by RaeLynn Blue
“Scott, I want you to do your best today. These people here care about you, and I do too,” he said to his son, pinning him with a stare so intense, the boy sat motionless in his seat—a feat he hadn’t managed throughout the last hour. Maybe Nathaniel’s display of anger had set his son to pay attention this time. “I mean it. If you want to go do fun stuff this weekend, let’s agree that you will make this week a lot different from the last nine. Okay?”
Scott met his eyes, snuck a glance at his mother, and he nodded.
He approached his son, and fought the urge to hug him. Instead he presented his closed fist. “Love you.”
Tara snorted, but didn’t say anything. He wasn’t in the mood at the moment to deal with her attitude. Not in front of Harper, not again. He wouldn’t lose his temper in front of the group again. All it took was one call to social services from a teacher and his whole nightmare could begin again. He didn’t want Harper to think him a monster. No, he couldn’t handle her disappointment, or worse, her fear of him.
“Okay,” Scott said with the air of teenager embarrassment. He met Nathaniel’s closed fist with his own and they pounded each other. Still he was grinning which meant he liked it, to a certain degree. “Whatever, Dad.”
He called me dad. That’s a start. The love, I guess, will come later. But first he must know that I love him—very much.
They pounded fists again.
Without another word, Nathaniel stalked from the room.
Chapter Seven
Harper’s heartbeat began to cease its frenzied gallop as she watched Nathaniel Pearson leave. Not that she’d been afraid of him, but his actions had frightened her because of how sudden they were. Shooting out of his chair, face a mask of anger, and it had been directed at John. Harper scanned her memory for what the portly man had done to anger Nathaniel. He had been staring at her as she spoke, but well, some men did that to women. Ogling had never been her problem, getting the man to actually think of her as more than an easy score had been the challenging part of finding Mr. Right.
Her breath squeaked through her lungs. Her classroom had become a place of dread. Sure, as the official team leader they used her classroom for parent and team meetings, and she’d tried to head off any serious arguments from flaring up. But John Flynn’s constant prattle throughout the last hour had stirred the boiling pot, as he tried repeatedly to stall their attempts to develop a plan for Scott, so that had to be why Nathaniel got upset. After all, how long would anyone want to keep listening to the whining and finger-pointing that had gone on this morning? Carlita had been ready to pop off, too.
“So, we are in agreement,” Carlita said, “with what Mr. Pearson said. We all vote and that gives us a four-to-two tally.”
Tara stood up and put both hands on the table, leaning forward toward Carlita. “I don’t give a rat’s ass what the voting said or what that bastard ex-husband of mine said neither. Scotty ain’t failing. Y’all teachers don’t like him and give him Fs. It ain’t fair.”
At that moment, the assistant principal, Mary Duggins came in. Soft maple hair piled on top her head, she sat down in the seat vacated by Nathaniel and crossed her legs. She took in the scene unfolding around her and said sweetly, “Teachers, you are dismissed to return to your classes.”
Tara scowled. “We ain’t done here.”
Mary stood up and extended her hand. “I’m Mary Duggins, the assistant principal. I’ve been listening to the conversations in here. I had a telephone call to make and a conference call after that, so I’ve been outside this classroom for about forty-five minutes, listening. My teachers are dismissed, and we need to move our conversation, Ms. Pearson, down to my office. Students will be here shortly and I want Ms. Perry to be able to give the wonderful instruction she provides each day.”
Mark and Carlita gave Harper thumbs up signs as they gathered their belongings and slinked out of the room. Harper collected her papers and scooted over to her desk, but Mary talked too firm and loud, she could still here the conversation.
“It is not our responsibility to ensure students pass,” Mary was saying to a red faced and very angry Tara. “It is our job to present material and assist students with acquiring it. My teachers did that for Scott, and at each turn, he rejected those options. We even attempted to contact you, Ms. Pearson. Education isn’t just a teacher’s job, it’s the job of a community—including parents.”
