by Wendi Zwaduk
Written Together
Wendi Zwaduk
Adam Pallas knows what he wants out of life—to teach history, to be happy and to have a hot woman by his side. He’s got one out of the three. He should be happy, but he’s not. There’s one woman who grabs his attention every time. The catch? She’s very much out of his league. Can being himself actually snag the woman of his dreams?
Melissa Murphy isn’t looking for love, but every time she sees Adam her plans go sideways. The English teacher knows there’s a confident, hot man hiding behind the slightly nerdy history buff façade. But her past and the things she wants between the sheets tend to scare men off. She believes the odds may be stacked against them. But it turns out that their lives might just be perfectly written together.
Inside Scoop: Our heroine has fun encouraging her man to be more aggressive in bed by adding spanking and role-playing to their hot nights.
A Romantica® contemporary erotic romance from Ellora’s Cave
Written Together
Wendi Zwaduk
Chapter One
“The last day of summer vacation always sucks the most.” Adam Pallas rubbed his temples and stared at the paperwork before him. Each year he taught six sections of world history to the tenth grade students with one period of study hall or parking lot duty in the afternoon. Six sections worked fine for him. Three periods of classes in the morning, lunch, one class, a break, then two more. Easy.
The more he stared at the paperwork, the more his stomach lurched. Seven sections. No breaks. Did that make him a wuss, not wanting to teach all of them? Or simply overwhelmed? Usually he tackled the school year head-on and dove into the thrills of world history. Maybe it was the changing of the leaves or the chill in the air. Or the fact that his dream girl had married someone else over the summer break that fucked up his mood.
He snorted. Screw it. He didn’t need women and he could definitely handle seven sections of history. So he’d only planned on six and only wrote up enough lessons for those six. He’d manage like he did with everything else.
Footsteps clunked on the industrial grade tile. Adam glanced up from the papers on his desk. Melissa Murphy, English teacher and all-around good person, folded her arms and perched on the back of one of the chairs in the front row. Man, would I have liked to have had her for a student.
He gulped. What a thing to think! Christ. She was about his age and besides, she wasn’t interested in him. She liked men like Kevin McCombs. He gritted his teeth. Thinking about Kevin annoyed him.
“I hear you’re stressed. Too much work?” She nodded to the stack of papers. “Can’t handle a full day?”
“I can.” He bit back a smile. He loved talking to Melissa. She perked him up when the rest of the world seemed to ignore him. “I’ll rise to the occasion.”
“I’m sure you will.” She slid onto the seat as if she were one of his students. “I can see it in your eyes. You’re freaked out. It’s nothing. You’re a pro.”
“I’ll do it.”
“When I get really stressed like this, I go for a run. We’ve got less than fifteen minutes left. Why don’t we go for a run on the track? The football team’s out there, but they won’t care.”
He’d always liked her and respected her. He couldn’t turn down a chance to spend time with her, to reduce stress and feel better.
“What do you say?” She tipped her head to the side.
“I say, heck yeah.” He tapped the papers together. He’d worry about the extra section later. So what if he’d have to make a few more copies and hunt down more textbooks. One of the other teachers would have them. “Let me peek into Kristin’s class and nab my books and we’ll go.”
“Sure.” She stood. “I’ll help.”
“Cool.” His hands shook. He’d never been good with women. Talking to Melissa was just as easy as talking to Tessa. He strolled through his classroom and out into the hallway. Thankfully he’d finally made it to the history wing of the building. Being in the English hallway had been fine, but if he needed to talk to another teacher, he had to go across the building. Now he just had to walk across the hallway.
With Melissa at his side, he knocked on Kristin’s door. “Hey stranger. Now I understand why you offered me those books.”
Kristin nodded and didn’t look up from her papers. “Yeah.” She pointed across the room. “Over there. I boxed them.” Finally, she tore her attention from the typed pages. “I have no idea why, but Dennis gave me parking lot duty. Me? I haven’t done an extra like this in years.” A lock of her silvery blonde hair slipped from her clip. “I can use the break, though. I understand why you liked it so much. Hi Missy.”
