“What do you mean, two hours of detention in special ed?”
He grimaced, the expression clear in the overhead garage light falling through the windshield. “I have to tutor those kids. I don’t see why. They’ve got teachers in there.”
“You mean the developmentally challenged kids like Wally?”
He snorted. “Yeah.”
That’s what Rand had done. It wasn’t detention. It was brilliant. Whatever was between Nathan and that boy, Rand was forcing them to work it out in a supervised environment.
“He doesn’t have any right because I didn’t do anything.”
She realized what she said could alienate Nathan, yet at the same time, he still wasn’t taking the responsibility she felt he should. He was trying to finagle a way out. “It’s not detention, Nathan. Those kids need help. You don’t have any sports in the spring, and it will be a worthwhile thing for you to do.”
“But, Mom,” Nathan whined.
“This will help your situation with Principal Torvik. I’d like you to help out in that lab. It will look good on your college applications, too.” She wasn’t sure but didn’t care.
He tightened his hands on the wheel, his knuckles whitening. “You people just don’t get it.”
“Don’t get what?” she said gently.
His lips worked into a compressed frown. “You just don’t know how everyone’s going to ride me about this.” Then he shoved the door open and was stomping up the garage steps before she’d even gotten out of the minivan. The keys were still in the ignition.
Rachel sighed. She’d made another wrong move. But she liked what Rand had done. It was actually a stroke of genius.
She hoped Nathan could eventually see that, too. Maybe then, if he ever found out about her affair with his principal, he wouldn’t go completely ballistic.
SUNDAY NIGHT ON THE ROAD TO NOWHERE, AND RAND’S HAND between her legs. Rachel couldn’t think when he touched her like that, let alone drive. But he’d insisted she do the driving so he could do all the playing. They were like teenagers, getting sex anywhere they could. Maybe that was because Rand was around teens day in and day out; his brain had been infected by all those raging hormones. But God, it was good, and a very good thing, too, that she’d worn a skirt instead of jeans.
Highway 280 was as empty as a ghost town as they passed through the back hills between Stanford University and the Linear Accelerator. On this moonless Sunday night, it was dark, not even the lights of houses or businesses to break the blackness. All the land around here was owned by Stanford, so civilization hadn’t taken over and ruined it all.
“Oh,” she moaned, rocking gently against his hand.
Slut that she was, she’d gotten to his house in under ten minutes after dropping the boys off with Gary. She’d been in such a rush, she hadn’t cared that Sherry was baking fresh chocolate chip cookies. No, she’d been in a rush to get here, which was wherever Rand wanted to take her.
And take her he did, with his fingers all over her, dipping inside her. “You’re going to make me crash,” she said in a breathy sigh. Yes, they might crash and burn eventually, but she didn’t care about that anymore. No matter what else was going on in her life, she needed these interludes to keep herself sane.
“Not a problem,” he said. “My insurance covers the car no matter who’s driving.”
She groaned. “You’re so bad. I’ll lose control.” She wanted to lose control with him, just not here on the freeway. But Rand loved making her crazy.
“You can do two things at once,” he muttered. “But have no fear, I won’t make you come until we stop.”
True, right now he was teasing, keeping her on the edge, her senses heightened, her body dying for more.
Then he licked his fingers. “Christ, you taste good, and you’re so damn wet.”
“It’s been more than a week,” she said dryly. She’d been going crazy.
“I’m going to make you feel so good tonight,” he murmured as he went back to playing, circling her clitoris a couple of times, then backing off when she started to squirm.
It was thrilling to be driving through the dark night with his hand on her, his breath at her nape. She wasn’t going to have an accident, but she loved the way he made her body feel, all creamy and needy. She’d jump him the moment they stopped.
His finger now inside her, rocking gently to the movement of the car, he seduced her. “I’m going to lay you down in the middle of the living room carpet, and put my mouth to your pussy.” He loved words, and using them was as much a part of sex as using his body. “I’ll circle your clit with my tongue, tasting you.” He mimicked his description with his touch. “Then I’ll fit two fingers inside you, right on your G-spot, and lick until you scream.”
