by Alexis Davie
“Allison is a wonderful massage therapist,” Jessica informed him. “I told her that you are in dire need of a good rub down.”
Byron’s head whipped around to stare at his niece, shocked by her brazen comment. When he tried to swallow the appetizer to respond, the piece of bread logged in his throat.
“What do you say, Byron? Would you like me to give you a good rub down?” Allison purred suggestively, but he barely heard her. He couldn’t breathe.
Struggling for air, Byron patted his chest, trying to swallow the piece of bread, but no matter which way he moved, it would not budge.
“Uncle Byron?” Jessica asked, her face registering alarm. “Are you okay?”
He shook his head, steeling himself against hysteria as his eyes began to bug from his head.
“Oh, my God!” Allison shrieked. “He’s choking! He’s choking!” Jessica leaned forward to pound him on the back, but nothing seemed to dislodge the offending morsel from his windpipe.
A swell of panic rose from the diners as staff rushed to the table, people reaching for their cell phones to dial 9-1-1.
“Does anyone know the Heimlich maneuver?” someone yelled. “Is there a doctor in here?”
Spots began to dance before Byron’s eyes as he began to lose consciousness. Suddenly, he saw a blur of movement as something barreled toward him. Then someone was on his back, two small fists placed firmly below his ribcage. A split second later, he felt a rough compression against his chest, but it was too late. He could feel the life slipping away from him.
Again, the small yet strong hands gouged into his belly, and Byron choked once as the sodden mess of bread flew out of his mouth toward a neighboring table. He dropped back, gasping for air. It took him a few seconds to catch his breath and realize that he wasn’t dying anymore. He was all right.
“Uncle Byron!” Jessica screamed. “Uncle Byron look at me!” He slowly moved his eyes toward her. Relief seemed to paint her face as she blinked tears from her eyes. “Are you okay?”
Byron nodded his head, sitting up to glance around at the exalted crowd of onlookers. Turning to his right, he looked at a beautiful woman who stared at him with concern. Her light brown eyes studied his face, and her shoulder-length auburn hair was slightly disheveled.
Byron didn’t know if it was the circumstances or if it was just a fact, but he was sure that he had never seen a more stunning sight in his life.
“Was it you that just…?” he trailed off. The woman nodded, smiling weakly.
“Did I hurt you?” she asked, and Byron laughed shakily.
“Not as much as the alternative would have,” he replied, licking his lips and trying to regain his composure. “Thank you, I—will you join us for dinner?”
Her eyes seemed to be fixated on him, just like his were fixated on her. Byron thought they were both holding their breath.
“Well, that is a fine idea!” Allison said too loudly, breaking their moment. Her voice was dripping with sarcasm. Byron glanced at her with irritation, but the words seemed to set the beautiful woman back to reality.
“No, thank you,” she quickly said. “I have to go. I, uh, have an early day tomorrow.” She turned away from their booth immediately, avoiding his gaze. “I am glad you’re okay.”
“No, wait a second!” Byron called after her. She either did not hear him, or she chose to ignore him, because she went back to her table to retrieve her things before making her way to the exit.
“Did you see the way she just flew over the table?” Allison chortled. “Like an Olympic gymnast or something. Very ladylike.”
Byron stared after the mysterious woman, longing to chase her from the restaurant.
“Uncle Byron?” Jessica said, gently touching his arm. “Are you sure you’re okay?”
Reluctantly, he looked at her and shook his head.
“No,” he replied, his voice filled with pain.
“Should we go to the hospital?” Jessica asked, her face twisted in worry.
“No,” Byron sighed. “There’s nothing they can do for me there.”
“He’s right,” Allison agreed, her voice grinding on his nerves. “All he needs is a shot of tequila, dontcha, hon?”
Byron knew that was the last thing he needed. In fact, the first thing he had to do was find out the mysterious woman’s name.
