Taking Care Of Leah
Taking Care of Leah
ISBN #
978-1-78651-035-8
©Copyright Charlotte Howard 2016
Cover Art by Posh Gosh ©Copyright May 2016
Edited by
Ann Leveille
Totally Bound Publishing
This is a work of fiction. All characters, places and events are from the author’s imagination and should not be confused with fact. Any resemblance to persons, living or dead, events or places is purely coincidental.
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced in any material form, whether by printing, photocopying, scanning or otherwise without the written permission of the publisher, Totally Bound Publishing.
Applications should be addressed in the first instance, in writing, to Totally Bound Publishing. Unauthorized or restricted acts in relation to this publication may result in civil proceedings and/or criminal prosecution.
The author and illustrator have asserted their respective rights under the Copyright Designs and Patents Acts 1988 (as amended) to be identified as the author of this book and illustrator of the artwork.
Published in 2016 by Totally Bound Publishing,
Newland House, The Point, Weaver Road, Lincoln, LN6 3QN
Totally Bound Publishing is a subsidiary of Totally Entwined Group Limited.
Warning:
This book contains sexually explicit content which is only suitable for mature readers. This story has a
heat rating
of
Totally Burning
and a
Sexometer
of
2.
TAKING CARE OF LEAH
Charlotte Howard
English teacher Leah Beauchamp works with teenagers every day, but when she’s around sexy Ty Sinclair, she’s left feeling like one herself.
After escaping a bad relationship, Leah Beauchamp moves in with her pregnant sister and brother-in-law. Working as an English teacher, she spends her time lusting after the hot caretaker Ty Sinclair. But it’s not until a drunken encounter at the end of the school year that she realizes it might be so much more.
They decide to embark on a new relationship over the summer holidays. Then Ty’s preferences for BDSM come to the surface. Intrigued, Leah allows herself to be educated by her new lover. But after a house party goes horribly wrong, more secrets are revealed and Leah is left questioning how she truly feels.
Can Leah accept who Ty really is? Can she ignore his past? What about her own? Can she overcome her fears and concerns and relinquish control, or will their hot summer romance fizzle out once autumn arrives?
Dedication
To Gareth, thank you for the encouragement and support, and for the constructive criticism, even if I do ignore you.
Trademarks Acknowledgment
The author acknowledges the trademarked status and trademark owners of the following wordmarks mentioned in this work of fiction:
Macbeth
: William Shakespeare
Blu-Tac: Bostick
Spanx: Spanx, Inc.
Summer of ‘69
: Brian Adams, Jim Vallance
Coke: The Coca-Cola Company
Royal Shakespeare Company: The Royal Shakespeare Company, Stratford-upon-Avon Corporation
Portakabin: Portakabin Limited, Private Limited Company
Wonderbra: Wonder-bra Co., Inc.
Golf: Volkswagen Aktiengesellschaft Corporation
Star Wars
: Lucasfilm Ltd, The Walt Disney Company
Han Solo: Lucasfilm Ltd, The Walt Disney Company
Chewbacca: Lucasfilm Ltd, The Walt Disney Company
Zumba: Zumba Fitness, LLC
Biro: Bic Corporation
Welcome to the Jungle
: Axl Rose, Slash, Duff McKagan
Chapter One
Leah watched the seconds tick by. She was sure that time had been stuck at twenty-five past one for at least an hour. With a heavy sigh, she reminded herself that the last five minutes of term were always the longest.
Tick.
Another second struck, moving her ever closer to the door.
Tick
.
Feet shuffled, kicking bags toward ready hands.
Tick
.
Books began to close. Pencil cases were zipped.
Tick
.
“Oh, go on then, what difference is a few minutes going to make?” Leah slammed her own book closed and pushed herself up. Her students grabbed their bags and some remembered to put their chairs onto the tables, before racing out in a chorus of “Have a good summer, Miss,” and “Thanks, Miss.”
“Bye,” she called as the last of her Year Nines left the room. She chuckled to herself. The door slammed against its hinges and she sank back into her chair, kicking her feet onto the small patch of empty desk space. Stretching her arms and back out, she balanced the chair on two legs before letting it drop to all four.
