“Are you okay, Mr. Lamb?” the principal asks. “Do I need to call someone?”
Aubrey comes over and I open my eyes just as she touches my arm. My bear immediately quiets down and the shakiness I feel all over settles.
I’m breathing hard, heavy breaths as I look down into her beautiful honey-colored eyes. She’s magnificent. Utterly stunning.
She has dark brown hair pulled back into a ponytail and an image of me grabbing a hold of it while I guide her lips up and down my cock flashes through my head.
“Is everything okay?” she asks in the softest, sweetest voice I’ve ever heard. The angelic sound runs through my body, making my nerve endings stir and my heart pound.
I open my mouth, but I can’t answer. I can’t talk.
All I can do is study every gorgeous detail in her face from her thick luscious lips to her thin nose and round cheeks.
I swallow hard as I drag my eyes down her thick full-figured body. She has big round breasts and wide curvy hips that have me choking back moans.
What is happening to me? I don’t understand it.
I’ve never wanted a mate. Everyone knows that.
But that was before…
Before I knew this beauty was in the world. Before I knew what a real woman looked like, felt like, smelled like.
Everything is changing. My entire worldview has been shattered by her and now I’m left holding the broken pieces with no idea what to do.
“Sir?” she repeats as she waits for an answer.
“Right,” I say as I shake my head and try to snap out of it. “Yes. No. Um… what was the question?”
“Are you okay?” She says it really slowly as if she thinks I’m a moron. But to be fair to her, I’m totally acting like one right now.
“I’m fine,” I manage to grunt out as I turn back to the class. I have to stop looking at her.
I’m in front of about twenty kids and this is not the time or the place to get all worked up. The need to have her is building with every second that I breathe in her intoxicating scent and I know if I continue looking at her I’m going to have a rod in my pants so big that I’m going to traumatize the poor class.
“Well, I have work to do,” the principal says as she stands up and surrenders the chair back to Aubrey. “Let’s remember that class starts at eight-thirty am, Miss Olson.”
“I’m sorry,” Aubrey says as her adorable cheeks turn pink. I’m already looking at her again. My restraint lasted about four seconds. “It was my car. It was—”
“Eight-thirty,” the principal interrupts before leaving the room.
My beautiful girl takes a deep breath and forces out a smile as she turns to the class. She’s so brave. She’s so perfect. I’m swooning big time over here.
“Are we learning a lot from the fireman?” she asks the class and they all say yes. “What have we learned from Mr. Lamb so far?”
“He cut someone’s head off with an ax!” one kid says.
“What?!?” I snap as I glance at Aubrey in a panic. “No, I didn’t, you little—”
“He’s on my mommy’s calendar,” the traitorous blonde girl says.
“Oh, really?” Aubrey says as her cheeks go even pinker. “That’s interesting.”
Wait? Interesting? In what way?
“He has a tattoo of Marshall from Paw Patrol and he shot a policeman with a gun,” another little fucker says.
My eyes are filled with panic and dread as I turn back to the sexy teacher, but she’s giggling. Oh, thank god. She deals with these monsters every day and knows it’s all lies. Hopefully.
She smiles shyly as she turns to me. “Anything else to add, Mr. Lamb?”
I swallow hard as I stare at her.
Her honey-colored eyes are so captivating. They’re full of charm and allure. I want to stare into them forever, only stopping to get an eyeful of her enticing curves.
“Mr. Lamb?” she says when I don’t answer. “Are we all done?”
“He’s done,” the little shit in the front row says.
The bell rings and the kids all jump up with cheers.
“Well, it looks like it’s recess anyway,” Aubrey says as I stare at her. I’m being drawn to her in the strongest way. I don’t have the strength to pull my eyes away from her. I can’t bear to move from her seductive presence.
“Thank you for coming to visit us,” she says. “Class, can you say thank you?”
“Thank you!” they all shout at the same time.
