“And you’re a liar.”
“I haven’t lied,” he said smoothly.
“Why would Scott seek a private conversation with you?”
“Me of all people, you mean?”
“Don’t put words in my mouth, William. I wasn’t implying—”
“Of course you were.” He narrowed his gaze on her. “You know what I think this is about? Jealousy.”
“Jealousy?”
“It’s killing you that I’m more important to one of your pupils than you are.”
“That’s ridiculous!”
He studied her for a moment, his smirk indicating he believed otherwise. “Well, the cause for your interest really doesn’t matter, because as I’ve said, repeatedly, the topic of our conversation was private and no concern of yours.”
“When one of my students vomits in my yard, it’s my concern.” She hesitated, then asked the question she had dreaded asking. “Was it about Millicent?”
His expression shifted. He looked at her with curiosity of a different sort. Speaking slowly, he said, “How odd that you would mention her.”
“Not that odd, since you were speculating on the reason for their breakup earlier today.”
“But Scott didn?
??t know that.”
“Did you talk about Millicent?”
He hesitated, then said, “Her name came up.”
“In what context?”
“In the context of Scott’s relationship with Wes.”
“Wes? What does he—”
“More than that I can’t say without violating confidences, Marilee.” He set his coffee cup on the end table and announced that he was going to bed. “I’ll be leaving early to open the store. Don’t bother getting up to see me off.”
“I had no intention of getting up to see you off.” It was a cheap shot, unworthy of her. William didn’t even acknowledge it as he left the room.
Because of the power outage, there would be no school tomorrow. She should be looking forward to another free day. Instead, she was deeply troubled.
Wes, Scott, and William. The chemistry of that trio made Marilee uneasy. Beyond living in the same town, they had nothing in common except furtive conversations about something that William refused to discuss, when ordinarily he loved being the purveyor of information and gossip. His reticence was annoying. It was also unsettling, especially since Millicent Gunn seemed to factor into it.
Marilee’s uneasiness kept her awake for hours, even after she’d gone to bed. She didn’t realize she’d fallen into a restless sleep until she was awakened by her lover. He was in bed with her, caressing her through her nightgown.
“Oh, I’m glad you’re here,” she said, lightly touching his face.
Within seconds he had the nightgown off her, holding her tightly against him, his penis hard and insistent. She placed her thigh on his hip, took him in hand, and guided him into her. But tonight he didn’t want fantasies or finesse. He pushed her onto her back. His thrusts were hard and fast, almost angry.
Afterward, he lay across her, heavy with exhaustion, his head on her breasts. She caressed the back of his neck, relieving the tension that had collected there. “You’ve had an awful day.”
He nodded.
“Talk to me about it.”