John Flynn cleared his throat loud and hard as if trying to drown out Mary’s words, but Harper knew Mary to be smart as a whip and fearless. She confronted parents like Tara all day long, and somehow she managed to get them to be more involved and less angry by the time she was done with them. Wow.
Harper watched the trio leave, John guiding Tara with his hand on her back. What did you ever see in her, Nathaniel? She’s a nasty, selfish woman. Why would you think having a child with such a person would prove healthy?
Maybe she wasn’t like that in the beginning of the relationship. Harper shrugged, and checked her watch. If Nathaniel liked that type of woman, he wouldn’t be interested in her. She and Tara only shared the fact that they had DNA, nothing else.
Harper had ten minutes to make it down the hall to the restroom and back to her room before students returned from their elective classes.
“I can make it.” Harper fast walked out of her room, made a right and hurried down the hallway. Passing other classrooms and teachers, she waved, but did not stop. Her bladder held until lunch on most days, but her nervousness about seeing Nathaniel had shaken the process up and now she really had to go.
Nathaniel had arrived early for the meeting, which gave Harper time to talk to him—alone. He had this amazing smile, when he gave it. It lit up his entire face, and his tanned skin coupled with those blonde strands only seemed to make him seem more surfer than laborer. His tee-shirt, again white, skipped over his rock hard muscles gleefully, and those jeans, sweet heaven, those jeans squeezed every bit of his lower body, setting his package right out there, and boy, Nathaniel’s equipment came large if what she spied had been accurate.
She squeezed her thighs together as she made it to the restroom. Thinking about him turned her dials, and already dampness seeped from her sex. Her stomach tingled at the thought of that phallus balls-deep inside her and she moaned as she reached a stall. Lowering herself down, she continued to think about the ways he would take her—gently, then hard and fast until she wept with pleasure. His rough hands would skate across her darker skin, snatching her aching breasts into his grasp, and rolling her nipples between his coarse fingertips. His blue eyes would stare up at her as he licked her taunt peaks, and sucked their pebbled points into his mouth.
I sooo want him. But I sooo can’t have him.
Sighing, she finished her business, washed her hands, and tried to stem the throb of her clit by squeezing her legs together. If only she could stop thinking about him.
As she exited the bathroom, she heard a hard cough.
“Uh, Ms. Perry? Harper?” called the one person in the world she didn’t want to hear from.
She spun around to the voice that ratcheted up her clit’s throbbing. Leaning against the wall near the stairwell, Nathaniel posed like a model. One leg extended, the other bent against the wall. Hands shoved into his blue jeans’ pockets, arms flayed wide. He pushed off the wall and came up to her, cornflower blue eyes wide and too intense to stare at for long.
“Yes, Mr. Pearson?” she breathed, hating how lust soaked her voice sounded.
He smiled then, that same smile he’d given her earlier that morning. The one that actually seemed to reach his eyes and light up his face. It wasn’t the same as the one he gave Carlita and Mark or anyone else present at the meeting, except Scott.
“I asked you to call me Nathaniel,” he said, flashing those brilliant white teeth.
His kissable lips split open into a smile that instantly tugged at her love button. Clean-shaven today, Nathaniel struck a tantalizing image, and an urge to kiss and lick across his ja
w line launched forward inside of her. Her heart thumped hard in her chest, beating its own SOS against her ribcage.
Surely he doesn’t realize the effect he’s having on me. I want to grab a handful of shirt and yank him down to me. Kiss me, lick me, heavens, Nathaniel do me right here on the stairs…
“Harper?” he cooed, grinning broadly at her.
Damn her imagination.
“Yes?” she managed around the stony lump of longing in her throat. She swallowed, but it didn’t go down, just like her libido hadn’t ceased its craving to have Nathaniel’s hands on her breasts and his cock buried inside her treasure trove.
“Did you hear me?” he asked, smirking outright at her now, because he knew she hadn’t. He inched closer to her, closing the space between them. Now firmly planted within her personal space, Nathaniel glanced down at her, and spoke softly, so very softly, Harper had to lean in to hear him.
