Tempted by her Daddies: Chapter 6

Alexei opened the front door to the house.

There stood a petite, slim woman with amazing hair that she’d pulled back into a ponytail. He immediately wanted to tug it out and order her not to tie it back again.

Such an immediate reaction to her confused him.

Alexei didn’t allow himself to get attached to people. Any woman he fucked, he didn’t really care about.

Oh, he wasn’t a complete bastard. They knew it was just sex and he always gave them what they wanted. But he wasn’t in it for a relationship.

The closest people to him were the two men in this house and he didn’t even like how much he cared about them. So as soon as he felt a surge of attraction and interest for this girl, he shut the door.

Right in her face.

“Who was at the door?” Salem asked, stepping out of his office. “I was on a call. It wasn’t the new housekeeper, was it?”

“Not new, temporary,” he grouched. “And if she’s the new housekeeper, she’s not staying.”

“What? Who?” Salem asked, looking around. “Where is she?”

The doorbell rang again and Salem gaped at him. “Why aren’t you answering it?”

“I did. I didn’t like the look of her.”

“What is wrong with you?” Salem stormed over to the door and opened it.

Then to Alexei’s surprise, Salem seemed to freeze.

Did he see that she wasn’t a good choice?

“Hello. Again,” Salem said.

Again?

His eyebrows rose and instead of disappearing like he’d intended, he stuck around.

When would Salem have met this girl?

“Oh. Hello! This is a surprise. I didn’t know you lived here.”

“No, I’m guessing you didn’t,” Salem replied in a stiff voice. “Um, why are you here?”

Okay, this was more interesting than those books that Roman read.

That Alexei liked to steal from his room.

“Oh, the Saturn Agency sent me. You need a temporary housekeeper?”

“Right. Well, you see, I’m not sure that would be appropriate. I apologize for wasting your time. I’ll tell the agency it was no fault of yours. Just that our previous acquaintance makes it inappropriate.”

“I see.”

Even Alexei winced at the despair and worry in her voice. He stepped around Salem so he could see her.

Oh no.

He didn’t like that look on her face. Then she turned and walked away, her shoulders slumped.

“Wait!” Salem rushed after her.

What the fuck was he doing?

“Salem,” he warned.

The other man gave him a look over his shoulder, clearly telling him to shut up.

This was a very dumb idea.

“Uh, I’m sorry, what was your name?” Salem asked, sounding unusually flustered.

“It’s Tamsyn. Tamsyn Clemens.”

“I’m Salem Adel. This is Alexei Petrov.”

“Hi,” she said, waving her hand. “I’ll just get out of your way.”

“No. Wait. Urgh, do you have another job you can go to?” Alexei asked.

Shit.

He was acting like a bleeding heart.

“No. Things are a bit tough at the moment and it’s hard to find jobs. I haven’t been in London long, either.”

“Stay,” Salem told her. “I reacted badly, but if you are all right with working here for the next few weeks, then it’s fine with me.”

“Really?” She lit up like a Christmas tree. “Thank you! You won’t regret it. I’m an excellent cleaner.”

Huh.

They would see.

She was a shit cleaner.

Alexei looked at his bathroom and grimaced.

Fire her.

Go track her down and fire her.

Fuck it.

That’s just what he was going to do.

He stormed down the stairs. She’d been here close to a week and he’d done his best to avoid her so he could keep his sanity intact.

But enough was enough.

She couldn’t take their money and just wander around, pretending to clean. He’d known there was a reason why he didn’t want her around.

He searched the entire house.

Where the fuck was she? He was actually starting to worry when he heard noise coming from the gym.

Was she actually cleaning in the gym?

Alexei stormed into the room, anger riding him hard, and came to a sudden stop. He had expected her to be cleaning, not lying on the weights bench, trying to bench press way too much weight.

“What the hell do you think you are doing?” he yelled.

She let out a startled cry and her arms started to wobble.

Fuck!

He ran over and grabbed the bar, setting it back in the holder. She sat up and turned, giving him a shocked stare.

“You gave me a fright! I could have dropped that on myself.”

Was she serious? She was trying to tell him off? When she was the one in the wrong?

He really didn’t think so. He stomped around the bench.

The silly girl held her ground, glaring up at him, when if she’d had any sense, she’d have run.

Alexei loomed over and she didn’t even flinch.

No sense of self-preservation. For some reason that angered him as well.

“What do you think you are doing? You’re supposed to be cleaning the house, not in here working out!”

