21. Carter

21

CARTER

Soft skin. Gasps of pleasure. The stone around my heart fissures from the release of the affection I’ve kept bottled inside for months. I’m pulled from the deepest sleep I’ve had in almost a year as last night’s activities flood my mind.

Sunlight shines into the bedroom from the open door leading to the living room. I go to throw an arm over my eyes, but the limb is pinned to the soft mattress by a slender neck resting in the crook of my elbow.

Careful not to wake the woman next to me, I turn my head slowly and glance down. Valerie is curled facing away from me, but her hands are gently wrapped around my wrist and forearm while her head rests on the fluffy hotel pillow.

My eyes trail over her lightly disheveled hair, remembering how I’d gripped it as we explored each other’s bodies over and over again.

Valerie was insatiable last night.

I wasn’t much better.

Months of pent-up desire had been waiting to be unleashed for both of us. When we finally abandoned our reservations, the emotion refused to be controlled. It had coursed through us with a mind of its own—urging us to continue our illicit activities well into the early morning.

I look at the clock on the nightstand and see it’s only ten. I think we finally tapped out and fell asleep around four. Six hours isn’t the best amount of sleep, but I feel rejuvenated. Which is surprising considering the physical exertions from last night.

The thought pulls my gaze back to the beauty beside me. Her steady breathing tells me she’s still asleep. My eyes trail over her slender figure, counting the random freckles scattered over her smooth back.

Slowly, I draw my arm out from under her neck. I bite my cheek when she shifts and smile when she huffs in sleeping protest. I manage to free my arm without waking her. With nimbleness that would impress the Rough Riders’ agility coach, I roll off the bed and land in a silent crouch. I grab my briefs off the ground and step into them. I close the bedroom door behind me with a quiet click.

I stretch my arms over my head and take in the living room. My shirt crumbled on the couch is the only evidence of what transpired. More memories from the night play in my head. My smile grows. So does something else…

I huff a laugh and move towards the kitchenette. I need a distraction. I grab a mug from a cabinet. I fill it with water and pour it into the single-serve coffee machine. Coffee is not my thing, but even before Valerie moved in, I noted how much the beauty enjoyed the caffeinated beverage.

While I feel well-rested, I suspect Valerie may feel tired when she wakes up. She didn’t seem intoxicated last night—I wouldn’t have been willing to take things so far if she had—but she was definitely a little tipsy. When you couple alcohol with the night of rigorous sex, she might need an energy boost.

I set the machine to brew. My stomach grumbles. I pick up the room service menu on the counter and browse the options when I hear the bedroom door open.

I look over my shoulder and nearly drop the laminated menu when I see Valerie standing naked in the doorframe. She walks straight to the couch and picks up my shirt, sliding it over her head. The fabric falls over her slender frame. She turns to me, freeing her long dark hair from the collar so it tumbles over her shoulders. Her face is free of makeup.

She’s gorgeous.

Valerie’s green eyes trail over my naked torso before they meet my gaze. Her cheeks flush prettily.

“I hope you don’t mind.” She fingers the bottom of my shirt. It hits just above her knees. “I didn’t want to get dressed for the day yet.”

“Of course not,” my voice is husky. I clear my throat. “I made you coffee.” I motion to the now-steaming cup settled under the coffee maker.

“Thank you.” Her bare feet sound faintly against the tile when she moves into the kitchen. She tries to step past me, but I snake an arm around her waist and bring her into my chest.

I capture her lips with a brief, but sensual kiss. I pull back and watch her eyes flutter open. “Good morning,” I whisper with a grin.

“Good morning,” she repeats with a smile of her own.

My thumb strokes her cheek once before I release her. After a pause, she steps away and retrieves the coffee.

She leans against the counter and as she brings the drink to her lips for a sip. Her eyes meet mine over the rim of the mug.

I grin.

She grins back.

We’re acting like two teenage kids, not the experienced adults we are. But I don’t mind. In fact, I like it.

Valerie Palmer isn’t just a woman I’ve hooked up with. There’s something special between us. And I look forward to exploring it further. Maybe even as soon as we get something to eat. I’m going to need my energy before we go another round.

“So about last night…”

“Are you hungry?”

We speak at the same time.

All thoughts of food fade from my mind when I register Valerie’s words. “What about last night?” I ask.

