Nanny for the Alien Lord by Tammy Walsh

Belle

I leaned against the door,pressing it shut.

It was the third time in as many days that I’d returned home, dumbfounded by the day’s events.

I wasn’t concerned this time about waking Abbie up as she would be in the front room working on her dress designs as she did every evening.

Still, I slid my shoes off and placed them on the shelf.

I crept forward in an attempt to get past the front room and head up the staircase.

The one place Abbie couldn’t reach me.

I glanced into the front room and found her with her back to me, working on a new dress draped across her mannequin.

I took a deep breath and shot across the doorway.

“How was your first day?” she called out.

I threw back my head and gazed at the ceiling.

How had she heard me?

She must have the ears of a bat.

I turned back to the front room.

Abbie’s mouth was full of needles.

She took them from her lips and pressed them back into the pincushion.

The dress she was working on today was a sparkling stunner with a long train.

Designing dresses was her true calling, not customer service.

But designing dresses meant meeting people and that meant leaving the house…

And despite my best efforts, Abbie hadn’t managed to summon up enough courage to do that in seven years.

“It was… fine,” I said noncommittally.

“Did the father make a pass at you?”

“What? No!”

But boy do I wish he did.

I threw myself into my favorite armchair, driving an elbow into its soft cushion, and imagined delivering that blow to my traitorous subconscious.

Abbie wheeled closer and scooped up my right foot.

She set to massaging the sole.

I groaned in equal parts pain and delight.

“How’s the kid?” she said.

Her hands were muscular, like a master chef’s, or perhaps more accurately, a master interrogator.

She had the ability of massaging my feet and forcing the words from my lips like I was one of her mannequins that she could bend and twist however she wanted.

She was the puppet master, me the puppet.

When I didn’t give her the information she wanted, she would increase the pressure, claiming she was working out a particularly tough knot.

She wouldn’t let up until I released the information she desired.

Other times, she was soft and gentle, her questions drifting one way and another, as she listened intently to my responses and the cadence of my words.

“Little Elken is lovely,” I said, “beautiful.”

“And her father?”

Equally lovely.

Equally beautiful.

And that was the problem.

“Busy,” I said. “He has a big business thing he’s doing.”

“And you’re disappointed by that?”

“What? No. Of course not. He has his job and I have mine. Ours is strictly a professional relationship.”

My sister was silent for a moment.

She was rarely silent without good reason.

“How long have you liked him?” she said softly.

My eyes bolted open and I yanked my foot back, but Abbie was ready for the reaction and held on tight to it.

I yanked so hard she wheeled forward a little.

“I don’t like him! Don’t be ridiculous!”

Abbie’s eyes drifted between mine and she shrugged.

“I guess I must have misread it.”

“Misread what?” I said. “There’s nothing to read!”

She had a small smile on her face.

I could have slapped her!

“How’s your dress?” I said. “It looks like it’s coming along well.”

Abbie snorted at my amateur attempt to change the subject.

“It’s coming along fine.”

“You know, you should try to sell these,” I said.

Abbie rolled her eyes as she did every time I brought up this topic.

“I told you, I make these for myself, not anyone else.”

She certainly had the skills to clothe the rich and famous, if only she allowed herself to step—or rather, wheel—out of this house for a change.

“Seriously though,” I pressed. “Maybe if I got good at marketing, we could find some buyers. They’re definitely good enough to sell.”

Abbie shrugged.

No matter how hard I pressed and pried, I never had the same effect on her as she did on me when it came to drilling answers out of her.

Abbie shifted position and focused on working my calves.

She had the hands of a healing goddess.

She had the wisdom of one too.

Maybe it was for that reason I cleared my throat, kept my eyes shut, and said:

“He brought food home.”

“Is that unusual?”

“He brought enough for all three of us.”

Abbie paused.

I peered at her through my eyelashes.

“That was nice of him,” she said. “What did you have?”

“Nothing. I didn’t eat there.”

“Did you at least bring me some?”

She looked at me pointedly, knowing I came back empty-handed.

“You don’t even know what he brought,” I said.

“Does it matter? Anything is a good reason not to have to cook.”

“I thought you enjoyed cooking?”

“I do. But sometimes it’s nice to have the day off.”

She concentrated on massaging my legs once more.

I sighed.

“I signed a contract with him. He wrote it himself. A simple one-page thing.”

I unfolded it from my bag and handed it to her.

She ran her eyes over it.

