But it feltsogood…
Dammit.
I melted into Alec’s kiss, for once giving in to what I truly wanted and to hell with the consequences.
And there would be consequences. Of that, I had no doubt.
Right now, I couldn’t care about that though. All I could see and feel and taste and smell was him. But it wasn’t just those beautiful eyes, so bright that they almost looked unreal, or that sexy lean build. And it certainly wasn’t the fact that I now knew how much money he had. Rather, it was the little smiles he made whenever his daughter spoke, the care he’d put into a meal without expectation. It was his humor, his laughter, and the way his accent thickened whenever he was caught off-guard.
Then there was the heat generating between us with each touch. A chemistry that was beyond physical or emotional. I felt it every time I looked at him, and when he touched me, I felt like I’d jump right out of my skin. Or that I’d burn up from the inside out. Because there was no possible way I could hold everything rushing through my body and mind.
I needed this outlet, or I was going to explode.
When Alec broke our kiss, he rested his forehead on mine, his arms still around me, telling me without words that he didn’t regret this moment. Not yet anyway. The tension humming through me wasn’t thinking that far ahead either. In fact, the only thing I was thinking about was whether or not Alec was single.
He wore no ring. Evanne’s mother was listed as Keli Miller, and the address was different. My tour of Alec’s apartment earlier had shown no sign of a wife or girlfriend. No toiletries or other female-related products. If he was married or seeing someone, he was hiding it well.
Now, it was only a matter of sleeping with the parent of a student.
There were no specific rules against it, and I’d read the handbook rather thoroughly. But there was such a thing as an unspoken rule, the sort everyone followed even though it wasn’t written down. If I broke such a rule, and the other teachers or faculty of Kurt Wright School found out, it could have some long-reaching consequences.
Then again, it wasn’t any of their business. If I didn’t say anything, and Alec didn’t say anything, no one had to know. This was just a physical attraction. I didn’t want a relationship – not yet. Alec had made it clear that he didn’t date. Just because we slept together tonight didn’t mean we were going back on our ‘no strings attached’ agreement.
Maybe I was making excuses. It was hard not to when a man like Alec was looking deeply into your eyes to ask your permission to have him do incredible things to you and you knew he could do every single sinful thing.
Excuses or not, I wanted this.
I nodded, and Alec took a step back, reaching for my hand. This wasn’t like before at the hotel where we’d been on more or less equal footing. This was his house, the place where he and his daughter had made a home. I was a guest, and not one who’d be carving out a place for herself here. I would treat him with the same respect that he was showing me.
After I’d followed him into his bedroom, he closed the door behind me and flipped the lock. For a split second, my mind lit up with all the stories of women who’d gone somewhere with a man and found themselves locked away.
“Once, when Evanne was around five, I thought she was asleep…at least up until when she surprised me in the shower. She’s usually good about knocking, but whenever I want to make sure she doesn’t accidentally walk in on me, I lock the door.” He gave me an easy smile. “I have intercoms in every room that she can use to find me, and each one has an emergency button for 911.” He pointed to a small box by the door. “Easily accessible.”
Good to know.
I plucked at the hem of my blouse, wishing that my nerves hadn’t required him to reassure me. I’d been with him before, back before either of us had known how connected we were. If he hadn’t hurt me then, he wouldn’t do it now that our lives were intertwined.
I refused to admit the possibility that it wasn’t physical harm I was worried about. I’d thought him a good man before. Now, I knew how wonderful he truly was.
“You can change your mind, lass.” He was suddenly right in front of me, taking my hands in his. “I won’t think less of you for it.”
I heard what he wasn’t saying too. That he wouldn’t think less of me for wanting him either. Whatever happened between the two of us tonight would stay right here.
The anticipation was almost too much to bear. Last time, it had been all nervousness and unfamiliar sensations. This time, I knew some of what I liked, and I definitely knew what I wanted.
Him.
“I want you,” I whispered, looking up at him from behind my lashes.
The desire I saw on his face made me bold, and I reached behind me to tug down the short zipper that kept my shirt fitted to me. As soon as it sagged, his hands were on the hem, the question in his eyes.
I nodded, and he pulled it up and over, tossing it onto a massive, stuffed armchair that sat in the corner of the room.
“Your turn,” I said, reaching for his shirt.
“So beautiful,” Alec murmured as he ran the tip of one finger along the edge of my bra.
Goosebumps broke out across my skin, which I thought was strange because absolutely no part of my body was remotely cold. He ducked his head and brushed a kiss across my collarbone, sending a shiver down my spine. Another contradiction.
