28. Cecelia
With a stretch that had me pushing off the wall and hanging my feet over the edge of the mattress, I groaned a happy, satiated grumble. I rolled with a flop and draped over Sterling’s chest. He was still warm with vestiges of sweat clinging to his chest between his pecs.
Lazily, I trailed my finger through his chest hairs. A sigh of contented bliss escaped me. I was boneless.
One of his hands rested on my butt, the other twisted in my hair.
“You sound like the cat that got the canary,” he said.
“Mmm, no. Feathers are too much work. I’m the cat that got warm cream. Hmm. So much warm cream.”
Sterling choked as he laughed. “Cecelia, you have a dirty streak. You’re all sweet and innocent looking, but underneath it all, you are a vixen.”
“Does that bother you?”
He kept touching me, so I guessed not. His entire chest vibrated with his laugh. “Not at all.”
I stretched languorously and rubbed against his skin. “What can I say, you inspire me.”
He rolled me to the side and then sat up before placing a practically chaste kiss to my lips. “As long as it”s something you keep as a treat just for me, it won’t bother me at all.”
I was limp as he vaulted from the bed. “Where are you going?”
“I’m going to clean up, and then I have to get back. It told the nanny I wasn’t going to be out terribly late. It’s already ten.”
“I wish you could stay,” I complained.
“Maybe when this is all settled,” he said before he left the room.
I stayed in bed, my eyes closed, enjoying the lingering vibrations and thrums that still tingled across my skin and throughout my core. Sterling’s touch was masterful, memorable. I rolled over and propped my chin on my hands, watching him get dressed when he came back in.
“When will I see you again?” he asked.
“Are we talking about this, or do you want me to help you with the baby?”
“That’s a ridiculous question, Cecelia. Both.”
“We need to coordinate when Peggy is scheduled to be at your place, and when the nanny will be there, so our times don’t overlap.”
The bed dipped under him as he sat. He ran his hand over my hip and backside. A low hum sounded in his throat. “I have no doubt that you will figure it out. You have exceptional coordination skills.”
I crawled into his lap, straddling him. I tugged on his shirt collar and began fastening buttons for him. The fabric of his clothes rasped against my bare skin. As I dressed Sterling, his hands smoothed down my back and over my thighs.
“You are far too tempting to be doing this.” His fingers bit into my legs as his mouth claimed mine. The kiss reignited a desperate need deep in my core. I wanted this man so much.
With a moan that sounded pained, he lifted me from his lap and set me on my feet. “I really have to go. Be a good girl.”
He kissed me one last time, crushing me against him. I fell back into bed, pouting. I didn’t see him out. It wasn’t fair. I shouldn’t have to choose between him and my job. Especially now that he was no longer my client. Didn’t that remove any conflicts of interest?
I lay on my back staring at the ceiling. How was I going to do this? Everything would be so much easier if he would fall in love with me and sweep me off my feet. I could quit my job and move in with him and Georgie. He wouldn’t need a nanny, or some agency checking in to make sure Georgie was cared for, because I could take care of her. We could be like a little family.
It was a lovely daydream. But did a man like Sterling Alexander fall in love?
He accepted his responsibilities toward his orphaned niece, but that wasn’t the same thing. That was an obligation. I wasn’t his responsibility, so why would he keep me around?
I was a good time in bed. At least I hoped I was. I tried. His skills in bed were through the roof, and I was struggling to keep up, anything to keep his interest. No, a man like Sterling Alexander wasn’t going to fall in love with me and move me into his apartment to help him raise his ward.
He was going to be interested in me as a distraction and useful help when it came to Georgie. And if that was the best I could get out of him, well, then that’s what I was going to cling to.
With a groan of shattered illusions and reality seeping in, I got out of bed and crawled into the shower. I didn’t want to wash him off my skin, but I needed to get a grip. I was so far gone in love with the man that I didn’t care that I was only being useful to him. Useful in bed, useful in life.
If that’s what it took, I was going to be so useful, he would realize he couldn’t do without me, and that was kind of like love. Wasn’t it? We didn’t have to be in love for this to work out, right? One side emotion, the other practicality. As long as I could live with that, I could do this, right?
I got dressed and ran a towel through my hair. It wasn’t like I was in a financial position to up and quit my job. But if I got another one, the agency couldn’t stop us from seeing each other. If I got another one, would Sterling still be interested in me? Sure, I would still have the same skills, but was the fact that we weren’t supposed to be involved part of his attraction to me?
I didn’t want to think about that, didn’t want to think about all the reasons that could get in the way. I needed to focus on all the ways to make this work. I pulled a notepad from my work tote bag and started to boil water for a cup of tea.
Getting a new job, while an option, wasn’t a good one. The job was fine, and I didn’t want to think of how hard it would be for Hector’s family if I wasn’t working on their case. My job wasn’t so bad, but finding a new job would be horrible. It had taken me over a year to finally land this one. I didn’t want to go back to being a cashier at the craft store.
I liked knowing I was going to have enough in my paycheck to cover rent and have grocery money. If I went back to uncertain hours and an irregular schedule, I’d have to do something desperate, like sell the bag Sterling gave me, just to make sure I had a place to live.
I wasn’t willing to do that. That bag was more than just an overpriced tote bag. He had put thought into the gift. He knew I needed it. I glanced at the flip-flop gorilla sculpture. I wasn’t going to get rid of that, either. So what if the gifts weren’t particularly romantic? They weren’t jewelry, but they had meaning for us, for me.
I started a list. I needed to know schedules, mine, the nanny’s, and when Peggy planned on checking in on Sterling and Georgie. When did Sterling expect to return to his work? He wasn’t going to be on leave forever. How did that impact how we were going to make this work?
Was I expected to just be a glorified nanny? Or did he want actual parenting lessons? Oh, we could take community classes together. The agency couldn’t say boo about that. They wanted me to take professional development courses, and he needed some hands-on parenting training. I added the idea to my list and kept brainstorming.
I had more questions than answers, but each question led me toward ideas and strategies I didn’t have before. My tea got cold, and I kept writing. At some point, my stomach rumbled, and I was hungry for a snack. Pizza sounded good. It was always a late-night favorite.
When I placed the order for delivery on my phone, I noticed it was much later than I had realized. I had been writing and thinking for hours. It hadn’t felt like I had been working that long. I still didn’t have any answers, but I felt like I was closer to a solution than I had been hours earlier.
It wasn’t until after the pizza was delivered and I had a slice of cheesy pepperoni goodness in my mouth that I thought I might have a solution. Cheesy always did help me think. I frantically scribbled out my ideas before they evaded me.
I thought about calling Sterling with my brilliance but remembered the time. He was essentially a single father with an infant. He’d be asleep. And if he wasn’t, he should be. I’d save my good news for the morning. Uh, morning. I still had to go to work in the morning.
Suddenly, all of the adrenaline left over from Sterling’s expert lovemaking and the frenzy to find a solution abandoned me. I was exhausted. I dragged myself to bed and fell into a blissful sleep.