Oh God, she could imagine it. If she’d been able to close her eyes, she would have been right there in his living room.
She laid her hand on top of his. “Are you going to fuck me?” she asked, giving him the naughty word he liked.
He laughed. “I’m going to wash your mouth out with soap.”
Just like her mother had. “Sorry, it won’t do any good.” She lowered her voice. “I’m already a slut. You’ve corrupted me.”
He nuzzled her ear. “Just the way I like it.”
They raced along the highway between rolling hills. Rand jutted his chin. “Get off at the next exit.”
His touch was steady and constant on her clitoris now, and she fought the quaking in her legs, putting both hands on the wheel to keep the car straight. She didn’t care what he said about insurance; she was not going to wreck his car.
“Turn left,” he instructed when she rolled to a stop at the bottom of the ramp. The light changed, she followed his directions, then just after they’d passed under the freeway, he pointed to the Park and Ride. “In there.”
The lot was half full of cars, people using the convenience of the place to meet for a trip up to the city or into the mountains, but no one was here now.
He was on her the moment she shut off the engine, stealing her breath with a bone-melting, openmouthed kiss. His fingers drove her higher. She gave herself up to him, his kiss, full-bodied, not sloppy, his taste sweet and flavored with the hot male scent of him. And his touch, Lord. He used just the right tension on her clitoris, his fingers slippery with her juice. She was at the peak two seconds after they’d parked, moaning into his mouth, grinding her hips against his hand, holding him right there. Her body seemed to vibrate, every muscle tensing, needing. She groaned deeply against his lips, took his tongue, devoured him. Then suddenly she couldn’t breathe, and she shoved him away, her eyes closed, needing only his finger on her. Until finally she imploded, fire radiating out, her body bucking. Her hand around the nape of his neck, she rode the wave holding his face against her throat, then collapsed into the seat.
For long moments, they simply breathed together. Then she opened her eyes, focusing on him. “You are a very bad man.”
He grinned, a cheeky dimple deepening at the side of his mouth. “But I have very good fingers.”
She nodded, sighing. “I have to admit that’s true.” His hand was still warm between her legs. She didn’t remove it. He didn’t stroke, simply cupped her as if he wanted to hold the sensations inside for her to enjoy a little longer.
“I thought it was the woman who was supposed to give the man a blow job while he was driving.”
This time when he smiled, both dimples came out. “We still have to drive all the way home.”
She turned his wrist and glanced at his watch. “Thirty minutes,” she said, her voice bearing a note of wonder. “I can’t believe you did that to me for half an hour.”
He winked. “Mind-blowing, huh?”
Yes, it had been. Just wait till she got her chance. Honestly, though, it was crazy. They could have had an accident. Or a cop might have pulled up alongside them. Adults just didn’t do things like that. Yet with Rand, she took all kinds of risks.
And
she’d take the next one, sucking him on the way home. But first: “Thank you for what you did for Nathan.”
“It was my pleasure. He’s a good kid.”
She should have expressed more, but Rand stroked the hair back from her face and said, “I’ve got a surprise for you.”
“Mmm,” she murmured. She’d had too many surprises this week, but she hadn’t gotten one from Rand. His would be better.
“We’re going on a trip.”
24
RACHEL PULLED AWAY, FORCING RAND TO STRAIGHTEN INTO THE passenger seat. She eyed him warily. “I can’t do that, Rand.”
“Yes, you can, Rachel,” he mimicked her.
He never tried to cajole or mollify. He simply stated. This is what will happen and you will comply. “I can’t leave the boys, plus I’ve got work.”
“It’s one night,” he said, his eyes sparkling. There was no moon, so where did that sparkle come from? “We fly out Saturday morning and return Sunday in plenty of time for you to be home when the boys get there. They’ll never know you’re gone.”
