She looked concerned at my tone, which was harsher than it should have been. “I was just wondering. He wants to be around you a lot.”
I searched my mind, wondering what in our behavior had clued the girl in. I couldn’t think of anything, since all of our more intimate encounters had been when she wasn’t around. “We both work at the school, so we end up in the same place sometimes.”
“He looks at you like he likes you.”
I had no idea what to say to that.
“It’s okay if he likes you, isn’t it?” she added, an edge of concern in her voice.
“What do you mean?”
“Daddy is dead, so it’s okay for you to have a boyfriend, right?”
“Right. It’s okay. But Mr. Curtis isn’t going to be my boyfriend.” My mind was a confused whirl, and I just prayed I was handling this right. This was the first time the subject had ever come up.
“Why not?”
“Because we don’t like each other that way.”
“Maybe you do and you don’t know it yet.”
“I don’t think so, sweetheart. But one day I might like someone that way.” I met her eyes in the rearview mirror. “How would you feel about that?”
She reflected for a minute before she answered. “I would feel okay. We can still love Daddy, right?”
“Of course, we can. We’ll always love Daddy.” For no good reason, I felt tears burn in my eyes.
It was so unfair—brutally unfair—that Nick had to miss out on all these years of being a father to Lily.
Lily nodded. “So it’s okay if we want to love someone else.”
I checked her expression and saw nothing but confidence. She believed it. She wasn’t conflicted. In her mind, there was no problem with loving a father who was dead and loving another man too.
The knowledge eased something I hadn’t known was anxious in my heart, but it generated a different sort of anxiety. “That’s good. That’s right. But Mr. Curtis isn’t that man, Lily.”
“Oh. Okay.”
I checked the mirror and she looked content, staring out at the park we were passing. I breathed a sigh of relief, glad we’d gotten through that hurdle unscathed.
We were almost at home when Lily said out of the blue, “I think it’s a disting possibility.”
I frowned. “Distinct, honey.”
“Distinct,” she repeated, pronouncing the word carefully. “I think it’s a distinct possibility.”
“What is?”
“That Mr. Curtis is the man.”
I closed my eyes and groaned.
There was nothing I could say.
***
I didn’t have any duties at lunch the next day, so I planned to make good use of the time finishing the lesson plans I hadn’t done the previous afternoon.
I’d brought a sandwich from home, so I just ran to the teacher’s lounge for a cup of coffee before heading back to my classroom.
Declan seemed to come out of nowhere, falling in step with me in the hall. “Hello,” he said, with a smile that was almost intimate.
I blushed. Like an idiot. “Hello.”
“How is your day going?”
“Okay. I’m trying to get some work done over lunch, since I’m not on duty.”
“Neither am I.” There was a strange resonance to his tone—sexy, teasing, and naughty at the same time.
I took a deep breath and looked away from him. “You should try to get some work done too. Even if you’re not a real teacher-” I’d been speaking softly, but I broke off at his quick look. “Even so, you’re responsible for these kids’ education.”
“I know that. I’ve been killing myself trying to do a decent job, while still watching out for Jessileigh. Believe me, it hasn’t been a walk in the park.”
I knew it hadn’t. And, honestly, I was surprised and appreciative that he’d done as well as he had. Even Lily wasn’t complaining about his teaching anymore.
But I couldn’t let the softness show, since I definitely wasn’t supposed to be feeling affectionate and admiring of him. “So you shouldn’t waste time you could be using to prepare for class,” I said, rather primly.
He grinned at me, and his expression changed to one I recognized. “I love when you get all prim and talk like a teacher.”
My cheeks grew hot and I dropped my eyes. “I am a teacher.”
He leaned in and murmured, “It makes me hot.”
He was making me hot too. I was all too aware of his expression, his body, the heat and tension I could feel vibrating off him.
“Have you thought any more about…possibilities?” he asked in that same thick tone.
I knew exactly what he was talking about. I nodded. “I’ve thought about it. As long as we keep it simple and no-strings, then I guess we can—“
I broke off because I couldn’t speak. He’d taken my arm and was dragging me with him. I had no idea where until we’d reached a supply closet. Before I knew it, we were inside.
“What are we doing?” I gasped, when he closed the door and turned around with a hot look.
His hands slid from my shoulders down to my hips and pulled my pelvis toward him firmly. I groaned low in my throat when I felt the hard bulge of his erection against my middle.
“What do you think we’re doing?” he murmured huskily, backing me up against a small table in the corner.
I felt my butt connect with the edge and shuddered as Declan pressed the entire length of his body up against me. “In a closet?” I whispered foolishly, feeling like I might melt away.
Declan heaved me up until I was propped on the edge of the table. I clung to his shoulders while he started unbuttoning my blouse. When he’d gotten enough of the buttons undone, he lowered his mouth and spoke over my bra, “Only convenient place at the moment.”
The vibrations on my breast made me moan helplessly. But, as I cupped the back of his head with my hands and held his face more firmly to my chest, I managed to say, “Not much for patience, are you?”
