Chapter 14

Chapter Fourteen

Niko

This is a worse idea than the porkchop sideburns. Chloe as Ayana's nanny? Impossible.

"You are kind." I force the words through gritted teeth as her touch burns through the linen covering my leg.

Her brow furrows, and the breeze off the ocean sends wisps of her hair floating across her face. She tucks them behind her ear and my fingers twitch to reach out and touch it again. I take a sip of my beer instead. The cold liquid does nothing to cool me down, though. "That's the second time you've said that tonight. I might start getting a complex," Chloe responds, her lips quirking as she removes her hand.

I cock my head. "What do you mean?"

"That's like being called ‘nice.'" She wrinkles her nose at the word, and I find it charming.

"And what is wrong with that?"

She dips her chin and wedges the bottom of her beer bottle into the sand until it stands on its own. " Nice? That's what you call someone when you can't think of any other redeeming qualities. It would be like me calling you an adequate goalie."

I scowl. "Swallow your tongue."

Chloe drops her head back and laughs, exposing the silky skin of her throat. "I think you meant ‘ bite your tongue.'"

"All these sayings. I prefer Russian."

"I take it you think in Russian? Dream in Russian?"

"Always." I nod. "It frustrates me when I cannot find the right English words to say what I mean."

Chloe barks out a laugh. "You're not the only one."

"What do you mean?"

"Nothing." She waves a dismissive hand. "Does Ayana speak Russian? Wait. How old is she?"

"Seven." I shake my head and set my own beer in the sand. "No. But I hope to teach her one day. It is easier to learn a new language when one is a child. I did not learn English until I moved to Canada for hockey when I was twenty years old."

"I've always thought English would be difficult to learn. So many rules that are regularly broken."

"Yes!" I agree, shifting my position to face her more directly "Tell me why the B at the beginning of ‘bomb' is spoken but the one at the end is silent. And what is the point of this ‘I before E' rule if there are so many exceptions? And why do you park on a driveway and drive on a parkway?"

She is outright grinning at me now. "All excellent questions." Her back straightens, and she throws an index finger in the air. "And why is a vegetarian someone who eats vegetables but a humanitarian doesn't eat humans?"

I laugh at that, realizing that I am enjoying chatting with Chloe more than I have enjoyed any other interaction in recent memory–aside from my time with Ayana. But that is very different.

"Well," Chloe continues. "It sounds like Russian might be a breeze in comparison. Maybe when you win your custody battle, you can teach Ayana."

"Perhaps."

She smiles again and then drops her eyes to the sand, a brief silence settling between us. "You don't have to accept my offer, Nikolai, but you should know I'm happy to do it. I have the time, and I love kids."

I should not even entertain the thought, but I cannot seem to help myself. Instead of refusing her offer outright, I say, "The witch from Hansel and Gretel loved kids too."

Her eyes sparkle with amusement as they flash to mine. "Are you insinuating I plan to eat your daughter?"

I shrug, basking in her attention, though I know I am playing with fire.

"I'll have you know I taught third grade for fifteen years and never once baked a child in my oven," she says with a lift of her chin that's almost smug.

My eyes widen. "You are a teacher?" God is certainly toying with me now. He delivers the perfect nanny candidate in the form of my most dangerous temptation.

Chloe nods. "I told you I love kids. And I'm certified in CPR and first aid–and I can make a mean papier maché Ruth Bader Ginsburg too."

"I have no idea what that means."

She makes another shooing gesture and turns her eyes back to the lapping waves. "Not important."

I watch her for a few beats before asking, "Do you not understand why this is a bad idea?"

When she turns to me this time, it is not amusement I find in her eyes. It is challenge. "Because you're attracted to me?"

No. She does not understand. It seems I must explain. "Because I want to fuck you breathless. I want to take you every way a man can take a woman." My cock stiffens in my pants as her breath quickens in the rise and fall of her chest. I can even see the rush of blood in her veins at the pulse point of her throat. But I continue because she needs to understand. "I want to ruin you for other men, and I would not be the least bit sorry for it."

She tries to speak, but her voice catches in her throat. I know her cheeks are flushed, despite the darkness, and it only has my cock going harder.

I continue as she visibly swallows. "But I cannot. I will not." This time, I cannot help myself. I brush my knuckles along the underside of her jaw, and she shivers at my touch. She wants the same thing I do, and she does not try to deny it. "Every part of my life is under a...what is the word? Microscope–by the judge and by Peyton. I will not risk Ayana for anything–or anyone. Having you in my house would be a temptation I am not sure I could withstand."

"I..." Chloe begins before swallowing again. "I understand." She rises to her feet and brushes the sand from her legs. I don't follow suit, knowing my cock will make himself the center of attention if I do. "I'm...um...going to head back."

Lights from the hotel catch her face now that she is standing, and I see that I was right. She is flushed from her gorgeous cleavage to her hairline. My pulse quickens at the sight, but I force myself to stay where I am. "Goodnight, Chloe." She turns, shoes in hand, to walk through the sand. "And thank you." I am not sure if she hears the last part, but either way, this is for the best.

"If she's available, ask if she'll come to the hearing," Jane says from across her impressive glass and steel desk. She does not embody the traditional stodgy lawyer vibe in either her appearance or her decorating style. Instead, Jane leans more toward edgy, something that threw me off when we initially met. But she has proven to be the shrewd asset I need in this conflict with Peyton.

Instead of responding immediately to her comment, I cough into my hand. Jane may be under the impression that I have succeeded in securing a nanny for Ayana in the last two weeks. I have not.

To be fair, I thought I had. Sienna, the candidate, had an impeccable resume and was available to start immediately. But when she showed up at my front door for her interview, she was chewing a piece of gum–with her mouth open! There was no possible way I was hiring a nanny to teach Ayana such bad manners. All I could picture was my sweet daughter sitting on the couch next to this Sienna woman, both of them chomping on wads of gum like cows chewing their cud. I dismissed her on sight, a decision I cannot bring myself to regret. However, it does put me in a bind. One that I fear there is only one solution to.

"I will ask," I respond to Jane, who is now scribbling on her tablet with a smart pencil, her dark brows pulled together in concentration.

"Judge Lopez won't be able to deny you if he meets the perfect nanny in person."

An image of Chloe sitting on the beach in the moonlight immediately springs to mind. "Right."

Shit.

"Okay." Jane drops her pencil and pats her desktop with both hands, her eyes returning to me and a bright smile lighting her face. "I think we're ready, Niko. Next time I see you, you'll be walking out of court with Ayana at your side." Her tone is eerily close to one I have heard from Dracula right before the "Mwa-ha-ha" evil laugh. I am glad she is on my side.

"That is my greatest wish," I respond, taking her cue and standing from my chair. "I will see you tomorrow." I reach a hand across the desk and Jane takes it, giving me a firm shake.

"Stop worrying," she commands.

I force a smile before turning to leave her office. I spend the elevator ride to the lobby pretending there is another solution to my problem, and I just need another night to think it over. But I am fooling myself. When the elevator doors open, I step out and find a quiet corner before pulling out my phone.

With each unanswered ring, I am tempted to hang up, but this is too important. The call goes to voicemail. "Hi! You've reached Chloe Cooper. You know what to do!" Even her outgoing message is charming and effervescent. This is the right decision. Chloe Cooper would never chew gum with her mouth open.

I take a deep breath as the beep sounds. "Chloe, this is Nikolai. Nikolai Drugov." Fuck. How many Nikolais could she possibly know? Sweat beads at the small of my back as I force myself to finally say the three words that set my heart beating faster than any puck I have ever stopped. "I need you."