Nanny for the Alien Lord by Tammy Walsh

Tauas

“What doyou mean you aren’t coming to work tomorrow?” Freas said.

I realized taking a day off was unusual for me, but surely not enough for a reaction like this?

“I mean, I won’t be coming in today. I need you to reschedule any meetings I have for next week.”

There was silence on the other end of the line.

Had we been disconnected?

“Hello? Freas? Are you there?”

“Yes, I’m here. But are you there? Are you sure you’re feeling okay? Do you want me to call the doctor?”

“I’m fine. I just figured, with how well things are going, and how hard I’ve worked lately, that I deserve a day off.”

“You’ve deserved a day off for the past ten years but you never took one. I’m going to ask once more: are you sure you’re okay?”

“Yes. I’m fine. You enjoy your day without me.”

“Trust me, I will.”

She hung up and I grinned despite myself.

I was pleased my little trick with the pizza worked.

I figured Belle would reconsider not eating with us if I brought the right food home with me.

And maybe, with our outing tomorrow, our relationship might develop further.

I suspected I knew what the obstacle between us was—the New Year kiss we shared.

I decided I would confront Belle about it and try to ease her concerns, if only for Elken’s sake.

I knew how much she enjoyed having Belle home for dinner.

I enjoyed it too.

The next morning,I packed the picnic hamper that was delivered by drone in the back of the shuttlecraft.

When Belle turned up, she wasn’t wearing her usual dour suit but jeans and a T-shirt.

She looked ten years younger and a whole lot hotter.

I couldn’t stop staring at her.

“I hope you don’t mind me coming casual like this,” she said. “But if we’re heading to the park, I figured we ought to blend in.”

“Not at all. You look great.”

She smiled, and it was glorious.

“I see you came casual too,” she said.

I liked that she took a moment to run her eyes over me head to toe.

She unconsciously cocked her eyebrow and smiled with one corner of her mouth as if she were thinking saucy thoughts.

When she came to my eyes, she caught me looking at her and immediately turned away.

“I’ll, uh, put my bag in the back.”

As she bent over to place it in the shuttlecraft, her pants tightened around her ass, revealing the shapely form I knew she had hidden underneath.

The magnificent dress she wore the night of New Year’s had been designed to accentuate her best features, but now she wore regular clothes, I realized she didn’t need any accentuation.

She looked just as good now—even better, to my eyes—than she did that night.

Elken came running out, squealing with joy.

She wore a short-sleeved T-shirt and clutched her favorite stuffed toy under her arm.

I put Elken in her booster seat and strapped her in.

She was so excited she could barely sit still.

Belle opted to sit on the back seat with her, leaving the front passenger seat empty.

“You can sit upfront with me, if you like,” I said.

“I prefer to keep an eye on Elken.”

Fair enough.

I took the shuttlecraft down the driveway and didn’t ascend until we reached the magnetic rails where the pod whizzed to and fro.

The flight to the park was a short one.

There was no parking, so I told the shuttlecraft to return home and return when I called it.

We headed into the park, with me lugging the picnic hamper on my shoulder.

Elken, as expected, went haywire.

She ran to and fro, unsure where to explore first.

She ran around the huge I’min trees and climbed a ladder and slid down a long slide.

I couldn’t deny the worm of fear deep in my gut—the fear she might trip over and hurt herself.

When she tripped on her own feet, she landed on her knees.

I dropped the hamper and moved to run to her but she was already up and moving again.

Belle placed her hand on my arm.

“Don’t worry. She’ll be fine.”

Her smile was reassuring, her touch gentle.

She seemed to notice her hand was still on my arm and immediately withdrew it.

“Shall we sit here?” I said.

We were blanketed by the broad leaves of an I’min tree, cloaking us in the cool shade.

The breeze was pleasant and tugged at our clothes.

Elken ran to the edge of the lake, approached it, but didn’t enter it.

She turned and ran back toward us.

“We riding boat, Daddy?” she squealed.

“Sure. Right after we have something to eat, okay?”

Elken nodded and threw herself onto the blanket as Belle placed it on the ground.

Then she crawled into Belle’s lap, who tickled her and blew raspberries on her belly.

Elken squealed with delight.

I opened the hamper and began laying it out.

As usual, I’d ordered too much.

There were all the usual Yixx favorites.

I paid extra and got some Earth food too.

Belle seemed less excited by the chicken drumsticks and Caesar salad and seemed quite happy to pick at the Yixx food.

Elken was so excited she could barely eat a thing before taking off and running in a circle.

“With any luck, she’s going to tire herself out pretty quickly,” I said.

