Captive Vow by Willow Fox

5

Moreno

“The new nanny seems—cute,” Dante says, giving me a smirk.

“I didn’t notice.” It’s a lie. How could I not notice her lovely long legs and under that skirt?

Dante laughs under his breath. “Of course, you didn’t. So, you hired her, I take it.”

I rub my forehead. Her experience on paper was excellent, but I wasn’t pleased with how she spoke to me. If I said a word about it to Dante, he’d tell me to fire her ass.

“I can’t keep interviewing nannies,” I say.

“This is your second nanny and first interview since Nova was born.”

Dante doesn’t beat around the bush.

“Right,” I say. “I’m not used to letting outsiders into our home, our lives.” I head to the kitchen for a cup of coffee, and Dante follows on my heel. “How’s the shipment?” He was dealing with business when I came in this afternoon with Paige.

“Late, but nothing I can’t handle. It turns out the truck broke down and was out of cell phone range. You know how the open roads can be,” Dante says. “Everything is back on schedule.”

“Good.” It was one less thing that I’d have to deal with tonight or tomorrow. Dante had done me a favor of handling the shipment. That was my responsibility, and I’d been dealing with hiring a new nanny for Nova.

“You seem different, quiet.” Dante is always one step ahead. That used to be me. Ever since the attack on the compound, I’ve been distracted.

“You know how it is,” I excuse and grab a cup of coffee, pouring a cup for myself. I take a sip from the mug. I need the extra dose of caffeine today. I need to be on my toes, especially with Paige under our roof.

Dante’s lips are tight. “I can set you up with a place of your own, private security, get Nova and you out from under my roof,” he says.

“No.” As tempting as the offer is, I can’t do that. I wouldn’t feel safe without the same level of private security that Dante has for his family. “I’ll never be home. We both know that’s not ideal with Nova.” I didn’t hire Paige to raise my daughter, just look after her while I’m distracted with work.

“Have you given the new nanny a private tour of her accommodations and Nova’s bedroom?” Dante asks.

I haven’t. I bolted out after making a fool of myself in front of the kids. How could I not fear the worst when I heard Luca’s terrified scream? Of course, once he saw my gun, the waterworks started, and the hysterical cries grew even louder.

Some days I don’t feel cut out to be a father. Serene had been the one who wanted to be a mother. And she’d left me alone with Nova.

Dante was right.

“Not yet. She’s with Luca and Nova in the playroom,” I say.

I did need to show Paige around. A part of me was avoiding her.

Why was that?

“Nikki just took Luca to go hiking.”

“I can’t believe you let them go alone.” How can he be so careless after the recent attack?

“They’re not leaving the property, and one of the guards is with them at all times. They’re never alone,” Dante says. “I wouldn’t have it.” He grabs a glass from the counter and then the whiskey in the liquor cabinet and pours a glass for himself. “I’d offer you a drink, but—”

“Yeah, no thanks.” I don’t drink. My father was an alcoholic, and so I’ve always been careful to avoid the stuff. I don’t want to become my old man.

Dante swirls the amber liquid before swallowing it in one gulp. He pours a second glass for himself. “The nanny you hired, she’s cute.”

“Don’t,” I warn him. Why was I feeling overprotective of Paige?

He snickers. “I wasn’t suggesting for me. It’s been a year, Moreno. Your wife is gone. You deserve a little fun,” Dante says.

I bite down on my tongue. I don’t want to talk about Serene. That conversation is off-limits. “No.” I can’t even imagine fucking Paige.

No, that’s not true. It’s easy to imagine hiking her skirt up and tearing her panties, fucking her in the hallway for the guards to watch as I make her scream my name.

But she’s my employee and my daughter’s nanny.

I have to keep it in my pants, if not for myself, then for Nova. She can’t lose another nanny, not again.

Neither can I.

We have cameras throughout the house, especially in the playroom. I pull up the feed to watch Paige with my daughter.

The two of them are playing tea party, immersed in a world of make-believe. At least Nova has a new friend to play with during the day when Luca is at school.

I yank out my phone and shoot a quick text to Paige.

The job is yours. Don’t screw this up. Nova is counting on you. We both are.

She glances down at her phone but doesn’t answer my text.

There’s a defiant streak in her. I can see it behind those glistening green eyes.

My cock twitches in my trousers.

Shit.

Hell no.

She’s my daughter’s nanny. Fucking her is not going to happen.

She runs a hand through her light brown hair, her long locks get slightly messy, and it makes her look that much more sexy and irresistible. She has natural streaks of blonde that frame her face, probably from being in the sun.

“Still watching the feed?” Dante chuckles as he glances over my shoulder.

I clear my throat.

Baseball. Soccer. Winter snowflakes.

I’m just throwing clean, non-sexual thoughts through my mind to shut down my desires. Does it work?

Hell, no.

Exhaling a loud sigh, I down that mug of coffee and grab a second cup. Why do I think caffeine will help me?

“What’s her story?” Dante asks. He perches himself at the edge of the table and folds his arms across his chest.

Dante’s a few years younger and gruffer. His eyes are always dark, even when he tries to soften his gaze at his son, Luca.

“I wouldn’t know.”

“Bullshit,” Dante says. “I know you did a background check on the pretty brunette. I would expect nothing less since you brought her into my home.”

“Never married. Her mother died of cancer recently. She sold the preschool she owned to take care of her mother. According to records, she’s neck deep in medical bills, sold her house, her belongings, everything to pay off the debt.”

Dante pushes himself from the table and nods for me to follow him out of the kitchen.

I take my cup of coffee and trail just a few steps behind him. He strolls into the study and slinks into the nearby armchair. There’s a built-in wood bookcase lined with hundreds of books that Nikki insisted on filling the shelves on one wall. Everything from children’s books to read to the kids to romance novels for her private escape.

“You’ve both lost someone close,” Dante says as he crosses his legs.

Are her wounds as raw as mine? It’s not a contest.

For once, he’s trying not to rip off the bloody bandage on a scar that he caused.

Serene died because Vance DeLuca ordered a hit on our family.