Nanny and the Professor (17 page)

"Are you two all ready for bed?" she asked, but she could plainly see that both boys were wearing their pajamas.

"It's nearly time for me to go," she told them. "Joshua should be home soon. While he changes his clothes, I'm going to drive over and pick up Mary, so you two won't be alone."

"Aw-
ww
," Eric lamented. "We're too big for a babysitter."

Cassie grinned. "Don't think of it as a night with a babysitter. Think of it as a visit with Mary."

The boys exchanged a pained look that had her chuckling. "You two better be good," she cautioned. She heard the front door open and her stomach flip-flopped. "I'll be right back."

She hurried down the stairs. "Hi," she said.

Joshua smiled at her and Cassie felt bombarded by an energy force strong enough to brighten the lights in the room.

"I stopped on my way home and picked up Aunt Mary," he said. "I thought I'd save you a trip."

How considerate of him, she thought,
then
she realized that she hadn't even noticed Mary standing there by the door.

"Mary, how
are
you?" she asked, hurrying to take the older woman's sweater.

"I'm doing great," Mary said. "I was so happy when you asked me to watch the boys. It will be nice to spend some time with them."

"Well, I'm going to run upstairs and take a quick shower." Joshua nodded to his aunt and threw Cassie a quick wink before he left the room.

"Have you eaten dinner, Mary?" Cassie asked.

"Oh, yes. Let's just sit and have a little chat."

Cassie spent the next twenty minutes or so dodging Mary's gently probing questions. How could she explain to Mary how she felt about Joshua when she didn't know herself? If she even attempted to verbalize the physical aspects of how she desired him, or the intense attraction that seemed to literally pull them together like a force of nature– why, the older woman would probably keel over in a swoon. Avoiding Mary's more personal questions, at least for the time being, was her only option.

When Joshua entered the living room, she turned to face him with every intention of smiling. But at the sight of him– his freshly shaven face, his brown eyes glinting with anticipation, his wavy red hair still damp from his shower– she could only stare silently.

"Is something wrong?" he asked, a look of concern shadowing his features.

"Wrong?" The word came out sounding breathless and weak as she wondered,
What
could be wrong with someone so utterly perfect in every way? Shrugging one shoulder, she stated frankly, "Nothing's wrong. It's just that you look so... good."

She let her eyes travel the length of him. His navy blazer hugged his shoulders provocatively and went nicely with his tawny-colored trousers. His white dress shirt and navy print silk tie would have looked mundane and ordinary on any other man, but he filled it out in such a way that it made her want to loosen the tie and unfasten the shirt buttons to see what pleasures were hidden beneath.

Then she heard him chuckle– a low, seductive sound. She couldn't stop her face from flaming; not because of what she'd said to him, which was the honest truth, but from what she'd thought.

"It's nice to be appreciated," he said. One corner of his mouth turned up in a grin. "And I didn't mention it before, but you look good too."

Something about the way he said the word
good
, along with the hungry look in his eyes, told her he really thought she looked better than good– much better. She smiled, gazing at him almost invitingly. Her tongue darted to moisten her bottom lip. Suddenly she realized she was actually flirting with him. And enjoying
herself
immensely.

"Why don't you two get on your way?"

Cassie nearly gasped aloud when Mary spoke. Heaven above, this little byplay between herself and Joshua had put Mary completely out of Cassie's mind.

"That's a good idea," Joshua said. "Cassie?"

She stood and, without hesitation, took Joshua's outreached hand.

"I've already said goodnight to the boys for both of us," he told her. Then he turned to Mary. "We won't be too late."

"Please," Mary stressed, "don't hurry on my account. Just have a good time."

Joshua opened the car door for Cassie and she hesitated before getting inside. Gazing up at him in the moonlight, she touched the tips of her fingers to the back of his hand where it rested on the top of the door.

"I want to thank you for asking me to the party tonight," she said, her tone conveying the candor she felt. "You know I was a little hesitant about accepting, but I'm glad I did."

"So am I."

His mouth pulled back in the barest of smiles and the golden flecks of his deep brown eyes danced with an anticipation that made Cassie's heart thump wildly under her rib cage.

"We're going to have a good time tonight," he promised.

She thanked the stars twinkling overhead that the drive to the party would be short. Joshua had told her that the host of the party lived barely five miles away, near Stringer's Pond.

The air in the close confines of the car was thick with anticipation and some other
unnameable
tension. Well,
unnameable
wasn't exactly correct; Cassie knew what it was that had the atmosphere so dense that she could hardly breathe, but she wasn't yet ready to face the sheer sensuality that pulled at every fiber of her being.

Joshua turned onto
Pond Circle
, the narrow road that looped the small, irregular-shaped pond. When he pulled to the side of the road and cut the engine, her gaze swung around, questioning him.

