His Heated Caress - Celia Kyle Page 0,23

his kid. It was incredibly endearing to see the way Stark put Blaise at the center of his universe. Everything he did, he did it for his son. Wyntir could see that now.

He was also good at keeping his word. As Blaise slid off her back, both father and son turned to face the house, giving her ample privacy to shift and wrap a towel around her naked body. Yet just as she tucked the towel under her arm, she caught a glimpse of something in the glossy reflection of the sliding glass door that set her heart pounding. While Blaise’s hands covered both of his eyes, Stark was staring intently at her reflection in the glass. But instead of being pissed off or embarrassed, Wyntir surprised herself when she realized she rather liked the idea of him looking at her naked form.

Uh oh. She’d have to work harder at holding back her true feelings. No way would she allow some crazy attraction to compromise her assignment. Not only would that be bad for her career, but it would be even worse for their safety. But damn, it was tough when he looked at her like she was the best thing on the menu.

“Okay, you can turn around now,” Wyntir said, pretending she didn’t see Stark’s sneak peek.

Blaise twirled around and went barreling toward her, throwing his arms around her waist. “Thank you so much, Miss Wyntir! I’m gonna go call Trystin right now and tell him I flew!”

Then he spun away and bounded into the house, leaving her alone with Stark. The tension was palpable.

“So, uh, what are your plans for the rest of your day off?” she asked, a little too stiffly to be natural, but he responded in kind.

“Oh, just hang out. Maybe marathon some old movies.”

“That sounds like fun,” she said quietly, trying to not be too obvious.

Stark saw right through her and smiled brilliantly. It felt for a moment like the sun beat down on her face twice as hard, heating her up from head to toe.

“Oh, it’s gonna be off the hook,” he said with a waggle of his eyebrows. “And since you’re on the clock…”

“I might as well join you,” she finished with a smile of her own.

The rest of the day was spent in Stark’s custom home theater, complete with a commercial popcorn machine and soft serve ice cream machine. They watched movie after movie, taking turns on who got to choose the next flick. Eventually, pizza was ordered, and the adults sipped red wine while Blaise snuggled between them on the plush leather sofa.

There was no pretending. This was one of the happiest evenings Wyntir had experienced in a long time. By the time the final credits of the last movie rolled, it was nearly midnight. Blaise had run through his sugar high and was now conked out across their laps. It felt cozy and comfortable and natural. Like they were meant to be like this—together, tangled up, totally at peace. Just like a little family.

But they weren’t her family. They were her clients, and she needed to remember that.

“Guess I should be heading out,” she whispered, not wanting to leave but knowing it was the right thing to do.

They carefully extricated themselves from the dead weight of a little boy and left him sleeping on the couch as Stark escorted her to the door. They both dragged their feet, desperate for an excuse to stay, but it took almost no time for them to reach the entryway.

“Are you sure you can’t stay?” he asked softly, the yearning in his eyes saying so much more than his words.

More than anything she wanted to say yes, to see where this crazy attraction would lead them, but she knew better. Spending the night not only endangered her job, it endangered their lives. She couldn’t remain impartial if she was romantically involved with Stark.

Wyntir gave him a rueful smile. “I…can’t? Trust me, I’m very tempted, but I love my job. I can’t cross that line. I hope you understand.”

He looked disappointed but nodded. “I don’t like it, but I get it. See you tomorrow?”

“Try and stop me,” she said with a grin that he matched.

“Never.”

They stood there with the door open for several seconds, neither wanting the perfect day to end, but finally she managed to drag herself away. As she walked to her pretty little Porsche, Wyntir couldn’t shake the feeling that she wasn’t going home. She was leaving it behind.

Chapter Seven

Waking up