“At least it’s keeping me from falling asleep.”
She laughed, a joyous peal of sound. Nick forgot the coldness of the ice pack against his head and became aware of the wholesome scent of baby powder, soap and the hint of something more spicy and sexy that enveloped her.
The surge of desire that thrummed through his blood startled him. How long had it been since he’d allowed himself to feel that heady heat? And now it had happened with a woman he didn’t know—his daughter’s nanny, for God’s sake.
He must be desperate.
Jeez, he was desperate.
How long had it been…?
“Relax. Your shoulders are all bunched up. Do you want me to rub them?” The angel’s wickedly seductive voice interrupted his out-of-control thoughts.
“No.” Nick closed his eyes against the tempting suggestion. He was already far too aware of the woman. If she touched him…
To Nick’s intense discomfort, his body instantly reacted to the idea of her hands rubbing his skin. If Candace glimpsed his lap, she would see the humiliating effect her proximity had had on him from his tented trousers. Damn. He was trapped until this wayward impulse subsided.
Candace shifted, adjusting the ice pack, her breath soft against the top of his head.
Nick tensed, moving his hands surreptitiously to his trouser front, shielding any bulge from her view. “That’s fine. It’s late. Why don’t you call it a night and go to bed?”
“I want to check on Jennie first before I retire.” She straightened with a rustle of fabric, and he could no longer feel her breath ruffling his hair. Her voice had taken on a different note, too. Brisk and all business. Nick missed the concern, the caring note. Then he jerked himself back to reality.
He’d been aroused by his child’s nurse. It was like a bad-taste comedy. Nick didn’t grope the hired help…or seduce his secretaries.
He had to get away from her.
“I’ll hold the ice pack on the lump. You can let go,” he said gruffly, suddenly desperate for her to leave. But even that didn’t block out the heightened awareness he’d developed of Candace…where she stood…as he strained his ears trying to figure out what she was doing.
The ice pack shifted. A curl brushed against his cheek.
“Oops!” Her voice was breathless.
The ice pack slipped from her hold and landed in his lap. Nick made a grab for it and, growling with frustration, closed his eyes and prayed for control.
The sudden silence that followed stretched his nerves to breaking point.
Nick opened his eyes.
She’d moved, and now stood in front of him, staring at him, and she flushed as he caught her gaze. “I should go check on Jennie.”
“Yes, you should.” It came out as a low, feral growl. Wide awake now, all his weariness evaporated, he cleared his throat and held the ice pack out. “Thanks for the ice.”
She reached for it the same moment that he unfolded his length from the sofa. They bumped into each other and she laughed awkwardly. Nick didn’t smile. He had never felt less like laughing in his life.
“Sorry—”
“I’m sorry—”
They both broke off, her laughter coming to an abrupt end as their eyes met. Nick didn’t know how it happened, but he’d taken a step forward. She didn’t retreat. He couldn’t have stopped what happened next if he’d tried…
Her lips were soft. Softer than any he’d ever kissed.
Hunger clawed at his belly. He fought to keep the kiss gentle, not to unleash the ferocity that lurked within him. She tasted so sweet. He pressed soft kisses along the seam of her lips, leashing the feral urge to grab her by her shoulders, yank her to him and kiss her with all the hunger that churned inside him.
Instead he concentrated on their only point of contact: their lips.
But it wasn’t enough. His hands came up and cupped her jaw.
She jerked, breaking the thrall that held them both.
“No!”
Candace pulled back sharply. Nick’s hands dropped away from her face. They were shaking. And he wasn’t the only one affected. Her breasts were rising and falling under the snug fit of her T-shirt, the ice pack clutched between her white-knuckled hands.
Nick forced his gaze away, back to her face.
Damn. He was out of his mind. “That should not have happened.”
Her eyes had gone dark. “You’re right.”
“It won’t happen again,” Nick vowed, putting the length of the sitting room between them and retreating toward the top of the stairs…then edging to the safety of his suite that lay beyond. “I wouldn’t lose any sleep over it—I certainly don’t intend to.”
Once he’d reached his own wing of the mansion, Nick made for the luxurious bathroom, where he stripped off the travel-soiled suit pants and unbuttoned the business shirt. He was wired now. All thoughts of sleep banished.