Taste of Temptation

After she'd thought for a moment, Thea said, "Guess I could do some studying, but I wouldn't have to leave to do that. Unless you want the house to yourself, so you could uh... do some entertaining. Then I could just go to the library if that's the case."

Smiling at her, he shook his head. "No, I'm good with you here." In fact he loved having her around, and since it would only be the two of them for the rest of the weekend, a part of him was curious to see where it would lead.

Thea suggested, "Well we could get my clothes and things later, if you want."

"Sure, we could do that."

The moment his mother-in-law Alice showed up, Chloe ran straight into her arms for a big warm hug, murmuring, "Grandma," into her breasts as the woman squeezed her tight. Then Alice looked up and frowned when she noticed Thea standing in the doorway.

Noticing the way she was already glaring, Max quickly introduced them, "Alice Greenway, this is Thea Nilsson, the new nanny I was telling you about. And Thea, this is my mother-in-law, Alice. Thea and Chloe have been getting along great, haven't you, Chloe?"

Pulling out of her grandmother's embrace Chloe nodded and told her, "Oh, yes. And I just love her, Grandma. She's so much fun. We did a play and we made pancakes and Thea loves to read me stories, too."

Her brow arched sceptically, Alice extended her hand and shook Thea's, but her eyes were carefully raking her over from head to toe the entire time. Then she narrowed her gaze on Max as she said, "Before we go, could I see you alone for a moment, Max?"

Heaving a sigh, Max nodded and followed her into his office where she clicked the door shut behind them before she strode up to him till they were toe to toe. Then she asked him, "What are thinking having a girl that looks like that taking care of your daughter? When you said you were getting a nanny I was thinking something along the lines of Mary Poppins and not some kind of Victoria's Secret model."

Narrowing his eyes on her, he asked, "What the hell are you implying, Alice? Granted, she's a good looking woman, but you honestly think I'd hire her just for her looks? I'll have you know she comes very highly recommended, and I can show you if you'd like." And he quickly rifled through the files on his desk until he found Thea's and spread it open so she could see the glowing recommendation from the Ambassador and his family. "And she's so good with Chloe that she's already head over heels for her."

"And looking the way she does, I'm just wondering how long it'll be before you're head over heels for her, too. Do you honestly think it's a good idea to have someone that looks like she does under your roof with your little daughter watching all that goes on?"

"Jesus, Alice, what do you think I'm planning on doing? All she does is work for me, and that's it. End of story." He tried not to wince as he thought; at least he hoped it would be.

"Well, if Chloe ever tells me she's seeing things that I don't feel she should be seeing then I want that woman gone. She's my granddaughter, too, and she's all I have to remember of her mother. Have I made myself clear?"

Max nodded. "No worries, Alice. I promise you there'll be nothing to see." With her money he knew she could fight him in court to try and take his daughter away from him if she ever thought he was exposing her to things that she shouldn't be seeing - which was only more of an incentive to keep his hands off Thea, no mattering how alluring she was.

Once Chloe had kissed them both goodbye and they were gone, Max and Thea stood staring at the closed door for what felt like forever. The air crackling with sexual tension between them, finally, Max said, "Well, guess we should go and get your things, huh?"

Heaving a sigh of relief, Thea nodded. "Yeah, I'll just get my purse."

Max had a big black SUV, and when he helped Thea to get inside, he had to fight back a groan as his face came within a hair's breadth of her sweet tight ass. After cursing himself as he straightened himself out in his jeans, he went around to the driver's side and hopped in, asking her, "So, where to?"

"Since my last job ended I've been staying at my cousin's place and its right downtown." As she directed him into the city, gradually feeling more comfortable with her, Max began to sit back and relax and even put on some music. Thea smiled when she heard one of her favorite songs, telling him, "Oh, I just love this song."

As Maroon-5's "She will be loved," played on the radio, Max listened to every word, wishing with everything he had that he could find a way to love her one day, too. Definitely sweeter than any woman he'd ever met and prettier, too. Ridiculous as it was, he was already jealous of whoever would ultimately wind up with her - The lucky bastard.

Thea's cousin lived on a nice leafy street, in the heart of the city in an old red brick house that had been converted into apartments. And his place was on the main floor. Thea had been crashing on the couch in the living area and all her stuff was still packed in suitcases, so she was glad she wouldn't have to pack.

And no sooner had they walked in, than a tall lanky guy with red hair and a beard, in just jeans with no shirt, strode in from the kitchen. Instantly lifting her into his arms, he kissed her hard on the mouth, murmuring against her lips, "Good to have you back, I've missed your pretty face around here." Thea just laughed, and playfully thumped his chest and told him to put her down.

Meanwhile Max stood and glared at the nerve of the guy just grabbing her like that and kissing her.

Her cheeks blushing to a pretty shade of pink, Thea turned and said, "Max, this is Cooper, my cousin's roommate, and Cooper, this is Max, who's just hired me to take care of his daughter."

"Cool," Cooper said with a careless shrug.

Glancing behind him, Thea asked, "So, Oscar's not home?"

Cooper shook his head. "No. Don't think he came home last night, not sure where he is."

