Silence crashed between them. Long and deafening and simmering with sexual awareness.
“I should be offended and disgusted,” she blurted out. “I should be angry at you for saying all those dirty things. But I’m not.” Something resembling defeat flashed in her eyes. “Come upstairs.”
Surprise jolted through him. “What?”
“I’m inviting you upstairs, Reed.”
There was no mistaking the lust in her eyes. Or the cloud of unhappiness.
“I know it’s wrong. I know it. But maybe…” She bit her lip again. “Maybe we need to get it out of our system.”
“We can’t.” It took every ounce of willpower he possessed to say those two words. “I can’t do that to AJ.”
“You already did,” she said softly.
“Well, I can’t do it again.” Fighting a rush of regret, he took several steps back and did his best to ignore the insistent pleading of his impossibly hard cock. “You weren’t there tonight, Darce. The guy is devastated over your breakup. If you and I hooked up, it would kill him.”
She looked genuinely confused. “Neither of us was devastated by the breakup, Reed. It sucked, yeah, but we made the decision together.”
“You didn’t see him tonight,” he insisted.
“You must have misinterpreted what you saw.” Frustration filled her eyes. “I’m not saying he’d be thrilled if you and I…if we…” She didn’t bother finishing the thought. “But it won’t kill him. Eventually he’ll come around to the idea of—” She stopped abruptly, and the dark look that swept over her face could only be described as self-loathing. “Oh, for fuck’s sake! What am I even saying? Why am I pushing this?” She shoved both hands in her hair, her distress obvious. “For some reason I turn into a sex-crazed lunatic when I’m around you. What’s wrong with me?”
He sighed. “It’s lust. Regular old lust, and it will pass.”
“Will it?”
Reed bit the inside of his cheek so hard he tasted blood in his mouth. “Yes.”
He decided not to mention that this particular case of lust had been wreaking havoc on him for months. He ran his tongue over the tiny cut in his mouth, stepping even farther back, needing to put as much distance between them as humanly possible.
“We just need to forget Saturday night ever happened. It’s the only way for us to move forward.”
Darcy looked upset. “We should tell AJ.”
“I’ll take care of it,” he said gruffly. “I’ll tell him it was my fault, that I took advantage of you.”
“But that’s not the truth,” she protested.
Reed exhaled slowly. “There’s no reason for him to hate both of us, Darce.”
“No. I can’t let you do that. It’s not right.”
She sounded so distraught, he couldn’t help but reach for her again. The hug was meant to be gentle and reassuring, but somehow turned into a desperate embrace that resulted in her face buried against his chest and his arms wrapped tightly around her slender body.
“Hey, it’s okay.” He was unable to resist stroking the small of her back. “We messed up, okay? Turned out there was an attraction there, and we gave in without thinking. I’ll make sure AJ knows it was nothing but a random, stupid mistake, and that it won’t ever happen again. Right?”
She tipped her head, those gorgeous blue eyes locking with his.
“Right?” he repeated, firmer this time.
It felt like forever before she responded with a slight nod. “Right.”
Chapter Six
A week later, Reed was finally able to fully grasp the concept of irony. He’d been a professional fighter for ten years, won more matches than he could count, kicked more asses than he was proud of, and what did you know—he was actually nothing but a big, fat coward.
He’d had plenty of opportunities to tell AJ the truth over the past week…and he’d chickened out every damn time.
On the bright side, he was pretty sure he’d officially gotten over Darcy. Yep, he hadn’t indulged in a single dirty fantasy about her for seven whole days. Hadn’t even jerked off, which he deserved a goddamn medal of achievement for, seeing as how he hadn’t gotten laid in almost three months. Thankfully, Sin had been busier than ever that weekend, and managing the club had distracted him from his unsatisfied libido.
He was confident that when he saw Darcy at the school, all the filthy, impure thoughts he’d once harbored about the woman wouldn’t resurface.
He was wrong.
