Snowed In

Chapter One

Nina
is sprawled across Dex’s massive four-poster bed, his mouth savoring her in
areas no other man had before. She whimpers then looks at Dex, Dex looks at
her. She squirms. Warm discharge pools at her center and her body tenses. Oh, what
sweet delirious tension! She sobs, arches, and…

“Nina,
wake up,” a voice spoke quietly. “Nina, it’s me Dex, wake up.”

Nina
sat up instantly and opened her eyes to complete darkness. She was disoriented.
Dex? Was he really in her room? Were they…? Her stomach lurched her chest
heaved. The baby!
A muffled, strange cry came out of her, “Callie!” she shrieked
reaching for the bassinet.

“Shhh,”
Dex soothed, touching her arm, “Callie’s fine.”

In
the dim lighting, Nina saw his profile and that of her daughter in his arms. She
was relieved to see Callie well cared for. The only drawback at that moment for
Nina was being snatched away from a phenomenal dream. Her body still tingled and
her panties were moist. Heat rose to her cheeks.

“I’m
sorry I walked in.”

Sorry
he walked in? What time was it?

“It’s
just that Callie had been crying for several minutes.” He gave her pajama top a
once over and continued, “I think it may be her feeding time.”

When
his eyes roamed her breasts, Nina looked down to realize that her clothing was
drenched soaked the garment clinging to her damp skin and exposing a set of rigid
crests. Nina groped the sheets and brought them to her chest. “Darn it…I...”
she stumbled over her words, “I must have slept through her midnight feeding.”

She
was having a time adjusting to her newborn. Lucky Nina felt that her ward, Ian,
Dex’s five-year-old son, was well-mannered or else pulling double duty as a new
mom and nanny might have proven too challenging. As it was already her oversleeping
was the second occurrence that week and now with Dex as witness to the breastfeeding
malfunction, Nina’s insecurities were mounting.

In
the dark she stared at him and he stared back, a semblance of a smile crossed
his lips the gesture sending Nina’s heart aflutter.

In
the seven months she’d worked for Dex Nina came to realize that his attention
and very presence invoked raw emotions in her. Dex was older, charming. Dex was
also a successful business man and far more confident than any other guy she’d
ever met before. He was also disturbingly good looking, tall and broad shouldered.
His eyes were dark and expressive his lips full, his jaw strong. His was hair
short and brown and it curled slightly at the base of his neck. His body didn’t
lag either Dex was in exceptional shape. On several occasions when he headed to
the gym fully clad in workout gear Nina would eavesdrop as he left the house
peering through her bedroom window. Oh yes, Nina knew first hand that Dexter
McIver, the thirty-one year old handsome divorced father of one was solid,
lean, and muscled from all angles.

“Nina?”

“Uh?”

Dex’s
patted the child’s back and suggested, “Listen, how about Callie and I step
outside while you change?”

A
tasteful move Nina wouldn’t expect any less from him. “Yeah, that’d be fine Dex.
Thanks.”

Callie
whimpered and Dex shushed her. As Dex got to his feet, Nina watched with keen
interest as her daughter snuggled against his chest. Lucky girl, her daughter
was.

“I’ll
be right outside. Just come out when you’re ready.” The door closed behind him
with a soft click.

For
a long minute after Dex exited, Nina sat there in near darkness staring at nothing
in particular. It was five weeks since she gave birth to Callie and still she
had such a long way to go to adjust. Yet, as hectic as life was in the McIver
household, working as a live-in nanny was a Godsend. Very few jobs would allow Nina
the opportunity to earn a living while caring for her own child. She was indeed
grateful for her grandmother’s networking pool and equally grateful for Dex’s flexibility.
So, regardless of how fatigued she was Nina needed to pull through and keep it
together somehow. She couldn’t afford to give Dex any reason to believe that she
was incompetent or perhaps even unfit to care for Ian. 

Nina
pulled the comforter back and swung her legs off the bed. She stepped into her
fuzzy slippers and walked into the adjoining bathroom. She tossed the soiled
clothing into the hamper and washed up. Several minutes later she was in front
of the dresser fetching a set of clean clothes. She dressed in camisole and
panties then slipped the robe fastening the sash around her waist. She reached
for a hair brush and her eyes focused on the picture frame, the frame that Ian had
made for her out of wooden sticks and yarn; it was a classic preschooler type
of craft. Nina smiled at Callie’s ten-minute old picture that now adorned Ian’s
art work. Grammie Lynne had snapped the photograph seconds after the nurses had
placed Callie in her arms.

The
window glass rattled the noise jolting Nina out of her reverie. “A severe ice
storm is expected to sweep through the Anchorage area. Blustery conditions are
expected.” The meteorologist announced during the late night newscast. The prediction
was that the major metropolitan area would be the hardest hit and citizens were
urged to remain on high alert.

