Chapter Ten

Sasha

“PLEASE, don’t kill me.” Ben aimed his best version of puppy dog eyes at Sasha. The little brat even batted his eyelashes—long and thick like Nic’s. The family resemblance was almost too much for Sasha, and he nearly decided to go easy on the kid. That, however, wouldn’t do Ben any good. The fact was, if Sasha hadn’t accidentally knocked over Ben’s books, sending the note from the school skidding along the kitchen floor, he wouldn’t have known the school had requested a meeting this morning.

Thank God McMurray Middle School was only a few miles away on the island. At least Sasha had a chance of making the meeting on time. Nic, though, had left for Seattle already, and Sasha hadn’t been able to reach him other than leaving a voicemail and a text to cover the bases. That sucked big hairy balls because last time he’d meddled with the kids’ school business, he’d gotten his ass handed to him. The last thing he needed was another round of admonition from Nic. No one could say Sasha never learned his lesson.

“Ben, why would you bother hiding this?” Sasha waved the half-crumpled paper between his fingers. “You had to know someone would find out.”

Lucy sighed. “What do you expect from someone with one brain cell, Sasha?”

“Shut up, Lucy Loser!” Ben tried to shove Lucy, but Sasha caught him across the chest, basically clotheslining him.

“All right, stop.” He guided the boy into a seat and shot a warning look at Lucy. She smirked at first. Then she rolled her eyes and leaned against the edge of the island countertop. A sulky glare settled on Ben’s face, so Sasha pointed at him. “You don’t get to be mad. You lied. Plain and simple. I have no idea if your uncle can get here in time for the meeting. Can you even tell me what they’re gonna discuss? Are you painting bloody body parts in art class or pantsing kids in the locker rooms? Never mind. Don’t answer that. I’ll have to learn about your sordid activities whenever we get to the school.”

Ben’s eyebrows climbed upward. “You’re going?”

“Well, you didn’t give me much choice, did ya?”

Unintelligible grumbles ensued. Ignoring them, Sasha herded the kids through the chilly morning air out to the waiting car. The driver swung by Lucy’s high school to drop her off first, even though it was a mile past the middle school. Then it was off to McMurray to deal with Ben’s drama. Sasha waited for the surge of preteens to disperse and was a little shocked at how quickly they disappeared after the bell rang. Cockroaches in a spotlight had nothing on these kids.

The administration office was fairly peaceful, with only a few students coming in and out, but they really didn’t have to wait long before being ushered in to speak to a counselor. Good news was they weren’t meeting the principal or anything like that.

A grandmotherly woman with bleached hair and considerable wrinkles crossing her forehead urged them to sit. She had the friendliest face Sasha had ever seen.

“Mr. Price,” she said. The second those words passed her lips, Sasha’s breath seized in his chest and flutters invaded his belly. Damn his ridiculous imagination all to hell for planting the idea of sharing a name with Nic into his head. “Mr. Price?”

“Uh.” He shook his head. “No. I’m Sasha Lindsey. I’m an authorized guardian in Mr. Price’s absence. You should find the documentation in Ben’s records.”

The lady thumbed through the file in front of her until she found the paperwork. “Yes, that’s it. Mr. Lindsey, then. Good to meet you. I’m Elisha Conley, Ben’s counselor.”

Sasha returned her handshake. “I’m curious why you requested a meeting, Ms. Conley.”

Her eyes widened. “Oh my. I’m sorry if I gave the impression this was something negative.” She focused on Ben. “One of your teachers mentioned your improvement, so I checked your progress. When I noted it was across the board, I spoke to your teachers, and we want to give you an opportunity—”

The door crashed open, and a bold voice boomed, “What’s this about?”

Oddly, an inappropriate laugh nearly burst from Sasha. Nic stood in the doorway, breathing heavily and heartily disheveled, his hair sticking up on one side. Cute as fuck.

“Did you fly back the second you landed?” he asked.

Nic shrugged before pulling up a chair next to Sasha. “A second before landing.”

“Mr. Price, I suppose?” Ms. Conley asked. Nic introduced himself briefly, and the counselor continued her spiel. When she explained that Ben could meet passing grades in his courses if he made up his coursework before the next quarter began, Sasha’s heart practically swelled in his rib cage, he was so proud.

