by Nichole Rose
And then she opened her mouth.
I've spent my whole life trying to be a decent man. I don't fuck with drugs. I don't drink to excess. I don't sleep around. I return the shopping cart to the corral and mow my elderly neighbor's yard. I do my part to empty my family's coffers by pouring money into organizations that help the people who need it most. I'm not sure if Heaven exists or not, but until today, I figured I had a fair shot getting in if it did. I'm not so sure now. The shit I want to do to Rowan Lassiter is far from decent. When I get my hands on her, Jesus and all the saints will be properly horrified.
I'm going to eat her tiny pink holes until she's shouting my name to the heavens. I already know she'll sound as sweet screaming as she does rambling like her life depends on it. She's beautiful, with gorgeous tawny skin and big doe eyes. A smile that lights up the entire fucking city and matching dimples. More than that, she's genuinely kind and caring. She's also adorable as hell, innocent in a way that makes me want to keep her all to myself.
So Leslie needs to help me make that possible. There are thirty-seven teachers at Commodore. At least ten of them are men, and that doesn't include the service workers. This is an emergency.
"I'd have to review a few things to be sure," she says slowly, clearly hesitant to make promises. "But I don't believe there are any rules strictly forbidding it. Relationships between School Board members and teachers are heavily frowned upon, though. You wouldn't be permitted to have any say over her contract or any disciplinary action involving her."
That should probably settle me, but it doesn't. I don't want Richard Johnson having a say in her contract either. He's a dick, exactly like I told her. I saw the way she looked at him today. Cadence Grayson looked at him the same way. Like they dreaded dealing with him. I don't fucking like it.
"Since she's been with the school for more than a year, the conflict of interest rules don't apply. She would be eligible for promotion or to change positions as normal." Leslie blows out a breath. "But as for how everyone will take it? That I can't tell you. The imbalance of power might be concerning to some, but if you remove yourself from having any sway over her career, the other Board members may be more…forgiving."
"So you're saying it's possible."
"I'm saying proceed with caution," she says, pursing her lips. "Any potential consequences will be a lot harsher for you than they will be for her. You're new here, Sebastian. And you're the one in the power position. I can't promise the rest of the board won't react poorly to you entering into a relationship with a teacher."
I'm less concerned about myself than about Rowan. The board chose me for a reason. I'm good at what I do and have solved a hell of a lot of problems for them since I started. I'm more than capable of taking care of myself. I've been doing it most of my life.
Growing up, my twin brother and I were mostly on our own. Our father was too busy growing the family fortune to spare us any attention. Before she died, our mother was too busy playing the socialite to bother with us. Our father remarried when we were teenagers and gave us two sisters, Caroline and Kennedy. He tried to make amends for the years of neglect, but by then it was too little, too late.
Killian and I joined the Marines right out of high school, seeking something different for our lives than the poison that money brings with it. Killian loved the stability and routine that came with the Marines. I didn't. I knew early that I wanted to go into education. Teachers were some of the only solid role models I had growing up. They cared when our parents didn't. So when my time was up, I went to school. I finished my doctorate in education early and have spent the years since trying to make a difference for the teachers and students in our schools.
I can handle whatever the board throws at me. But I don't want any fallout to touch Rowan, especially with Johnson already on her case. She's the kind of teacher we need in this city. I'd never met her before today, but I've heard about her. Everyone adores her. She's a big part of the reason Commodore is one of our better performing schools.
"We may have a problem at Commodore," I tell Leslie, forfeiting my pacing to drop into a chair across from her desk. "Richard Johnson."
She grimaces.
"You knew?"
"We've heard rumors."
"It would have been nice had those rumors been passed on to me," I growl, my temper flaring. I've been pissed since I met with Richard Johnson today. I'm not impressed with his behavior. If the man is terrorizing the staff and students at the school, he's got to go. I won't have a bully running one of our schools, especially not an elementary school.
