Forbidden Fruit: Volume 1

by Harley, Lisa M.

  What hadn’t worked was my ability to get my mind off Tabby. I could still smell the British bombshell in my bed, feel the soft skin I couldn’t wipe from my memory, and hear the way she had screamed my name in her sexy as fuck English accent. I dreamed of it every night, waking up with my dick hard as a rock. The memories didn’t disappear until I’d jacked myself off like a tosser.

  I could have called Dean or gotten her number from Harper, but I wasn’t about to chase after someone who clearly meant it when she had told me she only wanted one night. I had wanted that night too. I just didn’t know it’d be so damned difficult to forget her the next day.

  “Hey.” I jerked at the sound of Emma’s voice and the tug on my sleeve. She was frowning when I looked down at her. “You okay?”

  I noticed we were standing outside the doorway to Logan’s classroom. “I’m fine. Lots on my mind.”

  “You’ve been weird lately.”

  Lately being the last three weeks. Probably because drop-offs and pick-ups with Logan and all scheduling came with me having a better attitude that was no longer accompanied with a quiet, but noticeably, jealous tension.

  “I’m good, Em. Let’s go in, shall we?” I reached for the door and gently led Emma in front of me with my hand on her lower back. She gave me a funny, suspicious look the entire time.

  I sensed her before I saw her. I trailed my eyes from the skin tight jeans to the pale pink blouse to the brown hair that was clipped together at the base of her neck. She was searching through papers on her desk with her back to us, but I knew it was Tabby.

  I closed the door behind us, shutting it harder than necessary. Tabby jumped and spun around. My fingers tensed on Emma’s lower back and Tabby froze. Her mouth dropped open and her pale skin turned ashen white.

  “Hi, Miss Malloy,” Emma said, completely unaware of the shock we’d – I’d – just given Tabby. I followed her lead, walking toward Tabby with a grin.

  Tabby. I got to see her again. And damn if she didn’t look even better in jeans than she did in a silver, shiny, skin-tight dress. Her eyes darted from my face to Emma’s, back to mine, and then down to Emma’s hand that she was holding out, ready to shake.

  “Hey…” She stopped and cleared her throat. “Emma, nice to see you again.”

  She finally smiled and shook Emma’s hand and faced me, quickly slipping a professional mask in place. I didn’t like it. “I’m Miss Malloy, Logan’s teacher.”

  I gripped her hand and squeezed firmly. It was as warm and soft as I remembered and coupled with the pink cheeks, pink soft blouse, and ass-hugging jeans, I was suddenly really pissed that Emma was in the same room with me and Tabby – whose hand was trembling in mine. I let go of it slowly, grazing my fingers against the soft skin on her wrist while I released her hand, and dipped my chin. “Marcus Whitmore. Nice to meet you.” Again. I left it unsaid.

  “Yes, well, okay.”

  I grinned, amused that my presence had her so muddled. Gone was the confident and sexy woman I’d met at the bar. I was looking at someone completely different. Someone easily shaken. Someone easily embarrassed. I didn’t know which one I found more appealing.

  Perhaps if she didn’t want to be embarrassed to see me, she shouldn’t have left my bed in the middle of the night. I opened my mouth to say that to her but quickly remembered where I was and the purpose for the meeting.

  When I turned to Emma to lead her further inside the room, she was frowning at me, again, but I flashed her a small smile and followed Tabby – Miss Malloy – to a crescent shaped table.

  “So,” Tabby began. Her hands fidgeted with what I assumed was Logan’s student file. She tapped a red file folder against the table and smoothed it out. And then did it again. And a third time. The entire time, she didn’t once look at me. Her professional, and slightly unfriendly, smile was glued on Emma. “Logan is a great boy to have in class.”

  I felt Emma’s pride in our son sweep across the room. And then I stopped listening. Mostly because she was telling me things I already knew. Logan was smart. Emma had done an incredible job of raising him on her own. He was a grade ahead in math, reading at a second grade level even though he was only in Kindergarten, and was an all-around great kid. I also tuned out because all I could hear was the British accent that had captivated me three weeks ago, the same British accent I heard in my dreams and jerked off to each morning, and the same British accent that was giving me the same reaction now.

