Just One Night
Prequel to the Learning to Let Go Series
by Hazel St James
Copyright Hazel St James 2012
Smashwords Edition
Cover Photo Kotofot/Shutterstock
This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents either are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events of locales or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
All rights reserved. Except as permitted under the U.S. Copyright Act of 1976, no part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, or stored in a database or retrieval system, without the prior written permission of the publisher.
To my husband for your constant encouragement. I love you.
For thing one and thing two, I am sorry that supper was late, dishes weren’t washed and towels clean. It will only get better, even if I have to hire a maid.
To LeeAnn, my fairy godmother. Your support and dedication are beyond words. You made me rethink, rephrase and redo until this story was exemplary.
You gave me faith in my writing, when I was ready to give up.
To Holly Roberts, Mistress of Wisdom. For forever reminding me of the good parts of being an author, and what was out there if I was willing to reach for it.
To Tanya Keetch, The Word Maid. For being courageous enough to take a fine tooth comb to my story. You are truly a gifted editor.
To Janda, my beta reader for life. Thanks for taking a chance with me.
Contents
Title Page
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Epilogue
Chapter 1
“Hey, do you need help?” Sara heard someone yelling over her shoulder.
Trying to balance her books and papers under one arm and her coffee in her other hand, Sara tried making her way to the front door of her next class. She thought she was doing a great job of balancing everything until her papers start to slide.
“No, I got it….argh!!!” A gust of wind picked up the papers and started to toss them around like they were in a mini-twister.
Scoffing at her, most of her fellow students kept on walking by the carnage littering the yellowing lawn. The voice Sara had heard before everything started flying startled her. “Let me help you.”
Sara turned to the lone angel, ready to praise him for being a gentleman. She almost had to pick her jaw up off the ground when she eyed the man, a walking billboard for stranger danger. He wore a leather motorcycle jacket, dark denim jeans, chopper boots and had a handkerchief tied around his neck. His blonde hair was severe, cut in a closely trimmed, spiked mohawk reaching from the top of his forehead to the nape of his neck. He had a half day’s beard growth on his face and his eyes were blood-shot. You could see the faint remnants of a yellowing bruise under his left eye. To say that he scared her a little was an understatement.
“Thanks,” was all that came out of her mouth. Sara busied herself with picking up her papers. She had missed school for nearly a week while she was back home helping her family in Wisconsin. Missed assignments had a way of piling up fast and they needed to be turned in as soon as possible.
“No problem,” he said to her as he chased the papers around the front lawn of the school building. He brought the menagerie of papers to her, set it on top of her books and took the entire bundle from her hands. He nodded his head towards the front door to move her along. “I can help you carry these inside.” There was a bright smile plastered across his face.
“You’re in my accounting class?” she squeaked as they walked through the front door to the auditorium.
“What, you don’t think I could balance someone’s books or do you think I can’t add and subtract?” Stepping back, he turned around and looked down at his attire. “Or is it that I don’t look like your average accountant? Or maybe you think only pinheads in suits and ties can run a business.”
Shit. Five words to him and he was already offended. “I didn’t mean it that way. Well, I really don’t know what I meant. It was a stupid thing to say. You are more than qualified to be an accountant if that is what you want or whatever,” she stammered. “I keep saying the wrong things. Thanks for your help. I’ll just sit down now before I trip on my tongue.” A flush crept up Sara’s face, bringing the remainder of her pride crashing to the floor.
His belly laugh was anything but comforting.
“Ok, now you are laughing at me,” Sara blurted out in hushed anger as her rosy blush turned to beet red.
“I’m not laughing at you…it was cute that you were flustered is all.”
Sara stood up and tried to reach for her books. “I don’t appreciate being laughed at. Thank you for your kindness, but I am going to sit elsewhere.”
“Stop.” His command was deep, rough and broke goose bumps out on her skin. The resonance in his voice froze her where she stood before the thought registered in her mind. Sara tried to look him square in the eyes, but found herself staring at his feet.
“I do not laugh at women. I was laughing that someone like you was flustered by me. And that is the truth. NOW SIT DOWN. Class is about to start.”
As if her legs were not her own, she sat back down in the chair. How the hell did this guy get her body to move before she had processed the commands? It was downright creepy, maybe a little thrilling. Ok, a lot thrilling. She felt like tiny butterflies were fluttering deep down in her belly, inflaming her libido.
Reviewing his words in her mind, Sara furrowed her brow together. “What did you mean by someone like me?”
His eyes began running up her body as if using it as a checklist. “Studious…quiet…demure…” She crossed her arms quickly as his eyes got closer to her chest. She wasn’t flat chested at all, but she didn’t have much to show off. She barely could even fill a B cup. Sara had always been thin, but she was sporting a few muscles from all the hard work she did back home in Wisconsin. Manual labor did have its perks. Still, she had always thought her body looked like a string bean with boobs. She had mousy brown hair which she kept shoulder length. Anything longer than that was a pain to deal with. She wore very little make-up, but she did always try to keep her nails neat and polished. It made her feel like a girly girl. Otherwise, Sara was plain as plain could be.