"He's been at the school for longer than most of the board has been alive, Sebastian," Leslie says, exasperated with me. She says I like to bulldoze instead of taking a softer approach to problem-solving. She's probably right. "Rumors aren't complaints. You know we can't take action based on unsubstantiated rumor."
She's right, dammit.
"I plan to get to the bottom of the matter," I warn her, not mincing words. "I'll be working onsite at Commodore for the next week, monitoring the situation. If he's causing problems for the staff, he needs to go."
"Agreed." She tilts her head to the side, studying me. "You'll need evidence of wrongdoing to terminate him. Especially if you're going to be dating one of the teachers under his command."
I jerk my chin in a nod. I planned on doing that before Rowan knocked me flat on my proverbial ass. I didn't like the way he spoke to Cadence Grayson…or how nervous she looked around him.
"Which teacher are you dating?" Leslie asks.
"None of them yet," I mumble. As much as I wanted to claim Rowan five minutes after meeting her, I couldn't. Not until I talked to Leslie and smoothed the way. Nothing will touch Rowan. I'll make sure of it.
"Out with it, Sebastian," she demands, smiling at me. The lines around her eyes and mouth deepen, her eyes sparkling with humor. "I've put up with your surly ass for two decades. Spill."
"Her name is Rowan." I smile, my mood lifting as soon as I say her name. "Rowan Lassiter."
"I knew it!" Leslie crows, laughter burbling from her. "Isn't she precious?"
"She's…magic." See? I still have no other word to describe her.
"Beautiful too," Leslie agrees, still smiling. "She's one of the most popular teachers in San Francisco. A few other schools have tried to woo her away since she started, but she says Commodore is her home."
"What else do you know about her?" I ask, too damn curious about Rowan not to pry for any little kernel of information Leslie can provide. Jesus. I feel like one of those cartoons, with hearts beating out of my eyes and my heart beating out of my chest. I can't remember the last time I felt this way. Actually, I don't think I've ever felt this way. Women haven't ever been a priority in my life. But as soon as I saw Rowan, some visceral part of me sat up and whispered, "Mine."
That same voice has grown increasingly more adamant and agitated in the few hours since. I can't settle, can't relax. My skin feels too tight, my muscles aching. I don't know what sort of magic she wove over me, but I want—need—to make her mine.
"Wouldn't you like to know?" Leslie teases with another laugh.
I narrow my eyes, scowling at her.
"Don't even try that alpha male bullshit with me, dear." Leslie cocks a brow. "I remember when you were fourteen with braces and bad hair, trying to sweet talk your way out of finishing your schoolwork."
"I did not have bad hair," I mutter, shaking my head. I probably did have bad hair. It was the nineties. We all had bad hair in the nineties.
"I've only met her a few times. She's a sweetheart." Leslie sobers, pinning me with a gaze that still has the ability to strike fear into the hearts of unruly teenagers. "Be discreet, Sebastian. She means a lot to the kids at Commodore."
"Plan on it," I promise.
"Rowan, fuck," I groan, my head kicking back as I imagine her on her knees in front of me, my cock in her mouth and desire in her eyes. Her tits are out, her curves taunting me. My stomach flexes hard, h
er name ripping from my lips as cum shoots from my cock, landing against the wall of the shower. I keep fisting my shaft, working out every last drop.
My head tips forward to rest against the wall as I suck air into my lungs in greedy gulps. The hot water beats down on my back. I've already come twice since I got home, but then I'll think about Rowan and my cock hoists the sail again.
I can't wait to see her again tomorrow.
Just thinking about it makes my cock twitch. He's going to be raw if I keep it up.
Ignoring him this time, I quickly finish showering and then turn the water off. My phone beeps from the bedroom. I sigh when I hear it. As the only Superintendent in San Francisco, my job never ends. If it's not one thing, it's another. I love what I do, don't get me wrong. But can't a man have one night off?
"Guess not," I mutter when the phone chimes with another incoming text. I snatch my towel off the bar and run it through my hair, drying it the best I can before I wrap it around my hips. My feet squeak on the porcelain tile before sinking into the plush rug spread across the floor of the master bedroom.
