Burn For You (Boys of the South) (17 page)

Landry laughs. “Sorry, but you said it was up to me.” She stands there, shifting from side to side. “You really wouldn’t mind if I took a shower while you’re in here? I tried the door to the connecting room but it won’t unlock.”

“My nose would appreciate it.”

Landry playfully punches me in the shoulder. “You’re not exactly smelling like roses either.”

“I never smell like roses.”

“Of course not,” Landry huffs. “I’ll go get my stuff.”

I scoop some water up with my hand and pour it over Mia’s head, careful to keep it out of her eyes. I had lied. Landry smelled damn good, the lingering scent of her perfume making me want to follow her. In fact, I bet that my shirt and sheets smell like her.

I frown.

Mia babbles, handing me a rubber dinosaur. I take it and she grins, batting her eyes. The little flirt.

I grunt and shake the toy at her. “Baby shampoo is the only thing you’re allowed to smell like, until you’re at least thirty.”

“That’s what you think,” Landry calls out as she walks behind me.

“Don’t listen to her sassy mouth, Mia. Girls like her are trouble.” Though Landry is the furthest thing from trouble there is, at least when it comes to my daughter.

“Ha! My dad still reminds me of the time I promised to never leave him for a stinky boy.” Out of the corner of my eye, I watch her step inside the shower and begin taking off her clothes. My tongue glues itself to the top of my mouth when her bare shoulders come into view. Then the water starts to run and she steps under it, running her hands through her hair and groaning.

“This feels so good,” Landry moans, and my body surges.

I shift to one side and focus on Mia. There’s no way I’m going to get turned on by this little show while I’m giving my daughter a bath.  “You ready to get out?” I ask Mia.

She blows a raspberry at me and splashes around. I can’t take her out yet, not when she’s like this—so happy and playful. So I sit there, growing more uncomfortable by the minute while Mia plays and Landry showers.

The scent of her shampoo fills the room, and my skin starts to feel too tight. “That’s it. Bath time’s over.” I grab a towel off a warming rack and get Mia out. By the time I dry her off, dress her, and order some breakfast, Landry walks out.

Her hair is still wet, her face is free of makeup, and she’s wearing a long sundress with tiny straps holding it up. Never have I seen a woman more gorgeous.

“I’ll take over so you can get a shower.” She takes her wet hair, pulling it up into a bun and securing it. “I can call room service.”

“Already took care of it.”

Landry beams at me, like I’ve already won the race and not just ordered food. “Thank you.”

“You’re welcome.”

We stand there, with my daughter between us, staring at each other. Before I lose my mind or kiss Landry senseless, I grab my phone and pull up my schedule.

“Your phone is the same one as mine, so let’s synch our calendars.”

“Sounds like a great idea.” She walks to the bed, bending over to get her phone. The material of her dress pulls tight, giving me an amazing view of her plump ass. “I’ll try to keep Mia up until bedtime so she can get used to the time change. So, you go do what you need to do and not worry about a thing.”

As she walks back to me, I feel a goofy ass grin appear on my face.

She wrinkles her nose while I mess with our phones. “What?”

I give her back her phone and toss mine on the bed. “You.”

“Me?” Her brows draw together.

I take a step closer, my hands hovering near her hips until I shove them in my pockets. “Yeah. I really appreciate how quickly you’ve stepped into the role of Mia’s nanny. It will be a really big help to me. I can’t remember the last time I had help like this.”

“It’s my job, Beau,” she reminds me.

Shit. “Yeah it is. Good.” I step to the side, searching for my luggage. “I’ll get that shower now. Tip the guy for me, will you? They’ll charge it to my room.”

B
eau strides
into the bathroom like he’s being chased. A true statement since I obviously chased him off with my stupid reply to his compliment.

I sink to the floor where Mia is playing on a big blanket. She’s on her back, staring up at the crystal chandelier that casts rainbows all over the place. Looking out into the harbor, I see gently sloping mountains, massive cruise ships, and ginormous private yachts floating on top of water the color of aquamarines.

The room is nothing to sneeze at either with marble floors, plush seating areas, and a bed so comfy that I felt like a princess sleeping in there. The room even came with a prince.

Too bad I told him I only wanted to be friends.

