When the Night Falls

Kiss: touch or caress with the lips as a sign of love, sexual desire, or greeting.

JASMINE

“Thea, are you ready to go?” I called out, watching her talking with her new friends.

“Can we stay for five more minutes?” she asked with a pout.

“No, baby. Dad will be angry if we don’t get home on time,” I said sadly.

“Okay.” She turned to her friends and waved goodbye. I grabbed her hand and took a step forward but stopped when I heard a voice.

“Ms. Jasmine, are you leaving?”

I smiled at Liam. He was a teacher like me, and I could tell from the moment I saw him that he was interested in me.

He was cute, there was no denying. His blond coiffed hair gave him a distinct boyband look, but his muscular body more than made up for his baby face. Plus, his electric blue eyes were quite magnetic.

“Yes, Mr. Liam. I need to head out. Thea and I have a long drive home.”

He walked next to us, unperturbed. “That’s a pity. I was hoping we could get a quick coffee and get to know each other.”

He winked at me and I couldn’t help but smile. He was nothing compared to Theodore, but I had to admit he had game.

“Sorry, Mr. Liam. Maybe some other time.” I smiled at him as Thea pulled on my hand.

“I’ll hold you to that,” he said, fixing me with a mock-stern expression.

His eyes shifted to Thea, who I was surprised to see was frowning at him. He looked surprised but I spoke before he could ask about her. “Sorry, Mr. Liam, I have to go now,” I said, just as my phone rang.

Think of the devil, and the devil may call you…

I answered the call, telling Theodore that school had just ended and we were heading home.

Once Thea and I were on the road, I asked, “How was your first day?” I glanced over for a split second and saw the frown finally leaving her face.

“Flower, I loved it! My classmates are so nice. They all wanted to be my friend. They asked about my favorite color and how many dolls I have, and we even talked about our favorite Disney princesses. Skylar said she likes Moana…” She chattered on excitedly, while I listened to every word.

I thought about my own day. I’d never thought I would be teaching kids, but, if I was being honest, I had enjoyed it. The kids were extremely well-behaved, and I wondered why they weren’t at least a little mischievous or even playful.

It was a private school, so, obviously, the kids had been told to behave—reputation mattered. The students were expected to call the teachers ma’am or ~sir~.

I’d already had a few friendly conversations with the other teachers. They were pretty busy with their class schedules, so I couldn’t interact with them too much, though.

Liam was a fourth-grade teacher, and I had to admit he was good-looking. He hadn’t been able to pull his gaze away from me when I walked into the teachers’ lounge. I could tell he was interested in me—all the signs were there.

And he was a smooth talker, for sure. In another life, I could see something happening between us. But he didn’t give me butterflies, though, or make me feel the way I felt with just a look from Theodore.

I suddenly realized what I was thinking. Why was I even comparing Liam with Theodore? He was my boss. Nothing would happen with us.

I shook my head to clear it and went back to focusing on Thea.

When I reached the mansion, I went right to my room to change. I couldn’t wait to kick off my uncomfortable heels.

Once I was in comfy clothes, I went to find Thea. She’d already changed out of her uniform and was sitting on her bed reading a book. No homework, since it was her first day.

“How ‘bout a snack?”

“Yes, please.”

“Come.”

She took my hand and we walked to the kitchen. It took us several minutes just to reach it—that’s how big this mansion was! As we walked, we passed Mick, Sherry, and six other bodyguards, all keeping a watchful eye out.

After our snack, we wandered back to my room to have a nap. It was only 4 p.m., but I was kind of sleepy, and Thea was yawning.

I set the alarm to make sure I woke up by 7 to prepare dinner. Theodore got home by 8 every day, and I knew he’d want to know about the school day.

Thea and I crawled into my bed, and she wrapped her arms around me. She never missed a chance to cuddle.

I let out a sigh as sleep took over.

After our nap, I went to the kitchen to start dinner. Iris poked her head in to inform me that Theodore was in his office.

Thea sat at the marble island in the middle of the kitchen, drawing on her pad, sitting.

As I was placing the food on the dining room table, Theodore walked in. There were dark circles under his eyes, and he seemed tired as he looked at me, but his expression was neutral, as usual.

