7. Flint
Istand, dismayed, but Caden is also on his feet.
“Let her process all that,” he urges. “We just put a lot on her shoulders. Give her a minute.”
“Do you think she’ll commit to staying with us until the adoption is complete? What if it takes years?” Pike asks moodily. “She doesn’t look convinced.”
“She needs time,” Caden says again, and their bickering motivates me to head toward the door after her. “I really think you should give her some time to think, Flint,” Caden insists. “She’s probably with Lily now, anyway. It’s not like you can talk to her freely.”
He raises a valid point. “Dammit. We should have handled that better,” I mutter.
“You should have handled that better,” Caden caws, his semi-obnoxiousness returning as he jumps up from his chair. “Don’t be so glum, chum. You’re the stable one, remember?” he taunts me before heading out the door, Pike on his heels.
I didn’t ask to be the fucking stable one, I want to snap back at Caden, but I don’t. It’s what I’m used to—my role in life, I suppose.
I look at the lawyer, who merely leers at me as if he’s enjoying the show.
“Close the door,” I instruct him, and he obliges.
“Do you think it was a good idea to inform the nanny of such personal matters?” Julian asks me.
I throw up my hands. I’m in a never-ending loop of never pleasing anyone. “Were we just supposed to keep it from her?”
Julian grimaces lightly. “You don’t know this woman very well, do you?”
“She’s been here five days, Julian, and I’ve been here three of those five days. So no, not really.”
Pensively, the lawyer taps his goateed chin. “That’s my point. Not exactly the best person to keep the family secrets with.”
I roll my eyes. “She signed an NDA, and she’s the first nanny all of us could agree on. That’s good enough for me.”
I don’t tell him why I believe all of us agree on her, even subconsciously. Her resemblance to Alexandra is still daunting to me.
He grins at me, his veneers freaking me out slightly. His quest to look twenty years younger than his sixty years unnerves me somehow. The glow of his golden, over-tanned skin bouncing off the ivory of his fake teeth puts me at odds with my mortality.
I’m literally half his age.
“If I were you, I’d make some contingency plans in case this one doesn’t work out. Dumping this much stress of a long-term commitment on the new girl might send her running for the hills.”
I cringe inwardly, but his suggestion is noted.
He rises from his spot and extends a hand. “I’ll get the ball rolling on the adoption paperwork.”
“Wait on that.” I want to give Aspen some time to really think this through. She needs to be committed. “Give it a day and wait for my call.”
“Suit yourself,” he agrees, straightening his blazer as he retreats for the office doors. “But don’t forget, time is of the essence here. The longer you wait, the more exposed Lily becomes.”
As if I can forget that. Lily’s well-being is constantly at the forefront of my mind, even above that of my brother or my mother.
* * *
A catastrophe is growing in New York. That sounds worse than it is—there’s always a problem somewhere with one building or standing buildings. But this issue is monopolizing more of my time than I’d prefer.
I’ll have to fly out again tonight, and I spend the day poring over last-minute prep at the home office, fully intent on speaking with Aspen before I go.
But as the afternoon sun sinks lower over the blue-pink Georgian skies, I lose track of everything but my business affairs, the numbers and emails flooding my desktop computer, the phone ringing endlessly.
The den is pitch black except for the eerie glow of the computer screen, and a tentative knock on the office door alerts me to the fact that I’m sitting in pure darkness.
Rubbing my eyes, I flop back against the high back of the chair and call out, “Come in!”
My stomach growls slightly, reminding me I haven’t eaten a bite since breakfast, but I’ll eat on the jet.
To my astonishment, Aspen stands at the threshold, holding a small, silver tray with a matching dome on top. The crotch around my pants tightens to see her shoulder-length waves let loose now, her daytime outfit switched for a more casual evening tracksuit. Even in the dress down, she looks amazing.
“Zoe asked me to bring this in for you.” She raises the tray in her hands. “But I don’t think I can even see you. Are there no lights in here?”
Chuckling dryly, I also stand and flip on one of the table lamps. A hazy, romantic glow illuminates the room.
“And why are you doing Zoe’s job?” I ask, accepting the tray from her.
“I was coming in here, anyway,” Aspen says quickly. “Don’t blame Zoe.”
A smile quirks the edges of my lips, her loyalty filed at the back of my mind.
I set the untouched food down on the edge of the coffee table and perch on the edge of my desk, crossing my arms over my chest. “What are you coming to see me about?”
“Really?” she snickers mirthlessly. “You don’t know?”
“Oh, you’re ready to discuss that now.”
I brace myself, not because of the money I’m sure she’s going to ask me for, but because I’m going to get a full picture of exactly the woman I’m dealing with. I’ve seen her interact with Lily, the way our small charge has taken to her. But Julian was right; none of us know her beyond the background check and what we read in her file from the agency.
But nothing the agency could do would account for the character of this too beautiful and impossibly uncomfortable woman standing before me now.
“How much?” I finally ask, determined to regain the upper hand as she stares at me with those guileless brown eyes. They shadow in the already dim room.
“What?”
“How much do you want to do this, to stay on and ensure that Lily’s adoption goes through?”
Her jaw tightens, and she advances on me so fast, it takes me by surprise. “You think I’ve come here asking you for more money?”
My shoulders draw back slightly as she sticks her face in mine defiantly. “I’m agreeing to this because Pike is right. Lily has been through enough for her whole life already. I don’t know how much of a threat this Raya is, really, but Lily deserves to be protected, and I believe you guys love her. It’s clear in the way she interacts with you.”
