The Librarian Principle (26 page)

“
Liese—”

She cut him off with a wave of her hand, shushing him. When he began to question her, Liese held up a finger, signaling him to wait until she heard Blake leave the office.

“
I need to talk to you,” she hissed.

“
Is everything okay? You look pale.”

“
Yes. No. Can we go to your office?”

Ryder ushered her forward with a sweep of his hand. Liese peeked around the corner to make sure the office was empty but for the secretaries. Finding it all clear, she bee-lined it for Ryder’s office.

“
Liese, I’m glad you’re here.” Betty smiled tightly. She hesitated, speaking slowly as though she wasn’t quite sure she believed what she was saying. “Your boyfriend just left. He was headed toward the parking lot.” The word
boyfriend
came out a question.

Liese could practically feel Ryder bristle behind her. Clearly she should have called him last night instead of waiting until today to deal with the Sean bullshit. “He’s not my—”

Ryder cut her off. “Annaliese has a meeting with me right now. Her
boyfriend
will have to wait,” he said. “Isn’t that right?”

“
Of course, Mr. Whitehall.” She waited as he brushed past her and unlocked his door. He fumbled the key once before sliding it home, strain apparent in the set of his shoulders. She hoped Betty hadn’t noticed.

Ryder shut the door and locked it. “Based on what’s going on between us, I’d like to think Betty has been misinformed.”

“
He’s my
ex
-boyfriend,” Liese said as he crossed the room. She raised her hands in supplication, and he stopped just before he collided with her upturned palms.

“
Why would he show up here and tell my secretary he’s still dating you?”

“
I don’t think he’s gotten the message yet.” Liese chewed the inside of her lip. “I was going to tell you about him today; he’s been texting me. Harassing me.”

“
Harassing you? In what way?” Concern replaced suspicion.

“
He sent me sixteen texts between the time you picked me up and dropped me off last night.”

“
Sixteen?” His voice rose in shock.

It sounded way worse when repeated back to her.

“
And three voicemails,” she added meekly. “I haven’t checked my phone since midnight though, so there might be more. I’m sure my lack of response is the reason he showed up here.” Liese gave in to the impulse to touch Ryder, her fingers clutching the lapels of his jacket. He looked down at her hands, and she snatched them away, unsure if the contact was welcome.

“
Sit down.” It sounded like a command. Liese began to protest until he guided her to a chair. She hadn’t realized she’d been shaking until he folded her hands in his and encouraged her to take a breath.

Rolling his chair over so he could sit knee to knee with her, he gave her a few minutes to collect herself. Then he fell into administrator mode and asked questions. How long had this been going on? How long had they dated? Was he dangerous?

Until last night, Liese hadn’t thought Sean was dangerous. A whack job? Sure. In need of therapy? Suffering from an attachment disorder? Probably. Dangerous? What had once been an adamant
no
now changed to an uncertain
maybe
. Sean’s tracking her down and impromptu visit made her question her safety, especially since she lived alone.

“
The man sounds like he’s a few bricks short of a load,” Ryder said, his hands stilling as she told him about the effigy bears he’d given her when they first broke up. Liese nodded in agreement. “Marissa keeps telling me to get a restraining order.”

“
Have you?”

“
I hadn’t thought it necessary,” Liese admitted. “I’ll file one this afternoon on my way home.”

“
I’ll have the police come here instead,” Ryder said. “That way you don’t have to deal with them on your own.”

“
I don’t know, Ryder. Won’t that look bad?” Having a psycho ex-boyfriend pop into work looking for her was bad enough. Ryder’s reaction to the term
boyfriend
had seemed like another red flag in the not-so-covert-behavior department.

“
I can make it look like a school-related investigation,” he said, not taking no for an answer. “In the meantime, we should check to see if he’s still in the building.”

Liese didn’t argue. The more she thought about her current situation, the less comfortable she felt being alone. The evergreen trees lining her driveway offered privacy, but they also provided protection for would-be stalker exes. She wanted to ask Ryder if she could stay with him, but his sister was visiting this weekend. She couldn’t crash that party. She’d call Marissa later to see if she was available.

Ryder released her hands and rolled his chair over to his desk. He flipped on his monitor to check the school video cameras, focusing on the ones outside, specifically those leading to the parking lot and the main entrance.

She could see Blake just inside the doors, talking to a student. Ryder pulled up the feed overlooking the parking lot and zoomed in to focus on her car. There was Sean with his hands on his hips, glaring at the vehicle. He tried the driver’s side door, but Liese had locked it. Living in the city made it a habit. He leaned down, pressing his face to the glass.

“
What the hell is he doing?” Ryder asked, zooming in closer.

“
Looking at my grocery list on the front seat?”

“
And you’re telling me you only went out for a few months?”

“
He’s been trying to get back together with me for longer than we dated.” After a few more minutes of peering inside her car and searching for a way in, Sean finally gave up. He surveyed the parking lot, tapping his foot. Suddenly he headed toward the school again, veering right when he reached the stairs, which took him off the camera’s radar.