“Oh. Right. This is my lunch break.”

“Your lunch break? It’s three in the afternoon.”

“I know, I forget to stop and eat sometimes.”

He didn’t like that either! Yes, he was aware that he didn’t like much about this girl.

Except for the way she sang as she attempted to clean or smiled when she saw Roman, who it turned out she’d also met before taking this job.

He didn’t like that either.

How had she met both Roman and Salem before? Was that really a coincidence?

“Well, first of all, you need to start taking your breaks at a reasonable time. Lunch this late is unacceptable.”

“I didn’t realize that there were such strict rules around when I eat my lunch,” she countered.

Oh, this girl had more sass than was healthy for her backside. His hand itched to spank her. He saw her gaze turn wary as she stared down at his hands.

He suddenly realized that his hands were clenched into fists. Was she worried that he’d hit her?

Fuck.

He meant to intimidate her, but he didn’t want to frighten her. So he relaxed his hands.

“Well, there are. If you don’t eat, then you won’t have the energy to clean. Which might be why my bathroom looks like it hasn’t been touched in days.”

“Oh. I did a bad job? I’m so sorry.”

And now all that bravado had fled, and she looked like she was about to start crying.

He was an ogre.

He was reaching for her when he suddenly came to his senses. She needed to hear this feedback.

And he had to keep some space between them.

“Yeah, you did.”

She winced.

“But the biggest problem is you being in here.”

“Why? Salem said I was to clean in here.”

“Clean, not use the equipment.”

“Oh. I didn’t break anything. I was just using the bench press.”

“Well, don’t,” he snapped. “You could have seriously hurt yourself and you shouldn’t be in here alone. So from now on, you’re not to come in here. Understand?”

“Yes, I understand.”

It was only the truth, and it had needed to be said.

So why did he feel so terrible?

Tamsyn leaned back against the wall by the gym door and took a few deep breaths.

That was too close.

What was she thinking? She needed to do her snooping when they weren’t here. Or, when only Roman was here since he rarely left his room.

She’d been lucky that Alexei had walked in after she’d finished looking around the gym and had been using the equipment.

If he’d come five minutes earlier . . . not that she expected anything to be hidden in the gym equipment.

But she wanted to be thorough.

However, it seemed she needed to do a better job of cleaning. She couldn’t lose her job here.

Not before she gave him something.

Could she give him something small?

She hated this. These guys . . . they weren’t her usual targets.

They were good guys.

Even grumpy, sexy Alexei.

Yeah, she was really hating having to do this.

Salem glanced up at the knock on his office door.

“Come in,” he called out.

To his surprise, he’d been spending more time at home this week. Could be because he wanted to avoid Riordan.

Could also be because Tamsyn was here. There was no reason why that would compel him to stay home, but he couldn’t deny the amount of time he spent thinking about her.

So he shouldn’t have been surprised by the surge of excitement that hit him as her face appeared around the door. And he realized that he’d been hoping she would track him down.

God. What was wrong with him?

This poor girl was years younger than him. She now worked for him.

She was completely and utterly off limits.

Yet, here he was lusting after her like a pervert.

“Tamsyn, hi, come in.” He stood. Then he sat again.

Talk about awkward.

“You don’t need to clean in here,” he told her.

He’d told her to clean the offices when no one was working. And he’d actually just cleaned it himself.

She wasn’t actually the best cleaner.

“Oh, uh, that wasn’t why I knocked.” She stood in front of his desk, fidgeting and shifting from foot to foot.

“Stay still,” he ordered without thought.

She froze and he winced.

“I’m sorry. That was wrong of me, we’re no longer in the club and you don’t have to do what I say. Not that you had to there, either. Could you tell me why you’ve come to see me?”

Talk about rambling. It was mortifying.

“I’ve just had it pointed out to me that I’m a terrible cleaner,” she blurted out. “I’m so sorry and if you want to fire me, I understand.”

And just who would have . . . as if he had to ponder that.

There was only one person who would have said that. The same person who did his best to avoid her. And when he did run into her, he did his best not to talk to her.

Salem had witnessed him completely ignoring her yesterday in the kitchen.

Alexei could be blunt and hard. He could be a bit of a dick. But he wasn’t usually this bad.

“I will have a word with him.”

She gave him a startled look. “With who?”

“Alexei, he’s the one who said that to you, right?” Because there was no way it was Roman. He’d also seen the way Roman watched her when she wasn’t looking.

