Total pages in book: 26
Estimated words: 24615 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 123(@200wpm)___ 98(@250wpm)___ 82(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 24615 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 123(@200wpm)___ 98(@250wpm)___ 82(@300wpm)
My eyes swept her from head to toe, admiring her curves and fantastic rack. She had long, straight, dark red hair and twinkling brown eyes. Along with her pale skin, both those features seemed to bring out the adorable freckles sprinkled across the bridge of her nose.
She was cute but somehow extremely sexy at the same time. And with her delicious aroma, my body tightened, and I was assailed with the desire to nibble every inch of her body before I ate her like my favorite dessert.
Her brown eyes sparked when they met mine, and her cheeks turned a pretty shade of pink.
That was all it took for me to know.
This woman was mine.
2
ALICE
In the weeks since I started working in the pre-K program, I had seen many different parents pick up our young students. None of them had caught my attention like the guy who’d just buzzed in for Cara. Then again, none of the other dads were even remotely as attractive as this one.
The man talking to the head of the program was huge—about a foot taller than me and a good sixty or seventy pounds heavier. It was all pure muscle, though. And lots of ink.
Add in his dark hair, short beard, and piercing green eyes, and he was a guy any woman would notice. Even one whose focus should be on the little girl she was walking out to meet him.
“Be professional,” I mumbled under my breath.
Cara tilted her head back and looked up at me with eyes the same color as the man’s. “What’d you say?”
“Nothing, sweetie.” I flashed her a soft smile and squeezed her hand.
Her lips curved into an answering grin, but then her gaze darted toward the front desk, and she yanked her hand from mine and raced forward. My heart melted when the man crouched down so she could throw herself into his arms. His deep voice sent a delicious shiver down my spine when he murmured, “Hey there, Carebear. Did you have a good day at school?”
Cara nodded. “Uh-huh.”
He tickled her ribs, and her giggle filled the air, making all of us smile. “I thought your mama wanted you to start using yes instead.”
Cara’s shoulder slumped…and mine did too, right along with her. But for an entirely different reason. It was a much-needed reminder that not only was it unprofessional to lust after one of the dads of my students, but it was also totally wrong since the man had a wife and child.
“Yes,” Cara huffed.
“Well, at least I can tell her you know how to say it if she asks.”
One of the other teachers called my boss’s name, and Nora excused herself, leaving me alone with Cara and her dad. His gaze moved from her retreating figure to me, and there was no missing the flare of interest in his green orbs. Lifting Cara into his arms, he cradled her against his broad chest as he smirked at me. Seeing this guy—who was ridiculously masculine—holding her so carefully had my ovaries close to spontaneously combusting.
He kept his gaze locked on mine as he walked toward me instead of the door. “Thanks for bringing Cara out to me. I’m Grady Walsh. What’s your name, gorgeous?”
It was just my luck that the first guy to bring my dormant libido to life was already taken…and that when my body finally decided to react to someone, he was the kind of man to hit on his daughter’s teacher even though he was taken. Even worse, he did it right in front of her.
Unfortunately, I had to be polite since I couldn’t afford to lose my first real job just after I’d started it. Flashing him an insincere smile, I answered, “I’m Alice Payne, one of Cara’s teachers.”
Cara squealed, “She’s my favowit.”
“Favorite,” Grady corrected with a gentle tug on her ponytail.
“Uh-huh,” she mumbled. Her eyes widened, and then she switched her reply. “Yes.”
She was so adorable that we both laughed. But my humor turned to a mixture of lust and anger when he murmured, “Don’t blame you one bit for that. I just met Miss Alice, and she’s already my favorite teacher here, too.”
“Mm-hmm,” I hummed instead of thanking him for the compliment.
He winked at me, and I had to straighten my spine to stop myself from reacting to the shiver that went down it. “Which is why I want to take you to dinner tonight.”
“Sorry, but no.” My apology was insincere but was also better than what I would have said if keeping my job didn’t depend on being polite.
“We can go out tomorrow instead if that doesn’t work for you,” he offered.
Crossing my arms against my chest, I shook my head. His gaze dropped to my boobs, and I realized the position propped them up and made them look even bigger. But I refused to back down, so I didn’t drop my hands to my sides. Instead, I said, “I didn’t turn you down because I have plans tonight. I just don’t want to go out with you.”