It’s time for me to go. My time with her is over.
So, why can’t I move my legs? They’re rooted to the floor.
I take a deep breath and start walking toward the door, feeling like I’m in a daze. My bear jumps up and snarls in my ear. It startles me so much that I jump to the side and crash into a cabinet with a globe on it. It falls over and smashes on the ground so loud that everyone inside the classroom freezes.
My bear hasn’t snarled like that in over two decades and he chooses to do it now when I finally found a girl that can change everything?
Thanks a lot, I tell him.
He just keeps snarling and growling as he thrashes around. I know it’s because I’m headed for the door. He’s acting in the exact same way that Ethan’s grizzly acted when he found Chloe.
“You broke the world!” the chubby kid says as he points at the broken globe.
“You monster!” the cute little blonde girl shouts.
Another kid is crying. They’re all staring at me, including Aubrey.
I take a deep breath and then run out the door.
Smooth, Carter. Really fucking smooth.
Chapter Three
Aubrey
“I don’t want to go outside,” Max whines as the class empties for recess. “It’s too cold and I don’t like the way the snow is all crunchy under my boots.”
“You have to go outside, Max,” I say in the most patient voice I can muster as I push him out the door. “Teachers need their breaks too.”
I’m rubbing my head and already feeling a migraine coming on as I watch the kids get dressed and filter out the door.
Once the last one is gone, I head over to the teacher’s lounge to grab a cup of coffee.
Crap.
Stacy and Karen are sitting at the table and talking in low voices. They suddenly stop talking when I walk into the room. They’re probably gossiping about how I was late this morning. Let them gossip. I don’t even care.
I grab a mug and throw a coffee pod into the machine.
“Have you heard from Nathalie?” Stacy asks Karen.
I curse under my breath as I stare at the coffee that’s not coming out fast enough. Nathalie was the teacher I’m taking over for. She went on maternity leave two months ago and I’ve been struggling to stand in her very large footsteps.
“I have,” Karen says as the coffee takes forever.
Come on. Come on.
“I miss her so much,” Stacy says with an inflection in her voice that’s aimed right at me. “Everything ran so much smoother when she was here.”
“I know,” Karen answers. “And poor Gwendolyn has so much extra work to do now that she’s gone.”
“I heard she’s going to have to stay late tonight to catch up on work,” Stacy says loud enough for me to hear. “Since she was… preoccupied this morning.”
My neck and cheeks get hot as I turn around. “My car broke down,” I say in a timid voice. “It’s not like I was trying to be late. I was stranded on the road with the freezing cold wind for an hour while I waited for a tow truck that I can’t afford.”
I hate that I always feel so weak and timid around them. But this is their school and I’m just the substitute filling in.
They give each other a look that I just want to slap off their smug faces. These two preach to their classes about bullying and then do the same thing they preach against to me.
“It’s the third time this month,” Karen says as she gives me a look that makes my jaw clench
. “Maybe it’s time to buy a new car.”
“Maybe,” I mutter as my coffee finishes. I quickly pour some milk in and take it with me. “But I live on my own. Not everyone has a rich husband to buy them whatever they want.”
“She’s not going to get a husband dressing like that,” I hear Stacy whisper as I hurry out.
God, I’m really starting to hate this town.
As if things aren’t bad enough, my phone is vibrating when I get back to the class. It’s the mechanic calling to tell me that the repairs are going to be nine hundred dollars.
I nearly start crying. My credit card is maxed out already and my credit sucks with all of the student loans I have. I can’t afford nine hundred dollars, especially since I’m about to be evicted.
“Do you want me to go ahead with the repairs?” he asks.
“Do you have a payment plan or something?”
“Lady, this is the garage, not the bank. You want me to do the repairs or not?”
“No, thanks. I can’t afford it right now.”
“Okay, well you still owe me two hundred for the towing.”
