Chapter 9 - Will
I paused before entering the casa after finishing up a tour of the property and going over some advertising options with the resort management. We had agreed on an honest review, and if I liked the place, we would set up an advertising campaign for them over the course of a year. So far, I was more than pleased with the vacation.
The resort didn’t need to know that most of that was because of Bailey. I couldn’t stop thinking about her, and it unnerved me, which was why I was having trouble going into my own suite, half afraid I’d see her in the common area and half afraid she’d already be asleep so I wouldn’t get to see her. What was really concerning was my guilt seemed to be waning the more I was around her, as if the universe was saying I was allowed to like her. Well, the joke was on the universe this time, because she was still my nanny, and I wouldn’t risk losing her for the world.
There was another kerfuffle with the kids at dinner, and I braced myself to be escorted out of the restaurant when they started tearing the place apart, but Bailey once again nipped it in the bud. They even said please and thank you to the servers, which shouldn’t have been shocking. The fact that it shocked me really drove home to me how savage I’d allowed them to become.
I let out a breath I didn’t realize I’d been holding when I saw her sitting on the couch. Better yet our show was on again. Throwing caution to the wind, I asked if I could join her, and she eagerly patted the cushions.
“Now I can tell you what’s happening with Raylene and Herb. Did you know that Carly went to jail last year?”
The second I sat down beside her, still a cushion distance away, I felt relaxed. She filled me in more, but I barely listened, and didn’t watch the episode that was on at all. I only had eyes for Bailey. I remembered when we first met, she had told Harrison she didn’t have a mom either, but I had no idea she’d been in foster care. That had to be a whole different level of rough. She certainly had a great outlook on life, and it made me admire her even more than I already did.
“What?” she asked, when she noticed me staring at her like a smitten schoolboy.
“Nothing,” I said, still unable to look away. “Actually, I want to thank you for being so good with the kids. I know they can be terrors.”
She frowned and turned to face me. “Thank you, but can I say something totally frank and maybe a little blunt?”
“Be as frank and blunt as you need to be,” I assured her. I had a feeling we lost at least half our past nannies because they kept things bottled up.
“I think you tend to project onto the kids,” she said. “What I mean is, they’re living up to your expectations of them. And it seems like you always expect them to be little monsters.”
I chuckled. “Most of the time theyarelittle monsters.” I immediately felt bad and got choked up. I had to clear my throat. “That’s not true. Not before their mother died.” When Bailey scooted closer and put her hand on my arm, the floodgates burst. “It was so unexpected. My dad and Callie were going to Austin to look at an office building he was thinking about buying. She was an attorney and was going to look over the contracts for him. They should have been back for dinner.” I felt like I couldn’t breathe, but when I looked at Bailey’s hand resting on my arm, I felt calm enough to continue. “I don’t even remember what I said to her that morning. And then I never got to say anything to either one of them again. The kids were devastated.”
“Of course,” she said softly. “I’m sure you were, too.”
“I was lost,” I admitted. “I guess I still am. I’m so worried that they were irrevocably damaged by losing their mother, so young that I started looking the other way when they acted up. Now they’re practically feral, and I feel sick that I failed Callie so badly.”
I stared at my knees while she remained silent. When I looked up, the compassion in her eyes softened the band around my heart.
She shook her head slowly, with a wry smile on her face. “They’re not feral, Will. They’re great kids who act like little banshees sometimes. That’s normal.”
I shook my head right back at her. “They’re acting like great kids again because you’re around. I don’t know what it is about you, but please keep it up.”
“Pfft,” she said, blushing. “There’s nothing special about me. Take back the reins and stop beating yourself up. Ava and Harrison will be fine.”
Now that I started looking at her, I couldn’t look away. I moved closer, her hand still on my arm. I covered it with my own. “I hope you’re right about the kids,” I said, my eyes dropping to her lips. “But you’re wrong about not being special. You are.”
Before I knew what was happening our mouths collided. Hers was warm and soft and she tasted of the virgin strawberry daiquiri she’d been nursing. I licked the line between her lips, and she parted them for me. My hands moved to her waist as I slid closer to her on the couch and she leaned into me with a sigh. The sound of it lit me on fire, the feel of her body under my fingers igniting it.
She tentatively gripped the fabric of my shirt, and I welcomed the weight of her hands against my chest. I wanted her closer. I wanted to feel her skin. There was no turning back from this. My mind was blank to reason, and only filled with Bailey.
I worked my fingers under her tank top, instantly getting hard at the feel of her silky smooth skin. It had been a very long time, and my hunger for her made me want to pounce. I kept it in check as best I could, not wanting to alarm her since there was still the chance she’d come to her senses and stop this madness.
Thankfully, she only pulled harder at my shirt, drawing me closer to her. My hands continued their journey up her soft flesh to cup her breasts. Her moan made me eager, and I fumbled at the clasp of her bra until I could feel her skin. When they fell free from her bra, I massaged them, feeling like I might burst when her nipples drew into tight nubs.
“Will,” she sighed, edging closer to me and pulling up the edge of my t-shirt. I couldn’t answer her, not when her hands rubbed up my stomach and then her fingers dug into my chest.
I pulled her onto my lap, gripping her hips and deepening our kiss. She gasped when she felt my hard length against her, then melted close to my chest, grinding against my shaft.
“Dear God,” I moaned, dragging my lips to her throat. She smelled of coconut oil and tasted more delicious than the most gourmet dessert the resort could hope to offer.
She pushed harder against me, and I throbbed, aching to get inside her. “I want you so much, Bailey,” I said near her ear.
She shivered, and I smiled at how ticklish she was. I ran my fingers lightly along her sides, raising goosebumps on her arms. I rubbed them down, and she pulled away, her eyes dark with desire.
“I want you, too,” she said, whipping off her tank top and bra.