by Donna Fasano
One of his hands rested on the trunk lid, the other, on his hip.
Anna nodded. "Timmy was a changed little boy today," she told him. "He apologized to everyone concerned—" she touched her fingertips to the base of her throat "—even me. And I overheard him bragging to Eric about the work you made him do."
"Bragging?" His eyebrows inched up in total surprise.
She chuckled lightly. "Yes." She leaned her hip against the back of her car. "That's exactly what it sounded like. You see, children are always testing the boundaries, pushing the limits. They think they want to break loose, when actually they would much prefer to be reined in. It makes them feel safe."
"So that's what I did, huh? I reined Timmy in?"
"Exactly."
His dark eyes became serious. "Now that I've kind of taken charge and showed Tim who's at the helm, do you think everything should be smooth sailing from here on out?"
Anna wanted to laugh at his innocence, but she didn't.
"Sure," she said, and he looked visibly relieved. "For about a week... maybe two, if you're lucky."
His gaze darted to her face. "What?"
This time she couldn't hold back her laughter. "Derrick, he's a kid. Kids don't test the boundaries once and then let them alone."
"Really?"
"If there's one sure bet you can make," she said, "it's that Timmy's going to test you and test you and test you."
Derrick's shoulders sagged just a bit as he digested what she was saying.
Finally he asked, "But doesn't there ever come a time when he knows the boundaries? When he knows the limits and doesn't need to push?"
"Sure. When he's all grown up and ready to move out on his own."
"Oh," Derrick groaned, putting his hand up to the side of his head. "Every time I talk to you about this job I've taken on, I find out things that make my head swim." He studied her for a moment. "How do you do it?" he asked. "How do you spend each day with all those kids and not lose your mind?"
Humor bubbled from her throat, generous and unself-conscious. "I use the same advice I gave you," she told him. "I'm firm but caring. And most of all, I'm consistent."
He grinned.
"And you're forgetting," she added. "I get weekends and summers off."
"Oh, so that's how you survive?"
The boyish charm exuding from him reached out to her, teasing her with unseen yet unmistakable tendrils.
He asked, "Who do I see to get weekends and summers off?"
"Sorry," she said lightly, "but you don't get any time off."
His voice grew softer. "Ever?"
"Ever," she said. A languorous chuckle escaped from deep in her throat. "Didn't they tell you that?"
A curling lock of her hair blew across her cheekbone, and Derrick reached out, taking it between his fingers.
"You're beautiful when you smile," he said huskily, searching her gaze with his dark, velvety eyes.
Anna wanted badly to press her cheek to the backs of his fingers. The thought should have triggered her alarm, alerted her to the fact that he'd somehow scaled the walls of the fortress with which she'd surrounded herself and her emotions. But the Mayday wasn't triggered, and the oddest thing was she didn't feel the least bit panicked.
She guessed it was inevitable that this man would breach every defense she'd built against him. She should feel upset with him for not heeding the message she gave him the last time they were together. She should feel terrifically annoyed with herself for not keeping a more vigilant watch.
"Anna—" his tone lowered to a most seductive octave "—come out with me. Right now. Let's have dinner."
His request elicited her laughter. "But, Derrick," she said, "it's only four-thirty in the afternoon."
"A cup of coffee, then," he countered. "A walk in the park. I don't care what we do. I just want to spend some time with you."
She let her eyes rove over his features: those intense mahogany eyes, that strong jaw, his angular cheekbones, the military-styled, sandy blond hair, all the purely physical attributes that created his handsome, clean-cut look. She should say no, she knew that. She should not only say no, she should run like hell.
But as she stood there, enveloped in a thick blanket of... whatever it was humming in the air all around her, she simply couldn't turn him down. So she did the next best thing; she said nothing.
"Now, Anna, I know what you said on Friday. I know you don't want to get involved. I don't know your reason, I don't want to know your reason. Not right now, anyway."
He gently tucked behind her ear the tendril of her hair he'd been caressing, then he slowly trailed his fingertip down the length of her jaw.
"I don't know if you've been hurt in the past or what," he said. "I'm not asking you to become... involved with me. I'm not asking for any kind of permanent relationship here. It's much too soon for that." He took her chin between his index finger and thumb. "I only want to get to know you."
Movement from the corner of her eye had her turning her head away from him. His hand moved away from her face, and she sensed rather than saw him resettle his weight on both feet as a fellow teacher nodded at them as he passed by.
"Bye, Chuck," Anna called. "Have a nice evening."
The man offered a preoccupied wave, got into his car, and drove away.
The mood should have been broken by the interruption, but when she turned back to face Derrick, she felt just as encompassed by the heavy aura as she had been before.
"What do you say, Anna?" he gently coaxed. "Let's go somewhere and have a cup of coffee."
He reached out and touched her arm. Anna felt the heat of his skin through her sweater. The light pressure of his fingertips on her flesh churned up waves of need inside of her. And along with this most sensual emotion came the rushing swell of sweet surrender.
"Okay. I'd like that." She heard herself whisper the words at the same instant that she decided she wanted to be with Derrick, even if it was only to go to a local café for an hour or so.
