Billionaire and Nanny Secret by Lauren Wood
Quinn
Was this supposed to be some kind of game? Some kind of trick? Why did Ezra want me to look at him? I was sure that he already knew how attractive he was. How could he not? Women practically fell over themselves just to get a second glance at him. Why did he want me to look at him? Because he wanted to affirm that about himself? Maybe he was feeling a little bit insecure and needed someone to prove him wrong?
I almost wanted to scoff. Insecure? This man? I doubted he’d been insecure in his entire life. Everything about him screamed cocky, although I knew him a little bit better than that.
Was he cocky? Yes. Did he have a reason to be so? Yes. But Ezra was a different breed. He knew that he was an attractive, desirable man, but I’d never seen him use that to his advantage or to manipulate women. Then again, I didn’t see him that often. Who knew what he did in his free time?
I’d met his brother Klaus, once. The two were like water and fire, but Klaus had his own set of charms and was nice to look at in his own way. Was he on the same level as Ezra? I didn’t think so, but I could understand why so many women found themselves wanting to get into his bed.
And he was quick to tell me that Ezra had his own fair share of women. I swallowed, remembering the conversation. Back then, I’d tried to just tune him out, but now I found myself wondering why he’d told me. To make himself look better, or because, perhaps, he was trying to tell me something.
Did Ezra want me?
There was no way, and I knew the thought alone was enough to get me in trouble. But then, what was this? What were we doing, right now? And why was there so much chemistry between the two of us? I could almost feel it zapping around us, and if I could feel it, I knew that Ezra felt it as well.
“Turn around,” he instructed me, and I felt the words throughout my entire body. My teeth bit into my bottom lip, and I let out a deep breath. If I turned around, I knew that this was going to change the way that I perceived him. All of this time that I’d fought against seeing him as anything else than my boss would have been wasted.
I couldn’t deny that it was what I wanted, too. How many times had I been left to wonder what he looked like underneath his shirt? I knew that he was in shape, but having a mental image and seeing the real deal were two entirely different things.
And wasn’t he offering me a free pass?
“Quinn,” he said my name in a demanding tone. I could tell that his patience was wearing thin. If I didn’t do what he asked, he would be upset at me. Besides, why was I fighting so hard for something I wanted so badly?
“I told you to turn around,” he reminded me. “Look at me.” His voice was rough and husky, filled with sex. How was I supposed to deny him what he wanted when he sounded like that?
I could feel my heart rapidly beating against my chest, as I turned around to face Ezra. For a moment, my eyes only looked into his.
“Look at all of me, Quinn.” I was so confused about where all of this was coming from, but I didn’t say anything. His permission was all that I had needed to allow my gaze to find his naked chest.
My heart constricted, and I wondered how a man could be this attractive. I couldn’t stop myself from completely devouring him, and Ezra hardly seemed to mind. When my eyes went back to his, he was staring at me with a hard expression on his features. Had this been some kind of test? If it had, I had most certainly failed.
The longer that he went without saying anything, the louder my heart seemed to sound, as it pounded against my chest. I had never been a patient person, and now that was showing. I was biting so hard into my bottom lip, I was sure that I could taste my own blood, yet that didn’t stop me.
“Why are you blushing?” Ezra asked, finally breaking the silence.
I hadn’t even noticed the heat in my cheeks, but I wasn’t surprised. How was I to be expected to act unfazed? That was impossible when it came to him. I cleared my throat.
“I don’t know.” It was the best answer that I could give him. If I told him that I found him attractive, I was sure that my job would be ripped away from me.
“Are you lying to me?” he asked, raising an eyebrow at me as if that was the last thing he’d expect from me. And I understood that. If there was one thing that I wasn’t, it was a liar. It was why people trusted me so easily and as much as they did.
“No,” I answered, my voice shaking, ratting me out. The air was filled with the smell of the lasagna that I’d just made, so I was determined to use that as a way to make Ezra let me go. I’d already taken it out of the oven, so I knew that I couldn’t say it was burning. But I knew what I could say.
“Paige is waiting for dinner, so I should probably serve her. I’m sure she’s hungry since she didn’t get her snack today.”
I breathed rapidly while I waited. Ezra narrowed his eyes at me ever so slightly, before nodding his head and gesturing for me to leave. I was more than happy to oblige, letting out a deep breath and scurrying away. I was surprised that he hadn’t fired me on the spot.
I wasn’t going to question his decisions.
When I made it back to the kitchen, Paige had cleaned up all of her work herself, and she was playing on the iPad her father had bought her. I took it from her and held it up.
“No games before dinner,” I reminded her. “You know how much your father hates that.” It was another one of his infamous rules.
She pouted. “Fine.” Paige let out a little sigh. “Is it time to eat?”
“As soon as your dad gets in here.”
“Okay.”
She settled at the kitchen table while I made her plate, unable to stop my mind from wandering through the events that had just happened where Paige’s father was concerned. After making all of the plates, I set them down around the table before taking my seat across from Paige.
I can’t stop thinking about Ezra in the workout room. How could one man be so dang attractive? I knew that these thoughts should be far away from my mind, but I couldn’t stop them. And I hated to admit it, but I didn’t want to, either. I didn’t want to think about anything else.
For so long, I’d been doing so well not to picture him in an unprofessional way. All of that work was gone down the drain. I would never be able to not see the sweat beading on his forehead and dripping down his chest. Those rock hard abs and rippling muscles. What I wouldn’t give to see them again.
