Rogue Affair

by Tamsen Parker

  About the Author

  Adriana Anders writes romance that's dark, smart, and full of heart. She has acted and sung, slung cocktails and corrected copy. She’s worked for start-ups, multinationals and small nonprofits, but it wasn’t until she returned to her first love—writing romance—that she finally felt like she’d come home. Today, she resides with her tall French husband, two small children and two cats in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains, where she writes the gritty, emotional love stories of her heart.

  Dissent and Desire

  Kelly Maher

  “The ultimate test of a man’s conscience may be his willingness to sacrifice something today for future generations whose words of thanks will not be heard.”

  - Gaylord Nelson, former governor of Wisconsin and founder of Earth Day

  1

  “The ultimate test of a man’s conscience may be his willingness to sacrifice something today for future generations whose words of thanks will not be heard.”

  - Gaylord Nelson, former governor of Wisconsin and founder of Earth Day

  Frankie slipped in the back door of the lecture hall, chest tight as she tried to draw in air. The presentation had already started, but there was a networking session planned for after. If it hadn’t been for a Metro issue at PG Plaza, she would have been on time. The only positive thing about the delay was her emotions had ratcheted back to a low simmer rather than a boil, so she might actually be able to focus on what the speakers were saying.

  In the dim lighting, she found an open seat in the back row. Rather than disturbing the people already sitting, she climbed over the back of the seat. The woman on her right gave her a frown, but quickly turned her attention back to the presenter. The man on her left also checked her out, but gave her a quick grin. Her return smile was tight, but she wasn’t there to entertain him.

  She took a deep breath and let the familiar environment of the lecture session settle into her bones. She had six weeks to figure out something. Anything. Closing her eyes, she batted back the anxiety trying to crawl its way out of her gut.

  “You okay?”

  It was the guy. A faint whiff of spiced oranges floated past her nose. At least it wasn’t that horrible cologne that gave her a migraine. Not what she needed tonight.

  “I’m fine.” After a moment, she thought to tack on, “thanks.”

  “Here.” He passed her an info sheet. “I’ll get another one after.”

  Her throat tight from the kindness, all she could do was nod as she took the paper. Focusing her eyes on the words, she let the speech flow over her. The newly-formed organization, dedicated to combating the apparent war on science, was looking for volunteers to work with staff on creating educational campaigns and other marketing efforts aimed at junior and senior high school students and their families.

  One week ago, she’d been excited about the opportunity even with all of the work her classes and research assistantship required of her. She’d been in high school when she learned she could change the world. Even it was only a small corner. The work she and her classmates had done was important and life-changing to the people their solar-powered generator had helped.

  Kids today, especially today, needed to know they could do the same.

  It had been that same project where she learned first-hand about corrupt governments and she hated what she was seeing happening in her own country. It had given her even more reason to register for this combination information and guest speaker event. What she hadn’t counted on was being told that her assistantship was ending with this semester because the grant had been defunded due to a “reassessment of administration priorities.”

  She knew damn well what those priorities were and improving access to clean drinking water in economically depressed communities was not one of them.

  Temptation to let the rage wash away the anxiety hit her, but neither would be helpful in this setting.

  The smell of spiced oranges hit her again as the guy leaned close. “I can get you a water if you need it.”

  She shook her head. “I’ll be okay. Thank you.”

  “Let me know.”

  He turned his attention back to the stage where a new speaker was taking her place at the lectern. For the next hour, Frankie paid attention to the panel. They spoke on work they had done across the country with school groups to support STEM education in creative ways.

  One teacher spoke about eliminating the science fair for her class and instead did a survey of wildlife in the nearby national park which resulted in the class being credited in a journal article.

  An engineer with a small firm spoke about collaborating on a project similar to what Frankie’s class had done.

  This. This is what she needed to focus on: helping the next generation. Her life’s goals may be spiraling out of control, but she could make a difference in this way.

  With that decision, she felt a little more settled. The coordinator for the group stood up at the end and repeated the call for volunteers outlined on the sheet. When the lights came up, Frankie glanced at the man next to her.

  She knew him. Kind of. He’d been in a number of guest seminars she’d attended. He stood up, but paused when he realized she was still sitting.

  “Ah, do you need to go or are you staying for the networking session?”

  She cleared her throat. “I’m staying.”

  He grinned. “Great.” He held out his hand. “Rafe Steiner.”

  His hand was warm and his skin was a bit rough. She had the very inappropriate thought of wondering how it would feel against her skin. “Frankie Donnetta.”

  Frowning, he studied her as she stood. “You look familiar.”

  “We’ve been in some of the same guest lectures at UMD. I’m getting my master’s in environmental engineering.”

  His features relaxed. “That’s it. You had that question about filtration systems.”

  Stupidly pleased that he’d taken note of her, she hitched her bag on her shoulder. “Should we head out? We’re the last ones here.”

  He glanced around and laughed. “You’re right. Sorry about that.”

  “No worries.”

