Jaycee snorted. “I would’ve thought that it’d give you a free pass. Not like belonging to the scandalous teen mom with a dad who’s more likely to wear a cape than a suit to work.” She elbowed her dad to take the bite out of her words.
Natalia saw the move for what it was. Jaycee would rather have a dad in a cape than work a job for prestige and appearance’s sake.
They were making progress. Natalia explained further. “My interests and hobbies weren’t like the other kids, and my parents kept trying to steer me in the ‘right direction.’” She gave the last two words air quotes. “But I was raised by nannies and their interests became my interests. Blockbuster movies. Graphic novels. Anime. Mother was livid when she learned my first nanny had so atrociously influenced me.” Natalia smiled. “But the next nanny had kids. Blissfully normal kids, and I lived vicariously through her stories of them.”
“Sounds familiar.” Jaycee stabbed a meatball. “Only instead of a nanny, I have Dad.”
Chris chuckled. “I figured that was the reason you don’t hang with me at the store like you used to.”
“Are you kidding?” Jaycee rolled her eyes. “It’s not like I’m the ugly duckling at that place. It’s like the rest of the students are swans and I’m the duck.”
Chris rubbed her back. “You out-swan them. And it’s only for high school. Nana and Papa don’t get a say on where you go to college.”
“You’d better have my back.” She offered him her knuckles and he fist-bumped her.
Natalia had to look away. She would’ve traded in her private driver, her summers abroad, and her trust fund to have a relationship like these two had.
Jaycee tipped forward to peer at her again. “So, Ms. Shaw? Roller derby?”
“Even big girls like to do things that’d make their parents apoplectic. And it’s a great way to relieve stress in a way where the two worlds I exist in don’t normally collide.” She snuck a peek at Chris.
“But Dad tracked you down?” Jaycee giggled. “Stalkerish much, Dad?”
He nodded. “It occurred to me you’d say that.”
Jaycee waved her fork toward them. “Now what? You guys going to keep seeing each other? Am I going to have to be all secret agent and pretend you’re not dating my dad?”
Natalia exchanged a glance with Chris. “I’d like to keep dating.” She’d like to actually date. “But if I did, we have to keep it out of the academy. And if you come to school with purple hair, I can’t look the other way, no matter how cute it is.”
Jaycee’s eyes widened. “You liked the blue?”
“If I didn’t have to adult on a daily basis, I would chop my hair and play with colors.” She may have sketched out a few headshots of the funky styles she’d love to try.
“Dude, the principal thing is a total fun suck. Fine. I can play the game. It’s not like anyone talks to me anyway. Dresden’s moved onto cheerleader chasing.” Jaycee leaned in and whispered, “I don’t think they make it much of a chase.”
Natalia grinned. At least Jaycee seemed to have moved on and wasn’t nursing heartbreak. “As long as it’s not on school grounds, then I don’t have to deal with it.”
Jaycee barked out a laugh. Natalia turned her smile back to her plate. A girl could get used to this. Fun banter about a serious topic over a meal with people she enjoyed being around.
As long as Chris was on board, she’d take it slow. They’d date, keep it on the down low, and when her work at Preston Academy was done, she’d have to move.
Chapter 10
Chris closed the store and refrained from sprinting to his vehicle and not because the temp had dipped below zero. It was the first Saturday that his daughter was back at her grandparents’ since Jaycee had busted him and Natalia. While he and Natalia had continued seeing each other, it’d only included movies at his place while she and his daughter ranked Marvel heroes.
Natalia had practice, and between her job and his store, Friday-night dinners and Saturday movies were the only times they could get together.
But he was done for the weekend and Natalia had invited him to her place.
He followed her directions, which brought him to a tall, wrought-iron gate. Pulling up to a speaker box, he entered the code she’d given him. The gate buzzed and swung open.
This wasn’t the ritziest gated community in the area, but he didn’t doubt she could afford to live where she chose. This place had townhouses and that was probably the reason there wasn’t an armed guard out front. Proper rich folk lived in proper mansions, and a townhouse failed in that measure. He tried to adjust his mindset. This could’ve been his world. He’d been on his way. His state senator pay on top of the private consulting job he’d been head-hunted for would’ve left him with an enviable salary, a nice pension, and enough to buy a three-story brick house with a pool house in the backyard that he could even use in the frigid Minnesota winters.
He might’ve filled in the pool and had a basketball court constructed, much to Jaycee’s dismay. Not that he’d been planning it at all…
Did he regret giving his old life up? Jaycee was well-adjusted. Her mom was happier. He liked his coworkers better. The kids they hired for the shorter shifts usually accepted his mentoring and he’d been in the job long enough to see them finish college and move on to careers of their own. He liked thinking that he’d helped build some of those skills they carried forward with.
If Jaycee weren’t at her grandparents’ mercy for schooling, she would probably work at the store, too. He rubbed his eyes.
Cierra’s parents. They’d started asking Jaycee about what she planned for college. Against his advice, or because he’d advised her not to, she planned to present them with the art program data she’d compiled for Natalia, which included colleges with fine arts programs and the different tracks available.
