12. Kat

Chapter 12

I wake up in the morning tangled in my blankets and sweating. It has nothing to do with the actual temperature of the room and everything to do with the dreams of three sexy men and the things they could do to my body. It started like my dreams of them usually do, reliving our night of fun in the pool house, but somewhere along the way Nathan joined in, and if I thought it was hot with the two of them…

Fuck, three of them were otherworldly.

At least they were in my dreams, though I can’t imagine it would be anything less.

Looking at my phone, I find it’s only five. With the summer program ending yesterday, I have no reason to be up right now. The movers won’t be here until around ten, but there's no way I’m going to be able to go back to sleep now.

The house is quiet as I make my way down the hall, and I walk slowly, taking in the dark wood of the walls and the carpet beneath my feet. The sun is just starting to rise, pouring through the window behind me, but even still, the hall is full of shadows, making it almost creepy to be alone. The sound of my footsteps might be muted by the soft carpet, but not one hundred percent, and with the high ceilings, the sound bounces around until I’m suddenly walking a lot faster.

Making it to the stairs, I slow down so as not to fall down the stairs in my haste, but I make sure not to look behind me until I’ve made it to the kitchen. This house is going to take some time to get used to.

Ruby is lying in the kitchen when I enter, and he pops up, nearly giving me a heart attack. He growls at first, but it quickly dies when he realizes who I am, and he lays back down.

I’m glad he seems to like me because I’d thought he was scary just from the size of him, but when he’s in protection mode, he goes from scary to the thing of nightmares.

“There has to be coffee in here somewhere,” I mumble, looking around.

It takes me entirely too long to figure out which high-tech gadget is the coffee machine, and even when I do, I have no idea how to use it. It’s got knobs and buttons and a whole touch screen.

Ugh, why is this so complicated? Who wants to do all of this for a cup of coffee?

Twenty minutes later, I’m still no closer to figuring it out than I was when I started, and I let out a groan of frustration, letting my head hit the machine with a thump.

A chuckle behind me makes me whip around to find Alex standing in the doorway that leads to the dining room. He’s leaning against the door frame with his arms crossed and a smile on his face as he watches me.

Crap! How long has he been standing there?

My cheeks heat at the idea of him watching me struggle like an idiot.

“Don’t stop on my account, Red.”

The nickname he gave me all those nights ago rolls off his tongue and caresses my body, but as much as I might like it and the way it sounds coming from him, Trevor tainted it. Now, it leaves a bad taste in my mouth, and I can’t help but cringe when I hear it.

“Oh, not a fan of that nickname anymore, huh? Don’t worry, I can find a new one,” he says, and the idea shouldn’t excite me, but it does.

People don’t nickname nannies, right?

Crap, they might. I have no idea.

I stand there for a moment, lost in thought, before I realize I’m staring and quickly whip back around to the coffeepot. As annoying as it might be, it's definitely the safer and easier option right now.

Mindlessly, I push a few buttons, trying to get it to do literally anything, and for a moment, I convince myself he’s not there, that he’s left.

Of course, I’m wrong.

I feel him before I see him, the heat of his body behind me a moment before his hands come down on the counter on either side of me, trapping me.

With a squeak, I spin around and come face to face with him. He’s leaning forward so that we're almost nose to nose, and his sudden proximity has me backing up into the counter's edge.

Crap.

“That color on your cheeks is beautiful,” he says, slowly reaching up to brush the back of his hand over my heated skin. I remain as still as a statue, unsure if I should run or if I want to lean into him. He pulls back before I can decide, and I’m left gaping at him as I try to get my brain to function with him so close.

“I don’t remember you being this shy the last time I was this close. No, last time you were a real firecracker.”

His mention of our night together opens the floodgates in my mind. The memories mix with my dreams from last night, and just like that, I can no longer meet his eyes.

He chuckles; the sound is low and sexy, and I get the feeling he knows exactly where my mind just went.

