Chapter Six

Sasha

SASHA bolted upright, his face flushed with heat and the sheets clinging to his sweat-dampened skin. After a few deep breaths, his pulse finally slowed enough to hear over the pounding beat. Damn, what a dream. He slid back down into the plush bedding, savoring what he could remember of it. The weight of Nic’s body pressing him into the mattress. The soft breaths and grunts as Nic thrust into him. The hands gripping Sasha’s hips and teeth digging into his shoulder as if to mark territory.

If hooking up with the iceman came even halfway close to this dream, he was going to have a hard time keeping his hands off him. Not that the opportunity had been there. He hadn’t seen or heard from Nic in four days, since that shitty Sunday that had wrecked the kids’ dispositions for the rest of the week. Other than school and meals, they’d been relegated to their rooms. Grounded until the end of time, according to them.

Unfortunately, it had been Percy delivering the punishment. Looked like Sasha could expect to be treated like a resident babysitter, his expertise ignored. The situation was nothing new. Employers tended to be skeptical of the male perspective when it came to the care and development of children, like men couldn’t possibly be great parents. The viewpoint was even further compounded once people learned he was gay, but unfortunately, the bias was often too subtle to point a finger at.

With a grunt, Sasha rolled out of bed and threw on a pair of shorts and a tank top. It was so early that the gray morning light barely tinged the sky, but he was too restless to sit around the house. Ignoring the cold, Sasha went for a run to clear his head.

Images of Nic still scalded his thoughts, no matter how much Sasha tried to expunge them. There was no doubt Nic was an ideal tall, dark, and handsome type with a dose of commanding, a potent mix in Sasha’s fantasies, but he was stubborn. And Sasha’s boss. Even if Nic were remotely interested in him, which certainly felt like the case, Sasha had sworn off workplace romances.

He ran until he couldn’t push his body any farther and then loped up the stairs to his bathroom for a quick shower. When he’d moved here, he’d wanted a fresh start, and though he still held hopes for that, a heaviness settled in his chest. He was so damned tired. Was it so much to ask for someone to be reliable, steady, true? Was it too much to have someone to lean on instead of being the one to lift everyone else up and carry them?

Drew had only been the last in a line of failed relationships. His boyfriend before Drew had left him for being too boring when he wasn’t the fun guy every hour of every day. The one before that had cheated on him. The one before him left Sasha for a man who didn’t nag so much and “have so many problems.” And the one before that only wanted to party constantly and had eventually caused Sasha to lose his job.

By the time he’d started dating Drew, he’d learned to keep his mouth shut when he was upset about anything and to be the upbeat, happy partner, but it hadn’t mattered in the end. He’d lost Drew anyway. Maybe a long-term relationship wasn’t meant to be.

Before he left his suite, he rubbed his eyes and shook his limbs out. Time to put on the fun-guy face and do what he could to teach and inspire. He laughed, a little on the humorless side, but the act alone pushed him toward a better mood.

When he got to the kitchen, he discovered he wasn’t the only one up early. Lucy opened cupboard after cupboard, no doubt searching for something easy to eat.

“It looks like a poltergeist struck in here.”

She whirled around, her curly hair fanning out and her hand flying to her chest. “Good lord, you scared me, Sasha.”

He laughed. “Sorry. But look around you.” He gestured to the open cabinets all over the kitchen. “It’s a head-injury hazard up in here.”

She smiled, and it barely reached her eyes. “I didn’t even notice I was doing that.”

“How about I make us some pancakes with strawberry topping and whipped cream? That should soothe the poltergeist.”

She agreed, and they closed all the open cabinet doors together before Sasha began cooking. He decided to throw some bacon in the oven, too, because, well, bacon made everything better. Lucy didn’t speak in more than monosyllables while she made the whipped cream and Sasha worked at the stove. She was one tough nugget because not many people could resist Sasha’s stupid jokes. No matter what he tried, he couldn’t get her out of the mood she’d been in since the past weekend.

Ben poked his head in by the time they finished cooking. “Wow. It smells good in here.”

