Drake grunted. “No man has the right to hit a woman.” His vehemence took Destiny by surprise.
He opened the backseat of the man’s car, lifted the deadweight, and placed him inside. Drake then helped the woman up. “I can drive you home.”
“You’ve done enough.” She sniffled. “I don’t drive, but I’ll call my sister to take me home.”
“You sure? It won’t be a problem.”
She shook her head. “No. I’ll be fine. Nothing’s broken. This will heal in a couple of days.” She clasped Drake’s arm. “Thank you.”
This woman must have been harmed before if she knew how long it took for her facial wounds to heal. Dear God, what kind of life had she led?
He retrieved a business card from his suit jacket and handed the victim his card. “If you need an attorney and can’t afford one, call me.”
She nodded and stuffed the card in her pocket. “Frank going to be okay?”
“He’ll have a headache when he wakes up.”
She ran a finger across her cut lip, looked both ways, then crossed the street.
Wow. Chalk one up for the good guys. “Do you know them?”
“No, but I’m betting she won’t press charges. Battered women often don’t.” His gaze remained on the woman until she ducked into the restaurant. He put his arm around Destiny’s waist.
She did a quick glance to his face. “I forgot to ask. Are you okay?”
He chuckled. “Never better. Now where were we?”
When he smiled, her heart sang. “Taking me home?” His touch bolstered her mood.
“Right. Home.” They walked the block to her car. “One other thing.” He turned her shoulders toward him.
“Yeah?”
He leaned closer. “When I tell you to stay where you are, I mean it. It was lucky I disabled him before he saw me. If he hadn’t been so focused on hurting that woman, we might have gotten into a fight. If that ever happens again, I want you as far away from the danger as possible.” He tilted up her chin. “Got it?”
She got it loud and clear. He wanted to protect her. It also meant there might be other dates. “Yes, sir!”
He smiled and tapped her nose. “Get in and drive carefully. I’ll be right behind you.”
Once his headlights turned on, she pulled out. When she arrived at her drive, she cut the engine and rolled down the window to wave. Since he’d seemed in a hurry to get home, she expected him to drive off. Instead, he got out and came toward her. Adrenaline woke her up. Was he going to kiss her good night, or had he forgotten to ask her something?
Wishing for the kiss-ending scenario, her body shot into full-blown lust mode, which happened to be mixed with some panic. She hadn’t had sex in so long, she wasn’t sure her body parts would even work. Wanting to be face-to-face and give the sex stuff a try, she scooted out of the car.
He trotted up to her. “I wanted to say how much I enjoyed our date tonight.” He waved a hand. “Other than the part where I had to break up the fight.”
In her opinion, his heroic deed might have been the best part, especially since the fight had ended positively. Seeing Drake shoot into action made her proud. “Me, too.”
Without any warning, he leaned over and kissed her. The force from his body pressed her against the car. His lips and nose only had a slight chill to them, but when he leaned his chest against hers, she swore she could sense the masculine heat rolling off him. Maybe he, too, had adrenaline rushing through his system, or leftover testosterone.
He cupped her face. She closed her eyes to memorize and immortalize their first kiss. Her knees almost buckled from the electric current igniting her body. Her hands magically found his shoulders, and his palms worked their way down to her rear. He tugged her close and opened his mouth to invite her in. Was this heaven or what? Suddenly, the air seemed to warm and her world narrowed to just the two of them. She closed her eyes and opened up to receive him. The moment his tongue touched hers, moisture dampened her panties. The intensity of the kiss turned her on something fierce. It was almost as if he, too, couldn’t get enough of her.
She wanted to slip her fingers under his coat then under his shirt to touch his body, but she didn’t dare. He was the type of man to need the control. He pulled back for a moment. One hand moved to cup her face again. His thumb brushed against her lips. Her heart raced.
“You want to come in?” Had she really said that?
“Yes.”
Really? Her mouth turned dry. Before he changed his mind, she hooked her arm around his elbow and walked with him to the front porch, trying not to pull him too fast.