She should have been shocked by the ease with which she yielded to her desire to be with him. She hadn't had to be dragged kicking and screaming, rather it had been more of a gentle succumbing to the inevitable.
It was a bad decision; she realized that deep in her heart. One she would most probably rue. But she would worry about that tomorrow.
"I'll drive."
He took her elbow, and she allowed him to lead her across the grassy area to the visitors' parking lot.
"I'll bring you back to pick up your car later," he told her.
She could feel his fingers trembling where he grasped her arm, and she darted a quick glance at his face. His eyes were filled with a nervous tension that she found extremely endearing.
Her inhalation was shaky and she realized that she was just as anxious as he.
What on earth were they doing? She had papers to grade, work sheets to prepare, an art project to plan. Knowing his accounting firm was so new and growing by leaps and bounds, he must certainly have appointments to keep, clients to talk to. But here they were, sneaking off in the middle of the afternoon.
Derrick opened the passenger door of his car and helped her inside. She watched him round the car, her heart thumping as anticipation washed over her. They were acting like two irresponsible kids, and when he closed his door behind him, she voiced those very words to him.
"Yeah," he said, gunning the engine and putting the car into gear, "we are, aren't we?"
He turned the car onto the main road and headed toward town. "Oh."
The small word broke the silence inside the car and made Anna look his way.
"What?"
"I... um," he stammered, "sort of forgot about Timmy. He's with a sitter. Chrissy. She's a teenager who lives just a few doors down from me. But I didn't expect to be gone long." He tossed a quick, sheepish look at her before once again watching the road. "You see, this was all pretty... spontaneous. I hadn't planned to... well, I had no idea I was going to—"
/>
"It's okay," she assured him. "I know exactly how you feel. Neither one of us planned this." And we could no more have stopped it than we could have halted a speeding freight train, she added silently.
"I'll call when we get to the coffee shop," he said. "If Chrissy can't stay, then I'll make some other arrangement."
The tiny coffee shop was newly opened and on the main thoroughfare of the small town. At this time in the late afternoon, between lunch and dinner, they had the place nearly to themselves. The waitress seated them in a back, corner booth, and Derrick and Anna smiled at each other.
After the waitress left them to study the menu, Anna whispered, "It's obvious that even she thinks we're sneaking off to be alone. Otherwise, why seat us here in the back of beyond?"
He shot her the most mischievous grin. "A clandestine meeting. Sounds kind of erotic, doesn't it?"
Not trusting herself to speak, Anna only grinned. Just being with you is erotic, she thought but didn't dare speak the opinion aloud.
The waitress brought red-checkered linen napkins and fresh silverware.
"I'm sorry the table wasn't set," she told them. "We don't get many customers this time of day." She took a small pad of order slips from the pocket of her starched white apron. "Will you be eating?"
"No, thank you," Derrick said. "Just coffee." Then he looked at Anna. "But then, how about a cappuccino?"
"Sounds wonderful."
"Two cappuccinos," the waitress said, and she went off into the kitchen.
"Excuse me just a minute," Derrick said. "I'm going to step outside and call home."
She watched him slip from his seat, and her gaze followed him all the way to the vestibule where he pulled his cell phone from his pocket.
Resting her elbows on the tabletop, Anna laced her fingers together. What are you doing? she silently asked herself as her thumbs battled in nervous little circles. Why are you here when you know it is the worst place in the world for you to be?
She really couldn't find any answers. All she did know was that she'd never in her life felt attracted to a man the way she felt attracted to Derrick. Never had she experienced the... electricity... or the raw magnetism... or whatever it was that affected the very air when he was near.
This wasn't a sane behavior. She knew that as well as she knew the English alphabet. But it was something she wanted—something she wanted so badly that she knew it was useless to fight it.
The hurt would come. As surely as the sun would rise tomorrow, she knew what she was doing right now would cause her pain. However, she simply chose not to think about it at this moment. She chose to enjoy the here and now.
"Okay," Derrick said as he sat back down across from her, "everything's set. Chrissy's going to stay another couple of hours. She's even going to help Tim with his homework."
"He shouldn't have any problem," Anna told him. "He just needs to practice writing his letters, and he has a coloring work sheet. Oh, and a math sheet. Simple addition."
His dark eyes grew serious. "You really like working with kids, don't you?"
"Very much," she told him. "The most difficult thing about teaching kindergarten is that each child comes into elementary school at a different level of learning. Some of the kids can't recite the alphabet, yet some of them can already read. Some can't count to ten, while others can do addition and subtraction."
"How do you cope when you have so many different stages at once?" he asked.
Anna rested her clasped hands on the table. "The fun—and exciting—part of my job is keeping everyone challenged. It's not an easy thing to do, but if I keep on my toes—" one corner of her mouth cocked up in a grin "—I can do an okay job."
"You do a fabulous job," he murmured.
He reached out and ran his fingertip lightly along her forearm. Anna's breath caught in her throat. It was almost as though a spell had been cast over them. And even when the waitress returned to their table and set down the cups of steaming cappuccino, the captivating bewitchery was not broken.