“But—”
He put a finger to her lips. “No buts. We’re doing this. The flight is short. And I’ve got plans.” Now his eyes seemed to glow. Where on earth did the light come from? There was something in him that always seemed to be lit up.
“Where are we going?”
“You’ll find out when we start boarding the plane.”
She shook her head. “I don’t know. This kind of thing makes me nervous.” She didn’t have the money to pay for a trip, yet it felt wrong to let a man do the paying. Because they weren’t dating. They were just having sex.
“You analyze too much. I want this. I will have it.” He leaned in, lowered his voice. “And you will love it.”
Maybe it was that she didn’t like having no control. That all he had to do was tell her to get in the car, drive, spread her legs, and she did. Worse, she loved doing it.
He waited silently as if he knew all the thoughts running around in her head.
Really, what was so bad about flying away with him? What was so bad about him making her come wherever and whenever he could? She’d never before experienced the things he made her feel; it was like constantly jumping off a cliff, each one higher than the last. Rand was one big thrill ride. She wasn’t compromising herself; she was adding joy to her life. Gary had apparently found that with Sherry, and Rachel deserved no less.
“All right,” she said. “You win. What should I pack?”
He grinned, triumphant. “Just the toiletries you want. I’ll provide all the clothing.”
She rolled her eyes. “God help me.”
He chucked her under the chin. “Oh yeah, God help you. ’Cause I’m going to drive you crazy.”
“Believe me, you already do.”
He opened the car door. “You ain’t seen nothing yet,” he said as he climbed out, rounding the hood.
Rachel scooted over the console into the passenger seat. Rand belted in and started the engine. “All right, your turn to make me pay for what I just did to you.”
“Oh, you’ll pay, buddy boy.” Then she leaned over and unzipped his jeans.
* * *
CHRIST, DID SHE MAKE HIM PAY. HE WAS A RISK TAKER, AND Rachel’s mouth on him was worth any risk, but he’d chosen 280 for a drive because at this time of night there was little traffic on this particular highway.
He stroked her hair with one hand as she took him to heaven. Fuck, it was good, but he’d been hard and ready from the moment he put his hand between her legs.
She sucked him gently, the same way he’d caressed her, taking him on a slow, steady climb. She cupped his balls, and he tightened in response. A car passed them going twenty miles faster, the occupants oblivious to Rachel’s bobbing head. If there was a cop around, he’d be following that car, not worrying about Rand, who’d managed to stay on the straight and narrow despite Rachel’s delicious mouth.
“That’s it, baby,” he murmured.
She drew hard all the way to the tip, teased the slit of his cock, nearly blew his head off, then slid back down.
Life was perfect. Wally was fine, Nathan had made it through his first tutoring class, if grudgingly, and now this. Rachel. In his car, his cock in her mouth. She’d taken to cocksucking like a duck to water. Next, he’d have her all weekend. A full night. He’d take advantage of every moment.
A surge of sensation rocketed through his body as she suddenly deep-throated him. His hips drove up, he held her head down a moment, and Christ, he almost came. She sucked harder and faster in reaction. Rand exited the freeway, made a couple of turns, then pulled into a vacant parking lot, coming to a stop beneath some trees in a corner bordered by a hedge.
“Fuck,” he whispered to her. “Suck me. Make me come.”
She drove him right over the edge. He shouted her name as he filled her mouth with his essence, his being. Even when he was done, drained, she didn’t let him go, sucking softly, shooting tremors through his body.
After long, exquisite minutes, his body finally calmed. He pulled her up, kissed her, tasting his come on her lips.
“I didn’t know men kissed after that,” she murmured against his mouth, as though, after all they’d done, she continued to marvel at it.
“I like it. Same as I like kissing you after I’ve made you come with my tongue.” Sharing was perfection.
She settled against him, soft and pliable in his arms.
Then he looked out the side window. Shit. He’d parked in front of a church.
Yeah, he was a risk taker. And she was worth any risk.
