Playing Jax [Wylde Shore 2] (Siren Publishing Classic)

by Jan Graham

  He liked her. No, maybe it was more than liked. He cared about her on a deeper level than he understood. It was why he found it so difficult to stay away, why he hated the thought of someone else being with her. They were friends. She’d trusted him enough to ask for his help with the confusing new desires she experienced. No, it was more than friendliness. He wanted to protect her, take care of her, and make sure she was happy. That was deeper than friendship. It was…not love, but something like it. It was a strong desire to be with her on more than a friendship level. Yep, that was it, a strong desire…not love. Nothing like love, it was totally different.

  Face it you idiot, you have no idea what’s going on, and it’s got you running scared.

  “Hey, Boss, there’s a woman waiting to see you in your office. We didn’t have anywhere else to put her.” His constable obviously noticed the disapproving look Steve gave him. His office was not to be used as a waiting room due to the confidential information kept in there. “I know, we should have found somewhere else. It’s just…she was a bit distraught when we dragged that Johns guy in here again for starting a fight at the pub. He’s a loud bastard, got a bit mouthy toward the lady and said some inappropriate things, so we popped her out of sight.”

  “Fair enough.” Steve opened his office door and came to an abrupt halt. Rhia jumped as the door flew open. “Rhia, what can I do for you?”

  Steve knew the greeting didn’t sound friendly, in fact he probably sounded abrupt, even angry. What the fuck? He was always greeting her inappropriately. She must be used to it by now. He walked over and kissed the top of her head, hoping the affectionate display would be enough of an apology for being too blunt with the greeting. Then he headed behind the desk to his chair, knowing the desk would cover the erection swelling in his trousers.

  “Anyway it’s nice to see you, I’ve been meaning to drop over and see you, but things have been a bit hectic.” He hoped she didn’t see his renewed greeting as the lie it was. Even more, he hoped she didn’t call him on it. She smiled and nodded as he spoke.

  “I understand. This job would keep you very busy.” Rhia adjusted her position in the chair across from him and got right down to business. “I’ve come to see you about the young man who died from the drug overdose. I called the station this morning to see if someone could do a drug education talk for the students, and the woman at administration said I would need to see you for approval of the idea. I should have realized I’d need to make an appointment instead of just coming down unannounced.”

  “Unannounced is fine, and sure, I’ll organize someone to give a talk at the school. Just send through the proposed details to me in writing, and I’ll get it sorted.”

  Rhia bit her bottom lip and appeared nervous. He sat quietly observing her and waited for her to speak. “Here’s the thing, something doesn’t seem right at school. I actually need you to tell the principle that you want to give the talks. I can’t request for you to come.”

  Steve didn’t like the concerned frown on Rhia’s face. “Tell me what’s not right.”

  “I spoke with our principle, Harper Roderick, this morning after the assembly we had to announce the young man’s death. Don’t get me wrong, I’m sure she’s very concerned about all this, but…” Her frown deepened. “She didn’t tell the pupils that they could come and talk to me if they were having trouble coping with their loss, and when I asked about it, she said she’d forgotten that I’d started working there. Then I asked about organizing a series of drug education talks, and she told me it wasn’t necessary. When I pressed about it, she informed me it wasn’t my role and that she refused to give me the authority to request the program.”

  “It does sound strange. Did you ask her reason for denying the request?”

  “She said this was yet another case of a stupid child, taking a dangerous drug and the world was better off without him.”

  “You’re serious?” Steve knew the statement was redundant, but the principle’s response amazed him.

  “Yes, serious. She seems like a really nice person when you meet her. She’s a bit of a clothes horse and always crying poor, which doesn’t make sense. She says the right things to parents and gives the impression she cares for the pupils at the school. Apart from her response today, I get the feeling she’s hiding who she really is. I know there’s something not right about her. She tells me who I’m allowed to work with and who is off-limits.”

  “Anything else?”

