Chapter 20
“I can add ‘dodging Raider family walk-ins’ to my new skill set.”
Sloane
“Hello!”
My eyes fly open at the shouted greeting.
Zane groans. “It’s my mom.”
“Your mom?” I screech. “We’re in bed together, and your mom is here?”
Hurt flashes in his eyes before he blinks and it’s gone. Why would he be hurt? Does he want his mom to catch us? I will never understand Zane Raider.
“Relax. She won’t invade my bedroom.”
Woof!
Uh oh. Boozer’s awake. And I’m not in my room to contain him. I need to get out of here.
I try to roll out of bed but my legs get tangled in the sheets. I kick at the material. It gives way and – boom! – I crash to the floor.
“Are you okay, Zane? Do you need help?”
“I do not need help getting out of bed, Mom.”
“I heard a thump.”
“I stubbed my toe on the corner of the bed.”
I push the covers off of me and squeak when I realize I’m naked from the waist down.
“Do you want my mom to hear you?” Zane asks between bouts of laughter.
I glare at him. “I should have gotten dressed last night.”
I should not have let Zane go down on me is what I should have done. But I couldn’t resist. I woke up wet and wanting from a dream about him and then – poof! – he was there offering to give me an orgasm.
I couldn’t resist. And who could blame me? Zane has been voted sexiest man on the island – trust me, it’s a thing – and he was above me, all hard and growly. Of course, I gave in. I’m only human.
He shrugs. “It’s not my fault you passed out after one orgasm.”
My brow wrinkles. “One orgasm? You make one orgasm sound bad.”
“I wanted to give you another one with my fingers but you fell asleep.”
I blink my eyes as I try to compute what he’s saying. He wanted to give me another orgasm? In my experience, men only give orgasms in order to get their own orgasm.
But Zane didn’t ask for anything in return. He kept his cock in his pants the way he promised. Maybe he is a gentleman and not a player after all.
“Are you decent?” Zane’s mom asks from directly outside his door.
I bury my face in my hands. How did I go from having the best orgasm in my life to humiliation? How?
“Not yet.”
“You always did enjoy sleeping naked. Even as a little boy, you hated wearing clothes to bed. In fact, you hated wearing clothes at all. We had to make a rule for you to wait until you were home to strip. Whenever my friends would drop by, you’d be sprinting around the house with your dick hanging in the breeze. ”
“Mom,” Zane groans. “Please don’t talk about my dick.”
“Why? I’m your mother. I gave birth to you. I cleaned your diapers. I am acquainted with your anatomy.”
I shove my fist in my mouth before I burst out laughing. No wonder the Raider brothers are crazy. They come by it naturally. From their mother.
“Don’t you dare laugh,” Zane growls at me.
“I hope your daughter won’t take after you,” I whisper. “Racing around naked all the time.”
“About Adele.” Zane raises his voice for his mom. “I have news.”
“I’ll let you get dressed and then you can tell me your news.”
He sighs. “She already knows. My brothers told her. The assholes.”
I wish I had brothers I could call assholes. But no. It’s just me and my mother. Correction. It’s just me.
He rolls out of bed without incident. Since he passed out in his clothes last night, he’s already dressed.
“Take your time.”
As soon as the door closes behind him, I jump to my feet and search the room for my sweats and panties. I can’t find the panties, so I pull on my sweats without underwear.
Once I’m dressed, I creep to the door. I ensure it’s silent in the hallway before I inch the door open and peek outside. Awesome. It’s empty.
I rush to the bathroom. I glance in the mirror and slap my hand over my mouth before I can scream. My hair is pointing up in all directions, and my makeup is smeared all over my face. I don’t want to think about how bad my breath must smell.
I guess there’s a bright side to falling out of bed. Zane didn’t have a chance to smell my morning breath.
Maybe I should hide in the bathroom until Zane’s mom leaves. It wouldn’t be odd since I usually work late.
There’s a knock on the door. “Do you want chocolate chip or blueberry pancakes?” Zane’s mom asks.
My stomach rumbles. I guess there’ll be no hiding in the bathroom for me today.
“Blueberry.”