Impressed by her passion, I study her face. I didn’t realize she had so much sass in her. It’s not easy to see with her soft-spoken demeanor and the way Aspen carries herself.
“We’ll do whatever is necessary to keep Lily safe,” I rasp, distinctly aware of how close she is to me suddenly. Wafts of vanilla touch my nostrils, and I recognize it’s coming from her hair.
Is that her shampoo? Her perfume?
Whatever it is, it’s intoxicating and makes me harder by the second, the subtle scent sliding into my subconscious.
“How is this going to work?” she presses. “What will I have to do?”
My eyebrow shoots up as I realize she still hasn’t mentioned a payment, but why can’t I shake the feeling that she wants to ask for something? I shift uncomfortably, unnerved by my hard-on.
“What am I going to find here? You’re concerned about something,” she asks tersely, and her question tenses me up like a board.
“I don’t know what you mean,” I snap.
“It must be something, or you wouldn’t be making such a production about it, about me talking you guys up.”
“Just because you have secrets, Aspen, doesn’t mean we do,” I retort defensively.
Her head whips up again, and I note the curve of her lips. And her eyes are watching my mouth simultaneously.
“You’re turning this around on me,” she accuses. “Which just makes me believe I’m right.”
I shrug, trying to channel Caden’s cockiness. Her bewitching allure is drawing me in.
“You’re just looking for drama,” I reply, checking my tone. She exhales in a deep, slow breath.
“Why me?” she whispers. “Why did you pick me? What makes me so much different from anyone else you interviewed over the last three months?”
I don’t let her finish her inane question, the building desire overtaking me, and I lean forward to take that luscious bottom lip in my mouth. My hand cups her face, and Aspen gasps but doesn’t pull back. I stop myself, panting slightly as I try to shake off the haze that’s overcome me.
She blinks once, staring at me, dumbfounded, but neither of us moves, the air still between us. “Why did you stop?” she breathes.
It’s all the confirmation I need, and she’s back in my arms, the two of us dancing back toward the leather settee against the wall.
My hands fall to the delicious contours of her ass, drawing her waist up toward my hardness, our lips locking again as we land on the couch. Her breathing quickens as my lips fall away, and I again look into her soulful, dark eyes, waiting for her to stop me.
Aspen’s fingers curl into my hair, messing it slightly, a small, beautiful smile forming on her lips as I bury my face in the zipper of her hoodie.
“You smell amazing,” I mumble, using my teeth to unzip her sweater, and she moans softly. My cock is so hard, I’m sure I’m going to burst through my pants, but I want to get her off more than I want to get off myself.
Her firm, perky breasts heave as I pull away the soft velour, yanking down the fabric of her sensible sports bra. The hard flesh of her nipples calls to me, and I immediately latch on, fingers pulling away from her pants to expose the slender, shapely legs I’ve checked out on every occasion.
Aspen quivers beneath me, and I reluctantly release her breast, my right hand cupping one mound as my head moves lower. Her aroma overtakes me, and a headiness envelops me. I need to taste her. It’s consuming me, and I realize the need has been for days.
Between her thighs, her panties are soaked already. I shove them aside with my left hand, fingers exploring the sweet succulence of her center. Another gasp and whimper fall from Aspen’s mouth, and I can tell she’s trying desperately to be quiet.
Challenge accepted, then.
My tongue follows, lapping against the pink flesh of her pussy lips, suckling on her sweet nectar.
“Oh, my God!” she whispers.
I drive my index finger inside her, nuzzling against her fragrance. Her excitement guides me, driving my movements. In and out of her, my finger slides, the digit growing slicker as Aspen tenses beneath me.
My tongue swirls around her clit, and I suck harder, adding another finger inside her. The walls of her pussy close around my fingers, and she moans loudly, her earlier quest for silence forgotten.
My motions intensify, bringing her to the heights I know she’s about to reach, and a second later, she confirms what I already know.
“Flint!” she gasps. “I’m going—” She arches her back again, and she writhes beneath my touch, her core pulsating against my fingers. I absorb every drop of her, savoring her. She is as sweet as I thought she’d be.
Inhaling, I withdraw my fingers from her, and she holds my gaze. My fingers drift to my lips, and I suck on them, savoring her sweetness as it dissolves on my tongue.
She stares at me in awe, a new fire lighting her eyes.
“Take me,” she begs.
“Not tonight,” I reply, standing from the couch. “I have a flight to catch.”
She smiles at me as if I’m joking, but as I straighten myself out and turn away, she realizes I’m being serious and hastily rises, embarrassment touching her beautiful face.
Guilt instantly seizes me. “I don’t mean to rush off on you. But I really need to get to New York tonight. We’ll talk more when I get back, all right?”
Visibly swallowing, she tucks her ripe, still hardened nipples back into her bra and zips up her hoodie.
“Okay,” she agrees, sliding her pants up. “I’m holding you to it.”
I almost invite her to join me, the desire to have her at my side suddenly insurmountable, but I remember that she’s not my girlfriend. She’s Lily’s nanny.
I’m crossing a line here that I shouldn’t have crossed.
“Until then,” I tell her cordially but firmly.
She retreats toward the door. “Travel safe.”
Her words mean more to me than I care to admit. I can’t recall the last time anyone said that to me and meant it. Caden and Pike worry about me in their own way, but not like this, not in a “travel safe” kind of way.
“I’ll try,” I reply dryly. “Take care of Lily and the boys while I’m gone.”
She bobs her head and disappears into the hallway, leaving me still breathless with her bouquet still lingering all over my face. I wish I didn’t have to go, but I have no choice. This mess won’t clean itself up.