Page 34 of Arranged Wolf's Nanny
He shoved the door open and stalked inside, grinding as Rosalia jumped away from him as if he were the grim reaper. Eva looked up in shock, concern etched across her face. “Papa! When did you get home?”
“Bedtime,” he said curtly to her. She nodded, exchanging a worried glance between them before dutifully saying goodnight to Rosalia and trotting towards him. He ruffled her hair, offering her a small smile before she scampered off up the stairs.
Rosalia had stood on shaky legs, her panic held back by the hasty mask she had slammed over her face. She certainly looked the part, with her immaculate hair and makeup, her elegant dress. Rick fought to keep the memory of her naked torso from flashing through his mind. Her body was not his to think about, to lust over. No matter what his primal nature urged him. She looked beautiful tonight, in the soft glow of the fire. Pristine and delicate. Every inch the noble, beautiful shifter.
She couldn’t hide her anxiety, however. Her fingers twisted over each other, and her scent had exploded outwards. It stuck in the back of Rick’s throat, sharp and bitter.
His mood soured even further. How long would he have to pay for John Heath’s cruelty?
“I apologize,” Rosalia said curtly. “I…I don’t know how much you heard, but I assure you I have no intention of leading your daughter astray.”
Rick folded his arms, considering her as she attempted to make herself small, insignificant. Unthreatening.
Where was the female who apparently tore a tree apart in anger? He wantedthatfemale. Not this cowering, scared little mouse.
“I believe you,” he said, his own voice clipped and tense.
God, what was he supposed to say? What words could hepossiblyuse to put her at ease? It was not in his nature to be reassuring, and he feared any attempt to do so would just come across as false. Manipulating.
So instead, he was forced to sound like an unfeeling, uncaringasshole.
She nodded, looking down at her feet, her breathing coming in short and sharp.
“Rosalia,” he said, wincing at how formal he sounded. This wasn’t a fucking Accord meeting, for Christ’s sake.
“Yes?” she replied quickly, glancing up, eyes wide.
“I…” his voice trailed off, a muscle in his jaw working. “How are preparations for Eva’s birthday going?”
She blinked, her throat bobbing as she swallowed. “They’re going very well, thank you. Everything is lined up. If you have anything you want, any changes made, then I—”
“No, no,” he replied, “I trust you to prepare things as they should be.”
She nodded, looking down at her feet.
Suddenly, Rick felt very, very tired.
“You may go to bed,” he said, pinching the bridge of his nose between his finger and thumb.
“Thank you, sir.”
There it was again. Sir. Shereallyneeded to stop calling him that.
But he didn’t speak. Didn’t want to keep her trapped in conversation any longer.
But as she brushed past him as quickly as her self-imposed restraint allowed her, he found himself turning, speaking her name.
“Rosalia.”
She stopped short, muscles tense, and turned to face him. “Yes?”
He swallowed, fists clenching at his sides. “If…if you ever find yourself in the woods at night. Whether it’s to shift or to…to do what you want to do…I would just ask that you go south. Or west. Don’t go north.”
He was surprised at the words as he spoke them. Surprised at what he was offering her. But he found himself resolute.
Perhaps allowing her to go was all he could do to show her she was truly safe here.
“North?” she asked, her voice small.
