The Librarian Principle (40 page)

A blast of frigid air blew through the front door. Ryder had her trapped against the wall with his body, his cock still firmly seated inside her, but all the fire between them had snuffed out. His eyes bugged wide. Liese would have laughed if she wasn’t so horrified.

She unhooked one leg from around Ryder’s waist and kicked at the door with her foot. “Oh my God! Don’t you guys ever knock?” Her attempt to seek cover was futile; from where her mother stood, she had a stellar view of Ryder’s ass.

Her mother processed the scene with a clinical eye and backed out onto the porch. “I think we should grab our bags from the car. Lee-lee’s not quite ready for company.”

“I thought I heard a crash. Is everything okay?” Liese heard her father ask, his voice overly loud. His fingers curled around the edge of the door to prevent her mother from closing it fully.

“Everything’s fine, Marshall. She just needs a minute,” her mother replied evenly, humor replaced with a subtle warning.

“Are you sure, Sandy—”

“She has
company
.”

The emphasis did not go unnoticed. “Oh. Oh!” The door closed, muffling the rest of his response.

“You can put me down now,” Liese said, trying to remain calm despite the bubble of panic-stricken laughter threatening to break free.

Ryder lowered her to the floor. She found her footing but held onto his shoulders to steady herself.

He used the wall as support, barring her in with his arms. “Please tell me those aren’t your parents.”

“Those aren’t my parents,” Liese responded automatically.

“Those are your parents.” He groaned.

“Yes, they are. I thought they weren’t going to be here until tomorrow.”

“Sweet Christ. Your mother just saw my ass.” Ryder grabbed his discarded boxers from the floor and yanked them on.

“Don’t worry, you have a great ass.”

Ryder glared at her. “I don’t see how this is funny. What the hell kind of impression am I going to make now? We were having sex in your front hallway,” he said as he hastily buttoned his shirt. “I broke your damn table.”

Liese looked at the decimated furniture. The calmer she remained, the less likely she would be to succumb to hysteria. “They’ll get over it, and you promised to buy me a new one, so it’s not really an issue, now, is it?”

Ryder looked at her as if she’d gone crazy. “That’s—it’s—that’s not the point! The table is not the point. Fathers don’t want to know their daughters have sex with their boyfriends.” He cringed in disgust. “Even if they know it’s happening, they sure as hell don’t want to witness it firsthand, and your parents just walked in on some damn unconventional sex.” Ryder jabbed his leg into his pants and nearly toppled over in his rush to re-dress.

“My mother’s a sex therapist,” Liese reminded him. “Wall sex is nothing compared to some of the whack-jobs she deals with.” She pulled her blouse on and shimmied her way back into her ruined skirt. “At least they didn’t come in when you were spanking me with your belt.”

Ryder blinked at her.

“What? It’s true; it could’ve been worse.”

“And what about your father? How am I supposed to introduce myself after this?”

“Meh. He’ll get over it. It’s not like
he
caught an eyeful of your ass.”

“Why are you being so, so lackadaisical about this?” he whisper-shouted, hands flailing. He seemed on the verge of a full-blown panic attack.

“Ryder,” Liese took his face in her hands. “Please calm the fuck down. I love you. You love me. My parents caught us having sex. Is it unfortunate? Sure. Is it embarrassing as hell? Definitely. Is it the end of the world?” She waited for a reply. When she didn’t get one, she moved his head from side to side. “The answer to that is no, if you were wondering.”

Ryder’s hand covered one of hers, and he kept his eyes on her as he kissed her palm. “I would have preferred to meet them on better, more dignified terms.”

“You mean fully clothed, not smelling of sex, and no broken furniture in sight?”

“You’re not helping my anxiety level.”

“I’m sorry. They’re going to love you. I do.”

He kissed her. “I’d like to hear you say that again.”

“I’m sorry.”

“No, the other part.”

“My parents are going to love you?” Liese smiled at his put-out expression. “Oh. I love you.”

“Me too.” He kissed her again before he pulled away. “I have one more question.”

“Shoot.”

“Do your parents know about me?”

Liese hesitated, uncertain whether the truth would hurt his feelings. “No. I didn’t think it would be a good idea. Do yours?”

“I don’t tell Giselle and Donovan anything. They’re assholes, remember?”

“Right, of course. How could I forget?” Liese smoothed her rumpled blouse, somewhat relieved they’d both been cautious. “I suppose we should avoid telling them I’m your subordinate.”

“That might be prudent for the time being.”

The sound of footfalls on the porch steps prevented further discussion. “Are you decent now?” Her father’s voice carried through the door, and he knocked harder than necessary.

Liese took in Ryder’s disheveled appearance and barely suppressed a cringe. “One second,” she called as she adjusted Ryder’s shirt and tried to tame his hair with little success. She could hear her dad grumbling on the other side. “You ready?” she asked Ryder as she prepared to open the door.

Ryder stepped forward silently to stand beside her, his face a shade of red appropriate for the Christmas season. They were a united front of embarrassment as he twined his fingers with hers.

Liese opened the door. Her parents stood on the porch: her father laden with bags and suitcases while her mother carried her purse and a magnum of wine. Her father looked annoyed; her mother looked ecstatic.

