Page 87 of The Nanny and the Hothead
And number two…
She closed her eyes. Despite the warmth of his body, a chill passed through her as the second realization hit like a rush of arctic air.
She understood what had awoken the angry hothead inside the man. He’d been betrayed in the worst way possible by the two people he’d loved the most. He’d thought they were a family—an unbreakable trio. But Holly and Seth had decimated his ability to trust. It was no wonder the man had locks everywhere, no wonder he hid behind an angry mask. And no wonder he thought the worst of people. It made it easier to endure when they disappointed him—when they left him with nothing.
She caught a glimpse of the Polaroids Oscar had given them taped to the window, and that chill prickling down her spine turned icy cold. What would happen if she got accepted to the Royal College of Art’s workshop? It was only for a handful of weeks, but how would he take it?
Should she take Penny’s advice and mention the possibility of leaving? Her mind spun until she looked up and caught Mitch watching her. With that sweet, adoring grin stretched across his lips and such ardent tenderness in his eyes, the man took her breath away. She wasn’t stupid. She knew very well that he was her boss and the last thing she should be doing is sleeping with him—again! Whatever was going on between them might not be anything more than a tryst. But at this moment, under the intensity of Mitch’s complete focus, she couldn’t help but wonder if this was how the other Charlotte, the airport Charlotte, felt all the time.
Adored.
Worshipped.
Loved.
She reached up and touched Mitch’s cheek, saying nothing as she basked in the glow of his heartbreakingly beautiful smile. She wasn’t about to ruin this. There was plenty of time to figure out what to do.
But now, with the scent of sex in the air, the only thing she wanted to do was him.
Fifteen
Mitch
“Say, new school cheese,”Charlotte called brightly.
“New school cheese!” Oscar chimed.
Mitch shifted his stance. He wasn’t sure what to do with himself while Charlotte snapped pictures of Oscar in front of the sign for Whitmore Country Day Elementary. They’d left early for Oscar’s first day, which had been a good call. It had given them some time without groups of children and families descending on the building.
The calm before the storm.
But he couldn’t stop the storm of emotions that had him reeling.
“How about one with you and Oscar?” Charlotte suggested. He couldn’t miss the hesitant lilt to her words. He didn’t blame her. After last night, he barely knew which way was up.
He’d done it again. He’d let his guard down.
Something insane happened to him when Charlotte Ames drank him in with her emerald eyes. The hole in his heart Seth and Holly had left in the aftermath of their betrayal didn’t ache when he held her in his arms and disappeared into her strawberry sunshine. Still, he had to keep it together. It was Oscar’s first day of school and the first day of the Say Cheese, Louise reboot. He didn’t have time to obsess over the woman like an infatuated teenager.
His reputation was on the line. This book deal was his last chance to revive his career.
Why couldn’t he get that through his thick head?
That wasn’t too hard of a question to answer.
Charlotte’s ponytail didn’t help him keep his eye on the prize.
With one swish of her auburn locks, he could feel her hair in his fist, sliding between his fingers as his cock worked her sweet center in smooth, rhythmic strokes. He inhaled a tight breath, envisioning her lips parting as she released soft gasps and those dirty little moans that drove him wild. He’d been with plenty of women. But he’d be lying if he said the sex with Charlotte was anything less than the best he’d ever had.
But it was more than sex—more than a physical act. With Charlotte, as he pistoned his hips and let go in a frenzy of pure ecstasy, he’d been reborn, revitalized, made new. Thrilling and terrifying, the only thing he could do was hold on to her.
When they returned to the house, he’d wanted to take her back to his bedroom for round two. Every cell in his body wanted more of her. But once they’d made it upstairs, the sight of Oscar’s bedroom door hit them like a blast of icy water.
That space where it was just the two of them vanished as the weight of cold hard reality set in.
He was the boss. She was the nanny. And what the hell would they do if Oscar got up in the middle of the night and found them together? He didn’t have to say it. Not a word passed between them in the darkened hallway, but an understanding hung heavy in the air. Silently, she slipped into her room. He didn’t even say good night as he’d watched the door close behind her.
The click of the lock said it all. He had to get himself under control when it came to her.