He fully expected their disapproving frowns on his doorstep when they dropped her off tomorrow.
Just one more reason to spend the night in Natalia’s arms.
He pulled into her drive. The garage door opened and wow, what an empty space. She didn’t even have a shovel. Definitely no snowblower; this wasn’t the neighborhood for it. They all hired lawn services and Natalia liked to blend.
His forehead crinkled. He understood the way she’d grown up didn’t inspire deviation from the norm, or what her parents considered above the norm. Despite being a woman in her thirties, she didn’t seem comfortable living life on her own terms.
The garage door shut him in and Natalia appeared at the door. Her leggings and oversized Captain America shirt were as sexy as they were adorable.
“Hey.” Her grin widened when he pulled his overnight bag out of the back. “I ordered in supper. I hope you don’t mind. I don’t cook.”
Had she worried he’d expect something fancy? He slung his bag over his shoulder and strode toward her. “We could’ve gone out.”
Panic flashed in her eyes. “No. I like eating in.” She smiled. “With you.”
Yeah, but eating out with him? He brushed off his worries. They were dating, as much as they could be, but she continued seeing him despite her regimented ideals.
She was about to spin to go inside, but he twirled her back to him to land a kiss on her plump mouth. She melted into him, and he didn’t care if the savory smells of fine dining wafted out of her place; he needed to feel her.
They hadn’t done more than kiss in weeks, both of them timid with Jaycee under the roof.
She moaned and wrapped her arms around him. Their tongues twined and memories of their night together surfaced. Her straining against him, her pleas, and the tight fist of her sex.
He was hard and throbbing in an instant. But really, the buildup had been a month in the making.
He broke away enough to pant, “I don’t want to wait until after dinner.” Then he lifted her.
Her legs circled his waist and he twisted to press her against the wall by the door. Could she be feeling the same urgency?
�
�Then don’t.”
He paused. Had he heard her right?
“Dinner will wait,” she said in husky tones that went straight to his erection.
“Just a quickie to take the edge off?” He rocked against her. So close, but so much between them.
She released him to work at the clasp of his pants. “I’ve been dying to be with you again.”
He anchored her with his hips and dug in his back pocket. “I even grabbed fresh condoms.” That box of expired condoms had almost prevented him from the best sex of his life.
She giggled. “Me, too.” She inhaled when she freed him, circling her hot hand around his shaft.
He groaned and tipped his forehead against hers. “How are we going to get it on? I don’t want to let you go.” There was no thinking straight while she fisted him.
Snatching the packet from him with her free hand, she ripped it open with her teeth. He eased back enough for her to work between them and roll it on.
Now. Her leggings. Together, they maneuvered her enough to free a leg without him having to let her go.
He wanted to impale her, but as ready as he was, he had to make sure it wouldn’t be painful for her. Stroking her center, he didn’t have to worry. Her slickness coated his fingers. They both needed this.
He dragged himself through her delicious heat and thrust inside.
Her arms came back around him and without missing a beat, she rocked herself on him. The hold of her legs was so tight, he could barely thrust, which was for the best. A few full strokes and he’d be done. This moment reinforced how truly good it’d been the last time. It wasn’t because of his hiatus from serious dating, or because she was a forbidden woman. It was them. They were good together.
She bounced on him, her breasts rubbing against his chest. “Chris.” Her hands twisted in his shirt and she bucked, and he claimed her mouth as he pumped into her. She went liquid, giving over control to him. Her sex tightened and released. She was close.
He clamped his hands on her hips and took over, thrusting so hard she moved up the wall a few inches. He retreated and thrust again. She stiffened and cried out, but he didn’t stop. He stroked her core as she shook through her orgasm. Her sexy moans incited his own climax. He would’ve yelled loud enough to draw the neighbors’ attention, but she swallowed the sound.
They both tumbled down from their peak. His legs were braced and that was the only reason he didn’t collapse. He gave her one last lingering kiss before pulling away.
Doubts about what they’d done a minute after he’d arrived assailed him. “I didn’t mean to attack you.”
Her sultry tone eased his fear. “I’m glad you did. Hungry?”
“Oh, I’m still starving.” He helped her regain her feet and he tucked himself back in until he could take care of the condom.
She pointed him to a small bathroom that was the size of the largest one in his place. He dropped his duffel outside the door and ducked in to clean himself up. The house was nicely decorated but lacked personality. Perhaps he was used to Jaycee’s touch all over his home, but Natalia’s landscapes and abstract art weren’t what he’d pictured in her home.
With her love of sci-fi assassins, he’d expected framed Starfleet ships done in silvers and black. Instead of a dorm-room-geek feel, they would’ve been in keeping with her sophisticated, contemporary loft aesthetic. They’d gotten a set into the store last year and they’d been purchased within a week. Mara hadn’t wanted to restock with identical artwork, preferring to give the costumers a unique experience so they felt like they were buying exclusive pieces. So she and Chris had searched for similar art. It was out there, and it was quality, and it was definitely not on Natalia’s walls.
