Chapter 3
Chapter Three
TEMPTATION
Griffin
The memory of Jessa hit fast, burning like Macallan M—the kind of indulgence you know will ruin you the moment you start.
I had invited Temptation to a rented lake house and then acted surprised when she showed up. And by Temptation, I meant Jessa. For one summer night, she proved a pretty distraction from the stress of running West Games.
As soon as her car had pulled into the driveway at the Harrington House, with brakes squeaking in need of repair, I beat her to the door and swung it open before her knuckles landed.
She stood before me, fresh lipstick, golden tresses curling wildly around her shoulders. She’d changed out of the purple dress she’d worn to the wedding and into a black one that hugged her curves, showed ample cleavage, and short-circuited my brain.
“Wow,” I’d said. Smooth. Like a man who’d been stranded for years on a deserted island, seeing a sexy, full-bodied female again for the very first time.
Her answering smile was cautious, but full of challenge. “You always answer the door like you’ve been waiting all night?”
“Only when I have.”
I’d meant it as a tease, but the honesty in her eyes made it feel like a confession. I poured her a glass of Macallan, my drink of choice, and gave her the grand tour. It had been my excuse to keep her close on a lazy stroll through the house.
My hand eventually hovered near the small of her back, moving room to room. As we climbed the stairs, my eyes bounced on her round ass in front of me. The air between us charged, thick and questioning, when we reached the master bedroom.
She leaned against the doorway, complimenting the color of the walls, and that was it. I couldn’t wait a second longer to know the feel of her lips.
I pressed one hand against the doorjamb above her head and cupped her chin in the other. Her face tilted to mine, and I brushed my lips along her cheek. My heart exploded out of my chest upon first contact with her mouth, gentle kisses that stoked a roaring fire.
That was the problem with being a busy CEO and single father.
Finding time to be intimate with a woman seemed to be a little odd to pencil into my schedule at regular intervals.
But this, with Jessa, had been a guilty pleasure of mine, building all year, from visit to visit to her hometown, flirtation at its finest.
Hell, I’d schedule regular trips to Holly Creek after tonight if she’d be open to some discreet pleasures.
Cinnamon-flavored lip balm blended with Macallan between our lips and tongues, and I forgot everything—my name, my company, the thousand expectations crushing my shoulders. I casually stepped her back into the bedroom and closed the door, never losing connection, both knowing the expectations.
For one night I held her in my arms and had my way with her in bed—until the next morning when I awoke and she was gone.
That had been two months ago. And now she was here…
I blinked and shook my head to get out of the past.
“Dad, I can’t find my other sock!” Theo brought me back to the chaotic situation we were in this morning.
Talk about bad timing for Jessa to suddenly appear in my life.
The handle had broken on his gear bag, and hockey gear had scattered across the floor of the penthouse foyer like a miniature war zone.
His helmet rolled under the console table; a single shin guard sat by my feet.
He crawled on hands and knees, searching through it all for a single sock.
I gripped my phone tighter. For one stupid heartbeat, I thought I was hallucinating Jessa. The same wide eyes, the same rosy full lips that had taken my cock like a good girl and screamed my name in the Harrison House master bedroom when I made her come for the third time before daylight.
It was really her.
Only now she was standing here holding a folder, wearing jeans and a fitted sweater accentuating her breasts, which did criminal things to my concentration.
Her expression was a mix of disbelief and fear, although she covered it well, tipping her chin up.
In my ear, Sam admonished me about a data set we needed from my CFO immediately. I hung up mid-sentence.
She opened her mouth, but nothing came out. I shot a warning glance from her to Theo, who sat on the floor trying to pull on mismatched socks. We needed to be careful about what was said in front of him.
Then he spotted her. “Are you the new nanny?”
Her lips curved. “I could be.”
It wasn’t the answer I expected, but the one I needed.
I rubbed the back of my neck, forcing my brain to catch up. “You don’t remember Jessa from Archer’s wedding, kiddo? The one who caught the frog for you at the reception?”
Theo squinted, the memory lighting in his eyes. “The frog almost got away.”
“Almost. But I was faster.”
“I freed him at the lake like you told me, too.”
“Good. Then he’ll grow to be at least a hundred years old.”
They both laughed—brightly and unguarded—the entire foyer lighting up over their frog connection.
“So, you play hockey? What position?” she asked, smartly engaging him in conversation about his favorite sport.
“Center. And I’m really good, too. Someday I’ll be better than Mika or Sid.”
“The Ice Dogs have a good team this year. Might go all the way and win the cup.” She crouched down and gathered the gear bag, somehow tying the broken handle to the other one as a temporary fix.
“Are you a hockey fan?” Theo asked with wide eyes. None of his previous nannies were.
“Yep. I used to be a bartender, so I watched a lot of games.”
“Cool.” Clearly she won him over.
“Uh, you used to bar-tend?” I interrupted their chat.
“Well, I’m here now. In the city. Surprise,” she chuckled and clutched the folder I recognized from the nanny agency to her chest.
“Of all the people the agency could’ve sent, what are the odds it’d be you here today?”
