The Librarian Principle (27 page)

His rigid posture relaxed, albeit minutely, but his eyes reflected a new kind of disquiet. “I thought she wasn’t going to be here until the end of the day,” he bit out irritably. “Tell her I’ll be with her in a minute.”

He hung up and met Liese’s petrified gaze. She hastily buttoned her navy blazer, thankful she’d worn it, seeing the rumpled mess her blouse had become.

“My sister is early,” Ryder said. He tightened his tie and fastened his own suit jacket to cover the majority of his dishevelment.

“Oh, God! That’s not good.” She ran her fingers through her hair, trying to tame it.

“It could be a hell of a lot worse.” Ryder stepped forward and brushed her hands away from her hair, smoothing it out for her. His fingers caught in a tangled section, and he had to work to free them.

“It smells like sex in here.” She straightened his tie and stepped back, looking around the room for a secret exit; there wasn’t one.

Ryder opened the top drawer of his desk. Wielding a can of room deodorizer, he released a spray of overpowering scent into the room. “Better?”

Liese grabbed the can, covering her mouth and nose so she didn’t breathe in the fumes. “Now it smells like sex in a flowerbed. This stuff is horrible. Where did you get it?”

“It was in there when I took the job.” He motioned to the drawer. “It’s better than my office smelling like sex. Isn’t it?”

“Not really.”

“Well, does it even mask it at all?”

“I think so. It’s hard to tell though.” Liese sniffed the lapel of her blouse. “I’m saturated in the smell of you.”

Ryder’s eyes lit with dark fire. “This was a terribly bad idea.” He took her face between his hands and kissed her fiercely.

“The room spray or the kiss?”

“Neither—the sex in my office.”

“Oh, right.” Liese adjusted his tie again. “So much for all our declarations. It felt good, though.”

“I can’t disagree with that.” He smiled wryly. “You should go back to the library. I’ll send someone to get you when the police arrive.”

“Okay.” She’d forgotten all about the police.

Liese checked herself over one last time. Priority number one was finding something to mask the smell of Ryder. He opened the door and stepped aside to allow her to exit, careful to avoid physical contact. Her cheeks felt hot as she left the safety of his office, but she couldn’t miss the tall, lanky girl with hair the same color as Ryder’s that leaned against Betty’s desk. At the sound of the door opening, she turned to Ryder with an excited smile.

“You’re early.” Ryder’s tone was chastising but his grin told another story. “I thought Donovan was dropping you off at the end of the day. Aren’t you missing classes?”

She shrugged. “I took the bus. Sitting in a car with Dad for an hour is torture. You’ll call in for me, right?”

She gave him one of those typical teenage looks, halfway between expectation and apology. Tiffany inspected Ryder as he tugged on his tie. Out of the corner of her eye, she could see Ryder’s sister appraising her next. Liese prayed she didn’t look as guilty as she felt.

“I’ll speak to you later this afternoon,” Ryder told Liese, his tone all business. He in no way looked like someone who’d just had sex in his office with the school librarian. Aside from the tie-tugging, he was maddeningly unflustered.

“Great. Good. Thank you, sir.” Liese forced herself to look at him despite her desperation to escape the office and all the eyes therein. She caught a twitch at the corner of his mouth but couldn’t be sure if her jumpiness was the cause.

She realized she’d been staring at him, probably for longer than was comfortable. He broke eye contact first. “Annaliese, I’d like you to meet my baby sister, Tiffany. Tiffany, this is Ms. Harper, our resident librarian.” He gestured between them.

As Ryder’s subordinate, meeting his sister shouldn’t have been a big deal, but Liese wasn’t currently feeling confident about her ability to speak coherently.

She smiled at Tiffany and waved. “Hi.”

“I’m not a baby, RJ!” Tiffany half-shrieked and flapped her hands in a dramatic display of displeasure. “He’s always trying to embarrass me like that.” She directed the comment to Liese before cutting a scathing look at Ryder. “I don’t go introducing you as my geriatric brother, do I?”

“I’m hardly geriatric.” He crossed his arms over his chest.

Liese stifled a laugh. She could definitely see the family resemblance.

“Whatever.” Tiffany faked indifference.

The warning bell rang, signaling the end of lunch. Liese hadn’t realized how long they’d been alone in his office. “Oh! I should get going. There’s probably a line of students waiting for me. Nice to meet you, Tiffany.”

“You, too.” Tiffany called as Ryder ushered her into his office and shut the door.

Liese forced down a wave of nausea as she headed for the library. Talk about awkward introductions. Yet another reason why people who worked together shouldn’t hook up. Especially if, like her, they didn’t have the best poker faces in the world.

She entered the library, taking comfort in its quiet familiarity, but the full impact of how close they’d come to being caught hit Liese when she stepped inside her office. They were lucky no one had interrupted them mid-fornication. It could have been anyone at the door—another staff member, the superintendent, some other board employee who could destroy their careers. She sanitized the crap out of her hands and slathered her arms in lotion that made her smell like a piece of cake. She hoped it covered the pervasive scent of Ryder’s cologne.

Students began to file into the library, allowing her to divert her attention to something less stressful. Then, as if she needed more drama, Blake showed up.

“You had a visitor at lunch today.” He tried for casual, but she could tell the curiosity was killing him.

