He’d hung out in the living room, waiting for her to return so they could at least talk a bit, but she never did. He’d thought about asking her to come back, but he didn’t do it. It felt too much like flirting.
She was the nanny. He was the employer. She was off limits because he didn’t want there to be any misunderstandings.
Except he couldn’t help but steal glances at her tits and ass, at the way her legs went on forever despite her petite size. She wore shorts and tank tops most of the time, along with some athletic wear that hugged every curve, and he imagined so many things.
Touching her. Tasting her. Kissing her until she begged him for more.
That annoyed him, too. Jenna Lane wasn’t the only woman in the world, and he was the king of easy lays according to his teammates. He could walk into a joint, set his eyes on a woman, and go home with her before the night was over.
He didn’t want to, though. He wanted to feel Jenna wrapped around him, not a stranger.
And she isn’t a stranger?
Maybe she essentially was, but she didn’t feel like one. They lived together. She cooked for him. Took care of his niece. She was there when he woke up and there when he went to bed, and he couldn’t stop thinking about her laugh or the way she blew raspberries on Alice’s skin and made her giggle.
He couldn’t stop thinking about the way she’d flirted with him the night he’d been sweaty from mowing the lawn. He wondered what would have happened if he hadn’t backed away. If he’d pressed into her where she leaned on the counter and let her feel all his hard edges.
He hadn’t missed the way she’d been staring at him. At his body. He knew he was in the kind of shape that made people pay attention to him. All his teammates were. They worked hard and played hard and pushed their bodies to the breaking point. They were packed with lean muscle, and they looked like they could chew nails for breakfast.
If he’d made a move, she would have melted under him like snow on a warm day. Noah forced the images from his head as he pulled into the driveway after work and got out of his Jeep.
The house was empty when he walked inside, but the smell of something cooking told him she was there. He dropped his hat and backpack on a chair then continued through the house until he reached the kitchen. He could see a kiddie pool outside and Alice splashing happily. Jenna was in a lawn chair in the shade, and she’d opened the outdoor umbrella to position it over the little pool. Her laptop computer sat on a side table, and she looked at it from time to time. Mostly, she watched Alice.
His heart thumped. She was good with Alice. Not just good.
She cared.
He couldn’t have chosen better if he’d tried. And he had tried. He was glad none of the places he’d called had anyone who could take the job.
He opened the door and Jenna looked up. She smiled, and his heart thumped again. What the fuck?
“Hey,” she said. “You’re early.”
He glanced at his watch. “A little. How’s it going?”
“Great. We’re having some splash time.”
He could see that she’d only put about two inches of water in the pool. She thought of things like that. He hoped he would have, but he wasn’t sure.
“I see that. I didn’t know we had a backyard oasis.”
Her laughter was sweet. “Your neighbor a couple doors down set this little beauty on the curb. I asked if they were getting rid of it, she said yes, so I dragged it back here. There’s nothing wrong with it. Their kids just got too big, and it’s not worth the hassle of a yard sale. Or so she told me. Her name is Molly.”
“Molly Hinds. Her husband is Dan. They have three kids. Fourteen, twelve, and eight. I guess the eight-year-old is done with splash pools, huh?”
“Yep. They’re putting in a pool in the fall, she said. In-ground.”
Alice splashed around happily. “Unk No-wuh! Look!”
Noah went over and looked. “My goodness, are your dinosaurs enjoying the pool too?”
“Yeah,” she said. “Dyn-sar. Dey swim.”
“That’s good. I’m glad they swim.”
She started singing and dipping her toys in and out of the water. He returned to sit beside Jenna. It was hot, even in the shade. He unbuttoned his uniform shirt with one hand and tugged it off so he could sit in his T-shirt.
“Want some iced tea? Or a beer?” Jenna asked.
He glanced over at her. “You don’t have to get it for me.”
“I know. I’m offering because I need to run to the, er, facilities. And I couldn’t do that with Alice in the pool.”
“Ah, gotcha. Yeah, a beer would be good.”
“Don’t take your eyes off her for a second,” Jenna said. “You’d be surprised how quickly that can go bad.”
“Eyes. Got it.”
Noah leaned back in the chair and watched Alice. He felt surprisingly drowsy, but he wasn’t going to fall asleep. He shifted in the chair, waking himself again. It was the sun and the heat, and the fact it’d been an early day today. He’d had to be at HOT HQ for a briefing at 0600.
There was some shit going on in the world, like always, and the strike teams were active. When the time came for Strike Team 2 to deploy again, he’d be leaving Jenna alone with Alice for at least two weeks, maybe more. He didn’t relish it, but that was the job. Thank God he had her.
She returned with the beer and a glass of iced tea. He clinked his bottle with her glass and took a long drink.
“Something smelled good when I walked in.”
“It’s a chicken enchilada casserole.”
His mouth was watering just thinking about it. He could understand why Saint, Wolf, Hacker, and Mal liked this domestic thing. Not that he knew their women cooked dinners every night—or thought it was their job to do so—but just the part about going home to someone was nice. He liked walking in and having two people greet him. It wasn’t as lonely as it used to be, with all the noise and chaos of three people in the house instead of one.
He’d never thought he was the kind of guy who’d want people in his house. After being in the foster system, and then spending his teen years with the Parkers and their full house, he’d relished solitude when he’d gotten his own space. It was why he bought his house, and why he didn’t have a roommate anymore.
Solitude.
But now he had Jenna and Alice, and it wasn’t bad at all. Made him realize just how quiet things had been. Too quiet sometimes.
Alice was singing a song to herself and splashing. Birds chirped. The sun dappled the patio through the trees. He looked at the backyard and started imagining better landscaping. Maybe a swing set. And a hammock. He could lie in a hammock right now and have a nap, softly swinging back and forth while Alice sang her little songs and Jenna spoke to her every once in a while.
“She’s talking more,” Noah said as the singing kept going.
“She is.” Jenna’s voice caught at the end and he looked at her in concern.
“You okay?”
She sipped her tea. “Fine. It’s just…” She shook her head. “She’s coming out of her shell, trusting her environment more. She doesn’t cry as much for her mama. The meltdowns are fewer.”
“I’m happy to hear it.”