* * *
The door to the classroom flew open, banging against the wall, and Hadley jumped slightly, turning to look. She gasped aloud when she saw who stood against the frame.
“What are you doing here?”
The man from the restaurant stared at her from the doorway, and Hadley rose from her chair, her hand on her chest.
“I haven’t been able to stop thinking about you since last night. Why did you leave so suddenly?” he asked, entering the empty classroom. “I wanted you to stay.”
He closed the door behind him, and Hadley nervously looked around, as if she expected there to be a set of prying eyes watching her every move. Of course, though, there was no one; school had been out for an hour.
“How did you know where to find me?” she exhaled, aware of how close he was to her. A combination of excitement and nervousness overwhelmed her.
The man smiled lazily, his grey eyes wracking over her body as he closed the distance between them. A slow, hot blush formed on Hadley’s cheeks at the intensity of his gaze.
“Does it really matter?” he murmured, his mouth near her cheek.
Hadley swallowed the lump in her throat and instinctively closed her eyes as his hands fell over her waist. He softly nuzzled her cheek.
“I haven’t been able to get you out of my mind,” the man told her gruffly, his slight scruff rubbing against her tender skin. “What did you do to me?”
Hadley took a deep, trembling breath, feeling as his palms cupped her bottom, firmly massaging her cheeks. Her skirt slightly rose up her legs as the man seemed to lift her a few inches off the ground.
“We shouldn’t do this,” she said, but when his lips touched the spot between her ear and neck, Hadley realized she hadn’t spoken her objection aloud. Most surprisingly of all, she realized she didn’t want to object aloud. She wanted this. Sighing deeply, Hadley relished the feeling of the man’s supple lips around the curves of her jaw, nibbling lightly as he moved up toward her lips.
When their mouths met, Hadley’s eyes popped open, watching as he stared intensely into her gaze.
Suddenly, the man picked her up, placing her on the desk. Hadley wrapped her long legs around his waist and fell back on the desk, sending a cup of pencils scattering to the floor. He began to unbutton her blouse, his lips following his skillful hands downward, over her small breasts.
A rush of heat coursed through Hadley, dampening her center as the man’s teeth gnashed gently against the tender skin of her nipples. His hands continued moving under her skirt, pulling off her red thong, which was already soaked with desire. Hadley’s back arched, encouraging him to move lower and taste her middle. He did so without hesitation.
His tongue was thick and soft, lapping longingly at her. Hadley immediately felt her body responding, her fingers lacing into his thick, dark hair, toying with the rogue curl as her frame began to tense wildly. His tongue worked furiously at her center, and Hadley climaxed against his mouth.
The man’s movements only increased, ensuring she finished fully. After her first orgasm was over, another soon followed, and Hadley cried out at the pleasure coursing through her. Shaking almost violently, she pulled him up toward her, their mouths crushing into one another before he sat back to undo his trousers.
Hadley bit on her lower lip as she took in the size of him while he positioned himself smoothly between her thighs. She raised her legs, hooking her ankles around his neck, and guided him inside her. Her gasps became screams as he thrust into her, his eyes boring into her as hard as his shaft.
In seconds, Hadley felt the tension building inside her again, and she threw her head back, screamin
g out with wild abandon. At the same time, he filled her with his hot seed.
Her heart was pounding so hard; she was sure it would leap out of her mouth. The man fell on top of her, grunting in satisfaction.
“You are the woman I have been looking for my entire life,” he murmured, roughly kissing her neck. “I will give you anything your heart desires.”
Hadley laughed breathlessly. “For now, I will settle for your name.”
“Ms. Grace?”
Hadley looked up from her desk and stared at the student calling her name.
“Yes, Simon?” she asked, her face filled with a stain of humiliation as she realized she’d just had a sexual fantasy in the middle of class.
“Are you all right?” the boy asked, and she forced a smile onto her face.
“Of course,” she replied, straightening her posture. To her shame, she noticed that she was perspiring, and she quickly wiped her brow before the children noticed.