One look was all it took, one cautious smile from that gorgeous mouth of hers, and not only did he spring a semi, but his mind was once again riddled with a week’s worth of lustful fantasies.
“Hi.” She greeted him on the front steps of Jefferson Middle School, wearing bright red shorts and a white tank top with the straps of a gray sports bra peeking out. Her hair was tied up in a high ponytail, giving her a youthful air that made him feel embarrassingly warm and fuzzy inside.
Reed managed a smile. “Hi.”
“The kids are waiting in the gym,” she told him. “They’re wearing their Phys. Ed uniforms like you suggested. Oh, and we also set up the mats you asked for.”
“Will any of the other teachers be joining us?” He held his breath, hoping she’d say yes.
To his disappointment, she shook her head. “I begged a bunch of them to help out, but it’s amazing how many teachers refuse to be involved in extracurricular activities unless they absolutely have to.”
They climbed the front steps, keeping three feet of distance between them as they headed into the school. Reed tried to walk at a brisk pace, eager to minimize the amount of time they spent alone, but he had no idea where he was going, so he was forced to match Darcy’s easygoing strides.
Rather than bring a change of clothes, he’d decided to save time by showing up in boxing shorts and a wife beater, both black. When he noticed Darcy eyeing his bare arms and then glimpsed the resulting flush on her cheeks, he had to force himself not to make a flirtatious remark.
If she wanted to check out his guns, then fine. He, on the other hand, planned on keeping things strictly professional between them.
No matter how sexy she looked in her workout gear.
When they entered the gymnasium, Reed was instantly greeted by the sound of twenty or so loud, boisterous thirteen-year-olds. A dozen boys were zigzagging beneath the basketball hoop in a fast-paced game of pickup, while a group of girls congregated on the bleachers spanning one wall, whispering and giggling to each other.
Darcy clapped her hands to get everyone’s attention, and suddenly those twenty or so pairs of eyes were wholly focused on Reed.
“Everyone head to the bleachers,” Darcy called out.
Sneakers squeaked on the shiny floor as her students dutifully hurried across the gym to take their seats. Darcy and Reed walked over and stopped in front of the long stretch of blue mats that had been laid out on the floor.
“Guys, this is Reed Miller,” Darcy said cheerfully. “He came here today to teach you—”
“How to kick butt,” one of the boys yelled out, grinning widely.
She admonished the kid with a look. “To teach you self-defense. There will be no ‘butt kicking’ going on here today. Right, Kenny?”
Her student was suitably shame-faced. “Right, Ms. G.”
Reed hid a smile. Man, he was totally digging the stern teacher thing she had going on. It reminded him of the crush he’d had on Mrs. Franklin, his ninth grade geography teacher. Holy hell, that woman’s ass had been out of this world. He’d spent half his high school career admiring it, which probably contributed to the pathetically bad grades he’d brought home with every report card.
“Reed used to be a professional mixed martial arts fighter,” Darcy informed the kids.
Several of the girls gasped, while all the guys looked thrilled. A skinny arm shot up in the air, belonging to an African-American boy with wild curly hair. He looked considerably younger than the others, and Reed w
ondered if he’d somehow wandered into the gym by accident.
But Darcy evidently knew him, because she smiled fondly at the boy and said, “Yes, Devon?”
“Did you ever knock somebody out?” the kid demanded.
Reed grinned despite himself. “Once or twice,” he said vaguely.
Every male face in the gym looked impressed, while, as predicted, all the females gasped at his confession.
Darcy smiled at the kids. “As you can see, Reed is more than qualified to show us how to defend ourselves.” She glanced over at him. “Why don’t we start?”
He nodded, then addressed the group. “Okay, so before we get to the physical stuff, I want to make a couple things clear. I’m not sure if Dar—Ms. Grant went over this with you already, but the most important part of self-defense? Awareness.” He put on a strict tone. “You need to be aware of your surroundings, guys. A lot of people wind up in trouble because they place themselves in dangerous situations that could have been avoided.”
