It also cooled his libido somewhat, even though the mating urge was still there, unable to be ignored. Kye felt pulled in two different directions. He wanted to be with the one who was meant to be his, but Nevaeh was his responsibility. He opened his mouth to say something that would prevent his would-be mate from walking away when she beat him to it.
“How about I take pity on you and help you with that too? There’s an office close by we can use.”
He nodded and smiled. “Thanks, I’d appreciate that.”
Her gaze seemed to latch onto his mouth, making Kye wish they weren’t in such a public place, or that he didn’t hold a baby in his arms. As she stared at him, he took the opportunity to run his gaze over her face, wanting nothing more than to taste her kissable lips. He wanted to see if she’d moan into his mouth as he explored her, or use his hair to pull him closer, becoming more of the aggressor.
At a sound that was a cross between a moan and sigh, Kye lifted his gaze to her eyes and saw her pupils had dilated. There was also a slight flush across her cheeks. He took a deep breath and detected the subtle scent of her arousal. He ground his teeth to hold back a wolf’s howl that built inside him.
She gave herself a small shake, as if to break the spell between them. She cleared her throat. “Ah, if you want to come with me, I’ll take you to that office.”
He nodded and pulled the bottle out of Nevaeh’s mouth, only long enough to sling the diaper bag over his shoulder, then stood. “I’m Kye, by the way.”
“I’m Michaela.”
Falling into step with Michaela, Kye prayed she wouldn’t look down and see the raging hard-on he had. Having her think he was some kind of perv was not how he wanted to start things off with her.
Chapter Two
Michaela felt her heart thudding against her ribs. Her blood still rushed hotly through her veins after that hungry look he’d given her. Her pussy clenched at the thought of it. She shot a glance at Kye from the corner of her eye as he walked beside her. He was gorgeous, the type of man she could stare at all day. He had male supermodel good-looks that would draw women in droves. At five-foot-eight, she considered herself to be tall for a woman, but he made her feel small. If she had to, she guessed his height to be six-foot-four. Sitting down, he’d looked big with his well-muscled body, but with the extra eight inches he had on her, he came across as even bigger.
“So what do you do here at the zoo?” Kye asked, bringing her back to reality.
“I’m one of the animal keepers.”
“You help take care of all of them, or just certain species?”
“I go where I’m needed.”
“Then you mustn’t be afraid to be around large wildlife.”
Michaela turned her head to look at Kye. He stared at her intently as if he waited to hear what her reply would be. “No, I’m not afraid of them. I find them all beautiful, especially the big cats. If I didn’t, I wouldn’t be doing what I do.” Something she said must have been what he’d wanted to hear, because he gave her a smile that turned him from gorgeous to a mouthwatering hunk she couldn’t look away from.
Finally able to pry her gaze off Kye, Michaela walked beside him in silence, but she was more than aware of his presence. First seeing him holding the small baby, she’d thought for sure he was married. She hated to admit how glad she was when she’d found out he was only Nevaeh’s uncle. There was still a chance he was taken, but given how he’d looked at her, she had high hopes he’d be single.
At the office door, Michaela opened it and allowed Kye to walk in ahead of her. She shut it behind her once she stepped inside. She pointed to the couch in the corner. “You can use that to change her.”
“Okay.”
Kye walked past to where she had indicated. Michaela had to hide a smile behind her hand as his gaze shifted from the baby to the couch, looking none too sure of himself. He pulled the now empty bottle from Nevaeh’s mouth and stuck it in the open diaper bag. He knelt, then laid Nevaeh down. Keeping one hand on her, he rifled through the bag and took out everything he needed to do a diaper change.
The poor man appeared to be a bit shell-shocked, looking as if he really had no idea where to start. Michaela crossed the room and squatted beside Kye. “Put the changing pad under her, then you can take her pants off.”
He nodded and did what she said. After getting Nevaeh down to her diaper, Michaela heard Kye say under his breath, as if to himself, “You can do this. You’ve faced worse things.”
She bit the inside of her cheek to stop herself from laughing at his pep talk. With a deep breath, he reached for the tabs and quickly tugged them open. Gingerly, he pulled down the front of the diaper.
Kye just about gagged and looked away. “Roxie is going to owe me big time for this,” he said. “This was her bright idea.”
Michaela’s hopes sank a bit at the sound of another woman’s name. “Roxie? Is she your girlfriend?”
He snorted. “No, I don’t have one. She’s Nevaeh’s mother, and the person who talked me into taking her daughter to the zoo by myself. Roxie thought it would help me bond with the baby.”
Her hopes flared once more. “So Roxie is your sister then?”
“Again, no. Nor is she my sister-in-law. I’m not Nevaeh’s uncle by blood or marriage. I guess you could say I’m a very close friend to her mother and father.”
“Ah, I see. Well, Roxie isn’t here to do this, so can I suggest you grab the baby wipes and get to work?”
Kye gave her a pleading look. “Do you think you could do it for me?”
Michaela laughed. “No. Nevaeh is your responsibility, not mine. My job is to clean up after the animals here, not change a baby’s dirty diaper.”
He gave her a lopsided grin that almost had her leaning in to kiss him senseless. “Oh well,” he said. “It was worth a shot.”
With a big production of almost gagging and bemoaning his fate, Kye managed to change the diaper. The only help she gave was to point out he’d put the new one on a bit loose. Finished, he picked up Nevaeh and stood. Michaela rose with him and watched as he lifted the baby to his shoulder to burp her. A few good taps and he brought up a good one, along with something extra. She struggled to maintain a straight face, but it was a losing battle when Kye shifted the baby to the crook of his arm and looked at his shoulder in disgust.
“Great,” he said. “Now I smell like puke. If something isn’t coming out of one end, it’s coming out the other. Roxie made sure I brought a change of clothes for Nevaeh, but I don’t have an extra shirt for me. And I don’t want to walk around with spit up on my shoulder for the rest of the time I’m here.”
Michaela couldn’t help it, she laughed. At the stern look Kye gave her, she laughed even harder. After she collected herself, she said, “I’m sorry. Really, I am.”
“I’m glad someone can find the humor in this,” he huffed.
“The gift shop sells t-shirts. I’m sure there will be one in your size.”
“Good idea. Here, hold Nevaeh.”
Kye passed her the infant, slipped off the baby sling, then tore his soiled dark gray t-shirt off over his head. She felt her jaw drop as she took in the wide expanse of his bared chest. It was thickly padded with well-defined muscles, same with his washboard abs. She’d only seen a male body like this in ads, or on romance book covers. Running her gaze over every hard-muscled inch of Kye’s upper body, Michaela yearned to touch him. To trace him with her fingers, lips and tongue. Her nipples hardened to tight buds and her pussy grew wet as she thought of what it would be like to be given free rein over his body. To do whatever she wanted to him.