I've lived in this house for the last six months, but it still doesn't feel like home to me yet. The place is a gorgeous three-story Queen Anne with gingerbread trim, an all-glass back wall that looks out over the city, and a turret. It was built in 1916 by a well-known architect. It's magnificent inside and out…but something has been missing since I moved in. The place is too quiet, too still. Or maybe I've just grown lonely. There's no denying that this is a home for a family. Settling down to start a family wasn't on my mind when I bought the place, but it sure as hell is now.
My phone chimes again before I can snag it off the bedside table. I grin when I see the messages from my youngest sister, Kennedy.
Baby Sister: Can I quit school and move in with you?
Baby Sister: Say yes.
Baby Sister: You'll be my favorite brother.
I chuckle as I type out my response. Kennedy is vibrant, full of life. She's also smart as hell. She's always been gentle, sweet. Caroline is just as smart and equally as sweet, but she's also more apt to stand up for herself and what she wants. Kennedy tends to hang back, only speaking up when something really matters to her. I worry about her all the fucking time, especially now that she's in college, thousands of miles away.
Baby Sister: Fine. We're not friends anymore.
Me: I love you too.
Baby Sister: I guess I love you.
Me: Is everything all right?
Killian just started a program for Marines in San Diego and found Liberty, the woman he's going to marry, so he's got his hands full. And I've got too much shit going on here to hop a flight out to kill whoever hurt her. We will in a heartbeat if she needs it though. Family first, always.
Baby Sister: I have a test tomorrow. :(
I sigh, relieved that she's just anxious and no one is fucking with her.
Me: You're going to do fine, baby sis. Chin up.
I toss my phone on the bed and cross to grab a pair of boxers. Before I even have them up my legs, my phone rings. I grab it on the second ring, swiping to answer.
"You're going to do fine, sweetheart," I murmur. "Why are you stressing about it?"
"Um…"
"Kennedy?" I pull the phone away from my ear and frown at the unfamiliar number.
"No, it's Rowan. Um, Rowan Lassiter?"
I know it's her before she ever says her name. My dick reacts to the lilting sound of her voice, stiffening like he could do this all night. Fuck, I can't wait to get inside her.
"Rowan?" My heart climbs toward my throat and then stalls with worry. "Is everything all right?"
"It's fine," she says, but there's a little thread in her voice that says different. She pauses for a long moment. "I didn't mean to interrupt you and, um…Kennedy, was it? I'm sorry to call you at home, but I'm supposed to meet you in the morning and you never said where."
Is she jealous? Why do I find that thought so fucking adorable?
"You're not interrupting. My baby sister is stressing about a test," I murmur, not wanting her feeling jealous over nothing. There is no other woman in my life. "You can call me anytime, baby."
"Oh," she whispers. "I didn't know you have a sister."
"I have two of them and a twin brother." I sink down onto the side of the bed. "Kennedy is eighteen, and Caroline is twenty-one. Killian is older by three minutes."
"There are two of you?" Rowan says. "That does not seem fair. You are way too freaking…"
"Hmm?" I murmur, smiling like an idiot when she trails off.
"Um…nothing. Never mind." She huffs out a breath. "Where am I meeting you tomorrow, Dr. Thorne?"
"Sebastian."
"What?"
"My name is Sebastian."
"I already know that."
I chuckle at her tone. "Baby, I want you to call me Sebastian."
She goes dead silent.
"Rowan?"
"You called me baby twice!" she whisper-shouts.
"Did I?" I grin, laying back on the bed.
"You can't call me that."
"Why not?"
"Because…because…you can't! It's a rule."
She makes me smile so hard.
"Did you forget? I'm in charge. I make the rules now, baby."
"Stop calling me that!" she cries, making me laugh outright.
"Okay."
"Thank…"
"I prefer Paradise anyway. It's more fitting." I give her a moment to process that before I continue, "And you should know, I plan to break every fucking rule in the book with you, Paradise. Repeatedly."