“Pretty slim,” she wavered.
My phone rang again. Sam. Christ.
“Okay, look, I’d normally take the time to do a proper interview and introduction, but we do know each other.”
“Just a little.” Her coy smile almost tripped me up.
“Yes, right, but Theo will be late to school if we don’t get going. I’ve got a full day of meetings ahead of me, and—”
“What can I do to help?”
“Can Jessa take me to my game tonight?” Theo shoved the last shin guard into his hockey bag and hoisted it with both arms.
“I’d love to see you play,” she added.
I barely had the bandwidth to think straight. Another text came in from Sam. “Fine. Yeah. Get him to school, my driver is waiting outside at the curb. Pick him up after, and get him to his game. I’m running late. But tonight at the game we’ll talk and figure things out.”
“You’ll be there, Dad? You missed my last two.”
I crouched to his level, ruffling his hair.
“I know, and I’ve apologized a dozen times.
Promise I won’t miss tonight.” I gave him a hug and then turned back to Jessa and punched the button for the elevator.
“Give my driver your number, and I’ll text you everything—school drop-off and pickup, game time and location, what he eats after school, the works. Okay?”
“Uh…”
“I know it’s a lot. But you’re really saving me this morning, Jessa.” The doors opened, and I ushered Theo in. “We’ll talk more later.”
She blinked, caught off guard by the sudden efficiency, but nodded. “Yes, talk. I need to talk to you.”
“Tonight.” I hit the elevator lobby button for them. Jessa brushed past me, leaving her scent as a trail of fresh citrus on a sunny day. She turned, her golden tresses flipping behind her shoulder, and locked eyes with me, while Theo started in on a detailed conversation about his hockey team.
The doors closed, leaving me standing there, breathless in the utter silence.
For a minute, I didn’t move. I tried to focus on everything that waited for me at work—the numbers, the meetings, the looming IPO timeline to take my private company public, the image consultants breathing down my neck about reputation and stability—but the harder I tried, the clearer Jessa became in my mind.
Her laugh. The way her lips parted just before that first kiss at the lake. I hadn’t seen her in two months, and yet my body remembered every detail of our night together. Replayed often in my mind late at night in bed, my hand filling in for her absence.
My cock twitched, suddenly alive and well, stretching out in my sweats. I ran into my place, straight to the shower, stripping clothes off along the way, thinking a cool one could help wipe away these thoughts of her delectable hips.
I leaned both hands on the tile, water streaming down my back, trying not to think about the black dress she wore that night in Holly Creek.
When I unzipped it down her back and cast it to the floor, a sexy little surprise awaited me.
There on her lower back, was an intricate tattoo of hearts and vines entwined.
Delicate and simple, I admired it. I liked it on her, but I admitted I’d never get a tattoo. I hated needles.
Jessa had transformed before my eyes from flirty bartender to sexy vixen. The sounds she had made riding my face called to me now.
“Fuck,” I hissed. My hand slid down my stomach before I could stop it. I gripped my thick shaft, stroking the long length of it. Sorry, Sam. Work could wait. I needed this for me right now.
The water swallowed my moans as I worked my shaft faster, up and down, with the vision playing in my head of Jessa bouncing on my cock, wild and free. I’d flipped her around, got her on hands and knees, and reveled at the way my hands gripped the thick flesh of her buttocks.
“Oh, fuck, Jessa, you took my dick like a very good girl,” I groaned, and couldn’t hold back any longer. My release came quickly, painting the shower wall. Not one ounce of guilt hit me; I deserved a little self-care about now after the long days I’d been putting in at the office.
But Jessa… showed up in my life when I least expected it.
I liked to be in control, to plan things, to know what was coming. But I never bargained for her. Our flirtations at the Hops came too easily. My night with her in Holly Creek wasn’t supposed to be, but was never regretted. And now, this morning, she’s suddenly my nanny.
In hindsight, not sure this was a good idea.
Theo had no problem with it. Considering he’s hated every nanny before her, the way he trotted out with a smile and talked hockey with Jessa was like they were already good buddies.
I leaned against the shower wall, chest heaving.
Get it together, West.
Get through today and deal with her tonight. She’s the nanny now. Not the woman who once came apart in your arms. There can be no complications.
Only the image of her full lips and curvy body in the lobby of my penthouse teased me all the way to work.
Priorities, dammit. Right now, I needed someone to be there for Theo. She was it, and that was all. I couldn’t afford the luxury of thinking she could be there for me, too, not with this IPO taking up every second of my day and night.
Yes, I’d become really great at putting off my needs. Except in the shower this morning. And with her as the nanny, I had a feeling those showers would happen regularly.
Control was my thing. Practically my brand. Jessa Cole landing in my city could blow it all to hell.
An agonizing groan escaped me.
Could I do this? Keep her at arm’s length, and keep my libido in check?
Fuck no. I didn’t need the distraction. I had no choice but to fire her when I got home tonight.
First, though, I had to survive the day without replaying over and over how she moaned my name when she came undone beneath me that one special night at the lake house.