Based on Principal: Fanboys Book 3

by Johnston, Marie

  He stepped in but didn’t cross to her. “Where’s this form I need to sign?”

  “In my office.” She would’ve brought it out with her if she’d known he was arriving. Walking back into the constraints of her office with him was messing with her emotions. There was valid tension between them, and she’d be gutted if he did nothing more than sign and go. But she couldn’t let herself be excited about being alone with him.

  She could’ve offered to grab it, but there was something she wanted to mention to him, a detail from the video that bothered her. It could be nothing, but he was Jaycee’s father, and the decision about whether it was significant was his.

  He hovered between the door and the chair he usually sat in, his brow crinkling when he noticed they were closed in together.

  She pointed to her desk where the paper rested with a pen on the side where visitors sat. “Just sign at the bottom, please.”

  Instead of sitting behind her fortress, she closed the distance between them. He scribbled on the paper and tossed the pen down. His gaze narrowed on her.

  “I wanted to talk to you about a concern of mine with Jaycee.”

  A brow lifted. She took in a shaky breath. Being around him was usually so comfortable. She could argue with him without worrying about what he thought of how she was dressed.

  She squeezed her hands together. His gaze dipped down, but his expression didn’t fill with gloating. How was he going to react to what she said?

  “What has Jaycee told you about yesterday when she skipped?”

  They were only a couple of feet apart. He folded his arms and towered over her but she didn’t feel threatened and he didn’t have the look of someone using his size for intimidation. The gravity playing through his features spoke of the long talk he must’ve had with his daughter.

  “She said she was upset and couldn’t take another day in this place.” His voice rumbled over her body. She craved his voice. “According to her, ‘it’s so basic.’” His statement lacked humor.

  “Did she mention who she was with?”

  He shook his head. “No. She said she camped out in the bathroom, in clothing that wouldn’t repress her free spirit.”

  “As soon as you drove away, she left with another student.”

  Chris studied her for a moment. “And I suppose you can’t tell me who?”

  “No, but I’m going to address his absence tomorrow with his parents.” And the staff that didn’t report him.

  Fire flashed, making the green in Chris’s eyes lighten. “A guy? Dresden?”

  Natalia pursed her lips to keep from confirming the boy’s identity, but Chris didn’t push it.

  “Are you kidding me? She was alone with him all morning, doing God knows what?” He shoved his hand through his hair. “Shit.”

  Natalia rested her hand on his chest. He froze under her touch, but she didn’t move her hand. He needed to know about Dresden, but her next observation was what bothered her. “You remember when you picked her up, she was wearing jeans?” He nodded. “I… It’s just that… Those other times she was tardy, she wore skirts.”

  A muscle jumped in his jaw. The level of conversations he probably had with his daughter this year weren’t for the weak dad.

  It wasn’t her goal to make him reminisce, so she got to the point. “Jaycee was wearing jeans. It’s cold out, and while I’m not around Jaycee a lot, when I was”—when we were together—“she wasn’t a jeans girl. She wore leggings. I’m worried that she is getting pressured for more than a few feels in a janitor’s closet.”

  “And jeans were like her armor?”

  “It might be stupid.” It’s not like they would prevent anything sexual from happening, but they’d slow it down more than leggings. “I might be way off the mark. I was her age once. Some guys that age see an insecure girl and think that it’s an opening.” She shrugged and dropped her hand.

  Chris’s gaze darkened. “Did you have a Dresden in your life?”

  Natalia chuckled, but she couldn’t look at him. “I was only fooled once. After that, I made it a policy to not date classmates.” She hesitated over the parallel to her adult life. “Anyway, Jaycee and the boy had something going on last fall, then there wasn’t and I saw him arm in arm with other infatuated girls. Now, Jaycee’s hurting and acting out. Even if he’s not fully aware, he senses her weakness and he’s probably looking for more than some fondles.”

