Miss Kane's Christmas Read Online Free PDF Page A

and check if you like. I’m sure it’s nothing though.”
    If it was nothing, Ben wondered, then why did he see a tiny flicker of something in her eyes? Surprise? Concern? And why did she keep glancing over her shoulder? “What’s going on?” he demanded.
    Carol smiled her maddeningly reassuring smile. “Why don’t we get you ready for bed and I’ll nip downstairs to see what happened?”
    Ben stared at her incredulously. He wasn’t one of her charges. He opened his mouth but clamped it shut just as quickly. He was tired. And the sooner the day was over the sooner he could send Miss Carol Kane on her way. It was easy to see how naturally good she was with the children, and she was an attractive young woman, he’d give her that. But, if the last twenty-four hours were any indication, he sensed that chaos followed this woman around. Closely.
    “I don’t need any help,” he said. Yet she still stood there, watching him, her uncertainty palpable.
    He shifted uncomfortably under her thoughtful gaze.
    “Of course you do,” Carol finally said. She crossed the room and reached for his shirt buttons before he realized what she was doing.
    “Miss Kane, if you don’t mind.” He tried to pull back but her grip on his shirt was too tight. He looked down. She was fumbling with his buttons. “Now wait just a moment, I assure you I am fully capable-”
    “Nonsense,” she interrupted him. She deftly undid the buttons on his shirt. “I’ll get you into bed, I’ll see to the children, and then I’ll straighten up downstairs. I’ve just the few decorations to put up.”
    He trembled as Carol’s fingers brushed against his skin. Of all the fantasies he’d ever had, being alone is his bedroom with a nanny dominatrix wasn’t one of them. Good heavens, the door was open, his children were down the hall, and the young woman undressing him was as wholesome as, well, Christmas.
    “I don’t want the house overrun with tinsel and Christmas paraphernalia,” Ben protested as Carol slid his shirt off his good arm first and then, tenderly, over his injured arm. “Did you hear me?” He knew he sounded peevish, he could hear it. He hated being this out of control.
    “Yes, I heard you but Christmas and paraphernalia are two words that don’t belong in the same sentence. Now where do you keep your pajamas?”
    “Top right dresser drawer.” Self-conscious didn’t begin to describe how he felt standing shirtless in the middle of his bedroom with a woman he barely knew. He watched her take out several pairs of pajamas and neatly set them aside. What was she looking for? “Any pair will do. The ones on the top are fine.”
    Carol turned to look at him over her shoulder. “Don’t you have a Christmas pair?”
    “A Christmas pair of what?”
    “Never mind, we’ll just add it to the list.” She shook out a blue plaid flannel top. “Slip your arm in, easy does it.” She deftly helped him ease his good arm into the other sleeve. “Now stand still so I can button this up.”
    “I can button it myself,” he protested. “And I can get into the bottoms without any help.”
    Carol raised an eyebrow. “Really? That should be interesting to see.”
    Ben stared down at her. Her eyes were the most amazing shade of blue. Disconcertingly blue. He lifted his gaze to the ceiling.
    “Okay, you can help me,” he conceded. “Just with the top, I mean.” He wanted to be alone so he could regain his equilibrium but there were limits, for heavens sake.
    “Thank you, now stand still.”
    He wished she’d hurry with her ministrations because the effect she was having on him was unnerving. He waited impatiently while Carol buttoned his pajama top. She took his sling from the bed and set his arm in it so gently that he felt only a little pain.
    “It’s not quite right,” she said. “Let me retie it.”
    “Just leave it,” Ben grumbled, “It’s fine.”
    Carol stood back, head cocked to the side, and studied his sling. “It’s