Normally my staff of twelve is in a hurry to get home when the workday is over. Yet for some reason, ten of my staff members, all of whom happen to be women, find reasons to linger. It’s like nothing I have seen before. The women who normally rush to their cars or head for the train station suddenly find themselves with a little extra time today. They surround Wyatt a few at a time and strike up a conversation, and some of the quieter women linger in the doorway of their classroom, licking their lips as they gaze at Wyatt.

“You were so good with them today, Mr. Hunter,” one of my English teachers, Macy Mores, says as she bats her eyes at him. She has a great figure and a pixie haircut. She makes sure he notices by arching her back slightly and sticking out a hip to accentuate her hourglass curves.

“Call me Wyatt, and thanks.”

“I bet your kids just love having you around,” she replies, damn near purring.

Oh c’mon!

“Macy, did you need something?” I ask in an official tone.

“Oh yeah, I really need something,” she says, pulling in her lower lip and biting it.

“And what is it that you need?” My sharp tone brings her back to her senses.

“Oh, um…I need more textbooks. The three new kids don’t have any,” she says, blushing.

“It’s in my office,” I reply. She walks towards the office and passes by Wyatt in the process. She gazes into his eyes and slowly enters the office, using the best “look at my ass” strut I have ever seen.

“Wyatt, you’re still here, great!” Jana says. Oh crap. Please don’t let her do what I think she’s about to do.

“You know I was supposed to help Winnie get some stuff out of the basement, but I hurt my arm earlier. Can you help her with that?” she says with a sweet smile.

I’m gonna kill her.

“Yeah, I’d love to help ‘Winnie,’” he says with a big grin. One of the teachers raises her hand to volunteer her services. Jana takes her hand down and dares her to join Wyatt and me. Meanwhile, Wyatt loves how uncomfortable I am. He follows me down the steps and into the basement. There are stacks of books and classroom supplies around us. In the corner is a large box too heavy for me to carry by myself.

“Listen, you don’t have to help—I can get the janitor to help in the morning,” I assure him.

“Are you a bagel person or a pastry kind of girl?” he asks.

“Um, what?”

“This morning, I was gonna go out and get you breakfast since you had nothing in the house—by the way, how do you have nothing in the house to eat? Anyway, I was gonna do bagels but I wasn’t sure if you wanted like a donut or…in the end I thought I’d get both but then my cell rang and I had to go.”

“Oh, it’s fine. It’s not a big deal.”

“It is to me. I wanted to have breakfast with you,” he says.

“You’ve done enough, really. And you were great with the kids earlier. Aside from the cursing, which they didn’t really need to hear,” I mumble.

“People curse, and if that’s all those kids ever have to deal with, they’re really lucky.”

“Anyway, thanks again. And I’m sorry I ruined your operation.”

He sighs deeply as he looks over at me. I’ve been keeping a safe distance since we got to the basement and now he comes closer, about to close the gap. He places an arm on the wall on either side of my head, essentially blocking me in. There is a very good chance my heart will beat right out of my chest. I don’t want him coming closer but I dread the thought of him leaving any space between us.

I remember his powerful embrace and I would love to feel that again. Yet if he touches me, there may very well be a “Winter Bennett” shaped hole in the hall as I run away. His body is so close to mine, there’s no room for daylight. I look into his face. It’s perfect. There’s a wild, reckless look in his eyes, like he’s a breath away from ravaging me. Yet, there’s also an intense sincerity behind his eyes. It grips me.

“Thank you for sending the locksmith this morning. It was really nice of you,” I add, not knowing what else to say. He sighs and hangs his head in frustration.

“Christ, I wanna kiss you so fucking bad…” he says once his head comes back up.

“We don’t know each other. You could have a girlfriend.”

“I don’t.”

“How is that even possible?”

“I don’t know, how can a woman as gorgeous, funny, and crazy as you be single?”

“I’m not gorgeous.”

“I’m gonna have to disagree with you,” he says.

“Don’t get me wrong, I’m cute. And pretty on some days, but I’m not…no one has ever said I was…”

“Well, I’m saying it.” He leans in even closer. He’s about to kiss me, and I can’t stop it. I don’t want to stop it. But I have no doubt that this is a bad idea. He places his hand under my chin and gently brings me to him. But before our lips touch, someone enters the basement.

“Winter, I can’t find the textbooks.” Macy says, stomping down the steps. That bitch knows very well where the textbooks are. And although I can’t stand her at this moment, I’m relieved she came in and broke the spell Wyatt cast on me. I quickly point out the boxes that need to be brought up and run up the steps to help Ms. “No shame” Mores.

***

It takes about an hour to get everyone out of the building and lock up. I thought Wyatt would have been called away by then. But when I get out to my car, there he is, waiting for me. I’m guessing Jana and her crazy self thought she’d try again to get us to be alone.

He looks me over. His smoldering gaze is doing things to me that my best vibrator couldn’t do. His arms are folded across his chest. He looks down at me with an intense genuine longing that makes me ache with desire. I inhale his intoxicating scent of crisp autumn and musk.

Please, let me walk out of this without giving in.

“Thank you for last night—for saving my life,” I say, trying to keep my voice steady.

“You already thanked me,” he says softly as he studies my lips.

“I did?”

“Yeah.”

I look away and form an “O” with my lips and let out a soft sigh to release some of the pent-up tension between us. It doesn’t help. The longer I’m near him, the stronger the urge to wrap my legs around him.

“Can you stop doing that?’ he asks.

“Doing what?”

“Licking your lips like that. It’s doing some really crazy things to me.”

“Like what?” I ask before I can stop myself.

“Like making it hard to focus on asking you out.”

“You want us to go out?”

“For starters.”

“Wyatt…last night you save my life and—”

“Don’t thank me again. Just say you’ll have dinner with me later tonight.”

“I don’t want to see you later,” I reply in a whisper.

He’s taken aback. The disappointment in his eyes makes me feel like I’m dying. He looks past me, as if he needs a moment to regroup.

“Okay, what’s going on? Talk to me, babe,” he says.

Babe…

It’s so easy to fall into this. It’s easy to let the sound of him calling me babe take me on a whirlwind ride. But what do I do when it’s over? When the love is gone and only pain remains?

“Wyatt—”

“There’s something between us. I don’t know what it is exactly but I know you feel it. I know you feel it. So, what’s the issue?”

“I don’t know you.”

“That’s the whole point of going out, to change that.”

“Wyatt, I don’t want to date you—or anyone. My date last night was the first one in a year. It was also my last.”

“Winter, are you saying you don’t want to see what this could be between us?”

“Yes, that’s exactly what I’m saying.”