He stepped out and followed the scent of seasoning and grilled meat. His stomach rumbled. The weekends by himself were usually the time to make what his daughter didn’t like, but when just cooking for one, it often seemed like too much trouble.
“Smells delicious,” he called as he looked around.
Tall ceilings, earth-tone walls, and subdued material on the chairs and sofa. The decor came together for a relaxing feel—for a shrink’s office. Candles of various heights dotted the shelves with seashells and a dome filled with succulents.
“Thanks.” She puttered around a dining room table larger than his entire dining room. “I went for the lemon pepper chicken and orzo. Then I wasn’t sure if you were a chicken guy so I got the sirloin tenderloins and sweet potato. Whatever we don’t eat, I can save for leftovers.” Standing back, she eyed her work. “I don’t cook.”
“You mentioned that.” He scanned the table. A vase of real orchids was perched in the middle and a table runner done in sunset colors that accented the flowers ran down the length. Natalia had dished the food into real serving bowls and arranged them on one end of the table. Plates—not paper ones, and not chipped—rested in the two spots at the corner so at least he wouldn’t have to holler across the table at her like in Michael Keaton’s Batman. Gleaming silverware and wineglasses topped off the look.
Were those… Yep, cloth napkins.
“Is it over the top?” She worried her pouty lower lip between her teeth.
He shook his head. To go through all that work, even after ordering in, and still worry about what he thought? “I’m thinking that maybe I’ve been a little under the top.”
Her hands flared out like she wanted him to stop that train of thought. “No. No, not at all. I… This is my norm. But nothing’s wrong with your norm.”
“You don’t have to go through this effort for me. What do you do when you order in on your own?”
The excitement in her eyes dimmed and her flush from their tryst was all but gone. “I put it on a plate and sit here.” She waved to one of the settings.
All by herself and she still sat at the table? But he was making her nervous and didn’t know why. He also didn’t know why she didn’t just eat from the to-go container while watching Netflix, but that was supposedly a bad habit, albeit what he did when Jaycee was gone. “This one’s my spot then?”
Crossing to the chair she usually sat in, he pulled it out for her.
She shot him a quick smile and let him seat her.
They each picked a little of everything. She asked about work. He asked about her work. It was…awkward.
“This place came furnished,” she blurted, then tucked her head down and stabbed a piece of chicken with her fork.
“That makes sense. This didn’t seem to be your style.”
She cocked her head, her fork poised in midair. “What’s my style?”
He waved his arm around him. “This is Ms. Shaw’s style. I expected your home to have more color. Like maroon.”
A blush tinted her cheeks. “It’s one of my favorites, obviously.”
“Or even a flag from your derby team.”
She didn’t look at him. “Maybe after I play a full season.”
Meekness was a side of Natalia he hadn’t anticipated. Certainly not in her own home. At the con, she’d dished out parenting advice. In her office, she’d punished his daughter with a professional disregard of who he was to her and what they’d done together. And on the rink, she’d been unstoppable even after she’d crashed.
“Is this a temporary situation?” His heart constricted when he recalled her mentioning that she was a fixer of sorts for Preston Academy.
She sighed and pushed her plate away, the last piece of chicken still impaled on the fork that rested on her plate. “Yes and no. I have an image to maintain.”
“But it’s your home.”
She smiled sadly. “And if my parents ever visit, I don’t care to explain all my hobbies. They wouldn’t understand. Renting a townhouse inspires enough inquiries.”
“What the hell are you supposed to live in?”
She hadn’t mentioned her parents often, and he was getting a sense why. They were loaded, with the attitude of old money. Minneapolis wasn’t an area afflicted with affluent social
circles adhering to strict Old World mores. Rich people yes, but of the modern variety. But having attended Preston himself, he knew they were there. Lower in numbers, but represented with all their snooty comments and judgment-filled looks.
“Why rent when you can buy?” Natalia said. She stood, but he leaned over and put a hand on her arm.
“I just hate to see you not be yourself in your own home.”
Her expression grew serious. “This is myself, don’t doubt that. I had nannies and drivers, and my parents’ role was to mentor in the ways of our status. My destiny has always been the academy. It’s my family’s responsibility, and I’m an only child like my father was.”
Her words sunk in. “A teacher and principal was never what you wanted to be.”
“I’ve never…” She licked her lips and it should’ve been a distractingly sexy move, but this conversation was too heavy. He thought he knew her, but she had an identity for every facet of her life. “I’ve never taught.”
“Then how—”
“How’d I become a principal, right?” She heaved out a breath. “Yes, we try to keep that part under wraps. I have the necessary education; the rest is at the mercy of the private school. I couldn’t waste time teaching when there were schools in need of a leader.”
“So you wanted to teach?”
She lifted a shoulder. “I think it would’ve been fun, but it was never in my career plan.”
One, her grand plan wasn’t hers. Two, she probably didn’t let herself think of it much because she couldn’t teach. She had a destiny.
And he was sending his daughter to this oppressive environment?
Based on Principal: Fanboys Book 3 Page 10