  “Yes. I’m not allowed to go and speak to the friends of the boy who died. She said she will talk to them if need be, help them through their interviews with the police, etcetera.” Rhia shook her head and sighed. “I know I’ve only been there a few days, Steve, but something is amiss.”

  Steve found the information more than interesting. Harper Roderick came across as caring and professional, but other members of his team had made statements similar to Rhia’s. There was something not right about Ms. Roderick. Steve knew looks could be deceiving. He made a mental note to talk to Carlie about his concerns.

  “I’ll get Carlie to talk to Ms. Roderick. We’ll sort something out.”

  “I was hoping you could talk to her. I think she’ll just try and walk over anyone else, just like she did with me this morning. It will be different with you. You can do that authority thing you do. I don’t think she’ll argue with that.”

  “What authority thing? You mean because I’m the boss of the unit, she’ll agree?” Steve was slightly bemused.

  “No, you do a thing. You must know you do it. You stand there with your arms over your chest, feet braced shoulder width apart, and stare down with that look that makes a girl’s knees go weak. Your voice goes all deep and husky, and you get that ‘don’t mess with me’ tone. You don’t answer when the other person argues, you just stare back with this look on your face that compels a woman to comply with what you think is best.” Rhia visibly shivered as she described it. Her eyes flickered shut momentarily, and her pretty little tongue darted out to moisten her lips. “Don’t sit there and pretend you don’t know what I’m talking about. You did it on Saturday.”

  Oh, he definitely knew what she was referring to. He just didn’t realize she’d noticed it, and that gave him cause to think.

  “So I make your knees weak?” He gave her a cheeky smile.

  “You know you do. You make my whole body weak.”

  The flush of color that filled her face made him go loose in the knees. Not that he’d tell her that.

  “So will you do it?”

  “Of course I will.” He stood up and walked around the desk. Taking her hand in his, he pulled her to a standing position. He leant forward and spoke in a soft, deep tone against her ear, crowding her body with his as he did. Rhia placed her hand on his chest and turned her head toward his voice. He kissed her tenderly on the lips, the tiny sigh unmistakable as he pulled his lips away from hers. “I’ll get all dominant any time you want me to, if that’s what makes you happy.”

  Just before he moved away from her, his hand landed firmly on her ass. Rhia jumped and let out a squeal of surprise. She didn’t speak, but the flushed color filling her face deepened.

  “Go on, get moving or I’ll do it again. I’ve got work to do, and you know how you distract me.” Rhia bit at her bottom lip and gave him a wide-eyed stare. “I’ll count to three, shall I? One…two…”

  Steve laughed as Rhia scampered out of his office before he got to three. If only she’d taken a bit longer to pull herself together. He could have spanked that glorious ass of hers one more time, maybe on the other cheek for good measure. The fact that her hand was positioned firmly over the spot he’d spanked as she left amused him. He wondered what thoughts were racing through her mind as she hurried away.

  He’d seen the arousal in her eyes when she looked at him, but it wasn’t necessarily from the slap on her butt. It may have been the fact he’d crowded her with his body. Still, she hadn’t objected or appeared offended at the tap on her butt
. He’d intentionally used slightly more force than just a playful slap, and less force than an actual discipline type of spank. It was enough to warm the flesh, maybe leave a slight sting. He wished he’d been able to lift her skirt and see if the flush on her ass matched the one on her face.

  Maybe he needed to investigate Rhia’s potential for submission a little more. He considered what he knew so far. No objection to the smack on her butt, plus she was potentially aroused by it. She recognized and, obviously unbeknownst to him, had responded to his dominance on Saturday, albeit unintentionally on both their parts. She certainly begged nicely while on her knees, again an unintentional act on her behalf. Maybe the unplanned and inadvertent actions from Rhia indicated a natural tendency toward submission. Time would tell.

  Steve settled back down to work, feeling less stressed than he had all week. He wondered whether he looked like an idiot, sitting at his desk, smiling while doing paperwork. Rhia calmed him. She made him feel…what? There were too many emotions to analyze while at work and besides, maybe he shouldn’t analyze them at all. All that mattered was she made him feel good, even on days when tragedy had struck. He was happier when she was near him, contented, whole. Steve gazed in horror at the chair she’d occupied. Rhia was starting to make him feel whole again.