  They headed out to the atrium where tables with fruit and meat and cheese plates had been set up. Nothing super fancy, but the organizers were obviously aware of their audience.

  She filled up a plate and grabbed a plastic glass of white wine since they it was available. Glancing around the crowd, she saw Rafe talking with an older gentleman. A couple of other people looked familiar, and she realized they were other students in the College of Engineering. One was regularly in the lab next to hers. Wanting to avoid the gossip circuit, especially if it had anything to do with her situation, she looked for someone who worked for the organization so she could find out more about the volunteer requirements.

  Spotting a woman with a name badge, she headed over and introduced herself. They’d been talking for about fifteen minutes, when Frankie felt a presence at her back. Looking over her shoulder, she saw Rafe standing a few steps behind her. He seemed tenser than he had when they’d walked out of the lecture hall.

  He tipped his head to her. “I see you found Rhonda.”

  “Um-hmmm.”

  Rhonda smiled at him. “Good to see you, too, Rafe. Are we still meeting on Wednesday?”

  “I’ve got it on my calendar.”

  “Great.” Rhonda turned back to her. “I’ve got to go, Frankie, but it was great talking with you. We’d love to have you on board if you’ve got the time.”

  Biting back a snort at the thought of all the time she had stretching in front of her, Frankie nodded. “Thanks. I really appreciate that.”

  “Call me on Monday and we can talk further. See you, Rafe.”

  Rhonda moved on to talk with another person with an official name badge, leaving Frankie alone with Rafe.

  He was frowning at her. “You seem wound up about something. I know you don’t know me from Adam, but Rhonda and the organization are grea
t. If she says she’d love to have you, she means it.”

  Frankie shook her head. “That’s not it.”

  He got a look on his face that she had trouble categorizing. It wasn’t crafty or anything like that. More like a mix between thoughtful and…interested. “Want to tell me about it over dinner?”

  She contemplated her plate of uneaten fruit and empty cup of wine. More, she considered the sharp bite of lust in her gut. She’d had a small crush on him since she first spotted him and it had grown a little bit with every time she’d seen him since.

  But she hadn’t had time for a relationship. If she wasn’t working on classwork or her assistantship, she was tinkering with her design for the home filtration and treatment system she wanted to build.

  Now? Maybe she needed a night where it was all about that part of her she’d ignored for the last six months.

  “Sure. Dinner would be great. I need to text a couple of friends first.”

  “No problem. Do you live in DC or are you up in College Park?”

  “I’ve got an apartment just off campus.” An apartment that she’d either have to give up or find a roommate for if she couldn’t find a new assistantship. The anxiety tried to grab hold of her again, but she thought of what she wanted to do to and with Rafe. Heat blasted away the chills.

  Sneaking peeks at him through her lashes as she texted Rose, she let the heat build up. By the time she’d hit send, a lovely ball of lust had settled low in her stomach. All she needed to do was stoke it with thoughts of sinking her teeth into his naked body and the anxiety could kiss her ass.

  Rose’s response flashed on the screen. Be sure to send me a pic of his ID. And remember, no sex without condoms.

  Frankie wanted to roll her eyes, but she, Rose, and Julia had a pact. Go out on a date with a new guy and you had to text one of the other two a picture of his ID. That way if you were murdered, the other had a record of the likely assailant.

  Frankie smiled up a Rafe. “Do you mind if I text a photo of your ID to my friend?”

  He must have been used to it because he didn’t even question her, only took his wallet out of his back pocket and handed over his student ID. The man looked hot even in the ID photo. She wasn’t sure if she was jealous or even more turned on.

  She snapped the photo and sent it Rose who sent back a thumbs up emoji. She followed it up with a text saying she and Julia were having a movie night and Julia also sent her congrats.

  Laughing at her friends, she realized the texts were exactly what she needed. She returned Rafe’s ID to him and grinned.

  His brows rose. “What’s funny?”

  “Just my friends. Thanks.”

  “You’re welcome. Are you ready to go?”

  “Yeah. Where do you want to eat? It’s a bit of a trek back to campus, but there should be a few places still open.”

  He cleared his throat. “Actually, I live here in DC. Near U Street. Do you mind sticking around?”

  Surprise hit her. What was he doing living in DC rather than on campus? It was a hell of a lot more expensive and the commute could be a bitch.

  “Sure.” She figured she could ask him those questions at dinner. She had to rethink her plan of seducing him, however. Not that she didn’t still want to, but the logistics were no longer in her favor.

  He led her out and they got on one of the buses that went up 14th. “You good with tapas? My treat.”

  She blinked. “Thanks.”

  He smiled. “It’s the least I can do.” He took out his phone and she recognized the restaurant reservation app he opened. “What did you think of the presentation?”

  “It was interesting. I liked hearing what other people are doing to encourage kids to get involved in STEM.”

  “How did you end up in the environmental engineering program?”

