I’m pretty sure I’m going to hell. There’s no way having sex with Dalia last night was the right thing to do. I told myself again, I needed to push that encounter out of my mind. It was difficult though because I still wanted her.

After our kitchen table interlude, we’d barely been able to look at each other. I’d cleaned her up, all the while trying to figure out what the hell had just happened. She’d stood, dressed, and left my house without a second glance.

And hell if I didn’t crave more of her.

I shouldn’t. That one moment, though mind blowing, had changed everything.

When I watched her cab pull away, it was almost as if she was taking half of me with her. And I wasn’t sure how I felt about that, knowing I could never repeat that same mistake again.

I’d never felt this way before.

Yeah, I had my fair share of one-night stands, friends with benefits, or just plain fuckfests. I was a man with money and women loved it. But something was different with Dalia. Ever since I saw her with Tobi that first day, something inside me had shifted.

And all I saw was Dalia, her sweet smile, her sexy voice, her taste and the way she came. I was hooked.

She was my drug of choice and I was an addict.

Shaking my head, I put on my shoes. I was beyond confused. I shouldn’t have slept with Dalia, but now that I had, it’s all I wanted to do. How the hell was I going to face her father today?

How could I look into his eyes knowing I screwed his baby girl?

I groaned, not liking the direction my thoughts were headed. If Ted found out, this could potentially ruin our partnership. It could affect my business and my entire life.

What the hell had I been thinking?

Obviously, I’d been thinking with my other head. What red-blooded male wouldn’t think that way about Dalia?

The doorbell rang, pulling me from my thoughts.

“Dalia!” Tobi squealed from the living room. My chest tightened and my pulse picked up pace. Would she say anything? What would she do?

Did she regret sleeping with me last night?

I walked out of my bedroom and down the stairs, my eyes finding Dalia instantly and devouring her from top to bottom. She was in another summer dress, but this one was white with an innocent pattern of peaches and green leaves. She looked good enough to eat and all I wanted to do was push her up against the wall and kiss her senseless. Then spread her legs, wrap them around my waist, and fuck her senseless too.

Dammit.

Tobi was hopping from foot to foot, giggling up at Dalia and chattering up a storm. It was like having a bucket of cold water thrown in my face.

The last thing Tobi needed was confusing messages. I didn’t know where Dalia and I were headed, if we were headed anywhere at all. And until then, I needed to keep myself in check.

For Tobi.

“Good morning,” I said, smiling at Dalia. She was blushing and I found it utterly charming.

“Good morning, Cedric,” she said softly. She wouldn’t look me in the eye, which afforded me another opportunity to study her closely. She was breathing heavily, her chest rising and falling. I couldn’t help it. I stared.

I’d yet to see her naked breasts. I needed to rectify that.

Fuck, I wanted to see them right now.

Clearing my throat, I grabbed my briefcase off the kitchen table. It was past time I leave and if I gave in to the thoughts I was currently having, Dalia and I wouldn’t leave this house for weeks. Possibly months.

“You two have a good day,” I said, leaning down and kissing Tobi on the forehead. On the way back up, my eyes traveled up Dalia’s smooth legs, trim waist and all the way up to her face. Her eyes were finally on mine and they were intense. But I couldn’t read them as clearly as I wanted to.

Did she want me, I wondered?

“I’ll see you tonight,” I said, moving around her. My arm brushed the tips of her breasts and I heard her quick inhale. My cock hardened instantly.

And in that moment I knew.

I didn’t give two shits about Ted. I wasn’t done with Dalia.

* * *

The day was dragging on at the office. I landed two more clients, cleared my desk and answered all my emails. And between it all, thoughts of Dalia invaded my mind. I replayed our evening over and over, each rise and fall of her body, the way she felt against me.

How fucking good it felt to be buried deep inside her.

I had a raging hard-on all day and nothing I did to distract myself worked. Only Dalia could ease my discomfort.