However, Ben didn’t look so sure of himself.

“He’ll do it,” Sasha said, injecting the confidence Ben wasn’t quite feeling yet. “No problem.”

Ben looked at him like he’d escaped the loony bin, and all Sasha could do was chuckle. Nic finished up with the counselor as if in a near daze. He barely acknowledged Ben as the kid left to head to class.

With a grin, Sasha followed Nic out to where the car Sasha and Ben had taken waited. Nic had obviously sent his own driver away when he’d arrived at the school. Sasha slid in after Nic, who turned to face him as they headed toward the mansion.

“I can’t believe it,” he said. “I can’t believe you got his grades up.”

“You didn’t think I could accomplish that, did you?” Sasha’s smile melted away, and he sank back into the seat, his gaze sliding to the road passing by outside the window. Cool, elegant fingers cupped Sasha’s jaw and tipped his face back to Nic.

“I didn’t mean it that way, Sasha,” Nic said. “I meant I’m in awe of you.”

The tender caress of those graceful fingers along his jaw, rasping against the stubble, got his skin tingling all over his body, as if the cells of his face were connected to every last nerve ending. Nic’s emerald eyes searched Sasha’s. Whatever he was looking for, he must have found it, because his expression softened, a slight smile tilting the corners of his lips.

“We’re here,” Nic said. How long had they been sitting in the drive just staring into each other’s eyes?

Nic’s expression shifted and he jerked his hand back as if he’d touched a flame. Perhaps he finally remembered they were supposed to be all business. Right now, nothing felt more wrong to Sasha. He sighed and turned away, scooted out of the car, and headed inside. To his surprise, Nic followed.

“You working from home today?” he asked over his shoulder as they neared the den.

“Yes. Flying back and forth so many times didn’t appeal to me. Mondays are painful enough already.” He caught Sasha’s left arm, his fingers curling around his biceps. Sasha took a few moments to contain the fiery sensations that always seared him at Nic’s touch before he finally made eye contact.

“Thank you for being here for the kids,” Nic continued.

Sasha chuckled. “Kinda in my job description, yeah?”

“Well, you’ve done more than your predecessors.” Nic’s gaze traveled to where he held Sasha, and he slowly withdrew. “I’ll, uh, just be in my office.”

Sasha couldn’t resist watching Nic walk away, a claustrophobic longing pressing his chest. There was no doubt he’d been praised on his looks before, but Nic seemed to appreciate the things that were most important to Sasha.

ON any other weekday, he would’ve kept himself busy with some local sightseeing or working out. Today, he needed something more peaceful. He ended up reading, getting so lost in his book that several hours had passed before his ringing phone made him look up from the pages.

He answered it automatically.

“Could I speak to Sasha Lindsey, please?”

“Yes, you’ve got him.” He pulled the phone away from his ear briefly to check the screen. Hmm. Unknown number.

“This is Atlas Debt Services representing Union Wholesale Lending on your outstanding mortgage balance—”

“Hold on.” Sasha tossed his book down and leaned forward. “What garbage is this? The mortgage payments are current. My parents are the primary account holders, and I have emails verifying they sent the payments.”

“Mr. Lindsey, according to Union’s records, the last two payments were returned by the bank.”

The man droned on, but a loud ringing in Sasha’s ears drowned the guy out. His chest constricted until his breath came in short bursts, and his head spun. This was too much. He couldn’t deal with this right now. Without warning, he hung up on the debt collector and tossed his phone on the coffee table. He sank into the sofa with his head tilted back, his temples throbbing.

There was no doubt in his mind that Robert and Lena Lindsey had sent the payment and then spent the money before it cleared their bank. His parents were probably cavorting without a care on a cruise somewhere or on an epic Monte Carlo cash-burning blowout. They didn’t give a damn about saddling him with two months of payments plus whatever inflated fees the mortgage company added. It would take all the money Percy had paid him, along with most of his meager savings, to get right with the bank. Fuck. His parents couldn’t take any better care of themselves than they had him as a child, so he should have known not to sign on to the mortgage with them, even to save his childhood home. But what could he fucking do about it now? Report his parents for check fraud?

