Nanny Next Door by Michelle Celmer

arms up and around Daniel’s neck.
    The mayor’s brow rose. “Excuse me?”
    “She said no,” Daniel told him.
    Harris shot daggers with his eyes. “When you address me, Deputy, you address me as sir.”
    When hell froze over, maybe.
    “What are you doing here, Sydney?” the mayor demanded.
    “What does it look like I’m doing? Hanging out with friends.”
    “You don’t have any friends.” And it was clear he took a great deal of satisfaction in that assumption.
    “You keep telling yourself that,” Sydney said, leaning even closer into Daniel, until her breasts were nestled firmly against his chest.
    Harris’s eyes narrowed and he said, “Are you drunk? ”
    “Why do you sound so surprised? You’re the one telling everybody what a lush I am. I’m just living up to my reputation.” She looked up at Daniel and said, “Do you know the only times I ever drank while we were married? It was when Jeff wanted sex, and getting tipsy was the only way I could stand to have him touch me—”
    “That’s enough!” Harris thundered, grabbing Sydney’s arm and yanking hard. If Daniel hadn’t been holding on to her she probably would have tumbled over.
    Daniel was two seconds from decking the son of a bitch, when Harris’s girlfriend appeared at his side, looking like a wounded doe, and said, “Jeffy, what are you doing?”
    At that point people had stopped dancing and were watching, and maybe Harris realized that he’d just come off as the jealous ex-husband who was still pining for his wife, because he dropped Sydney’s arm so swiftly she fell back into Daniel.
    He gave Sydney one last furious glare and then stormed off, his girlfriend scurrying after him.
    “Did he hurt you?” Daniel said, examining her arm.
    “I’m okay,” she said, looking a little rattled. “I guess I hit a nerve, huh?”
    “You realize he just assaulted you. You should file a police report. You have a bar full of people who will corroborate.” If Sydney had done the same to Harris, Daniel didn’t doubt she would be cuffed by now. The bastard deserved a taste of his own medicine. He deserved to be humiliated.
    “It’s not worth it.” She slid her arms back around his neck, pressed the length of her body against his. He realized that watching her stand up for herself had made him hot as hell.
    He eased her into his arms, forcing himself to keep his hands north of her waist. When what he really wanted to do was cup her behind and grind himself against her.
    Nope, not gonna happen. She was drunk, and he knew better. Fooling around with a woman who couldn’t consent was a line even he wouldn’t cross.
    She gazed up at him with heavy-lidded eyes, a smile on her full, glossy mouth.
    God, he wanted to kiss her.
    “Is he watching?” she asked.
    Daniel skimmed the crowd and saw Harris standing by the bar, eyes on Sydney, looking ready to spit nails. “He’s watching. And he’s pissed. You made an ass out of him.”
    “No, he did that to himself.”
    Good point.
    She grinned up at him and said, “You want to give him something to be really pissed about?”
    “What did you have in mind?”
    She pulled his head down and brushed her lips across his.
    Oh, man.
    It was far from passionate, yet suddenly his pulse was racing. He’d kissed a lot of women, but he couldn’t recall ever feeling it like this.
    Sydney’s eyes fluttered open and she gazed up at him, lips parted in surprise. Whatever it was he’d felt, apparently so had she.
    Time seemed to stand still, the air between them so thick it was damn near impossible to draw in a full breath. Then she curled her fingers into the hair at the nape of his neck, her nails raking over his skin, and he almost groaned. Before he knew what he was doing, his lips slanted over hers and he captured her mouth. With not only her ex, but most of Daniel’s friends watching, after he’d been so adamant about not dating Sydney.
    Wrong, wrong, wrong. This was so wrong. He needed to stop this