Page 7 of Unravelling The Beast

I let out a tiny sigh before crouching down in front of him, arms outstretched for a hug.

"I promise to come back on Friday, and we'll board the train. I'm not going to let you down, Cree."

He offers me a big, toothy smile before lunging forward and wrapping his arms tightly around my neck, and I squeeze him back while Sara speaks above us.

"I'll see Wren out now, Cree, and then I'll come get you for dinner, okay?"

I rub his small back gently before he releases me, and when he draws back, he smiles, which I return. I observe him as he climbs onto the lower part of his bed, which has a small built-in television.

When I am standing upright, Sara wraps her arm around my shoulders as we go towards the door, and I shout back to Cree.

"Bye, Cree; see you soon!"

I peek over my shoulder to see him wave his little hand at me until I'm completely out of sight, and Sara removes her arm once we’ve entered the dark corridor and have shut the door behind us.

She starts talking as we move towards the stairs.

"I've never seen him so comfortable with a nanny before. Great job, Wren! I'm feeling much more at ease now; how about you?"

With a smile on my face, I respond.

"I think it went really well! Cree is a fantastic kid. You and his dad should be extremely proud."

As we descend the steps, she looks back at me with softened eyes.

"Does this mean you're taking the job?"

When we get to the bottom step, we come to a stop and I face her.

"I mean, I did say I'd be back."

She squeals with delight, clapping her hands together before wrapping her arms tightly around me. I'm stunned at first, but I laugh and hug her back.

"You won't regret this, Wren. I promise it will be worthwhile."

As we break our embrace, the front door suddenly unlocks, and both of our eyes shift in that direction.

A man enters with his head tilted down, withdrawing the key from the door, and my eyes instantly explore him, observing the immaculate, tight black suit he is wearing that is hugging his clearly toned physique.

Sara yells beside me, causing my body to tense unexpectedly.

"Arlo, come over to meet Cree's new nanny!"

My breath catches in my throat as soon as he lifts his head to look in this direction, and his enigmatic, piercing eyes meet mine.

He is easily the most handsome man I've ever seen, and he's so young. Perhaps my age or a little older. I was expecting someone entirely different.

He has loosely curled, longish, dark brown hair that is faded on the sides to reveal the tattoos that swirl around his head. His entire neck is tattooed, showing off his chiseled jaw and I begin to wonder if he is entirely tattooed. From what I can see by his tattoo-free face,

is that he has a tanned complexion, just as Cree has.

I suddenly feel flushed as he stands there, paused, and explores me with darkness stirring in his already gloomy eyes.

When he is finished with his almost unbearable stare, he stands tall, dropping his key into his pocket with his tattooed hand before swiftly kicking the door shut behind him with his foot. His body language oozes sex appeal anddominancebut reeks ofvillainyas he begins to stride towards us.

I force a hard swallow in my dry throat and pull my eyes away from his intense, sinister gaze, all the while hearing his perfectly polished shoes tap across the black marble floor beneath him.

I cast a glance at Sara, who is watching him, completely unfazed by her brother's overbearing presence, until he stops beside me, and I have to stop myself from deeply inhaling his masculine scent of Armani and cigarettes.

---