She fumbled with the key, and he stilled her hand. “Let me.”
Oh, boy, was she a mess or what? He led her inside. Now what? Should she drag him to the bedroom, offer him something to drink, or just undress him in the foyer?
Fortunately, Drake seemed to know what to do. He threaded his fingers through her hair and kissed her again. Not only did he taste like fresh brewed hops, his skin smelled fresh. His lips fit perfectly to hers. With their mouths in total contact, he shrugged out of his coat. Her knees weakened at the implication. He wanted her. My God. She did the same, letting her coat drop to the ground, along with her purse.
“You taste good,” he said as he dragged kisses down her neck.
She never expected Drake to be so full of passion. His reserved attitude made him appear even distant, but she definitely could get used to this side of him. Boy, could she.
He slid his hands down her arms. “I want to see all of you.”
Electric sparks pricked every nerve and her throat nearly closed up. “Me, too. I mean I’d really like to see you.” Naked. God. She sounded like an idiot.
In one pull, he lifted her shirt over her head. Thank God she’d worn her lace push-up bra. She inhaled to make her breasts look fuller.
“Nice.” He smiled and she thought her heart would jump out of her chest.
His thumbs brushed each bra cup. Even through the thick material, tingles raced through her body. She wanted to strip him naked.
What’s stopping you?
Nothing.
She lifted his tie and unthreaded the knot. His hands undressing her got in the way of her taking off his tie. While she’d always dreamed of spending time stripping him before making slow, seductive love, the two years of wanting him had driven her need sky-high.
By the time she got his tie off, he’d lowered the straps on her bra and was sucking her nipples. Her pulse raced. His tongue made her panties wetter. God, all she wanted was his hard cock driving into her.
His cell rang. She stilled, praying he wouldn’t answer it.
His mouth left her nipple and he stepped back. Shit.
He held up a finger. “Hold that thought. Devereaux.”
Who would call this late at night? Feeling stupid standing in front of him with her wet tits exposed, she dragged the bra straps up to her shoulders.
His conversation ended and his jaw hardened. “I’m so sorry. There’s been a new development on the case.” He looked down to the side for a moment, as if he was hiding something. “I have to work on this. I’m going to trial tomorrow.”
“Sure. I understand.” No she didn’t. What kind of man turns down sex? A workaholic, that’s who. Or else he was running away from something.
He kissed her lightly. “A rain check?”
“Absolutely.” Her voice failed to hold any enthusiasm, her disappointment so intense.
He picked up his tie, stuffed it in his pocket, and shrugged on his coat. “Thanks again.”
When he walked out, the cold air rushed in, chilling not only her body but her soul. How bad was this? She was in her bra, horny as hell with no relief in sight. Maybe she’d have that drink now and see if she could locate the vibrator she’d not yet unpacked.
* * * *
Sunlight speared the window and pierced her closed eyes. Destiny rolled over, not ready to get out of bed. The phone rang. She cracked open a lid and checked the t
ime. It was too late for a call for her to substitute, and it sure as hell wasn’t Drake. He’d be at work. Since he had to be in court all day, he wouldn’t have time to talk on the phone. She reached across her bed and answered. “Hello.”
“Destiny, good morning. This is Walter Mitchell.”
Oh, shit. Her old principal was calling. “Hello, sir. Good to hear your voice.” She sat up and ran a hand through her hair. Why bother? She wasn’t on videophone, and it wasn’t as if Drake was next to her, naked and alluring.
“First off, welcome back.”
“Thanks. It’s good to be back.” Yada, yada. Since her arrival she’d run into dozens of old friends and had to deliver the same message about how much she enjoyed coming home. That much, at least, was true.
“The reason for my call is that Tanya Darden’s husband has been transferred out of state.” She was the school’s third grade teacher.
“I’m sorry to hear that.”
“What I’m wondering is if you’d be interested in taking her place?”
Her heart raced. Teaching third grade would be quite a change from first, but she needed a job. The biggest downer about leaving town in the first place had been giving up her job. “That sounds wonderful. When would she be moving?” She did a mental calculation how long her funds would last.