With awe. As though he couldn’t quite believe she existed. Which really surprised him because in all the time he’d known Roman, he had never known him to show interest in a woman.

Yet, here he was, coming out of his room more often with the excuse of getting a drink or something else, just to see her.

“Um, well, maybe. But I don’t think you should have a word with him. I’m the one you should have a word with. Why didn’t you tell me that I was doing such a bad job? I feel terrible.”

“You’re not doing a bad job,” he told her, getting up and walking around the desk.

Don’t touch her.

Don’t do anything that could be misconstrued.

“Are you sure?”

“I’m sure,” he lied. “Just perhaps clean the bathrooms a bit more. All right?”

She nodded. “I will. You’re sure you want me to stay on?”

“Of course we do. I won’t hear of you leaving.”

To his shock, she threw herself at him, wrapping her arms around him. He stood there, frozen.

Well, there was one part of him that wasn’t frozen. His cock was standing at attention. He had to step away before she noticed.

“Oh, I’m so sorry.” She took a giant step back. “I didn’t mean to be inappropriate.”

“That’s quite all right. No harm done.”

No harm done?

Really?

“I do need to ask how you feel about possibly seeing me at the club? Do you think it will be awkward? I was going to go tomorrow night . . .”

Because every night this week, he found himself jerking off while imagining her face. And it disgusted him.

So he was hoping the club would help.

“Oh no, don’t worry about that. I no longer belong to the club.” She waved her hand in the air.

“You don’t? What happened?”

“I didn’t want to be punished, so I walked out.” She shrugged. “No big deal.”

But it was. Because Club Slade was arguably the best and safest BDSM club in London. So where was she going to go?

“I want to know the name of the next club you intend to join,” he ordered.

“What? Why?” She blinked at him.

“I need to make sure that it is safe for you. You can’t be too careful as an unattached sub.”

And he wasn’t sure that she was all that good at looking after herself.

“You shouldn’t have been wandering around alone the other night. There are some clubs that would not only allow that but encourage it. That leaves you vulnerable to someone taking advantage of you. That can’t happen.”

“Why would you care?” Her eyes were wide with surprise.

“You work for me,” he said gruffly. “And I care about your safety, Pet.”

He did not just say that.

Her eyes grew even wider, her breathing became faster.

“I’m sorry,” he blurted out. “That was completely inappropriate, and I understand if you wish to leave. I will of course give you the final two weeks of pay but you do not have to return.”

“Why would you do that?” she asked.

“Uh, because I called you Pet.”

He couldn’t believe he’d done that. This wasn’t like him at all. He was usually far more careful.

“Oh, is that the problem? Pssht, don’t worry about it. I call Alexei, Mr Grumpy Butt in my head.”

“Yes, but that’s in your head. And we all call him that.”

“I don’t mind if you call me Pet.”

God.

Did she know what she was doing to him? She couldn’t. She was so damn innocent that it tugged at his protective instincts.

“I best go clean Mr. Grumpy Butt’s bathroom.” She waved at him cheerfully as she skipped off.

Oh, he was in so much trouble here.

“Alexei!”

A groan escaped him as he heard Salem snap out his name. He needed to get to the boxing gym. He had to get rid of this excess of emotion somehow.

Alexei didn’t like feeling this way.

He preferred not to care about anyone else’s feelings. Which might be why he’d had his membership to Club Slade revoked.

He still thought that was bullshit.

He hadn’t technically broken any rules, but he didn’t like giving aftercare and he could be blunt as hell. When had that become a negative thing?

Maybe after you started making little subbies cry, asshole.

He sighed. “I’m going for a box. What do you want?”

Pounding on someone was the only way he knew to tame his emotions.

“Well, that can wait until you tell me why you told Tamsyn that she was doing a terrible job.”

Well, now, didn’t he sound possessive? And protective.

That was interesting. And it might make things easier on him. If she belonged to Salem, then she would become his problem.

“Did she go crying to you?” Strangely, he’d thought better of the brat.

“She did not. She told me that she was sorry that she was such a terrible cleaner and that she would quit if I wanted her to.”

“I hope you told her yes,” he said, without meaning it.

“I did not,” Salem said firmly. “She stays. And you will not berate her like that again. If you have any problems with her work performance, speak to me.”

“All right, I have a problem with her work performance.”

“I don’t want to hear it.” Salem stormed away.

Yeah, just as he’d suspected. She had Salem wrapped around her little finger.

And he didn’t like that at all.