“We talked about that earlier today,” Darcy told him before turning to her class. “Do you guys remember a few of the things we went over?”
A slender dark-haired girl spoke up. “Always walk in areas that are lit up.”
Darcy nodded. “Yep.”
Another girl chimed in. “Avoid taking shortcuts that lead you into alleys, or isolated places.”
“Good. What else?”
Other kids started calling out tips.
“Don’t go out alone at night, and if you do, travel with a group.”
“Carry your cell phone if you have one.”
“Tell people where you’re going so they know where to find you if you don’t come back.”
“Don’t talk to strangers.”
“Stranger danger!” the runt—Devon—shouted in glee.
“Those are all very good strategies,” Reed concurred. “But sometimes even the best prevention methods won’t stop you from being attacked.”
Every face in the gym clouded over with sadness, as if the kids were remembering what had happened to their classmate. The attack on Jamal Littleton had resulted in him being admitted to the hospital with a broken arm, dislocated jaw, fractured ribs, and two black eyes.
Reed was suddenly glad that he’d come here today. Seeing all their young innocent faces triggered his protective urges, and the thought of any of these kids getting beat up like their classmate made him all the more determined to show them how to protect themselves.
“We’re going to start with something simple,” he announced. “I like to call this technique the worm.”
He was greeted with giggles.
“I know, it sounds dumb, but trust me, it’s a good one. I’ll need a volunteer, though.” Although every hand in the gym flew up, Reed’s gaze zeroed in on the smallest kid in the room. “Devon, my man, I think you might be just the guy for the job.”
With an enormous grin, the young boy bounced off the bench and dashed over to the mats. Reed felt Darcy’s eyes on him, and when he shot her a sideways glance, her smile nearly knocked him off his feet. Christ, she was so beautiful. Too beautiful.
He wrenched his gaze away, and cleared his throat. “Have you guys ever tried to hold a little kid who doesn’t want to be held?” Reed asked the group.
That got him a chorus of yeses.
“You know how the kid responds, right? He wiggles around. He thrashes and squirms and bats at you with his hands, trying to weasel out of your grip. Well, that’s what we’re going to do now.”
One of the boys groaned loudly. “We’re going to wiggle around? That’s no fun! I want to punch and kick someone.”
Reed rolled his eyes. “Dude, I would love to see you punch and kick a man twice your size. Because trust me, most attackers will be twice your size. They’ll cart you over their shoulders and you won’t be able to do a damn thing about it. Except wiggle.” His lips twitched. “But if it makes you feel better, I’ll let you throw in some biting, scratching and gouging while you’re wiggling.”
The protester seemed appeased by that. “Cool. But you better teach us some real moves, too.”
“Don’t worry, by the time I’m finished with you guys, you’ll have all the necessary skills to keep yourselves safe.” Chuckling, he turned to shoot Darcy an apologetic look before adding, “And to kick a little butt.”
…
Reed was good with kids.
No, Reed was amazing with kids.
Darcy couldn’t believe her eyes as she watched him interact with her students. They’d graduated from wiggle strategies to more advanced moves, as Reed paired all the kids up. He was in the process of showing them how to target an assailant’s most vulnerable areas, starting with the knee.
Darcy had worried that the workshop might get too violent, but Reed proved to be a natural teacher, as well as a cautious and intelligent one. He didn’t allow too much physical contact between the kids, but the know-how and skills were still being transmitted.
A couple of times, he’d had to demonstrate a particular move on her, but his touch had been entirely impersonal. Nothing sexual about it, and yet her body tingled whenever he touched her. She’d attempted to hide her response to his nearness, and it helped that they were surrounded by children, but no matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t stop her pulse from racing each time he wrapped one muscular arm around her or when his fingers grazed her bare arm as he showed the kids the best way to twist out of an opponent’s grasp.
To make matters worse, her mind kept going over the text message she’d received from AJ earlier in the day. Even though she’d known Reed was planning on telling his best friend about them, she’d still been dreading AJ’s reaction.