"Do you mind–" he looked toward the water and then back at her "–if we take a little walk by the pond?" His face took on a sheepish expression as he continued. "I'd like to enjoy a few minutes alone with you before I have to share your company with everyone else."

She found his request alluring. What she really wanted was to skip the party
and
the walk and find some other way to enjoy the night. She wanted to touch him, wanted to be touched by him. She was relieved that the dark interior of the car hid her in shadows because she knew the desire she felt was plainly written on her face.

"I'd like that," she told him.

They met at the front of the car and Joshua held out his hand to her. She took it as though it were the most natural thing in the world. And when she found it difficult to walk in heels across the uneven grassy ground, he offered her his arm, and she moved closer, holding onto him tightly.

The moonlight reflected on the water in a long, wavering trail of brightness against the satiny night. The frogs croaked an erratic song and the pussy willows were nearly motionless in the calm summer air.

"It's beautiful," she whispered, unwilling to have her voice spoil this perfect setting.

"I agree." Joshua clasped his hand over hers. "I wanted to build a house out here..."

The way he'd let the sentence go unfinished sparked her curiosity and she asked, "Why didn't you?"

He gave her a sidelong glance. "I'd rather not say. You'll laugh at me."

Now she was really interested, urging him to confide in her by giving his arm a little squeeze. "Oh, come on," she coaxed.

Then he said, "
Elizabeth
thought it wasn't a logical thing to do. We were settled in a house, why upset everyone's routine only to move just five miles up the road?"

He waited for her to chuckle, and when she didn't, he did.

"Since I've spent time with you," he said, "I've noticed just how ordered and rational my existence has been."

Cassie didn't laugh because it struck her as kind of melancholic that he might have given up something he truly wanted rather than upset his family– mainly his wife. Still, she didn't want him to feel regret about how he'd lived his life.

"Order and rationality aren't terrible things," she acknowledged.

"Yes, but if you choose reason and logic, then you can't have excitement and spontaneity. You end up living a life that's very ordered but... pretty damned dull."

She stopped in her tracks and looked up at him. "Joshua, that sounds so sad."

"But that's what I like about you," he said. "You do the unexpected. You're impulsive. You're fun-loving."

She bristled a little at his description. "You make me sound like an airhead."

"No, no, no," he hurried to say. "That's not what I meant at all. Here, sit down a minute." He led her to a huge, ancient fallen tree, years of use as a bench having smoothed the surface to a satiny finish. He slid out of his jacket and draped it over the tree for her to sit on.

Even though she felt affronted by his words, she couldn't help but notice his gallant behavior. Arranging for her to sit on his jacket so she wouldn't get her skirt dirty was a small gesture, but Cassie had never had someone about whom she felt so strongly treat her with so much consideration. And he did it without giving it much thought.

He settled beside her, straddling the log. "What I meant was," he said, "you're so capable, so competent, yet at the same time you're full of spirit." He laughed softly." I mean, who else but you would climb a tree in your Sunday best right before a job interview?"

He did have a point, she had to admit. Giving him a wry grin, she remarked, "But I did have a logical reason for doing so."

His fingers slid up the curve of her neck and he gazed into her eyes. "You certainly did," he whispered.

As he searched her face, she was overwhelmed by the emotions clamoring deep in the pit of her belly. His touch ignited her desire to a whole new level. He was going to kiss her, she just knew it. Dear God, she hoped he was going to kiss her.

"I like you, Cassie Simmons," he whispered. "I like you a lot." The husky quality of his voice and the light skimming of his fingers sent sexy shivers coursing down her arms.

"I like you, too," she murmured.

They moved closer to one another, and finally surrendered to the powerful magnetic attraction that had been beguiling both of them ever since the first time they'd met.

His lips were warm, smooth and deliciously moist when they touched hers. Brushed would have been a better description, because she'd barely tasted them before she heard his almost painful exhalation and felt him pull her against him in a hug.

"You feel so good in my arms," he breathed against her ear, smoothing his hands over her back. "You smell so good. Like summer wildflowers."

He pressed his lips on the tender skin behind her ear and slowly, deliberately, moved down her neck. His hot, light kisses left little seared spots in their wake. Please,
please
don't stop, she wanted to whisper, but she got lost in the lusciousness of his lips on her skin before she could actually utter the words. Cassie thought she'd die from the heat, but found herself tilting her head to the side to offer him more of her flesh to kiss. And he did– to the point where she found herself holding back a desire-induced moan.

She felt his thumb graze the tender underside of her breast. Her breath snagged in her throat when her nipples drew into tight buds of yearning. She parted her lips, gulped in air and slid her hands up over his arms and shoulders, holding on for dear life. Were it possible, she'd have melted right into him.

He may think her capable, or adept, or whatever adjectives he'd used– her passion-dazed brain couldn't remember exactly– but right now she wanted to toss away every trace of logic and act on every spontaneous sexual fantasy she'd ever conjured about him. Then the blood pounding in her ears drowned out all thought, and she did act.