“Her husband has already relocated. Would Monday be too soon for you to get ready?”
Yikes! She’d have to get up to speed on the curriculum. She could do it. “No, sir. That would be great.”
“Tanya is more than willing to meet with you to go over her lesson plans.”
“I’ll give her a call.”
“Again, welcome back, Destiny.”
She held the phone in her hand long after he disconnected. She couldn’t believe her good luck. She’d worried about having to leave Pleasure in the first place, because when she returned there was no guarantee she’d find a job. A town with only one thousand residents didn’t have a lot of openings.
“Oh, shit.” Charley would be her student. That meant her possibly-going-somewhere relationship with Drake Devereaux would no longer be possible. When she’d taught his son two years ago, he’d acted interested but had never given her any kind of hint he was willing to go out with her. She figured his straitlaced morals prevented him from dating his son’s first grade teacher. Or was he mourning his wife’s death too much back then?
Somehow, she had to figure out a way to get him to break his moral code.
Chapter Two
These last two weeks of preparing for her class had been so hectic Destiny hadn’t dwelled on the loss of Drake Devereaux, the man she’d dreamed of for over two years. Yes, she was disappointed the so-called rain check never materialized, but that was okay. He was busy with his trial, and she needed to concentrate on staying above water.
Sure, she’d relived the almost-sex they’d had, but she had to put her issues aside and concentrate on her job. Her one hope was that she didn’t run into him at school. Even though Drake Devereaux was focused on his job, he always made time for his son. With Christmas break coming up, she didn’t anticipate seeing him anytime soon. For the time being, that would be a good thing. Her emotions were still too raw at the sort-of rejection.
Before Tanya moved, the former third grade teacher had been wonderful about helping to come up with lesson plans for the remainder of the semester. If Destiny could just make it to the holidays, she’d feel good about the transition from first grade teacher to third.
The kids were in the lunchroom, and she was on her way to the faculty room to get some coffee when the second grade teacher rushed up to her. “Are you ready for the children’s Christmas party tonight?”
Destiny laughed. “Ready? No. Excited to pass out gifts to all the kids? Absolutely.” Each class had to make a present that would be given to another class. “What did your kids make?”
“We created hand puppets out of socks. They came out so cute. The kids had a little trouble sewing on the buttons, but they had so much fun gluing on different-colored hair. What did you have them do?”
“Tanya had already started the kids working on Christmas tree ornaments. We got some Styrofoam, cut out stars and candy cane shapes, and painted them. Some look so good, I’d like to have one for my tree.” Assuming she had time to put one up.
“Have you picked up your elf costume yet?”
She groaned. Destiny hadn’t been excited about prancing around in green tights and wearing a funky, pointy hat, but it was what she had to wear if she wanted to play Santa’s helper. She could only hope Drake wouldn’t be there. Looking foolish wouldn’t help her get him into bed. “I picked up the costume two days ago.” If she’d had time, she would have made the outfit, and rest assured, it wouldn’t have had a top that barely covered her butt.
“I heard Kurt Devereaux volunteered to take pictures of the kids sitting on Santa’s lap. He’s going to get the prints developed and give a photo to each family. Isn’t that something?” Her gaze traveled upward as if she were dreaming of sitting on Kurt’s lap.
Truth be told, she had often wondered what it would be like to go out with him. He was great with kids and had a fun-loving spirit about him. Having a good time always seemed to top his list of things to do. When he moved, she’d miss him. Be honest. The depression would hit her hard.
“That’s very generous of him.”
“You can say that again. Well, I’ll let you go. I’m on the decorating committee. Wait until you see the gym. The parent volunteers have done an amazing job, but there’s a ton of last-minute stuff to do.”
“I bet. Bye.”
Destiny got her coffee and headed back to the lunchroom. It wasn’t her day to chaperone the kids, but she enjoyed watching them interact.
