A smatter of freckles sprinkled across her nose and cheekbones, giving her an almost pixie-like aura. Against the smooth, un-tanned skin of her face, blonde-tipped eyelashes swept across her high cheekbones. She painted a fresh picture of city slick against the barren red horizon beyond the ute’s window. His gaze followed the line of her jaw down her long neck to the open buttons of her blouse, where he watched the slow rise and fall of her chest.
He gripped the steering wheel and tried to concentrate on the road ahead instead of the seductive woman sleeping in his car. Normally, he chose nannies who were older so there wasn't any risk of him remembering what he was missing out on. Once or twice he had thought about dating again, but the idea left him cold and slightly guilty, as if he would be cheating on his wife—although he knew that was a crazy notion. Besides, he had the children to take care of and their happiness came before his, or so he told himself when he got too close to a woman for comfort.
But with Delilah, it was going to be forever in his face. She was nothing like any of the other nannies. This lady was all class, with a hint of gentleness about her that had obviously snagged a response from Sue…and she was stunning to look at. The kind of women he could only dream of meeting. His gaze rested on her very kissable lips on the cupid bow mouth slightly open in sleep. He shifted in his seat, the blood pulsing through his veins in a way he had almost forgotten.
Five years without someone to talk to, snuggle up to, and discuss his day with had been hard. Not to mention the lack of sex. Hard work normally took the edge off, but moaning into his pillow was not something to look forward to. Early morning erections were going to be more the norm now with her around, he could see it, and wondered if he should've left her at the shop.
Her perfume already filled the cab of his ute, and Blake could just imagine the lingerie hanging on the clothes line wouldn’t be full nanny style bloomers like his last nanny displayed. He imagined a lady who wore the type of shoes gracing her feet would have delicate, lacy underwear that would leave a man gasping for breath and wanting to see what it covered.
Not that he hadn’t already had offers from other willing ladies out there in the community who could see themselves as his wife—only none of them made his heart race. Certainly not like this girl already had at the first meeting. It would either be a pity she was here for such a short time, or a Godsend when she left. He had six weeks to work out which one it was.
Chapter 3
“Delilah… Hey, wake up. We're here now.” The firm hand on her shoulder was warm and comforting like something from a distant dream or times gone by, and she wanted to lean in against it and go back to sleep. The soothing baritone washed over her with a hint of sexy undercurrents. She turned her face into the hand and rubbed her cheek against the rough skin, doing her best to prolong the comforting feeling. “Come on, wake up. I don't want to have to carry you in.”
“Daddy, who is the lady and why won't she wake up?”
Delilah heard the young voice and forced her eyes open, momentarily disorientated by her surroundings. She ran her tongue over parched lips and found the trail of dried spit that ran down her chin. Oh, so not pretty. Sitting up, she glanced out the dirty windscreen and the last day’s actions came rushing back to remind her of what she’d gone through. She reached for the seatbelt and released it, hoping Blake wouldn't see the colour she was sure lit up her cheeks.
“Sorry, I must have fallen asleep.” She straightened her blouse and ran her fingers over her chin, doing her best to look presentable.
“That's okay. It's a pretty boring trip anyway.”
She shuffled around and put her feet on the ground before using the door to lift herself up. Her butt was numb from the vinyl bench seat, and she wiped her hand over it to make sure her skirt still covered it. Delilah looked at the child now clinging to Blake's leg, her face pressed against his blue denims.
“Hey, sweetie, how are you?”
Two big brown eyes looked up at her in the waning light of the evening. With a grubby thumb in her mouth, she mumbled something Delilah couldn't understand.
She crouched down as far as her tight skirt would allow and tried to smile at the child, thinking she needed to make an effort at least to fit in from the start. “Hi, I'm Delilah. What's your name?”
Easing a clean thumb from her lips, she spoke softly, the whisper-shy voice hard to hear. “Lilly.” Quickly, the thumb jammed back between tiny pink lips, plugging any further conversation.
The little girl hid behind her father, peeking out from behind him to stare up at Delilah from huge inquisitive eyes. Her too large t-shirt was rumpled and pushed into the waistband of faded denim shorts. Chubby, tanned legs met small dusty brown boots that had seen better days. Mismatched socks peeked out over the top of the boots, making Delilah smile. The urge to reach out to her came from nowhere, shocking her into stillness.
“Delilah is here to help look after you and your brother, baby girl. Where is Royce?”
Blake unwound the arms clinging to his leg and lifted her up, holding her close to his chest where she rested her head in the hollow of his throat, watching
