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"I'm done here, too." He rounded his desk, tossed some papers into a leather briefcase, and snapped it shut. "I'll walk out with you."
Her point had been to get far away from this man who provoked way too many unexplained feelings within her. However, saying, "I'd rather you didn't" was too rude, so she waited for him to join her at the back of the class, and together they headed out of the building, a surprisingly comfortable silence settling between them.
Walking side by side as they passed through the campus to the parking lot, she was acutely aware of just how tall he was, how masculine. The cool, crisp afternoon breeze ruffling through her long, unbound auburn curls also tousled Daniel's short honey-blond hair, giving him a mussed, unkempt look she found much too appealing.
There were only a few cars left in the lot, and she started toward her ten-year-old Honda Accord. The vehicle was old and used, but it was completely paid for and ran like a dream, and that's all she cared about. When Daniel continued to follow her, she cast him a sidelong glance filled with amusement. Undoubtedly, he'd been raised a gentleman, and that included walking a woman to her vehicle. "I think I can make it to my car on my own from here."
"Actually, my car is right over there," he said, and pointed to a vehicle that was parked just beyond hers—a sporty Volvo convertible coupe that most people wouldn't be able to afford on a teacher's salary. "And, there's something I wanted to ask you."
Coming to a stop on the driver's side of her car, she dug her keys from her purse, then met his gaze and allowed a derisive smile to curve her lips. "Another personal question?" She unlocked the door and opened it, just in case she needed a quick escape from him and what was beginning to feel like a relentless interrogation.
He thought for a moment, then replied. "Yeah, I guess it would be."
After tossing her purse into the passenger seat, she folded her arms across her chest and braced herself for another curious inquiry about her life, her past, or some other quest for private answers. "What would you like to know?"
His gaze drifted briefly to the cleavage she'd unintentionally created, then came back to her face. "Would you like to go out sometime?"
His question caught her completely off guard. That was the last thing she'd expected him to ask, and she wasn't even sure she'd heard him right. After all, checking out her breasts and flirting with her were one thing, but it just didn't make sense that someone so conservative would want to interact socially with her. "Excuse me?"
He casually braced a hand on the top of her car, subtly caging her in between the vehicle door and his body. "I asked you if you would you like to go out on a date."
Okay, so she had heard him correctly, and somehow she found the fortitude to laugh off his absurd question. "You're kidding, right?"
"No, I'm not joking." In fact, he appeared downright serious.
She shook her head, causing her hair to swirl wildly over her shoulders. "I don't think so."
His gaze remained persistent. "Why not?"
Wanting to let him down easy, she came up with the most logical excuse without stating the obvious—that their worlds just didn't mesh. "Well, for one thing, I'm sure my daughter wouldn't appreciate my dating her math teacher."
"Actually, it's not Cassie's choice to make."
He was right. But here was the best reason of all why going out with Daniel Barnett just wasn't a good idea: "You're so not my type."
He shifted on his feet, the movement bringing him closer somehow. Certainly within touching distance. "Now how would you know that?" he asked in a soft, sexy drawl that was equivalent to a sensual caress along her spine.
She ignored the tingling sensation making her nipples tighten and pucker. "A woman just knows these things."
"What if you're wrong?" he countered, all charm and temptation rolled into an irresistible package she was certain many woman found hard to ignore.
Herself included, it seemed.
"I'm not wrong," she insisted, then inhaled a deep breath. But instead of the cool, fresh air she'd expected to fill her senses, she drew in the scent of him, A heady combination of heat and sandalwood, and something else that made her stomach clench with shameless desire for a man who never should have affected her so physically.
"Look," she tried, this time more firmly, "I'm flattered you asked, but it just wouldn't work between us."
Amusement tipped up the corner of his mouth. "It's just a date, Sydney. I'm not asking you to marry me."
The wry note to his voice and the mirth dancing in his gaze prompted an indulgent smile from her. "That's a good thing, because then I'd have to turn you down twice."
He paused for a long moment, and just when Sydney thought she'd finally convinced him she wasn't interested, he managed to throw her another curveball. Reaching out, he caught a long strand of her hair and slowly, gently wound it around his long index finger, ensnaring her in more ways than one. The gesture struck her as oddly tender, if not a little possessive, especially when his fingers grazed the side of her neck. She shivered and damned her lack of willpower, and that gnawing need making itself known deep inside her soul.
"Are you always so tough with men?" he asked, his tone low and caring.
She tried to pull back, but he still had her hair between his fingers. "No, not all men." With some of them she played easy to get, usually to satisfy her own purposes. But her reasons for being tough with Daniel had more to do with him being a genuinely nice guy—and her being a very bad girl.
"Then why me, Sydney?"
God, even the way he said her name, so soft and reverent, made her want to hear it on his lips in the throes of passion. And that thought was enough to force her to take drastic actions with him.
"Why you?" Deliberately, she stepped closer to him and ran her finger down the front of his dress tie while giving him an upswept glance infused with a whole lot of unabashed confidence and reckless aggression. The kind that considerate, conservative guys found too bold and brazen for their tastes. "Because I eat stuffed shirts like you for breakfast."
He raised a brow, then burst out laughing. Once he got all those deep, good-natured chuckles out of his system, he regarded her with a lopsided grin. "I don't know what amuses me more, the fact that you think I'm a stuffed shirt, or that you'd eat me for breakfast." His eyes darkened with something wicked and playful. "I have to admit that would definitely be a first for me, but I'm willing to let you try your best."
Did nothing dissuade this man? She dropped her arms to her sides and sighed. "Daniel… you're a really nice guy, and—"
"Ahhh," he interrupted, the word laced with a wealth of understanding. "Too nice for you!"
Now he was getting it. Finally. "Trust me. I'm doing you a huge favor by telling you no."
