Chapter 21
brIE
Alright. Fine. I might have accused Sawyer of something he didn’t do. Jumped to a conclusion. Treated him very slightly unfairly because of it.
But how was I supposed to know this was the first time ever when he wasn’t the asshole?
Dev confirmed Harvest asked him for Sawyer’s number. Not the other way around.
(Which is, by the way, extremely rude and insensitive.
How she had the tits to ask a guy she’s dating for another guy’s number, I don’t know.
But Dev has a heart of gold and when I asked him why he gave it to her, his white teeth appeared in his thick beard and he said, “Who am I to stand in the way of love?”)
However! I can say with a hundred percent confidence that Sawyer is still an irritating ass.
He’s in a bunny costume right now, talking to my students in a stupid voice, completely ignoring me.
And yes, I know how that sounds. But he is absolutely one-hundred-percent, no-doubt-about-it ignoring me.
When I offered to offload the box of fidget toys from him, he turned his head away from me, and proceeded to fumble them in his bunny paws instead of accepting my help. I couldn’t see his eyes, but I just know he was looking at me when I offered—I could sense it.
What’s more, when he asked if anyone had any questions, and none of my students raised their hands, I spoke up and asked one to get the ball rolling.
Like a nice supportive teacher would. And once again, he looked at me with those vacant bunny eyes before turning back to the students without answering the damn question.
It’s fucking infuriating!
I’m fuming by the time the Funny Bunny presentation is over and the final bell rings.
My rage fuels me as I wave the kids off at the pickup line, Funny Bunny doling out hugs at the far end.
And I am apoplectic as I trail through the empty school, smiling stiffly as the last teachers wave their goodbyes. Even the promise of meeting Tess at Jolly’s for a drink isn’t enough to cool me down.
So when I return to my classroom only to find him there, still in the stupid costume, gathering the props he left behind, I turn rabid.
“Hey!” I call out.
He freezes, just for a second. But it’s enough. I have him. He can’t pretend he didn’t hear me this time. I see him take a deep breath through the suit as he turns around to face me in the empty classroom.
Voice muffled, he says, “How can I help you, Ms. Casey?”
For one horrible moment, I think I have it all wrong. What if it isn’t Sawyer in that costume?
But one look at those broad shoulders, the way he tries to stuff his paws into non-existent pockets, then pulls the paws off and rubs the back of his furry neck, and I know it’s him.
Marching up to him, I shut the classroom door and say, “Why are you avoiding me?”
“I’m just being professional here,” he says, resigned.
“Professional, my ass!” I hiss. “You’re acting like I don’t exist!”
“I don’t know what you’re—”
Before he can finish, I yank the bunny head off. Sawyer’s face is startled and sweaty. His cheeks are red and his eyes, dark and brooding, hold mine with startling intensity.
“Trust me,” he says, voice husky but clear as day, “I know you exist.”
His gaze drops. To my lips. My neck. My breasts. Lower. It singes my skin before his eyes rise to meet mine again. Desire lances through me, almost painful in its severity.
For one insane moment, I forget where we are. Forget we’re in a classroom. In the school. In Blue Ridge. I forget who he is. All I want is to grab him by the fur and drag his lips to mine. I want him to touch me. Claim me. Do things to me I’ve never wanted from anyone before.
Then his eyes cut away, and it’s like being plunged into an ice bath.
I want him to claim me? What the actual fuck?
Suddenly, I’m angry all over again. At myself, but mostly at him. And he’s still ignoring me. Even now.
“Why are you ignoring me.” I force the words through gritted teeth, practically spitting them.
“I’m not—”
Lifting the bunny head up, I wallop him over the head with it. In the back of my mind, I’m utterly grateful the school’s empty in my moment of madness.
“Ow!” He steps back and rubs his head, but I feel no remorse.
“Why are you like this?” I stomp forward and thwack him with it again.
His back meets the wall. “Would you stop doing that?”
“Would you be honest with me?” I hold the bunny head up threateningly.
He closes his fingers around my wrist and yanks the head from my grasp. He tosses it on a desk. I reach for it, grazing the ear with my fingertips, but he spins us around pinning me against the cinderblock wall.
His eyes bore holes in my skull as his warm palms press against mine. “How would you even know if I was ignoring you through the mask?”
I square my shoulders, trying to hide the way my heart thrashes against my ribcage. His eyes follow the movement.
“It couldn’t be more obvious,” I sneer.
His hips press flush against mine, pinning me. A voice inside me begs for more.
Shut up, you hornball. What is wrong with me?
Sweat beads at his temple. “And you’re so good at reading people.”
Lifting my chin, I say, “You aren’t exactly shrouded in mystery.”
He rocks his hips into me. The pleasure hisses through my body, and I stifle a gasp. Without permission, I grind back. His eyes darken.
His mouth hovers over the crook of my neck, breaths coming out hot and heavy. “And you could never be wrong.”
A full-body shudder vibrates down my spine.
His responding chuckle, haughty and insufferable, knocks something back into place. I huff out a frustrated breath.
Sawyer tormented me my entire life. Never let me have any peace. Taunted me, picked on me, embarrassed me every chance he could. Even as an adult, he can’t help playing these mind games with me.
I’m tired of it.
“You know what, Sawyer?” I say through my teeth. “I don’t even care anymore.”
Sawyer’s heavy body shoves up against me, taking my weight, pushing me to the tips of my toes. He’s hard everywhere, and I hate how good it feels. Hate that it makes me want him. Hate that my hands plunge into his hair as my breath catches.
Intent on getting my point across, I grit out, “You can go fuck yourself.”
His mouth on my ear, he says, “I’d rather fuck you.”
The words go straight between my legs, making me hot and wet. My nipples pebble. I try so hard not to grind myself against him. But it’s hard. Everything is hard.
“See, Brie,” he says, lips against my neck, sending heat down to my core, “that’s the problem.” He lets out a dark chuckle that tugs on my clit. “That’s always been the problem.”
He pulls back just enough to meet my eyes. His are black. Like a shark’s. His hands are on my hips. Every cell in my body screams for more.
His mouth travels to my other ear. “You ever think maybe” —he nips my lobe with his teeth, and I clench around nothing— “the reason I can’t look at you” —his teeth graze down my neck, sucking at the very base, making me whimper— “is because I don’t want a raging boner at work?
” He pulls my sweater over just enough to bite my shoulder before soothing it with a kiss. I let out a low, desperate moan.
His erection presses directly onto my bundle of nerves, making me gasp in pleasure. I can’t hold back anymore. I rub myself shamelessly against him, giving in to the friction I crave.
Sawyer groans. He pulses his hips just enough to make my entire body shake with need. I’m so close to release, I could come so easily with just a little more.
“Hey Brie, why—”
Sawyer and I turn to the doorway, where Tess’s eyes are as large as dinner plates. They scan down to where Sawyer, in his headless bunny costume, has me pinned against the wall.
At some point, my legs must have accidentally wrapped themselves around him.
I lower my feet to the floor.
“Sorry! Just came to check on you since your car was still in the lot.” She says it all like it’s one word, and quickly closes the door behind her.
By the time it clicks shut, Sawyer’s put a veritable ocean between us, and is blocking his crotch with the bunny head.
We look at each other, breathing hard, for a long moment, too stunned to say or do anything. Then, his eyes clear.
Voice hard with authority, he says, “That will never happen again.”
His words suck all the air from my lungs. It’s only when he exits into the hallway that I let myself breathe again.