IT WAS MONDAY. SHE HAD A WHOLE WEEK TO DO ANYTHING AND everything with Rand. He was good for her. He made her feel sexy and alive. She was not giving up the hottest thing she’d ever had in her life. Nathan and Justin never had to know.
Between answering calls, inputting invoices for Bree, and running the cash receipts to the bank, she thought of all the nasty, filthy, delicious things she and Rand could do. They could watch his neighbors again. This time, he could do her on the deck, providing their own show in return. Or maybe they could invite themselves over.
“Rachel.”
She jumped as if Erin could see all those dirty thoughts like a cartoon bubble over her head. “Oh, oh, sorry. I just couldn’t figure out this invoice for a minute.” She rustled the paper on her desk; she wasn’t even sure it was an invoice.
“Want me to look at it?”
“I’ve got it now.” Rachel smiled so widely her cheeks hurt.
“There’s something I’d like to talk about.” Erin pulled out the extra chair in Rachel’s office. Her work space wasn’t much bigger than a closet. She had room for her desk, a two-drawer filing cabinet, and a bookshelf; that was it. She didn’t have a window, but one wall of the office was all glass, including the door, so she could see anyone entering through the front, in addition to viewing the common area. She had no privacy at all. But then, she was a receptionist and wasn’t supposed to need it. She didn’t resent that either.
Erin crossed her legs. “Yvonne wants to take eight weeks off when her daughter’s baby is born, to help out.”
“That sounds good,” Rachel said. Yvonne would be a grandmother in early July.
“I’d like you to train to take over her work while she’s gone.” Erin regarded her with a wary eye. “Are you interested?”
Rachel felt her heart climb up her throat. Erin was really asking if she was up to the task. Yvonne did inside sales. That meant she talked to customers and suppliers. She knew the distributors, the products, the parts, how everything fit together. She advised customers on what transducer went with which instrument, and on and on. If Rachel did Yvonne’s job, she’d have to know all that, too.
“I’m not sure, Erin. I don’t have any idea about that stuff.”
“I’m asking you now so that Yvonne can give you a few months of training.”
She swallowed. Yes, but—Rachel heard the thought in her head
and was appalled. What a defeatist attitude.
“I’ll be here to answer any questions, too.” Erin uncrossed her legs and leaned forward, propping an elbow on her knee. “Rather than hire someone from outside, I’d like to give you the opportunity. Of course, we’ll pay you for any overtime.”
Overtime. She could use the money. But would that mean less time for the boys? More time for Sherry to try to take over?
Screw it. She was acting like a weenie. “I’ll give it a try.” She took a deep breath. “But as I learn more and become more valuable to the company beyond just being a receptionist—”
Erin put up a hand. “We’ll need to think about your salary and your position. I agree. Let’s get through the next three months and evaluate. Deal?”
“Deal.”
“Good. Why don’t you spend an hour with Yvonne today?”
“Sure.” She’d have to get her act in gear and stop daydreaming about Rand all the time.
Things were actually looking pretty darn good. She’d be gaining more skills and would probably get a raise when Yvonne returned, because Erin was a woman of her word. Nathan was helping special-needs kids. Having Sherry take the boys when she had class wasn’t such a bad thing. This new relationship of Gary’s might actually turn out to be a benefit.
And tonight, there was Rand and so many delicious possibilities.
“NO,” YVONNE SAID, HER VOICE RISING. “THAT’S NOT THE RIGHT probe for that instrument.”
Rachel wanted to tell Yvonne exactly what she could do with that probe.
They’d been at it for an hour and a half in Yvonne’s office. The task: fill two distributor orders, which were for different instruments, extra transducers, et cetera, et cetera. The issue was that the order called for gauges of different types and accessories. Well, you had to figure out what the damned accessories were. Yvonne had been doing it so long, it was a no-brainer for her.
But she wasn’t exactly the best at imparting how Rachel was supposed to figure it out when she had no brain, so to speak.
“But you said,” Rachel started.
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