Page 129 of The Nanny and the Hothead
An impulse he understood well when it came to his feelings for her.
“There’s nothing hotter than watching you come,” he growled against her lips as the friction between them pulsed and the air sizzled.
She ran her fingertips down his jawline, past his chin, exploring his neck and shoulders as if she were memorizing the very shape of him. It was as if she wanted to know him by heart, just as he’d wanted to know her. The sensual slide of her soft hands worked their way down to the hard ridges of his abdominal muscles. But she didn’t stop there. He gritted his teeth, inhaling a sharp breath when she made it below the belt. She took him into her hand, then stroked her thumb across the head of his weeping cock. Every sensation heightened. Her touch was an electric charge that triggered a pure carnal need to surge through him.
“Lie down,” she instructed, releasing him as she guided his body onto the bed, then climbed on top.
“I want to watch you make love to me, and I want you to see me like no one has ever seen me,” she whispered. Her words were so raw and so honest. They destroyed whatever was left of the locks and defenses that had once protected his heart.
He drank her in, and this was no longer just about sex. Maybe it never was. In his heart of hearts, he’d known from the moment he saw her at the Crystal Cricket that he wanted her. All of her. But he’d allowed his rage to control him. He’d been so consumed with his anger, he couldn’t see what was right in front of him.
But could he take the leap? Could he trust again?
She positioned him at her entrance, then guided him inside. He gripped her waist as she rolled her hips, watching him watch her. Their bodies moved in an exquisite rhythm, slowly building momentum. This wasn’t their first time, but something was very different. And then it hit him. He’d never brought a woman into his home, into his bedroom. His home had been his refuge. But in a handful of days, his sanctuary had changed from physical walls and timber to the flesh and blood of two people.
She was his home, and he was a fool if he tried to deny it any longer. It was a revelation that terrified and excited him. But more than that, it was the truth.
“I want you. All of you,” he bit out, pistoning his hips as the air grew thick with their heated breaths. She pressed her hands to his chest, riding his cock as her necklace, her key, dangled between them. The metal glinted in the moonlight like a beacon calling out. Her hair framed her face as her luscious breasts rose and fell with each thrust of her hips. The sultry slap of skin meeting skin intensified as animal instinct took over. Every muscle in his body tensed as he made love to her as if it were his sole purpose on this planet. Feverish and on the brink of losing control, he sat up, wrapping her in his steel grip as he pumped his hips. Thrust after delirious thrust, he fell deeper into the sea of desire where she was his anchor. She was his safe haven. Eye to eye, the slap of their bodies and the gasps between them punctuated the air. They were on the precipice, hovering in that impassioned space. And even though it was dark, he could see the brilliance of her green eyes. The image was locked in his heart and imprinted on his soul. His release hit in a relentless blur of color and sensations.
And Charlotte was everywhere.
Her intoxicating scent and her salty-sweet taste consumed him. Their mouths met, and he swallowed her breathy cries as they rode wave after wave of carnal bliss.
“I need you,” he whispered against her lips as the intensity of the pleasure rocking his world threatened to tear him apart.
“I’m here. I’m not going anywhere,” she answered, her words surrounding him, embracing him, holding him together.
“Good, because this is exactly where I want you,” he rasped, his muscles trembling as he came down from the heady rush of pure ecstasy.
In a tangle of sweaty limbs, they collapsed onto the bed. He gathered her into his arms, and she relaxed in his embrace. With her back pressed to his chest, her soft curves melded into his hard angles, and he allowed his hands to explore. He traced the curve of her breasts, then felt the cool metal against her heated skin. The key. He held it, feeling the weight of it, remembering when Madelyn had given him the photo of the necklace.
Could it be that simple? Did Charlotte hold the key to opening the part of him he’d locked away—the part that swore he’d never trust his heart to anyone again?
She hummed a sweet little sigh, and he pressed a kiss to her temple. He knew the answer—his heart knew the answer.
“What if I told you that I never wanted to let you go? Does that sound cheesy?” he asked.
“You know I like cheesy,” she answered with a dreamy sigh.
He nodded, his chin brushing across the top of her head. He did. He knew exactly what she wanted.
A Mr. Cheesy Forever.
A quiet peacefulness engulfed the room, and he listened as her breathing grew even just as it had the first night when she’d fallen asleep on his lap. A night where, even in his wildest dreams, he wouldn’t have been capable of being anyone’s Mr. Cheesy Forever.
But having Charlotte here in his arms was no dream. This was real. And if he played his cards right and kept the hothead at bay, this could be more than real.
As long as he didn’t screw it up, this could be forever.
Twenty-Two
Charlotte
“Mommy!Daddy! That’s the food truck that belongs to Oscar from my class. His dad cooks in it. And he makes the best grilled cheese in the whole wide world!”
Charlotte grinned at the child’s comment—a sentiment she’d heard over and over throughout the night. She lifted her camera to her eye, framed the shot of the food truck, making sure to get the twinkling strings of lights in the picture that had been hung for the Whitmore Carnival. With cheerful families dotting the frame and the warm glow from inside the food truck highlighting Mitch, Sergio, and Erick as they served the community a hearty meal, it was the perfect composition—Rockwellian with a modern Denver twist. It was hard to imagine a more picturesque evening in the city.
Several blocks of the Crystal Creek business district were closed off to traffic for the evening to allow the bouncy houses, merchants’ tents, and carnival attractions to set up on the street. Groups of people strolled through the maze of children darting this way and that, delighting in cotton candy and Mitch’s delectable Signature Louise grilled cheese sandwiches.
