Hot Dad Next Door: A Single Dad & Nanny Romance (Temptation Next Door Book 1) Read online

  “Look, Ryan…” I began, more harshly than I’d intended. Two minutes with the man, and I was already flustered. If he kept this up, I was going to be off my rocker by the end of the day!

  “Emma!” Abby squealed just then as she came running down the hall in pink pajamas, a pair of big, fluffy slippers and a pink tiara. She looked like a cotton candy princess.

  She came to an abrupt halt about six feet away and her mouth dropped open. “Daddy! You’re naked,” she chastised, and of course, I couldn’t help but to follow her gaze, wondering if—or secretly hoping—the towel had vanished into thin air.

  Nope. The towel was still there, but it might as well have not been for the surge of arousal his gorgeous body sent through my veins.

  “I’m not naked, honey. Guys go without their shirts all the time.”

  “Oh. Can I go without my shirt? Can Emma?”

  My cheeks were flaming red, I just knew they were.

  Caught in a trap, I could tell Ryan was grappling for an answer, which is a small amount, eased my own consternation.

  “Well, Emma’s a grownup. I suppose she can go without her shirt if she wants.” He eyed me as he spoke, and I could see the heat flaring in his eyes. “And when you’re a grownup, you can decide for yourself, too.” He nodded succinctly, obviously well-pleased with himself.

  “I’ve got stuff for us to do today!” Abby announced, bored with the previous topic.

  And I was only too pleased to grasp onto the new subject. “Oh? What stuff is that?”

  “We’re gonna make a tent in my room, and build a tower with my blocks, and give my new dollies a bath, and bake cookies. Only, you won’t make the kitchen smoky, will you, Emma? ‘Cause I don’t like that noisy thing.”

  Ryan and I laughed. At least he seemed to take the criticism well.

  “All right, but before you get started, honey, how about we get you dressed?” he said, and I jumped at the opportunity to escape.

  “I’ll do that while you go put on…more,” I finished lamely, realizing my colossal mistake when the smile he’d been wearing grew to Cheshire cat proportions and the heat in his eyes threatened to scorch my skin with his gaze.

  Nevertheless, I offered my hand to Abby and she took it eagerly, leading me down the hall and up the stairs to her room.

  But a thought came to mind as we passed by a room that could only have been Ryan’s bedroom, the door open and the king-size bed not yet made. Ryan was attracted to me. Even I could figure that out, though I don’t suppose it took a sexpert to recognize it. And to say I was a little attracted to him was like saying an atomic blast was a little noisy.

  Maybe it was time to get it over with. At twenty-one years of age, it wasn’t like the opportunity had never presented itself. But by the time I went away to college—after a rather strict childhood—everyone I knew had long since lost their virginity—generally in the back of their father’s car to overloud rock music. And then there was me. A virgin. And so I stayed that way, too afraid of anyone discovering just how inexperienced I was.

  But Ryan was a stranger. What difference did it make if he found out? And just look at him—that was one hell of a way for a girl to lose her virginity.

  All right, I’d do it. Now all I had to do was figure out how one went about seducing a man like Ryan. But since he was already interested, it couldn’t be that difficult.

  Could it?

  3

  Ryan

  “I’ve just got some work to catch up on in my office. Will you two be all right for a while?” I said, popping my head into the kitchen where Abby now sat on the counter, stirring something in a bowl under Emma’s supervision.

  I had no idea what the standard protocols for taking on a nanny were. Was I supposed to stay with her until the two of them were comfortable together? Because if that was the case, it looked like I’d already overstayed my welcome. Emma had Abby clean, dressed and helping to make breakfast in the time it had taken me to wrestle the kid into a clean pair of clothes the day prior. It looked like Emma had been taking care of Abby for years.

  Besides, it wasn’t like I was heading out of town for the week; I’d be less than fifty feet away in my office. And while I’d be perfectly content to stand there and watch the sexy as hell new nanny, I really did have to make a few phone calls. Trusting my gut on a business deal was fine, but when it came to Abby, I wasn’t taking any chances. I’d have the personnel department of my company run a thorough background check on Emma and then I’d feel a whole lot better about relying on intuition from here on out.