The waitress hurried away, as though she realized and was embarrassed that she'd intruded on an intimate moment.
"I want to know everything about you there is to know." His voice was low, and the utterly seductive tone of it caused a shiver of excitement to course along her spine.
"Me too," she whispered. And then when she realized what she said, she clarified, "About you, I mean."
So over the cups of hot, frothy coffee, they talked. About their childhoods. About their teenage years. About their college days. And all the while, Derrick never stopped touching her. He explored the hills and valleys of her knuckles, he rested his fingers on her wrist, or traced light, abstract patterns near her elbow.
Anna found the attention enticing and seductive. It wasn't as if he was touching any intimate part of her body—just her hand and arm. But the manner in which he touched her... She found his slow languorous movements extremely... sensuous... stimulating... arousing.
The white porcelain coffee cups were empty and the sun was sending slanting rays of rosy light through the large, plate-glass window at the front of the shop. Evening diners were converging through the door in small groups. And sometime during the last couple of hours, another waitress had joined the one who had served Anna and Derrick.
"I really should be getting home," she told him. But she knew her tone clearly revealed her unwillingness to leave his company.
"And I'm sure Timmy's wondering where I am."
They looked at each other, yet neither of them made a move to leave. Their waitress had long since dropped off the check, and it sat by Derrick's elbow, a terrible reminder that there was a world outside this quaint little shop, a world that awaited their return.
Finally he scooped up the small, pink slip and said, "Well, shall we?"
Anna heaved a sigh. These had been two of the most wonderful hours she'd ever spent in her life.
She let him usher her to the front of the café, and he only let go of her arm long enough to hand the woman at the register some money. He held the door open for her and they went, side by side, down the sidewalk. And with each step she wished these moments with him could go on.
When they reached his car, Anna was surprised when he continued to propel her forward.
Her glance was questioning.
"Just a few more minutes," he said.
His plea mirrored her own thoughts so precisely that she felt her heart might melt right then and there. The magnetism that sparked in the air intensified. If they weren't in such a public place, she just might give in to the overpowering urge she felt to take his hand.
He, too, must have felt the shift in the atmosphere around them, because he released her elbow and slid his hand around her waist. His touch was firm, almost possessive, the heat of him, luscious.
They reached the corner of the block and Derrick guided her down the narrow side street.
"Have you ever seen the park at this time of day?" he asked.
Not with you, she wanted to tell him, but couldn't bring herself to let go completely and actually do it. She simply shook her head from side to side.
"Well," he said, "it's beautiful." He grinned down at her. "And if we're lucky, we may be able to find a little privacy."
A thrill of excitement and anticipation scampered across her skin and she pressed her hand to her abdomen to quell it. Don't allow this to go too far, a tiny voice inside her head warned. Having cappuccino in a public coffee shop with him was one thing, but slinking off to a private spot in the park was quite another.
Oh, please, her desire pleaded with logic in frantic silence, shut up for just a few more minutes.
Hearing her mind mimic the very words Derrick had said somehow caused the rational and sensible doubt to fade into the back of her mind, a place far enough away from this dream she was enjoying for her to ignore it altogether. How often did she get to indulge in true-life fantasies? She wanted desperately to relish every single second of this one.
/> This end of the park was lush, secluded and quiet. Faintly, Anna could make out the shouts and cheers from the parents of the children who played baseball at the far corner of the park.
They came upon a weathered bench that faced a wide, shallow creek. Almost telepathically, the two of them chose this as the spot to sit down. And they spent several quiet minutes enjoying the lazy flow of the water toward the bay.
The sky was turning from a rosy tinge to a dark, almost radiant violet.
Anna could no longer contain the sigh of contentment that suddenly escaped her lips. "It's exceptionally beautiful," she said, not daring to voice the rest of her thought that what made it exceptional was the fact that she was sitting here enjoying the sunset with him.
The weight of his arm fell across her shoulders and she relaxed against it. Why shouldn't she? she wondered, still fighting off a shadow of the doubt she'd been feeling. This is what she wanted.
It's what you want, a stern voice reared up in her head. But, remember, it's only for the moment!
"Okay," she muttered in a harsh whisper, banishing for good the silent, cautioning lecturer inside her.
"What's okay?"
The sound of his deep, rich tone poured over her, and she fought off the instant of disconcertion at having been overheard verbally arguing with herself by grinning shyly.
"Nothing," she said softly.
"No," he pressed. "I want to know."
He touched her chin with firm fingertips and guided her gaze to his. "I really do," he said. "What did you mean? What are you thinking?"
She shrugged one shoulder a fraction. "I was thinking," she began, "that it's okay that I'm here. With you."
That was close enough to the truth for her to be able to give him a tiny smile.
"I'm glad you feel that way," he said.
She heard the inflection in his voice turning deeper, more sensuous, and the electricity in the air snapped and skittered around them.
"Are you cold?"
His question made her aware that she'd been totally oblivious to the chilly breeze that had picked up. This was the time of year when the days were still hot and sultry with leftover summer temperatures, but the evenings cooled quickly with the early sunset.