“So that’s what it takes to get you out of bed before noon,” Sasha said.

“Well, it is almost time to leave for school,” Ben replied. The boy’s hair was almost as curly as his sister’s but light brown and cropped close to his head instead. Something about his lanky build said he’d look a lot like a lighter version of his Uncle Nic when he reached adulthood.

Sasha snorted. “Like school’s your big motivation here.”

They chuffed out a wide-eyed, somewhat reluctant laugh, as if they weren’t used to their caretakers speaking so informally. He brought out a pitcher of orange juice and set a plate full of fluffy pancakes in front of each kid before sitting across from them at the small breakfast nook table adjacent to the kitchen.

“You know, it’s almost the weekend. Close enough that you two should be in better spirits.” Neither responded beyond some kind of noncommittal hum. Sasha cleared his throat and tried to engage them again. “What’s on the agenda today? Anything after school?”

“I have a report on endangered species to work on. Borrrrring.” Ben didn’t even look up from his plate.

“That sounds like fun. Why do you say it’s boring?”

Ben didn’t answer, just sent him a flat look of disgust like Sasha had asked him the dumbest question in history. As they stood and cleared away their dishes, he studied their glum expressions, and he couldn’t stand it anymore.

“How would you guys feel about taking a field trip?”

“Field trip?” Lucy frowned, a crease appearing between her fair eyebrows. “Where to?”

“Seattle.”

Ben looked at Lucy and shrugged, already onboard without explanation. Lucy, on the other hand, was a little skeptical.

“Uncle Nic says we’re grounded.”

“Technically, you’re allowed to leave for school.”

She laughed, a genuine one this time. “I’m pretty sure Seattle isn’t the same as school.”

“Debatable. You can learn a lot in Seattle,” Sasha said. “Come on. It can be educational. And fun.”

“And you’ll call the school? To excuse us today?” she asked.

Sasha nodded. “Of course. Don’t want you to get in trouble, after all.”

“Where in Seattle are we going?”

“That, young Ben, is a surprise. Go grab a warm coat. I’ll call the school, and we’ll head out.”

For the first time since he’d decorated the house with the children, their eyes lit up with excitement, and they ran up the stairs to get ready. After making the quick call to the automated attendance system at school and calling for a driver for the trip, he settled on the sofa in the den. The new decorations had been up for a few days now. As he’d half-expected, they were mind-numbingly dull and lacking in creativity, although quite expensive looking. Suitable for an iceman like Nic.

When the kids returned, they brought color back into the room, not only with their clothing but also with their enthusiasm. This was what Sasha lived for and the best reason for him to keep his dick in his pants when it came to his employer. No way could he risk messing this job up.

When they got to the front drive, he shot a yearning glance at the garage where he’d stored his Silverado. If it weren’t for the specific instructions not to use his personal vehicle to transport the kids, he would have driven them himself. Instead, they got in the back of the town car and headed toward the city. Lucy and Ben remained quiet, their heads dipped over their phones, until the car parked on the ferry to the Fauntleroy Ferry Terminal on the West Seattle side of the Sound.

“You two want to get out and stretch your legs?”

They both shrugged like twin marionettes without looking up from their screens.

“How long till we get where we’re going?” Lucy asked.

“About an hour. A little less maybe.” Sasha tapped his tennis shoe against Lucy’s. “How often do you get off Vashon?”

She sighed and shook her head, finally setting her phone aside to meet his gaze with her green eyes, so like Nic’s, only a few shades lighter. “Not often enough. It’s nice here, but with the twenty-minute ferry, it takes forever to get anywhere.”

“Who takes you?”

“Usually Percy. Sometimes whoever the nanny is.”

“Been a lot of nannies, hmm?” he asked. She nodded, and Sasha leaned forward in his seat. “Your uncle doesn’t take you?”

Ben chortled. “Yeah, right.” His shoulders immediately hunched inward as if the words had been an accidental outburst.

“He used to.” Lips pursed, Lucy crossed her arms over her stomach. “When we first got here—after our parents died—he spent a lot of time with us.”

“So what changed?”