“Hi.” She waved her fingers, then picked up one of the boxes. “Denny probably wanted to give you that break. You’ve got what, three years until retirement?”
“Two.” Kristin scooted her chair and rounded the desk. “There are three boxes.” She handed Adam a binder. “This has all my notes in it. I don’t have any tenth graders this year, so if it helps, then more power to you. Carrie never shared her stuff with me when I was a young buck and I swore I’d never do that to another teacher.”
“Thanks.” Gee. Everyone wanted to help. Adam picked up the second box. “I appreciate it. I’ll be back for the third one in a bit.”
“I’ll bring it down before I go.” She shooed him from the room. “Go have fun with Missy.”
“Kristin,” Melissa scolded. “We were going to go for a run.”
“Yeah.” All of a sudden, he felt so silly and at a loss for words. He followed Melissa back to his classroom. Christ. Why had he lost his nerve? Probably because he liked her. Melissa Murphy was the attainable, but sophisticated teacher all the kids both loved and hated. She knew how to be stern but still care about her students. She reminded him of Tessa, but blonde and more athletic. His feelings for Tessa were still there, but for the first time in a long time he felt something new—hope. Not that Tessa would give up on her marriage and realize she belonged with him, but hope he’d turned the corner and could finally move on.
Possibly with Melissa.
“She’s called me Missy since I was a student here.” Melissa placed the box on Adam’s desk. “I’m going to change. Meet you at the track in fifteen?”
“Sounds good.” He watched her walk out of the room. Thank God he had his track suit in the car—just in case he ever wanted to go for a run. Maybe his luck had finally changed… He nodded. New year, new chances. Just what he needed.
Fifteen minutes and a wardrobe change later as he’d promised, Adam made his way through the back of the building and across the small courtyard to the edge of the running track. Melissa waited for him. The black spandex she wore curved around her body like a second skin. The bright pink splashed across her chest grabbed his attention. When the hell had she become so endowed? He mentally kicked himself. Duh. She’d been a curvy woman all along, but he hadn’t noticed. He could fall in love with a woman like Melissa.
Adam stood beside her and went through his battery of stretches. He couldn’t help but watch her flex and bend next to him. Would she be that limber in bed? His cock twitched and he stifled a groan. Heat centered in his groin. Dear God, he had to look away or he’d embarrass himself. He shifted upright and focused on the football players.
“Ready?” She swatted his forearm.
Adam fell into step beside her in an easy gait.
“So what’s new in the life of Adam, besides being freaked about having an extra class?” Her ponytail swished as she jogged at his side.
“No Tessa, for one thing.” He winced. He hadn’t planned on admitting that—again.
“She’s happy.”
“But not with me.” And here he was thinking about anot
her woman anyway. Their footsteps thumped on the rubber surface.
“Did you ever wonder if you tried too hard?” She glanced at him, then stared ahead again.
“No—yes.” Might as well be honest with her. “I tried way too hard and wanted too much from her. I know I shouldn’t have, but the chase was too good.” Kind of like chasing Melissa. Most women saw him and ran the other way, claiming he was a good friend or one of the guys, but not dating material.
“Sometimes women like a challenge. Sometimes they’re honest with you and you don’t see it.” She picked up her pace a bit, leaving him in her dust.
Adam watched her ass sway. His mouth watered. Yeah, he could definitely chase her. He increased his speed and pulled up beside her. “I wanted more than she was rightfully willing to give. She was so lonely and I felt like I had to be the knight in shining armor—not her knight, but the knight. I understand now why she didn’t accept, but at the time I couldn’t see it. All I saw was her needing me.”
“I hear you.” Melissa grinned.
“You hear me on what?”
“Both. Loneliness sucks and wanting something that can’t happen…I get you on both counts.”