  * * * *

  Rhia walked through the school grounds. Class was in session, so the way back to her office was unhindered by rampaging teens, school bags and the occasional teacher on playground patrol. Still, she managed to run headlong into the only other person in the vast open space. The man in the fireman’s uniform caught her in his arms as she headed for the administration block.

  “Hey darling, if you wanted to end up in my arms, all you had to do was ask. No need to nearly run me over to get there.”

  Rhia stepped back, apologizing as she did.

  “No problem. The name’s Cal, Cal Webster.”

  “Rhia McCabe. It’s nice to meet you. And I hate to disappoint you, but I wasn’t angling to land in your arms, I was daydreaming and not watching where I was going.”

  “Well, even if it was an accidental embrace, I enjoyed it.” Cal flashed a brilliant smile at her. “So you’re Angel’s friend. Have you figured out Steve Jax isn’t impotent yet?”

  “Oh, my goodness, how embarrassing. How do you know about that?” Did she know he wasn’t impotent? Of course she did. Heat flood her face and she hoped Cal thought it was because of his question and not the fact that Rhia was picturing Steve hard in her mouth and then spraying the top of her body in his sticky fluid. She averted her eyes from Cal and willed the image away.

  “Oh, shit, don’t be embarrassed. I was at the meeting Angel burst into. That’s the only reason I know. Honestly, I should have been more sensitive and not mentioned it.” When she glanced back at him, he was smiling at her cheekily. “I’m a bit of a larrikin. I see humor where other people don’t. I also recognize a beautiful woman when I see one, and you have beauty stamped all over you.”

  “Well, thank you for the compliment. And the answer is yes, I know about Steve.”

  “I’m going to use that little mix-up as ammunition when I can. He’s a good friend, but I do like to annoy him whenever I get the chance.”

  “He doesn’t strike me as the sort of man someone should tease.” Rhia replied. “I imagine if he got upset with you, he could make life unpleasant.”

  “Nah, he takes everything in good stride. He’s a nice bloke.” Cal winked at her. “So, as the victim of a terrible miscommunication and neighbor to the big guy, what would you say to a date on Friday night? We can have dinner, I’ll give you a few hints about handling Steve’s dominant ass, we’ll have a few drinks and some fun. What do you say?”

  Rhia was taken aback. No one had ever asked her on a date before. Dinner sounded nice, and Cal seemed friendly enough. He was friends with Steve and knew Angel, so it wouldn’t be like going out with a complete stranger. And he could give her information about Steve. If she knew more about him then maybe she would be able to get Steve to agree to a date, or sex, or another orgasm of any kind. Cal might actually be able to give her advice on understanding why Steve was so resistant to having sex with her.

  “Sure, I’d love to. Oh, but I don’t have a car, so you would have to pick me up and then take me home afterwards, if that’s okay.”

  “A gentleman always picks the lady up and delivers her home safely. I’ll be happy to drive you, as long as you promise to invite me in for coffee when we get you home.”

  Rhia laughed at the cheeky grin on his face. “Of course.” Rhia accepted his business card and promised to text her address to him. She couldn’t help but smile as she made her way up the stairs to her office. Her first date! Well, provided she could figure out how to text her address it would be her first date. Of course it was only a find out more about Steve, get to know a new friend kind of thing, but it was a date nonetheless.

  She sat down at her desk and thought about today’s meeting with Steve. She was still wet from being so close to him. When he whispered into her ear about getting all dominant if that was what she wanted, Rhia had nearly melted into a puddle on the floor. The smack on her bottom had been something else all together. The shock of her body’s reaction had bolted her feet in place.

  Her vagina flinched in delight as the warmth from his strike spread across her bottom. It stung. He hadn’t been exactly gentle about it, and she didn’t think she’d like to be smacked like that. Even thinking about it now, had moisture increasing between her legs.