She tensed, and a wall seemed to close her off, her expression tight. “Who knows? Got tired of us. We’re not his kids, after all, and we didn’t see him much before we had to come and live with him.”

“Who cares?” Ben spat. “When he’s home, he bosses us around and then disappears in his office. I wish he’d leave us alone and never come around at all. Wouldn’t change anything if he just stayed in Seattle.”

Sasha sat back without comment. He knew how to read between the lines here. Ben needed attention, time with a caring parental figure, and a nanny—or manny, for that matter—wasn’t going to cut it. It would never be a substitute for family when the kids were fully aware the care was being paid for. But it was equally obvious Nic wasn’t ready to hear what the kids needed most. Even if he was, his priorities put his work ahead of family.

With a lurch, the ferry pulled to the dock, and commuters began getting into their cars. As the town car followed the line of vehicles off the ramp and continued farther and farther north, the kids grew more restless, and Sasha laughed at them.

“Hey, I asked if you wanted to stretch your legs.”

Ben rolled his eyes. “Where are we going? Are we close yet?”

“Oh, aren’t you cute, trying to ruin the surprise.” Sasha tried to contain a laugh, but his efforts failed. The kids groaned but smiled.

Lucy copied Sasha’s earlier foot nudge. “Where’d you head off to last Saturday after dismantling our awesome Christmas decorations? Know anyone around here, a boyfriend or someone?”

“Wow,” he said. “Am I that obvious?”

She giggled. “No. But I did see how you were looking at my Uncle Scrooge.”

“Uncle Scr—oh, I see what you did there.” Heat swept over his cheeks. Hell, this girl had sharp eyes. He’d been certain the kids had both been too self-absorbed in the garland making to notice much of his first meeting with Nic. He cleared his throat. “Um, no. I mean no boyfriend or anyone. Went sightseeing at the Space Needle, Pike Place Market, and such. Saw the gum wall.”

Damn straight he ignored her comment on how he’d been looking at her uncle.

“Figured you’d get the tourist stuff out of the way?”

“Yep.”

“Gonna be boyfriends with Uncle Nic?”

“Gross, Luce,” Ben said, still looking down at his phone screen. “I don’t want to think about Uncle Nic’s sex life.”

“Ben!” Lucy smacked his arm, finally pulling his attention from the phone.

“Hey, you made me lose my game.”

Sasha wasn’t about to let his mind wander down the rabbit hole of Nic’s sex life, one that had become part of his nightly dreams. He cleared his throat and clapped loudly. “Wow, look, kids. We’re here.”

“The zoo!” Ben’s eyes widened as he pressed his face against the window. It was freaking amazing how thrilled they were to get out of the house for something besides school. Sasha would have assumed rich kids would have such opportunities all the time, so these kinds of things wouldn’t be impressive to them. The depth of their reaction was gratifying.

“Yep, and the WildLights have been set up for almost two weeks. If we’re here late enough, the place is going to be lit up better than that fake department store Christmas tree in our den.”

“Great. Now I miss our dumb Charlie Brown Christmas tree.”

“Me too, Ben,” Lucy said. As lame as that little tree had been, Sasha missed it as well, but apparently only a designer-quality tree was acceptable for the Price household. He’d met plenty of that sort of snobby type of parent, but oddly, Nic didn’t fit into the role. The man certainly hadn’t looked at Sasha with that “better-than-you” brand of distaste that came naturally to a genuine snob, even when he’d been in his grubby loungewear or workout clothes. But then, who was Nic trying so hard to impress?

The driver swung the door open, and Sasha ushered the two kids out of the car, letting his tension melt away. It was time to channel his superpower and impart some wisdom in a fun way without his students even realizing they were learning. These kids would get into the right frame of mind to be happier and more productive before they knew what hit them.

He shoved his niggle of worry to the back of his mind. The kids were getting an education, their school absence was excused, and they weren’t strictly in violation of the rules of their grounding. Certainly, it wasn’t a bad thing to skip for an educational trip to the zoo to learn about endangered species for Ben’s report. Nobody would even notice they were out for the day.