“I’ve been calling your name for two minutes.”
Hadley cleared her throat.
“What is it, Simon?” she asked almost curtly. “You are supposed to be reading your assignment.”
“I need to go to the bathroom,” he complained. Hadley stifled a sigh and nodded.
“Go quickly,” she told him, sinking back against the wooden chair.
She didn’t know what was wrong with her. She had been unable to get the choking stranger out of her mind since leaving Crafty Kitchen the previous evening. Her entire night had been filled with lurid fantasies like the one she had just had. She had never had such lust-filled thoughts before, and certainly not over some man who was married and too old for her.
He's not too old for you, a devious voice piped in. You’re just making excuses for your attraction.
Hadley tried to stop the barrage of thoughts from flooding her mind, but it seemed like the more she resisted it, the worse it became. However, she had to get over it. It was never going to happen, and she better understand it.
* * *
Byron snatched up his ringing cell phone, his eyes still trained on the computer screen. “Hello?”
“Hi, Uncle Byron.”
“Hey, kiddo. What’s up?” he said affectionately, leaning in to look at the directory.
“I just wanted to see how you’re feeling,” Jessica said. “You know, after last night.”
He chuckled, slightly embarrassed at the reminder. “It’s funny you should bring that up,” he replied. “I was just thinking about that.”
“Are you okay?”
“Oh, yeah, I’m fine,” he assured her quickly. “I’m just—never mind. How are you? All good?”
“Yes,” Jessica mumbled, though she trailed off, like she wanted to say something else.
Byron sat back. “What is it, Jess?”
“I just wanted to see what you thought about my friend Allison.” For a fleeting moment, Byron didn’t know who Jessica was talking about.
“Allison?” he echoed.
“My friend from work? The redhead in the short skirt?” Jessica said, and he could hear the vexation in her voice.
“Oh! Oh, yeah. She’s was nice. If you like that type.” Byron realized how lame the words sounded, but he didn’t want to give his niece any false hope. What he wanted to do was tell Jessica to stop playing matchmaker, even though he knew she meant well.
“She really liked you,” Jessica told him. “She’s a lot of fun, and I think that you two would really hit it off!”
Byron was silent for a moment.
“Actually, Jess, I think I have my eye on someone else,” he began. “In fact, that’s what I’m doing right now—trying to find her.”
Jessica gasped. “Uncle Byron! You dog, you! Who is it? Why didn’t you tell me about it last night?” she demanded. Her vexation had shifted into happiness. It was no secret that Byron’s hermit-like ways sometimes concerned her and his sister.
“Well, because I didn’t really know until last night,” he confessed.
He wondered why he was telling her all of this, but he seemed unable to stop himself from talking about the woman, as if his intense, strange attraction to her was bubbling out of him.
“What?” Jessica giggled. “You met someone last night?”
“The woman who saved my life,” he reminded her. “I’m trying to locate her.”
There was a long pause, which made it clear to Byron that he had said too much. “Uncle Byron…”
“What?” he asked defensively. “What’s the problem? You and your mother are always on my case, and when I show any interest in someone…”
Jessica cleared her throat. “First of all, she’s probably only a couple years older than me.”
Bryon felt his jaw tense.
“Jessica, we’re all adults,” he snapped with annoyance. “Your jokes about my age are becoming irritating.”
“It’s not just that, Uncle Byron,” she rushed on. “I don’t think…”
He waited, his hands becoming fists of defiance. When Jessica didn’t finish her sentence, he demanded, “You don’t think what?”
“I don’t think she’s one of us.”
The words hung in the air, and Bryon exhaled his breath in a rush of air.
“Uncle Byron?”
“I heard you,” he said tightly.
“I don’t want to rain on your parade, Uncle B,” Jessica continued, “but you know what kind of problems there can be when the two worlds collide…” Byron didn’t need Jessica to spell it out to him. He had been around much longer than she had. “Uncle Byron…”
“I have to go, Jessica,” he told her. “Thanks for calling.”