“Lee-lee!”

Liese found herself folded into her mother’s embrace. Her father sighed and stayed put. Releasing her, her mother inspected Ryder with curiosity. “And you must be Lee-lee’s boyfriend. It’s so very lovely to meet you. I’m Sandy, and this is Marshall.” She motioned to Liese’s father, who still hadn’t moved. Ryder extended his hand but Sandy ignored it and hugged him.

When her mother finished gushing over Ryder, she moved out of the way to allow Liese’s father to come inside. He had to turn sideways to get through the door. He dropped the bags with a grunt and lifted Liese off the ground in a bear hug. He thumped her on the back as he kissed the top of her head. “Good to see you, Liesie.” Keeping one arm around her shoulder, he turned to Ryder and extended a meaty palm.

Ryder cleared his throat and took the offered hand. “Ryder Whitehall, sir.”

Her father raised one bushy eyebrow and scoffed. “It’s Marshall, son, not sir.”

“Yes, sir, I mean Marshall. It’s nice to meet you, sir.”

Marshall laughed and dropped his arm from Liese’s shoulder only to put it around Ryder’s. While they were the same height, Liese’s father was almost twice as broad. “I think I like this one.” He directed the comment over his shoulder to Liese, as he was already propelling Ryder down the hallway. “I think you need a beer, son. Or maybe you’re more of a scotch man.”

“Scotch sounds good,” Ryder agreed, leaving Liese and her mother in the foyer with the suitcases, presents, and broken table.

The embarrassment dissipated as drinks were poured and then refilled. Once Ryder relaxed, he was himself: charismatic, charming, and articulate. And her parents seemed to love him after they got past their initial introduction. When her mother invariably asked how they’d met, Ryder told them he also worked at FAHL, neglecting to mention he was the principal. Liese would drop that bomb later, when there were several states separating them.

Her dad looked suspicious. He was a snooper by nature. Considering his past profession, she wouldn’t have put it past him to have done a search on her school. Ryder’s name was uncommon and definitely memorable, but if her dad put two and two together, he didn’t mention it.

The days that followed were a whirlwind of entertaining her parents, which meant she didn’t have much time to spend with Ryder. Liese pushed aside her disappointment and tried to enjoy the time with her family. This time next year, things would be different. She and Ryder wouldn’t be hiding their relationship, and she’d have the pleasure of meeting his whacked-out family just as he’d met hers. Well, hopefully not exactly the way he’d met hers.

Ryder stopped by early on Christmas Eve, unable to make dinner the following evening as he had his own family gathering to attend. She took solace in his lack of enthusiasm at spending time away from her. He assured her he would try to duck out early so he could make it back for dessert.

Later that same evening, Liese walked a reluctant Ryder to the door. “When do I get to be alone with you?” he asked.

“My mom gave me the impression they’re leaving in two days. But you never know with my parents. I see them so rarely, I don’t want to push them out the door.”

Ryder groaned. “That’s too long. Couldn’t you sneak out one night? Come to my house? You must be tired of sleeping on that pullout couch.”

Liese slipped her hands under his coat and ran them up his back. “It’s not that bad. In a couple of days you’ll have me all to yourself for the rest of the holidays.”

“I plan to capitalize on that time, you know.”

“I’m banking on it. I already have my bag packed.” Three-quarters of her suitcase contained lingerie. She couldn’t wait to model it all for him, and have him remove it piece by piece.

“Why bother packing a bag? I plan to have you naked and chained to my bed.”

“Promises, promises—” Standing in the front hallway, she was reminded of the last time they’d been together, and what he had done to her before they were interrupted.

“I should go,” Ryder said when she pressed her body tighter to his. She could feel his growing problem against her stomach.

“You should,” Liese said as they separated, staring at his crotch with longing.

He planted a chaste kiss on her cheek and made a swift departure.

Marissa called the following day, all Christmas cheer, to announce she would be in Fullerton later in the afternoon for dinner. Liese had extended the invitation to Blake as well, who had obviously been part of Marissa’s travel plan.

A text came in from Ryder as the five of them were sitting down to eat, but the message was an autocorrected jumble of words she couldn’t decipher. Ten minutes later she found out exactly what he’d been trying to tell her when he showed up at her door with Tiffany in tow. His strained smile and Tiffany’s mascara-runny eyes told her Christmas dinner at the Whitehall residence had not been a joyous occasion.

“Tiffany! I’m so glad Ryder brought you!” Liese exclaimed as she put an arm around the girl’s shoulder and ushered her inside, as if she’d expected them all along. She threw Ryder a questioning look, but he shook his head.

“Thanks.” Tiffany gave her a halfhearted smile and sniffed. “Can I use your bathroom?”

“Sure thing. It’s just there.” Liese pointed down the hall. “What happened?” she asked Ryder once Tiffany was out of earshot.

“Our parents.”

“Care to elaborate?” Liese eyed him skeptically.

“We were discussing potential colleges for Tiffany, and there were some issues with her choices. My own were cited in my parents’ arguments. Tiffany came to my defense. It didn’t go over well for her.”