But her ex-boyfriend’s message had shocked her to the core.
I hope it works out with Reed. He plays it like he’s a tough guy, but he’s got a good heart.
Um, what? Darcy had replayed the words in her head like a broken record, but unless she was missing something, there was really only one way to interpret them.
AJ had given them his blessing.
Which was crazy. Did he think she and Reed were dating now? Did he want them to?
Did she want to?
She couldn’t deny she was attracted to Reed—and unbelievably tempted to explore that attraction—but sex and dating him were two very different things. She might be looking for passion, but successful relationships required a lot more than combustible chemistry. She wanted a reliable partner, a man who wasn’t a “selfish bastard,” as Reed had so readily described himself.
So no, she wasn’t interested in dating a bad boy like Reed Miller. Never had been, never would be.
But sleeping with a bad boy? Well…maybe she could get on board with that, especially since AJ didn’t seem to have a problem with it.
The workshop lasted an hour. The moment they wrapped up, all the kids streamed into the locker rooms to change into their street clothes, while Reed and Darcy hung back to gather up the mats and stack them in the corner of the gymnasium.
“You were fantastic with them,” Darcy confessed.
He looked embarrassed. “They’re good kids. I had fun.”
“I’m pretty sure Devon found himself a new hero.” She laughed softly. “He was staring at you like you’d stepped off the pages of his favorite Superman comic.”
“What’s his deal anyway?” Reed asked curiously. “Did he skip a million grades or something?”
She shook her head. “He’s a fifth grader. His mom doesn’t finish work until five, and she doesn’t want him walking home alone, so she has an arrangement with the school that Devon gets to sit in on whatever after-school activity is happening that day.”
“Can’t he take the school bus?” Reed asked as they headed for the double doors on the other side of the gym.
“Yes, but then he’d still be home alone until she got back. Their building isn’t in the safest area, and Monique can’t afford to pay for a babysitter. She’s very protective
of him.”
“I don’t blame her. He seems like a great kid.”
They made their way back to the main lobby, pausing near the front doors. Although it wasn’t part of her job description, Darcy liked to make sure her students were all right when they left the school after regular hours, and that the ones who were walking home were doing it in a group.
After the last kid had gone, she turned to Reed and said, “I just need to grab some things from my classroom. You don’t have to stick around.”
His blue eyes flickered with curiosity. “I wouldn’t mind seeing your classroom. “
She swallowed, unsure if it was a good idea for them to be alone for a second longer than they had to. He looked so damn good right now, in those long shorts that hugged his trim hips, and the tank top that outlined every curve of delicious musculature.
“Sure,” she stammered. “It’s on the second floor.”
They ducked into the stairwell, climbing the steps until they reached the second floor landing. The brightly lit hallway was empty, all of its walls adorned with children’s artwork and colorful projects stuck on Bristol boards. Darcy’s key was attached to a spiral bracelet on her wrist, and she used it to quickly unlock the door to her classroom.
Reed’s sharp gaze instantly swept over the room, taking in the neat row of desks, the wall of windows, and the blackboard covered with the grammar exercises she’d assigned for the first English class of the school year.
“I feel like I’ve traveled back in time.” He wandered around the room, amazement clinging to his husky voice. Then he laughed softly, the rough masculine sound sending a shiver through her.
“What’s so funny?” she asked.
“Ah, it’s nothing.” He turned to face her. “Did you get everything you need?”
Nodding, she held up her purse and the big stack of tests she was bringing home to grade. “Yep.” She hesitated. “Would you be able to drop me off at home? I walked this morning, so I don’t have my car.”
“No problem,” he said easily.
They left the school through the back doors, crossing the parking lot toward Reed’s black Camaro. The drive to her apartment wasn’t as tense or awkward as she thought it would be. They chatted about the workshop and what Reed planned on teaching the kids the following afternoon, and by the time they reached her building, she felt completely at ease.