She holds the coffee mug in front of her chest, gripping it like it’s a shield. She swallows the lump in her throat. “Last night was… amazing.”

“It was.” My chest puffs out with pride, but when I see her uncertain expression, it deflates. “But…?”

She swallows again. “But I think we should establish some ground rules.”

My lips twitch. “Ground rules?”

“Yeah.” She nods. “I mean… I’m still your nanny. At least, I think I am.”

“You are.”

She nods. “Right. Well… that means you’re still my boss.”

“It does.”

“Which means what happened between us probably shouldn’t happen again.”

Like hell, it does.

“No.” I cross my arms over my chest and lean against the fridge at my side. I’m trying to look confident and unbothered, but the truth is my heart races with alarm at the thought of us not being together again.

Her eyes widen. “No?”

“No,” I reaffirm. We’ve fought against the attraction between us for far too long, and I’m not interested in doing it again. I decided that last night when I led Valerie onto the dance floor. I thought she’d done the same. Now, doubt flickers through me.

Maybe she was more intoxicated than I thought.

My stomach churns at the possibility.

Valerie chews on her bottom lip. “But won’t it make things… weird between us?”

“No.” I can’t seem to say anything else. At least, not anything that won’t scare Valerie away.

The intensity of how I feel about this woman is sure to overwhelm her. She’s in the middle of figuring out what her next step in life is, for Christ’s sake. The last thing she needs is an almost thirty, single dad of twins, declaring he’s got it bad for her.

But even so, there’s no way I’m letting her go. Not without a fight.

Valerie sets down the barely-sipped cup of coffee with a sigh. “Carter… let’s be reasonable about this. Last night was fun. I don’t regret anything, but we can’t pretend it didn’t happen.”

“Trust me, I have no plans on pretending it didn’t happen.”

She blinks. “You don’t?”

“No.”

There I go again…

Say something else, dammit!

I clear my throat. “And just so we’re clear, I think it should happen again.”

“You do?” She sounds surprised. And, if I’m not mistaken, a little hopeful.

The tension is released from my body and my arms fall to my side. “I know you being my nanny complicates things, but that doesn’t mean we can’t see each other.” Or enjoy the phenomenal physical connection we share.

“But… you’re my boss,” she repeats.

“Only when you’re watching the twins.”

She shakes her head. “You’re my boss at all hours of the day. I live in your house.”

An added perk in my opinion.

“So?”

“So?” She huffs a disbelieving laugh. “So, us hooking up will create a huge conflict of interest.”

“I’m not planning on firing you if that’s what you’re worried about.”

“Not even if this doesn’t work out?” She waves her hand between me and her.

I straighten. “Do you think I’d fire you if you didn’t want to sleep with me?”

“Of course not!”

“Because I wouldn’t,” I speak over her shocked declaration. “Abby and Andy love you. You’re the first reliable nanny they’ve had. I would never fire you.”

A thought hits me.

In a low voice, I add, “But I guess you might quit if things don’t work out…”

I’m a fucking idiot. How did I not see that as a possibility?

You did…

You just forgot because you’ve been sexed up for the first time in several months.

Valerie’s features soften. “I don’t think I would quit… as long as things between us were casual.”

Casual?

“What do you mean by casual?”

She shifts her feet. “I think we can hang out, and we can hook up occasionally. But neither of us is in a position for a serious relationship. We should agree to keep things casual. That way things won’t be too messy when we inevitably go our separate ways.”

A growl builds in my throat. I hate hearing her declare we are doomed to fail, but I hold back my protest. Again, I don’t want to scare her off.

“You want to be casual?” I keep my tone even to hide how much I want to argue against the ludicrous idea.

She nods. “I think it’s the safest option.”

I couldn’t disagree more.

But as I take in Valerie’s flushed cheeks and the way her eyes dart nervously around the kitchenette, looking anywhere but at me, the desire to argue fades away on a heavy exhale.

Valerie has a lot going on. If this is what she needs to agree to give this thing between us a shot, who am I to argue?

“Okay.”

Her eyes fly up to mine. Her lips part with surprise. “Okay?”

I nod and close the space between us.

“Okay, Val.” Her pupils dilate as I tilt her chin up and kiss her soundly. I draw back and smirk when I see her eyelids flutter open to reveal the passion swirling in her green irises. My next words are a lie. The only question is, how long until she’s ready to admit it? “Casual it is.”