Curvy Nanny for the Nerd

10. Toni

Chapter 10

Toni

S itting in traffic on my way back to Brady and Layla felt odd. Surreal, even. I spent the entire weekend burning out half a dozen batteries to thoughts of the hot nerd whom I didn’t really know, and doing something I never do, daydream about the cutie. What in the hell kind of spell had he woven around me that I’d spent the weekend inside my apartment instead of hitting the bars and finding a hookup buddy?

“Ugh, gross,” I growled as a guy in a shiny red pickup truck flicked his tongue out at me suggestively and wiggled his brows. “I don’t think so, dirtbag.” I flipped the guy off and gunned it at the green light until he was just a speck in my rear view mirror.

The mansion looked the same as I had when I pulled away on Friday evening, putting as much distance as I could between me and Brady. That kiss had stayed with me for far too long. The truth was, it still lingered on my lips and in the deep, dark recesses of my mouth. I wanted the promise that kiss offered, but I also knew I couldn’t have it.

Wouldn’t.

It wasn’t just dangerous to my heart, it was also a professional risk.

Yeah, I couldn’t risk it, so instead I took my frustrations out on my vibrators, coming to the feel of his mouth and body on me all weekend long. Hmm, maybe I need to invest in some rechargeable devices, cuz living under the same roof with Brady days a week will give me all kinds of ideas.

“No time for that, Toni.” I gave myself a mental pep talk as I drove up the long driveway and shifted my car into park. “This is my job. Work. Not a dating site or a hookup app. Work.”

I stepped inside the house and it was relatively quiet given that a seven year old lived here. I crept inside to avoid alerting anyone—mostly Brady—to my presence. It was useless though, because halfway up the staircase the sound of small footsteps drew my gaze to the top of the steps. “Hey, Layla.”

She flashed a happy smile. “Hi Toni. I finished my story. Wanna read it?” Her expression was so eager and excited with a pinch of hesitation that it made my heart squeeze. “If you don’t want to,” she began but I stopped her.

“Of course I do. Hand it over, little girl.” I held out my hand with a grin.

“You sure?”

I nodded. “I am. Are you?”

“No,” she admitted easily.

“All the more reason you have to give it to me, then. Art is terrifying for the artiste. ”

She laughed, shoving it at me before she took off, as if I could read it quick enough to give her feedback in the next five seconds.

I smiled at her retreating form and I realized that I missed Layla this weekend. She was a sweetheart who hadn’t let the world get her down, no matter how hard it seemed to try.

I made my way to my room where I took my time unpacking and tidying up the place. After a quick, hot shower, I changed into comfortable loungewear before I curled up on the bed to read Layla’s story. It was smart and engaging, and it felt as if it was written by a far more mature and experienced storyteller. I couldn’t help but cry as I came to the end of the tale.

“I have to tell her how good it is. Now.”

I rushed from my room, barefoot and disheveled, in search of the budding artist, but it seemed as if she had disappeared. “Layla!” She didn’t answer and I jogged down the stairs, searching the media room and even the pantry, but she wasn’t anywhere to be found. “Lay?”

My gaze landed on Brady at the grill with a long silver spatula in his hand. He wore a plain white t-shirt that hugged all of his muscles perfectly. His biceps bunched and flexed with every move and his back muscles danced against the shirt as he flipped burgers and steaks on the grill. “Toni, you’re home.”

Home. Had any place ever been home for me? There were plenty of places over the years where I rested my head, but none I considered home, just a place that I lived.

“I’m here,” I said with a small smile.

“Come on back.” He waved me over like we were old friends, worse, like he was happy to see me. “How was your weekend?”

“Uneventful,” I lied because you couldn’t exactly tell a man that you spent all weekend dreaming about him doing dirty, wicked things to you while your battery operated boyfriend made you come over and over again. “Yours?”

Heat flared in his eyes as if he spent the weekend doing the same thing. “Pretty similar. Hungry?”

I shook my head. “Nah, I don’t want to intrude. I was just looking for Layla.”

He arched his dark brows, lips tugged into a knowing smile. “You don’t want to know about the hockey game we attended together? Or the long conversation we had over Texas barbecue?” He shrugged. “I thought you might.”

I rolled my eyes. “Coy isn’t a good look on you.”

“No? You should see me naked. That’s a good look on me.” He winked at my shocked expression and I suppressed the shiver that rolled down my spine.

“Well now you’ve got my interest piqued.”

Heat flared in his gaze again and he licked his lips. “Good.”

Over lunch, Layla and Brady recounted their weekend of bonding together and I found myself smiling the whole time. They were cute now that they were getting used to one another. “Sounds like a good time.”

“It was,” Layla said, still beaming from my praise of her book. “Can I go to my room now, Uncle Brady? I want to work on my next story.”

He nodded, a wistful smile on his face as he watched her dart up the stairs. “I’ve created a little workaholic.”

