This is wrong.
I sniff and open my eyes again, looking up at the screen. I should tell her to change the password to stop myself from doing this again. I close the window, lock the console, and sigh.
I need to get some sleep.
*
I am drenched in sweat as I push my phone back under my pillow and lie flat on my back, gasping for breath.
Oh my goodness.
I don’t know what it was; how hot Mr Ledger looked, how close I came to getting caught, or the naughtiness of this entire situation, but I haven’t come that hard in a long time. I need to cool down. Part of me wants to jump in the shower and let several gallons of cold water tumble down over my skin, but that would be a waste, and yet I am so fucking hot.
The pool.
What I wouldn’t give for a swim right now.
I’m still a little unclear on Mr Ledger’s rules around pool usage. He didn’t specifically say I wasn’t allowed to have a swim once in a while. But then he also didn’t specify that I had to wear clothes all day long - some things are just implied. Usually, however, my new boss is very specific with what is allowed, thereby leaving to the imagination, what isn’t. As such, I’m left pondering.
I sigh. I’m so hot my palms are sweating. I take a deep breath and exhale again, rubbing my eyes and leaving them sticky. It’s late, the girls are already asleep - well, Harper and Willow for sure, Thea I’m less certain about… and I am shattered and still horny, but it is hot.
Mischief.
It’s my default persona, and it’s hard to resist. I’ve been listening to the soundtrack of the pool water lapping gently up and down in the breeze for the last five minutes, thinking about how cool it would feel against my skin, in my hair, against my breast, and between my thighs.
I breathe out, tapping my fingers and chewing my lip. I don’t have a bathing suit, I can’t afford one, but I do have a long t-shirt and underwear.
I close my eyes and feel a tingle of excitement rush through my body.
If I’m quiet enough, Mr Ledger will never know. He’s tucked away in his study and he rarely comes out unless he wants coffee. I know he made one just a few minutes ago, so based on how long he goes between cups, I’d say I have thirty minutes to an hour. That’s more than enough time to slip in, cool down, sneak out and dry off before ascending the stairs back to my room.
It’s a faultless plan. Nothing can go wrong. I grin to myself, and leap up, tugging off my dress and sending it sailing toward the door as I pull on an old t-shirt. It’s risky, but I don’t care, I’m feeling naughty.
Inappropriately attired I bounce silently into my little bathroom, grab a towel and dart toward the door like a theatrical ninja, my heart racing as I peer into the corridor and listen for any signs or sounds of the children.
Nothing.
The coast is clear.
I tip-toe silently toward the stairs, creep my way down, and as quietly as possible I slide open the little side door that leads to the pool and set my bare feet on the cool grass.
My body exhales with pure delight as the sensation creeps up my ankles and thighs, and before I’ve even checked to make sure nobody can see me, I’ve dropped my towel, pranced to the side and dipped my toe.
And it is heaven.
I am a leaf on the surface of the water as I slip within. I barely make a ripple.
I sink, submerging myself entirely, opening my eyes carefully and watching in the blue as dark red tendrils of hair reach like tentacles into the moonlit water, searching and drifting on the gentle ripples and currents as my body cools.
I imagine for a moment the steam rising from the surface and I smile.
After almost a minute I emerge, transformed and renewed, and as I breathe out I watch the tiny ripples of my breath spread out across the surface and dissipate, lost in the smooth churn.
Then I push away from the edge, roll over, spread my arms, and float.
*
I lean back in my chair, my eyes closed as guilt wracks my chest, unable to take my mind off the girl upstairs, asleep in her bed as-