I thought about everything I wanted to do to her. How I wanted to bend her over my bed, fuck her from behind, or pin her against the wall of my shower and take her under the hot steaming water, with those long sexy legs of hers around my hips. Every position I wanted her in consumed me. And Ted had noticed. Already he’d commented twice on how distracted I was. But I couldn’t confess why.

“You get that contract I emailed you?” Ted asked, walking into my office. I thought quickly, trying to remember if I’d seen a contract in my email. Thankfully, I hadn’t been too sidetracked because I had.

“Yeah, it’s completed. Maria has it,” I jerked my head in the direction of my assistant.

“You okay?” Ted asked, frowning as he settled in a chair across from my desk. It was like any other day that he would do this. We’d sat like this countless times, discussing numerous things. But today, I was holding back a secret.

I slept with your daughter, I thought.

That silent confession did nothing to ease my preoccupied thoughts.

“Having Dalia as your nanny should have helped, but it hasn’t. What’s up?” Ted asked.

I made your daughter scream my name as she came. Twice.

“Just thinking about how Tobi’s adjusting,” I lied, leaning back in my own chair. The afternoon sunlight filtered in through the large windows, casting half my office in shadow. I preferred natural sunlight but soon I’d have to turn the office lights on to finish out my day.

To me, that always made the day drag on.

“I’m sure it’s fine. I’m thinking about Dalia myself,” Ted confessed, shaking his head. “She seemed distracted, out of sorts, this morning. I don’t like it.” I didn’t know what to say. Should I say anything? I cast that aside. I preferred to stay silent on that front.

“It was weird talking to her on the phone this morning. She only gets this way when she’s doing something she shouldn’t or involved with someone I won’t like.” Ted shook his head. “I don’t like it at all.”

I hoped my expression didn’t give me away but I was worried I’d just gone completely white. Could Ted really read his daughter that well? Had Dalia been distracted? Was she thinking about me as much as I was thinking about her? I liked that thought most of all.

“What do you mean?” I asked, feigning nonchalance. All I cared about right now was getting Ted out of my office. I was definitely not the man he wanted to have this conversation with and unfortunately, I was the only one who knew that.

“She was being evasive. The last time she acted this way she was dating a real loser,” Ted said with disgust. “A poet or some shit.” My chest tightened and I tasted something at the back of my throat, something that I feared was jealousy or anger.

I didn’t like the idea of Dalia with someone else either.

That was an interesting development.

“Dalia seems like an intelligent woman. I’m sure she’ll make the right decision,” I said, trying to give Dalia the benefit of the doubt. Because it was me she was seeing, and I sure as hell wasn’t a loser. But then again, I was hooking up with my coworker’s daughter. So I couldn’t exactly say that.

Fucking my nanny was already creating issues. I needed to play it cool. Act normal.

Keeping this from my business partner was going to be harder than I expected.

“Yeah, well, Dalia’s done some stupid shit. Did I ever tell you about the time I was blackmailed?” Ted asked. I frowned, shaking my head.

I didn’t like where this was going.

“Dalia got tangled up with a boy at school. She thought she was in love with the joker. She was talking about dropping out, getting married and raising a boat load of kids. It was nothing like her and nothing I said could change her mind.” Ted sighed. There went that tangle of jealousy again, clawing at my throat. I wanted to shout at Ted to shut up. I didn’t want to hear this.

But part of me did. I couldn’t resist an opportunity to learn more about Dalia.

“Come to find out, the guy she was dating was tangled up with bad debts. He was a gambler, and a lousy one at that. When I confronted him about it, he said he’d break it off with Dalia if I paid off his debts. He’d take money over my baby girl.” Ted rubbed a hand through his graying hair. “Can you believe that?” he asked, outraged. I studied his face, and all I saw was a sort of exhaustion and sadness. I tried to imagine myself in his shoes, if it were Tobi that was with a piece of shit like that, and I couldn’t.

All I saw was red.

“I paid him and he went away, and Dalia was devastated. I wasn’t sure if I would ever get my baby girl back again. But over time, she got better, and when she learned the truth, anger won out over hurt. She threw herself into her studies and graduated top of her class.” Ted shook his head, lost in thought. I was silent a moment, unsure how to respond.

