The Nanny Proposition(27)

“I made the time.” His hands strayed from her waist up to trace the slope of her breasts and the valley between. “Don’t tell anyone, but this portion of the evening was my main priority.”

She pressed back along his body and felt the thick ridge of his arousal against her lower back. He groaned in her ear, sending warmth blooming in the pit of her stomach.

“I’ve wanted you so badly all night,” she said, turning in his arms so she could see his face. “No, before then. Since we last made love.”

His breath rasped. “I haven’t been thinking straight since that night. Tonight, seeing you in this dress, knowing you were coming up here with me after...it’s been hard to focus on anything else.”

She’d wondered if he’d been as affected as she, and it was a thrill to know he had. That this raging desire was mutual.

She pressed her lips to the skin on his throat. “I wanted you to kiss me when we were on the dance floor.”

“I wanted to do this on the dance floor,” he said, cupping her bottom and pulling her close. Being pressed against him so intimately sent a flutter low in her belly.

He kissed her gently, tenderly, and his chest rose and fell beneath her palms. His fingers burrowed through her hair, freeing it from the pins holding it in the French roll, and even her scalp tingled at his touch. Then he kissed her again, unleashing a hunger inside her that was fierce and demanding. She kissed all the way down his neck to nip at his collarbone, her eyes fluttering shut so she could focus on the feel of him below her lips, the taste of his skin.

Then she moved lower, opening the buttons of his shirt as she went, kissing the skin she exposed. His hands fell restlessly to his sides and then curled into fists, a shudder ripping through his body, as she reached his abdomen. When she undid the last button, she straightened and pushed the sides of his shirt over his shoulders. The candlelight threw a golden glow across his chest, accentuating the muscle definition, enticing her.

He reached for her but she stayed his hands. “Let me have a moment,” she said.

Last time, he’d undressed quickly and she hadn’t had a chance to enjoy the gradual reveal of his body. This time would be different.

She slid the button of his trousers through its hole and slowly lowered the zipper. His entire body tensed as she slipped her hand into his boxers and wrapped her fingers around him. This was one of the things she’d missed last time and had thought about since in the darkness of her own room. She glided her fingers along his length, luxuriating in the feel of him, glancing up as a breath hissed from between his teeth. The trousers lost traction and fell down his legs to pool at his feet, and she pushed the boxers down so he could step out of them.

Standing there, strong and glorious in his nakedness, giving her control of the situation, the power, simply because she’d asked, he was everything she could ever want. A ball of emotion lodged in her throat, but she swallowed it away—now was not the time. She lifted his hand and placed it on her shoulder and he took the cue, moving forward and kissing her softly. This was what she wanted—him. Just him.

He sank down to the edge of the oversized bed and pulled her to him until his cheek rested against her belly, and his thighs bracketed hers. She combed her fingers through his thick hair, losing herself in the sensation of his hands tracing her shape beneath the dress, over the curve of her hip, gathering the fabric, then dropping it again. The sweet torture was slowly driving her insane.

The warmth of his breath through the thin material sent shivers across the skin of her stomach. He turned her and unzipped her silver dress at the back, leaving it gaping. He turned her again until she faced him before he drew the straps from her arms and the gown slithered down her legs to land in a puddle. He kissed a trail across her stomach, the slide of his tongue sending electric heat rippling through her body, his evening beard rasping deliciously against the sensitive skin of her belly.

He hooked his fingers in the sides of her panties, dragging them down her legs, then turned her again to unhook her bra. When she faced him, he didn’t touch, he merely looked, and the expression in his eyes—the hunger, the reverence—almost undid her. The peaks of her breasts tightened under his gaze, and shivers of anticipation rippled across her body. He cupped her breasts, brushing the tips with the pads of his thumbs, and her knees buckled. She was on sensory overload; it was too much.

“Liam,” she said, knowing it was closer to a whimper than a word.

He tugged her off balance into his lap and she wrapped her arms around his neck, reveling in the hot, hard press of his erection against her thigh.