  It was marvelous and torturous. Mostly because the entire time she spoke, Tabby didn’t look at me. Not once.

  But then she gasped. It was so loud and her face turned a putrid shade of green, I couldn’t help but tune in to what she was saying. I saw her staring at Emma’s hand. Emma was asking about one of the marks he’d received on a reading test and the index finger of her left hand was tapping on the file.

  Tabby’s eye grew larger with each millisecond before she made a choking sound and looked at Emma. “You’re engaged?”

  She choked the words out, her face still green, and then her teeth clamped together. For the first time, she swung her eyes to mine and glared at me.

  “Yes,” Emma began. Her voice was as cheery as ever, completely oblivious to the sudden tension in the room. She droned on, and the entire time, I sat in the tiny student sized plastic chair, grinning at Tabby. She thought I was a complete dick. I watched her green skin turn to white. And then to red.

  She was furious.

  I simply grinned. And that was because, at one point, Emma said the name that changed everything. Tabby’s head snapped back so hard to Emma’s I thought her neck might break.

  “….Jack was really very sweet about the whole thing. Marcus even brought Logan back to our condo early in the morning….”

  “Jack?”

  “Jack,” I confirmed quickly. “Emma’s fiancé. He’s also my boss. We’re one big happy family.”

  I didn’t take my eyes off Tabby. Her cheeks were turning purple again. I smelled victory. I loved that one night with me could affect her so much. It told me that she was not only affected by my presence, but that she felt it strongly. I had just witnessed six different emotions dance across her cheeks and eyes. Not all of them were good. But the relief and embarrassment she was showing right now? That was good.

  “I’m completely missing something, aren’t I?” Emma muttered. It was then I noticed she was looking strangely at Tabby and giving me an even stranger look. Emma was smart. How she hadn’t noticed the tension and awkwardness before that moment, I didn’t know. But I saw something close to suspicion flicker across her eyes. She glared at me and pursed her lips like she was debating about whether or not to say anything. Wisely, based on the fear that was written all over Tabby’s face, she didn’t.

  “No.” The two letter word came out of Tabby’s mouth so tightly clipped that both of us watched her. She pulled her lips into a tight line and I watched her rub her trembling fingers. She wasn’t nervous. Based on the way her eyes kept glancing to the door like she was two hours late from a high school curfew and the trembling hands, she was worried. Scared, possibly.

  I wanted to push her. I wanted to tell Emma that yes, she was missing something. And that something was that I had spent an incredible night alone with another woman and that was why I was no longer jealous when I saw Emma in Jack’s home. That while we had spent that night together, there had been no sleeping. But there had been a lot of fucking, a lot of screaming, and a handful of orgasms between the two of us.

  But that could cross the line of too much information that you should never discuss with an ex, so I mirrored Tabby’s pressed lips look and glanced at the forgotten file.

  From across the table, I heard a shaky exhale come from Tabby. Within seconds, the awkward silence and suspicious glances were cast aside and we finished Logan’s conference, learning nothing knew: Logan was smart, perfect, and overall an amazing kid. I wanted to puff out my chest and proclaim my awesomeness as a dad. Unfortunately, it was
all of Emma’s hard work seeing as I hadn’t known I’d had a kid until six months ago. Didn’t make me any less proud of him though.

  As Emma and I gathered our coats, and I watched her tie her scarf around her neck, I pressed a kiss to her cheek and leaned in closer. “I’ll see you later, I need to talk to Logan’s teacher for a minute.”

  She shot me another one of her what-the-hell looks, and I shrugged.

  “Boy stuff.”

  Emma’s nose wrinkled and I saw her look over my shoulder, probably to Tabby. “What are you doing, Marcus? You’re acting strange.”

  I had hot sex with our kid’s teacher and I want more. I didn’t say it. Instead, I shoved my hands in my jeans. “I just need a minute with her. Tell Logan I love him and I’ll see him Friday, okay?”