Even so, he was still the most beautiful man I’d ever seen. He made Liam look positively ugly. His firm, masculine face. His bulging muscles, threatening to tear right through his shirt.

I shut my mouth quickly, realizing I’d been drooling. Focus, Jasmine, I chastised myself.

I looked away from his gaze and concentrated on Thea, helping her wash her hands and get her plate.

“How was your first day?” Theodore asked Thea as we ate.

She told him everything, but she wasn’t as animated as she had been when she told me about her day; I knew she was scared of Theodore.

“But I didn’t like the way Mr. Liam looked at Flower,” she concluded.

My eyes widened as I turned to Thea before looking at Theodore. He stopped eating and raised a brow.

“How’d he look at her?” he asked.

“He looked at Flower like Prince Charming looks at Cinderella.”

I started coughing as she spoke. I knew she hadn’t liked Liam talking to me because she had been frowning, but I’d never thought she would tell her dad about it.

Theodore helped me out by handing me a glass of water. He didn’t say anything, but I knew he hadn’t liked what he’d heard. His eyes were hard, and the way he was looking at me gave me chills.

I couldn’t eat after that. I felt this weird apprehension as everything became very, very quiet.

“I would like to talk to you in my office after dinner,” he said.

I wanted to say something but had no idea what, so I kept my mouth shut. Thea looked between me and Theodore, but she didn’t have any more to say either.

“Good night, Thea,” Theodore said.

“Good night, Papa.”

Thea ran to her room, and I followed Theodore to his office. He closed the door, and I stood there, silently as he pulled a file out from the rack on his desk. We stood there without speaking as he read through the file.

“Didn’t I warn you not to break any rules?” He wasn’t looking at me.

“I didn’t break any rules, and Mr. Liam only asked if I wanted to have coffee with him.” I gulped as he put down the file and walked toward me.

I stood rooted in place, but I tensed when he loomed over me. He wasn’t saying anything, but his intensity was what made me shake.

I craned my neck to look at him. We were standing so close that I could feel the heat radiating off him.

In my nervousness, I chewed my lip as my mind started playing all the scenarios of what happened in romance novels in situations just like this.

The author would have the hero grab the heroine and they would kiss, but this was reality. No author was going to make the hero kiss me, and I wasn’t daring enough to kiss him.

He was my boss. He’d probably fire me and ruin my future career prospects if I tried anything.

“You have something on your blouse,” he said finally, cutting through the silence like a knife.

Then he reached out a hand and placed it on my side. His firm grip held me as he brushed a crumb off my blouse.

But once the crumbs were gone, his fingers lingered. I felt the heat of his touch, and that dull electric buzzing that coursed through me whenever he touched me.

What I wouldn’t give for him to slip his hand underneath the woven material and touch my bare skin. I think I might melt.

“Ms. Gibson.” His voice drew my gaze back to him, and I tried to take a step back. I had no idea how close we were.

But I tripped over the edge of the carpet and fell backward. However, no sooner had I started to tip backward then I felt his hand grab me again, this time holding firm against my ass and yanking me towards him.

The wind was knocked out of me as I was pulled flush against his rock-hard body.

Every single signal in my mind was firing at once. I wanted to run. And I wanted to fight. I wanted to reach up and kiss Theodore. And I never wanted to see him again.

I felt hotter than I’d ever felt in my life.

Looking up into Theodore’s eyes, mere inches away, I could see the furious expression on his face.

“Do you want to get drinks with this… Mr. Liam?” he asked coldly. The words seemed to be dirty in his mouth.

I started to shake my head, but caught myself. “N-no, sir.”

Theodore leaned, if possible, closer. His lips brushed against my ear and he whispered.

“Good. Because if what I heard this morning is anything to go on, you’re interested in someone else.”

I felt my face fill with color, and my heart started to pump tenfold.

Fuck, fuck, fuck. He heard me last night. The triumphant smirk crossing his face was proof enough.

“Look, I…,” I began, but Theodore cut me off by covering my mouth with his hand.

“But Ms. Gibson,” he said softly. “You weren’t moaning that loud. The real me would make you moan a hundred times louder.”