The Librarian Principle (36 page)

Liese shivered, in spite of Ryder’s suit jacket draped over her shoulders, yet he seemed unaffected by the cold, even in just a long-sleeved shirt. Once seated in the car, she made sure to activate both their heated seats.

On the drive home, Ryder held her hand, his gentle affection soothing. The interrogation by the police had drained her, and though Ryder asked if she wanted to talk, she didn’t feel much like recapping the conversation. Only as they pulled into her driveway did Liese find her voice.

“I’m sorry,” she said.

“For what?”

“For this mess: Sean, Blake. I know people must have seen. People are going to know—”

Ryder put the Lexus in park behind Marissa’s car and sighed, giving her hand a squeeze. “Please stop apologizing. You aren’t responsible for what others do and say, including Sean—or me for that matter. We managed the situation just fine at the school, and you don’t need to worry. If anything, I should be apologizing for getting involved with you when I knew what a precarious position it would put us in.”

Liese withdrew her hand. This reinforced the fear she’d harbored all along. She reached for the door handle as the locks clicked into place. “Don’t,” she warned.

“Don’t what? Try to keep you from leaving? Allow you to avoid an important and necessary conversation?” Ryder replied, the sharp edge of frustration in his voice tempered by his pleading tone. “Liese, what’s going on? What happened at the police station?
Talk
to me.”

“What do you want me to say? Look at how complicated this thing has become.”

“This thing?”

“Us. This relationship. You just apologized for getting involved with me. And I bring so much baggage to the school. It’s not professional. Maybe it’s just too hard.” Liese wrapped her arms around herself to protect her aching heart.

Ryder appeared dumbfounded. “Everyone has a personal life, Liese. FAHL is lucky to have you, and I wouldn’t want you to deal with Sean on your own. Are you saying you want our relationship to end?”

“No.”

“You’re sure?” He smoothed his tie, picking at the end before he looked at her again. “I thought we had this all sorted, but I would understand if you were having second thoughts.”

“I’m sure,” she said, her mind a whirl of emotions. “Are you?”

“Positively certain.”

She jumped at the zip of his seatbelt retracting.

“Sorry,” he murmured. “I didn’t mean to scare you.” His fingers slid into her hair, his palm resting against the side of her neck as he kissed her.

Her lips parted on a sigh when the warmth of his tongue met hers. Liese gripped his shirt, drawing him closer. She struggled against the restraint that kept her bound to her seat. All rational thought was obliterated in the face of so much anxiety. With her judgment clearly skewed, maybe it was best just to forget for now. Ryder’s mouth and hands had a way of making that happen. She unbuckled her seatbelt and launched herself at him. Once they’d locked together in a frantic kiss, she climbed over and tried to straddle his lap. Ryder reclined his seat, providing more room to maneuver, and then she sat on the horn. The sound surprised them both, and Liese smacked her head on the roof of the SUV. Talk about a mood killer.

“Fuck,” Ryder grumbled as the porch light came on and Marissa’s silhouette appeared in the window.

“Not anymore.” Liese struggled to get back over the console and into her seat before Marissa found her humping Ryder like a horny teenager.

He rubbed his fingers over his mouth in frustration and adjusted himself. “As wonderful a friend as Marissa might be, she certainly has horrible timing.”

“Well, I did honk the horn,” Liese offered.

With his hard-on adequately rearranged, he pinned her with a hot stare. “We’ll talk tomorrow.”

“Yes, sir.”

His eyes blazed with promise. She knew the next time they were together it would be just as intense as the last. She didn’t mind the prospect one bit; she just wasn’t sure when the alone time might occur. They had yet to make plans for the Christmas holiday, but Liese’s parents had recently returned from their trip abroad and had already informed her they were coming to Fullerton. Though they hadn’t settled on the arrival date, Liese anticipated it would be soon, as they’d decided to make yet another road trip out of it.

Ryder came around to open her door, and lacing their fingers together, they walked across the driveway and up the steps to the front porch. Marissa hadn’t come out, and Liese assumed she’d recognized Ryder’s vehicle and was giving them privacy. She doubted the courtesy would last long, as Marissa would be dying to know what had happened at the police station.

“Come see me first thing in the morning?” he asked, his tone gentle. “I want to know how your night goes.”

“I will. I wish you could stay.” She picked up his tie, letting it slip through her fingers.

“Me too.” Ryder hummed his agreement. “However, I don’t want to ruin Marissa’s current impression of me. I doubt she’d be amused by my spanking fetish in the same way you are. Besides, you only have one bedroom.”

“Good point. The couch is a pullout, though.”

“Tempting. But you have difficulty being quiet.”

“I—what?” Liese tried to sound incredulous.

Ryder grinned. “It’s forgivable. I know it’s a challenge to hold all your praise for my phenomenal skills until the end.”

“You’re so full of yourself.”

“I prefer it when
you’re
full of me.”

Liese rolled her eyes, but smiled. Their banter lightened her dark mood.

“That’s better.” He skimmed her bottom lip with his knuckle, then replaced it with his mouth.

At first, the creak of the door didn’t register. However, Blake’s stunned expletive managed to break through the haze of lust.

If there was any doubt whether Blake suspected something going on between them, it was gone now.

“Shit! Sorry.” Marissa tried to act as a human shield, but she was about five inches too short to accomplish the mission. “Goddamn it, Blake. Didn’t I tell you to stay in the living room?”

