by J. L. Monro
“What was that?” He ordered.
Oh, to hell with that. I swear what he did to induce my panic attack was sexual harassment and now he was ordering me around. Never again.
“Unlock my office door. NOW. Don’t you ever take me by the hand again. Not on school property not EVER. Do you understand? You pull a stunt like you just did Dr. Greenwood and I WILL have you done for sexual harassment. Are we clear?” I used my best authority figure tone I could muster. Deacons eyes were flickering all over my face and I had no idea what he was thinking but there was no defiant grin about to appear.
“Dana, you were looking at me like I was breathing fire in your direction and then you ran out of here like your life depended on it and that had nothing to do with what I said. Not that I retract anything I said.” His tone was absolute and factual. There was no humor. And he didn’t retract anything he said. Tough break, Deacon. I am not an option. When I refused to respond to him he took a step back. “Fine. I’ll be back shortly.” He unlocked the office door and left without looking in my direction again. The funny thing was I’m sure that was disappointment brewing in my chest. Did I want him to push for the information he wanted? Issues. I’ve got some serious issues.
I moved to my desk only to see the computer was switched off. Either Deacon had turned it off after I ran out on him or he was never actually working on my computer, he’d just made it look that way to pull a reaction. Weird and I’ve had about enough weird to last me a lifetime. I was not going to waste another second on Deacon, so I sat down and fired up the PC. I decided to get on with my other work until he put in an appearance so we could actually go over the facilities and get on with this project. The sooner it’s done, the sooner Deacon is out my face.
About two hours later I heard my office door open. I didn’t look up from my screen. I wasn’t going to give him the satisfaction of me acknowledging his presence. However a certain smell did get my attention and my tummy rumbled in recognition. Bastard.
“I didn’t know whether you’d had breakfast so here’s a coffee. Maybe we should get on with looking at what equipment and gadgets you guys have so we can actually crack on with some work tomorrow. How ‘bout that?” Oh, he was smiling now and damn his teeth were perfect. I suddenly pictured myself running my tongue over each individual tooth and nibbling on that plump lower lip of his because God had clearly designed that lip just for nipping. I finally made eye contact with him and could tell he had a pretty good idea of what had just ran through my head. Shit. I honestly did not want to encourage him.
“Yes, Dana, my mouth is a gift. A gift I would gladly give to you if you ask. And that’s what I’ve decided. I’m still going to charm you but I will not have you try out my body, which I know you want to, until you ask to. Seeing as you presented a little boundary earlier that you’re not going to explain, I see that as only fair.”
“I thought we had this conversation Dr. Greenwood. I don’t…”
“Dana, shut it! Grab your coffee and let’s get the rest of this tour done. I would actually like to get some work done today. We’ve got plenty of time to pursue our relationship later.” He walked back out of the office before I could tell him to shove his coffee. The horrible thing was he was right in that we really needed to progress with work. Both of us in some way needed to prove our value to the university. Accepting that fact I grabbed my bag and followed him out of the office. He leant on the wall next to the door. I turned to lock up but caught him with my peripheral vision scanning me from head to toe and back up again. I have no idea why my thighs clenched together at that point and my heartbeat picked up. “Do you have to be so lecherous all the time?” I barked at him.
“Do you wear that type of clothing to work all the time?” Again, his face was now serious.
“What do you mean THAT type of clothing?” There was nothing wrong with my outfit. I always dress smart for work. Smart, but fashionable. Today I had on high waisted grey trousers with a tight black tee and matching waistcoat. I looked good.
“Not responding to the question or diverting my question. That means yes you do. Therefore where you’re concerned my answer is yes. I will always be this lecherous around you.” The way he drawled the ‘always’ made my spine tingle but I growled in frustration. It was my body that was contradicting my head and it wouldn’t win.
Deacon laughed, “Come on Miss. Daniels, let’s get on with it.”
I stomped off at a hurried pace but Deacons long legs kept up with me easily. After a couple of minutes I had to slow down because I was tiring myself out. I wasn’t in bad shape but I didn’t work out much and this pace of walking was killing me. The rest of the day was spent touring the facilities quite amicably. Deacon didn’t flirt with me. Much. And I didn’t yell at him. Much. He was intelligent beyond belief. I mean, obviously he was clever as he was a doctor but he knew so much about so many other things. Every faculty we went through he could tell me something about that I didn’t know. Nothing quite like a man that’s built and smart with it. Damn hadn’t he more or less said the same thing to me? Geeze I was a hypocrite. Actually no. There was a difference. I had the decorum not to vocalize my sexual thoughts.
At the end of the day I think we were both beat. The tour of the facilities hadn’t taken half as long as we thought it would so we had come back to my office to start putting some ideas down for the research project. I packed up my things and started to make my way to the car park. Deacon walked beside me. He didn’t say anything for a while which was nice. I didn’t have the strength to argue with him.