Thea nodded. "Well, I can talk to him later. Just came to get my things, since I'll be living with Max and his daughter now."

Cooper smiled and gave her a wink. "Well, good luck then, Thea."

"Thanks, Cooper. And you take care of yourself," she told him as she picked up one of her bags as Max got the rest.

Once they got outside, her curiosity getting the better of him, Max asked, "So, I guess you were seeing that guy?"

Thea laughed at the idea. "Cooper? Oh, god no. Though he's a super nice guy and told me he'd love to get in my pants, we've never hooked up. He's just not my type."

Outside by his car, before he could even stop himself, Max turned and asked, "So what would you say is your type?"

On the tip of her tongue to say, "You are," she just shrugged and told him, "Guess just someone kind and caring, who will be there for me when I need him, who's also not a pothead."

He knew if she was his, he'd always be there for her. But of course, that was never going to happen. But since he'd never been into drugs, he imagined he had that going for him.

Max decided to take a detour before heading north back to his place. Stopping in front of a row of run down townhouses a few blocks from her cousin's place, he pulled into a parking spot, shaking his head. "I can't believe it's all still here. And nothing much has changed."

Thea looked out the driver's side window with him, asking, "What are you looking at?"

He pointed at the last townhouse on the end and told her, "That's where I grew up as a kid. My dad took off when I was little, so it was all my mom could afford. She, my brother and I lived there till I went to the police academy and became a cop and then moved out on my own."

Surprised, she tipped her head. "I didn't know you were a cop."

"Yeah, I was on the force for about eight years. But eventually I decided to start my own business, and thankfully it's been going well. But you know looking back at where I came from really makes me appreciate what I've got now."

Thea nodded, watching a bunch of kids run around on the patchy grass, telling him, "I can imagine."

Max smiled watching them play. Then he pointed to a big tree off to the side of complex, telling her, "That's what my brother and I loved to play on, especially since we didn't have many toys. We'd climb that thing for hours, and invent all kinds of stories. One day we were pirates on a ship at sea and then cops and robbers the next, and it was just so much fun. And believe me back then, we had so little that we were just glad to have a tree to play on."

Then noticing some tough looking kids making their way up the street, narrowing his eyes, Max pointed them out. "And we did our best to avoid punks like that who'd try to shake us down for money. But the joke was always on them, because we never had any. And if we ever lucky enough to have a dollar, we knew enough to hide it in our shoes. A neighbor friend of my mother's got worked over pretty bad by a bunch of them for her purse one night on her way home from bingo. And that's when I decided I wanted to become a cop to try and protect people like her and my mom, who had no one else to defend them."

Thea gave him a little smile. "And you still protect people with your company now."

He shrugged, a little embarrassed, he managed to smile back. "Yeah, we do our best."

Once Max started the car and pulled out onto the street, he looked over and seeing how serious she looked, he changed the subject and asked, "So what was growing up in Sweden like?"

Her face instantly broke into a smile, as she told him, "Wonderful actually. My father was a history professor and my mother a nurse, and I had a very happy childhood. We had a nice house just outside of Stockholm. And I have a brother who also teaches. And they're all still there."

"So you miss your family?"

She nodded. "Of course, they're always in my thoughts. But we keep in touch." Then she tipped her head and asked, "So, you still hear from your mother and brother?"

Max shrugged. "Well, my brother's married and I see him a lot. He and his wife Lori help out with Chloe quite a bit, since they haven't got any kids yet, and they really seem to enjoy her. Unfortunately my mother died just after I graduated from the police academy from breast cancer, and I've got to say I still miss her like crazy. She was just such an amazingly selfless person. She'd give anyone the shirt off her back, despite having nothing herself. And she had to be the greatest mom ever."

Her heart clenching for him, without even thinking, Thea reached over and wrapped her hand around his and gave it a squeeze. "It's probably why you're such a great dad, having grown up with a mother like her."

He smiled over at her, enjoying the feel of her hand on his. "Who knows? But I often wish she'd have gotten a chance to meet Chloe. I know she'd have been crazy about her."

"Could be she's watching over her from above, you never know."

Stopped at a red light, Max squeezed her hand right back as he smiled into her eyes, and said, "You could be right. At least I hope so."

They drove home hand in hand, since no one seemed prepared to let go. And when Thea mentioned that they should pick up something to make for dinner, Max looked over at her and suggested, "Hey, why don't we go out for dinner tonight? With Chloe at her grandma's we could eat anywhere we want."

"You mean just you and me?"

Max chuckled. "Yeah, I wasn't thinking of asking anyone else."

Once Thea had unpacked and put away all her clothes, she had a shower and brushed her hair till it shone. She had a pretty hot pink dress that she wore out sometimes that she didn't think would be too sexy for a dinner with her boss. Thigh high, it fit like a glove with just a hint of cleavage from the little slit at the front. And she just hoped he wouldn't think it was too much. After slipping on a pair of nude heels and grabbing her purse and putting on a little hot pink lipstick to match, she decided she was ready.