"I'm a big boy, Syd," he replied confidently. "I think I can handle a night out with you."
She stared into his compelling caramel-colored eyes and realized that Daniel was no different from any other guy and it was all about getting laid. It had to be, because there just was no other explanation for his determination, despite her rejection.
Well, two could play that game. It had been months since she'd gotten laid, and there was something about Daniel Barnett that made her wonder what he was like in bed. There was a definite attraction between them, so it wasn't as though she were settling, or even taking advantage of him.
What the hell, she decided. He thought he knew what he was getting into, that he could handle her. It would be interesting to see if that was true.
"Fine," she said, giving in for the sake of enjoying a night of mutual pleasure with him. "I'll go out with you, but it will have to be next weekend so I can get someone at the bar to cover one of my late night shifts."
"That works for me." The grin that appeared was pure male satisfaction. "Next weekend it is."
Having gotten what he wanted, he slipped on a pair of sunglasses and walked away toward his sporty Volvo, his stride self-assured and cocky, even. She watched him go, appreciating the width of his shoulders and his firm backside before she slid into her car. She closed the door and started the engine, unable to remember the last time, if ever, that a man had been able to wrap her around his finger, as Daniel just had.
The feeling was disturbing… and very exciting.
Chapter Six
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IT wasn't often that Lora bought new clothes for herself, but she hadn't been able to resist buying a new top for her first real date with Joel. Besides, the shirt had been on sale for half price, so it had been much easier to justify the purchase, because she'd gotten such a great deal.
The long-sleeved, plum-colored, thermal ribbed top was perfect to ward off the chill of the late October weather, and the low, rounded neckline and row of small silver snaps securing the front would no doubt stir Joel's imagination, and hopefully a good amount of lust. She'd paired the top with her favorite low-rise jeans, which did great things for her butt, and a comfortable pair of heeled boots, since they'd be taking Joel's motorcycle. The overall look was simple, but sexy and alluring at the same time—which was exactly the result she'd wanted to achieve.
After a girl-to-girl talk with Sydney earlier that afternoon and a much-needed boost of confidence from her friend, Lora had decided that tonight she was going to indulge wholeheartedly in the mutual attraction simmering between her and Joel, and follow wherever it might lead. She wanted to discover just how hot and intense all that sexual chemistry was, and just how far it would take them.
She fluffed her unbound hair with her fingers one last time, then exited the bathroom into her bedroom. Cassie was still where Lora had left her five minutes before—laying on her stomach on the queen-sized bed, thumbing through one of the month-old fashion magazines Lora had brought home for the teen from the hotel spa. Every month when the new magazine subscriptions arrived for the reception area, Lora collected the expired periodicals for Cass before they were thrown away.
The young girl had dropped by half an hour earlier because she wanted to hang out before heading back to her place for the night, but Lora suspected there was something else distracting Cassie. Since arriving, she'd been quiet and subdued, and Lora was fairly certain that the talk Cassie had with her mother the previous night about her math grades was weighing heavily on her mind. As a result of Sydney's meeting with Daniel Barnett, she'd restricted Cass's weekend and weeknight activities until her grades improved, and while Lora thought her friend's limitations were a bit extreme, Sydney had been adamant about her decision.
"So, what do you think, Cass?" Lora asked in an attempt to draw the young girl out of her funky mood. "Does this outfit look okay for a casual date?"
"How would I know?" Cassie replied sullenly, and without glancing up from her glossy fashion magazine. "I've never been on a date before."
"But you will," Lora assured her. "Someday."
When she didn't get a response, Lora sat down on the bed next to Cass and gently smoothed a hand over her soft, auburn curls. She'd always been able to talk to Cassie and reason with her in a way that Sydney couldn't grasp. Sydney was the strict one, the disciplinarian, and Lora was the softer, gentler voice of understanding. It was a good balance for Cassie, and she at least trusted Lora enough to open up to her, rather than keeping everything buried inside where it could build into the kind of resentment that drove a kid to do drugs or to hanging out with the wrong crowd in an attempt to rebel against a parent's rigid rules.
Flipping the last page in the magazine, Cassie tossed it aside with a sigh and finally looked up at Lora, her expression filled with teen angst and frustration. "Do you really think my mother will let a boy get close enough to ask me out?"
The sarcastic tone of Cassie's voice had Lora biting the inside of her cheek to keep from laughing. Cassie didn't need her amusement, but rather her support and assurance, and Lora did her best to provide it. "Cass, hon, you're only fifteen. You're young and have plenty of time to date boys."
An indelicate snort escaped the younger girl, and she flopped dramatically onto her back and stared up at the ceiling fan above the bed. The position accentuated Cassie's figure, especially the round firmness of her breasts that most grown women would kill to possess. And those very adult curves were a big reason why Sydney felt the need to shelter her teenage daughter.
"Most of the girls in my classes already have boyfriends. I'm probably the only one who's never been kissed." She slung her arm over her eyes as if the thought traumatized her. "God, if my mother had her way, I'd die a virgin!"
A truer statement had never been spoken, but Lora wasn't about to add to Cassie's anguish by admitting that out loud. "Losing your virginity isn't all that it's cracked up to be, you know."
Cassie lowered her arm, her pretty hazel eyes brimming with a young girl's hopes and wishes. "I'm not looking to lose my virginity," she said adamantly. Then her voice turned soft and forlorn, "I just want to be able to say yes if a guy asks me out on a date. Is that so much to ask?"
No, it wasn't a whole lot to ask for at all, but unfortunately Lora wasn't the one who made those kinds of decisions in Cassie's life. All she could do was talk to Sydney and fight the good fight on Cassie's behalf. Maybe she could suggest a group date with friends, which would be far safer and not nearly as intimate as a single date.