Indecent Desires

Chapter 1

Katrina wasn’t at all sure she wouldn’t call the man
up and
scream at
him if he didn’t arrive soon. Last damn one of the day and he was
standing her up. Her blasted head hurt as if it were in a vise. A vise
that
was tightening with every minute this man kept her waiting.
She rifled through her desk drawer, hoping to find something with
a painkiller in it. Cold medicine. Great. But she was desperate
and it had acetaminophen in it. It might leave her wired for hours
thanks to a good
kick of real ephedrine but she’d rather be wired than in pain.
“Are you Mrs. Page?” The voice was deep and masculine.
Authority
oozed from the assured tone.
But this was her damn meeting. She slammed the drawer on her
finger as she righted her body to see who spoke. As the pain bit into
her
fingertip, the words escaped her before she could reel them back
in. “Son
of a bitch!”
He simply watched her appraisingly with an impassive expression
that caused a knot of rage to twist in her gut. She didn’t need to
know the
man to guess who he was and he was late. She also held him
completely
responsible for her headache and that wasn’t helping her
vengeful
attitude. It was damn near eight o’clock in the evening and she
was done with this day.
“You must be Mr. Adler. And it’s Ms. by the way. You are aware
you’re late?” Her voice was curt and cool.
“Yes. I’m sorry but I got tied up and—”
“I don’t care.” Oh boy was she in a mood. “I’ve been here since
seven
this morning. It’s now nearly eight at night. The least you could
have done was call the office and let them know you were running
late. They
stayed open for just such a purpose tonight but I’m guessing
whatever it
is you were doing was far more important than this. Does that
about sum
it up?”
He watched her for a moment, saying nothing, giving nothing
away by the bland expression on his face. “As I said, I’m sorry. I’m a
single
parent and—”
“Contrary to what you obviously think, you’re not my only single
parent and every last one of them managed to make it to their
assigned
appointment.” Damn. In a mood didn’t quite touch her irritation
with this man.
He studied her intently but without so much as the slightest
reaction
to her anger. He was handsome—dark-brown hair, five o’clock
shadow,
oddly pretty eyes for such a masculine, brooding appearance.
However
stunning his light-brown eyes were, they were searing into her at
the moment. He was tall and fit and she was fighting to hold his
intense stare
rather than letting her gaze wander down his strong frame.
“Please have a seat.” Her voice was curt as she pulled her folder
back
out from her drawer.
He eyed the nearest desk. “I think I’ll stand, thank you.”
“Very well. I’m Seth’s homeroom teacher and I’m also the
seventh
grade English teacher. I’ve received reports from his other
subjects to review with you as well. Seth is doing well in his math
and science courses—above average in both—but he’s struggling
with history and
literature. I’m concerned his reading comprehension isn’t where it
ought
to be. This is his first year of junior high and I’m worried he could
fall behind quickly if his reading comprehension doesn’t improve.”
“I see. Do you have some recommendations?” The man’s jaw
was
tight but there was no mistaking the concern. He might not like
her—not
that she cared—but he was obviously concerned about his son’s progress. She shouldn’t be surprised but after their rough start
she was.