“Ummm, no,” she said, “I was thinking about something.”
“So have I,” he retorted, playfully, and with the undercurrents of something sensual.
His voice stroked her as if he’d actually put his hands on her. Tingling skidded across her body and her nipples hardened at the sound of it. They’d ache for an hour because she wouldn’t be able to get his voice out of her head.
Harper blushed. He didn’t mean anything sexual by that! He means Scott, so stop being a horny harlot and deal with the situation at hand. Pull your mind out of the gutter and back into the classroom.
“I said to call me, Nathaniel,” he rumbled down to her. She came to his mid chest, and she was wearing heels. Nathaniel was easily pushing six-three or four”.
“Oh, right. Nathaniel, what can I do for you?” she asked, feeling scorching embarrassment on her cheeks and thanking the heavens her skin was darker. “I have students in about four minutes.”
He shoved his hands deeper into his pockets. He fidgeted as if being this close to her bothered him. So, she took a step backward, but he inched forward, keeping the distance between them to a minimal. He angled his head down.
Okay, he wants to keep our conversation private, that’s fine. He smells so good. What are you wearing? Fresh and masculine, some sport soap and a matching cologne perhaps? I love it.
“I—I wanted to apologize for my behavior today. I’m not a bad guy, Harper. I needed you to know that. I’m not a violent man, I…” He faltered, and for the first time, looked down at the ground and not into her face.
What is he going on about? He seems sincere and almost mournful. What’s going on in your head?
“Mr. Pearson, sorry, Nathaniel,” she said, reaching out and touching his bicep, trembling inside at the rock hard muscles flexing beneath her touch, and fighting the urge to kiss them. A zip of electricity raced up her body and she tensed, and Nathaniel flinched, but relaxed once it passed. “There’s nothing to apologize for. I mean, you were obviously upset, but so was everyone else. The good thing is we did come up with a plan that will work for Scott. Sure, it will be challenging, but things that are worth it usually are.”
Relief seemed to roll from his shoulders, and Harper watched him visibly relax. Had he truly been bothered that much by what she thought or by his display of parental frustration? The meeting had been a heated, tense beast for all of them. She hadn’t thought anything else about it since Mary would be handling Tara and John Flynn from here on out.
“Really? You sure?” he asked, those fantastic blue orbs sparkling like sunlight on water. They threatened to capture her and pull her into their vivid azure. “I mean, I didn’t scare you away or anything?”
Harper thought for a moment, but then smiled. “No, of course not. Sure, it shocked me because of the chair slamming against the floor, but I figured you were just clumsy.”
Nathaniel laughed, and the sound caused her heart to warm. Yes, she wanted to hear him laugh more often. The sound made her happy, unlike any she’d ever heard before. It came out rough and bit of a bark, but maybe Nathaniel didn’t get to laugh very much or often.
“Wow,” he said, shaking his head, hands now on his hips. “You don’t know what that does for me. Thank you so much. I really appreciate it.”
He glanced at her hand on his bicep, and rolled his eyes to her with a wicked grin etching its way across his face.She realized she had been rubbing his bicep, and she reluctantly took her hand away.
Blushing harder than ever, she took in a deep breath and released it slowly. What’s really eating at you?
Perhaps seeing the confusion scurrying across her face, Nathaniel explained. “Oh, I meant, how relieved I am that you don’t think I’m a short-tempered psycho.”
“I don’t think any of us believe that about you, Nathaniel. You’re a concerned father and we are glad you’re on board. It’s tough getting parents to come to meetings, let alone miss work to discuss their child’s educational future.”
“I don’t right care what the others think, Harper,” he confessed. “To be quite honest, I care about what you think of me.”
A searing blaze beneath those words set her emotional guards to ash. A heated rush trickled down her spine and spread like wildfire through her pelvis and right to her wick, causing her clit to beat furiously.
She blinked and put her gaze on the floor. She felt light and rose to cloud nine. Did he just say what I thought he said? Me? He cares about what I think? Why?
