My reaction to her stunned me. I had never gotten hard like this. Even after a show, I was more jacked up on the adrenaline of playing for a hyped up crowd than the actual need to get between a woman’s legs. Right now, I was hard as a rock after only a few seconds in her presence.

“Jesse, this is our housekeeper, Layla Daniels.” Emmie introduced us. “Layla, this is Jesse Thornton.”

She stood and offered me her hand. I towered over her but that didn’t seem to intimidate her. I even got a grin… God, that grin! “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Jesse.”

My hand swallowed hers when I took it. Her skin was soft and warm and I felt an electrical current zap through my blood straight to my dick at the first touch. “The pleasure is all mine, Layla,” I assured her. God damn, she was so beautiful.

Would Emmie kick my ass if I seduced this little goddess?

My gut told me yes, but my dick said that it didn’t care.

Those chocolate eyes darkened to black, and I saw her nostrils flare ever so slightly. I have seen that same reaction millions of times from an endless supply of women. Layla was just as affected as I was. That thrilled me.

The next moment she pulled her hand away and turned back to Emmie. “It’s getting late. The girls are probably wondering what happened to me.”

“Okay. I’ll see you first thing in the morning then.” Emmie stood. “Thanks for all of your help today, Layla. I could have gotten it done without you, but I’m so glad that I didn’t have to.”

Layla grinned. “It was fun. See you tomorrow.”

I actually turned to follow her out, but Emmie grabbed my arm and held me back as Layla made her exit. When she was safely out of sight I frowned down at the pregnant woman holding on to me. “What?”

Her eyes were both amused and serious. It was an odd combination. “Please, don’t fuck the housekeeper. I like her, and if you do something that makes her quit I will break your favorite drum sticks.” I glared down at her. She knew how to fight dirty. “I mean it, Jesse. No playing around with her. She’s not like the girls you are used to.”

Fuck, I knew that. One look at her and I knew that she wasn’t going to be like the women from my past. I wanted more than just one night with that little goddess.

“Jesse…” She punched me in the arm. “Please?”

I blew out a frustrated sigh. “I can’t promise,” I told her honestly. I would never lie to Emmie. Never. “I…want her.”

Layla

The rest of the day seemed to go by quickly after my initial shock wore off. I helped Emmie instruct the movers, while she divided her time between the men and answering her cell phone. I realized early that she was a little ball of energy, and was left wondering where she got all it from, especially as pregnant as she was.

Once the furniture was the way Emmie wanted it the movers left, and I was given a shopping list half a mile long. “I’m sorry to put this on you today, but the fridge is bare and we are all sick of eating out of boxes.” She sighed. “Do you know how hard it is to get good Chinese with bacon on it?”

“Umm… No, not really.” Bacon? What?

Emmie laughed at my wide eyes. “It’s a pregnancy thing. I have to have bacon on everything or I’m not happy. And if I’m not happy, this little girl isn’t happy.” She rubbed her hands lovingly over her bump, something I had noticed her doing a lot of today. “So it’s bacon or nothing.”

I noticed on the list that bacon was underlined a half dozen times with exclamation points. The number six was next to it. “Is this a weekly shopping list?”

“Yep,” She handed me a credit card that had her name on it. “I’ve already alerted the right people that you will be using my card occasionally. Just sign your name and bring me back the receipt.”

It took me two hours to get the shopping done. When I returned to the beach house, Emmie was in her office with the door shut. As I unloaded my car and put away the groceries, I heard her voice rise every so often as she yelled at whoever was on the other end of the conversation.

It was just after six before she came out and asked me if I would make her a sandwich. She looked tense and I hadn’t seen her eat anything all day. Concerned, I pulled out the fixings for a turkey sandwich. “Go sit down, Emmie. You look beat. I’ll bring the sandwich to you. What would you like to drink?”

She sighed tiredly, her supply of energy having been depleted for the moment. “I don’t care,” she mumbled and went back toward her office.

I quickly put together a sandwich with lettuce, tomato, cheese, and a little mayo. I put a pickle on the side and because she had said that she had to have bacon, I wrapped a few slices of the microwaveable bacon in a paper towel and nuked it before putting it on her sandwich too. A bag of pretzels and a glass of milk, and Emmie’s snack was ready. I found a tray and carried it in to her.

She was leaning back in her chair, eyes closed, when I walked in. “When was the last time you had anything to eat?” I asked as she took a small bite of the sandwich.

“I had some toast this morning.” She grimaced. “I know, I know. I need to take better care of myself. Trust me, baby girl here is making her displeasure known.”

“Can I get you anything else?”

“You can fix yourself a sandwich and join me. I hate eating alone.” She took a larger bite of the sandwich. “And maybe another one of these bad boys.”

I grinned. “You got it, boss.”

For the next twenty minutes we chatted and ate. I hadn’t realized I was hungry until I sat down and took the first bite of my sandwich. Emmie inhaled her first one before I returned with the second. By the time we had swallowed our last bites, I felt like we had begun to develop a kind of friendship.

I took our dishes back to the kitchen and put them in the dishwasher, but Emmie called me back no sooner than I had the door to it closed. “Come keep me company,” she called out.

I had barely taken my seat when I heard the front door open and what sounded like a herd of buffalo storm into the house. Emmie’s eye lit up. “My guys are home.”

The way her green eyes sparkled told me that she loved them all. I wondered at the story behind them but kept my curiosity to myself. Someone called out for Emmie from somewhere, and I watched in complete fascination as those sparkling eyes darkened with something like passion. “Back in the office,” she called back. “Crap, I’m going to catch hell. I have to apologize for this morning.”