But the moment Max saw her, he almost swallowed his tongue. Jesus, he'd never seen a more beautiful sexy woman. Now he kind of wondered if this going out for dinner together thing was such a great idea. He knew one thing for sure; his eyes would never leave her. And he wouldn't give a damn about the food.

Max helped her into his car again, rolling his eyes at the sight of her nice tight ass clad in such an inviting shade of hot pink so close to his face. All he knew was if he ever did get her naked, he was going to want to lick that ass nonstop. No woman had ever gotten to him this badly. And although he knew he should not be taking her out, he couldn't resist an evening alone with her, where they could just talk and get to know each other a little more.

He chose a nice little restaurant by the lakeshore. And once they were seated at a window seat, the way her eyes lit up at the view, he was glad he'd picked it. As it got dark, the sky filled with a myriad of pinks and mauves and deep crimsons giving them quite a show. As did the full moon reflecting on the water once the sun had gone down.

Thea actually shivered as she admired the view. "Oh, god, it's so pretty here, Max. I just love it."

He shot her a sexy grin. "And the food's pretty good, too."

Thea smiled into his eyes and reached across the table and squeezed his hand. "Thank you for this, Max."

He knew he should be thanking her. Until she'd walked up and knocked on his door, he'd been living in a kind of haze, taking care of Chloe while doing his best to try and keep things running smoothly at work. He'd never had time to even think of anything else. But now that she'd come into their lives, already it felt like he was really beginning to live again and appreciate all that life had to offer - especially someone as sweet as her.

Although he still checked in with his office round the clock, now he didn't feel like he'd be stretched so thin anymore with her to help lighten his load. And he'd sometimes wondered what his life would have been like if he'd married someone different who wanted the same things he wanted out of life. Stability for his daughter, and a happy home life with someone to love and love him back, was really all he'd ever wanted.

After the excellent seafood dinner for two they'd shared, outside in the parking lot, Thea patted her flat little tummy and told him, "I feel like I need to walk after eating all that." Then she bit into her lip and smiled when she noticed a narrow strip of sand that ran along the shoreline of the lake, asking him, "Would you be up for a walk?"

Max shrugged. Watching her take off her shoes, he followed suit and slipped off his shoes and socks. Then seeing the careful way she tested the water with just her toes, laughing and squealing, he couldn't help but smile. She was just so playful. No wonder Chloe was crazy about her. Smiling over her shoulder at him, Thea told him, "The water's perfect, too bad we can't go in for a swim."

Of course he'd love to go in for a dip with her, especially if it was skinny dipping, imagining how incredible she'd look out of her clothes. Such a lean tight little body that had him stifling a groan when she bent to pick up a sea shell. And no surprise, his pants tightened down in front when her body hugging dress slid up high on her thighs, giving him quite an eyeful.

Finally, she coaxed him to test the waters, too. And eventually with his pants rolled up to his knees, they walked hand in hand, just enjoying the feel of the water splashing on their feet, and the quiet of the warm night air together. Although they'd enjoyed laughing and talking over dinner, he decided this was just as nice, quietly strolling hand in hand, barefoot on the beach. And Max realized he was enjoying their walk probably more than if he'd wound up with Natasha in bed after their dinner.

And when Thea smiled up at him, and said, "We should bring Chloe here one day and let her play." Max nodded, realizing that already she was more interested in his daughter than her own mother had been.

Once they got home, Max said, "I think I'll change out of this suit." And Thea nodded; kind of wishing she could help with that, sure that she'd love to discover what he'd look like out of his clothes. She still couldn't believe she was working for such a good looking man.

But just before he turned to leave, Thea smiled in to his eyes and told him, "I want to thank you again for tonight, Max. I had wonderful time with you." Then before he realized what she was up to, she was cupping his face in her hands and gently touching her lips to his with a feather-light kiss.

And by the time he'd found it in him to open his eyes, she'd already stepped back. His heart thudding hard in his chest, brief as it was, it had to be the sweetest kiss he'd ever experienced. Now he just wished he could tug into her arms and really kiss her and then get her naked and get them both moaning.

But all he did was shake his head, give her a little smile, say goodnight and head into his room.

Damn, it was going to be one long lonely night knowing that lovely Thea was just across the way, especially since they were all alone, and he knew he couldn't do a damn thing about it.

Gazing longingly at the other pillow next to his, part of him wished that she actually had been the older lady he'd imagined then he wouldn't be so tormented, wanting her so badly. But then he'd never have met her, or seen pretty smile or ever experienced how delightful a woman could actually be.

Staring up at the ceiling, of course he knew all he'd have to do was let her know he was interested, and see where things went. Then he thought of what his mother-in-law Alice had said about them getting involved, and knew he couldn't risk anything happening with Chloe, no matter how much he wanted to explore things with the most alluring woman he'd probably ever encounter.

Flipping his pillow, he gave it a good hard punch. Damn, sometimes life just sucked - to want a woman this badly - that he could probably never have. But even worse was realizing that she might just be the one, for both him and his daughter. He blew out a breath, wrapping his hand around his dick, ready to jerk off again, already to wondering what he'd gotten himself into when he'd hired her, maybe a lifetime of torture - that's what...