I lie back on the floor, beside Mia, and stare up at the ceiling. It’s made of some kind of rock that’s been polished so much our reflections stared down at us.

I’m pretty sure mine is ordering me to enjoy paradise and quit being such a doofus. And to quit listening to Meagan’s gossip and his ex-girlfriend. Though to be fair, I know Meagan is only looking out for me. The ex—not so much.

While Beau... Beau is trying to be nice and friendly, while I did my best to be weird and awkward. All because I’d taken a shower with him in the same room. I could have waited, but the thought of being clean and washing off the airplane funk had been too tempting for me.

I hold up my phone and study Beau’s calendar. “Practice, press event, party... after party. More practice. More press events. More parties.” I look at Mia. “Your daddy is going to be bus-
y
, sweet pea. Looks like it’ll be just you and me. How do you feel about long walks on the beach at sunset?” An odd pang hits my chest.  I could have had long walks with him and Mia.

“Dadadada,” she says, then stuffs a bunny into her mouth.

There’s a knock at the door and I get up to answer it. On the other side is handsome guy, who looks to be about my age. He has black hair, light blue eyes, and a great smile.

“Hi,” I say, stepping to the side to let him in with the tray. “You don’t know how happy I am to see you.”

“See me?” He gives me a quizzical grin.

I blush a little at his question and British accent. His name badge reads Henry. “The food. I’m excited about food.”

He pushes the cart to the middle of the room and waits. “Where shall I set up?”

I glance around the room, spotting a table and chairs on the balcony. “There. The weather’s perfect.”

“It’s always perfect for a beautiful woman like you,” he says with a wink.

Flustered at the compliment, I pick at my dress. I know he’s being nice to make sure he gets a good tip, but it still makes me feel a little funny. “Thank you.” I pick up Mia and settle her on my hip, following Henry.

The sun’s reflection off the water is so bright that I have to blink a couple of times before my eyes adjust. I check on Mia, but she seems to be fine. One little hand clutches at my dress while the other waves.

Henry looks up, smiles, and waves back.

“She’s excited about the food, too,” I say.

“She’s beautiful, like her mother,” he says, pulling out a seat for me. “Come. Sit. Eat. I’ll serve you.”

“I’m not her mother,” I say, sitting down. “I’m the nanny.”

Henry begins to take the covers off the plates, and I swear I start to drool. “Will you get time to yourself, then? I could take you around, show you the sights.”

Is he hitting on me? Or being friendly? I don’t want to be rude, but I also don’t want to encourage him. “I’m not sure if—”

Henry bends down, touching my bare shoulder and letting his fingers skim down my arm and back up again.

I shiver, but not because I’m enjoying his touch—I’m uncomfortable and unsure how to handle this. I’m not at King’s, where this is par for the course and I can call someone to help me. Plus, I’m holding Mia and Beau’s in the shower. So, I try the direct approach. “Please take your—”

“Even the help gets a holiday in Monte Carlo, love.” His fingers touch my neck and then my clavicle.

“Stop,” I say, trying to keep my voice firm but calm. I don’t want to scare Mia.

“Are you sure, love?”

“Yes.” My stomach flips. What if he doesn’t stop?

“Get your hand off her. Now.”

My gaze flies to the door.  Henry’s hand falls away as he straightens.

Beau stands there, wearing nothing but a glare, nipple rings, and a pair of jeans. The jeans hang loosely on his hips, giving me an unobstructed view of just how cut he is—everywhere. The swirling lines of a tattoo I hadn’t seen before peeks out from under the waistband, and my vision sparks.

“Are you okay?” he asks me.

“We were only talking, sir.”

“I didn’t ask you,” Beau snaps.

“I’m fine.” I hold Mia closer to me and kiss the top of her head. “Really.”

Beau’s eyes flash hot. “Let me walk you to the door, Henry.”

––––––––

B
eau

The only thing keeping me from going ape-shit on this asshole is her answer. But as we get closer to the door, the more furious I get. This fucker put his hand on Landry
while
my daughter was in her lap.

If Landry had wanted him to do it, then yeah I would be pissed, but I would have accepted him as her choice. Only, a blind man could’ve seen how uncomfortable she was, how out of her element... and she’d told him to stop touching her twice.
Twice.
Once should have been enough.

