He shifted to prop one shoulder against the doorframe, breaking her hypnosis. “Sorry. I figured I could get in and out before you woke up."
Abby looked up at him automatically when he spoke, but it took several moments for his comment to sink in.
A slow, knowing grin curled his lips as if to say she could look as long as she liked. She thought she could very happily have studied him for the rest of the day, at least, but she wasn't terribly comfortable about doing it when he was completely aware that she was. She felt her face heat. “No problem,” she said a little hoarsely. “If you're done...?"
He nodded, stepping out of the way. Clutching her robe a little frantically, she moved past him and into the bathroom.
My god! The man was beautiful! She'd thought he was
before
she saw that body, but ... my god!
A shiver skated through her. It was dismaying to discover she was aroused enough that she noticed her own hands touching her as she bathed. She was almost tempted to masturbate—almost. She discarded the idea when she realized that there was a possibility that Cameron, or Jerico, might hear her. Aside from that, masturbation didn't have a huge appeal at any time. It held even less appeal with the caliber of men she had in the house.
She supposed it said an awful lot for the state of her libido that it had even occurred to her. It had been a hell of a lot longer since she'd thought about pleasuring herself than it had been since she'd considered she needed a man. God! It was like starving in the middle of a five-star restaurant!
Apparently having decided even if she did know her way to the school and back that it wasn't safe for her to travel alone, Seth took her to work as he had the day before. She was mildly irritated, but she'd mostly gotten used to being on a chain—not something she'd grown accustomed to easily. She was just relieved it was Seth who took her. Cameron and Adrian had gotten her so worked up she thought she would've been a nervous wreck by the time they'd reached the school.
Not that Seth hadn't! But as weak kneed as she'd been after that almost kiss, it hadn't been enough to throw her completely for a loop. It made her uneasy that he'd had such a powerful affect on her when he obviously hadn't even meant to kiss her, but since he hadn't and didn't appear eager to, or for anything else, it was a lot easier to behave like a normal human being around him instead of a nymphomaniac.
He surprised her when he got out and walked her in. She glanced at him curiously, but she didn't comment, deciding he must have business in the school. It didn't even occur to her when he walked her to her class that he had something else in mind entirely.
The children looked as if they'd spied Santa Claus when he entered the room with her, except that they didn't display any of the shyness she'd noticed children were prone to when faced with the great toy god. They leapt out of their seats and swarmed him, all of them trying to talk at once. It didn't seem to surprise or disturb him. He smiled at the children easily, patting first one and then another, ruffling their hair affectionately.
Stunned, Abby retreated to a short distance to observe.
When they'd finished with their greetings and began to pelt him with questions as to why he'd come to visit, he sobered, fixing them with a stern look. “Ms. Winthrope tells me you've all been behaving badly."
Their eyes instantly rounded with trepidation. They glanced at Abby and then looked at Seth again uneasily, but she noticed not one of them denied the charge.
"We wuz just ‘cited to have a new teacher,” one the children, a boy named Michael, finally piped up.
"Yeah! She's pretty!” Sean agreed.
"And nice!” Pamela added.
"You like Ms. Winthrope?” Seth asked.
There was a murmur of agreement from the children all trying to talk at once.
"She's much nicer than Ms. Mortimer,” Suzy put in. “Ms. Mortimer was an old grouch."
"Why would you want to get her in trouble, then?"
They went back to staring at him with round eyes and slack jaws.
"I heard the principal had to come in twice yesterday because you were all misbehaving."
"Four times,” the class informant volunteered.
Seth sent Abby a look. “I guess Ms. Winthrope was trying to cover for you so I wouldn't know just how badly you all behaved."
Abby grimaced and shrugged.
He returned his attention to the children, scanning them with a stern look. “I'm not going to have to come down here and talk to you again about behaving for Ms. Wintrope, am I?"
"No, sir,” the children all murmured in a chorus.
The class informant, Stephanie, shuffled a little closer and whispered in a completely audible voice. “Is she your mate,
Pater
?"
"Is she gonna be,
Pater
?” Billie asked when Seth merely frowned at the first child.
"'O course not!” Sean said. “She's not a..."
Whatever he'd been about to say, Seth's look cut him off mid-sentence. Lifting his head, Seth sent her a look that stirred warmth in her belly and made her heart rate leap upward. “I don't know. I haven't convinced her yet."