I laughed. “Monkey see, monkey do?”

His eyes crinkled adorably at the corners. “All I hear you saying is that I’ve created a monster.”

I laughed again, this time louder. “Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery?”

Brady laughed as he stood, grabbing two fresh beers and handing me one of them. His expression cleared of all amusement as he studied my face. “Do I need to apologize for the kiss?”

“No,” I cocked a brow. “But if you need to apologize for anything you can apologize for avoiding me.”

He nodded and his overgrown hair fell over one eye. “I had to in order to avoid doing something dangerous, like kissing you again. Or more. But I’m sorry.”

“Good.”

Surprise flashed in his eyes. “So, why did you stop the kiss when it was just getting good?”

My eyes bugged out of my head. Was that kiss just getting good? As in, it got better than that? My skin flushed at the thoughts that ran through my head. “Because I don’t know you, Brady, not really. And the things that I do know, namely that you’re my employer, makes taking this attraction any further a bit complicated.”

He listened closely and nodded thoughtfully. “Whatever objections you have, please know that your job is safe.”

I wanted to believe that, but I wasn’t a na?ve little girl who believed the easy thing. “Things don’t always work out that way when emotions are involved.”

Brady nodded thoughtfully as if he was really listening and giving my words proper consideration. “You’re doing a great job with Layla and that’s what is most important to me. She’s lost so much already, and she really cares about you, Toni. The job is yours for as long as you want it.”

Again, I wanted to believe him, but I couldn’t, so I ignored the relief that plowed through my body at his words. To be honest, the relief I felt at his seemingly sincere words pissed me off. I wasn’t some shrinking flower, I wasn’t a swooning type of woman who got giddy over a few pretty reassurances.

“Good to know.”

His gaze never left my face, as if he was trying to read my thoughts. “What’s your real objection?”

I stared at him with an expression that said seriously ? But he still didn’t get it, I sighed heavily and shook my head. “My objection is that I don’t know you, Brady.”

“You want to know me,” he said in a tone that was a step below devastated.

“Is that so bad?” Maybe it was. Maybe he had some deep dark secrets he was afraid I’d learn if he slept with someone who lived in his home. “Right. Look if you don’t want to tell me about yourself, I can handle it.” I stood, staring at Brady’s face for a long minute as I waited for an answer.

He stared back, those silver blue eyes looked tortured and pleading, but I refused to read anything into what I thought I saw.

“Good night, Brady.” I took my beer upstairs to my room and called Lucy to tell her just how badly I screwed up. “It was a mistake, and I’m pretty sure this job is only going to last another few weeks.”

Lucy was silent for a long time and I knew this meant she was trying to figure out how to say what was on her mind. “Do you think it was stupid of me to sleep with Dante?”

“At first I did, but it became obvious pretty quickly that you guys were more than a few stolen fucks.”

She laughed. “Thanks, I think.” Lucy laughed again. “It was stupid, and at first it was just that, but then it became more. And now we’re a family.”

“I’m happy for you, but this isn’t that. He refuses to tell me about himself.”

“No offense Toni, but since when do you need to know a guy to get a few orgasms from him?”

A fair question, since I had no problem with the hit it and quit it lifestyle. “When a man goes so far out of his way to make sure he doesn’t tell me anything about himself. It makes me suspicious, about him and his motives.”

“That’s something you’ll have to figure out for yourself, Toni.”

She was right, of course. “That’s not at all helpful, you know.”

Lucy laughed. “You want help? I say give him a chance, let him prove that he is or isn’t worthy of you before you decide.”

“You’re terrible at this,” I told her honestly. “It’s not that simple Lucy.”

“I never said it was simple or easy, did I? No, I did not. Nothing worth doing ever is.”

A knock sounded at the door and it didn’t take a genius to figure out who was on the other side. “Thanks for nothing, Luce.”

She laughed. “My pleasure. Let me know what happens next!”

“Yeah, yeah,” I groaned as I got off the bed and stood in front of the door, letting out a deep breath as I reached for the knob. “I’ll think about it,” I told Lucy before ending the call and tossing the phone on the bed. I inhaled deeply and exhaled as I squeezed the knob and twisted it. “Brady. What’s up?”

Without a word he took a step forward and cupped my face in his hands, gently, despite the fierce look in his blue eyes. He stared at me like he wanted to say something and my gaze was riveted to the soft, unsure movement of his lips as if he couldn’t quite find the words. A low grunt escaped and then his lips were on mine, soft to the touch but the kiss was hard and rough, commanding.

I submitted easier than I would have liked under his masterful kisses. They were all consuming and the swipe of his tongue so intoxicating that all I could do was hang on to him for dear life and hope I came out the other end unscathed.

Brady stepped forward, forcing me to step back again and again until the back of my legs were pressed against my bed.

And then I was falling.

In more ways than one.