I think I’m going to be sick. I’ve asked Gwendolyn for an advance on my pay for the last three paychecks. If I ask again, especially after being late today, she’s going to fire me. I’m sure of it.
My stomach is churning as I look at my untouched coffee. I don’t even want it anymore. I don’t deserve it. My life is a mess.
“Suck it up, buttercup,” I whisper to myself. Whenever I was feeling sorry for myself as a kid, my dad would put his comforting hand on my shoulder and tell me that.
He raised me and my brother by himself and died of a surprise heart attack last year. My brother took off traveling throughout Asia a few days after the funeral and I haven’t seen him since. I’m on my own in a new town and I can’t help but think that I’m failing everything.
What’s something you can do to make it better right now? That’s what my father would say next.
I suck in a breath and pull out my phone. I call my bank to increase my credit card limit, but I’m still on hold when the bell rings and the kids come pouring back in with red cheeks from the cold and messed up hair from their hats.
“How was recess?” I ask them with a big smile on my face. I’m only twenty-one and at the start of my teaching career. It’s much too early to be bitter and checked-out for the kids.
“Good,” Liam says as he sits down at his desk. “We saw the fireman’s truck.”
My ears perk up and I immediately glance out the window. “The fireman?” I ask as my pulse starts to race. He was so hot. Like, five-alarm fire hot. Even if he did break my globe and then race out of here.
I sigh as I remember how he couldn’t get out of here fast enough. You’d think a hot single fireman (yes, I checked and he wasn’t wearing a ring) would want to hang around and flirt with the young teacher of the class he’s presenting in, but he didn’t at all.
Can you blame him?
I don’t have any sexy clothes. I don’t even have any nice clothes.
My wardrobe is lame even for an elementary school and my hair usually has at least some glitter in it. It’s not exactly what hot single firemen are looking for. I don’t remember the last time I went to the salon.
But I can’t even afford to fix my old beater car, let alone get my hair done or buy new clothes. The only clothes I get are hand-me-downs from my neighbor who’s a retired librarian, so you can imagine how sexy and stylish I look. No wonder he fled from my class.
“What are we doing today?” Isabella asks as the whole class stares at me.
“I don’t know,” I say to her. “What do you have planned?”
“Nothing! I’m the kid!” she says with a laugh.
“You’re supposed to plan the day,” Michael says and they all nod in agreement.
“I am?” I say as I make a confused face that always makes them laugh. “I thought I was a student too.”
“No!” they all shout together.
“You’re the teacher,” Isabella says with a giggle. “You have to pick something.”
“Okay,” I say as I walk around the classroom, tapping my chin as I look up at the ceiling. “I think we should do… really hard math.”
“No!” they all shout.
“We’re only in kindergarten,” Michael says. “We don’t do math.”
“Okay, what about physics?”
“No!!!!”
“Okay,” I say as I walk around while their cute little eyes follow me. “What about a… snowman craft?”
“Yes!!!” they all shout.
I start pulling out craft supplies and the cardboard pieces I prepped yesterday as they all gather around. After I show them how to make it, Isabella leans on my shoulder and looks at it.
“Are you going to bring that home to your husband?”
It’s an innocent question, but it skewers me.
I clear my throat as my cheeks get hot. “I don’t have a… husband.”
“Boyfriend?”
I shake my head. “Nope.”
“Why not?”
God, will this chick step off? Geez.
But she keeps at it. Relentlessly and heartlessly.
“How come you don’t have a boyfriend, Miss Olson?” she asks again as everyone waits for my answer.
Because I’m broke, overweight with ugly clothes, and I’m about to be homeless.
“I just haven’t found the right guy,” I tell them. “Where should we put the snowman’s hat?”
Isabella doesn’t fall for my attempt to change the conversation. “You should just get a boyfriend.”
If only it were that easy. If only I could dial up a number and have one sent over.
