“Hey, it’s okay.” I was hoping he’d return my apologetic smile. We both touched each other in unplanned, embarrassingways, which makes us even. But Zivren looks like he’s having a heart attack. “Don’t sweat it. See you tomorrow.”
Day two is light years more comfortable than day one because I come bearing gifts. I refuse to let any awkwardness from yesterday linger because, if it does, it’ll never die. Zivren and I need to break out of this funk, so I stopped at the market before coming here and bought a box full of cream buns.
“I thought you’d like a treat before heading into work,” I say, presenting him with the box. Akkal is hopping in place next to me as his dad gives him a cream bun on a small plate. The three of us stand around the kitchen counter and trade delighted moans as we dig into our respective pastries.
Akkal finishes his first and asks if he can go outside and play with his warriors.
Zivren nods, his strong throat working as he swallows. “Only if you wash your hands first.”
I’m mesmerized by the sight of Zivren eating. The flex of his jaw. The sharp edge to his Adam’s apple as it moves up and down. The way he tilts his head slightly to the side as he chews and looks at the food in his hand, as if he’s surprised to be enjoying the taste as much as he is. Then there’s the quick nod of approval after he swallows. I can almost hear him say, in his signature gruffness, “Good. Quite good.”
I’m dizzy with his approval and don’t realize I’m reaching for the little glob of frosting on the corner of his mouth until I say, “You’ve got a little something…”
He jerks back in shock. I look at the glob on my finger. Yup, I just did that. I acted out an intimate thing only couples and family members do with each other, and I’ve only known him for three goddamn days. Oh, and he’s my boss.
I could remain frozen in fear and remorse just like yesterday, or I could brush it off like it’s no big deal. My nerves fuel my wild chuckle as I bring my finger to my lips and suck the frosting off.
“Mm. Sweet.”
Then I collect our plates and napkins and resolve to busy myself with tidying until he stops looking so scandalized. Because come on. It’s not like I flashed my titties at him.
After a few mumbled statements Zivren heads off to work, and I spend the afternoon outside in the sand with Akkal. I use some of the glasses and mugs from the kitchen to show him how to build a sandcastle, and he’s fascinated. He builds his first one completely on his own, beaming with pride at how tall the central tower of his castle is.
Soon there’s an entire kingdom—and a rival kingdom—and using his warriors, he creates a new story about a war between them, the prince the warrior from the rival kingdom loves and vows to rescue from the castle he’s locked in, and I’m smiling so wide my jaw starts to hurt. I can’t wait for Zivren to see this. To see the brilliant mind of his child at work. The brilliant child I’m blessed to care for. I hope I get to keep this job for a very long time.
Chapter 5
ZIVREN
June has been Akkal’s nanny for two weeks, and I’d fire her if she weren’t so good at her job. Being in her presence is becoming increasingly unbearable. My cock is constantly poking through my pants, and I blame her scent for that. It’s everywhere. Her hair smells like sunshine and fresh flowers, and her skin smells like she bathes in the juice ofguataviberries. When she arrives, I rush to get out the door, and when I return home at the end of a shift, I often find her asleep on the couch, her soft body tucked into a ball that makes her look like akenuuvobear coming out of hibernation. Her hair is a wild mess, and the warmth of sleep radiates off her skin. When she leaves, I end up sprawled on the couch, inhaling her scent on the pillow as I try to keep my hips from pistoning into the cushion.
She is driving me to madness. A madness I’ve never known before. I…want her. Badly.
I gather my duffel of overnight supplies as I get ready to leave for my shift. It’s rare that I’m called upon to stay for a double, but I like to be prepared. The central part of the island is mostly brush and prone to fires, and when the air is this dry, you never know when a spark could catch.
June is standing in front of the cold box with the door open, humming a lilting tune to herself. She’s wearing a loose top and shorts that cling to her thighs and ass. This means her legs are fully bared to me, and I want nothing more than to sink to my knees and kiss along her shapely calves, her ankles, and the tip of each bare toe. I need to refill my water jug, but as I watch her nipples slowly harden, I forget my needs entirely. When she notices me, she quickly apologizes and steps to the side. “I was just figuring out what to make Akkal for dinner.”
“Mm,” I grunt, trying to compose myself. I’ve never been more thankful that I’m the one who can read minds because if she could see inside my––her employer’s––head in this moment, if she could see the things I’ve fantasized about doing to her, I fear she’d run straight into the sea.
There are times when I think she may feel the same pull that I do, like when I woke her from a dead sleep and my name was on her lips. I could sense a yearning in her voice. But since the day she began working as Akkal’s nanny, I’ve promised myself I wouldn’t invade her privacy by peering into her thoughts or making my desires known. My family made it clear how off-putting my ability is to those who don’t have it, and the last thing I want to do is make June uncomfortable in my presence.
Especially when Akkal has grown so fond of her. They laugh, chase each other around the house, and she’s gotten him to try activities that I never could. She even plays with his toys and creates different voices for each one. He needs her, and in order to ensure she remains, I must conceal my feelings.
“Oh, sorry,” she says with a nervous giggle as we bump into each other in the middle of the kitchen, the skin of our forearms brushing.
A zap of electricity shoots down my spine at the contact, and I grit my teeth to stifle the moan climbing up my throat before clearing it. “It’s fine,” I say stiffly before tossing my bag over myshoulder. I press a kiss to Akkal’s hair and rush out the door without another word to her.
When I return home in the early morning hours, I find June in her usual spot––curled up on the couch and deep in slumber. But this slumber seems to be the opposite of restful. Her brow is pinched and her knuckles are white as she clutches the thin blanket draped across her middle.
There’s part of me that’s hesitant to wake her. Isn’t it worse to wake a sleeping creature from what is clearly a nightmare? I read that in a parenting book once. Or perhaps that’s just my kind and the rule doesn’t apply to humans.
“No,” she whimpers, her chin dropping to her chest.
She looks so fragile and afraid.
“No, no,no. They’ll kill us.”
What could she be dreaming of? Something from her imagination, or her memories?
