Her gaze flickers down. Breath halts mid-panic. Chin drops, her mouth forming a silent ‘Oh’.
She freezes. Dead still. And then she licks her lips before gulping audibly. “Oh.Ooooh.”
“Yeah,” I mutter darkly.
“Close your eyes,” she mutters, barely louder than a breath.
“Huh?”
“Close your eyes, Dr. Preston.” Her voice spikes—sharp now, part mortified, part pissed, and I can’t blame her. “So I can carry my naked ass to my room by myself.”
I squeeze my eyes shut as though that’ll somehow undo everything that transpired in the past few minutes.
As her footsteps fade down the hall, a realization I’d been too flustered to catch before slamsinto me: this is the first natural erection I’ve had in ages. Not morning wood, not a pill. This was all her.
I honestly thought my dick had died on me years ago. Half of my marriage depended on medical support to get it up. And things didn’t get better after my ex left.
Turns out my cock didn’t give up on me. It’d just been in a coma, and now it’s decided to make a miraculous recovery—courtesy of the new nanny.
My libido isn’t dead.
It’s just wildly inappropriate.
I glance down. The bastard’s tenting my shorts, practically winking at me.
There’s got to be something seriously wrong with me for feeling this way. About her. Right fucking now.
I’m about to suffocate from tension, strangled by guilt. I should’ve turned away the second I saw her. I shouldn’t have liked how she felt pressed against me. Now I’m stuck with those images playing on replay already, haunting me.
I can’t want her. Not like this. Not at all.
Not ever.
CHAPTER FIVE
mia
How?How do I survive this? How can I possibly look Dr. Preston in the face again? I haven’t unpacked much; I should just call a cab and hurl myself back to the airport. The only other sensible solution would be to master the art of living blind so I never have to lock eyes with him again. I could do it. Arms outstretched, fumbling my way through this house, feeling up the furniture, praying I never accidentally grope something I shouldn’t.
I’ll make a sign:Blind and Dangerous. Approach with Caution.
Yeah, that could work.
I’m still spiraling when I hear April’s voice. “Pres? Mia? Where are you guys?”
I crack my door open, just enough to peek out, wrapped in the fleece robe the bastarddidleave in my room. Underneath, I’ve got on only my favorite Spanx with a mid-thigh bodysuit over it. Can I breathe? Barely. But my belly has never looked smoother. I clutch the robe lapels shut.
“April?” Her name comes out quieter than intended,probably because my dignity’s still curled up in a corner, and my soul hasn’t fully returned to my body after flashing my new boss five minutes ago. “What are you doing here?”
“I was at work. Pres’s place is much closer to the hospital than the hotel I’m living in, so I decided to walk here. Weather cooperated.” She leans in and whispers, “How’s my favorite grump today?”
I gulp, not sure how to even begin responding to that. “Fine. Good spirits. Working out harder than aLove Islandcontestant before a recoupling ceremony.”
April snorts at my highly intellectual reference. “Oh, Mia. But that’s great. He’s looking after himself.”
He was looking, all right. Looking at my naked ass as if it had been labeled Exhibit A: Evidence of Poor Decision-Making.
“Okay, I’ll wait for you downstairs. Liam wants to pick us up. But I know Pres, and he’ll insist on taking his own car. The reservation’s at seven-thirty.” She checks her watch. “Is that enough time for you?” She scans the hall. “And whereis he?”