“Guaranteed,” Belle said. “She loves being outdoors.”

“So did my wi…” I said, before catching myself.

So did my wife.

Lyssun.

Trust me to ruin a perfect moment.

Belle reached over and placed a hand on mine.

“It’s okay. You can talk about your wife. She was a big part of your life.”

“She still is. Every time I look at Elken, I see her. I’m reminded how similar they are.”

“She has a lot of you in her too,” Belle said.

I liked hearing that.

“You think?”

“She has your bullheadedness. Every time she sits down to do something, she refuses to stop until she gets it done perfectly. Who does that remind you of?”

I chuckled.

“It’s a trait both me and her mother have, so I suppose Elken doesn’t have much choice in the matter, does she?”

Elken approached a small group of boys a couple of years older than herself.

My heart leaped into my throat.

They were playing a game with plastic balls I didn’t recognize.

I watched, preparing to rush to her rescue should things head south.

“Relax,” Belle said. “She’ll be all right. You’ll see.”

The desire to run to Elken’s aid was overpowering but I kept my cool.

When Elken dropped to her knees and listened as the other children told her how to play the game, I relaxed.

“You don’t need to worry so much about her,” Belle said. “She’s a smart and inquisitive little girl. True, she’ll always manage to find trouble for herself but you can’t always be there.”

“I know that. But I still worry about her.”

Belle placed her hand on my arm again and the hairs rose.

She was so close, and that smoky look in her eye reminded me of the New Year’s Eve kiss we shared.

“I wanted to speak with you about something,” I said, “something that might be a little uncomfortable between us.”

“What?”

“I want us to be relaxed and easy in each other’s company. I realize that the way we met and the kiss we shared—”

Belle turned away, trying to avoid the subject.

Our relationship was important to me, so I pressed on.

“I want us to feel comfortable with each other. If it will help you, we can pretend like it never happened.”

It was the very last thing I wanted and knew deep in my heart I could never truly bring myself to forget it.

Or her.

But her comfort was more important.

There was a reason my mind had jumped to her when Daynnis had needed to take her leave.

Because I trusted her on a deep and profound level I didn’t fully understand.

I need her.

“You don’t have to do that,” she finally said. “We kissed when we were two single people at a party. We didn’t know each other then. We’re both adults and now we’re in an employer-employee relationship.”

Her lips parted and I imagined sliding my tongue between them and exploring her mouth.

Her T-shirt strained against her breasts.

Her jeans were tight and showed off her shapely legs.

My God, she’s beautiful…

Unable to hold back any longer, I leaned forward and pressed my lips to hers.

Taken by surprise, she pulled back, breaking the kiss.

I’m sorry, I should have said. I’m sorry for kissing you.

Except it wasn’t true.

I didn’t regret kissing her now as I didn’t regret kissing her at the party.

She seemed torn about me kissing her, her eyes darting back and forth.

Then they settled on mine and I saw one emotion trump the other.

She leaned forward and pressed her lips to mine, pressing her soft body against me as she had done that night at the party.

Our tongues met and, like each kiss, brought a shudder through my body.

The kiss that night on New Year’s Eve wasn’t a one-off.

This joining felt just as special, just as memorable.

And it would haunt me the same way the first one had.

She made a soft whimpering sound.

When we parted, her breath was warm on my face.

We just looked at each other, smiling.

I reached out and wrapped my arm around her back.

I pulled her toward me and felt the hard nub of her nipples pressing against me.

My cock hardened in my pants.

Belle placed her hand on my knee and I hardened even further.

I swear, if we weren’t in the middle of a park surrounded by people…

“Daddy?”

Belle sprang back and adjusted herself.

Elken gawked at us, holding a plastic ball in her tiny hand.

“Daddy, what you and Belle doing?”

The question, so innocent from her lips, could only be met head-on with a small white lie.

“She… had something in her eye,” I said. “I was… helping her get it out.”

“You use tissue. That how you doing my eye.”

“Good idea,” I said, sharing a glance with Belle. “I’ll remember that for next time.”

“Boys wanting you play game,” Elken said.

I swallowed and glanced at the front of my pants.

“Not… right now. Maybe later.”

Elken turned and skipped back to her new friends.

They played their game without me.

Belle and I looked everywhere but at each other.

“I… think I’ll go for a walk,” she said.

“Okay,” I said. “But be careful. We wouldn’t want anything else to fall in your eye…”

I was relieved when she laughed.

“You’re insatiable.”

“You have no idea.”

She poked her tongue at me before getting up and walking around the tree.

I leaned back and admired her body and the way it felt in my arms.

And the way it would feel when I could get her alone.