The next morning, Sophia woke up in Alexander's arms for the first time, sunlight streaming through his bedroom windows and painting golden patterns across their intertwined bodies. For a moment, she lay perfectly still, savoring the feeling of his chest rising and falling beneath her cheek, the way his arm tightened around her even in sleep.
Then reality crashed over her like ice water. The twins. Breakfast. Her job.
"Alexander," she whispered, gently shaking his shoulder. "We have to get up."
His eyes opened slowly, focusing on her face with a smile that made her heart skip. "Good morning, beautiful," he murmured, his voice rough with sleep as he pulled her closer for a soft kiss.
"The children," Sophia protested weakly, even as she melted into his touch.
"Five more minutes," Alexander said against her lips, his hands beginning to wander.
The sound of small feet running down the hallway made them both freeze. "Sophia! Where are you? We're hungry!" Emma's voice carried through the door.
Reality check. Sophia scrambled out of bed, grabbing her clothes from the floor. "I have to go. They can't find me here."
Alexander watched her dress with obvious reluctance, his eyes dark with desire and something deeper. "This isn't over," he said quietly.
"I know," Sophia replied, her cheeks flushing as she remembered exactly how thoroughly he'd worshipped her the night before. "But during the day..."
"During the day, you're the nanny," Alexander finished, his jaw clenching slightly. "And I'm just your employer."
The words stung, even though they both knew it had to be this way. At least for now.
Sophia slipped out of his room and hurried to her own, quickly changing into fresh clothes and trying to tame her thoroughly kissed hair. When she made it down to the kitchen, Emma and Ethan were already at the breakfast table, arguing over who got the last waffle.
"Good morning, you two," she said brightly, hoping her voice sounded normal. "Sorry I'm late. I... overslept."
"Where were you?" Emma asked suspiciously. "I knocked on your door."
"I was in the bathroom," Sophia lied smoothly, busying herself with pouring orange juice. "Now, what do you want for lunch today?"
Twenty minutes later, Alexander appeared in the kitchen, impeccably dressed in a charcoal suit that made Sophia's mouth go dry. He looked every inch the billionaire CEO, completely composed and professional.
"Good morning," he said generally to the room, though his eyes lingered on Sophia for just a beat too long.
"Morning, Daddy!" the twins chorused.
"Morning, Mr. Steele," Sophia said formally, the title feeling strange on her tongue after last night.
Alexander's jaw ticked almost imperceptibly. "Coffee?" he asked, moving to the machine.
"Please," Sophia replied, reaching for the milk at the same moment he reached for his mug.
Their fingers brushed for just an instant, but the contact sent electricity shooting up her arm. Alexander's eyes darkened, and she knew he felt it too.
"Excuse me," she murmured, pulling back.
"Of course," he said smoothly, but his voice was rougher than usual.
The twins, thankfully, were too busy with their breakfast to notice the tension crackling between the adults.
This became their new reality over the following days, a carefully choreographed dance of professional distance punctuated by stolen moments that left them both aching for more.
Alexander would brush past her in the hallway, his hand skimming her waist for just a second. Sophia would lean over his shoulder to pour his coffee at dinner, letting her hair ghost across his cheek. Their eyes would meet across the room during the twins' bedtime stories, and the heat between them was almost tangible.
But it was torture.
Three days after their night together, Sophia was in the laundry room folding the twins' clothes when she felt familiar arms wrap around her from behind.
"I've been going insane," Alexander growled against her neck, his lips finding the sensitive spot that made her knees weak.
"Alexander," she breathed, melting back against his chest even as she glanced nervously at the door. "Someone could see."
"The twins are at school. Mrs. Chen is at the market." His hands moved to her hips, turning her to face him. "I need you, Sophia. It's been three days and I'm losing my mind."
Before she could protest, his mouth was on hers in a kiss that was pure desperation and need. She responded immediately, her arms winding around his neck as he backed her against the washing machine.
"I think about you constantly," he confessed between kisses, his hands roaming her body with increasing urgency. "In meetings, I imagine your hands on me. At night, I remember how you taste, how you sound when I…"
"Alexander," Sophia moaned, cutting off his words with another fierce kiss.
His hands were just sliding under her sweater when the sound of the front door opening made them spring apart like guilty teenagers.
"Hello? I'm back early!" Mrs. Chen's voice called from the kitchen.
Alexander cursed under his breath, running his hands through his now-disheveled hair. Sophia quickly turned back to the laundry, her cheeks burning with arousal and embarrassment.
"We can't keep doing this," she whispered as his footsteps approached.
"Then come to my room tonight," he said quietly, his voice rough with need. "After they're asleep."
Sophia's resolve crumbled at the promise in his voice. "Okay," she breathed.
That night, she slipped into his room like a shadow, wearing nothing but a silk nightgown that made Alexander's eyes go black with desire.
"You're going to be the death of me," he said hoarsely, pulling her into his arms.
"Then we'll die together," she replied, rising up to kiss him.
This became their pattern, stolen kisses in empty hallways, heated glances across the dinner table, secret touches when they passed each other papers or coffee cups. Alexander would find excuses to be near her, asking her opinion on business matters just to have her lean over his desk, her perfume driving him wild.
Sophia, for her part, discovered a boldness she didn't know she possessed. She would wear his favorite blue dress that hugged her curves perfectly, knowing it would distract him during breakfast. She would linger in his study after putting the twins to bed, letting the conversation drift until he finally snapped and pulled her into his arms.
One evening, during the twins' bath time, Alexander appeared in the doorway of their bathroom.
"Daddy, look! I can hold my breath underwater for ten seconds now!" Ethan announced proudly.
"That's wonderful, son," Alexander replied, but his eyes were fixed on Sophia, who was kneeling beside the tub. The position gave him a perfect view down her blouse, and she knew it.
When she looked up at him with innocent eyes, his knuckles went white where they gripped the doorframe.
"Sophia," he said carefully, "when you're finished here, could I see you in my study? I have some... household matters to discuss."
"Of course, Mr. Steele," she replied sweetly, enjoying the way his jaw clenched at the formal address.
Twenty minutes later, she knocked on his study door. "You wanted to see me?"
Alexander was on her in seconds, backing her against the closed door with a kiss that was pure hunger.
"You're playing with fire," he warned against her lips, his hands tangling in her hair.
"Maybe I like getting burned," she replied boldly, nipping at his bottom lip.
Alexander groaned, lifting her up so her legs could wrap around his waist. "You're going to drive me to madness."
"Good," Sophia said, grinding against him in a way that made him see stars. "I want you just as desperate as I am."
"Trust me, darling," Alexander said roughly, his hands roaming her body with increasing desperation, "you have no idea how desperate I am for you."
The sound of the twins calling for their bedtime story broke the spell, and they reluctantly separated, both breathing hard.
"Tonight," Alexander promised, his eyes burning with need. "After they're asleep, come to me."
"Always," Sophia whispered, smoothing her hair as she prepared to return to her nanny duties.
As she read the twins their bedtime story, her body still humming with unfulfilled desire, Sophia marveled at how completely her life had changed. By day, she was their professional caregiver. By night, she was Alexander's secret lover, his goddess, his everything.
It was intoxicating and maddening in equal measure, this double life they were leading. But as Alexander's heated gaze followed her every movement during dinner, as his fingers lingered when he handed her documents, as he whispered wicked promises in her ear during stolen moments, Sophia knew she was addicted to this dangerous game they were playing.
The only question was how long they could keep it up before the desire between them burned them both alive.