What would the other me say, the one that hadn’t just banged his daughter on the kitchen table and couldn’t think about anything else?

Yep, I was going to hell.

“What ever happened to the guy?” I asked, curiosity evident.

“No idea. He’s long gone and good riddance,” Ted spat out. “So you see, I have to protect my baby. She’s already had enough heartbreak, she doesn’t need more.”

I sat there, stunned. Ted really did think Dalia was still a baby, his responsibility. Didn’t he see how mature she was? That yes, she’d gone through a terrible moment in her life but that it had only made her stronger? It made me respect and want Dalia even more.

She was a grown woman with a degree and a limitless future. Did Ted really still judge her by one youthful mistake?

I shook my head.

“I think Dalia is someone who would learn from something like that,” I said, point blank. Ted gave me a funny look before standing.

“Either way, just let Dalia take care of Tobi for now. Get your head back in the game.” And then Ted left.

And as I sat there, I couldn’t get my head back in the game. Dalia was all I thought about.

* * *

I was super late. It was well past eight and I knew Tobi was probably in bed. Opening the front door, I called out softly into the quiet house. I didn’t want to be too loud and wake Tobi if she was sleeping.

“Hi,” Dalia said, coming into the foyer from the living room. There was only one light on in the house and by the sound of it, Tobi was already tucked into bed. Dalia was outlined by the soft glow of the light from the kitchen, her hair looked almost like a halo.

“Tobi’s asleep?” I asked, shrugging out of my jacket and hanging it on the hook by the front door. I dropped my briefcase and looked at Dalia questioningly.

“She ate a few hours ago and then went to bed,” she said. I caught her staring at me unblinking and I swallowed hard. The never-ending simmer of desire I had for her flared to life, the blood already starting to drain from my head. All I could think about was the way her face flushed and her lips parted when she moaned my name, the last time I fucked her, right in this house… I looked away.

“Sorry about being late. It was crazy at work, then a client called in and I’ve been stuck on the phone all night.” I shook my head. “I ordered in and ate dinner at my desk. I should have called.”

Dalia stood there, silently watching me.

“Let me go check on Tobi before you leave,” I said hurriedly, moving past Dalia and heading up the stairs. Tobi’s door was closed and I opened it quietly, entering her room. Her princess nightlight was on and images of Disney’s Cinderella danced on the walls, complete with three mice, a horse-drawn carriage and Cinderella and her Prince dancing. It was Tobi’s favorite movie, and at night, she would sing to herself and watch the lights flicker across her room.

Love for her swelled through me and I leaned over her balled up form, pressing a swift kiss to her forehead. She didn’t budge.

Tobi had always been a sound sleeper.

Even from the beginning, fresh and new and small, she’d slept so peacefully. After Carla had left, I’d had no one to turn to, no one to ask questions, unsure if I was doing things right. Being an only child, my parents having died at a young age, left me feeling pretty lost. But I’d had Tobi.

I smiled in the darkness. We were doing all right, in my opinion.

I left Tobi’s room, closing the door quietly behind me and made my way back downstairs. Dalia was still standing by the front door.

“Hey, thanks for sticking around,” I said, running a hand through my hair. I felt strange. I was unsure what to do next. It was completely unlike me. I was a take-charge kind of guy. I did what I wanted, when I wanted, and how I wanted. It’s the way I’ve always been.

Shit, it’s probably why I was so successful in my professional life. And with women. When I saw a woman I wanted, I took her. No questions asked.

But Dalia made things harder. It wasn’t just the fact that she was my nanny, or my partner’s daughter. I found myself actually wondering how she’d react to anything I did. I didn’t want to make the wrong move, say the wrong thing. It was crazy, these new feelings she aroused within me. And not knowing if she felt the same way I did was driving me crazy.

That was a new development and I didn’t like it at all.

“Again, sorry I was so late. I’ll call next time.” I was rambling. She was just standing there, staring at me with, what I hoped, was hunger in her eyes. She was silent, her hands clasped at her waist.

