Saturday Snippet

Today's theme is an easy one – Author's Choice. I thought I'd go with a blast from the past and one of those books I don't seem to talk about much. It's a shame really because it's one I loved writing and a story that in some ways closely mirrors my real life. Like the heroine, I was a high school English teacher for years and some of Kelly's conversations with her students were things that actually occurred in my classroom. Unfortunately…there was no hot undercover, alpha male, dominate cop named Mac hiding out in my room and pushing all my hot buttons.

Snippet:

"Such big words, Lieutenant."

The immediate disappearance of his smile clued her in to her mistake. Glancing around quickly to make sure they were alone, she held up her hand to ward off the chastisement she read on his lips.

"Sorry. Slip of the tongue. It won't happen again, I promise."

He stalked toward her and she found herself backing up involuntarily at the anger she saw in his face. In four steps, she found herself cornered in the book room off the office, backed up against the wall and watching him kick the door shut with his foot. The room was tiny at best and finding herself in such close proximity to him left her struggling to take a deep breath.

"I said I was sorry." However, he simply continued to glare at her.

"Sorry isn't really enough, Kelly," he said sternly. "If Meg or anyone else had been in that room, my cover would have been blown in an instant. Not only would you have ruined my chances of working here covertly, you would have made it next to impossible to sneak someone else in without raising suspicion."

"I understand all of that." She was unhappy with being treated like a child by this infuriating man.

"Do you?" he asked hotly. "Do you really? Because from where I'm standing it seems to me you'd be very happy to see this investigation fail."

"That's not true," she retorted. "I don't like the underhanded way you're going about it, but I do realize the need for change. I don't like my students being in danger and I'm perfectly aware of the fact that gangs are dangerous. Hell, I broke up two fights just last week outside my classroom door! I'm not an idiot."

At his deepening scowl, she feared her words weren't soothing his temper at all. "What do you mean you broke up two fights?"

She was taken aback by the quick change of topic. "Verbal altercations and a little shoving. Not fights, really."

"Well, you won't be doing that again."

She was appalled by the man's conceit. Surely he didn't think he could solve all the school's problems in one day? "Well excuse me, Mighty Miracle Worker, but I hardly think you can claim there won't be any more fights simply because you're in the building."

"Oh there are bound to be more fights, but you won't be breaking them up. Good God, woman, what were you thinking? Tiny thing like you? You could have been hurt."

She was confused by his immediate about-face. One minute he was yelling at her for nearly blowing his cover and the next he was yelling at her for endangering herself. Infuriating, frustrating man. Anxious to recover the upper hand, she dismissed his words with a shrug of her shoulder. "It's part of the job. Besides, as I recall, you were brought here to put an end to gangs taking over the hallways, not to act as my personal bodyguard. If trouble starts up again, I'll step in."

He leaned toward her as a smile she immediately distrusted claimed his handsome face. "Perhaps it's time for us to establish some ground rules."

"Rules?" His lips hovered mere inches from hers. The temperature in the small book room shot up and she fought the impulse to fan herself.

"You're a teacher." He moved even closer, although she wasn't sure how that was possible given the fact that it already felt as if he were taking up every available square inch of the room. "No doubt you have rules in your classroom and consequences if those rules are broken. That might be a good idea for us as well."

"Fine," she choked out. "Rule one, you can't keep—!"

He interrupted her. "Oh no, sweetheart. You misunderstand. I make the rules."

Fury rippled through her at the thought of Mac attempting to impose a bunch of rules on her. Did the pompous male chauvinist pig actually think she would consent to such foolishness?

"You can kiss my ass if you think—"

"Careful, Kelly, you might not want to give me that particular permission. You see, there's nothing I'd like so much as to kiss your…" He reached back to envelop her rear end in his strong hands, letting his fingers fill in the blanks.

"Get your hands off me!" She was shocked by the liberties he was taking. And in the English office, first thing in the morning. "Someone could walk in!"

Rather than removing his hands, he started lightly stroking her buttocks through her dress slacks. "So you wouldn't mind me doing this if there weren't a chance we'd get caught?"

"God." She drove both her fists against his rock-hard chest. "You are the most annoying, irritating man I've ever had the misfortune to meet!"

Taking his hands away from her bottom, he smiled and moved them up until he gripped the shelf of the bookcase right above her shoulders. "You played with fire yesterday, Kelly, and now I think it's important you realize how dangerous that was."

"I don't know what you're talking about."

"Don't you?" He leaned forward and, taking her earlobe in his teeth, he nipped lightly. "We had a name for a girl like you when I went to high school. A cock-tease."

Offended by his words and insult to her reputation, she started to protest, but he bit her ear again, this time hard enough to sting.

"Rule one," he whispered as his tongue dabbed the sore spot briefly. "The next time you undress me with those sexy eyes or tease me with that husky voice, I'm going to give you exactly what you're asking for. Rule two, if those lovely lips of yours call me 'lieutenant' again, I'm going to fill them up so you can't speak at all. And rule three, if you put yourself in danger and attempt to break up another fight, I will turn you over my knee and spank that lovely ass of yours, then I'll take you up on your invitation and kiss it better. Understand?"

She was overwhelmed by his powerful words. She knew she should be appalled by his rough treatment, yet she was incredibly turned-on. God help her, what did that make her? She wasn't some weak-willed woman who let a man order her around and yet, the idea of taking orders from Mac in the bedroom made her so hot and bothered she could barely breathe. The temperature in the damn book room must have been pushing at least a hundred and ten.

When she failed to respond, he pushed away from her and looked at her face. "I said, do you understand, Kelly?"

Gathering her wits about her, she replied with as much strength as she could muster. "I'm not one of your subordinates, Lieu—"

His lips devoured the rest of her words as he demonstrated exactly how he intended to silence her.

Covert Lessons is available at Ellora's Cave, Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Sony, Kobo and All Romance Ebooks.

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