Page 18 of My Orc Nanny

I found myself chuckling.Leave it to Tarkhan to use this as an excuse to a) buy himself new goodies and b) try to hide it from Abydos. My twin was the only one who didn’t seem affected by Tarkhan’s charm… and never had been.

Damn,you really need to find your own space with a workshop, huh?

I’m working on it!Meeting with the realtor next week.

Which would leaveAbydos all alone in the apartment when he visited, assuming this position as a live-in nanny turned permanent. He’d be happier alone, anyhow.

It took a moment to realize the frantic scrambling in my chest was myKteerexpressing its approval of the plan and had to shake my head ruefully. This primal part of me was concerned with keeping me alive and happy, and often expressed interest in things that couldn’t happen in the modern world.

Like theurgeto rip out another male’s throat if he complained about the dryness of his well-done steak. Or theneedto scoop up a pretty female and carry her back to my home, despite knowing nothing about her or her interest in me. Such things might have been useful in our distant evolutionary past, but even the world I grew up in was more civilized than that…and we cooked over fires, for fuck’s sake.

But yeah.

The idea of living permanently with the Woods family not only made myKteerhappy, butmehappy as well.

I wanted that. I wanted to be the one Hannah could rely on. I wanted to be the one the kids could turn to when they needed something. I wanted to make their lives better however I could…

By eight thirty, I was calmer and more certain of my ability to tackle this position, but my heart was still pounding as I knocked on the door.

And as soon as Hannah opened it? As soon as I saw the way she smiled in welcome, even while attempting to clasp a necklace around her throat?

Well, let’s just say that everything was going to be alright. I exhaled, my shoulders relaxing.

“Good morning. How can I help?”

Chewing on her lip, she tipped to one side, struggling with the necklace. Was that an attempt to get her hair—thick and luscious and shiny, what product did she use to make it look so touchable?—out of the way? Or was this a dance I was unfamiliar with?

“I think we’re—darn!Sorry, this keeps slipping. I think we’re good.” She cut her eyes toward the kitchen as she tipped even farther to one side. “Nikki has already picked up Tova to take her to the school to keep Emmy occupied. Joshy is working on his cereal and bananas—I’m sorry to say that he’ll make a mess, but I can clean it when I get home?—”

“I am perfectly capable of cleaning the floor, Hannah,” I interrupted gently. “I’m here to be useful.” Since she was staring at me, I took a step closer. “May I help you? You appear to be stuck on something.”

Clucking her tongue, she turned around, and I was met with a strange sight: the back of her neck.Strangein the way it affected me. I told myself it was the way she managed to hold her hair out of the wayandfiddle with the necklace clasp that held my attention…not how delicious her skin looked, with the little hairs at the base of her neck calling out for me to test their softness.

“I don’t know if you’ll be able to manage,” she said over her shoulder, offering me the two ends of the necklace. “I can go get a different one…”

And miss this opportunity?

When I took the ends of the necklace from her, a spike of warmth flashed up my arm. I stepped closer, bending over her head and neck, inhaling her sweet scent as I used the tips of my claws to pull back the clasp and slide the other end inside…

In the silence, the click of the metal was unnaturally loud, as was my heartbeat.

I bent closer, struggling to keep from burying my nose in her hair and licking her neck. “All done,” I rasped, digging my claws into my palms to try to control thisneed.

It’s just yourKteer. It’s just a response to Hannah needing help.

Right.

Except…

When she shot forward and turned back to me, her smile was too brittle, too fake. How could I tell that already? She looked uncomfortable, not with me…but with herself.

And there was that sweet scent of her arousal again.

I had much to think on.

And I was still thinking on it, two hours later, as I explained to Joshua how to use the broom. He struggled with the size, of course, and frankly made more of a mess than if I had just swept the damn cereal…but I thought it important for him to learn. He was almost three, after all, and maybe if he knewhe’dbe the one to clean the floor, he’d throw less of his food down there.

“Excellent, Joshua. Now tip it into the trash can like…this.” I guided his small hands in holding the dustpan. “Good job.”

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