She stutters and then huffs and then goes silent again.
"Paradise?"
"I have a concussion," she mumbles, talking to herself. The words tumble out so fast I can barely catch them all. "His stupid hard chest gave me a concussion today and I'm having crazy brain damage dreams. I'm probably in a hospital right now, in a backless gown with my butt hanging out. Ow!"
"Paradise?" I jerk upright, worry shooting through me at her pained cry. "Are you okay? What happened?"
"Holy shit," she whispers. "That hurt!"
"What hurt?" I growl, anxious as all hell. "What happened?"
"I pinched myself."
"Why?"
"To make sure I was awake, obviously." Her exasperated tone makes me smile like a crazy person again. "I guess I am because that really hurt."
"Don't pinch yourself, little owl. I don't want you hurting yourself," I murmur, not liking the thought of her bruising her beautiful body just because I'm stressing her out. "I'll stop teasing you for now."
"Oh, okay." She sighs as if she's disappointed.
Shit. Does she think I'm just fucking with her? The thought makes my chest ache. I don't want her thinking I'm just toying with her or leading her on.
"But just so you know," I say, clearing that shit up right now, "I still plan to break all the rules with you, Paradise."
She groans and then decides to completely ignore what I just said. "Where do I need to meet you tomorrow?"
"I'll be working out of the Assistant Principal's office this week." He retired last year and hasn't been replaced. We wondered why none of the teachers at Commodore applied. I guess we know now. No one wants to work with Richard Johnson.
"All week?" Rowan says, her voice an octave higher than normal.
"Yes."
Fuck, I want to kiss her right now.
"Alexa, where is the closest church with the confession booth thingy?" she shouts.
"It's called a confessional, Paradise," I say, cracking up when Alexa tells her that she couldn't find anything and then starts listing off nearby churches.
"I have to hang up now. I think Alexa is having a stroke."
"Goodnight, Paradise."
"Goodnight, Sebastian," she whispers.
Damn. I can't wait to hear her telling me that from the pillow beside me while she's in my arms. I've never wanted to cuddle someone as fu
cking badly as I do her. Hell, I've never wanted to do anything with anyone as badly as I do with her. I want to know everything about her…what makes her smile, what makes her laugh, and what makes her cry. The thought of her crying has me reaching up to rub my chest like that'll get rid of the ache there. I'm definitely not going to let her cry. Fuck that.
My phone beeps with an incoming message.
Why Paradise?
I quickly save her number and then type my response, a shit-eating grin on my face.
Me: Ask me tomorrow, Rowan.
Paradise: Goodnight, Sebastian.
Me: Sweet dreams, Paradise.
Christ, I can't wait until morning.
Chapter Three
Rowan
My legs feel like rubber by the time I make it from my car to the Assistant Principal's office. I'm nervous, anxious, and excited all at the same time. I have no idea why Sebastian wants to see me…I kept forgetting to ask. But I don't think it has anything to do with my job here.
That thought is as exciting as it is nerve-wracking. I spent way too much time last night thinking about him. Okay, so maybe thinking is putting it mildly. I obsessed about him. All freaking night long. I like him, a lot more than I think I should. He's my boss. Even if there aren't any rules strictly forbidding us from dating…this could be bad.
Principal Johnson already hates me. He does not need any more ammunition when I give him plenty just by being myself. I'm always too something for him. Too happy. Too nice. Too compassionate. Too stubborn. He's sought out and ticked off my list of perceived faults one by one over the last four years. I ignore him for the most part because I'm pretty sure he was born under a drawbridge to extort money from travelers and simply passes as human…but I don't think the school board would be as quick to discount his opinion if I were to date Sebastian.
Somehow, I manage to make it to his office without falling flat on my face. My heart pounds against my ribcage. My throat feels like it's on the verge of closing up. And I'm pretty sure my panties aren't even salvageable at this point. But I tap softly on the door, caught in that precarious position between hope that he's forgotten about this meeting and excitement over this meeting.