Straightening abruptly, he sent the children scurrying back to their seats and strode purposefully toward her. Abby's eyes widened at the look of intent on his face, but she couldn't have fled it the thought had even occurred to her. She went weak all over the minute he pinned her with his gaze. Reaching her, he grasped her shoulders and dragged her upward on her tiptoes, planting his mouth solidly over hers and sending a shockwave through her. The kiss fell somewhere between chaste and carnal. There was a little too much tongue action to consider it completely chaste. It was too brief to cause total annihilation, but r-rated enough to turn her insides to jelly. She was pretty sure when he set her away from him that her eyeballs were rolling around in her head independently. Fortunately, she was near the desk and managed to plant her butt on the edge before she could fall on her ass.
"What do you think, Ms. Wintrope? Any chance of it?” he murmured huskily.
Any chance of what, Abby wondered, thoroughly rattled? She became aware, though, that the kiss had stirred the class up. Most of them were giggling. Her face heated.
"I think that might've been a little risqué for my class,” she murmured uncomfortably.
Seth studied her a moment, his lips twitching faintly with amusement, his green eyes warm with promise. He stepped closer, leaning down to speak near her ear. “If you think that was risqué, Baby, I'm thinkin’ the odds are in my favor."
She gaped at him like one of the five year olds when he straightened away from her. He tapped her chin upward with a thick index finger and turned to look at the class, planting his hands on his hips.
"What do we do when we want to speak?"
"Raise our hands!” the class chorused angelically.
"And...?"
"Wait until Ms. Winthrope says we can talk."
"Good! And when are we in our seats?"
"All the time unless Ms. Winthrope says we can get up!"
"And when Ms. Winthrope tells us to get in line?"
"We get in line—no runnin’ or shovin'!"
"Or?"
"Talking!"
He surveyed them with a look of satisfaction. Turning, he winked at Abby and then strode from the room.
Abby stared at the door after he'd left, too bemused for several moments to recall where she was. When it finally dawned her that the class was quiet, she turned to look at them. Most of them grinned at her, still red faced and giggly from the grown up scene they'd witnessed, but they sat quietly. Gathering her wits, Abby moved around the desk and opened the work book.
Contrary to what she'd expected, the children continued to behave well. Her class was the most orderly at lunch, earning her a prim nod of approval from the principal, Mrs. Alice Caruthers. She settled across from Abby with her own tray at the teachers’ table. “I'm glad to see you're settling in with your class."
Abby reddened, squirmed a little uncomfortably, but she wasn't about to admit that Seth had brought her class to heel. “I think they were just excited to get a new teacher,” she muttered.
"Oh! There's no doubt about that!"
Abby smiled at the woman and focused on her food.
"The county school system will have several booths at the Festival—we always do. It's a way to raise a little extra money for the schools. I wonder if I could count on you to help man one of the booths?"
Inwardly, Abby groaned, but she forced a smile. “Sure! No problem. I'd be happy to!"
Mrs. Caruthers nodded approvingly. “Wonderful! You can join Ms. Summers at Booth #47 Thursday afternoon. The two of you will man the booth from four to six and then Ms. Yancy and Ms. Caudle will take over from seven to nine."
Abby was relieved to discover it was only two hours. She could handle that! She was a little confused, though, that it seemed the booth was to be left unmanned for an hour. “Who'll be watching the booth between six and seven?"
A couple of the other teachers chuckled, drawing Abby's attention.
"Oh we don't worry about that!” Mrs. Caruthers said airily. “There'll be a little clock. All you have to do is move the hands to seven and everyone will know it's closed for super."
[Back to Table of Contents]
Chapter Eight
Cameron picked Abby up that afternoon. She was beginning to think they drew straws or something.
She couldn't help but wonder what the other teachers thought about the fact that she had someone different picking up her every afternoon—and Seth in the mornings. Actually, she had a pretty good idea what they thought about it.
The other teachers looked Seth over as if he was a choice piece of steak when he strolled in with her in the mornings. Despite her headache the day before, she noticed Adrian had garnered just about as much attention as Seth had, and Cameron....
Apparently it was the first time any of them had gotten a look at him. The teacher across the hall from her nearly walked into her door.
Cameron seemed oblivious.
Abby struggled and managed to overcome the urge to burst out laughing.
"Better day to today, eh,
chère
?"
"Much!” Abby agreed readily, relieved to have an excuse to smile in case the other teacher saw her grinning. “Seth had a talk with them this morning and they behaved like perfect little angels the rest of the day. I could hardly believe it. I kept expecting it to wear off."
Cameron grunted instead of replying, nodding as if he wasn't the least surprised.
Abby frowned. “There was a curious thing, though."
Cameron pushed the exit door open and waited for her to precede him. “What was that?"
Abby turned it over in her mind as she had several times throughout the day. “Several of the children called him ... well, it sounded like
pater
."
Cameron lifted his brows, but he didn't comment.
"Don't you think that's the least bit curious?” Abby persisted when they reached the car and he opened the door for her.