Careful as not to touch him, I turn back around, letting him stand at my back and hoping maybe he’ll just leave me be. It’s too early for this; I haven’t even had coffee yet, and with my dreams last night, I’m so on edge that one wrong move might have me jumping his bones.

Nope, bad idea, Kat.

You work for his brother, and you already fucked him and Des once.

Shit, I fucked his brother and his son. There’s no way he’s going to keep me as his nanny when he finds out, and I can’t keep it from him. Not only is that wrong, but from the way Alex is acting right now, I know it will be impossible.

I just need to find a way to tell him.

Ugh, I don’t think they make a card for this kind of situation.

'Sorry I fucked your family, but that was before you hired me.'

Maybe I should submit that to Hallmark; it’s a missed opportunity, honestly.

I bite my lip, holding in my laughter at the stupid thought, before shaking it away. I’ll deal with that later. Right now, I need caffeine.

“I’ll make you a deal. How about I make us some coffee, and we can sit down and talk about why you never called?” His warm breath rolls over my skin, and I can’t fight the shiver as it works its way down my spine.

His lips ghost over the sensitive skin of the back of my neck, and I let my eyes fall closed.

Fuck.

It would be so easy to explain it was all a misunderstanding. As silly as it might sound to him, it’s the truth.

The words are on the tip of my tongue, but so are some other ones that are less than ideal.

Like the urge to beg him to touch me. Having him this close after so long is almost intoxicating. It’s as if I’m right back in that night again. I remember the way he and Des made me feel, the tender way they held me and the protection they offered me from the creep at the bar.

That night was exactly what I needed—a way to make a fresh start and leave the memory of Carter and everything else behind—and they had delivered.

It wasn’t until I saw Addison that I realized why it worked so well, though. They were exactly what I was looking for because they were the exact opposite of what I was used to. It had been almost like a bucket of ice water was poured over my head when I thought he had a wife and child, but it was a good thing.

If not, I have no doubt I would have fallen for him, for both of them, and that wasn’t what they were looking for. I hadn’t been either, but the signs were all there looking back at it now.

No, it might have been a misunderstanding, but I’m grateful for it now. It saved me from making a fool of myself, at least at that moment.

There doesn’t seem to be anything that’s going to save me this time, though.

“Alex, don’t tease her before coffee.”

My body stiffens at the sound of his voice, and I stop breathing.

Alex huffs, but I feel him move away. “I was only asking a question,” he says, turning to lean against the counter to my left, his arms crossed and a smirk on his lips.

I’m so fired.

“Yes, well, your questions tend to be annoying, so let her get some caffeine in her system first. I don’t need you chasing her off on her first day,” Nathan says from behind me, slowly getting closer.

Wait, what?

He’s not going to fire me even though he just found his brother all but pressed against me in the kitchen?

A warm hand rests against the small of my back, pulling me from my thoughts, and I turn to find Nathan standing behind me this time. A small smile turns his lips up, and just like that, I’m lost in the blue of his eyes.

“The coffee machine takes a little getting used to. Why don’t you have a seat, and I’ll make us some,” he offers, his voice much gentler than it was with Alex, and I worry I might melt into a puddle at his feet.

I open my mouth to say something, but nothing comes out, leaving me gaping like a fish before I snap it closed again and nod. Hyperaware of the fact that he’s still touching me, I turn and make my way to the island counter that's lined with stools and take a seat, keeping my eyes fixed on the countertop.

I’d thought it was bad when I had a crush on my now boss, but this…this is so much worse.

I’m so screwed.

Nathan makes us all coffee, and I don’t even realize that I should have paid attention to how he did it until after.

Damn it. I’ll have to find a video online later to show me because I’m not asking right now, not when I can feel their eyes on me as we sit here.

They talk, but I can’t really focus on what they say as I try to understand what’s going on.

Alex’s behavior makes sense, at least. We have history, and I guess in his mind, I ghosted him. But Nathan’s easy way of accepting it really throws me off. Shouldn’t he be upset?

I’m no closer to understanding when I hear them getting up.

