Page 28 of Bully Wolf's Nanny
Daisy had expected he might throw his head back and laugh. Might fire insult after insult at her. Might threaten to get her in trouble with the school. All things he had done before.
His reaction therefore took her completely by surprise.
“Jason? That fucking human on the debate team? What the fuck are you doing going out with him?”
Nicolas’s eyes were flashing dark, his voice low and gravelly with anger, his fist balled at his side.
“I…” Daisy started, swallowing her nerves, “I…he’s nice. To me. So I said yes.”
“Nice to you?” Nicolas growled. “Is that really what you want? A pathetic human who’s nice to you?”
“Well, yeah,” she shot back, glaring up at him. “What’s the alternative? Someone like you who’s nothing but cruel to m—"
His lips crashed down to hers, cutting off her words. She squeaked in shock, pushing against his chest, but he was unrelenting.
Somewhere in the panicking recesses of her brain, she recognized the absurdity of what just happened. Nicolas was kissing her. Nicolas, golden boy of the Iron Walkers, her own personal tormenter for years, was kissing her.
And she was letting him.
His arm remained braced on the tree above her head, but his other hand came up to cup the back of her neck, pulling her closer to him. Her fists that had begun beating against his chest relaxed under the onslaught of him, instead curling into the cotton of his shirt.
His lips were cool and surprisingly soft, and she couldn’t help but sigh as his fingers flexed around the nape of her neck. The sound only drove him on, and he forced her lips open with his tongue, claiming her mouth entirely for his own.
Her skin prickled and sparked under his touch, her legs trembling, her chest heaving. He was the only thing keeping her upright.
After what felt like an age he pulled back, his eyes glinting, his dark expression victorious, like he had just won some sort of battle.
“I’d like to see Jason try and kiss you like that,” he said, his voice gruff. He then pushed off from the tree and stalkedaway without so much as a backwards glance, leaving Daisy near-collapsing against the tree.
***
Present Day
Washing up always gave her mind time to wander. And normally, she liked it. She’d get lost in some daydream or other, her hands rhythmically cleaning the dirty dishes, humming some tune or other.
But these days, the only thing on her mind was Nicolas.
It had been a week since the incident in the kitchen after dinner. When she had thought he was going to kiss her, and only Thea’s timely interruption had stopped Daisy from reaching up and kissing him first.
She had run to bed, so sure it was a mistake, but as she had tossed and turned, she kept finding herself less and less sure. After all, she had been living here for weeks now, and Nicolas had been nothing but courteous. Even kind, sometimes. Sure, he was as mercurial as ever, but his moods never impacted the way he treated her. Not like before.
She had never known him like this. Even at school, after that first time he had kissed her, and every time after that, he had always reverted to his normal cruel self when there were other people around. Especially when those people were members of the pack. It had never mattered what he said to her when they were alone. Even when she had thought things were going well, when he had started to show her more kindness in public…
Well. It had all ended spectacularly badly.
But now something was different. He hadn’t said so much as a single unkind word to her. And although she had promised herself she wouldn’t fall under his spell again, she was finding her carefully built walls were being eroded.
Because the truth was, Nicolas was deeply charming.
Of course, she had known this as an objective fact for as long as she had known him. Charming, intelligent, dangerous Nicolas. The thing was, she had never been on the receiving end of his charm. Just the cruel bite of his tongue.
And she was coming to realize that she actually quite liked this version of him.
It was in the little things. The softness in his eyes when he took Gracie from her arms. The mischief as he bantered with Thea. The reverence in his face when he listened to her play the piano.
She felt safe with him. She had never felt safe with him before.
He had desired her, of that she had no doubt, with a sort of dark possessiveness she was certain he was still capable of. But its edges were softened with actual respect for her as well.
