"It would have been nice had those rumors been passed on to me," I growl, my temper flaring. I've been pissed since I met with Richard Johnson today. I'm not impressed with his behavior. If the man is terrorizing the staff and students at the school, he's got to go. I won't have a bully running one of our schools, especially not an elementary school.
"He's been at the school for longer than most of the board has been alive, Sebastian," Leslie says, exasperated with me. She says I like to bulldoze instead of taking a softer approach to problem-solving. She's probably right. "Rumors aren't complaints. You know we can't take action based on unsubstantiated rumor."
She's right, dammit.
"I plan to get to the bottom of the matter," I warn her, not mincing words. "I'll be working onsite at Commodore for the next week, monitoring the situation. If he's causing problems for the staff, he needs to go."
"Agreed." She tilts her head to the side, studying me. "You'll need evidence of wrongdoing to terminate him. Especially if you're going to be dating one of the teachers under his command."
I jerk my chin in a nod. I planned on doing that before Rowan knocked me flat on my proverbial ass. I didn't like the way he spoke to Cadence Grayson…or how nervous she looked around him.
"Which teacher are you dating?" Leslie asks.
"None of them yet," I mumble. As much as I wanted to claim Rowan five minutes after meeting her, I couldn't. Not until I talked to Leslie and smoothed the way. Nothing will touch Rowan. I'll make sure of it.
"Out with it, Sebastian," she demands, smiling at me. The lines around her eyes and mouth deepen, her eyes sparkling with humor. "I've put up with your surly ass for two decades. Spill."
"Her name is Rowan." I smile, my mood lifting as soon as I say her name. "Rowan Lassiter."
"I knew it!" Leslie crows, laughter burbling from her. "Isn't she precious?"
"She's…magic." See? I still have no other word to describe her.
"Beautiful too," Leslie agrees, still smiling. "She's one of the most popular teachers in San Francisco. A few other schools have tried to woo her away since she started, but she says Commodore is her home."
"What else do you know about her?" I ask, too damn curious about Rowan not to pry for any little kernel of information Leslie can provide. Jesus. I feel like one of those cartoons, with hearts beating out of my eyes and my heart beating out of my chest. I can't remember the last time I felt this way. Actually, I don't think I've ever felt this way. Women haven't ever been a priority in my life. But as soon as I saw Rowan, some visceral part of me sat up and whispered, "Mine."
That same voice has grown increasingly more adamant and agitated in the few hours since. I can't settle, can't relax. My skin feels too tight, my muscles aching. I don't know what sort of magic she wove over me, but I want—need—to make her mine.
"Wouldn't you like to know?" Leslie teases with another laugh.
I narrow my eyes, scowling at her.
"Don't even try that alpha male bullshit with me, dear." Leslie cocks a brow. "I remember when you were fourteen with braces and bad hair, trying to sweet talk your way out of finishing your schoolwork."
"I did not have bad hair," I mutter, shaking my head. I probably did have bad hair. It was the nineties. We all had bad hair in the nineties.
"I've only met her a few times. She's a sweetheart." Leslie sobers, pinning me with a gaze that still has the ability to strike fear into the hearts of unruly teenagers. "Be discreet, Sebastian. She means a lot to the kids at Commodore."
"Plan on it," I promise.
"Rowan, fuck," I groan, my head kicking back as I imagine her on her knees in front of me, my cock in her mouth and desire in her eyes. Her tits are out, her curves taunting me. My stomach flexes hard, her name ripping from my lips as cum shoots from my cock, landing against the wall of the shower. I keep fisting my shaft, working out every last drop.
My head tips forward to rest against the wall as I suck air into my lungs in greedy gulps. The hot water beats down on my back. I've already come twice since I got home, but then I'll think about Rowan and my cock hoists the sail again.
I can't wait to see her again tomorrow.
Just thinking about it makes my cock twitch. He's going to be raw if I keep it up.
Ignoring him this time, I quickly finish showering and then turn the water off. My phone beeps from the bedroom. I sigh when I hear it. As the only Superintendent in San Francisco, my job never ends. If it's not one thing, it's another. I love what I do, don't get me wrong. But can't a man have one night off?
"Guess not," I mutter when the phone chimes with another incoming text. I snatch my towel off the bar and run it through my hair, drying it the best I can before I wrap it around my hips. My feet squeak on the porcelain tile before sinking into the plush rug spread across the floor of the master bedroom.
I've lived in this house for the last six months, but it still doesn't feel like home to me yet. The place is a gorgeous three-story Queen Anne with gingerbread trim, an all-glass back wall that looks out over the city, and a turret. It was built in 1916 by a well-known architect. It's magnificent inside and out…but something has been missing since I moved in. The place is too quiet, too still. Or maybe I've just grown lonely. There's no denying that this is a home for a family. Settling down to start a family wasn't on my mind when I bought the place, but it sure as hell is now.
My phone chimes again before I can snag it off the bedside table. I grin when I see the messages from my youngest sister, Kennedy.
Baby Sister: Can I quit school and move in with you?
Baby Sister: Say yes.
Baby Sister: You'll be my favorite brother.