“Uncle B—” He disconnected the call before she could say anything else and ground his teeth together, his incisors breaking through the surface.
She’s right, Byron thought, a tightness in his gut. Pursuing this woman will only result in trouble for both of us. He stared at the Google search he had begun, biting on his lower lip. After several minutes of staring blankly at the computer screen, he told himself that it couldn’t hurt to send her some sort of thank-you, though he knew this wasn’t the way to do it.
He reached for his wallet and car keys before he could change his mind and left the apartment. He was just going to thank her, and there was no harm in that.
* * *
“Ah! Miss Grace, you’re here!” the waiter cried, clapping his hands as Hadley entered the restaurant, her arms laden with books. “Right this way.”
It was the same server she’d had many times, the kind-hearted kid whose name was… Paul? For all the times she had come here, Hadley couldn’t recall ever having told him her name, though. She stared at him and then glanced behind her, as if he was speaking to someone else.
“Me?” she asked. “Are you talking to me?”
Paul laughed and nodded. “You’re the only hero in here that I see. I’m not apt to confuse you with someone else.”
“Hero, huh?” Hadley laughed. “Where’s my parade?”
“Well, there’s no parade, but everything is on the house tonight,” he told her with a grin, leading the way to a booth in the back.
Hadley stopped walking and stared at him. “Why?” she demanded, her brow knitting.
Paul looked back at her, waving for her to keep up.
“You’re humble, too,” he sighed, chuckling. “You saved that man’s life!”
A slow blush filled Hadley’s face. “Oh, come on,” she murmured. “It was nothing!”
“It was amazing,” he replied firmly. “If not for you, who knows what would have happened!”
“You’re exaggerating,” she told him, rolling her dark eyes in embarrassment.
“If I were you,” Paul continued, “I would take it and enjoy it. You have no idea how stingy the owners can be. I think they figure you saved them from a lawsuit or something.” He shrugged his shoulders, and Hadley could not help but laugh.
“All right,” she relented. “Just a gl
ass of merlot to start. And maybe a Caesar salad.”
He nodded approvingly.
“I’ll just keep the wine coming,” he said, winking in his customary way.
“Who am I to argue with free wine?” Hadley laughed, a small smile on her lips. Paul disappeared to tend to her order, and she pulled out her paperwork, shaking her head in amusement.
After she laid out the lesson plans upon the table, Hadley raised her head, and her eyes inexplicably shifted toward the front door. Her breath caught in her chest when she saw the man she had saved standing there, his eyes fixated on her, and she wondered how long he had been there.
Oh, God, Hadley thought, trying to pull her eyes away. I’m having another fantasy.
A part of her wanted to go with it, but she had finally managed to curb the wild sex images from her mind. Or at least she thought she had. Now she couldn’t pull her gaze from his as he made his way through the restaurant and toward her. He looked exactly how she had remembered him—well, without his eyes bulging from his face.
“Hello,” he said. His voice sounded like melted butter in her ears.
“Hi,” Hadley breathed.
“Do you remember me?”
She nodded, not trusting her words to sound coherent.
A small smile formed on the man’s full mouth, the same mouth she had envisioned on her body more times than she could count at that moment.
“May I join you?” he asked quietly. It was then that Hadley realized that she was not entwined in another fantasy. The man was actually towering over her, waiting for her to respond. She bobbed her head again, and he sat down gracefully, studying her face like he was memorizing her features. “My name is Byron Crews,” he told her, extending his hand. “I just wanted to formally thank you for helping me the other night.”
Hadley swallowed her nervousness and accepted his hand. “Hadley Grace,” she replied. “Sorry, let me make some room for you.” She began collecting her paperwork.
“Ah, Mr. Crews!” Paul announced, appearing at the table with her drink. “I see you found Ms. Grace!” Hadley looked up in surprise.