  “A project like that engineer from Arizona talked about.” She spent the rest of the bus ride telling him about her experience in high school and how she’d ended up getting her bachelor’s in mechanical engineering. She’d gone to work for a firm for a couple of years before she realized the corporate life wasn’t what she wanted. When she had figured that out, she’d also realized she needed a degree in environmental engineering and here she was.

  “What do you do?”

  He reached up and pulled the signal for the bus stop. He grimaced and stood up. “I’ll tell you in the restaurant.”

  2

  Rafe let his hand rest on Frankie’s lower back as he guided her into the restaurant. He’d been lucky to get a reservation for not long after they’d got on the bus considering it was Friday night. At least something was going his way.

  He looked down at Frankie. Maybe a bit more than something. He’d definitely gotten the vibe that she was interested in him. He’d seen those looks she’d shot him when she’d been texting her friend.

  He gave his name to the hostess, and she did something on her tablet. “We’ve got a table ready for you. If you’d follow me?”

  He probably should have just gone straight home after running into George. The news from the office sucked. His gut churned as he thought of the latest office gossip George had shared with him. There had been two more resignations in the last month, with three more in the rumor stage. His position was still waiting for him, but George had warned him that he’d probably be hearing from his boss about coming back early.

  He still hadn’t decided if he wanted to go back. The last couple of months he’d had off to work on his dissertation had been a godsend. He hadn’t expected to be able to get them at all, but he and his boss had come to an arrangement. It was unpaid after his annual leave ran out, but he’d built up a savings over the last few years with exactly this in mind. He’d heard from enough colleagues that writing their dissertations had been hell. If anything, they’d underplayed it.

  He’d thought he’d be racing back to the job after the break. But, now? He had no clue. All of the sleepless nights, the physical and near mental collapse after the oral portion of his comprehensive exam, let alone the night he’d gotten plastered after a particularly brutal meeting with his advisor? They seemed like a cakewalk compared to going back to work now.

  The hostess led them to a table near the back of the restaurant and set menus down in front of them. “Your server will be with you in a moment.”

  Once they had water and ordered drinks, Rafe rubbed a hand over his face, feeling the stubble he hadn’t bothered shaving off the last couple of days.

  Frankie watched him, her gaze steady.

  “You asked what I do earlier?”

  Her brow furrowed and he realized she must have heard something in his voice. He let out a breath, trying to force the tension in his shoulders out with it.

  “You don’t have to talk about it.”

  “No. I should. I’m trying to figure out what to do.”

  “Okay.”

  She drew out the o so it sounded like ohhhhh-kay. Not the most encouraging. He waited while their server set their drinks down. He’d ordered a bottle of beer and Frankie had gotten another glass of wine.

  “Have you made your decisions?”

  “Not yet.”

  “No problem. I’ll be back in a few minutes.”

  Frankie sipped at her wine and watched him. “Go ahead.”

  He tapped the bottle with his thumbnail. Having an audience willing to listen to him vomit out the jumble in his brain had his throat clamming up. It was one thing for him to think about this in the privacy of his head, but airing it out to another person?

  He imagined the look of disappointment on his parents’ faces if he were to tell them. Yeah, that wasn’t something he wanted to face any time soon even if he was thirty.

  “I’ve got all night.”

  He let out a short laugh at her soft words. “Thanks. I work for the EPA. I’m currently on sabbatical essentially so I can finish writing my dissertation.” If he read her expression correctly, it was shock on her face. “Yeah, we don’t exactly hav
e the best reputation right now.”

  “What part do you work for?”

  “I’m part of a group that works on watershed management and other stuff related to clean water.”

  Yep, that look definitely was shock. She downed her entire glass of wine in one go. If he’d still been an undergrad, he’d have wanted her on his drinking team.

  “You killed my grant.”

  “What?”

  “You killed my grant. I don’t have a job anymore thanks to you.”

  His chest hurt with each word she hurled at him. He saw people at the nearby tables looking over their shoulders at them. Unsure of what was happening, he leaned in and forced his voice to stay calm.

  “Frankie? What are you talking about? I haven’t been at work for three months.”

  “You killed my job. We had a grant from the EPA to research effective water treatment methods. I was told today the grant’s gone and I don’t have a job when the semester ends. Clean water apparently is no longer a priority for the administration.”

  She said the last with her fingers flicking in air quotes. Fuck. Things must be even worse than George let on.

  “I honestly have no idea what’s going on. It isn’t me. Frankie. Look at me. That. Wasn’t. Me.”

  At his words, she seemed to focus on him rather than his job. Her body slumped back in her seat. “I should go.” She grabbed her bag and started to stand.

  He snaked out his hand and wrapped his fingers around her wrist in a light grip. She tugged, but he held on. “Wait, please. Just listen to me. If you want to go fine, but let me at least get you food. It’ll be late by the time you get back to College Park, and you didn’t eat anything at the presentation.”

  For a heartbeat, he wasn’t sure if she’d listen, but she sat back in the chair. One woman nearby was eyeing him hard, but he removed his hand from Frankie’s wrist and nodded in the woman’s direction. “You’ve got a savior if you want one.”