Theodore

I jolt up in the bed, my heart racing and my body drenched in cold sweat as I frantically scan the room, convincing myself I am free from my nightmare.

As the familiar features of my room comes into focus, my pounding heart slowly calms down and my fear quickly gives way to anger and disappointment as I sit at the edge of my bed, resting my head in my hand and feeling the crushing weight of the voices in my head.

After the hectic days I just had, I thought I would be able to finally get a good night's rest, the first one in years. A bitter smile rests on my face. I should know by now that the past will never stop tormenting me.

I stand up and sigh deeply, already used to this routine.

Quietly, I leave my room and walk throughout the silent house, not wanting to disturb any other person's sleep. This burden is one I will carry alone for the rest of my life.

I find myself drawn to Isabel's dressing room where her favourite artwork can be found, a self portrait she spent weeks working on. She was always a self centred person and yet a sad smile stays on my lips as I stare at her beautiful face.

After losing Isabel, my world was shattered, leaving only the twins as my anchor. Thoughts of what would have happened if I hadn't sped after her, or if I had agreed to the divorce, even thoughts of how Isabel would still be alive if she hadn't married me, torments me every night. When I close my eyes, I am barely able to get any sleep before the haunting voices disturb me. One of the many things that has changed about me since Isabel died.

I turn and walk away from the room with a heavy heart as guilt sets in.

As I walk past Nova's room, the guilt increases in intensity. Another thing that changed after Isabel was my interest in women. I lost all desire, all passion. And yet, one afternoon spent alone with the woman of my past was enough to unravel all my control.

I never wanted to leave her. Younger me was convinced Nova and I would grow old together. But things happened.

When my father died suddenly, leaving me as the best option to inherit his billion dollar empire, I had to make some sacrifices.

Nova being the greatest of them all.

I stand in front of the large window that overlooks the active city and I question what I am doing. I know that forcing her to work here is a bad idea, for both of us. But I did it anyways and now her presence adds to my torment.

My cock twitches as the image of her body pressed against the wall, her breasts rising and falling, invades my mind, closely followed by the memory of a fierce Nova with eyes boiling stubbornly earlier today.

A pinched expression rests on my face as I think about her effect on me. No one should be able to turn a man on by just…existing. And yet she does. Against all odds, she does.

A sound behind me grabs my attention.

The footsteps are light, but not light enough to belong to either Emile and Ethan, so I stay in place hoping the person will leave as quietly as they came.

“Hey,” Nova's voice sounds hesitantly behind me.

I wait silently for the familiar irritation at being disturbed to come. Surprisingly, it doesn't.

“The view from here is beautiful,” she says as she stares out the window. Out of the corner of my eyes, I watch her. Her eyes glitter in the reflection of the moonlight.

I continue to ignore her presence in hopes that she would get the hint and leave but instead, she turns to me and says, “I apologize for taking the twins out of the house without your permission. I understand that you are their father and there are limits to my role as a nanny.”

I raise my eyebrow in surprise, still not facing her. Her apology is unexpected, but I wait for what she has to say next, hearing the defiance in her voice.

“However,” she continues assertively and a small smile lifts up the corner of my lips. How predictable can she be? “I don't regret doing it. You should have seen the look on their faces when I took them outside. They looked so, so happy,” she says excitedly. “Maybe you can consider allowing it to happen more often?”

I sigh and turn to her, ready to reprimand her for trying to overturn my command.

But then I notice, for the first time, what she is wearing. The light material of her night gown is see through revealing the curve of her breasts and the underwear she wears underneath.

My tongue goes dry as I stare at her. The moonlight glows against the tan, olive skin of her breasts and nipples, demanding my attention and leaving me mesmerized. Immediately, all thoughts of reprimand die in my head, replaced by fantasies.

My hands clench besides me, as I stop myself from reaching out and touching her. Memories of squeezing her breasts under starlight as her juices flow into my mouth before thrusting into her hot, wet pussy reignites clearly and my cock stands erect in my pants.

When she notices my fixed gaze, Nova looks down at herself and when she sees what I see, her face burns red and she quickly raises her hands against her breasts, hiding the beauty of them.

Her eyes glisten in embarrassment as she stares at me. “Y-you should have told me I was naked!”

“I was too busy staring,” I mutter roughly under my breath, not realizing when the words leave my lips. For one second, I think about the professional implications of saying this to an employee, but as my cock twitches, regret is the farthest thing in my mind. I say even louder, “They are beautiful, Nova.”

The silence of the early morning grows even deeper as we stare at each other. The air around us becomes thicker, heavier as her eyes darken with arousal, matching mine.

Slowly, her hands drop, exposing inch after tantalizing fucking inch of the soft, creamy curves of her breasts. I am transfixed, my gaze drawn helplessly to it.

The pressure of the blood in my cock leaves me short of breath as I mutter, “Nova,” images of all the things I could do to her flooding my brain.

But my voice is enough to bring Nova back to her senses and I watch in instant regret as her face burns red again and she reaches up, covering her breasts firmly.

Fuck.

I groan quietly, as Nova quickly walks away from me, heading back up the stairs.

“I think the twins really enjoyed their day today,” she pauses and says behind me, her voice husky.

A few moments pass and I realize she is waiting for a reply, but I say nothing.

When she sighs quietly and continues walking away, I let her leave before I reply.

“How could they not when they spent it with you?”