“Dana, can I take you on a date this weekend?” He kept his head straight and continued to walk. I on the other hand stumbled over a rock and tried to recover from the question that came out of thin air.
“Dr. Greenwood, you don’t even know me. And if you did, you would know that I don’t date.” I could see my car. The end to this awkward conversation was almost over.
“Hmmmmm, I had heard you were the rejection queen. I guess I was trying to see if you might just say yes to me. At least you’re consistent. It’s not a problem, we have time.” He said this in such a way that it was irrelevant information. Now, I was sputtering.
I had a perfectly good reason for not going out with anyone. The last person I went out with was an epic failure and I was still trying to get over it.
“Who said I was the rejection queen? And again you don’t know me why do you want to go on a date with me? And finally-leave me the frig alone. Let’s get our work done and then you can get back in your paddleboat back to your practice or wherever the hell you want to go.” We’d now reached my car. I unlocked the door threw my bag in, sat down and slammed my door shut. I didn’t even bother to see if Deacon was out of the way. I turned on the engine and tore out of the car park.
As I started to cool down my phone rang and I picked it up with my hands free.
“Dana Daniels.”
“Oh, good Lord. Do you need a hand with that pole stuck up your ass?”
“Not in the mood for this. What do you want, Lana?”
“That is no way to speak to your favouritist sister in the whole wide universe.” She practically sang down the phone. Hmmmmm. The last time Lana was like this there was a head between her knees, which was why she was so merry. I did love my sister but she had a warped sense of humor.
“Lana what are you doing?” I asked with my voice laced with suspicion.
“Not what you’re thinking of, dirty girl. Take your perverted mind out of the gutter. I’m just calling to make sure you’ve remembered to order the cake for Ma’s birthday dinner on Sunday.”
“Um duh. Why would I forget that?”
Ma was the most supportive person in my life. She had brought my sisters and I up and she was still there for us whenever we needed her.
“I know you wouldn’t, but Mara is breathing down my neck to make sure it’s perfect for Ma. You seem snappy. What’s the sitch, bitch?”
I sighed and then let go. Saz wa
sn’t around, Mills was all diplomatic and objective when you needed to have a rant, which was not helpful, so Lana was the next best thing. “There’s this man at work and he knows he’s good looking which he flaunts everywhere but he’s directed his attentions on me for some reason. He says it’s because he was drawn to me through my papers which he read while he was at work. Oh, yeah, he’s from America which just makes him extra irritating as fuck! And he just won’t leave me alone. And he’s in my office taking over my space, but then he brings me my cappuccino because I might have missed breakfast. How does he even know I like to have a hazelnut shot in my coffee? That’s borderline stalking. I just don’t like him!”
Lana was howling with laughter down the phone. “What the hell is so funny?”
“You finally fucking fancy someone! At last! I really thought you were going to turn lesbo on us. , Tara, Mara, Saz, Mills and I had a bet going. Mills won that pot. You need to let her know by the way. So what you going to do? Let him take you on your desk? Oooohhhhhh that is so hot, saucy and romantic. Or maybe let him cook you dinner. He might take you to his place and cook you dinner, then ravish you in the bedroom.” She was positively squealing down the phone. For all Lana’s whorish behavior occasionally she gave the impression that she was a romantic deep down. An erotic romantic but a romantic all the same, however at this moment I was not appreciative of this characteristic.
Saz was always the first one to get excited.
“I’m glad you, the rest of my sisters and my so called best friends were taking bets on my life but you know what? You are not bloody helping me right now!” I let out a huge sigh. I was frustrated, tired, hungry and possibly more than horny. Not a good combination.
“Dana, what do you want me to say? You haven’t been with anyone since Mitchell. I understand that the bugger did a number on you but you need to move on with your life and let someone else in. This guy who is interested in you now, has a job, pays tax and by the sounds of things is hot as fuck judging by the way you’re not even forming your sentences properly. Why not give him a chance?”
“I’m just not ready for that Lana. I’ve got a mad amount of work to get through for my PhD. I’ve got Jakey to take care of. I just haven’t got the time or the inclination to deal with another man in my life right now.”
“Blah blah blah. You know that’s all I heard right? You’re always on top of your work so that excuse is rubbish. Jakey is more than taken care of. He’s got me for an awesome aunty, he doesn’t even need you! HA! Finally, you’ve eventually got to give a guy a chance. He might be the one for you, he might not but you at least got to let him try and prove himself to you.”
“Lana, just no. I’m not ready and that’s the end of it.” I was seriously just tired now. Lana was exhausting. She may have been slightly right with the things that She said which was past annoying to acknowledge but essentially I had to move at my own pace.
“Just so we’re clear. You’re telling me you’re not going to give hot man a chance?”
“No, Lana.”
“Ok. I’ll chat to you later. See ya.” And like that she was gone.
Home. Spend some time with Jakey. Bath with candles then bed!
