Page 149 of The Nanny and the Beefcake
“Raz, I don’t need you to fight my battles.”
She watched the man crack his knuckles, clearly not taking heed of her statement. The beefcake! Didn’t he understand? She was an independent woman. She’d built her life aroundnotneeding a man in her corner, and she couldn’t have him getting in trouble either. This was a charity event. And despite Derrick being a colossal asshat, he had donated to the donkey rescue. She pressed onto her tiptoes, gathered the fabric of Raz’s T-shirt in her hands, and pulled him toward her. He needed to know that she meant business.
“This isn’t your fight, Erasmus.”
He cocked his head to the side. “Your fights are my fights, plum.”
“Wow,” she breathed. She wasn’t expecting that.
Could he mean that?
And more than that.
If he did mean it, could she accept it?
Could she trust in him?
Was that what was going on here?
She stared into his gray eyes, and while there was a touch of homicidal maniac glinting in there, she saw something else that scared her even more.
Devotion.
The emotion radiated around them in a blue-violet cloud.
“You can’t maim him or leave him requiring immediate medical attention,” she whispered-shouted.
He made a sourpuss face. “I can’t?”
“Of course, you can’t!”
“I’m teasing, plum. He’ll be fine, more or less.”
More or less?
“I’ll let the universe guide me,” he added as euphoric energy circled him like a psychic tornado.
“Erasmus Cress, will you join us in the ring?” Maud called, her voice echoing through the square.
“Duty calls,” the man crooned, then tucked a lock of hair behind her ear. “It’s time to pay my regards to Silas the Snake’s biggest fan.”
That’s right! She’d told him Derrick had bet a boatload of money on the Irish boxer.
She tried to order her thoughts. “You look like you’re pondering bodily harm.”
“Oh, I’m pondering, plum.”
This was not good.
“Libby Lamb,” he said in that voice that made her core clench.
“Yes?”
“Namaste,” he purred. And sweet Sanskrit, the word had never sounded dirtier.
“Namaste, and please try to channel healing into your metaphysical orbit to counter your cosmically crazy vibe. Remember, there’s a vortex in this town. There’s a good chance it can amplify emotional responses,” she replied, sounding downright crazy herself with that word salad.
He flashed her that arrogant grin, and hello to another round of core clenching! “I don’t know what half of what you said means,” he replied, then tapped the tip of her nose. “But I like hearing you say it.”