“He wrote this himself? I suppose he wants to keep the relationship informal.”

She shifted to my other foot and began to work it.

“I’m not sure I should go back tomorrow,” I blurted.

“I thought Elken was lovely?”

“She is.”

“Then what’s the problem?”

“I should be out there looking for a new full-time contract, that’s the problem. Not spending all my time taking care of some rich guy’s daughter. After the nanny returns, what happens to me?”

“I thought the plan was to work there during the day and look for new positions in the evening?”

“I guess.”

I wasn’t making any sense—not even to myself.

“I’m going to go take a bath. Unfurl some of these other tense muscles.”

“What do you want to eat tonight?” Abbie said, turning back to her mannequin.

A male Yixx with mesmerizing golden eyes and enough muscles to choke out a wild bull.

“Whatever’s easy,” I said.

I ran the bathwater and couldn’t shake the discomfort I felt at having signed the contract.

It felt like he owned me now.

I’d signed myself over to him.

I hated it.

But wasn’t it like any other employment contract?

I’d signed many over the years, so why was this one any different?

Because I hadn’t kissed any of my previous employers…

Because none of them made me feel the way he did that night on New Year’s Eve.

Because something warm and hot and fuzzy was beginning to take root in the pit of my stomach and, knowing exactly what it was, I was growing afraid of what it might become.

I took a nice long soak but it did nothing to ease that concern.

The next fewdays played out the same as the first.

Daynnis had done a good job in developing a schedule for Elken, but it was rigid and without flexibility.

I decided to turn the afternoons into an art session where Elken could explore her creative side—something Daynnis hadn’t allowed her to do.

We learned to write stories, draw, make music, but her absolute favorite was painting.

She loved the feel of it on her hands and the shapes she could make on paper.

Already, her skill was improving.

Not that she was about to create a great work of art anytime soon—she was three years old!—but the expression of pure determination and focus on her face each time I broke out the art materials led me to believe one day she would be capable of making such things.

We tried other kinds of paint too.

She loved them all but her favorite were acrylics.

I didn’t even need to buy or bring materials from home as she had them already.

But Daynnis had stored them on top of the wardrobe—far out of reach of the little girl’s curious hands.

Just because a child might be a little messy didn’t mean they shouldn’t be allowed to explore their creativity, I thought.

Each evening, Tauas brought food home.

He always brought enough for all three of us, and each time, I made an excuse and hastily left.

I could tell he was disappointed, that he wished to talk and get to know me, but the last thing I needed was for another man to come into my life, take one look at Abbie, and make her feel the same way my ex had.

That was until he discovered my Achilles heel.

He brought home pizza.

Some industrious human had set up a pizzeria in the heart of Zev Capital.

It’d always been my favorite and never could turn down a slice.

My eyes boggled at the sight of it.

It was even my favorite topping—Hawaiian.

I was a fly caught in a spider’s web.

He had me.

“I figured you might like some human food today,” Tauas said.

“What made you choose pizza?” I said, my salivary glands working overtime.

“It was on the way home. Want to stay for dinner?”

Yes!

But no…

“I shouldn’t…”

Tauas must have spotted my hesitancy.

The bastard opened the lid.

The scent wafted toward me, washing over me like a wave.

The chef was a master and used as many original ingredients as he could get his hands on.

The cheese was strong and overpowering, the pineapple juicy and begging to be bitten.

The slices were as long as my forearm.

“Let’s eat before it gets cold,” Tauas said.

I focused on the door, knowing I should leave, knowing I should make another excuse…

But I couldn’t help myself.

“Are you coming?” Tauas said at the entrance to the kitchen.

Yes, I was.

Elken had clearly never eaten pizza before and her eyes bulged when she took her first bite.

“This is traditional human food,” Tauas said, placing a slice of it on a plate for little Elken. “It’s from a planet called Earth. That’s where Belle’s from.”

“Really?” Elken said, eyes widening. “It long way. It cold now.”

Tauas and I shared a look and chuckled.

“When we say it came from Earth,” Tauas explained, “what I mean is the recipe came from Earth. It was made here on Zev.”

“Oh,” Elken said.

I shot a look at Tauas, who smiled back.

Boy, he was a gorgeous creature.

Why weren’t females fighting to claim him?

I know I would.

I shook my head.

If I were a Yixx, I meant.

My stomach performed backflips.

I worried about what might happen after I swallowed the pizza.