Despite
the fifty to sixty mile per hour winds advisory, Nina dismissed the weather
report as overly sensational. Now, however, Nina realized the matter was much
more serious than she originally anticipated.

She
gave her reddish curls a good comb then straightened her clothes. She crossed
the short distance to the entrance and swung the bedroom door open. When the image
of Dex holding Callie in his arms came into focus Nina’s stopped short and fell
silent.

Chapter Two

Dex was perched against
the hallway table with her daughter peacefully resting on his forearms. Her one
month old child gurgled, and Dex cooed. They were conversing Nina giggled
silently. It was charming, but what struck Nina the most was how delicate Dex
was with her holding Callie as if she was the most precious thing. He stroked
her cheek and Callie opened her eyes wide and stared at him.

They
were sharing a moment, a bond of sorts, Nina realized, and was genuinely
surprised. It wasn’t so odd she supposed. Dex was the only other adult person
with whom the child interacted on a daily basis. Sure the baby had Grammie Lynne
too, every weekend at that, but it was quite obvious that her daughter was much
more smitten with Dex than with her own great-grandma. She couldn’t blame her
daughter for being partial Dexter McIver was one to be smitten with. He was kind,
caring, and a loving father to Ian.

She
thought about the boy for a moment and marveled at just how well adjusted he
was to his mother’s absence.

When
Nina was told of Tanya McIver’s problem with substance abuse it troubled her.
The job of raising a child was taxing in the best of circumstances, but raising
a child while having to tend to an alcoholic spouse might have been a terrible
ordeal and Nina truly felt for Dex, but even more for Ian. Part of his
innocence had been robbed from him and at times it was clear that the boy
struggled with his own identity…

“Well,
if you’re living here with us, then why aren’t you and my daddy sleeping in the
same room?” Ian had asked Nina when the two of them had worked on a puzzle.

Ian’s
comment had taken her completely by surprise that day, yet Nina managed to maintain
her composure. “Ian, just because I’m living here doesn’t mean your father and
I would sleep in the same room.”

“Well,
my dad’s friend, Mitch, and his girlfriend, Greta, live together, and they
sleep in the same room.”

Nina
felt Ian knew way too much for his age.

“Well,
Mitch and Greta are boyfriend and girlfriend, Ian. Your father and I are not.
There’s a big difference.”

The
topic was an awkward one to discuss with a five year old, yet as uncomfortable
as Nina was with the chat, she needed to ensure that the boy wasn’t
misunderstanding the living arrangements.

“But
why can’t you be boyfriend and girlfriend? You’re pretty and daddy likes you.”
He had looked her way then added, “And you like him too, don’t you?”

If
Nina didn’t know better she would think the boy had been playing matchmaker.

“Well,
of course, I like your father, Ian, but not like Mitch and Greta like each
other.”

That,
of course, was a…lie. Nina really liked Dex, so much in fact that she was
having a time keeping her mind on business. “Your father and I have a business
relationship, Ian. That’s all.”

And
really, that was all. Despite the fact that Nina
liked
Dex, he was only her
boss and she was only his employee; nothing more, nothing less.

Seconds
later Ian had surprised her yet again by walking over to Callie and kissing the
infant on the head and saying, “I want Callie to have a daddy and if you and my
daddy were together then Callie would have one, no?

A
cooing sound emerged from the infant and Nina was jarred out of her thoughts. She
pulled the doorknob and that time, the door creaked. Dex turned to look her
way.

“Well,
look who’s here.” Dex spoke to Callie in a tone of voice that was adorably babyish.

“Hey…”
Nina addressed Callie as Dex closed in to place the child in her arms. He took
extra care in accommodating Callie and as he did Nina picked up on the scent of
his cologne. The woodsy aroma was faint but arousing, her tummy stirred. “There
you are,” she said, ignoring the essence of him that instantly made her insides
turn to jelly.

Callie
fussed as soon as Dex handed her over. “It’s okay.” Nina soothed. Callie was certainly
biased to being in Dex’s arms, wasn’t she? The child whined and Dex did his
best to set the baby in the crook of her arm. Then just as Callie’s protests
were winding down, Dex’s fingers skimmed the side of her breast.

The
brief contact touched Nina like a heated caress and her pulse raced. Goosebumps
beaded her flesh. Desire, hot an insistent made Nina’s libido jump to overdrive.

Callie
whimpered yet again and Nina was extremely glad for the child’s timely interruption.

Dex
pulled away and cleared his throat. He fell back a couple of steps and said, “The
storm’s got Callie a little spooked.” His voice was hoarse and uneven. Had Dex
felt the same electrical jolt she felt when they touched?

Nina
kissed Callie’s cheek. “Shhh, it’s just the wind, honey.” Nina shot Dex a
glance, “Actually, the storm’s got me a little spooked, too.” She admitted
wryly.