Brynne

All through dinner I can feel Harrison’s gaze on me.

Hot.

Intense.

Searching.

Marcelle nearly revealed my identity. And for one panicked moment, I thought Harrison would put the pieces together.

But he hasn’t. If he had, he wouldn’t be sitting across from me now. He’d be long gone. Along with my career. I can’t let anyone at the school know who I really am, not without risking being fired. Scandal isn’t permitted. Even if it wasn’t my scandal. My name alone would disqualify me.

“You haven’t eaten much,” Harrison says, eyeing me over his wine glass.

“I’m not very hungry.” My stomach won’t stop doing summersaults. I should never have agreed to this dinner.

“Harrison,” a woman’s trill voice rings above us.

“Hello Patricia,” Harrison says, standing and taking her outstretched hand.

I recognize her immediately. I taught her son last year. A nasty little boy with a tendency of putting gum in girls’ hair. But his parents contributed a large donation to the school, and his mother is on the parent council, so my concerns were only met with harsh words about how I needed to be more observant in class.

Her seeing me with Harrison is almost as bad as him realizing who I really am.

“Ms. Sweet?” Her brows go up when her gaze rests on me. “Isn’t this…a pleasant surprise.” There’s a bite of disproval in her words that I can’t miss. She turns back to Harrison. “Your daughter is in Ms. Sweet’s class this year, isn’t she?”

A muscle in his jaw twitches as he holds the woman’s gaze. “Ms. Sweet and I are old family friends. We’re just catching up. There’s nothing wrong with that. Is there?”

Old family friends. Is he lying or does he know?

“Of course not.” The woman laughs, but there’s no humor in the sound. “Well, I’ll let you two catch up.” Her gaze holds mine, and there’s a warning in it. “I’ll see you at school, Ms. Sweet.”

I give a small nod and watch her walk away.

Shit.

Shit.

Shit.

I knew this was a bad idea. I should never have agreed to this.

“Are you okay?” Harrison asks, genuine concern in his voice.

“No.” My hands are shaking, and my stomach is twisted in so many knots, it’s painful. I push my chair back and stand. “I-I should go.”

I don’t wait for his response. I make a bee-line for the exit, not even thinking about how I’m going to get home. All I know is I have to get out of here – now.

“Brynne.” Harrison catches up with me outside.

When I don’t stop walking, his hand wraps around my waist, and I’m pulled against his chest.

“Stop.” The command in his voice has my already unsteady legs trembling.

“I-I ca-can’t be here.” I can barely breathe. Panic claws at my throat.

Everything I’ve worked so hard for is titling over a very fine ledge.

“Okay. Let’s go. I’ll take you home.” He wraps an arm around my shoulder, and leads me to the limo that’s waiting a few yards away.

He doesn’t remove his arm even when we’re inside the car. Just continues to hold me protectively. Or at least that’s what my body wants to believe, because it melts into him, and all the fight I had a few moments ago dissipates.

“That…woman…” I can barely get the words out. “She hates me already. She’ll use…this…as an excuse to get rid of me.”

“She won’t,” he mutters against my hair. “Trust me.”

“You can’t promise that.”

He places his hand under my chin and tilts my face up. “Yes, I can. Your job is safe. I’ll make sure of that.”

“If I do what you want.”

He frowns. “No. There are no stipulations.” His lips twitch up and his thumb strokes across my jaw. “But that doesn’t mean I don’t want you in my bed.”

A small moan builds in my throat, but I manage to suppress it. “I-”

“I know. You can’t. You shouldn’t. You won’t.” He traces the outline of my mouth, gaze dark. “But you want to.”

“Yes,” I admit. “I want to.”

His grip tightens and he exhales heavily. “You want to be safe. I understand that. You’ve worked hard for what you have and you don’t want to let anything get in the way of that.”

“You don’t know anything about me.”

“Am I wrong?”

No. He’s absolutely right. I shake my head.

“I’m not dangerous, Brynne.”

I laugh at that. He’s the most dangerous man I’ve ever met. Because he’s the only one who’s ever truly held the ability to break my heart.

I can’t let him do it again.

“We have different definitions of danger.”

“Maybe. But I won’t hurt you. And I won’t let anyone else hurt you.”

I sigh, shakily. God, I want to believe him.

“Trust me, Brynne.”

Trust him? With what? My secrets. My body. My heart.

“I’ll take you home if you want.”

No, my body screams. I don’t want to be alone.

I want him.

Desperately.

I need his touch. Even if it’s just one night.