He groaned and rubbed his hands over his face.

“Everything all right?”

It took Sasha a moment to compose his expression before standing and facing Nic. “Yeah, I’m fine.”

Nic watched him a moment before approaching. “You seem upset.”

“It’s okay. Nothing I can’t handle.” He forced a smile.

“Well, there’s a smile,” Nic said with a grin of his own. A damned sexy grin with perfectly straight, dazzlingly white teeth. Nic could be an Armani model. “I’m not used to seeing you anything less than positive.”

Sasha’s heart plummeted. Of course Nic would point that out. No one was interested in a guy with baggage. Smile for the camera, Sasha. Be the life of the party, Sasha. I don’t want to hear your crap, Sasha. Just stay here by yourself if you’re going to brood, Sasha. It’s your fault I have to cheat on you, Sasha.

“How’s work going?” he asked.

If anything, Nic’s grin grew wider. “I might have nabbed a few more sales contracts today.”

He had to laugh at the playful tone in Nic’s words. It was the happiest he’d ever seen Nic, and it wasn’t too big a surprise given how obviously Nic was invested in his business. For whatever reason, there was also a healthy dose of relief in Nic’s expression.

Sasha gave in to the lure of a relaxed, gratified Nic and moved closer, only inches away. Damn, it was insanely pleasing to look up into those green eyes that hooked deep into Sasha’s libido. Nic’s smile slowly faded as his gaze dropped along the length of Sasha’s body before lifting to land on his lips. Nothing had ever made Sasha feel sexier than the way Nic looked at him with that heat-filled gaze.

Suddenly, his chest constricted for an entirely different reason, and all his circulation shot into his cock. Nic leaned forward, his warm breath brushing right where Sasha wanted his mouth. Then those lips on his weren’t a fantasy anymore. The moment they touched Sasha’s, his head drifted into the clouds, all thoughts and worries scattered. Sensation was everything, the softness of Nic’s lips combined with their hard pressure. He opened beneath that force, and Nic slid his tongue inside to meet Sasha’s.

With a shaky sigh of relief, Sasha deepened the kiss and leaned into Nic’s body. Nothing felt better than Nic’s arms wrapping around him and gliding underneath his polo shirt, fingertips digging into his flesh. Nic stroked down to grip Sasha’s ass while he ground his hips against Sasha’s, thrusting his dick against him. He felt so damn good. Smelled like heaven, like earthy sandalwood with a hint of something spicy. God, he could fucking lick every inch of him.

The slick warmth of Nic’s mouth was making Sasha crazy with desire. He tugged at Nic’s button-up and reached under the gap the second it cleared Nic’s slacks. Smooth skin over rippling muscle greeted his fingers, and he reveled in the sensations. It had been so long since he’d felt this connected to a man, and they were only kissing. What would it be like to belong to Nic, to have him all the way?

The needy moans coming from Nic told him it would be better than his dreams. Sasha pulled back to see Nic’s face. After a moment, Nic dropped his forehead to Sasha’s, leaving his hands where they were on Sasha’s ass.

“You feel amazing.” Nic’s tone was grudging, like admitting something unwanted.

Sasha lifted a hand to stroke Nic’s face. “I’m glad. I know it’s not the best idea, considering our positions, but I love what you do to me.”

“Me too, but this isn’t—”

“It’s okay. No need to explain.”

With matching groans, they pulled apart. Sasha watched Nic walk away for the second time today. But now he couldn’t deny the seed of hope taking root in the back of his mind. Maybe they could have something together. Maybe if they took things slowly, they could keep things separate from their work relationship, especially since Nic wasn’t often around when Sasha was officially on the clock with the kids.

Even Drew hadn’t affected him so much, making him forget his surroundings and surrender so completely. The singular focus Nic aimed at Sasha when they were together was a reassurance that he wouldn’t be the kind of guy to stray.

An equal mix of excitement and fear swirled in his gut. Why? Because after today, he was done avoiding this attraction. Everything felt too damn good with Nic. He was going to let things happen as they might. It could be the best decision he’d ever made in his life. Something told him this choice was likely to leave him in the wreckage, charred and broken. Even so, he couldn’t even begin to force himself off the ride.