He sucked hard on my nipple through the fabric of my bra, causing me to gasp harshly. “I’m about as far from patient as possible.” His tongue teased me. “I can’t stop thinking about you. I’m frustrated as hell right now.”
My head fell back when he started teasing my nipple once more with his tongue. “Maybe I am too.”
I was grateful I’d worn a skirt when he started bunching it up around my hips. Then his hand found the damp spot in my panties, and he made a throaty sound of approval against my breast.
I gave a little gasp when he raised his head, adjusted my weight on the table, and then parted my legs. “You better have a condom.”
“I do,” he said, reaching into his back pocket. “I was hoping you’d change your mind sometime soon. Actually, I prayed that you would.”
Feeling precarious and off balance on the little table, I held onto his broad shoulders as he unfastened his pants. I felt wild and a little naughty to be having sex like this, with most of our clothes on, in the closet in the middle of the day.
I reached down with one hand to stroke his freed erection, thrilled when he moaned under my light touch.
“Now,” Declan grunted after a minute. “What was it you wanted?”
I parted my legs and tried to move him into position. “I thought you were the one who wanted it.”
He rolled on the condom and clamped his hands down on my hips and angled them slightly. Then positioned himself at my entrance. “I’m pretty sure you want it too,” he rasped, teasing me mercilessly with tiny, tantalizing thrusts.
Sucking in an urgent breath and clawing at his shoulders, I hissed, “Inside me, Declan. I want you inside me.”
He drove his pelvis forward, fitting himself inside me in one swift thrust.
I swallowed a sound of pleasure as he filled me with perfect, delicious pressure. I adjusted my hips until I was more comfortable on the edge of the table and brought my legs up to hook around his thighs.
“You
do want this, don’t you?” he asked, his voice a hot breath against my ear.
“Yeah,” I gasped, clenching around him possessively. “God, yeah.”
On a hoarse grunt, he pulled back, pausing for a beat. Then he hooked one of his elbows under my knee, pulling me open more completely before he pushed back in—the momentum of his thrust forcing me back and up, only halted by his strong hands gripping me from behind. “Like that?” he gritted through his clenched jaw.
I bit my lip to keep from crying out, but my neck twitched erratically, tossing my head to the side. The delicious friction sent sharp sensations shooting out from my center. “Yeah. Just like that.”
He withdrew and thrust again.
My arms had somehow gotten twined around his neck, and I leaned forward until my mouth was at his ear. “Hard,” I whispered. “I need it hard, Declan.”
I could hardly believe this was me.
He took me harder. My leg that was hanging over his arm bounced with our rhythm, and I felt the jolts of pleasure from each thrust start coalescing into a swell of rising pressure. He must have been feeling it too, because soon he couldn’t maintain his steady rhythm.
Making little noises with the tempo of our motion, I pulled back to look at his face. I saw that his expression was twisted with effort and concentration, and I knew we didn’t have very long.
Feeling stable now on the table in the strength of his arms, I eased one of my hands past my bunched up skirt down to where we were joined, rubbing myself to speed things up.
The pleasure immediately intensified, and my inner muscles instinctively clasped at his hard flesh.
His hot, wild gaze had followed my hand, and a primal sound burst out from his throat. Declan started grunting out rough monosyllables now, and I heard him pant, “Come, Kristin. Come.”
I rocking frantically against him, trying to reach that peak.
“Come,” he grunted, this time with rough authority.
So I did.
I hissed in pleasure and bit down over the fabric on his shoulder as I felt the familiar waves of pleasure overtake me. My fingernails raked over the skin on the back of his neck. My head falling backward, I saw Declan's face transform as he finally let himself come. My muscles clamped down around him as he kept pushing into me, muffling the sound of his own release against my neck.
My throat felt raw, and my breath was raspy as a started to relax. I clung to him tightly as the contractions faded. His body was hot and shaking a little under my arms, and his mouth on the skin of my throat was warm and moist.
He finally raised his damp face. Gazed at me for a long moment. Then kissed my gently, his tongue sweetly stroking my mouth.
When the kiss finally broke, I leaned against him, hot, breathless, and trembling. I couldn’t believe we’d just done that.
I couldn’t believe I’d just done that.
I’d never done something like that before in all my life.
His arms were still wrapped around me, but one of his hands now slid up until he was cupping my cheek, tilting my head back until I was meeting his eyes. “That was amazing,” he murmured.
“Mm hmm.” That was as articulate as I could be at the moment.
“You are amazing.” He caressed my cheek with his thumb.
I swallowed hard at the wave of emotion that washed over me at the tender gesture and the look in his eyes, different but just as powerful as the physical sensations of before. “You’re kind of okay yourself,” I managed to say.
His smile broadened. “Glad to hear it.”
I was feeling so soft and emotional that I had to remind myself that this was just a fling. Sex and nothing else. “I had no idea that casual sex with no strings could be so hot,” I said, pitching my tone as teasing.
He blinked and didn’t answer for just a moment. Then he smiled again. “I think any sex between you and me is going to be hot.”
“True.” I really had to pull myself together, since I was starting to read things into his words and expression. I pulled away from him physically as the first step. “Okay. That was fun, but I better get back. My lunch break is almost over.”
