Naughty at 30 (Love Without Batteries #2) