by Erin Wade
She sat down in the chair behind her desk and observed her students as some scribbled like crazy and others stared at the ceiling as if waiting for divine guidance.
##
“Your ten minutes are up.” Regan’s heels clicked on the tile floor as she walked to the front of the classroom. She handed each row a stack of paper. “These are your study guides for Friday’s test. Take one and pass the others back.
“Please pass your quiz papers to me. Mr. Sloan and Miss Brandywine, hold on to your papers.” She moved across the front row of students, collecting everyone’s papers except Joey’s and Brandy’s.
“Mr. Sloan, please stand and read your line to the class.”
Joey stood, graced the class with a beautiful display of his dimples, and then snorted with laughter. “You guys are going to love my line,” he gloated. ‘“Many a good hanging prevents a bad marriage.’”
The class broke out in wild laughter as Joey swept his arm across his chest and bowed at the waist.
Regan controlled the laughter that welled up in her. “You may be seated, Mr. Sloan. Miss Brandywine, what line did you write?”
Brandy didn’t take her eyes from Regan’s face as she recited her line. “‘Love sought is good but given unsought is better.’”
Silence fell over the class.
“You’ve probably never sought love, Professor,” she said. “Love would always seek a woman like you.”
Regan tried to tamp down the heat rushing up her body but failed as her face flushed bright red. “Class dismissed. We’ll have our review Wednesday.”
Regan gathered her laptop and briefcase and escaped to her office as Joey and Brandy started their usual banter.
##
Regan relaxed in her desk chair as she thought about Brandy. She had expected the girl to follow her into her office, but she hadn’t. As Regan graded the quiz her students had just taken, she wondered what Brandy was doing. Hopefully she’ll be at my house when I get home, Regan thought as she gathered her things to teach her last class of the day.
Chapter 32
Regan was delighted to see Brandy’s car in the garage when she pulled hers in beside it. Missing the blonde had left a dull ache in her body most of the day. She hated being away from her.
Brandy met her as she got out of the car and leaned down for a soft, lingering kiss. “Let me help you carry your things,” she said, gathering Regan’s laptop and briefcase from the back seat.
“Mmm. Something smells good,” Regan said as they walked into her home office and deposited her things on the desk. “You didn’t tell me you were cooking dinner.”
“It’s so cold outside. I thought you’d prefer eating in tonight.”
“It smells incredible. May I taste it?”
“Of course.” Brandy beamed. “It’s a Weight Watcher’s Mexican dish.”
“What’s in it?”
“Shredded chicken, corn, salsa, and taco seasoning simmered in the crockpot. I just stirred in the yogurt. You put it in these little Tostitos dipping chips and presto—the perfect bite every time.” Brandy held up one of the chips filled with the aromatic mixture. “Open wide.”
Brandy gazed into Regan’s dark eyes as she placed the morsel into the brunette’s mouth.
“Oh my God, that’s delicious!” Regan’s eyes sparkled as she swallowed the food. “You’re an amazing cook.”
“I’m glad you like it.” Brandy slipped her arms around Regan’s waist. “It’s a Texas tradition to kiss the cook if one really likes the food.”
Regan wrapped her arms around Brandy’s neck and tilted her head, savoring the moment Brandy’s lips would touch hers. “I love you, baby,” she whispered.
“I bet you say that to all the women who cook for you,” Brandy teased as she placed soft kisses on lips she had thought about all day. “I love your lips.”
##
After dinner, Brandy listened as Regan talked to her agent, Mel Denton, on the speakerphone. “Just send me the rejection in writing,” Regan insisted.
“You don’t need it in writing,” Mel growled. “Take my word for it. I’m not hawking that book, and the publisher has no desire to market it. I’m telling you, Regan, it will be detrimental to your career to publish a lesbian murder mystery.”
“Are you at your computer right now?” Regan asked.
“Yes.”
“Then send me an email saying that you reject Dressed to Kill, and I’ll never mention it again.”
Less than thirty seconds later, an email dinged into Regan’s computer. “Did you get it?” Mel barked.
“I have it. Thanks.”
Mel moved on to a happier topic. “So, when can I expect your next book?”
“When I finish this school year,” Regan said, indifferent. “I can’t teach and write too.”
“I’m not sure your readers will survive a whole year without a Regan Shaw murder mystery,” Mel said as he tried to cajole Regan into a better mood.
Regan hung up the phone and printed out the email. “Now I have proof that Mel rejected Dressed to Kill.”
“What’s so important about that?” Brandy asked.
Regan picked up a stack of stapled papers from her desk and handed them to Brandy. “You’re the law student. Tell me what my contract says about me publishing with another agent and publisher.”
Brandy read the contract as Regan carried her iPad to the sofa in front of the fireplace.
“It says that the contract is binding and that you cannot publish a book without first offering it to Mel Denton and Night Owl Publishing Company. So, the email you just received from Mel frees you to publish Dressed to Kill anywhere you want.”
“Exactly.” Regan hugged herself. “I’ll contact publishers over the Christmas holidays.”
“It’ll be a bestseller.” Brandy took her place on the sofa, and Regan wiggled between her legs with her iPad on her lap. “I can’t wait to hear who did it. At this point in time, I have no idea.”
Regan leaned back against the softness of the blonde and began to read.
##
“I never saw that coming,” Brandy squeaked as Regan finished Dressed to Kill. “She is the last person I would have pegged as the killer. I guess that’s why they call you the Queen of Surprises.”
“Did you like it?” Regan asked shyly.
“Like it? I loved it. This may be the best novel you’ve ever written.”
“I think so too, but sometimes the writer is barn blind.” Regan giggled.
“Who are you going to offer it to first?”
“I’m thinking about offering it to Just for Women Publishing. It’s a lesbian novel, so a lesbian publishing company should do well with it.”
Brandy kissed the back of her neck and nibbled at her shoulder. Regan turned her head slightly to give Brandy easier access.
“If it’s a big hit, can I come out of the closet and be your significant other?” Brandy murmured.
Regan stiffened. “I . . . look, I—”
“You don’t have to answer that question right now,” Brandy whispered. “We’ll cross that bridge when we come to it.”
“You know I love you.” Regan turned in Brandy’s arms and kissed her until she moaned.
“Prove it,” Brandy said, moving her hands up and down the brunette’s body. She wrapped her legs around Regan and crushed their bodies together. “You have the rest of the night to prove how much you love me.”
##
The Texas sun had melted the minuscule amount of snow that had fallen during the night, leaving the morning still and crisp. Brandy backed her car from Regan’s garage and let a tremor run through her body as she thought about the night she’d spent with the beautiful woman she’d left sleeping. The way Regan had made love to her left no doubt in Brandy’s mind. Regan was deeply in love with her. Maybe Regan is afraid of commitment, she reasoned.
Regan’s first class was at ten, but Brandy’s Spanish class was at eight. She decided she would sprin
t from her Spanish class to Regan’s English class and sit in on her creative writing lab. Then we can have lunch together, she mused. I’ll make myself so much a part of her life that she won’t be able to imagine life without me.
Chapter 33
Wednesday morning, Brandy stared at the test grades posted by her Spanish professor. Regan nudged her aside so she could see the board.
“Baby, what happened?” Regan said. “How did you get an incomplete on your Spanish test?”
“I . . . I don’t know.” Brandy frowned. “Obviously I’m not grasping what you’re teaching me in our tutoring sessions. I must have left some of the questions blank.”
“Ask the professor to let you have the test. I can look at it and ascertain what’s causing you trouble,” Regan suggested. “Then we can concentrate on that.”
Brandy nodded. “I took that test yesterday morning. I may have had other things on my mind.”
Regan cocked her head, asking for clarification.
“That was the morning after you . . .” Brandy looked around to make certain no one was close enough to hear and then whispered in Regan’s ear.
Regan blushed from head to toe. “We did do that, didn’t we?”
“Yes, ma’am, we did,”—Brandy beamed—“and I couldn’t stop thinking about it. I couldn’t concentrate on anything else.”
Regan took a deep breath as she tried to control the ache in her lower abdomen. “I’ll have to remember to ask about your test schedule before we do that again.”
Brandy laughed out loud. “I’d lie.”
“You would, you little devil,” Regan said, bumping Brandy with her hip.
“I’ve got a meeting with Peyton,” Brandy said. Her sparkling eyes rivaled the clear waters of the Caribbean. “I’d love to kiss you right now, but I’ll wait until we’re not in a crowd.”
“I have some errands to run.” Regan touched Brandy’s arm. “I’ll see you at home tonight.”
##
Joey scowled at Agent King. “Come on, Peyton. We’re all working the same case. Can’t you give us information on Paula Lambert?”
“Are you dating her?” Peyton asked.
“Sort of.” Joey blushed.
“Sort of? What kind of answer is that?”
“Yes, we’re seeing a lot of each other. But every time I think she’s at ease with me, she stiffens and pushes me away. I’m not talking about sex. I’m talking about holding her hand or taking her elbow to guide her through a crowd.”
“It’s her place to share with you, Joey. Not mine.”
Just then, Brandy burst into the room. “Sorry I’m late. I was with . . . uh . . . checking on my test grade.”
“If you two can pull yourselves away from your love lives for a few minutes, we need to discuss where we are on this case.” Peyton smirked, turning on her laptop and flashing the information onto the electric whiteboard.
“Did you look at the videos I gave you?” Joey asked. “They should be enough to put Radford and a few football players away for ten years.”
Peyton scowled. “Where’d you get the videos?”
“They came from my frat brothers.”
“Good. I’d hate to think you’d stand by videoing while a girl was being molested.”
“Obviously you don’t know me very well,” Joey fumed. “I’d never let that happen. I’m disgusted that the guys videoed the occurrences instead of stopping them.”
“Some of Joey’s frat brothers are real assholes,” Brandy chimed in. “One of the videos was posted on Facebook. What kind of degenerate does that?”
“I have warrants to arrest them all,” Peyton informed them.
“Radford too?” Joey asked.
“That’s a little more complicated.”
“He’s the head of the serpent,” Brandy said. “You have more than enough evidence to get a conviction in any court.”
“I’m treading carefully with Radford. More than his reputation is at stake here. The university could end up with a black eye if we mishandle this.
“The day before the university closes for Christmas, we’ll quietly arrest twenty-two athletes and Coach Clint Wayne. He was the star of one of your videos.”
Photos of Coach Danny Tucker and Women’s Athletic Director Robin Chase flashed onto the whiteboard. “We still have no clue who murdered these two,” Peyton said. “I know your focus is on sex crimes, but the two murders activated my assignment to this case.
“There were no witnesses to Coach Tucker’s murder, and no one saw anyone drive Robin into the bonfire. It’s incredible that this was pulled off without anyone seeing it, given that there were swarms of people everywhere.”
Brandy and Joey nodded. “You’ve found plenty of people with motive,” Brandy pointed out. “Tucker and Chase molested a lot of girls over the years. Maybe one of them has returned for revenge.”
“I have only one who is willing to come forward and have her name dragged through the dirt in order to convict Radford,” Peyton said. “Even she is having second thoughts. Men who prey on women count on them being too ashamed to prosecute. They know the women will keep quiet to avoid public embarrassment.”
“What about Chief Sawyer?” Joey suggested. “She’s cleaned up the athletic department’s messes over the years. We know they were blackmailing her. Maybe she decided she couldn’t be a part of what was happening to the girls on this campus.”
“She’s at the top of my list,” Peyton said, “but I’m not sure. I have no evidence that would connect her to the murders.”
“I could flirt with Radford and then shoot him when he makes a move on me,” Brandy said with an impish grin. “That would solve our problem.”
Peyton tried her best to look appalled but couldn’t stop the smile that ghosted her lips. “The courts might see that as entrapment, Agent Brandywine.” She chuckled.
“Are you two going to the chancellor’s Christmas party tomorrow night?” Peyton asked.
“It’s a masquerade party,” Brandy declared. “We have to dress as elves or Santa or comic book characters. Joey and I are going just to keep an eye on things.”
“Is Professor Shaw going?” Peyton asked.
“I’m pretty certain she’s going with Professor Bolen,” Brandy said. “I think she’s going as an elf. I saw a black bodysuit in her closet and a black mask. But she did say something about Wonder Woman.
“Joey and I are going as Superman and Supergirl,” Brandy said with a laugh. “We’ll wear masks, so no one should be able to identify us. What are you wearing?”
“I haven’t decided.” Peyton shrugged. “I may go as FBI Agent Peyton King.”
##
Regan’s heart fluttered as her garage door went up and Brandy’s BMW came into view. I love it when she beats me home. I hate entering an empty house now that I’ve gotten used to her being here.
As usual, Brandy was at her car door in a flash, gathering her briefcase and laptop. Regan stood and tilted her head back for the kiss she had become accustomed to.
“Do you have your Spanish book here?” Regan asked as she opened the door for Brandy to enter the house.
“Yes, but it’s too late for that. Professor Arturo will probably fail me.”
“I had coffee with her this afternoon and convinced her to retest you tomorrow morning.”
“Seriously? That’s awesome,” Brandy gushed as she dropped Regan’s things in her office and pulled the brunette into her arms.
“No, no,” Regan said, pushing her away. “No distractions tonight. All we’re going to do is study.”
“Study all night?” Brandy groaned.
“Until you know all the answers. Then we’re going to sleep, so you will be rested and have a clear mind tomorrow.”
Regan followed the aroma of something cooking. “What are you making?”
“Something simple,” Brandy said as she followed Regan. “You have the sexiest walk.” She giggled.
“Get your attention off my backsid
e and onto your Spanish,” Regan teased her. “What gourmet delight have you prepared for us tonight?”
“Lemon pepper chicken, scalloped potatoes, and green beans,” Brandy said as she pulled the chicken from the oven.
“Grace Brandywine, you are the woman of my dreams.” Regan slipped her arms around the blonde’s neck and pressed the full length of her body against Brandy.
“Have mercy on me, Professor.” Brandy moaned as she pulled the brunette into a long, burning kiss.
##
They finished dinner and settled in front of the fireplace to study. “Your biggest problem seems to be with verb conjugation,” Regan noted. “Let’s try something a little different.”
“Something a little different?” Brandy winked at her. “Those are the same words you said to me last night.”
Regan burst out laughing. “Not gonna happen tonight, baby. Your grades are too important.”
After two hours of struggling to use the correct verbs, Brandy tossed the Spanish book on the coffee table and pulled her teacher onto her lap.
“Jeez, Regan, they taught a gorilla sign language faster than I’m learning Spanish.”
“Why don’t we take a break?” Regan meant to kiss the blonde chastely, but somehow the touch of their lips inflamed them both. “Baby, you’ve got to ace that test in the morning.”
“I will. I promise. Only right now I need—” Firm lips cut off her rambling as Regan explored Brandy’s lips and then engaged her tongue in a heated dual of lust.
They made love on the sofa, and Brandy pulled the throw blanket over them. “I love how soft and smooth you are,” she murmured in Regan’s ear. “Your skin is like silk, only warmer and more luxurious. I’ve never touched anything as pleasing as your body.”
“You feel the same,” Regan whispered. “I can’t keep my hands off you.”
“That’s a good thing.” Brandy hugged her tighter. “A very good thing.”
“I’m going to get a couple bottles of water,” Regan said, pulling her sweater over her head. “Why don’t you find the rest of our clothes?”
“Could you leave your bra off? I love caressing you.”
