CHAPTER 10
The rest of the afternoon passed in a blur for Veronica. The girls, Ashley and Kaitlyn, arrived home promptly at noon, and had immediately attached themselves to Veronica’s legs.
Veronica had been shocked, but managed to laugh, naturally putting her hand on the back of their heads. The interim nanny, a woman who looked slightly younger than Veronica in spite of the bulge that revealed her pregnancy and the wedding band that adorned her left ring finger, laughed, and said her farewells to the girls.
From that moment on, it seemed almost as though the girls had known Veronica their entire lives. They got along immediately, and Veronica seamlessly integrated herself into their play and activities. She was so engrossed with them, in fact, that she hardly noticed when Mr. Davenport made it home for the afternoon.
When she finally noticed, him standing in the doorframe of Kaitlyn’s room, she felt her stomach do a flip. He was still dressed in a dark blue suit and a white shirt. His tie, a paisley affair, had been loosened, and it hung around his neck. He had a familiar twinkle in his eyes and a small smile as he watched them play. Veronica could have sworn, though, that they flashed with something darker as he looked at her.
“Don’t mind me,” he said in his smooth, deep voice, a smile warming his features. “I’m glad to see the three of you getting along.”
“Daddy!” the two girls cried excitedly, and rushed toward the man.
Veronica watched as he dropped down and scooped the girls up in his arms and gathered them to his chest, kissing them both on the top of their heads. Her heart melted a little to see how well he interacted with the girls.
She tried not to eavesdrop as they spilled the entire contents of their day to him as he patiently held them. When they had settled a little bit, he put them back down on the ground.
“Well I don’t know about you guys,” Davenport said to his daughters. “But I’m getting hungry. How does spaghetti sound?”
The girls made their delight known by squeals of excitement.
“Alright, well let’s all go downstairs then and I’ll get it started,” he chuckled and stood back up to his full height.
The girls took off down the stairs and Davenport looked over at Veronica with a smile, and that ever-present twinkle in his eye. Veronica suddenly felt that the air had gotten very thick, and it was significantly harder to breather.
“You accepted my offer,” he said, his tone obviously pleased.
“It was an offer I couldn’t refuse,” Veronica said, wishing her tone was a little stronger. She couldn’t help but feel at a disadvantage, being in his home and a new member of his staff.
“I’m glad it pleased you,” he said, and she heard his tone soften and darken.
Veronica shifted a little, feeling a spark light up deep in her core. Her mind scolded her body, but there was little she could do to fight the fire when she knew very well that she desired him more than any man she had ever met in her life.
“Oh, by the way,” Davenport raised an eyebrow. “I settled all that business about your belongings with your boyfriend. Calvin, is it?”
“Oh, yes,” Veronica nodded, suppressing the way her body was itching to move closer to him, remembering that she was not at all single. Especially at the mention of Calvin. Somehow, though, that made her body even hotter.
“Yes, well,” Davenport went on. “I spoke with him, and he said he would be glad to separate your things and label them so my movers can proceed with their jobs tomorrow, and I assured him that I would be most glad to offer him an apartment at my building, and waive the deposit. I’ll also adjust the rate to be a bit lower than whatever he is currently paying on the apartment you shared with him.”
Veronica blinked, surprised. That would certainly solve the issue of finding Calvin another place to stay since she would be moving out.
“That’s very generous of you,” she noted, and Davenport chuckled.
“It’s not like I’m hurting for the money,” he quipped, gesturing to his lavish home with one hand. “Besides, had I known you two were living together, or even that you were in a relationship, I may have made some amendments to our agreement.”
“No amendments are necessary, I assure you,” Veronica said, and Davenport raised his brow. If his smirk was any indication, he had read her tone expertly. She felt a moment of guilt for the way she had just disregard Calvin, but at the same time she couldn’t feel too guilty for expressing her true feelings.
“Well,” he said softly. “We’d better get downstairs before the girls get into something.”
Veronica nodded, and made her way past Davenport to the main staircase. As she passed, she felt his hand at the small of her back, and she felt a shiver travel down her spine.
The two made it downstairs, and they proceeded to prepare a dinner of spaghetti and meat sauce. Veronica was surprised to find that Davenport was an expert at the dish, and she could tell that he was not a man to sit around and let his staff do everything. Veronica was a little surprised when Davenport laid a place for her at the table, but she did not object.
As they all enjoyed their meal, the girls chatted, and Davenport joined in. Veronica stayed quiet, content to listen. Soon, they were all finished with their meal. Veronica insisted that she would wash the dishes, so he and the girls moved into the den. Veronica smiled at the noise she heard coming from the room as she put the dishes back in their place.
When she was finished, she joined the small family in the den. They played a while, and then they settled down to watch a movie. Davenport and the girls took up the space of the couch, and Veronica settled herself into a chair.
All through the evening, Veronica could feel Davenport looking over at her. She could feel his eyes on her almost as heavily as if they were hands, and she found that goose bumps were constantly rising up on her skin. In addition, her nipples had grown painfully hard, and were pressing eagerly into the lace of her bra.
Veronica had to fight hard not to squirm in her chair. She could feel wetness between her legs, and she wanted nothing more than to reach between them and touch herself. She suddenly had a vivid image of herself in a chair, her legs spread and her fingers working at her dripping sex as Davenport watched her.
Veronica felt a flash of heat and she felt her sex throb. She pushed the image away and tried to focus on the Princess movie that the girls were watching.
When the movie ended, both girls were fast asleep on the couch.
Davenport shot Veronica a look and a smile, and she nodded, knowing just hat to do. Davenport took one, and she took the other up in her arms, and they carried them upstairs to their rooms.
Davenport checked in on Ashley, who Veronica had carried up. She watched silently as he placed a kiss on her forehead, and then moved over to the door. He flipped off the light and shut the door behind as he stepped out into the hall.
“Well,” Davenport whispered, so as not to rouse the sleeping girls. “You made it through your first day.”
Veronica smiled and looked down between her feet. His presence was overpowering, and the scent of his cologne filled her nostrils and clouded her thoughts.
“Join me for a nightcap?” Davenport asked her, raising an eyebrow.
Veronica looked up to see that dangerous smirk in his eye, and she nearly swooned then and there. Being so close to him had already been working her nerves raw. She knew very well that it would only be torture if she accepted his invitation, but she knew it would be delightful torture.
“Of course,” Veronica said softly and politely, and she saw a smile spread over his face.
Veronica could only swallow drily and follow as he made his way down the stairs. Her heart pounded in her chest and she felt more than a little unsteady on her feet as she followed him. The house was lit dimly by the occasional lamp, and she couldn’t help but find the lighting very sensual.
She followed him past the kitchen and into Davenport’s home office. Inside, there was, of course, a desk, as well as a black leather couch and a couple of matching chairs. Davenport, though, moved toward a small bar in the back of the room, which was fully stocked with all manner of drinks and liquor.
“What’s your pleasure?” he asked her, moving to stand behind the bar.
“I’m not particular,” Veronica shrugged, feeling nerves creeping up on her now that they were alone. In an attempt to distract herself, she decided to take stock of her surroundings.
The office looked as though it had once been a sunroom, as the walls were virtually just windows. She looked outside of the room and into the darkness of the night outside.
“There’s nothing to worry about out there,” Davenport gave her a smirk as he moved to stand beside her, handing her a tumbler of a deep amber liquid. Veronica took a sip of it, the sweet burning filling her throat and warming her blood.
“It’s not what’s out there that I’m worried about,” Veronica confessed softly, and her eyes widened as she realized what had just come out of her mouth.