He brushed a strand of hair from her cheeks and whispered, “You feel so good in my arms.”

“Well, your arms feel good around me.”

He nudged her back onto the bed and stretched out beside her. Heat and anticipation rolled across her skin. She wanted him so badly—how would she live without him when she left? The thought was too awful, so she banished it as she scraped her nails across his skin, focusing only on Liam and the present moment.

He opened a bedside drawer and found a condom.

“That’s convenient,” she said, arching an eyebrow.

“When I ducked out to check on the room earlier, I dropped it off. I didn’t want any obstacles for tonight.”

She glanced around at the flickering candlelight. “You really did think of everything.”

“As I mentioned, it was a priority,” he said and rolled the condom on.

He aligned their bodies. His muscled thigh parted hers, and she trembled with the force of her need. She wrapped her legs around his waist, inviting him, and as he entered her, she moaned, dying at the pleasure but wanting more, always more. She wriggled, adjusting her position to take him fully, and then he slid further and the breath rushed from her lungs.

He began to move in a dance of advance and retreat, making her body sing. He moved faster, binding the coil of need inside her tighter, and she begged him to put her out of this sweet misery. His hand snaked down to where their bodies joined and suddenly she was tumbling, free-falling but completely safe because he would be there to catch her. He would always catch her. In that moment she knew that in her bones. And she would catch him.

Liam called her name as he found his own release, then slumped beside her and pulled her close against him.

Later, after she’d returned to Earth and Liam had fallen asleep, she realized she’d been wrong—they wouldn’t always be there to catch each other.

She was going home.

And the longer she let it drag out, the more entangled they’d all become and the more she’d hurt everyone—Liam, Meg, Bonnie...herself.

A dark cloud seemed to engulf her as she thought about her future, but she had to be strong and make the right choice, not the easy choice.

Tomorrow she’d leave Liam’s house for good.

* * *

When they reached home the next morning, Liam got changed and headed into work. It might have been a Sunday, but the launch had taken up a fair bit of time and his nursery team was behind on some orders, so he needed to spend a few hours in the greenhouse. And, hopefully, work out what he was going to do about Princess Jensine Larsen. Digging his fingers into soil always helped him think.

The first time they’d made love, he could excuse it as being impulsive. Giving in to temptation.

The second time? Not so much. They’d both had several hours to change their minds, hours to find an excuse, yet neither of them had. And he had to admit, he was glad. Their night together had been amazing, even better than their first time. And during the early hours of the morning, they’d made love again.

But...what happened now?

He lifted a tray of seedlings onto the wooden bench among the lush greenhouse plants and got to work.

He and Jenna couldn’t go back to what they’d been before yesterday. Not after the intensity of their night together. But where were they headed? Where could they head? He might want her like crazy, but that wasn’t enough.

A movement at the door had him looking up. Wearing a bright orange sundress, Jenna was walking past the African violets and orchids. She was more beautiful than the flowers she passed, but he noted a haunting sadness to her features. His belly dipped.

“Jenna,” he said, “did you need me for something?”

She laced her hands together in front of her stomach and moistened her lips. “If you have a moment, there’s something I need to tell you.”

“Sure.” He brushed his hands off on the towel beside him. “What is it?”

“I’m leaving,” she said softly. “Today.”

“What?” His head jerked up as ice hit his veins. “What about Bonnie?”

Pain and regret flashed across her features. “I’m sorry I won’t be here to help you interview for a new nanny, but I’ve arranged with your mother that she’ll look after Bonnie until you get someone. She’s on her way over.” A tremulous smile tried to form on her mouth. “She says she’s looking forward to it.”

Everything was moving too fast. “You promised you’d give notice.”

She took a breath, her blue eyes meeting his squarely. “I’m asking you to waive that promise in these circumstances. I’m not leaving you without someone to look after Bonnie, and we both know this isn’t a normal boss–employee situation.”