  Chris sucked in a breath, his gaze heated. “I’ll talk to her. And maybe buy her a few more pairs of jeans.”

  Her lips twitched. The topic was too heavy for laughter, but he was heeding her concerns. Not many other parents facing the woman who’d kicked their kid out of school would do the same.

  “How’s it going with Nana and Papa?” She hadn’t meant to broach the sensitive topic that she was the root of, but she couldn’t help her worry about him.

  His shoulders dropped and he shook his head. “I haven’t talked to them yet. I’m going to get Jaycee settled in a new school and then meet with Cierra. She’s the one wielding the power whether she wants it or not.”

  “Do you think she’ll talk custody with you without her parents interfering?”

  Chris’s expression remained somber. “It depends on what they think about her fiancé. If she wants to redirect her focus to make my life miserable while she gets hitched without the drama, then that’s what she’ll do.”

  “I’m sorry.”

  “Yeah,” he said quietly.

  Without thinking, she stroked his cheek. He looked destroyed. He’d offered everything he could to Cierra and it hadn’t been enough. Then he’d ditched his career for his daughter and it still wasn’t enough. She almost said something stupid like, “If there’s anything I can do,” when clearly, she’d done enough.

  Frustration tracked up her spine. The stinking mess of his life had landed at her feet and she’d been a catalyst, but he blamed her. And she agreed, even if she was just doing her job.

  Her gaze swept his tired face. His hair was more disheveled than normal, like he’d run his hands through it a few hundred times. But that didn’t detract from his attractiveness. A good-looking man who was eaten up with anxiety over his future with his daughter.

  “Chris.” She couldn’t think of more to say. She just wanted to make it better and she didn’t know how and it wasn’t her place.

  He swayed closer, his head dropping. Her breath hitched. Was he going to kiss her? Her gaze hooked on his lips. They were parted and a breath away.

  She stretched up and met him in the middle. Their mouths crashed together with a stronger force than anticipated. She clutched his shirt to keep her balance. His hands snaked around her waist, turning her until her ass hit the edge of the desk.

  Desire roared through her like a lightning bolt, singing all her good sense with it. She’d missed this man, but he had her in his arms. That was all she cared about.

  Clutching him, she pushed her body closer. Their mouths were open, their tongues tasting, savoring. The ruffling of papers falling to the floor didn’t bother her in the slightest.

  Oh yes. She’d missed this, how he made her feel, the fire he stoked inside of her.

  Prying her hands off him, she slid them under his coat and around his waist, wanting the heat of his skin to seep into her. She curled her fingers around the hem of his shirt and tugged it up.

  He mimicked her actions. Her shirt was loose in seconds and his fingers skimmed around her waistband like he was searching for the clasp.

  Worried he wouldn’t find it, she released his top just as he abandoned her waist and bunched up the material of her skirt. Cool air hit her thighs and she widened them to fit around him.

  He settled between her legs, the warm denim lighting up her nerve endings as the edges of his coat tickled her shins. More. She needed more. The ache in her center that taunted her each night she fell asleep alone bloomed back to life. For as long as they’d known each other, they hadn’t landed in bed as often as o
ther couples with less tangled obligations, but her body was primed for him. She could’ve stripped down the moment she’d turned and seen his rugged figure in the doorway.

  They ground against each other and she let out a whimper. The rigid length behind his fly wasn’t enough. Reaching between them, she flipped open the button of his pants.

  He groaned when her fingers grazed his shaft. Or was that her? She ripped the two sides apart, not caring if she destroyed the zipper.

  He blazed a path across her cheek and down her neck. Separating long enough to give her room to work him free, he released her hips to flick open the top buttons of her shirt. One plastic round loosened and clattered to the floor.

  Maybe she should care about being presentable, but her door was shut. She fisted his length. Long and hard, he throbbed in her hand, just as she was doing in his.

  He wrestled her shirt open far enough to yank down her bra. Her nipples popped free, like they were reaching for him. She arched her back, releasing him to bring her breasts closer to his mouth. He rocked his hips and she strained for him.