I’d pick one exactly like Carter, the fireman from earlier. I still can’t get over his big muscular frame and tattoos that were hiding under his clothes. He had brown wavy hair with hints of grey, which I love and amber eyes. They were so piercing and beautiful as he stared at me so intensely, probably wondering why I was dressed like an eighty-year-old librarian.
I do need a man. Badly. I’m twenty-one and haven’t even been kissed before. Obviously, I’ve never had sex either. I’m not saving myself for marriage or anything like that. I’m just waiting until I know it’s the right guy.
“Okay, that’s enough about my love life.” Or lack of a love life is more like it. “Let’s make some snowmen.”
The kids start their crafts as I walk around, supervising them.
Something catches my eye out the window and I jerk my head back in surprise when I see Carter the fireman across the street watching me.
No… He couldn’t be watching me.
My whole body starts tingling and I swear that he is. His sexy dark eyes are locked on me.
I head over to the window with my heart pounding and he quickly moves on. He starts jogging toward his firetruck, then quickly gets in and drives away.
That was strange…
I’m still thinking about it ten minutes later when I’m helping the kids with the glue gun. They’re not allowed to touch it, but that doesn’t stop Max from grabbing it when I’m busy helping Annabelle with her orange construction paper carrot nose.
I smell burning and then feel a weight on my hair. “Max!” I scream in shock when I realize what he’s done. He put the glue gun too close to my hair and it got all tangled up.
My tone scares him and he starts wailing just as Gwendolyn walks by.
“Everything okay in here?” she asks as she pops her head in my class.
“Everything is great!” I lie. Max is crying his eyes out, there’s a glue gun stuck in my hair, and two boys are fighting in the corner.
Why does everything I touch turn into a dumpster fire?
She leaves and I get everyone settled down. I’m not supposed to, but I put on a movie for the kids as I head into the bathroom with a pair of scissors.
The fucker really got me and I have no choice. Hot tears spring to my eyes
as I cut a huge chunk of my hair off. It’s either that or figure out a way to style it with a glue gun accessory.
My shoulders slump down as I look at the ridiculous reflection staring back at me. If I had trouble getting a boyfriend before, it’s going to be damn near impossible now.
* * *
After my long day, I wave to the janitor who gave me a lift home and walk into my apartment. Buddy, my German Sheppard, rushes forward and leaps on me like Hobbes would always leap on Calvin when he got home from school.
He’s all licks and pants and jumping around as I dig my hands into his thick scruff and give him a kiss on his snout.
I love this dog. He’s one of the only good things in my life even if he is the reason why I’m getting evicted.
The landlord doesn’t like that he barks sometimes and he said either the dog goes or we both do. And I’m not about to abandon my Buddy.
Not now, not ever.
“What’s that, Buddy?” I say as he licks my cheek. “You love my new haircut? Why, thank you! I did it myself.”
He jumps up and barks. He’s so excited he can barely contain himself.
“Yup. It is a new style. I’m pioneering it. Tomorrow, you’re going to see anyone who’s anyone walking around with a big chunk of hair missing from their head.”
I take him for his walk, feed him, and then I sit down with a microwave dinner and watch some Jeopardy while he rests at my feet and watches me with those big brown eyes of his.
“What is an omnivore?” I say to Alex who always ignores me.
Buddy’s head pops up and he turns to the window. A low growl rumbles out of him as his lip curls up over his teeth.
“What is wrong with you?” I ask as my pulse starts to race.
He leaps up and rushes to the window, growling and snarling and barking his head off.
“Whoa! Whoa! Whoa!” I shout as I put my dinner down and rush over. “What has gotten into you, dog?”
He’s got his two front paws on the window ledge as he barks at the dark night sky. I grab his collar and take a quick peek outside, but I don’t see anything.
“Come on, dude,” I say as I try to pull him down. He doesn’t want to budge. “It’s hard to convince the landlord to let us stay when the whole neighborhood can hear you!”
Drawn to the Alpha: Alphas in Heat Book Two Page 2