“We’ll be back later tonight, probably around dinner,” Nathan says, placing his cup in the sink and heading out, once again leaving Alex and me alone.

“Have fun today, Kitten,” he all but purrs before following Nathan.

I let my head drop to the counter with a sigh, only to pull back and rub at the spot. Damn, that hurt more than I thought it would. Hopefully, it doesn’t leave a mark. The last thing I need is to have a bump that looks like a horn in the middle of my head.

“Kat!” Addison’s voice rings from down the hall, and Ruby quickly gets up and wanders off in her direction. I’m standing at the sink, rinsing the cups I just washed, when she comes in with a smile, rubbing sleepies from her eyes.

“Good morning, Addison,” I say, reaching for the towel to wipe my hands, but she has other plans, and I have a split second to decide between catching her or risking her taking us both to the ground.

I scoop her up, pulling her close as she buries her head in my shoulder, squeezing me tight with her arms and legs.

“Hey, what’s wrong?” I ask, rubbing circles on her back as she clings to me.

“I thought you left,” she whispers, her breath hitching, sounding like she’s on the verge of crying.

“Oh, honey, no.” I hug her back and rock her a bit to try to comfort her. “We made a promise, remember, and I take my promises very seriously.”

I feel her nod, but she doesn’t let up. She is still holding tight to me, but that’s okay. I don’t mind a good hug. Before long, she’ll be used to me being here, but until then, I can comfort her. She’s probably used to nannies leaving, so I can’t blame her.

“What do you say we eat some breakfast and go play? You can show me all of your favorite toys or the jungle gym you have outside. That looks like a lot of fun,” I tell her, trying to get her mind on something else.

She pulls back, peeking up at me before she gives a tiny nod. I smile before finding us something simple to eat with her still in my arms.

Addison perks up a bit after some cinnamon sugar toast. It was a treat my mom used to give me when I was a kid, and it always made me happy, so I’m glad it worked for her as well.

The movers arrive while she’s eating, and all they seem to need to know is what I want to put in the room and what can go into storage. Everything is packed neatly in boxes that are labeled, and honestly, the whole thing is way more efficient than when I moved my own stuff. In all, the whole thing takes maybe fifteen minutes before they don’t need me; it’s kind of crazy.

By the time we head outside to play in the backyard, you would never know she’d woken up so sad. We climb, swing, play hide and seek, and by the time lunch rolls around, I’m sweating my butt off and starving.

“Alright, I think it’s time we go make something to eat,” I tell her with a laugh when her stomach grumbles. A smile lights her face, and she quickly slides down the slide to join me on the grass.

“We’re going to make something?” she asks with a smile, but her question confuses me.

“Of course we are. How else would we have something to eat?” I ask, taking her hand and leading her back into the house through the large sliding glass door.

“Usually, Dale makes all the food,” she says with a pout, and now it's my turn to be confused. “He’s our chef.”

Oh, well, I guess that makes sense. Nathan did mention there was other help, though I have yet to see them.

“Well, your dad didn’t say anything to me about a chef, so I think for today, we'll make something for ourselves and see how you like it.”

As we enter the house, she jumps up and down, looking around at the kitchen with wonder, much like she did at the playground earlier.

“So, what do you think we should make?” I ask, realizing I don’t know much about her preferred foods or if she has any allergies. Figuring out what she likes should be easy enough just with time and talking to her, but I don’t want to mess with unknown allergies.

Fishing my phone from my pocket, I debate texting Nathan. I know he said they had a meeting, but he also told me to text or call him should I need anything. Sinking my teeth into my bottom lip, I decide to just go for it. Worst case, he’s in a meeting and can’t get back to me right away. We can always stick to things I’ve seen her eat at school for today.

Sorry to bug you, but I just wanted to check in and see if Addison has any allergies to foods or in general before we made lunch.

Typing out the message, I quickly hit send before I can think too much about it and talk myself out of it.