CHAPTER EIGHT
I was feeling pretty good on Wednesday. I had more than enough sleep and my God I had enjoyed my dreams. This time I embraced Deacon’s naked body in them and my oh my, was I rewarded! I wasn’t surprised to see my office door open, Deacon probably wanted to pick up our work where we left it yesterday. We both agreed that we wanted to get our plans in place by the end of the week. What did surprised me was the female giggle that came from office and the pang of jealousy that quickly followed. That was until I recognized the laugh. She wouldn’t!
Sure enough, Lana was sitting in my office chair with her legs crossed and cocked up on my desk. She raised her eyebrow as I walked in. Her smirk was supersonic. Deacon was sitting on my office sofa. Whatever they had been laughing about must have been good because his face was slightly pink and he was still chuckling to himself. I was not jealous that my sister had made him laugh. That my sister was sitting in my office like a dominatrix, making Deacon laugh after I had told her I wasn’t interested in him, no it did not bother me in the slightest. Shit.
“Hey, baby sis. I haven’t seen you or spoken to you in ages so I thought I would pop down and say hello. You don’t mind do you?” I was going to slap that fake innocent face of hers so hard when we were alone.
“You could have called like a normal person. This is where I work. You can’t just come in like this.”
“Oh, come now, Dana. You know Colin doesn’t mind.” I rolled my eyes at that comment. Last year I brought Lana to the annual winter ball for the university. All was going perfectly well until the end of the ball when I was looking for Lana. I gave up and went back to our hotel room only to find Lana and Colin in a position on MY bed that is firmly etched into my mind. In Lana’s defense, Colin had told her that he was divorced. The hell he was! He was married with two kids still at home. He swore Lana and myself to secrecy and she flaunts her little one up on him any time she decides to stroll into the university and find the best way to annoy me. “Anyway, I’m here now. What fantastically boring stuff are we going to be doing today?” Lana was clapping her hands like a seal and Deacon was still chuckling. She needed to go now.
“Dana, did you just growl at me.” Lana was beyond amused now. She knew exactly why I was irritated and there was no way she was going to leave now.
I sighed and accepted how this day was going to go. A day filled with Lana-isms. “We’ve got a project to structure before Friday. Get out of my chair and go sit on the sofa. You…” I was now pointing at Deacon, “get to your desk and get on with some work. Actually. Where’s my coffee?”
Deacon burst out laughing at this. A full laugh with teeth and his whole body shaking. It was a beautiful sight and my heart warmed just a little. “Yes ma’am. I do like this bossy side of you. Feel free to be this way more often.” With that he left the office. I turned my full attention to Lana once he was gone.
“What exactly are you up to?”
“Moi? Dear sister of mine I have no idea what you mean. Anyway your work is boring. Apparently I have something called a job that I need to get back to. I don’t appreciate you taking up my time. I’m going. See you Sunday, my lover. Give Jakey kisses from his sexiest aunty.” With a wink she was gone. Days like this you seriously had to consider the fact that she might be crazy or she was definitely up to something and I seemed to be at the centre of it.
“Is your sister gone?” That better not be disappointment I hear in his voice. I narrowed my eyes in his direction. His smile faltered then came back full force. “Are you jealous that I was talking to your sister?” The amusement laced in his tone and infuriated me beyond belief.
“I have never been jealous of my sister.” Stupid lie. “What goes on between the two of you is your business. You’re both adults.” Outrageous lie. “If you want to sleep with the world and its mother, I really couldn’t care less.” You better not look at another woman in my presence if you want to keep your face pretty. “So let’s stop wasting time on topics that don’t concern me and get on with some work.”
“Ok. Let’s do it.” I could tell he was stifling a laugh but I didn’t look up from my screen at him. God. I needed help.
We continued to work for the rest of the day without any mention of Lana which was fine by me. We actually got a lot done which meant I left for home on time. Jakey and I had dinner together which I always treasured. He was growing up so fast and I worked so much that I was pretty sure I was missing out on a lot of things in his childhood. At bedtime he read to me which I always enjoyed. Pops had taught me to read. He read to me every night until I could read for myself. I had envisioned that the same would happen when I had my children, however Mitchell had made that an impossible dream. When he finally fell asleep I flopped on my sofa with my glass of wine and tried my best to relax. Dea
con was getting under my skin and Lana’s visit hadn’t helped. Add that to being a single mum and trying to run a house by myself and I was wound so tight I thought I might explode. It was nights like this I wish I was coming home to someone who would hold me and make me feel like my problems weren’t worth my worry.
I must have fallen asleep on the sofa because I was startled when I heard a scream coming from Jakey’s room. I ran in to see him sitting up crying.
“What’s wrong, baby? You have a nightmare?” I brushed his sweaty sandy blond hair away from his face and held him close to me.
“Yeah. I remembered when we were in the car. The night we went to Aunty Mills’ house and daddy was kicking the car and screaming at you.”
My heart broke in two. The whole time I had been with Mitchell I’d tried my best to shield Jakey from what went on between us but I wasn’t always successful.