Once school ended, she went home to get ready for the big event. The party didn’t start until six to give parents time to get home and feed the kids, but she had other chores she needed to attend to.
After making several adjustments to her costume, she twirled in front of the mirror. The green elf hat complemented her shoulder-length red hair, but she still looked dumb. The top came to the middle of her hips and the green elf boots were not for walking in the snow. She hoped the weather cooperated and she didn’t have to march through slush.
Even though this was just a school affair, she put on extra makeup as Kurt would be there. A few times he’d shown up for a parent meeting when Drake couldn’t make it. He seemed interested in asking her out but never did. She told herself Drake probably forbade it.
She wondered if Drake would come tonight. Despite it being a work night, he might make the time. What parent would want to miss seeing his son experience such joy? Unless he was going head-to-head with some bad guy, taking him down with a swipe of a leg or the heel of his hand, he’d probably do his best to make an appearance.
Enough dreaming. Time to go. She pulled on her coat, gathered the extra toys she’d bought for the kids, and headed over to Phillips Elementary. When she got there, the parking lot was packed. Yay! The kids were going to have so much fun, and if Santa showed up, this would be a night to remember. Two years ago, Santa had gotten drunk and missed the entire affair. The principal stepped in to take his place, but once the kids recognized the small, skinny man, their joy had evaporated.
She rushed inside to get out of the cold. Wow. The parent volunteers, along with some of the teachers, had gone all out. There were snowflakes dangling from the rafters and paper candy canes taped all around the walls. The lights were slightly dimmed, accentuating the blinking lights rimming the stage. Off to the side was a large Christmas tree with way more presents than she thought possible. Most were the ones the students made. She could tell which was which since they were all wrapped in newspaper. About fifty more were wrapped in pretty Christmas paper. Where had they come from? Maybe the real Santa had made a visit. She placed her few gifts under the tree and looked around.
A seat for Santa had been made from wooden
crates and was covered in red velvet. She spotted Kurt immediately. He was taking photos of the empty throne. A few kids were waiting behind a roped-off area near where Santa would greet them. Wanting to see if Kurt needed help, she waltzed over.
“Hi.” She wasn’t sure how he would receive her, but she certainly didn’t expect the long, hot once-over. Nor did she expect him to pick her up and swing her around.
“Mr. Devereaux!” She laughed at his antics. What would the kids say if they saw her?
He tapped the top of her hat. “Hello to you. I love your elf outfit, Ms. Jones. You look adorable.”
She couldn’t remember the last time she’d been called that endearment. She wasn’t particularly short at five foot five, and even though she was slim, being twenty-seven years old should have taken her out of the adorable stage.
“Your summer tan suits you well. In fact, you look more relaxed than ever.”
Working alongside her sister in Florida had been nice. “Thanks. Can I help with anything?”
“Well, I’m just taking a few shots to get the metering right, but at the strike of six, the hordes will be allowed to tell Santa their secret wishes.” He grinned then stepped back. “You care to be my model? I need to make sure the lighting is right for skin tones. The red flashing lights over there aren’t helping.”
She loved the thought of posing. “Sure. Where do you want me?”
Instead of just pointing to the throne, he led her over to the area. “Hop on up.”
Once she was seated, he fussed with her outfit. She wasn’t prepared for the effect his hands had on her body. Thrills tripped up her arms. What was wrong with her? Yes, she adored both him and his brother, but should she get the same thrill when each man touched her? Apparently so.
“This hat needs to be tilted down a bit.” He lifted her chin with his forefinger and at least pretended to study her face. “You bring a comb?”
She looked a mess? “No.”
“Never mind. Elves shouldn’t be perfect. After all, they’ve flown in on an open sleigh for hours.”
She didn’t look that bad, but when she saw the twinkle in his eye, she knew he was only kidding. He tugged down her tunic and brushed off what she believed was imaginary lint. His fingers seemed to sear her skin, despite there being no skin-to-skin contact.
Monroe, Melody S. - Destiny's Desire [Pleasure, Montana 3] (Siren Publishing Ménage Everlasting) Page 2
