Page 46 of The Nanny and the Nerd
“What happened to your mother? Why was Phoebe so frightened for her?”
“Phoebe was with my mom when she had a stroke. The health monitoring app was able to alert the police and call an ambulance. It gives off a loud ping, and any type of alarm seems to affect Phoebe negatively,” he answered, his voice devoid of emotion. It was easier to block it out.
He held Penelope’s gaze in the darkened hallway.
“I’m sorry about the window,” she said, then wrapped her arms around him. For the space of a breath, he tensed, unable to move. It was a hug. She was simply offering support. But when she tightened her hold, instinct took over, and he gripped her slim hips.
Her breath hitched, but she didn’t pull away. He wasn’t an affectionate man. Yes, he desired women and enjoyed sex, but it was the release he craved. Each touch and every caress were solely a means to an end that delivered carnal release. But this was like nothing he’d ever experienced. Instead of calculating what he needed to do to get off and then get out, he allowed himself to take in the moment. He could feel the softness of her breasts against his chest as he slid his hands up her back, keeping her body pressed to his. Maybe it was emotional exhaustion or the scent of orange blossoms that seemed to be everywhere. But he didn’t want to move. Just like in the car, and despite being barely more than strangers, it was as if they’d found a safe haven within each other.
She pulled back a fraction. “You seemed like you could use a hug,” she whispered, her breath warm against his neck.
He couldn’t answer—couldn’t say anything. In the darkened hallway, all he could do was stare down at her. Even in the dim light, she mesmerized him. With one hand pressed firmly to the small of her back, he allowed his other to glide to her shoulder, then traced the line of her jaw with his fingertips, reveling in her petal-soft skin.
But he wanted more.
Tipping her chin, he lowered his head. His lips hovered above hers as their breath mingled in the sliver of space between them. “You don’t understand what you do to me, Penelope,” he breathed.
“What do I do to you?” she whispered.
Penelope Fennimore made the day brighter, the air sweeter, and allowed his heart to feel things he’d didn’t deserve to feel. But it wasn’t only that. It wasn’t what her presence added but what it concealed.
He inhaled her intoxicating scent, then brushed his thumb across her bottom lip. “You let me forget.”
She searched his face. “Do you want to forget?”
It was everything he’d ever wanted—a moment’s peace. Gaming, computers, and his relentless determination to be the best gave him a respite from the dark corners of his mind. But none of that could touch the all-encompassing escape of what it was like to lose himself in her.
He closed his eyes. “Yes.”
She stroked the sensitive skin at the nape of his neck. “I do, too, Rowen,” she murmured into the darkness, and he couldn’t hold back any longer.
Penelope’s confession snapped the chains that bound him to his solitary prison. He captured her mouth in a fevered kiss. Without thinking, he lifted her into his arms and pressed her back against the wall. His cock strained against the confines of his pants as he deepened the kiss. She tasted like summer and redemption, like honey and second chances. Her touch ignited a cascade of emotions, drawing him in deeper and deeper. She wrapped her legs around his waist as her robe parted, and she arched into him. But it wasn’t enough. He wanted more, needed to feel every inch of her body. Gasping for breath, he adjusted his hold and gripped her ass.
Her bare ass! Sweet panty-less nanny!
She had nothing on beneath her robe.
“You’re naked?” he breathed between kisses.
“I was about to take a shower. I do that naked,” she replied in a breathy gasp as he peppered her neck with kisses.
“That makes sense. Otherwise, your clothes would get soaked, and that’s not the point of a shower,” he answered, barely able to make sense of what he was saying or what was happening between them. All he knew for sure was that he didn’t want it to stop.
With Penelope pinned between his hard body and the wall, their tongues met in a frenzied exchange. She entwined her fingers into his hair and tugged, sending a fresh ripple of desire through him. The sound of her gasps paired with the fragrant cloud of orange blossom bliss sent him into sensory overload—but in the best possible way.
He bucked his hips, grinding into her. He dug his fingers into her supple ass as they moved together in the dirtiest of dry humping. Swallowing her sweet moans of pleasure, he reached between them and undid the top button of his trousers. He wanted this—wanted her. He needed to drive inside her sweet center and piston his hips until nothing existed. No failing gaming company, no urgency to be the best, and no recollection of his past. He gripped the zipper, ready to free his cock and lose himself when a low ping cut through the haze of their hallway make-out session.
Breathless, Penelope stiffened. “What’s that, Rowen? Another alarm?”
He rested his forehead against hers, forcing himself back to reality. It wasn’t an alarm—but it was enough of a jolt to remind him of one crucial thing. The nanny was off-limits.
Slowly, he lowered her to the ground, and she closed her robe, holding the fabric at her neck.
“It’s not the security system. It’s my developers. I have work to do,” he said, his voice a sharp hiss. He didn’t mean to sound like a jerk. The folly was his. He was Penelope’s boss—and he’d be smart to remember that next time his cock tried to override his head. That’s what it was—physical attraction, chemistry, biology. Call it whatever you want. Now he had to ignore it and wipe it out of his mind.
“Oh, okay,” Penelope replied as if she were in a daze.
But he didn’t have the luxury of floating away in a lust-filled daydream.
