Page 105 of The Nanny Goal

And then when I push my tongue into her tight, clutching hole, the faint tang of copper alongside her honeyed arousal is everything I didn’t know I needed.

Nobody else has ever tasted her like this, I’m sure of it.

This is mine.

She is mine.

And when she comes for me, again, it feels like I’m hers, too.

CHAPTER32

EMERY

In hindsight, waking Alexei with a blowjob and then letting him take me into his shower was not the smartest use of our early morning kid-free time when I want to try to find time to talk about what we’re doing (beyond the obvious and incredible).

But Inessa wakes up before I get a chance to bring that up, and then we discover a new problem—overnight, she’s developed a cold.

And possibly the only thing worse than a Granger Family Man Cold might be an Artyomov Toddler Cold.

She wakes up crying and distressed, and even after Alexei calms her down, she remains clingy and sad, because she can’t breathe properly. She wants is her dad, but her dad needs to stay healthy, so he wants to wash her hands and wash his own hands and open all the windows.

And all she wants is to cling to him and wipe her snot all over him.

It’s…stressful.

“I’ll take her to my room,” Alexei says in between hiccupping cries. “Can you bring up some… not milk, that will just make her more congested. Water, I guess, and some berries? And do we have any yogurt?”

I wince. “It was on my grocery list to buy today. I’ll do a quick grocery and pharmacy run. What kind of medicine can she have?”

Together, we make a shopping list.

Then I bring him a coffee and her a sippy cup of water, and they snuggle down in his bed to watch cartoons.

At the nearby shopping centre, I stock up on paediatric electrolytes, as well as popsicles, more berries, yogurt, and a few loafs of bread because when in doubt, toast works for every meal.

I also ask the pharmacist for tips on de-snotting a toddler, and then put all the options in my cart—as well as air purifiers and a few immune booster packs for all the adults.

“Tissues,” I mutter to myself as I approach the checkout. I turn back.

I know it’s just a cold, but it feels like more than that at this point in the season. It’s a test of Alexei’s trust in me, in my ability to hold his family together.

By the time I return, Inessa has fallen asleep again. Her cheeks are bright red and her dark waves are damp with sweat.

Even though Alexei has opened the windows, I don’t think he should hang out with her all day.

“I can’t ask you to take over,” he protests.

“You can’t risk getting sick, either.” I wave it off. “I know what this point of the season means to you and the team. You’ve got a road trip ahead of you. If you get sick, the whole team could get sick. I brought home some immune boosters. Check with the team to make sure you can take them.”

He scrubs his hands over his face, then gives me a long, sober look. “What would I do without you?”

“You would have other help, I’m sure, but luckily I’m not doing anything else.” I smile to lighten the moment. “And it’s hardly a difficulty to lie around in your big bed all day scrolling social media and cuddling your daughter.”

“I feel badly.”

“It’s fine. Honestly. I grew up with this end of season pressure, didn’t I? Go. I’ve got Inessa.”

“I’ll wait on you hand and foot.”

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