Page 28 of Sweet Surrender
Eliza couldn’t wait any longer and bent her head to meet Rowyn’s mouth. The softness of her lips was everything Eliza remembered and somehow more. A quiet moan escaped Eliza’s desperate, needy mouth as she hungrily took everything Rowyn was giving her. Their hands slid around each other and Eliza’s ass pressed back against the countertop as Rowyn deepened their kiss. Eliza had been starving for Rowyn’s lips since they had last been on hers, and she hadn’t even known it. Every last fibre of her body was on fire, and every brush of lips and tongue was gasoline to the flames.
Eliza’s hand slipped under the soft cotton of Rowyn’s T-shirt. She caressed the warm skin beneath and was met with a whimper from Rowyn that sent a thrill of satisfaction through her. Rowyn was nothing like the calm, collected version of herself that Eliza had mistaken as reality. She was as needy and desperate as Eliza was, and the way she arched against Eliza’s touch was proof of it.
A murmur of protest escaped Eliza as Rowyn pulled back swiftly. Eliza’s body involuntarily leaned toward her, not yet ready to let go of the gift it had received. Rowyn put out a hand to stop her, and that’s when the closing credits of the movie reached her ears. The surroundings that had all but disappeared in the last few moments came back to her, and Eliza winced. Rowyn had taken a step back right on time, as the sound of both kids giggling came closer. A minute later and they would have been caught by her children, which would have left Eliza explaining something she didn’t have an appropriate explanation for. Her children knew she was bisexual—that wasn’t an issue—but kissing their nanny in the kitchen was awhole other conversation she had no desire to enter into.
“You guys missed the best part,” Elliot said as Amelia added her agreement.
A big yawn escaped Amelia, and Eliza smiled at them both as she hoped against hope her face had returned to its natural colour.
“Bedtime, you two. Go get your teeth brushed and I’ll be up in a minute for your story.”
“Can Rowyn come listen to the story too?” Amelia said hopefully as she glanced between them both.
Eliza opened and closed her mouth, unsure of what to say.
“I’m pretty wiped, kid. I still need to shower after our den building adventures, so I’ll sit this one out tonight. Thanks for an awesome adventure day, though,” Rowyn replied.
Appeased, the children ran off to the bathroom, and Eliza was left wondering how she would get through the bedtime routine as if the entire world hadn’t shifted on its axis.
“Sweet dreams, Elle.”
The words were ones Rowyn had spoken before, but the inflection in her tone held so much more than a simple goodnight statement.
“Sweet dreams, Wyn.”
Eliza hoped her voice was steadier than the rest of her body. Rowyn looked as if she wanted to say more, but she turned and walked to her room without another word. Eliza gripped the counter for support and willed her body to catch up to the fact that the kissing was over. She had no idea if sleep would be on the cards for her tonight, but if it was, Eliza was certain her dreams would be a far cry from sweet.
Chapter Ten
Rowyn opened her eyes slowly as memories of the previous night crashed back in full colour.
What the hell did I do?
Kiss her boss, potentially lose her job and current place of residence, that’s all. Her skin prickled with sweat and anxiety, but Rowyn still couldn’t bring herself to regret it. She could get a new job, she could get a new place to live. The truth was the key thing she was risking here were the people who came along with the job and house. People who two weeks ago were nobody to her, and who already in this short amount of time she couldn’t imagine not knowing.
Yes, for obvious reasons she wanted more time around Eliza. That was to be expected when you happened to have sizzling chemistry that apparently wasn’t doused even with a boss who could be cold as ice. Elliot and Amelia were the unexpected part. They had wormed their way into her heart already in a manner that Rowyn couldn’t quite explain. Rowyn loved her job and always bonded with her mindees, but there were occasionally some who stuck with you more than others.
Her job wasn’t done with them, and she was sure of it. It could be ego talking, but some part of her understood that they needed her. She always tried to temper her judgements and her expectations when walking into a home with two kids who were labelled as problem children. However, having spent two weeks with them, it was plainly obvious to her that the problems here were two neurodivergent children being expected to behaveneurotypically. It was a conversation she had planned to broach with Eliza this week, while the kids were at their father’s house.
It was a conversation that likely wasn’t going to be easy no matter what, but one she had made significantly messier by complicating the situation further. Technically, Rowyn had every Sunday off, so she could spend far too much time hiding beneath her covers and overthinking every action that had led to now. The kids would be leaving this afternoon for a week with their dad, and she wanted to say goodbye, so she forced herself out of the warmth and comfort of her bed to face the music. She was grateful that her room came with a private en suite. She could shower and make herself somewhat presentable instead of bumping into Eliza while looking like someone who had spent most of the night tossing and turning.
After a quick shower, Rowyn spent far too much time agonizing over clothes. She was rarely the type to worry about what she wore, but feeling good about herself helped with confidence, and she would need that in abundance today. She wanted to look good without being obvious about the fact that she was overdressed for a day spent lounging around. She finally settled between casual sweats that hung that little bit low with a tank top that clung in all the right places. Before she could put them on, a knock sounded on the door, and it was promptly swung open.
“Amelia, I said wait.”
Eliza’s sharp words were ignored as Amelia bounded into the room. Rowyn clutched the towel tighter around her and smiled brightly.
“No, you said knock first. I did,” Amelia replied.
“The purpose of knocking is to give Rowyn a choice whether to answer or not,” Eliza explained.
“Why wouldn’t she answer me?”
Amelia looked aghast at the idea, which had Rowyn laughinglightly.
“People need privacy for many reasons, Amelia. Rowyn is obviously getting ready, so let’s leave her to do that and wait downstairs.”
Rowyn glanced up at Eliza, who was working overtime to not let her eyes land on Rowyn.
