“Yes, only, the next time he knocked up a student, she was from a strong family. They weren’t happy with the situation.” Wyatt quickly grabbed his gin and took a drink, eyeing Mia who simply reached out and downed what was left of the clear, now watered down, liquid.
“Was he finally held accountable?”
“God, no.” Wyatt’s face twisted in disgust. “He claimedtrue loveand married her, they have two kids.”
“What a bastard.” Mia had met her fair share of men like that in her ten years in the academy, and she couldn’t stand them. Though they were mostly looking for a good time with a young girl, not an incubator.
“My dad always said that even if his IQ came from the Duke gene pool, it was the Jenkins in him that made him into the man he is today.”
“Nature versus nurture,” Mia realized with a sad smile.
“He was always so scared of turning out likehim.” Mia didn’t need to ask whichhimWyatt was referring to.
“And you carry the weight of that fear with you?” Mia guessed, and Wyatt shrugged, turning his gaze away from her. “Is that why you stormed away? Because I suggested you hold some sort of power position over me?”
“I do, though, don’t I?” he said quietly, tapping the bar with one finger. “For all intents and purposes—I’m your boss.”
“It was a silly game, Wyatt. I thought you’d enjoy it, that it would speak to your dominant side.” Mia couldn’t fathom why she’d care enough to cheer Wyatt up in the first place, or why she was trying so hard to get him to talk to her now.
“There’s a difference between dominance and superiority,” Wyatt said, lifting his gaze and locking it onto hers, his russet eyes intense and full of sincere emotion. “I never wanted to be your superior, Mia, I wanted to be your equal.”
“Oh, Wyatt, we were never equals.” She placed her hand over his. “I was always better than you.”
Wyatt burst into loud laughter. “You’re dreadful.”
“But in a sexy,I want to take you home and spank your impertinent ass, kind of way?” Mia teased, glad she could pull him out of his gloom.
Wyatt caught Mia’s hand and tugged her off her stool to stand between his knees, sliding his free hand to her nape and sealing his lips over hers.
His kiss was slow and soft, full of emotion more than passion, and against her better judgment, Mia got lost in it.
“Thank you,” Wyatt said, gently rubbing his lips against hers.
“Don’t thank me just yet, la bête.” Mia ran her hand through his unruly mass of hair. “You’ve just told me a very personal story, do you know what that means?”
Wyatt’s eyes lit up and his lips tugged into a sexy half-grin. “Tell me.”
“You’ve broken myonerule.” Mia’s arms circled Wyatt’s neck as she pressed her torso against his. “And since I was extra nice to you today, it means tonight I get to collect my rewardandpunish you.”
“What kind of punishment are we talking about?” Wyatt asked in a low, husky voice, fingers closing over her hips.
“The worst kind for a control freak brute like you,” she whispered in a near moan, Wyatt’s fingers flexing against her body possessively. “Tonight, you’re mine to do with as I please, Doctor Jenkins.”
A Man Who Likes Shopping
Mia
Mia laughedat the erratic noises coming from Wyatt’s bedroom. It never ceased to amuse her, Wyatt getting hastily dressed to make it to the hub in the morning.
She was already showered, dressed, made up, fed, and on her second coffee. Any other day she’d have been at the lab by now, but there was something irresistible about this version of Wyatt that compelled her to stay.
“Damn it, damn it, damn it.” Wyatt was running around the living room, stuffing his laptop into his satchel, then doing a three-sixty to scan for anything he may have forgotten.
“You are aware you’ll still be plenty early to work, right?” Mia asked with an amused smile from her perch on the breakfast bar.
Wyatt spun to her with a scowl, his messy hair even rowdier than usual and one tail of his dress shirt untucked. He looked almost boyish, all disheveled and scattered like that.
“Early in layman terms, late in Mia terms,” he answered with a raised eyebrow, properly tucking his shirt into his slacks.