amazing is standing right in front of me. Things between us started rocky, but I hope she’s willing to open herself up to me.”
“Whew!” Sicily said, fanning herself with her hand. “I feel like I’m in a romance movie.”
“Lady,” I said, chuckling as I walked over to the stove.
“Uncle Steel, I like the white part,” King told me.
I smiled and walked over to rub the top of his head and make sure Evie was eating. “You like anything sweet. That’s whipped cream, buddy.”