And I was struck dumb again by her beauty. She wasn’t just sexy as hell—it was more than that. Her sexiness was timeless, classic. Not to mention her wide-eyed, innocent smile, the way she had of eying me up without being at all embarrassed by her desires… She was breathtaking. Distracting as hell.

“I really appreciate all your help,” I said, moving towards the door. I wasn’t sure if I should say goodnight or ask her to stay?

Never wanting her to leave.

Out of the blue, she grabbed me, pushing me up against the closed door. Desire burst into flame as she grabbed my head and pulled me into a kiss. It was fierce, full of hunger.

Full of heat.

Fuck. Yes.

Lust slammed into me and I pulled her against me tightly, loving the way her breasts smashed into my chest. Her hips ground against my rock-hard cock, and I could feel the hard pebbles of her nipples, which it turned me on even more. Fuck, she made me so hot for her, I almost couldn’t breathe.

A slice of pain jolted through me as she bit my lower lip. I sucked in a breath and her tongue filled my mouth. She was swallowing me whole, taking everything I had to give, and more.

I grabbed her ass and pull her against my erection, groaning in pleasure as she moved her hips against me, enticing me further. She felt so damn good.

“I haven’t been able to stop thinking about you,” she gasped out, breaking the kiss. She was tearing at my shirt and tie, ripping it open, buttons flying across the foyer. I was crazy for her and she was driving me past reason.

“I need to feel you inside me. I hurt for you,” she pleaded in that sexy voice of hers, her hands finding the hot skin of my chest.

“You hurt for me, do you?” I teased, running my fingers along the backs of her thighs. She moaned my name, pressing herself up against me and raking her fingernails against my nipples.

“What do you need?” I asked her, grabbing her hips and turning swiftly. I was the aggressor now, pushing her up against the door. I held her there with a leg between her thighs, feeling her heat through the fabric of my pants as she ground her cunt against my thigh.

“I need you inside me,” she said, her husky voice even sexier than before. I kissed her again deeply, swallowing her moan of need. Reaching in my pocket, I grabbed a condom, glad I thought about putting one there this morning, just in case.

“Beg for it,” I demanded, breaking the kiss and running my tongue down her jaw to her neck. I nuzzled the sensitive spot where her neck meets her shoulder and she shivered. I loved how responsive she was, so I did it again.

“Please, Cedric, I need you,” she begged, her hips thrashing wildly against my leg. I groaned deep in my throat.

“Fuck, that’s so hot,” I whispered. Watching her body come undone in front of me slayed me. I felt powerful, in control, wanted. “On your knees,” I demanded, moving back from her. I’d been thinking about this all day and I needed it like I needed air. I needed her mouth on me, sucking me, taking all of me inside. She slid down the door, her eyes hungrily taking me all in.

“Unbutton my pants,” I told her. My heart picked up pace as she complied and I watched as she wet her lips with her tongue in preparation for what I was going to ask. My cock bounced once it was free, so hard and ready for her. Before I could even tell her what to do, she leaned forward and licked the bead of pre-cum off the tip of my cock.

I groaned, a shudder moving through me.

“Again,” I rasped out, my eyes glued to her face. She smiled, her eyes casting up toward me as she flicked her tongue out. She slid it around the tip of my cock and I growled low in my throat as she opened her mouth wide and took the tip inside.

“Fuck,” I breathed. “Yes.” It’s all I could say as she began to suck me, her cheeks hollowed out from the force. It was fucking mind-blowing. Before long she was working me with her hand and mouth, alternating between the two, using both hands because I was too big for just one.

She was moaning, licking and sucking, driving me higher and higher. Grabbing a fistful of her hair, I jerked back and then forward, instinct to claim and own her taking over. Again and again, I slid into her warm, wet mouth, and when I retreated, she sucked harder.

She pulled back and slid her tongue around the head and I felt the pleasure of it shoot down to my toes and back up. It made me hotter for her and when she opened her mouth wide to take me back inside, I sank in deep, hitting the back of her throat. I held her head still, reveling in the tight squeeze until I felt her gag, and then I withdrew again.