  By the time I reappeared in the kitchen fifteen minutes later, the two of them were gone, though I could hear muffled voices coming from somewhere upstairs. I followed the sound only to discover them in Abby’s room; Abby pulling the blankets off her bed and Emma bent over on the floor, building a wall out of stuffed animals. The woman really had to stop bending over! I was going to end up with some serious damage from a permanent hard-on with a view like that all day.

  “How would you like to go to the zoo today, Abby?” I asked in the interest of self-preservation. I didn’t intend to leave Abby in the care of Emma until I was absolutely certain she was safe, but this was cruel and unusual punishment. There was no way I was staying confined in the house with Emma all day. Her gorgeous body, pouty lips…and at least a dozen rooms in the house with a lock on the door—hell no. I needed somewhere nice and public, where the urge to tear her clothes off and bury my cock deep inside her was at least nominally mitigated by an inescapable underage audience.

  And an hour later, we were wandering from one exhibit to the next, watching Abby’s eyes light up in response to every new animal. She was particularly fascinated by the floor to ceiling aquarium where she’d spent the past fifteen minutes, standing in front of the glass and following every fish that swam by with her fingers.

  “Abby tells me the two of you haven’t been together long,” Emma said, and he could tell she was trying to sound as nonchalant as possible but she couldn’t quite suppress the curiosity in her tone.

  “I didn’t know about Abby until two months ago. I suppose her mother felt it had been best not to tell me about her,” I admitted, trying to keep the bitterness out of my own tone no matter how deeply it ran in my veins.

  “Oh, but then how…” she let the sentence trail off, obviously feeling like she might be overstepping some boundary.

  “Her mother, Michelle, was in a car accident, and she died.” That thought helped to quell the bitterness some. “While I was angry she’d never told me about Abby, at least I would get to see my daughter grow up. Michelle would never see her again.”

  “I’m sorry. That must have been very hard on Abby, and I can’t even imagine what it would be like to suddenly discover I had a four-year-old child.”

  “It was a shock, but I think we’re making it work OK. At least, I hope so,” I confessed, feeling strangely comfortable talking to Emma despite the desire coursing through my body. I suppose I’d spent years in the constant company of people who were faker than a fifteen dollar bill, and Emma seemed…genuine.

  “It seems to me you’re doing a great job. I’ve met a lot of maladjusted kids and they’re usually reserved and quite shy. That doesn’t describe Abby at all, does it?”

  We both laughed.

  “Thanks. So, you’ve worked around kids a lot?” It seemed odd that a gardener would spend much time in the company of children, but she did seem to have a natural rapport with them, so who was I to judge?

  “Um, not exactly…just from personal observation, that’s all.” It was clear from her body language she was uncomfortable, but I didn’t linger on the thought long. Paying attention to her body language reignited the damn fire I’d been doing my damnedest to keep tamped down all day. It made me restless and then guilty. Restless, because I didn’t want to be standing around talking—I wanted to be fucking Emma senseless. And guilty because my thoughts should be occupied with my daughter, not her nanny.
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br />   But since the only way I was getting Emma naked anytime soon was by ducking into one of the animal exhibits with her, I forced my thoughts onto something less X-rated.

  “That does remind me, though, Ryan,” Emma began just as Abby started calling out to us and hopping excitedly from foot to foot and pointing at the shark that swam by in front of her. We both murmured appropriate comments and she seemed to forget all about us quickly, turning back to the aquatic scene.

  I turned my attention back to Emma. “So, what about you?” I asked, thinking that a little bit of recon of my own was probably safe, PG-friendly ground. “What’s your story?”

  “Well, there isn’t much to tell,” she said, looking even more uncomfortable than she had a moment ago. “I finished school a year ago, and I’ve been…working ever since.” She nodded, seemingly pleased with her answer, though it told me pretty much nothing.

  Unfortunately, it did put her age in clear context. She’d only just finished school a year ago…she really was awfully young. What the hell was I doing trying to fuck a woman who was barely old enough to drink?