And now that I think about it, I wouldn’t have accepted shit about him being her choice.

“Are you in the habit of putting your hands where they don’t belong?”

“I’m sorry, sir. It won’t happen again. The women staying here usually like the attention. Again, I’m sorry.” He holds out a thin, rectangular book. “Please convey my apologies to—”

“Ms. Basnight,” I supply, taking the bill from him and signing it.

“Yes. Please convey my apologies to the lady.” Henry seems contrite enough, but I’m not convinced.

I glance over my shoulder at Landry. She’s watching me with a worried look on her face while she feeds Mia bits of fruit. “I’m sorry,” she mouths and looks away.

She’s sorry? What the hell did she have to be sorry about?  The fury burning inside of me comes to a head.

Turning my attention back to Henry, I hold out my hand to shake his, like everything is a-okay. The minute his fingers touch mine, I wrench his arm around his back, spinning him around and pinning him to the wall by the open door.

“Fuck, mate. I apologized.” He breathes out hard, spit covering his cheek.

“That fixes everything, right? You got caught. That’s why you apologized.” I twist his arm even more.

“Son of a bitch.” His skin starts to pale.

I dip my head, bringing my mouth so close to his ear that I could go Mike Tyson on it if I wanted to. Right at this moment, I want to and the only thing holding me back is the knowledge that my daughter and Landry are practically in the same room.  “If you ever put your hands on her again, I’ll break your fucking arm off, and shove it so far up your ass that your hand pops out of your mouth. You won’t ever need to use a fork to eat again. Are we clear?”

Henry’s eyes widen and he whimpers, “Yes, sir. Mr. Montgomery, sir.”

“So glad we had this little talk.” I smile, shove him out the room and slam the door behind him. Then I take the high chair I’d found out in the hall and head to the balcony to sit with my girls.

“This was outside.” I move a chair out of the way and set it beside Landry.  Smiling with a calmness I don’t remotely feel, I pick up an apple and take a bite.  “I’ll cut up some of this for Mia.”

Without a word, Landry places Mia in the highchair, soft tendrils of hair brushing the back of her neck, as she secures her in the seat. I want to pull out that adorable bun, just so I can see all that beautiful hair floating around her. 

“Thank you for saving me from Handsy Henry.” She lifts her hazel eyes to mine. They’re shiny, but she’s not crying. “You’d think I would have known what to do in that situation, but I wasn’t expecting it and I was holding Mia.” She blows out a shaky breath. “I feel so stupid right now. I’m sorry.”

I sit down beside her, taking her chin in my hand. “You have nothing to apologize for. Nothing. And don’t you ever refer to yourself as stupid.”

“I won’t.” She gives me a wobbly smile. “Don’t tell anyone, but it felt good to see you rough him up.”

“Saw that, did you?” I let go of her chin and take another bite of my apple.

She nods. “Where did you learn to do that?”

Grinning, I raise my brows. “Baby, you can take a boy out of the country, but you can never take the country out of the boy, especially when he’s nothing but trailer park trash in the first place.”

This time, Landry grabs my chin, her small fingers scalding my skin. “Don’t you ever refer to yourself as trash. Trash doesn’t defend a woman or take care of his responsibilities.”

I wrap my fingers around her hand, pull it away from my face, and let go. “I want to kiss you right now, for saying something so sweet.”

Her lips part. “That makes two of us.”

Slowly I lean in, just in case she changes her mind. Our mouths touch, hers warm and soft. Nothing more than a caress, maybe only a thank you. I can accept that, if that’s all she is willing to give me.

But then her lips part and that little pink tongue of hers darts out to touch my lip ring. I almost lose it right then and there. I fist my hands, one on the table and the other on my leg, to keep from touching her while she explores my piercing, while she licks and sucks and make me shake.

The need to touch her, to pull down the straps of her dress so I can see her breasts, rides me hard, but I don’t give in.
I will not give in.
I chant the words in my head to keep focuses.

She breaks the kiss first. Her eyes are sparkling, her cheeks are flushed, and her lips look bee stung. “We need to eat,” she whispers as I press a kiss to her forehead. I don’t want to stop kissing her.

“You tasted pretty damn good,” I say, my lips now at the corner of her mouth. “Like strawberries.”

Landry blushes. “You tasted like—“