It would be like tossing it into a tumble dryer.

As I took my first tender bite and felt the explosion of taste across my tongue, there was a real risk I might gorge myself.

And that would paint a really attractive picture…

I promised myself just one slice.

It turned out to be a good decision as I was already stuffed.

I leaned back and let out a satisfied sigh.

“Want another slice?” Tauas said.

“I couldn’t eat another bite if I tried,” I said.

“I’m surprised you managed to eat as much as you did. I’ve never seen you eat that much before. Actually, I’ve never seen you eat anything.”

“I try not to eat pizza often. It kills my diet.”

“You don’t need a diet.”

He ran his eyes over me from head to toe.

I wished he wouldn’t do that after I just stuffed myself silly.

“What did you think of your first pizza, Elken?” I said.

She had tomato puree around her mouth and over her cheeks.

“It looks like you’re trying to paint yourself,” I said.

I reached for a wet wipe and cleaned her lips.

She barely managed to eat even a small piece of pizza.

She seemed to much prefer the garlic bread and curly fries.

“You can take the rest home with you if you like,” Tauas said. “I imagine Abigail would enjoy it.”

“Abbie. No one calls her Abigail except our parents. And they… Well, they’re not around anymore.”

“I’m sorry to hear that.”

I didn’t want to take anything from him, but once again, the temptation proved too much.

Abbie would scream with delight at seeing the pizza.

“Thank you,” I said. “I’ll take it if you don’t mind. I didn’t know there was even a pizza place on Zev.”

“They’re there if you know where to find them.”

If you know where to find them.

Why would finding a pizzeria be necessary if it was on the way home?

I suspected he’d gone out of his way to find food that might spark a reaction from me.

And boy, had he succeeded.

I wasn’t sure how I felt about that.

“I should get going.”

Tauas folded the pizza box up, along with what remained of the curly fries and garlic bread.

I kissed Elken on the cheek.

“See you tomorrow, Elken.”

She nodded her head and let out a satisfied sigh.

It made me smile because she must have picked it up from me!

Tauas followed me to the front door.

He handed the box over.

It was so large it was difficult for me to carry.

“Would you like a lift home?” he said.

“I’ll be fine, thank you.”

He smiled at me and I smiled back.

The moment lasted a little too long and I pulled away.

“I was thinking about taking Elken to the park tomorrow,” I said. “She loves running around the garden. I think she’ll enjoy the park even more. She might even make a little friend.”

“The park?” Tauas said, brow drawing down into a frown.

“You know,” I said playfully, “that big open green space with trees and lakes and other kids for Elken to play with.”

Tauas smiled despite himself, then his serious expression returned.

“I’m not sure that’s a good idea. Elken gets very nervous when she’s out in public.”

“Has she ever been out in public?” I said. “Maybe she would be less nervous if she went out more often.”

I could see the battle warring on his face.

He wanted to let her out and play but was concerned for her safety.

Or maybe he just didn’t trust me to watch over her?

Nothing had happened to her the past few days, had it?

Why not let me do it?

“It’ll be good for her,” I said. “She’ll enjoy it. Trust me.”

His eyes flicked up when I used the word ‘trust.’

That war continued to rage on his face.

Then he shook his head and nodded.

“Sure. That’ll be nice. And I think I’ll come along too.”

That meant he didn’t need me to babysit for him.

He could take her to the park by himself.

I felt disappointed he didn’t trust me.

“Oh, okay. I’m sure I can keep myself entertained for a day.”

My response seemed to surprise him.

“No, I mean I’ll join you.”

Him? Join us?

That was never part of my idea…

“Are you sure? I wouldn’t want to interrupt your work.”

“You need me there,” he said. “When Elken goes out, she can be hard to keep an eye on at times.”

I smiled back but now I was the one who felt unsure.

“Sure. That sounds… nice.”

But it didn’t feel nice.

It now felt like more than an outing.

It felt like a date.

It’s work,I told myself. It’s what I’m being paid to do.

I headed down the driveway, the oversized pizza box swinging at my side.

I glanced over my shoulder back at the house and found him openly staring at me.

Not looking.

Not glancing.

But staring.

I’d seen the same look on his face before—that night of the kiss when his body was pressed against mine and I gave myself to him.

It was only because we were in a busy nightclub that I hadn’t given more of myself.

And by the keen look of hunger in his eye, I thought the feeling was mutual.

And I had just accepted a date with him.

Oh, boy.