Page 99 of Stolen Fate

I set Elliot down at the front door and helped him remove his shoes. He placed his little hands on my shoulders to keep himself steady, and I fought the urge to take him back into my arms. It wouldn’t do us good if I smothered him with affection.

“Ms. Bennett is home from visiting her family. Why don’t you go into the kitchen and ask her how her trip went? If you’re polite about it, I’m sure she will make you some cookies later.”

His expression brightened, and I wasn’t sure what he was more excited about, seeing Ms. Bennett again or at the possibility of her homemade chocolate chip cookies.

He skipped away quickly to the kitchen before I could even get a kiss from him, and I was left hanging at the threshold of the door. Evelyn laughed and held out her hand to me. I shot her an amusing smile and when I grabbed her hand, instead of moving up to stand, I pulled her down with me and placed her on my lap.

She let out a yelp of surprise before primly adjusting herself on my lap and scowling at me. “Serves me right for trying to help you. I’ll be sure to never do that again,” she said, a slight blush in her cheeks. I was wholly and completely fascinated with that blush.

I smiled a little. “You mean to tell me you won’t do this again, even though I’ve placed you exactly where you want to be?”

She gasped a little. “That’s a little presumptuous, Mr. Reed. Who said I want to be on your lap?”

“You are not making any attempt to move,” I pointed out, and her blush deepened to a tomato red that made me want to kiss her cheek. And she still wasn’t moving away from me. Considering she had spent the majority of her time here fighting her attraction to me, it made the fact that she was willingly staying close to me now that much more amazing.

I didn’t want to let her go, so I squeezed her a little tighter to me and she snuggled herself closer to my chest.

“What are we doing, Jace?” she asked softly.

“We’re doing what feels right,” I responded, mimicking her tone of voice.

She peeked up at me with warm brown eyes. “Is it? Is this right?”

My arms tightened around her for a fraction. “Does this feel wrong?”

Because I couldn’t remember a time when it had felt this right to have a woman in my arms. I certainly never felt that way with Camila. And perhaps that should have been a sign for me not to pursue anything with the devil incarnate, but it was as I said, I had been young and cocky.

And looking back, I didn’t regret Camila. She was a lesson that I needed to learn, but it was also because of her that I got the two greatest gifts in my life, my sons. It was because of her that Evelyn was in my arms.

So no, I didn’t regret her.

Given the chance, I still wouldn’t change a single thing in my life, because the good definitely outweighed the bad by a thousand.

I moved my hands down to her waist, and Evelyn froze on my lap. It didn’t look like she was even breathing.

“Is this okay?” I asked her softly.

Her eyebrows pulled together slightly with a small frown on her face, before she relaxed a little in my arms and offered a small nod. “We shouldn’t do this.”

“Why? Because you’re Elliot’s nanny?”

“Yes, that’s exactly why.”

“Okay. Then you’re fired.”

She let out a small gasp, and it was taking everything in me not to let my smile show. Then she slapped my chest and scowled at me. “Don’t be an asshole, Jace.”

I grabbed her hand and brought it up to my lips, kissing the soft skin on the back of it. “Sorry. I shouldn’t joke like that. But it shouldn’t matter that you’re Elliot’s nanny. You’re as attracted to me as I am to you. And we’re two consenting adults. We can be professional about this and not let it affect your job, but we can still explore this attraction between us when you’re off the clock.”

“Then you’re breaking a rule right now because, technically, I’m still on the clock.”

I shrugged. “I gave you the day off today.”

She gasped at me, and I laughed. “Then why did I have to come along today?”

“You came along today because, like me, you couldn’t stand to be too far from Elliot with all that he had been through yesterday.” I brought my arms to her waist and pulled her in closer to me so that our fronts were touching. I could feel her hard nipples pressing against me, and it was getting hard to remember why I couldn’t just carry her up to my room and have my way with her.

She placed her hands on my shoulders, but she didn’t push me away like I thought she would. Instead, she curled her fingers as if she didn’t want me to let her go. I wouldn’t.

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