“Good. Zane always wants chocolate chip. Maybe with your influence, he’ll eat healthier.”
My influence? What does she think I’m doing in his house? I’m the nanny. Except she arrived while I was pretty much naked in my boss’s bed.
“Hurry up, dear. Zane may prefer chocolate chip, but he’ll eat your blueberry pancakes if he has the chance.”
“Be right there!”
I wait until I hear her footsteps retreat down the hall before making my way out of the bathroom. I expect Boozer to rush me but he’s nowhere to be found.
“If you’re searching for Boozer, he’s outside,” Zane says when I enter the kitchen.
He hands me a cup of coffee and his mom cheers.
“Why is she cheering?” I whisper.
“Because I’m happy. Adele is Zane’s baby girl.”
I have a feeling she’s lying, but I am not digging deeper into the topic. I’m afraid to know why she’s happy and cheering.
“Good morning, Mrs. Raider.”
“Call me Jessica. You don’t refer to members of the family by their last name.”
“I’m not a member of the family.”
No matter how much I may wish it to be otherwise. I’m a family of one.
Jessica waves my comment away. “Of course, you’re part of this family. You’re Zane’s…nanny.”
“Mom,” Zane growls.
She bats her eyelashes at him. “What, dear?”
“Stop causing trouble.”
She clutches her chest. “Me? Cause trouble? I have six boys who cause trouble.”
“Where do you think we learned it from?”
She giggles and returns her attention to the stove, where she’s making pancakes. I inhale the sugary scent into my lungs and moan. “Those smell delicious.”
“Are you hungry?” she asks. “Did you have an arduous night?”
“Enough, Mom,” Zane orders. “Sloane is my nanny. She’s not my girlfriend.”
Those words pierce through my heart and threaten to break me in two, but I hold strong. He’s not wrong. We are not a couple. He certainly didn’t make any promises last night before he whipped off my pants and made me climax in his mouth.
“Nevertheless, she should come to Christmas at our house.”
“I don’t want to intrude.”
Zane squeezes my hand. “She’s right. You should come to Christmas at our house.”
“No.” I shake my head. “Christmas is for families.”
“And since you don’t have any family, you’ll be celebrating with us.”
I close my eyes to stop the pain from hitting me at his words. They’re true, but I don’t need a reminder.
“I’m working on Christmas.” I nearly forgot all about my job at Rumrunner at the invitation. No one’s invited me over for Christmas since I was a teenager and Mom flew off to Miami to spend the weekend with her boyfriend.
“Rumrunner doesn’t open until the evening on Christmas. You can spend the morning and lunch with us before you go to work.”
Jessica sets a platter of pancakes on the table. “Excellent. It’s all figured out.”
I didn’t agree to anything, but when I open my mouth to say as much, she slays me with a look that makes me feel guilty down to my toes. I don’t dare speak.
She pats my arm. “Now sit down and eat. We can discuss our costumes for the Smuggler’s Holiday Masquerade Dance. I’m thinking we go as mermaids and mermen this year.”
“I’m actually bartending at the dance. I volunteered since Rumrunner is closed on Christmas Eve.”
And I had nowhere else to go. I’m not about to attend a dance with a room full of couples in love by myself.
It’d be different if the dance happened in the summer with droves of tourists.
While there are tourists who attend the Masquerade Dance, they’re mostly couples who have decided to escape their families and spend the holiday on the island.
“You’ll have to miss the dance this year, but next year I expect you there.”
“I—”
“WAH!” Adele cries through the baby monitor and cuts me off.
Zane starts to stand but Jessica waves him off. “Let me spend a few more minutes with my granddaughter.” She sweeps out of the room and I can finally breathe again.
“What is happening?”
Zane piles a bunch of chocolate chip pancakes on his plate. “No idea.”
“Zane.”
He shoves a forkful of pancake into his mouth and shrugs.
I frown at him. He’s lying. I know he is. But about what? And why?
Why would Zane want me to attend Christmas with his family? He flees from the word relationship.
Maybe he’s keen to ensure I remain his nanny?
I don’t know. All I do know is he’s confusing the smuggler out of me.