She was enjoying the silence when the door clicked open. Her breath caught when he walked in. It always did. Whenever she saw him, she would turn into a puddle of hormones and fantasies of being spanked for misbehaving. Ty Sinclair could be unblocking one of the school toilets, and all Leah would be able to see was the flexing of his biceps. She’d made up plenty of excuses for him to come into her classroom so she could watch him work. Today’s excuse was not being able to reach the top of the display boards without breaking every health and safety rule.
“So what have you broken today?” he asked, flashing a melt-worthy grin.
“I’m having height issues,” she said, pointing to the wall of quotes from, and pictures inspired by,
Macbeth
. “If I get caught standing on the sideboard again, Mrs. Davis will be wearing my guts to hold her stockings up.”
He smiled, let out an audible sigh and shook his head as he dragged a stepladder into the room. He set it up and started to ascend, and she couldn’t help but watch his ass, beautifully caressed by worn jeans. She fought the low growl that threatened to give away her horny thoughts.
“You know, you really should use drawing pins. They’re easier to remove.” He used a pair of pliers to remove the embedded staples.
“Sorry,” she said, not sorry at all. Anything to give her an excuse to ogle him and have memories to use later.
“Any plans for the summer?” he asked, making small talk. More staples dropped down, clinking as they landed on the laminate-surfaced short cupboards that spread down one wall of the classroom.
“House hunting.” She shrugged, walking around the room and putting the remaining chairs on the tables, ignoring the urge to bite his backside. The closer she got to thirty, the more lewd her mind became.
Clink.
“You’re not leaving us, are you?” Ty stopped and gripped the ladder while he twisted to look down at her. She couldn’t help but give an inward smile at the thought that he might be upset if she did leave.
“No,” she assured him. “I’ve been living with my sister since I moved down last September, but she’s pregnant and I think her husband has enough with one Beauchamp, never mind two of us.” She laughed and walked toward the walls, pulling off the final pieces of border that were within her reach.
He was still looking at her. Leah cleared her throat. Going to her desk, she emptied the drawers into her bag. Ty went back to the job at hand. The Shakespeare board was clear, and he had turned to the punctuation posters.
“Sooo…” Leah sank into her chair and watched as his back muscles flexed beneath his T-shirt. “Are you going to the drinks thing tonight?” she asked, referring to the end-of-year party that the school staff held every summer.
“Nah,” he said with a shake of his head. He turned around and Leah shot her look up to his face. Her cheeks began to heat at being caught ogling his ass.
“That’s a shame.” She cleared her throat and closed down the laptop, placing it into the computer bag by the desk. “But I’m sure your girlfriend will be happy to have you at home.”
The corners of his lips twitched into a smile. “I’m single,” he said.
“Oh, really?”
“You sound surprised.”
“I just thought…you know…” Leah began to fiddle with a bit of Blu-Tac stuck to the edge of her desk, avoiding eye contact. “That you would…” She took a breath. “Have a girlfriend.”
Ty climbed down the ladder, landing with a small jump, and began to gather up the staples, sweeping them into a nearby bin. “Nope,” he said, walking toward her, and she was sure there was a swagger to his gait. “No girlfriend. I’m most definitely on the market.”
“Well, I should go home. Lots to do.” She took out her mobile and read the text message from Maggie asking her to pick up milk on her way home, and frowned.
“Boyfriend wanting to know where you are?” he asked, stepping closer.
“No boyfriend.” She hooked one bag over her shoulder and clasped the laptop bag in her hands, praying that she was imagining her legs and fingers trembling.
“Now that I don’t believe.” He was so close she could smell the coffee on his breath.
“See you in a few weeks then,” Leah said, sidestepping around him.
“Yeah, bye.” A hint of a laugh teased at his voice.
She couldn’t help but feel saddened that it would be six weeks before she got to see his gorgeous face and perfect ass again. “Have a good holiday,” she said as she left him behind, wondering if she hadn’t just thrown her chance away.
* * * *
She felt overdressed. Wearing a black satin dress that didn’t quite come down to her knees, with lace sleeves, Leah looked at the rest of the staff. Underdressed may have been a more appropriate term. Jeans or dark-colored trousers, a couple of skirts, shirts and ties, blouses and jumpers, but not a lot of bare flesh sat around the long table.
Leah cleared her throat and chose the seat nearest the door, slinking into the chair and placing her clutch bag in front of her placemat. Glancing over, she noticed the raised eyebrow being given by the head teacher, Hilary Davis.