Cameron grinned at her lazily, propping one arm on the top of the door and the other on the roof of the car. “Me, I'm curious ‘bout a lot of things,
chère,
but they ain't got nothin’ to do with Seth."
Abby felt warmth flowing through her as she stared up at his face. Rattled by the look in his eyes, she got in the car. He chuckled, a low husky sound that made goosebumps rise along her spine. Closing the door, he walked around to the driver's side and got in.
Abby frowned at him a little irritably, realizing he hadn't even asked her if she wanted to drive. “It's my car and I haven't even driven it yet,” she muttered in complaint.
Cameron held the keys up, dangling them like a lure. “You wanna drive,
chère?
I can think of a lot of other things I'd rather be doin’ with my hands."
Abby could think of a lot of things she wished he'd do with his hands, too. She rather thought, though, if he tried it while she was driving they'd wind up against a tree. “Fine! You drive."
He settled more comfortably in the seat, shoved the keys in the ignition, and turned the car on. “If you can think of anything you want to do with your hands,
Chère
...” he murmured when he'd started the car, settling one arm on the seat back behind her head, “I am completely at your mercy, as you see, eh?"
Abby couldn't decide whether to laugh or rebuke him. She did both, chuckling and shaking her head at him. “I wouldn't want to take the chance of distracting you at a critical moment."
"But we're not movin’ yet,
petit
,” he pointed out.
"Tempting,” Abby murmured wryly, “but we
are
in the school parking lot."
He chuckled. “The next time I invite you, I'll make certain there are no distractions."
Abby shook her head at him. “I'm betting that's why you invited me now—because you knew I wouldn't take you up on it."
"
Au contraire, mon amour
, I made the invitation because I hoped you would,” Cameron murmured, backing the car out finally and heading out of the parking lot.
She didn't believe it. His tone was teasing. She thought he was just a born flirt.
They were halfway home before it dawned on her that he'd completely distracted her from the question she'd asked him, or rather the comment she'd made. She hadn't really expected him to appease her curiosity. As soon as she realized he'd distracted her, though, she began to wonder if the flirtation was nothing but a smoke screen designed for just that purpose.
It seemed farfetched. As odd as she'd found it that the children had called Seth
pater
, which she'd discovered was Latin for father, it hadn't really seemed significant. After all, there were a number of people in the county, she imagined, that spoke French Creole, given the area.
Given the fact that Cameron had flirted with her so outrageously, though, she began to wonder if there was more significance to it than she'd believed. It wasn't as if he hadn't flirted before, but he hadn't been quite that pointed before.
On the other hand, she
had
walked in on him in the shower that morning, and she
had
gone catatonic. She supposed, wryly, that he
might
have gotten the idea that she desperately wanted to touch him all over and it had emboldened him.
Unfortunately, the episode hadn't emboldened
her
. It wasn't that she never had been bold enough to initiate, or to flirt outrageously on occasion, but that was generally when she was familiar enough with a man to be comfortable with the idea and/or had had a few drinks of liquid courage. In some ways, she felt very comfortable around Cameron—actually all of the men who'd decided to designate themselves as the home guard. She supposed that was, at least in part, because they seemed completely at ease around her.
In other ways—well, they were just too damned sexy for a woman to be completely comfortable around them. Even when she felt totally relaxed, she wasn't and she knew wasn't. All any one of them had to do was give her a certain look and she was on slow simmer. There was nothing ‘instant’ about it. She'd been in a perpetual state of readiness since they'd descended on her.
Talk about feeling like a long tailed cat in a room full of rocking chairs!
Vaguely disappointed when they reached her house and she saw that Seth hadn't come in from work yet, she tamped it and headed inside to check out possibilities for supper. She hadn't cooked in a while, not a real meal, but she felt up to the challenge.
Cameron followed her, sprawling in one of the kitchen chairs and watching her like a cat watching a mouse. “Need help?"
Abby dragged her attention from the freezer and glanced at him. “I was just trying to decide what to fix."
"I doubt you'll find anything in there to feed the pack. High metabolism. We tend to eat ... like wolves,” he murmured, grinning at her wickedly.
She sent him a curious look. “I imagine it's all that muscle."
"All that somethin',
certainement
,” he drawled.
She studied him indecisively. “How do you stay so fit?” she finally asked curiously.
He grabbed her, dragging her down on his lap. “I think I could show you much better than I could explain,
chère
,” he murmured thoughtfully.
Abby couldn't help but chuckle. “Men! Somehow I doubt
that's
how you stay fit!"
He grinned at her lazily. “You doubt that, eh? You need proof?"
She would have
loved
proof. Unfortunately, she thought it might be a little distracting to try anything with one ear cocked for the arrival of the others, and she wasn't sure she wanted to know what their reaction would be if they came in and she was ‘occupied’ with Cameron in her bedroom.