  But she was a woman, my raging hormones assured me, and every inch of her gorgeous body seemed to confirm it. So, there was no reason to alter the plan. All I had to do was make it through the day, and I could tell by the way she was looking at me, it wasn’t going to be hard to convince Emma McKenna to let me do whatever I wanted to her…and there was so much I wanted to do.

  By the time the end of the day finally arrived, I’d used up just about every bit of self-restraint I possessed. The second Abby was in bed, it was all I could do to stop myself from barging into Emma’s new room and tearing off her clothes right then and there.

  Instead, I stood outside her room. The door was open just a crack, but through it, I could hear the shower running in the ensuite bath in her room. Images jolted to the front of my mind; Emma naked, the water sliding down her skin and making every inch of her body slippery.

  “Emma,” I called more harshly than I’d intended. “Could I speak to you when you have a moment?”

  “Um…I’ll be there right there,” she called back as I imagined her hands gliding over her firm breasts, across her ribs, and then lower. Was she simply washing off the grime of the warm day, or was her skin hyper-sensitized from the same attraction I’d felt all day. Did her fingers linger between her thighs, sliding back and forth across her clit? Was she even now, slipping those slim digits into her pussy?

  Damn it! Since when was I no better than some horny teenager? I was going to have to find a way to cool my jets, or else I’d be going off way too early—a problem I hadn’t had since I was a horny teenager.

  4

  Emma

  This was my chance. Abby was in bed, Ryan and I were alone in the house, and if I didn’t make a move now, I was going to chicken out. And while I was nervous as hell, I wanted this. I could do this.

  But what exactly was one to wear when faced with the challenge of seducing one’s new boss? I pulled the suitcase out from under the bed in the room Ryan had put my things earlier—my room, for now, I supposed. But since I hadn’t exactly been packing with seduction in mind, the selection was slim.

  I imagined showing up in lingerie to make my intentions perfectly clear, but each time I ran through the scenario in my head, I felt like an idiot, like a cheesy actress in a B-rated movie. I could always skip clothing altogether and scurry over to his office in the towel currently wrapped around me, but no—again, too cheesy. So, I settled on a light cotton summer dress that didn’t quite reach mid-thigh and draped open in the back to my waist. It was pretty and sexy—more than enough to get the juices flowing if he was interested—but casual enough that I could walk away with my dignity intact if I chickened out. Not that I was going to chicken out. But for all I knew, he’d asked to speak to me to let me know I’d done a terrible job with Abby and he wanted me to leave—not exactly the right time to be trying to get the guy into bed.

  Tamping down the butterflies fluttering in my stomach, I dropped the towel, slipped into the dress and checked my reflection in the mirror. I turned this way and that, fully aware that I was, at this point, simply procrastinating.

  But really, what the hell was I doing? I’d known Ryan Cade a whole day and a half. And I worked for him! He didn’t even know who I really was, and here I was planning on seducing the man in his home? This was crazy. Foolish. And this was not going to happen. I was not going to have sex with Ryan Cade.

  It was time to talk to him and set the record straight—and nothing more.

  My body seemed to groan in protest, but I grabbed a sweater from my bag and threw it on over the dress. Throwing my hair up into a ponytail, I squared my shoulders and started toward the door. I’d been trying to find a way to come clean all day, and this was my chance.

  But as I opened the door and took a step out into the hall, I ran right into Ryan at full force. Colliding hard against his chest, my breath whooshed from my lungs and I stared dazedly up at him for one dumbfounded moment.

  Caught off guard, I couldn’t think. All I could focus on was the desire blazing in his eyes and the heat of his body so close to mine. I had no idea what to do when his arms wrapped around me and pulled me even harder against his body. And my mind was still reeling when his lips swooped in and covered mine.

  His kiss wasn’t gentle, but it made every nerve ending in my body tingle in anticipation. This wasn’t like the few, hopeful kisses I’d experienced before. There was no hesitancy in it, no question. He was a man who knew what he wanted, and right then he wanted me.