“Shit, yes,” I said. “Tug on my balls.” Dalia whimpered as I fucked her face. She moved one hand from my thick shaft and tugged on my sac, making me shiver. “Just like that,” I urged, giving her praise. She was so good, too good, and I felt myself fighting back the need to come. It was coming on me quickly. I didn’t know if I could stop it.

“Stop,” I whispered. She didn’t, if anything, she picked up pace, sucking me harder, squeezing me tighter. I grunted, my hands instinctively pulling at her hair, pulling her farther down on my dick. She choked and I pulled out, moaning her name.

“Move back,” I gasped out. “I want to come inside you,” I demanded. I watched her eyes roll back into her head at my words. And I couldn’t stop the grin. I was so hot for her I could have come right then without her even touching me. I picked her up and slammed her against the door, completely forgetting the fact that my daughter was sleeping upstairs.

“Put the condom on me,” I demanded in a deep voice. I was gripping her hips tight, trying to keep myself from pulling her up and on my cock, desperate to feel her tighten around me. She quickly grabbed the condom packet from my hand, tearing it open eagerly and rolling it down on my length. We both inhaled swiftly.

“Hurry,” she whispered. It was all the encouragement I needed. I pulled her legs around my waist and entered her in one, quick thrust. I almost shouted in victory. We both tensed and I resisted the urge to move, to plunge in and out and never stop.

Our eyes locked and I took the moment to let her adjust to my size, her pussy squeezing me tightly, little shudders coursing through her. Running my fingers through her hair I pulled her in for a deep, slow kiss as I gently shifted my hips, pulling out of her slightly. She murmured against my mouth and I sank back inside, groaning at the pleasure of it. Shivers danced along my spine and the noise she was making at the back of her throat made me want to do it again.

So I did. I pulled out further each time, encouraged by her moans, the feel of her fingers gripping my shoulders, the way her forehead scrunched and her mouth opened on a whimper. She was warm and wet and so fucking tight that I couldn’t help myself. I thrust my hips out, then forward, sinking deep inside her.

She cried out, arching against the door, jutting her breasts towards me. And I snapped, I plunged into her fast and hard. The sounds of slapping skin echoed around us, our hurried breaths, the thud of Dalia’s ass hitting the door when I rammed into her. I angled her just right and thrust deeper. She made a keening noise, her back arching like a bow.

“You like it rough,” I hissed out, doing it again. She couldn’t speak, her throat was tight, her legs like iron bands around me. I felt a tremor move through her and I groaned. Pressing her hard up against the door I rubbed my pubic bone against her, grinding up against her clit. Her head fell onto my shoulder and I felt her bite my neck.

So I did it again, alternating between fast and punishing, to slow and deep. Too soon I felt my own orgasm coalesce and my eyes closed.

“Come, I need you to come,” I burst out, reaching between us to find her clit. I flicked my finger against the sensitive nub and her body jerked against mine. I felt the walls of her sheath ripple in pleasure around my cock and I did it again, shuddering with her in shared pleasure.

“That feels good, doesn’t it?” I whispered, circling her swollen clit with the pad of my thumb. She bit her lip and looked at me with glazed eyes, her cheeks and neck flushed, her chest heaving with each breath. She murmured my name, her fingernails dug into my biceps as I touched her, simultaneously circling my hips to press against that secret spot inside her.

It made her wild for more, her head thrashing back and forth against the door, her lips open on a cry.

“Come on baby, come for me,” I said heatedly. And that did it. She exploded in my arms, shudders wracking through her, my name leaving her lips and echoing around us. And I felt myself there, so close, my body wanting to follow suit. I went taut and jolted against her, right at the edge.

“I want to taste you,” she said suddenly. I was still against her, my cock on fire, just wanting to keep going until I lost myself inside her. She pushed against me, urging me to move back. And with resistance, I did, groaning aloud. My balls ached as I watched her slide down the door to her knees, simultaneously removing the condom. Just her hands touching my sensitive cock had me sucking in a breath, tensing for release.