“Everything looks good, Quinn.” My head snapped up, and I had to stop my jaw from dropping when my eyes looked over Ezra. I immediately grew frustrated with myself. He’d changed into sweatpants and had put on a shirt to hide the chest that I’d seen so well. His hair was wet from the quick shower that he’d taken after working out.
Even though his chest was no longer bare, I was still wildly attracted to him. Without my say-so, my thighs squeezed together, in an attempt to quench a hunger that I was unfamiliar with. I could feel myself getting wet, and the only thing I could do was avoid eye contact with Ezra, as if looking at him would reveal the truth of my thoughts and the secrets of my body that I was trying so hard to hide.
“Thank you,” I told him, trying to keep my voice steady. The last thing I needed to think about was how good Ezra looked after a shower. “I hope you enjoy it.”
“I’m sure I will.”
There was silence between us as everyone began to dig into the lasagna that I’d made. It was as if we were a little family, as weird as that sounded. I knew that I was only the nanny, the help, in Ezra’s eyes, but that didn’t stop the way that I felt.
As much as it hurt to say, I didn’t have much of a family of my own. The only person that I did have was my mother, and, as much as I loved her, I was hardly ever allowed to see her for the sole reason that she was unwell.
She’d been battling cancer for the last four years of her life, and I wanted to support her with everything that I had. But I didn’t know how. She’d been so insistent that I live my life, find a way to make money and finish my dream of being a vet. I’d argued because that had meant being away from her.
My mother wasn’t the kind of woman to accept no for an answer.
When a house fire killed my brother and my father, she’d been adamant that we would try to live our lives the best that we could and be as normal as we could manage. All of that was easier said than done.
Yet it was the ‘normal’ things that made me feel better at the end of the day. Sitting down, around the table, and enjoying a meal together with these people, that in this short amount of time I’d come to think of as family.
Well, in a way, anyhow.
I took a bite out of the lasagna and moaned at the taste. I hadn’t expected for it to taste so good. I had tried out a new recipe, and obviously it had paid off. I would have to remember to put it on an index card and add it to the list of good recipes that I’d managed to find on the internet.
Paige didn’t seem to notice, and I didn’t think anything of my little moan until I felt Ezra’s eyes burning holes into me. I didn’t even want to turn, but I couldn’t help looking at him, into those beautiful crystalline blue eyes.
And the lust that I saw in them nearly broke me.
If Ezra hadn’t made it clear before that he wanted me before then it was clear to me now. But what was I supposed to do with this knowledge?
“How was school today?” Ezra changed the subject the only way he knew how. Paige immediately began telling him all of the details that she’d told me, in the car, from the party to all of the candy that she’d gotten. However, I did notice that she neglected to talk to him about the boyfriend that she’d acquired. I, almost, wanted to laugh as I thought about it.
“And Quinn,” my head snapped when I heard my name. I finished chewing the rest of my food. “How was your day?” He’d asked me this question before, but I couldn’t help but to feel that this time was different.
“Good,” I answered and swallowed.
His eyes were trained on me. “I’m happy to hear that.”
Once everyone had finished eating, I began to clean up, always preferring to do so right after rather than having a mess to wake up to the morning after. I already had to make breakfast every morning, and it was easier to do that with a clean slate. It was just better to wake up like that.
I began washing the dishes and loading them into the dishwasher before wiping the counters off and then grabbing the broom to sweep up whatever left of the mess. By the time I’d finished, the kitchen was just about shining, and it looked as if I hadn’t even cooked in it. Perfect. That was just how Ezra liked it.
“Quinn,” Ezra called my name, and my head snapped up. I swallowed, setting the broom aside, and looked towards him, wondering if there was something else that he needed from me.
Maybe something a little bit more scandalous?
“Yes?”
“Put Paige to bed for me. I have some work that I need to get finished, and she seems to like when you do it far more.”
“I can do that.”
Ezra nodded his head, and he stared at me. I could tell that there was more that he was itching to say, yet he was holding back for some reason. Maybe because of Paige. Well, regardless of the reason, that didn’t stop me from hearing the words that were left unspoken.
“Good night, baby,” he told her, kissing her cheek. Then, he turned around and went upstairs, leaving me with Paige. Getting her to bed was easy in theory, but on a normal day, getting her in pajamas and in the bed was a hard task. Not tonight, though. With all of the fun and partying that day, she was exhausted.
She slipped into bed and let out a yawn. “I’m tired,” she muttered.
“I can tell, honey.”
“What are you making for breakfast tomorrow?”
I laughed. She was always thinking about the important things. “How do pancakes sound?
“Amazing.” I could tell that she was excited, but it was quickly covered up by her tiredness. Paige yawned again, settled into bed and gave me a sleepy smile. “Good night, Quinn,” she told me. “I love you.”
My heart warmed. “I love you, too.”
I gently ran my fingers through her hair before shutting the light off and walking out of the room. I was parched, so I went back to the kitchen and prepared to grab a glass of water before I went to bed.
When I went into the kitchen, I paused when I saw Ezra. He was leaning against the counter, with a Gatorade in his hand. I watched him drink it, my lips separating slightly before he turned around to look at me.
I let out a small sigh. The fire between us was unquenchable.
And without Paige there, nothing would stop us. How many times had we ignored whatever electricity was between us for the benefit of his daughter? Because we didn’t want her to find out? Well, right now that was one less thing that we had to worry about.