Addison is looking through the cabinets for something she might want, humming a happy little tune as she goes, and I stand watching while I wait for a response.

It doesn’t take long before the three little dots pop up on my screen saying he’s typing, and with them, my anxiety spikes.

Don’t apologize, I told you to message me if you need anything. This is new and going to take some time to get used to, but no, she doesn’t have any known allergies.

My anxiety melts away as I read the words, but before I can tuck my phone into my pocket, the dots pop up again.

Dale usually does all the cooking. Should I inform him he won’t be needed today?

Yes, please. Addison and I have it covered.

Sounds good. I’ll let him know.

Thank you. Hope your meeting goes well.

The second I hit send, I regret it. Why did I say that? That was in no way necessary or strictly professional.

“Mac and cheese!” Addison proclaims, finally deciding and saving me from my spiral.

I drop my phone on the counter face down, and we begin the hunt for ingredients.

The fact that they have a chef is apparent the more I look around. There are so many fresh ingredients and everything we need, from cheese to noodles and every cooking tool imaginable.

This kitchen is a dream.

The prep work takes a while with Addison helping, but she’s smiling the whole time, so I don’t mind. By the time we popped it into the oven to cook, I had another idea, and the fact that they had not one but two ovens only solidified my decision. We’d pulled out some of the fresh fruit from the fridge to snack on while we cooked, and Addison took a break to grab some while I did a quick cleanup and pulled out peanut butter, sugar, and some eggs.

Setting them down on the freshly cleared island counter seems to get her attention.

“What’s that for?” she asks, hopping down from her stool to come stand with me. I kick her step stool over so that she can climb up next to me and see what we're doing on the counter.

“Well, I don’t know about you, but I could use something sweet,” I tell her, chuckling when her eyes widen. Addison, like most kids and myself, loves sweets. “How do peanut butter cookies sound?”

Judging by her squeal, I’m going to say she likes the idea.

We make two dozen cookies and get them all loaded up onto a tray, ready to go in, just as the timer for the mac and cheese goes off.

Addison washes up while I get the cookies in the oven and plate us some food.

“This is the best mac and cheese ever, Ms. Kat!” Addison proclaims after her first bite before quickly shoveling another spoonful into her mouth.

“Slow down. It’s not going anywhere,” I tell her, worried she’s going to choke with how fast she’s trying to eat it. “I’m glad you like it, but we have plenty, and we can make it again.”

She slows down, if only minorly, but it’s enough for her to chew, so I’ll take it. I eat from my own plate as I continue to clean up and rotate the cookies out and onto a cooling rack as they finish. After the first batch cools, I put two on a paper towel and drop them next to Addison’s bowl, which she promptly abandons to try the cookie.

I let her. Not only is she on her second bowl of mac and cheese, but I can’t really blame her; I did the same.

Who can resist a freshly baked cookie?

Nobody, apparently, because just as I fill the last sheet from the oven, I hear Ruby as he wanders in. He’d been outside with us while we played, but disappeared when we came back inside. I’d thought he was going for a nap after playing, but now I see that wasn’t the case.

Desmond walks in a moment later, his hair sticking up in every direction, telling me he probably just woke up. He steps into the kitchen and stops, throwing his arms up to stretch and fuck me. He has no right looking so good without even trying.

His chest is bare, and I can’t look away from the tattoos that litter his torso and arms going up so far as his neck. They move and ripple as his muscles bunch and stretch, and I have to resist the urge to move toward him and trace the delicate lines and colors with my fingers or maybe even my tongue.

His shorts are loose and sit low on his hips, showing off the tops of his boxers that also sit low, but not as low. My eyes trace the muscles of his stomach, moving down lower to the V between his hips and the dark hairs that run down the center and into his shorts. I know exactly what that trail leads to, but I’d be lying if I said I wouldn’t love to see it again.

He slowly peels open his eyes, his gaze meeting mine. A smirk curls his lips up, making him look impossibly hotter. I quickly avert my eyes, looking back at the cookies.