I hissed, then gasped, as her mouth moved over me. That’s all it took before she was sucking my cock again and I was coming inside her mouth.

I shouted, I couldn’t help it, it was so fucking hot, so good.

She sucked me clean as I stood there, my hands pressed against the door to keep me steady, my hips jerking against her unbidden. She drug it out, licking and sucking, stroking me until I stopped quaking.

“Damn, that was perfect,” I said after a few moments. My heart was beating painfully against my chest as I looked down and Dalia’s face was flushed from the pleasure I’d just given her. And in that moment, I felt a riot of emotions I can’t describe. It was a whirlwind inside me.

I reached down and pulled her up, adjusting her clothes and running my hands all over her body. I kissed her lips softly, ran my fingers through her golden hair, and wrapped her in my arms. She melted into me with a sigh and all I could do was feel.

We moved into the living room and I sat on the couch, pulling her into my lap. She wiggled to get comfortable and I felt the stirrings of desire fan to life again, but I tamped it down.

“I can’t get enough of you,” I said softly as she rested her head on my shoulder. I felt her sigh and nod, agreeing with me. We were quiet for a while until I remembered what happened earlier in the day and what Ted had said.

“Your father mentioned you seemed different on the phone this morning,” I mused, running my fingers down her back. Dalia stiffened for a moment but then relaxed, settling back into my chest.

“What did he say?” she asked.

“He mentioned a boy in your past and how it fucked up your life,” I said. I couldn’t keep my own emotions from my voice and her head snapped up, her eyes searching mine.

“He was a past mistake, nothing more,” she said softly. My brow rose.

“Your father doesn’t seem to think so.”

Dalia reached out and ran her fingers along my jaw. “My father still thinks I’m a child, not an adult.”

I smiled. She was right, he did think that. And I won’t lie, I was glad to hear that part of her life was in the past. Exactly where it belonged. Because I could very clearly see she was all woman—not a child anymore.

“Why does he think that?” I asked, wanting to know more about her, everything.

“I have an older sister,” Dalia began, resting her head back on my shoulder. “She met a guy who my father disapproved of and ran off with him.” I rubbed my hand along her lower back in lazy circles, listening to her husky voice.

It felt good, comfortable.

It felt right to have her here this way.

“We haven’t heard from her since,” Dalia said sadly. I squeezed her gently.

“How long ago was this?” I asked, turning my head and kissing her forehead. Dalia exhaled and shrugged.

“Four years ago, give or take a few months.” I thought back on my conversation with Ted earlier in the day and realized that would have been only a few months before Dalia met the boy that had changed her life. I frowned.

No wonder Ted had been so protective.

I was feeling pretty protective of Dalia right then myself.

I looked down at her and kissed her, trying in some way to show her that I cared. Even if I couldn’t voice it out loud yet, or if I ever would, I could do this. I needed her to know she was safe with me, wanted, needed.

I heard a sound in the hall and broke the kiss, looking up. Tobi stood there in her footed pajamas, rubbing one sleepy eye with her fist.

“Daddy,” she said, half asleep on her feet. I sighed and moved Dalia off my lap. Standing, I picked up Tobi and cradled her in my arms. I looked over at Dalia and my heart turned over in my chest. She looked sleepy herself, her hair tousled, her lips swollen from my kisses. A fierce stab of possessiveness shot through me. I wanted to keep her here forever, wrapped in my arms, safe from the world… And lost in bed with me. I wanted to carry her upstairs and talk her into staying here—or better yet, convince her without words. I could imagine more than a few ways to entice her into staying…

But I resisted the urge. It would only get me into deeper trouble than I already was.

“Goodnight Dalia,” I said softly. She smiled and stood, moving towards the door.

“Goodnight Cedric,” she whispered back. I locked the door behind her and took my daughter upstairs and back to bed, suddenly wishing that I’d asked Dalia to stay.

“Dalia is nice,” Tobi said sleepily, as I lay her back in her princess bed. I nodded.

“Yes, she is, sweetheart.”