“I know. I was hiding behind the mailboxes and heard most of it.” There was no point in lying.

“What?” His voice rose.

Liese glared at him, looking pointedly over his shoulder at the students. “I said I know,” she whispered. “He’s my ex-boyfriend. It’s complicated. Thanks for getting rid of him though—it could have been disastrous.”

“Ex-boyfriend? I wondered what his deal was. He was pretty damn persistent about seeing you.”

“He’s delusional,” she clarified, feeling compelled to provide some sort of explanation. “We broke up months ago, but he can’t seem to take a hint. It’s really frustrating.”

“That’s kind of messed up. I’m sorry.” Liese could see him putting things together. “I’m glad it was me who ran into him instead of you.”

“You have no idea how thankful I am about that,” she said.

Blake gave the room a quick scan, then lowered his voice. “I caught him trying to sneak in one of the side doors even after I told him you weren’t available.”

“Yeah, I saw. I was in Ryder’s office watching the surveillance cameras. I’m glad he didn’t get back inside the school.”

“Me too, from the sound of things.” Blake fiddled with her Post-it notes. “Wait, so Whitehall knows? He’d better not have been a jerk about it.”

“He’s being quite nice, actually,” Liese said. She focused on softening her tone. “He’s helping me file a restraining order this afternoon.”

“Oh? That’s a good idea.” He looked surprised that Ryder could be something other than an asshole. “If you need someone to walk you to your car or anything, let me know. I’m a great bodyguard.” Blake flexed a bicep, and Liese tried not to laugh. Blake, while attractive, was tall and lean, not a typical bodyguard physique.

“What?” He pretended to be hurt. “I’m wiry but strong. Anyway, I’m around all weekend if you need company.”

“Thanks. I’ll keep that in mind.”

Halfway through study hall, Ryder called Liese for a favor. He had things to take care of, and Tiffany was bored. She could hear the apology in his voice. And the plea for understanding.

“Send her down. I’m happy to have her here,” she said. Maybe she’d have an opportunity to make a better impression on his sister this time around, now that she was less frazzled. Ryder arrived a few minutes later, Tiffany trailing behind him.

She perked up when she took in her new surroundings. “This library is awesome!”

Ryder shushed her when half the students in the room swiveled their heads to stare.

“Sorry,” she whispered. She turned to Liese. “Can I look around?”

“Have a ball.” Liese motioned her forward. She didn’t need to be told twice. Tiffany dropped her backpack on the closest table, disappearing into the stacks.

Once his sister was out of earshot, Ryder inclined his head toward Liese’s office. From her place behind the door, she could still see most of the students at the tables, but she and Ryder were hidden enough to escape notice. He maintained a safe distance.

“Are you okay?”

“I’m fine,” Liese said, but she wasn’t sure she meant it. She was a lot of things: incredulous over her recent tryst in Ryder’s office, terrified Sean might be more dangerous than she’d first assumed, and distraught that she and Ryder wouldn’t be able to adequately hide their relationship, compromising their jobs. Now she was responsible for his baby sister, and Liese wanted her to like her. Of course she was fine.

“I never should have put you in that position.”

“I don’t mind your sister being here. She’d be bored out of her tree if she had to sit in your office all afternoon.”

“That’s not what I was referring to.”

“Oh.”

“I won’t let it happen again.”

“I’m sorry?” Confusion made her slow to understand.

“I promise not to take advantage of you like that. You were distraught. I was angry and feeling . . .”

“Um, I was a willing participant, and I think I started—”

“—who was anxious about an ex-boyfriend who showed up and wouldn’t leave.”

“Well, there is that,” Liese conceded. “I think we should probably agree to be hands off when we’re in this building—or in any public place, for that matter.” Ironically, they’d leaned toward each other as they spoke, inching closer with every exchange. She took a step back.

“Agreed.” Ryder mimicked her movement and leaned against the doorjamb, looking over his shoulder at the students, who were busy studying. “Do you have somewhere to stay this weekend?” he asked. The abrupt subject change caught her off guard. “I don’t like the idea of you being alone. I’d invite you to stay at my place, but with Tiffany there . . .”

“Blake offered to hang out with me.” Liese gave him a lopsided smile. She didn’t have to wait long for a reaction.

“Not funny.” Ryder gave her a hard look. “That man is like a fucking vulture.”

“He’s just worried.” Liese held up a hand to fend off his verbal bashing. “And that was a joke.”

“Worried, my ass,” Ryder grumbled.

“I can call Marissa and see if she’s available.” When Ryder didn’t move she added, “Right now?”

Liese hadn’t expected to get Marissa on the phone, but she answered on the first ring. After a brief explanation of the situation, Marissa cursed a blue streak and promised to be in Fullerton in less than three hours. Liese told her not to speed. Marissa “pffted” and hung up.

“Happy now?”

“I’d be happier if you were spending the weekend in my bed,” Ryder said. “But this will do.”

“Raincheck?”

“The sooner the better, Ms. Harper.” His hand jerked at his side, as if the compulsion to touch her was too strong to deny. She could relate. “I should get back to my office.”

“Probably a good plan.”

“Oh, and the police will be here by the end of the day. I’ll call you when they arrive.”

“Okay.”

As Ryder turned and left the library, Liese looked out over the students. She had to wonder whether she and Ryder were more obvious than either of them realized.