The bell dinged, saving her from having to respond to that particular statement, because her mind had melted beneath the blaze of her own lust.
“Well, that’s the bell. I’ve got to go, Mr. Pearson,” she said, falling into the protective comfort of professionalism. “Have a good day.”
Without waiting, she spun on her heel and hurried down the hallway. Aware of the fast clicking of her shoes on tile, Harper tried to slow down before she fell, but her fleeing wasn’t so much from Nathaniel as it was from herself and her own desires. She had to put distance between them. He was too close to be professional, too close by far. If he touched her, she’d lose total control over herself, her body, and losing control a minute before students flooded the hallway wouldn’t be good for her, her school, or her students.
The burning twist kept going, blazing a hot little trail from her gut to her face. The base of her neck felt warm too and she knew why. She’d only gone a dozen steps when she hazarded a glance back.
Nathaniel remained rooted to the spot, his eyes on her still. The look alone caused her to pause. A rush of gooey warmth flowed over her from her head to her toes, thick as honey. She hesitated, but he remained. He stood tall, bright sunlight streamed behind him. The expression lingered, raw and unrestrained. Naked carnal urges raked through her as she headed back to her classroom.
Nathaniel’s face had been revealing.
The look alone said plain and without moderation, “I want you.”
Chapter Eight
The rest of Monday crept by at a turtle’s pace, much to Harper’s irritation. She kept the anxiousness out of her voice and her demeanor, but it was hard going. Every thought swirled around Nathaniel’s confession that he cared about what she thought of him. Her. A teacher. A stranger. Aside from Scott’s, her opinion of him mattered. And that look he gave her as she walked away. Her damp panties reminded her of his intentions and his interest.
Still she couldn’t quite believe it.
Nathaniel Pearson wanted her, wanted her in the most sexy, passionate manner possible, if his expression could be believed. She finally sat down again at four PM and slipped her pumps from her aching feet. She rubbed them and sighed. Sure, he might be attracted to her, but really, she wasn’t entirely unattractive. Not a spring chicken but not ready to be chopped into salad either.
She really needed her pencil sharpener repaired. Students can’t well take a writing test on Wednesday without a pencil sharpener. Her heart dropped the moment Carlita walked into the room.
“You got time for a parent call?” she asked, smirking as if she kne
w some secret Harper should know. “I know you want to talk to parents after that wonderful meeting we had this morning.”
Harper groaned. “You’re serious?”
“Trust me, you want to take this one,” she said, smirk widening.
“Okay, send it over,” Harper groaned and rolled her chair over to the telephone in her room.
Carlita disappeared to her room next door, and within minutes Harper’s telephone rang. She picked up the receiver, thought a simple prayer and said, “This is Ms. Perry speaking.”
“Hi, this is Nathaniel Pearson, Scott’s father.” he said, his voice shooting shivers through her body and causing all peaks to point and pebble. “I wanted to know if you wanted to go grab dinner.”
“Dinner?” A quick charge of excitement zipped down her spine.
“Well, yeah, it’s the meal that comes after lunch, usually by several hours.”
“You’re asking me out on a date?” She couldn’t stop the disbelief from leaping into her tone. Her heart shot up all aflutter.
“Yeah,” he responded. “I am.”
“Tonight?”
“Yeah.”
“Short notice, isn’t it?” she countered. I can’t believe it. It’s four already and he wants to call now to ask me out? He must think I’m some lonely and desperate woman. Please.
“Yeah, it is,” he agreed, and she heard the tightening of his voice. If he had been smiling before, he wasn’t now. She couldn’t see him, but she could tell. He probably thought she was rejecting his offer and that often made people frown. “I’m sorry about it being so late. Tara decided to switch nights for me with Scott, and I found myself available. I just got off from work.”
I’m the second choice? No kid tonight so I guess I will contact the teacher. I bet she doesn’t have plans tonight. After all, she’s a teacher, a dumpy one, so she must be free. Never mind she was free. Her only appointment was her time spent at the gym at water aerobics, but he didn’t know that. Nor did he need to know.