“Morning,” he says, his voice still hoarse with sleep.

“Afternoon,” I say, trying to sound indifferent, knowing I fail when he chuckles.

As if getting caught staring at him wasn’t bad enough.

I need to get my libido under control before I go through all my clean underwear on the first day here.

I hear him walk across the kitchen, but I refuse to turn around, carefully focusing on moving the cookies with much more concentration than necessary.

Which is why I almost jump out of my damn skin when he reaches around me to snag a cookie off the tray. His very bare chest presses against my back, and I suck in a breath, damn near choking on it.

He stays right against my back as he brings the cookie up to his mouth to take a bite, and I feel the rumble in his chest as he lets out a groan.

“Um, this might be the best cookie I’ve ever had,” he says before turning his head to press his lips close to my ear. “Second best-tasting thing in the room,” he breathes low enough that Addison won’t hear him, but loud enough that there’s no way for me to miss it.

“We made them!” Addison announces proudly. Her mouth full of her own cookie that slightly muffles her words.

Desmond lingers for a moment longer before moving away, but not before I feel him reach down to adjust.

Don’t think about his dick, Kat!

Nope, too late.

He moves away, and I turn, watching him move to the counter opposite of Addison, and now I’m looking at his ass.

Fantastic.

He leans forward, resting his elbows on the counter so that they are eye to eye. “You made these?” he asks, sounding shocked, and she eats it up.

“Yes! Me and Ms. Kat played outside and then made mac and cheese and cookies, and they are so good, and she’s the best nanny EVER!”

“Well, she sure sounds fantastic, and these cookies are great, but I think you're forgetting about one important question.” Judging by the look on Addison’s face, I’d say she’s just as confused as I am.

“What?” she asks, leaning closer to him, her little face very serious, and I’ll be damned if they aren’t adorable. I know from the way she talked about him at school that she adores him, but there’s no denying he feels the same.

Desmond glances back at me over his shoulder and catches me once again checking him out.

Fuck it, I can look but not touch. I can’t spend every moment trying to avoid looking at them. It’s just not possible.

Turning back to Addison, he leans closer, waving her toward him. She scrambles to reach him, giving him her ear so he can whisper his secret.

“Can she swim?” he asks much louder than a whisper, and I snort.

Desmond pulls back, turning to face me, and I can see the mischief in his eyes.

What is he up to?

“So you can swim?” he asks, crossing his arms.

“Of course I can…” I say in confusion, not sure what he’s up to but knowing it’s something.

A smile turns his lips, and he claps his hands together. The sound rings out around the room, minorly startling me as Addison hops off her stool and runs around the counter, bouncing on her toes with excitement.

“We can swim?” She asks, looking from Desmond to me and back again, looking like she might combust if we don’t answer her.

“I don’t know, Kitten, what do you say? Can we swim?” Desmond asks, cocking a brow at me, almost as if in challenge.

“Um, I don’t see why not,” I tell them, not sure what the big deal is.

Addison throws her arms around my waist with a happy little squeal even before I’ve finished talking, and I look down at her with a smile, shaking my head, still confused.

“I don’t understand what the big deal is. You guys have a pool,” I say, looking to Desmond for answers.

“Her last nanny didn’t know how to swim, so she only got to swim when one of us was here to swim with her or watch her,” he says with a shrug. While that explains her excitement, it still doesn’t make sense.

“Okay, but you're here, so even if I couldn’t, she could still swim…” I trail off, trying to make it make sense in my mind.

“Yeah, but everything’s more fun with more people to play, isn’t it?” Something about his tone and the way his eyes narrow tells me he isn’t talking about swimming anymore.

He turns away, walking back through the doorway he’d just come through a few minutes ago, and I’m struck silent by his comment still. Just before he leaves, he stops, catching my gaze over his shoulder.

“Why don’t you guys go get changed? I’ll grab my trunks and meet you in there.”

With that, he disappears, and the realization that I’m going to have to be in my swimsuit in front of him smacks me in the face.

Shit.