Page 25 of Alpha Wolf's Nanny
“Cassie,” he said again, his voice dropping low.
She couldn’t move. Didn’t dare so much as breathe. His jaw worked as he stared into her face, his hands trapping her close to him. Against her stomach, she felt a distinctive hardness. Color rushed to her cheeks, and she made to pull away, but he stopped her. With a few steady steps, he walked her backwards until her shoulder blades hit the wall. Her nails bit into his skin as something low and deep and needy throbbed in her.
His scent, masculine and clean, enveloped her, the hardness of him against her lower belly making her legs go weak.
“Cassie,” he breathed one final time, his voice was almost reverent now, like her name had become a prayer.
She licked her lips, heart pounding so hard she was sure he could hear it. His eyes dropped to her mouth, the corner of his jaw ticking.
Their mouths were inches apart. Less.
Cassie felt her whole world narrow to the warmth of his body, the firm press of his hands, the ragged pull of his breath. She couldn’t move, didn’t want to. Her heart thundered as he leaned in, his lips brushing hers, not quite kissing, not quite pulling away.
She held her breath, not daring to move, to close the distance or to pull away. She was completely at his mercy.
Then Felix’s eyes squeezed shut.
With a low curse, he stepped back, like she’d burned him. The air between them snapped back to normal, sudden and sharp.
Cassie swayed slightly where he’d left her pinned to the wall, blinking at the loss of contact.
He scrubbed a hand over his face, voice rough. “Sorry, that was…I didn’t mean to—”
“No, no, of course not,” she stammered, smoothing her sweaty palms over her jeans and brushing her hair back from her face, her cheeks on fire.
His face hardened, the muscles of his chest rippling as he stalked a few steps this way and that, a wolf barely contained. It sent a shiver down Cassie’s spine. Of excitement or fear, she didn’t know. But it thrilled her all the same.
Felix cleared his throat and tightened the towel around his hips, and quite against her will, Cassie’s eyes flew down to the supple muscles of his lower torso. Her mouth was suddenlydry, her mind blank. God. How much longer could she go on like this?
“The boys and I are going to dinner tonight if you would like to join,” he said conversationally, as if they’d bumped into each other at the grocery store instead of nearly kissing against the wall. The tense set of his shoulders betrayed that he wasn’t as relaxed as he was trying to act.
She blinked in shock, her mind racing to catch up with his words, “But it’s Saturday,” she said, still in a daze.
He raised an eyebrow, not quite able to meet her gaze. “And?”
“Weekends are for you and the boys. That’s what you’ve always said, right?”
He shrugged, still not meeting her eyes, his own glassy and unfocused as he looked instead out a window. “The offer is there all the same.”
She blinked. She’d never spent time with them on the weekends, aside from the occasional pickup or drop-off of the boys to the Pine Shadow Club. Felix was fiercely protective of his time alone with his sons, a trait which Cassie deeply admired, even despite the slight pangs in her gut at seeing the three of them together, so happy.
A family.
Truth be told, she would like nothing more than to join them for dinner. She absolutely adored the boys, in all their mischief and creativity and light-hearted humor. They reminded her that life was for living and laughter and adventure, something she’d long since forgotten about. As for Felix…
Well. That was slightly more complicated. But she couldn’t pretend like she didn’t enjoy his company.
Cassie shifted her weight from foot to foot. “I actually…I have plans tonight,” she said, hoping her voice didn’t tremble.
That caught Felix’s attention. His head turned sharply, eyes finally locking with hers. “Plans?” he repeated, carefully neutral.
She nodded, brushing a strand of hair behind her ear. “Yeah. Just something I’ve been meaning to do since I got here.”
Felix’s brow furrowed, his jaw tightening almost imperceptibly. “With someone?” he asked, the words clipped.
“No!” she said, too quickly, then winced. “I mean…no, it’s not like that. It’s just…I’ve been wanting to go hiking. Thought I’d make a weekend of it. Clear my head.”
He didn’t answer right away. Something passed through his expression, surprise, then something darker, something close to disappointment. Jealousy, maybe? Or just disapproval?