“My name is Chris, if you wanted to know.” He slipped off his jacket and ran his hand down his face, Sara could hear the bristle as his palm scrubbed across his jawline. She couldn’t help but to think what that beard would feel like on her face, her neck, and every where else. Stopping to look at her, an all knowing grin broke out on Chris’ face. Sara’s gaze remained riveted to his smile, which resulted in gawking at his full, luscious lips. He continued to patiently watch her expressions, waiting for her to respond. His beautiful lips began moving and Sara jumped when she realized he had been talking to her.
“What was that, sir?”
Smiling like a loon, Chris replied, “I said, now you’re supposed to tell me your name.”
“Oh… um…it’s Sara. Sorry. I’m usually not this dense,” she stuttered back to him a little louder than she wanted. The class that was within ear shot turned around, giving them both the stink eye. “Ok, that was really loud. Sorry.”
Chris just smiled, stretched out his legs crossing them at his ankles and sank back in for an hour long lecture on owner’s equity. Mesmerized by the devil in leather on her right, Sara d
idn’t hear a word the professor said the entire lecture. When he first approached her, she really didn’t even give him a second look as potential boyfriend material. In fact, she didn’t even really look at him in that way. All she saw was the hair, the biker jacket and immediately dismissed that thought. Examining him more closely, Sara realized that he had a face that could have been chiseled from granite with his high cheekbones, and angular jaw. His heavy lidded eyes were a cloudy, muted shade of gray. His scent was musky and Sara couldn’t quite decide if it was cologne or his body exuding pheromones. The skin tight shirt that he wore left nothing to the imagination, Sara could see the lines that cut across his body from his muscles. Sara’s imagination began to roam as she wondered how it would feel to ride behind him on his motorcycle, her hands woven over that muscled chest, her thighs clutching on to his legs like vices, and her nether-region pressed against his backside….
“What was that thought?” Chris whispered, startling her from her thoughts.
“What thought?”
“The thought that has you blushing again,” Chris whispered in her ear. He was really close to her ear this time because she could feel his warm breath on her neck. She’d felt a few wisps of her hair catch on his unshaven face.
“I wasn’t thinking anything…” Chris immediately cut her off with a slash of his hand.
“Lying is not attractive at all. In fact, it is a turn-off for me.” Chris turned his body to the front of the auditorium, not even giving her a sideways glance. She, too, kept her eyes on the white board as the professor droned on. Her thoughts kept fluttering back to what little conversation she had with Chris.
Did her traitorous mouth just sever any possible connection with Chris? Did she want to have a connection with him? Her brain was screaming “No, dangerous!” while her libido was screaming “Yes, dangerous! And hot and delicious and muscular and…”
A chuckle rose low out of his chest as Chris rose from his seat. The realization dawned that class had already ended, and most of the students were already leaving. She must have really been daydreaming.
Chris set his shoulder bag down, put his hand on her desktop and bent down to close to her face. He ran his finger down her cheek, sending tingles down her spine. “There it is again.” Leaning in even closer to her ear, he whispered, “I can only hope that I am somewhere in that thought that has you changing all these different shades of red.”
Picking up his shoulder bag, he walked out to the end of the row, bounded down the steps of the auditorium, and passed out of sight through the front doors. Sara did not stand up from her seat at first. She just stared after him…confused, light-headed and really, really hot.
Chapter 2
An entire week had passed since Sara’s encounter with Chris in her accounting class. She had skipped the last class, telling herself that she had the flu. It was just her nerves flopping around in her belly. There was no way she could handle sitting in the auditorium again with Chris in such close proximity. The man did things to her mind and body just sitting there. She felt like an idiot the last time they were sitting together, not hearing a word the professor said anyway. In fact, later that night when she tried working on the assignment from her syllabus, she had no idea what she was supposed to do. She spent three hours learning what she could have learned, had she listened during the lecture. Not very likely with the hot body that sat next to her. Sara decided that she would just work on that particular assignment as best she could and stop in to see the professor before class.
Arriving early, hoping to talk with Mr. Pearce before class started, Sara was surprised to see other students already milling about. “Crap,” she cursed under her breath. There would be no way to slip in incognito now. Sara was so painfully shy around men in general. Not only was she shy, but nervous too. Her nerves would prevent her mouth from forming words that her brain was sending down. It was embarrassing, and she did not want the entire auditorium to witness the show.
Mr. Pearce turned towards Sara just as she was approaching his desk. “Sir, may I have a moment of your time?” He stood there for a moment, his gaze drilling into her. Then slowly, a million dollar megawatt smile grew on his face. “Of course you can. Sara, right?”
“Yes, sir,” she breathed out. His grin continued.
“Well, I had the flu on Tuesday and missed class. I am having trouble understanding some of the last lesson. I did the assignment, but I still am a little confused. I was wondering if I could ask a few questions?” Whew, she got the entire sentence out without tripping over her tongue. She was so proud of herself, but that pride diminished quickly when she realized she was sporting a goofy grin on her face. Her mother called it a “higher than a kite” face.