“You’ve got lots of guys.” Like most of the male staff of the school. Hell, the students talked about her like she was a piece of meat—stern and demanding, but a piece of meat.
“Two of those guys you see me with are my brothers and Kevin didn’t count.” She slowed down.
Adam stopped in his tracks. “Wait, how does Kevin McCombs not count? You were engaged to him for what—a year?”
“It was a colossal mistake.” She bent over and wrapped her hands around her knees.
“Oh.” Adam ambled over to her and stretched his shoulders. “I’m sorry I brought him up.”
Melissa stood and rested her hands on her hips. She glanced at the building, then turned her back on the field. Adam noticed they were standing at the point that was furthest from the high school building.
“Some people are great on paper but crap in real life. That’s what Kevin and I were.” She stared toward the ground. “Getting engaged to him was my biggest mistake. He’s a parent and I’m a teacher. Not a good mix. I thought we’d be able to overlook it. He couldn’t.”
Adam wanted to pry. He wanted to know everything about the relationship and the breakup so that in case he and Melissa actually tried dating, he’d know what not to do. Instead of speaking, he stayed quiet and listened to the sound of their breathing.
“Let’s just say the guy embarrassed the hell out of me and then acted like he was the jilted party. No more. I don’t mind joshing among friends, but public embarrassment is not cool.” She finally looked up at him. Her eyes shimmered and the blush across her cheeks swept down her neck. “Gee, this is awkward. All this was supposed to make you feel better. I wasn’t supposed to ramble on.”
Adam reached out, hesitant to touch her. She was his friend and sounded like she needed consoled. What the hell. He snagged her in a hug and stroked her hair. “You helped more than you realize.” He stifled a chuckle. “Chasing Tessa was a pipe dream. I knew she wasn’t interested but the game was too much fun to stop. She was my mystery girl—kind of.” He loved the way she felt in his embrace, so small and curvy. The more he talked about Tessa, the more he realized he wanted Melissa.
Melissa rested her head on his shoulder and didn’t pull away from him. “Mystery isn’t always what it’s cracked up to be, but then again, neither is reality.”
This time he did chuckle. “I got a life lesson out of the experience.” Besides, holding Melissa cemented to him the fact that there was way more to life than chasing a mystery.
“What was the lesson? Don’t push people?” She tipped her head and stared up at him.
“Know your limits.” Adam rubbed her back. God knew the longer she lingered in his arms, the more likely he was to embarrass himself, but he didn’t care. He liked the way she cradled against him.
“Good.” She still didn’t pull away. “We should really go back in.”
“Probably.” He wanted to kiss her. Was that pushing things too far?
“We should do this after school,” Melissa murmured.
“I’m game.” For running and so much more.
“I’ll hold you to that.” She finally wriggled from his grasp. A new sparkle lit in her eyes and she smiled again. Melissa poked him hard in the chest. “Catch me if you can.” She spun on her heel and sprinted away from him.
“You bet.” He started after her, his spirit renewed. “You certainly bet.”
Chapter Two
The next day during the teacher in-service hours, Melissa spent the morning in the office copying the class notes and reading lists for the first day. When she finished, she headed back to her classroom. She noticed Tessa and Graig in the art wing. Both looked so happy—like they belonged together. Jealousy reared in her mind. She wanted that special someone to share the glow of love with her. Who didn’t want a hot guy as their husband? At the same time, she was happy for them. They belonged together and got each other. If she wasn’t mistaken, they were one of the few happy couples she knew. Her brother and his wife never did get their love to work. Her parents were just as bad—staying together for the sake of the kids but arguing like hell every day and night.
She sighed. No wonder she couldn’t make love work in her life.
Adam rounded the corner and waved. His grin widened and the spring entered his step. She snickered. The guy was so silly, but cute. She loved his determination. He’d cherish the woman who secured his heart. The memory of the hug the day before came to mind. She could feel his arms around her again. Warm, inviting and safe. She stopped in her doorway and waited for him to reach her part of the hall.