  I didn’t give her a chance to respond before I opened the door and gently coaxed her out. Once I knew she was gone, I turned on my heels and rested against the closed door.

  “I woke up and you were gone,” I said quietly. It got Tabby’s attention. I stayed against the door, letting her have the advantage of space and a sense of control over the situation.

  Her eyes searched every surface of the room before landing back on me. Even then she looked away, looking over my shoulder instead of at me. “I told you it was just for the night.”

  “Tabby, no one has that sort of connection, that sort of chemistry, and keeps it contained to only one night.”

  She made a strange choking sound. I watched her eyes glaze over and her cheeks turn pink. Then I wasn’t staying still anymore. I was on my feet and moving toward her, and I kept moving slowly until her back was against her whiteboard and I was only inches away.

  “I can’t,” she said softly, tripping over the two small words.

  “I’ve heard you say that before,” I told her. I lowered my head. There was distance between us that I wanted erased, but I didn’t want to push her too far, not in her own classroom. “And I also remember proving to you that you can.”

  “I didn’t know you had a son. Had I known I was his teacher, that night never would have happened.”

  “You didn’t ask, Tabby,” I said, leaning forward. I was inches from her and could smell her. Could remember the taste of her skin. I felt my hardening erection pressing against my zipper. “Had you asked me what I did for a living, had you told me what you did for a living, I would have gladly told you. If Dean or Harper would have said anything, then maybe we would have talked about our jobs and my son when we were introduced.”

  I watched her pulse pick up in her neck. The same neck I had licked and sucked and tasted. Sweet. A bit salty from dancing. I wanted my lips there again. I would have my lips there again. I kept talking. “As I remember it, there were a lot of noises….just not a lot of words. In fact, unless we were talking about blow jobs, there wasn’t much talking going on at all.”

  She cleared her throat, opened her mouth to say something, and closed it again. “I have a contract with the school. Even if I wanted to see you again,” she held a hand up and looked directly into my eyes, “which I don’t - I couldn’t. It’s not right for me to date a student’s parent.”

  “Let me see it.”

  “See what?”

  “The contract. I want to see it.”

  Her eyes narrowed. “Why?”

  “Because it’s what I do. I’m a lawyer. Getting people out of contracts without repercussions hitting them is what I do best.”

  “You’re a lawyer.” It was part question, part statement, and I smiled at her trepidation. It was adorable. She was adorable. Sexy. Professional. British Accent. She had it all.

  I wanted it all from her. I didn’t care that in reality, I dealt with mergers and acquisitions and not union contracts. My gut told me winning Tabby’s heart could be the greatest acquisition I ever made.

  “Yep. A lawyer. You know Jack McMillan, Emma’s fiancé? He’s my boss. He owns half of Chicago. I’ll figure out a way to get you out of your contract.”

  Her face pinched together. I instantly recognized that might not have been the best thing to say. “I don’t want out of my contract. I like my job.”

  “I’m not talking about getting you out of your job,” I said softly and closed the distance between us. With one hand, I pulled out the clip in her hair, allowing it to fall down her back and I ran my fingers through it. Just as soft as I remembered. My lips curved up slightly when she let out a low sigh.

  “I’m talking about finding a way to be together. I haven’t stopped thinking about you for three weeks. I haven’t been with anyone….anyone in a long time, and the fact that I can’t stop thinking about you? That tells me there’s something to explore further with us. I want it. And I can tell by the way I see your pulse beating like crazy under your skin,” I moved my hand and pressed two fingers at the base of her throat and dropped my voice, “that you want it too.”

  “I can’t.”

  “You say that a lot.”

  That earned me a smile. It was so genuine and so much like the Tabby I first saw three weeks ago that I pressed my lips to hers. It was soft and sweet, and she tasted better than I’d remember. I pulled back even though I didn’t want to, and her smile disappeared. “That’s because I can’t.”

  “You done here for the night?” I asked, looking at my watch. It was only seven o’clock. We had time to get the contract bullshit over with and still have time to get in bed.