“Mine too,” He straightened his clothes and ran a hand over his face, like he was still a little befuddled.
But there was no way he was as befuddled as me. “Talk to you later,” I said quickly, and then I left with a wave of my hand.
I ran to the bathroom to bring my body and my mind into some sort of order.
But, ever since Declan had entered my life, all order and reason seemed to have vanished.
Ten
Declan
It takes a lot to throw me.
And I was thrown.
It took a solid five minutes before I could even think of leaving the damn closet because I was completely out of my element here. I’d seduced dozens of women in my life, and I’d been seduced by just as many. But what just happened here with Kristin was far beyond anything I’d ever experienced.
And it scared the hell out of me.
You’d think I’d be happy, right? I mean, what man wouldn’t be over the freaking moon to have a woman who was all prim and proper one minute and sex on a stick the next?
Me, that’s who.
I knew almost from the start that there was an attraction between us—hell, I pursued her with single-minded intent. I never wanted to get involved with a woman with a kid, and if anything, Lily was the perfect excuse to keep this simple. Uncomplicated. But now? I don’t particularly feel like I want that anymore.
Quickies in a storage closet are all fine and good, but watching her walk out the door had felt…wrong. I wanted her here with me. I wanted to hold her, kiss her…have more time with her.
Shit.
There was no way that I was actually feeling this way. It…it had to be something else. Maybe the fumes from the cleaning products in the closet were messing with my brain because I was so not the guy who was looking for anything more than a good time.
I straightened my clothes and fumbled for the light switch just to get my bearings. No one was in the hallway when Kristin walked out, but I wasn’t stupid enough to think we’d have that kind of luck twice. So I grabbed a box of tissues, some hand sanitizer and some paper towels and carefully opened the door.
The coast was clear, and I all but ran back to my classroom. Once there, I looked around the room and cursed. Kristin had a valid point earlier. I should have used my time to do some stuff for lesson planning or at least stayed close to the cafeteria to keep an eye on Jessileigh. After all, that was the reason for my even being here.
Not to have hot sex in a storage closet with a fellow teacher.
No matter how much she turned me on.
Shit.
I dropped my unnecessary supplies on my desk and made my way back to the cafeteria. I needed to remember why I was here. I needed to focus on doing the job I was hired to do. There was no way I’d be able to live with myself if something happened to that little girl while I was off being a screw up.
Hadn’t I learned that lesson already? Didn’t I know better?
The sad truth was that I had learned it, but there was something about Kristin that was…different. I didn’t feel like I was being a screw up when I was with her. I didn’t feel like our time together was just casual or for fun. Being with her made me want to be a better person, a better man.
Now I just had to find a way to balance it all out and see if she was interested in maybe a little something more than a fling.
***
“No. Absolutely no. You need to stop this right now. I’m not kidding.”
I was driving through town on my way to my hotel after school and decided that I needed to talk to someone. Levi was busy. Sebastian was unavailable.
That was how I ended up with Cole.
“I think you’re overreacting a bit, man,” I said with a nervous chuckle. “Seriously. Relax.”
“Hell no!” he snapped back. “What is it with you guys? Why the hell
can’t you just be happy with the way things were…are? I mean, we’ve been over this before, and I’m seriously considering getting a fucking tape recorder and just hitting the play button because it’s getting annoying to have to keep repeating myself.”
He’d lost me. But that was nothing new. Cole had a tendency to ramble on about stuff that none of us remembered. “Refresh my memory. What exactly have you been repeating?”
Cole growled into the phone. “Okay, first it was Levi. I was willing to let that one slide because it’s Harper. They’d known each other for most of their lives, and it was bound to happen. Sebastian? That was just crazy. I know he sort of got thrown together with Ali because he was keeping an eye on her with that case and all that crap, but still. He didn’t have to go and ask her to marry him. And now you.”
“Hey…whoa. I’m not asking Kristin to marry me,” I said defensively.
“Not yet. But I can tell, I can just fucking tell that it’s not going to be long.”
“You’re wrong,” I mumbled and cursed under my breath. “Look, all I’m saying is that…I just want to spend some time with her.”
“And the kid.”
I nodded. “And Lily. They’re a package deal. I’m just not sure how to interact with kids.”
“Says the first grade teacher,” Cole said with a snicker.
“Grow the fuck up. I am the first to admit that I wasn’t the right one for this job, but I was the only one available. So I’m here, and no one’s been scarred for life.”
“We don’t know that for sure.”
I wanted to argue, but he kind of had a point. “I may not be winning any teacher of the year awards, but I’ve certainly gotten better. I’m following the lesson plan thing about seventy percent of the time, and the principal is making sure that I’m not skipping anything vital. All in all, I’d say that the kids are all right.”
Cole made a non-committal sound. “If you say so. But that’s not the point. We were talking about you and hot teacher.”
“Kristin. Her name is Kristin.”
“Okay, whatever. You and Kristin.” He sighed dramatically. “What’s the holdup then? You want to hang out with her, clearly she’s into you, so what’s the problem?”
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