Page 69 of The Au Pair Affair

“You’re the thrill seeker, not me. I’m just here for backup.”

Tallulah pursed her lips thoughtfully. “I’m not sure if I should be insulted or comforted that you’re passing on the chance to see me naked.”

Burgess came around the front bumper of the SUV, his hefty frame passing through the beams of his headlights one by one. When he drew closer, she could see his expression, which read something along the lines ofare you being serious right now?“Tallulah, I’m passing on the chance for you to seemenaked after a dip in that freezing cold pond.”

His meaning dawned on her. “Really? You’re missing out because of shrinkage?” She wrapped the towel around her shouldersand tucked the corner in between her breasts, starting to disrobe beneath the barrier. Off came her shoes and sneakers, followed by her skirt and panties—and she couldn’t help but notice the way Burgess swallowed what looked like a goose egg, the object getting stuck in his throat as he watched her every move. “You’re forgetting I’ve already met the man downstairs.”

“Not the way I’d like you meet him.”

Tallulah was grateful for the darkness that hid her blush. “I’m just saying, I already know it’s... you know.”

He sauntered toward her with a raised eyebrow, stopping just inches away. “It’s what?”

“Substantial.” It took an effort, but she ignored the closeness of his chiseled mouth, wiggling around so she could unsnap her bra, dropping the black demi cup into the pile of clothes forming beneath her. “Is that what you wanted to hear, Sir Savage?”

“Find me a man who doesn’t like the word ‘substantial’ in reference to his junk.”

She trapped a laugh. “But?”

“But...” He tipped her chin up, rubbed the pad of his thumb in the indent at the center of her bottom lip. “After you meet me down there, you won’t be laughing when you talk about it. You’ll whisper about my cock like you’re in church.”

The playfulness of the moment came to a screeching halt. Prickles of awareness carried down her torso, tightening her nipples as they went, sensitizing her thighs and shooting sparks in her nerve endings, her toes digging into the ground, the only things keeping her locked to the earth. Suddenly the cover of night gave permission for a lot more than a single nefarious act. They were alone out there, she was naked, him fully clothed, and he’d let her know his dick would be a turning point in her life. And God, he smelled good, looked good, towering over her, radiating competence and protectiveness, an open invitation in his eyes.

“Maybe you should have a little think while I’m skinny dipping.” She walked her fingertips up his chest and gently tugged on his beard. “About your reasons for not sleeping with me. And whether calling yourself my boyfriend is really necessary when you’re already getting to do themost funpart of being someone’s boyfriend.”

He tucked his tongue into his cheek, laughing in a way that suggested physical pain. “You make a compelling argument, but it’s not going to work.”

“Why not?”

“A few reasons. One, you work for me. You’re the nanny, Tallulah. It sounds like some ridiculous porn category and nothing about the way I feel about you is ridiculous. Two...” He rubbed at the back of his neck. “I guess I want to be important to you. It’ll be easier for you to pretend I’m not important once I become the man you’re hooking up with. Instead of the man you could... maybe fall for someday. When I take you to bed for the first time, I want you looking back at me like you might. Like you could, you know. Fall for me.” He cleared his throat extra hard. “And three, I won’t relax until I know some punk ass college kid isn’t going to come steal you out from under me.”

Tallulah stood mostly naked, in a towel that flapped in the cool wind, but she didn’t feel a hint of the cold. In fact, she couldn’t feel a single thing, save the heart that was absolutely rioting in her rib cage.I want to be important to you.Those seven words stood out in a sea of similarly incredible words, bobbing up and down like happy little buoys. Sure, those buoys were surrounded by man-eating sharks, but they still stole her breath. They made her think...what if this man could be the one and I’ve just met him sooner than I expected?

Would there be other men who came along and made her feel like this?

It didn’t seem likely, but what did she know? She was only finding her legs again.

“I don’t know what to say to... all of those big and vulnerable things you just said—”

“You don’t have to say anything.”

“But I know you’re already important to me.” Whoa, making that admission out loud was like dangling over a ravine with one hand on a loose rock, and yet, his expression, the way his eyes snapped up and his jaw popped, kept her going. She wanted to make him feel the way his honesty had made her feel. Like someone’s first choice. “I think I knew you were important a lot earlier than now, I just can’t remember when it happened. Second, I think if some punk ass college kid asked me out, I think saying yes to him would feel... wrong. Because of how we, you know, carry on. But I can’t do anything about us being a porn category.”

Burgess looked away, then down at the ground while stroking his chin. When he looked back up at Tallulah, he was fighting a smile. “I guess it’s a start.”

“Maybe,” she whispered. “I’m going to go jump in some freezing cold water now.”

“How about youwalkinto some freezing cold water, Tallulah? I’m not going to be happy if you land on a rock and get hurt.”

She turned on the ball of her foot, throwing him an inviting look over her shoulder on her way to the pond’s edge. “It’s not too late to join me,” she called. “Forever is composed of nows. Dickinson said that. It’s the one time English Lit piqued my interest.”

He smirked. “I’ll be ready and waiting to warm you back up.”

“I thought you just said warming me up was against the rules.”

“I meant I’d wrap you up in towel. Like a burrito.”

“I bet that’s a porn category, too.”

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