  “What?”

  “Are you done for the night?”

  She frowned. I didn’t think the question was as confusing as she was making it out to be. I let her have a minute to gather her thoughts.

  “Yeah,” she finally answered, her voice shaky and uncertain.

  I nodded once. “Good. Meet me at Starbuck’s on Sheffield at eight and we can go over the contract.”

  “Marcus,” she said, sounding even more uncertain. “I can’t be seen with you. I could lose my job.”

  “Have you thought about me?” Her blush gave her away. So did the way her eyes fell from mine and travelled slowly down my body. “I’ve thought about you. I woke up wanting you and you weren’t there, which pissed me off. But what pissed me off more was that you didn’t leave a number, you didn’t have Harper get a message to me. You just left and all I’ve thought about for the last three weeks is the way your gorgeous accent makes me hard, the way your skin tastes, and the way I am constantly thinking that I’m not done exploring you or getting to know you yet.”

  “Wow,” she breathed.

  “Yeah, it was a wow kind of night for me, too. And I want to explore that further. But first, I want to have a business meeting with you, a lawyer looking over a contract. There’s nothing wrong with that, is there? Teachers need lawyers sometimes don’t they?”

  “I don’t think -”

  “I think that sometimes teachers need lawyers. So I want to look over your contract, see what it says about you seeing students’ parents and then we’ll go from there, okay?”

  She stared at me. I wasn’t sure what she was thinking. Maybe I had pushed too far.

  Then, her chin lifted. It was only once, but I caught it. I also caught the faint pink cheeks as she thought about what I said, and I caught the way her lips curved slowly into a smile. Just a hint of one, but it was there.

  “Okay.”

  “Okay, then.” I curled my hand into the back of her neck and I pulled her close. I didn’t kiss her, although I wanted to. But I held her for a moment and gave her neck a gentle squeeze before letting go.

  “I’ll see you in an hour.”

  Chapter Five

  Tabby

  This was insane. It was the most insane and stupid thing I’d ever done. Which wasn’t true. Dating Chuck was probably the dumbest I’d ever done. Leaving England with him and moving to the States in order to prove my mum wrong about him was asinine.

  He showed me who he was four years ago, but I was only nineteen, a freshman at university, and too naïve to see the forest t
hrough the trees.

  But bundling up in the frigid Chicago winter weather to walk and see Marcus at a coffee shop with my teacher contract and handbook in hand? That was dumb, too. Yet it didn’t stop me from doing it.

  Where was Harper when I needed her? The one friend I had who could knock common sense into me. Oh, that’s right. She was squealing with glee – a sound she rarely made – at the idea of me going on a date with one of Dean’s friends. I had finally broken down and called her on my way home. I had gotten out one sentence, “I had sex with Marcus on New Year’s Eve and I think I like him,” before she screamed into my ear so loudly that Dean had cursed in the background and complained of a ruptured ear drum.

  Then she relayed what I had just said to her which made Dean laugh. And then I swore her to secrecy while she told me to go for it, and that Marcus was awesome.

  So there I was, contract in hand and my other hand on the door to the Starbuck’s where Marcus had asked to meet. Which wasn’t quite true, because he had ordered me to be there, and I had only thought about it for a split second before agreeing. Which was dumb in itself.

  Have you thought about me? Because I’ve thought about you…

  A shiver snuck its way down my spine, straight to my core. It wasn’t from the below zero wind chills that the Windy City was currently experiencing either. And it was cold outside. Frigid. No, even being bundled in a thick scarf, wool gloves, and my winter coat fit for an Eskimo, I knew that shiver wasn’t from the arctic wind blowing off Lake Michigan. It was Marcus’s words and the way he looked at me with his narrowed eyes that I felt pierce directly into my soul.

  My soul? That was stupid. It was sex. Hot sex, granted. But just sex. The fact I hadn’t been able to stop thinking about him, or the fact that I had dreamed of him so many times since that night, waking up with a throbbing core and frustrated that he wasn’t there to help take care of that ache, didn’t matter. Or it shouldn’t.