Blake put his hands on Marissa’s shoulders to keep her from bouncing so he could see around her. “Are you two . . . is he? I fucking knew it!” He pointed an accusing finger at Liese. He turned to Ryder, then back to her before his angry glare settled on Marissa. “Did you know about this?”

Marissa was unapologetic. “Of course. She’s my best friend.”

Blake wrinkled his nose. To Ryder’s credit, his only reaction was to move closer to Liese, draping his arm over her shoulder to draw her tight against him.

“I hope you aren’t going to make this an issue.” His tone made it sound more like a threat than the appeal it might have been had Liese been the one to speak first.

“Issue?” Blake scowled and rubbed the back of his neck as he focused on his feet. “I don’t even—” He stopped and took a deep breath. He looked more hurt than angry as he met Liese’s terrified gaze. “Why didn’t you just tell me?”

“I think the answer to that question is rather obvious,” Ryder replied.

“I’m not talking to you, so you can just shut it, Whitehall.” Blake raised a hand in Ryder’s direction but didn’t look away from Liese as he continued. “I wouldn’t have judged you.”

Liese quirked a brow.

“Okay, fine, maybe I would have judged you a little, but only because it’s Whitehall.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Ryder asked.

“You need to get over what happened in high school,” Blake said. “It’s been twenty years. Every damn person in the building knows you hate me.” When Ryder went to cut him off, Blake shut him down. “I don’t have the warm fuzzies for you either, but I’m not about to cause Liese more problems than she already has. If she wants to be with you, that’s her prerogative.”

“Blake—” Liese interrupted.

He pointed a finger at her. “Oh, no. No way. I’m not done yet, and I’m pretty sure I’m not going to get another chance like this ever again.” He took a breath before he continued his tirade. “And just so you know,
Principal
Whitehall,
I’ve
noticed the way you are with her. And I doubt I’m alone. If you decide to screw her over or hurt her in any way, I won’t have any qualms about dragging your name through the dirt.”

“Don’t make empty threats, Stone. It’s beneath you.”

“Oh, it’s not a threat, it’s a promise,” Blake sneered. “You think it won’t reflect poorly on you if your relationship goes public? Hard not to question someone’s ethics if they’re taking advantage of a new, young staff member, isn’t it?”

“And you’d drag Liese down along with me? How caring of you. Liese’s well-being is my top priority right now, unlike yours.” He gestured between Blake and Marissa.

Liese noticed Marissa wasn’t wearing any lipstick—which never happened—and Blake’s mouth was a more pronounced shade of pink than usual. Marissa’s top was also a wrinkled mess. Clearly, they’d been a tad preoccupied.

Ryder hugged Liese to him and stroked her hair. “Liese has had an inordinately difficult evening. The last thing she needs is to be held hostage on her front porch, listening to you spew your hypocritical bullshit at me. If you’d like to continue this conversation tomorrow, please feel free to stop by my office. Otherwise, get the fuck out of the way so Liese can get inside her own house. If you weren’t so busy shooting off your mouth, you’d notice she’s damn well freezing.”

Liese had curled into Ryder, as much to protect herself from the verbal sparring as to keep warm. But her teeth chattered as the wind blew through her skirt.

“Shit. I’m an asshole.”

“Well, that’s one thing we agree on,” Ryder shot back as he moved past Blake and Marissa. They pasted themselves against the wall to give Liese and Ryder room to pass.

Once inside, Ryder led her to the living room and settled her on the couch. He wrapped her in the nearest blanket, kneeling on the floor to tuck the flannel beneath her feet. Marissa and Blake crammed in the doorway.

“Can we get a minute of privacy, please?” Ryder snapped.

“Right. Sure, sorry.” Marissa tugged on Blake’s sleeve. They bumped into each other as they backed away, shuffling down the hall toward the kitchen.

“This isn’t good.” Liese huddled deeper into the couch. The chill of the wind seemed to have settled in her bones. Even cocooned in the blanket she was cold.

“Everything will be fine. It’s been a difficult night, and Stone’s an insensitive bastard.” Ryder fiddled with the blanket as he spoke. Liese couldn’t tell if he was trying to placate her or if he truly believed what he said.

“But what if what Blake says is true? What if other people have noticed how we are when we’re around each other? What if someone knows? Maybe I need to transfer schools—” Panic spiraled, and the dread she kept tamped down surfaced in the face of so much stress.

“Stop.” Ryder placed a finger gently against her lips. “He was trying to wind me up, and he didn’t take into consideration the effect it might have on you. We are very careful, are we not?”

“I’m not so sure about that.” Liese dropped her voice until it was barely above a whisper. “Think about it, Ryder. We had sex in
your office
in the middle of the day with Betty sitting right outside. What if I was too loud? What if she heard me and told someone else—like Harvey? And what about the rehearsal? A student could have seen us together. What if people are just waiting for us to make one more stupid mistake so they can expose us?”

Ryder sighed and ran a hand through his hair. “Liese, I promise you, no one heard a thing. Betty listens to talk radio all day long, and she’s more absorbed in her nails than what happens in my office. And you were very responsible during the rehearsal. More so than me, I’m afraid. I shall take future cues from you. But no students saw us that day, I can promise you that.” He lowered his voice and leaned in close, his lips at her ear. “Besides, you certainly can be quiet when it’s necessary.”

“Don’t,” Liese said, pushing him away. “It’s not funny, and you’re trying to distract me.”

“You need a distraction.” He rested his palm over her hand, which pressed against his chest, holding him at bay.