Ryder brought up another view of the school. Liese recognized it as the west entrance. Sean yanked on the door, but it remained closed. After second period, all doors except the main entrance were locked from the outside for the day. Liese hadn’t understood the reasons behind it, but now she was grateful. Sean went from entrance to entrance, trying them all unsuccessfully.

“
I should escort him from school property,” Ryder said.

“
Do you think that’s a good idea? I mean, he can’t get in, can he?” Liese gestured to the screen. “What if he followed us last night? He could have seen you when you picked me up or dropped me off. What if he recognizes you and says something incriminating?” Watching the feed, she could see the moment Sean decided not to push his luck. He stepped away from the building.

“
I’ll have a trespassing order filed against him when we meet with the police.”

“
Okay,” Liese said. “I’m sorry.”

“
You’ve no need to apologize. You can’t control other people’s actions.”

“
I should have told you before. I just didn’t want you to think . . . I don’t know.” That was untrue; she knew exactly why she hadn’t told Ryder about Sean.

Ryder pushed his chair back and pulled her into his lap, his hand moving slowly up and down her back. The warmth of his embrace made her feel safe, and she snuggled in closer, wanting to forget what had happened.

“
You’ve told me now, so we’ll deal with it. And you’ll have a restraining order filed against him before you leave today.”

“
Yes.”

“
Good girl.” The rough cadence of his voice struck a match inside her, igniting like napalm to burn away the fear and replace it with primal need.

She was on him before he could utter so much as a syllable; she wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled his mouth to hers. She sighed as his hands tangled in her hair and kept her mouth fused to his.

“
We shouldn’t be doing this right now,” he murmured.

“
Probably not,” Liese whispered and bit his bottom lip while fumbling with his belt. No amount of reasoning could justify what they were doing, or the fact that they were doing it in his office right after they’d had a conversation about her stalker ex-boyfriend.

“
Fuck,” he muttered as his hand moved lower to search for the hem of her skirt.

“
Funny. That’s exactly what I was thinking.” Liese grabbed his shirt and yanked it from his pants.

Frantic hands pulled at clothing, untucking and unbuttoning until Liese’s skirt was shoved up around her waist and Ryder’s erection left his boxers. She pushed him down into his chair and tried to straddle him, but it was too awkward. The driving need to touch each other made them both impatient. Ryder spun her around, and Liese groaned quietly as his fingers dipped low to find her ready. He kissed her lower back and pulled her down onto him.

They exhaled a soft moan in tandem as he slid in deep and stilled. Ryder pressed his face against the back of her neck, kissing her skin as he inhaled.

“
We really need to be quiet,” he said, his voice muffled by her hair.

Liese pressed the heel of her palm to her mouth. Lips parted, she bit down to stop herself from making audible noise. They stayed motionless for a few moments, breathing heavily together. 

Eventually he began to move. Liese closed her eyes, absorbed in the sensation. She dropped her hand from her mouth to grip the armrests as he lifted her—retreating and filling, again and again. He took control, moving her over him at an unyielding pace. The chair squeaked softly with each thrust, but their need for each other trumped the fear of getting caught.

“
I want you to come,” Ryder entreated in a desperate request.

His fingers traveled lightly between her breasts and over her stomach to graze the place where they were joined. Liese parted her legs farther, then dropped onto his erection, grinding in a slow rhythm.

He wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her against his chest. The hand between her thighs found the place in need of his attention, and Liese bit her tongue to stop her moan.

Her fingernails dug into the nape of his neck as she turned and brought his mouth to hers. A strangled sound left him when she sucked his tongue between her lips. Sensation washed over her, warmth flooding her body to drag her into the sweet undertow.

Ryder shuddered beneath her, peppering her lips and jaw with soft kisses.

“
I’m so glad the no-naked clause is over,” she said.

Ryder hummed and kissed her neck. “You don’t look naked to me.”

“
You sneaky—”

The phone rang, startling them out of their post-coital bliss. As the haze lifted, Liese became very aware that they’d just had sex in his office in the middle of a school day. She scrambled off his lap, and Ryder rolled forward, taking several deep breaths before slamming his thumb down on the speaker button.

“
Yes?” he barked.

Liese cringed at his tone as she hurried to fix her skirt and retrieve her panties from the floor beside his desk.

Betty’s voice filtered into the room. “Sorry to interrupt you, Mr. Whitehall. But you have a visitor.”

Liese didn’t want to imagine who could be waiting for Ryder in the front office. It had to be someone important to make him look so frantic.

He covered the mouthpiece and turned his head to the side to clear his throat. At the same time he furtively tucked himself back into his pants. “Pardon me?” He shot Liese a panicked glance as she shimmied her panties up her legs and smoothed her skirt. She surveyed his reaction, tempering her own unease based on his body language.