Lucas

Lily is asleep when I get home from work. I tried to get home earlier, but I got stuck in a conference call with a client in Tokyo.

Guilt spirals in my chest when I open the door to her bedroom and glance in at her.

One tiny fist clutches the pink, stuffed bunny I bought for her last birthday. I reach out and stroke my knuckles across her cheek and sigh.

I’ve been a shitty father this past year. I know it. Hell, everyone knows it. But I honestly have no idea what I’m doing. At least at work, I can control things. With Lily, I feel like everything I say and do is wrong.

“Daddy?” Her lashes flutter open.

“Hey, Princess.” I crouch down beside her.

“Are you really going to the zoo with us?”

“I am.”

Her face lights up.

More fucking guilt punches through me. I lean over and kiss her forehead, brushing her curls away from her face.

“Go back to sleep.” I stand and turn to leave.

“Daddy?”

“Yeah?” I drag my fingers through my hair and glance back at her.

“I like Elly.”

It takes me a second to realize she’s talking about the nanny.

“Can we keep her?”

I can’t help the smile that pulls at my lips. It’s the first time she’s shown any real connection with someone since Stacey left.

“I’ll see what I can do.”

She gives a small nod, then curls back under the covers.

“Goodnight, sweetheart.” I close her door when I’m back in the hall, then start towards my room, stopping when I hear the soft beat of music coming from the other end of the corridor.

The guest room door is slightly open, light spilling out into the hallway, and a shadow darkens its path for a brief moment.

Eliana.

I tug at my tie, loosening it, and will myself to walk in the opposite direction.

Don’t even think about it, asshole. But I am thinking about it – thinking about her. And my feet ignore my brain’s warning.

I need to ask her about tomorrow’s agenda. At least, that’s what I tell myself as I stalk down the hall towards her room.

Raising my hand, I’m about to knock, when I catch a glimpse of the woman through the crack in the door.

Fuck.

Wearing only a tight t-shirt that leaves little to the imagination, and a pair of lacey, pink panties, Eliana dances around the room, her dark hair cascading over her shoulders, and across her breasts.

My balls tighten and I’m immediately rock hard.

Walk away.

The woman is young. I did some research on her after she left this morning. She’s a student, just finishing up her last year in Epidemiology through online courses. Smart. I like that. But she’s only twenty-two. Almost ten fucking years younger than me.

And she’s Lily’s nanny.

As tempting as that sweet, curvaceous ass is, I need her taking care of my daughter more than I need her taking care of my aching cock.

If she saw me creeping around her bedroom, I’d probably end up with a sexual harassment suit on me.

But then, she’s the one who left her door open while she’s bouncing around half naked.

As if sensing my presence, Eliana stops dancing and looks over in my direction. Her eyes go wide, her cheeks infusing with color, and she lets out a small squeal before grabbing for a pair of pajama bottoms that lay at the end of her bed.

Shit.

“You should keep your door closed,” I growl out, unable to tear my gaze away as she struggles to get her pants on.

“I…I didn’t know you were home. I’m sorry.”

“Do you make it a habit of dancing around half naked in front of my daughter?”

“I’m not…I wasn’t…” Obviously flustered, she takes a steadying breath and straightens her shoulders before saying more calmly, “Lily has been asleep for hours. I was just getting ready for bed. And if you must know, I keep my door open because Lily has nightmares, and I want to make sure I hear her if she needs me.”

Since when has Lily had nightmares? I rub the back of my neck and wince. I’ve been gone too damn much.

“Just close it from now on when you’re changing,” I bite out, more harshly than I intend.

She gives a curt nod.

I should walk away, but instead I just stand there staring at her like a goddamn stalker, my balls aching, and my cock harder than it’s been in years.

Why the hell does this woman have such an effect on me? It’s not like I don’t have my pick of women. It’s just my luck that I want the only one I can’t have.

“Is there anything else, Mr. Philip?” she asks, eyeing me suspiciously.

I cough. “I came to ask about the itinerary tomorrow.”

“We leave at nine.” A small smile spreads across her gorgeous face. “I think you’re really going to enjoy it.”

I doubt that. In fact, spending time with her and not being able to touch her seems more like torture than fun.

On the nightstand beside her bed, her phone lights up with an incoming text. I glance down and frown when I see the screenshot that’s saved as her background.

It’s a picture of her and Lily. But that’s not what gets my attention. It’s the smile on my daughter’s face that makes my heart skip a beat, because it’s the first time since her mother left that I’ve seen that look on her face. She’s smiling so big that both her dimples are showing, as well as the huge gap where her two front teeth should be.

I pick up the phone and study the photo. “She lost her front teeth?”

“Last week,” Eliana says, moving towards me.

“I didn’t know. The tooth fairy?”

“She was very generous. Who knew that a tooth was worth so much nowadays?” Her lips quirk up in a small smile.

I nod, and hand her the phone. Our fingers brush when she takes it from me, and I see the small tremor that races through her.

“Goodnight, Miss Sanders.” Better to walk away now before I do something I’ll regret.

“Goodnight, Mr. Philip.”

I have a feeling it’s going to be a very long night, because I have no clue how the fuck I’m going to fall asleep knowing the woman is only a few rooms away.