Seth unnerved her when he was displeased, to put it very mildly.
Smiling, she shook her head at him. “I'll take your word for it."
His eyes gleamed with a mixture of promise and amusement. “Coward,” he murmured, slipping his hands up her back and dragging her closer.
She braced her palms against his chest but more for balance than from any resistance, yielding to the pressure of his hands without any attempt to resist. For a moment, they merely stared at one another. Slipping an arm around her, he twisted until she was cradled in against the side of his chest. He lifted his free hand then, tugging the band from her hair to free it. Pulling her closer, he nuzzled his face into her hair and dragged in a deep breath. “Your scent drives me wild,
chère,"
he murmured huskily. “You know this, yes?"
Actually, she thought it was a damned strange thing for him to say, but that wasn't to say it didn't make everything inside of her turn to molten desire.
He sucked a patch of skin along her neck, just beneath her ear, lifting a flock of prickling goosebumps. “If it were not
déshonneur,
I would dine on you tonight, mark you for myself so no others could..."
"What?” Abby gasped dizzily, far more interested in hearing the husky timber of his accented voice than anything else—except further enticement.
His eyes gleamed as he lifted his head. “Claim you,
mon amour
,” he murmured against her lips.
The scrape of a shod foot against the floor jolted through Abby. She sprang guiltily to her feet. Lightheaded from the sensations swirling through her, her head spun as she glanced quickly around.
Jerico and Adrian were propped in the doorway between the kitchen and the hallway, their arms folded over their chests, their faces taut, eyes narrowed. They weren't looking at her, fortunately.
Cameron casually reached down to adjust his erection in his jeans, but he never took his eyes off of the two men in the doorway.
After staring at one another for several taut moments, Adrian broke the deadlock by glancing at her. “The full moon is Saturday,” Adrian said tautly. “There'll be no challenges before that ... and no claiming."
Cameron shrugged, but anger glittered in his eyes. “This, I know,
mon ami
. There is something wrong with your hearing?"
"We heard you alright,” Jerico snarled. “We're just wondering if you can be trusted."
Cameron's expression hardened. “I believe we must settle this dispute now,” he growled, coming to his feet.
Seth stepped inside from the back porch at just that moment, drawing the attention of the other three. He eyed them all assessingly before his gaze settled on Cameron. “You know better than that,” he snarled, as if he'd heard the entire conversation. “Back off ... all of you."
Adrian, Jerico, and Cameron all stared at him hard for several moments. To Abby's relief, though, some of the tension seemed to ease from them. More accurately, they seemed to force themselves to relax fractionally.
"We could take a little ride,” Jerico said after a prolonged moment.
"Save it!” Seth snapped, flicking a glance at Abby. “Saturday will be soon enough. The ... others will be expecting it then. They'll be safely behind doors."
Cameron's expression was still tight with suppressed fury. “I'm to swallow the insult?” he growled. “This doesn't set well with me."
Seth's lips tightened. He flicked a hard glance at Jerico. “Hot blood, hot heads,” he said with a touch disgust. “He doesn't believe that, whatever he said ... and you know it, Cam."
Jerico shifted uncomfortably. “God's damn it, Seth! He said..."
"I know what he said.
If
it wasn't a dishonor. Like it or not, you don't have the field to yourself—none of us do. We play by the rules."
"What
are
the rules?” Abby demanded, abruptly finding her tongue. “What's going on? What's happening Saturday?"
Seth and Cameron both turned to give Adrian and Jerico looks of disgust. Adrian threw his hands up. “Hey! Don't look at me! Jerico's the jackass that got all this started!"
Jerico glared at him indignantly. “You were the one that said we needed to break it up before Cameron lost his head and forgot...” Breaking off, he glanced at Abby uncomfortably. “Well fuck! That's right! Blame it all on me! Why the fuck not? Y'all always have."
"Aw come on, Jerico! Don't start that shit about Taiwan again!” Adrian snapped irritably. “It
was
your god's damned fault!"
"And just how the hell do you figure I could've know she was married, god's damn it?"
Turning away from the kitchen, the two of them took their argument to the living room. Abby watched them suspiciously until they'd disappeared, wondering if the entire dispute was their way of avoiding answering any of her questions.
Cameron and Seth, she discovered when she finally returned her attention to the two men still with her, were both staring at the empty doorway with expressions of disgust.
As if he felt her gaze, Seth turned to look at her speculatively.
Abby plunked her hands on her hips. “You aren't going to tell me, are you?"
His lips twitched, but he managed to tamp the urge to smile. “It's a need-to-know situation..."
"And I don't need to know?"