  Biting her lip, she let her head fall back. His wicked tongue circled her pebbled nipples. Still it wasn’t enough. Wiggling, she stroked her sex against his length.

  Dammit, her underwear was in the way. They were both dressed way too much to do this properly, but she was a starved woman and would take what he gave her.

  As if sensing her need, and since she wasn’t being coy, he wedged an arm between them to guide his erection to her. Pushing aside her underwear, he rocked his hips until his shaft was at her entrance.

  “Yes,” she hissed. He entered and a needy moan escaped. How could she be so close to orgasm in such little time?

  He was kissing his way back up her neck. “Natalia,” he whispered before he claimed her mouth.

  She grasped his shoulders as he set the pace. Her keyboard screeched across her desk behind her. Her care quotient was low. Anchored to her desk with him dominating her body, she let herself go. Digging her heels into his ass, she held on as he thrust in and out. He pumped up, hitting the most sinful spots inside of her. At his deepest point, her clit rubbed against him while her nipples scraped against his shirt.

  She moaned and whimpered into his mouth, his strong arms holding her in place.

  The force of his thrusts increased, but he kept her from bouncing across the desk.

  The first spasm hit her and if he weren’t wearing a shirt, she would’ve drawn blood curling her fingernails into him. He pounded into her again, ripping a muffled scream from her.

  When the apex of her orgasm hit, she jerked, her legs coming loose from around him, but he held on to her. He had her. She was safe with him as he swallowed the ecstatic noises she was making and prevented her from falling.

  With a final thrust that pushed her higher than she’d ever been, he stiffened and groaned. It was her turn to hold him as he shook with his release. He pulsed inside of her, the moves amplified because her sex was clamped so tightly around him.

  They clung to each other as they crashed back to reality.

  He didn’t jerk away, but he released her mouth and caught her legs to help her down. Her breasts spilled out of her top as she sat forward and scooted off her desk.

  Oh my god. That just happened. Never in her life had she thought she’d get busy in her office. She stood and let gravity deal with her skirt as she pulled the edges of her shirt together. Looking over her shoulder revealed a few papers hanging off her desk, her keyboard ready to crash to the ground, and the floor littered with stacks that she’d have to reorganize.

  It was a strangely satisfying view.

  Chris had tucked himself back into his pants and rearranged his shirt. She couldn’t meet his eyes as she smoothed her hands over the material that remained bunched over her thighs. She paused as he grasped an edge of her gaping shirt.

  “I ruined your top. Do you have something to cover yourself with?”

  She nodded. “I have a jacket.”

  He didn’t withdraw his hand but hooked his fingers under her chin and lifted. “We didn’t use protection.”

  She didn’t risk dislodging his touch to nod. “I’m still on the pill so I’m not worried. Are you?”

  He shook his head, his gaze level. “I just wish…” He sighed and released her to turn away. “I just wish we could’ve been more.”

  She had to lean back against her desk again, needing the support. He still wanted to be with her? Beyond their chemistry? “I’m not saying it’d be easy, but we could be.” Her voice was so small to her own ears.

  He swiveled back toward her. “What would you tell your parents about me?”

  The question caught her off guard, but it wasn’t the reason for her delay in answering. She was running the conversation through her head.

  “If you’re thinking about how you’d start with my work history before Arcadia, then that’s the wrong answer. And honestly, I don’t need the detail that I’m fucking the principal thrown in my face when I’m fighting the Richards to parent my own damn kid.”

  She reared back like he’d slapped her. Didn’t he realize the irony of what he’d just said—beyond the hurtful denigration of what they’d just done? “I guess we’re done here then.”

  “Natalia. I didn’t mean it like that.”

  She crossed her arms to help push her shirt together. She was bared enough around him. “No. You said what you meant. You’re hung up on what I’d tell my parents, while you want to keep us a secret from parts of your life, too. Not to mention the issue of me expelling your daughter and seeing a student’s dad.” And having sex in my office.