Mr. Pearce was an attractive man with chocolate hair, light olive skin, and a smattering of freckles on his cheeks. He always wore a color coordinating pair of slacks, dress shirts and ties. Sara noticed that he even wore gold cuff links. While not necessarily muscular, as far as she could tell, he wasn’t too thin either. He was solid, holding himself with a confidence that made him look sexy as hell.
“I have noticed that you have been missing class lately, young lady.” His voice drove directly through her, making her shrink back in fear.
Chiming in quickly, “But, I do have valid excuses for my absences, sir.”
He held up his hand, shaking his head. “I am sure that you do. Why don’t you wait until class is over, we can talk some more then. I will see if we can find a tutor for you.” Mr. Pearce bobbed his head towards the rows of chairs, dismissing her as the rest of the class filled in the seats.
“Thank you, sir,” she whispered as she walked up to take her seat. Sara looked down on her own feet to make sure that she did not trip in front of the entire auditorium.
She started up the stairs as quickly as possible, wanting to get away from the front of the room. She couldn’t stand the thought of everyone staring at her, even if it was just the back of her head. The constant recurring dream of being in front of her classmates, naked, giving a speech, had Sara gasping for air after the first flight of stairs. She stopped to take a deep breath and felt a hand close around her wrist. “Let go,” she hissed, turning around to see who was yanking on her. Sara nearly fell forward when she looked right into Chris’ face. Pulling her back down the stairs, Sara could see his shoulder bag sitting in the front row of seats.
“Oh no, I don’t want to sit that close. I would much rather sit farther up.” Sara insisted as she dug her feet in, pulling back. Chris cut her off with a shake of his head and continued to tug her down the front row.
“Well, I already warmed up your chair down here. Sit.”
Sara complied, not wanting to make a scene. “Thank you for saving me a seat, Chris.” Sara slinked down into the chair, trying to make her body look as small as possible. Maybe no one would notice her if she didn’t make too many movements.
Chris leaned over, close to her face, his gaze pinning her where she sat, “I saved one for you last time too, but you didn’t show up. Are you avoiding me?”
“No, I had the flu.”
“I can’t tell if that one is a lie or not, but since you already know how I feel about lying, I will assume that is the truth, little one.” Then he leaned further down towards her ear. She could feel his hot breath on her neck, making her shiver. “Are you feeling better now?” He softly brushed his nose back and forth over her ear lobe. Sara could barely manage a nod as the tingling from his touch started in her arms, traveled down her torso and straight into her core. Nearly melting into a puddle on the floor, she instinctively looked down at her feet just as a whimper escaped her lips.
Sara could feel the tingles racing through her body from his touch. Her stomach had done a flip-flop, leaving her feeling slightly light headed. Every nerve in her body was hyper sensitive now and she started to shiver. Sara could feel the moisture seeping into her panties.
Mr. Pearce clapped his hands together, the resounding clatter had e
veryone quickly quieting down. Sara willed herself to listen this time, even though her brain was racing a hundred miles a minute. Dear God, she really did need a man to ease this tension in her body if a simple act of brushing her ear lobe could make her wet.
The hour went very quickly as Sara forced herself to retain the information being shot at the class. She even managed to take a few notes. For the first time the entire semester, Sara actually felt a light bulb click on in her brain. Maybe she would be able to handle school after all. There were a few times this past month when she didn’t know if she would make it. There was always other things pressing on her mind. Most days she could barely concentrate on what was directly in front of her. If things didn’t improve quickly, Sara was going to have to concede to the inevitable, tuck her tail between her legs and head home to Wisconsin.
Sara had a wide smile plastered across her face as everyone started to file out of the auditorium. Chris held his hand out to her as he began to walk down the row of chairs. He noticed her hesitation, pushing to wait for her. “You’re grinning like a Cheshire cat, baby. What’s up?”
Sara’s grin quickly faded as she realized that she was wearing her emotions on her sleeve. She began packing up her papers and pens back into her backpack, ignoring Chris’ question. She didn’t want to try to explain her feelings of inadequacy or all her problems to anyone right now.
Chris continued to stand there with his hand held out. “Come on, let’s go get something to drink at the cafe around the corner. We can work on the assignment together.”
Sara started to reach for his hand without even realizing what she was doing. Quickly pulling her hand back, she started to stammer. “Sorry, I have to meet with Mr. Pearce now, I was confused on this whole owner’s equity thing, but I actually think I got it now after this lecture.” She started to slide out the other side of their row, so that she could get to the front of the classroom, and at the same time, avoid walking out with Chris. Not that she didn’t want to go with him, God help her she did. But, she also knew that if she went anywhere with him, he would expect to have an actual two-sided conversation, and that was near impossible for Sara. Sounding like a moron was more her style and she didn’t need that embarrassment right now, especially not in front of Chris.
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