  Rhia smiled to herself. She’d only just made it out of the office before the count of three. Maybe she should have stayed, just to see if he’d do it again like he promised. He would have. Steve was definitely a man of his word.

  The quiet knock on her door bought her out of her dreamy state. The young man who entered wasn’t known to her, but he looked decidedly nervous. Rhia ushered him inside and closed the door for privacy. She wasn’t one of the children on her approved list, but then he had come to her, so she wasn’t turning him away.

  “I’m not sure if I should be here, and I don’t really know what to say.” He was definitely nervous.

  “Well, let’s start with introductions. I’m Rhia McCabe, and yes, because I’m not one of the teachers here, you can call me Rhia.” She offered the young man a seat.

  “P–Patrick…um…” He looked for a moment like he might leave. “I’m Patrick Johns.”

  He was so thin and gawky, definitely not one of the in-crowd by the way he was dressed and the lack of confidence he displayed. Rhia’s heart went out to him. Concern filled his face. He was definitely deeply troubled about something, and coming to see her was obviously a huge step for him.

  “I’m very pleased to meet you, Patrick. And as for not knowing what to say or whether you should be here, I want to say, you’re welcome to come and see me anytime and there’s no pressure to talk about anything. It’s totally up to you.”

  Patrick attempted to smile as he gave a brief nod in response. Then he sat quietly and glanced around the room. Rhia let him take his time in speaking. Rhia had found that sometimes just being allowed to sit, without expectation to say anything, assisted in putting people at ease. She saw him eyeing the pamphlets on the coffee table in front of him. She’d spaced them in a random pattern on the left side of the table. He lent forward and pushed them around with his fingers. Rhia noticed the domestic violence booklet always remained on top, as did the kids and drugs pamphlet. He never touched them, but when he sat back his gaze flicked over each. She’d give them to him when he left, along with a few others he’d feigned interest in.

  “Do you know anything about getting scholarships to go to university?” His question broke the silence.

  “I know a few places that offer them. Apart from the universities of course, there are a few places to apply. Is that what you’d like help with?” He didn’t answer, choosing to give another brief nod.

  Rhia managed to drag more info
rmation from the young man. He seemed to relax and began to talk more freely after a while. He wanted to be a biochemist. He had two university courses picked out and was putting in an application to attend both.

  Rhia noted some of the more telling statements he made. He needed to go away to university. He didn’t think it was wise to apply to a closer school because he couldn’t keep living at home. By the time Rhia finished taking down information to see what scholarships might be appropriate she had a fair idea of what the young man’s issues might be. There were problems at home, possibly violence toward both his mother and himself. His father was a drinker, he’d mentioned alcohol in passing and said money was in short supply. He hinted at not having friends, being alone a lot of the time.

  When the end of day bell sounded, he stood to leave. Rhia collected the pamphlets she wanted him to have and slipped them in between the applications for scholarships that she wanted him to read. He quickly shoved them in his backpack and peeked out the door before opening it.

  “Patrick Johns, are you looking for me?” Harper Roderick’s voice was sickly sweet as she spoke. Rhia listened intently, standing just behind the slightly opened door of her office.

  “No, Harper, I was just—” Rhia frowned when he called the principal Harper. It indicated a familiarity that was unusual for principals and students.

  “I hope you weren’t thinking of disturbing Ms. McCabe. You know I told you if you have any problems to come and see me.” Rhia clenched her fist and pulled a face at the door as the woman spoke. Why had she employed her if she refused to let anyone see her? It didn’t make sense.

  “I wasn’t seeing her. I wouldn’t do that. Not when you told me not to.” Patrick sounded panicked. Was he scared of Harper? He’d just lied to the woman, blatantly lied. It was an interesting turn of events but she knew Patrick must have his reasons, one of those reason possibly being that he appeared extremely nervous around Harper. Rhia decided to leave the room, effectively interrupting Harper’s interrogation of Patrick. Harper took a step back from the boy as Rhia entered the corridor.