  “No one can claim you gave us preferential treatment,” he said bitterly.

  She winced. No. She had. The art project had derailed her intentions, but it’d highlighted another glaring need within the school. And showed she didn’t need to come down like Thor’s hammer with each infraction.

  “Goodbye, Natalia.”

  He strode out of the room, swinging the door shut behind him. She was enclosed back in her office. Alone—the common factor of all her identities.

  Chapter 14

  “What’s this about Jaycee going to public school?”

  Chris buried his head in the hand that wasn’t holding the phone to his ear. The one time Cierra calls Jaycee out of the blue and it’s during the school transition. She’d only been expelled two days and would start at the high school in their district tomorrow. “Cierra, that’s what I wanted to meet with you for lunch about.”

  “Mother is going to be pissed, Chris. You promised to send Jaycee to Preston. They paid for everything.”

  “Did Jaycee tell you what happened? She was with a boy, Cierra.”

  Silence descended on the other end while he explained each disciplinary action.

  “Jaycee mentioned getting in trouble, but didn’t mention any of that,” Cierra said tersely.

  “Honestly, I didn’t either because I don’t have custody and I’m afraid your parents are going to take her away. Can you help out with that?” He hadn’t meant to be blunt, but Cierra might’ve called her mother first to complain.

  Cierra sighed. “What are they supposed to think? She’s sneaking off with boys, changing her appearance, and getting kicked out of freaking school. Something has to change.”

  “Give her a chance at this new place. Preston wasn’t healthy for her.”

  “Both you and I graduated from there. It’s not the school.” That was straight up her mother talking. “And I’m getting married at the end of April. I can’t deal with this right now.”

  Did she miss the irony? She claimed the school wasn’t a factor in Jaycee’s unhappiness, then announced she couldn’t deal with Jaycee because of the wedding.

  “I’m her father. She’s been with me for almost five years. Things were fine until high school started.” Please see the sense in what I’m saying.

  “I’ll talk to Mother and Father, but they aren’t going to b
e happy. Without a quality education, they fear for her future.”

  “Lots of people who succeed in life don’t go to Preston Academy.”

  “Jaycee comes from a legacy.”

  He held back a snort. They weren’t Rockefellers or Vanderbilts. The empire the Richards wanted Jaycee to run was formidable in their mind only. They were good at what they did and they didn’t want to see what they had built die. He couldn’t fault them for that. But laying their company’s future on a teen wasn’t fair. Upsetting her home life to protect it was unreasonable at the least. So was expecting him to sit back while they decided her future and absorbed her into their company. A place she’d be miserable in as she told others how to diversify their portfolios and when they should invest in high-risk stocks.

  If that was the future she wanted, then he would support her. But the only thing Jaycee wanted to invest was her time into her art, and helping others with her art and making them happy like she was with Lynne. He seemed to be the only one who knew that about her.

  “Why don’t we see how she does in public school before we make any permanent decisions?”

  “I’m not keeping this a secret from them.”

  No. It’d ruin her wedding plans. She wanted to shove the problem onto her mommy and daddy and return to her ideal little world.

  “About the custody—”

  “Chris, now’s not the time. I’m. Getting. Married.”

  “Which makes it the perfect time.”

  “And do you have money for a lawyer?”

  Disappointment coursed through him. “Do we need to go that far?”

  “It’s a smart move, Chris. I can make all the changes I want, but you should have your own lawyer to read it over.”

  The lawyer topic had been her stalling tactic when he’d drained his savings to buy a house and open a comic book shop. And he’d gone along with it.

  “I have a lawyer.” He knew a lawyer. “Are you willing to meet to outline custody arrangements?”

  “So not the time. Seriously. Jaycee’s been expelled.”

  “Cierra, help me out here.” The desperation must’ve flowed through the phone. She’d called him once upon a time, begging the same way.