“Lara will be mad at you.”
I jumped, dropping a clean drinking glass in the bottom of the sink where it shattered with a tinkling sound.
“Shit, I’m sorry,” Ryan continued as I whirled around to face him, soapy sponge in one hand. His eyes were wide and apologetic, and so, so brown. Warm and rich like chocolate. Delicious, melting chocolate I was not allowed to have. I turned back to the sink, staring at the glinting shards of wet glass. “I didn’t mean to startle you,” he said. “Are you okay? You didn’t get cut, did you?”
You’re not my mom!
I’m not stupid, either!
Ping.
A snapped needle, lodged in a tangle of thread.
My vision blurred.
“No, I’m fine.” I said, my voice coming out tight.Fuck.
“Hey,” Ryan said, and then he was standing next to me, his body close to mine but not quite touching. He reached for the wet sponge, plucking it from between my fingers and dropping it beside the sink, then he held my hands in his, turning them over and looking for blood.
The tears spilled over.
“Hey, Flora, you’re okay,” he said softly, holding my hands tighter. “It’s okay.” I blinked rapidly to clear my eyes and saw him looking at me, so close that his chocolate-brown eyes moved between my own watery blue ones. His thumbs swept across the back of my hands as he held them clasped to his chest. His dark suit had soapy smudges on it. “You’re okay, sweetheart, it’s okay, I got you.” I could feel his heartbeat through the fabric.
I couldn’t help it when my gaze fell to his lips, or when my toes pushed against the floor, lifting me up toward him. I couldn’t stop myself when I tilted my head to one side, closing my eyes, pressing my lips to his. I couldn’t resist the sigh that escaped my lips when his hands tightened around mine, or the short gasp when his mouth parted, his tongue brushing against my lower lip.
And I couldn’t bear the way my heart plummeted to the floor when he broke the kiss abruptly, stepping away and back so quickly that I almost lost my balance without the warmth and steadiness of his body against mine.
“Flora,” he said, his voice gravelly. I stared at his Adam’s apple as he swallowed, unable to meet his eye. “Flora,” he said again, sounding pained. “I’m sorry.”
The tears were back. I pinched my lips together tight.
“We can’t.”
“I know,” I said in a small voice. “I’m s–”
“No,” he growled. “Don’t apologize. Fuck, Flora, don’t say you’re sorry,please, don’t say you’re sorry. It’s not your fault you don’t knowjust how much I want you.”
My heart stopped.
“What?” I asked.
The refrigerator hummed, loud in the quiet room.
Ryan stepped closer, and I stepped back until my ass hit the edge of the counter.
“Flora,” he said, his eyes dark–not melting chocolate, but scorching. “I want you so damn much. Every day. It burns me up inside to see you in my house and know I can’t take you to my bed.”
I drew a shaky breath. His words went straight between my legs, where I could feel myself getting wet. But he wasn’t done.
“I think about our night together every time I see you. I can’t forget the sounds you made when I was fucking you…” he said, taking a step closer. He reached out with one hand, smoothing my hair away from my temple. “The way you tasted,” he said, bending down to kiss the place his hand had been. I couldn’t breathe. “The way you felt.” He closed the distance between us, pressing his body flat against mine. I gasped; I could feel the hard shaft of his cock, like a steel rod, through our layers of clothing.I did that, I thought.One forbidden night. One forbidden kiss.
“Yes, Ryan,” I sighed.
“But we can’t,” he said, his words soft against my skin.
I closed my eyes. “Because I’m the nanny now,” I said.
“No,” he growled. I pulled back to look at him. He was staring at my lips, and I licked them without meaning to.