  I realized at some point in the past few seconds, I’d wrapped my arms around him, and my fingers were grazing through the short hair at the base of his neck. This wasn’t supposed to be happening, but damn it, I wanted it like I’d never wanted anything before.

  He pulled his lips away after a moment, and I almost whimpered at the loss, but he was back quickly, and this time his lips started a blazing trail of frantic kisses along my jaw, down my neck. By the time he reached my collarbone I was holding onto his neck in fear my knees would give out.

  “I’ve wanted to touch you all day, Emma,” he said in between kisses. “You have no idea how difficult it’s been to keep my hands to myself.” As if to emphasize his point, his hands began to wander, grazing over my hips and up my ribs. When his hands moved higher and cupped my breasts, I couldn’t stop the quiet moan that slipped from my lips.

  It was as if his hands knew exactly how to make my body respond, grazing back and forth across my nipples with just enough pressure to draw them into hard peaks instantly.

  I slid my hands across his shoulders, feeling his muscles flex beneath my fingers as his mouth moved lower, kissing across the upper swells of my breasts. The thin fabric of my chenille sweater hampered any further descent, but it didn’t hinder him. He continued on, kissing my breasts through the fabric and toying with one nipple and then the other with his tongue.

  “Ryan, I…” I didn’t know what to say, I only knew I never wanted him to stop. And I wanted him naked; I wanted to feel the bare flesh of his back, and his biceps, and everywhere else on his chiseled body.

  “I know, Emma. I want it too. I want to strip you naked and kiss every inch of your body. I want to fuck you until you’re screaming my name,” he whispered ruggedly as a violent jolt of arousal surged through my body.

  Abby’s scream sounded suddenly from down the hall and Ryan’s lips froze.

  In a flash, we were both racing down toward her. He dashed into her room and I lingered back in the hall, not certain if I should go in as well, and happy to stay where I was to try to get the heat in my veins to cool to a low simmer.

  “There was a monster, and it had humongous toes, daddy, and they were going to step on me!” Abby cried as Ryan gathered her up in his arms. I did my damnedest to focus on the situation at hand, and not think about how his arms had encircled me just a moment ago; how his lips had been blazing a fiery trail down my
body.

  “It’s OK, honey. I’m the only thing with big toes here, and I promise I won’t step on you,” Ryan soothed, stroking his daughter’s hair.

  “Can I sleep in your bed tonight, daddy?” Abby asked, and I heard the heavy exhale of his breath as what had started in the hall just a few moments ago had been conclusively put on hold indefinitely.

  “Of course you can,” he replied as he stood up, carrying the small child in his arms. He walked toward the door and smiled ruefully to me as he started down the hall to his bedroom.

  I stayed where I was, still trying to get my pulse to slow to something that resembled normal. My heart beat so loudly I could hear blood whooshing past my ears, and everywhere he’d kissed still tingled as if it were humming with the anticipation of more.

  But there would be no more. There wasn’t supposed to be any at all. I’d been all set to explain who I was—not for the first time today—and once again I’d been thwarted by my own irrational response to a man who I was now quite certain had been put on this earth to be a living, breathing advertisement for sex.

  I breathed a heavy sigh, promising myself once again to set things to right come morning, and walked back to my room. I flopped back on my bed and proceeded to toss and turn, hour after hour. I couldn’t stop thinking about what had happened, about what could have happened if Abby hadn’t come to the rescue and put an abrupt halt to a horrendous mistake. And it was a mistake. Ryan was way out of my league; he was more than just experienced, he was an expert. He’d known exactly how to make my body respond, and that kind of knowledge could only have come from plenty of practice.

  Groaning inwardly, I tried to force my mind to go blank, willing sleep to drag me under.

  I awoke incrementally the next morning, at first only vaguely aware that the scene playing out in my mind was nothing more than a dream. But as I pulled myself upward toward consciousness, I was aware of another presence in close proximity. I could hear the quiet inhale and exhale of breath not far from me, and the slight movement that lightly jostled the mattress made me wonder if I was merely pulling myself from one dream into another.