The jealousy showed up again. She had no ties to Adam other than the hug, but thinking of him with someone else stabbed deep in her gut. She wasn’t the type to chase guys who weren’t interested. What about Adam? Was he interested? Or just looking for friendship?
No, she’d focus on the platonic part of the pairing. God knew she needed more guy friends in her life and fewer dead-end boyfriends for her brothers to torture.
“Hey you.” Adam tucked a book under his arm. “Lots of copying?”
“Book lists, rules and requirements.” She shrugged. “First day stuff. Got a hold of your schedule?”
“I do.” He nodded and grinned again. “We ran yesterday. But since it’s raining today, we can run the halls.”
“You do realize how juvenile that sounds?”
His ears burned bright red and his eyes widened. She knew exactly what he meant. Her brother and Dennis regularly jogged the hallways after school. She didn’t want to run with them.
“I meant…”
“I know what you meant.” She elbowed him in the ribs. “I’d love to.”
“Cool.” His blush grew and he wandered away from her.
She shook her head and ducked into her classroom. Three hours of cleaning and organizing later, she looked out over the sea of desks. Another year, another set of students to teach the joys of English. Melissa snorted and took off her glasses to rub the bridge of her nose. Half of last year’s students believed text lingo was using proper English. Maybe she’d create a poster. She tucked her glasses on top of her head, then picked up one of the oversized markers and a piece of foam board.
No txt plz—use proper English
There. She capped the marker. Perfect. The students wouldn’t see it right away, but she’d work on them. If they wanted to get into college, they’d have to learn to use the full words.
Her thoughts drifted to Adam. He tried so hard to please people and deserved a happy ending. The image of him when he stood up before the run remained in her brain. She shouldn’t be thinking about the outline of his junk in those shorts, but damn. He sure seemed to be packing. She liked the way she felt in his arms, too. The right height, the right build…and his smile. He brought up her ex. Thinking about Kevin s
et her teeth on edge. Smug bastard. He always seemed to think he knew the right thing to say and do. Except he didn’t know a damn thing.
“You look lost in serious thought.” Adam stood in her doorway. “You okay?”
She jerked in her seat. “I didn’t hear you.” This time she blushed. “I’m fine.”
He nodded once, then folded his arms. For the first time, she noticed the muscle definition in his biceps. Given a tight T-shirt and jeans, he’d be darned hot. She shivered. Real hot.
“We’ve got a meeting in ten. Dennis wanted to introduce the new teachers. We just have to fill the space.”
“You don’t need the word just.” She took her glasses off the top of her head and stood, then stretched. “It’s extra.”
“Thank you Miss Murphy.” He unfolded himself. “Do I need to do time in detention?”
Man, did he know how to read her without even realizing he could. She crossed the room and stood face to face with him. “Mr. Pallas, are you coming on to me?”
The tips of his ears burned, but the grin deepened. “Yes, I believe I was. Is it working?”
“It is.” She didn’t even bother to look in the hallway before yanking him into her classroom. Seeing him flustered turned her on. Melissa pinned him to the wall between the chalkboard and the filing cabinets. “I told myself I wasn’t going to get involved with anyone. Said I wasn’t interested in dating, but you make me want to change my mind.” He wasn’t the abrasive alpha male like she was used to and she rather preferred the more beta guy.
“This could get us into trouble, but I don’t care,” he rumbled. Using a force she hadn’t believed he possessed, Adam shifted positions and caged her between his body and the wall. She noticed the amber flecks in his dark eyes and the light dusting of hairs on his chin. He tipped his head and met her for a kiss. He didn’t push, but rather tasted her.
Melissa wound her arms around his neck. The bulge she’d noticed between his legs before wasn’t a joke or a figment of her imagination. Holy hell, she wanted to feel him skin on skin. She toyed with the soft hair at the back of his head. The scent of him curled around her. She closed her eyes and basked in the connection.
