Please don’t come over here.
The bathroom door opens, filling the room with a gust of air. I’m safe. He’s leaving. Thank God, because the tickle in my throat is back with a vengeance.
I shift slightly in the bath to relieve a cramp in my hip.
Bad plan.
Terrible idea.
Catastrophic mistake.
The luck of the Irish isn’t with me today.
The plug is no longer in the hole. Houston, we have a problem.
My backside is firmly blocking the plug hole, trapping the draining water. The most annoying high-pitched whistle emanates from beneath me as the water drains slowly through the bottleneck that is my bum.
I can’t stop it. I can’t stop this train wreck. I can’t move for fear that the water will drain faster.
If only there was a hairdryer nearby that I could electrocute myself with. It would be easier.
And there he stands.
Towering over the edge of the bath with his massive, angry cock, naked and glaring at me, eyes blazing in complete and utter disbelief.
My dignity flows down the drain with the water. This is worse than Killian discovering my criminal record.
“Hi,” I croak, arms crossed over my chest like a vampire in a coffin as the last of the water rushes away with a loud gurgle, followed by an undignified squeak.
Killian
My jaw hits the marble-tiled floor.
“Clodagh?”
I don’t know why it’s a fucking question. Maybe it’s to check if my brain is short-circuiting or if Clodagh really is sprawled naked in the tub.
“What the hell are you doing?” I growl, breathing hard.
She stares up at me, her face flushed. “I’m having a bath.”
My entire body stiffens in response. Half of me, the gentleman, is flustered, while the other half, the primitive caveman, is very fucking aroused at the sight of the pint-sized tattooed little vixen.
I try not to look at the water droplets trickling down her breasts. I try not to imagine biting and sucking on her hardening pink nipples as my hands run down her body to explore her sweet pussy.
What the fuck is she doing?
I would have noticed the bathroom door open, which means…
“You’ve been here this whole time?” I ask, trying to keep my gaze averted. “Let me get this straight. You were having a bath when I was taking a shower?”
“I couldn’t find a good time to tell you I was here,” she says in a strangled voice. “I planned to wait until you finished, then leave.”
Jesus Christ. She saw me pleasuring myself in the shower.
Arousal surges through me as my eyes slide back to her. All I want to do is make a reckless mistake, climb into the bath on top of her, and lick those water droplets off her creamy skin.
She rises to a sitting position, making sure her legs remain close together, and quickly moves her red hair to cover her exposed chest. “In my defense, I was here first.”
I glare at her in warning.
My cock swells again, heavy and thick from the naked nanny in my bathtub. In my shock at seeing her naked, I’d forgotten I’m naked myself.
“Put on your damn clothes,” I growl through clenched teeth, still half convinced I’m dreaming. “I’m late. We’ll have a meeting about this when I get home tonight.”
“Yes, sir,” she replies in a whisper.
I pinch the bridge of my nose and then storm out of the bathroom. It’s only then that I realize I’ve left my phone on the shower rack.
I’m heading for a goddamn lawsuit.
***
“Clodagh?” I shout, sliding the patio door shut. She’s nowhere on the first floor, and she’s late for our meeting. If she’s trying to provoke me further, it has the desired effect.
I came home early to deal with our little awkward situation before Teagan arrived home from school.
Now she’s not even here at the time I specified. My jaw clenches.
This afternoon was a write-off. I had lunch with a beautiful, intelligent woman, and all I could think about was Clodagh in the bathtub. I had to tell Maria that I was distracted by work.
I head for the stairs leading down to her studio apartment.
My nostrils flare when I hear a man’s voice from inside.
I knock hard on the door, and Clodagh answers.
“Killian.” Her gaze shifts quickly to the wall clock, and she takes in a sharp breath. The T-shirt she’s wearing slips off one of her shoulders. “Sorry. I lost track of time. I’ll be right up.”
My hackles instantly rise as I glance between Clodagh and Sam, who is casually propped against her refrigerator.
He straightens up, eyeing me sheepishly. “Boss.”
“I told you no men in the house,” I say frostily to Clodagh.
She stares up at me as if I’m deranged. “It’s Sam.”
“I know who he is.”
“He’s vetted. He’s your staff.”
My jaw tightens. Just because Clodagh caught me in a compromising position doesn’t mean she can talk back to me.
And maybe the idea of Sam being in her studio doesn’t sit well with me. “I told you not to distract my security, Clodagh. What are you doing here, Sam?”
Hurt blazes across her features.
“I was just getting rid of a spider for Clodagh,” Sam says, his intentions written all over his face.
“They’re huge in New York,” Clodagh adds defensively. “Gigantic spiders. They must be coming over from Central Park. I have a phobia because one time, in Ireland, I woke up to use the bathroom, and when I came back to bed, there was a spider on my pillow.”
I give Sam a hard look, ignoring Clodagh. “I don’t employ you to be an arachnid assailant for damsels in distress,” I say sarcastically. “I employ you to be my daughter’s security.”
“Yes, boss,” he mumbles.
“Teagan’s at school.” She glowers at me. “I think you’re overreacting.”
Is she deliberately trying to get a rise out of me?
“Go home, Sam,” I grit out as I yank open the door a bit wider. “Clodagh. Upstairs. Now.”
Her cheeks flush pink, but she nods and silently follows me up the stairs.
***
“What were you playing at?” I demand quietly as soon as she takes a seat in the lounge. Her legs cross at the ankles, her hands folded on her lap, and she sits up straight as if trying to find the most reverent position to appease me.
Her face falls in confusion. “What do you mean?”
“I don’t expect to find my staff hiding in the bath while I’m taking a shower,” I snap, picturing her small perky breasts in the bath. “If I wanted a voyeuristic nanny, I would have put it in the job listing.”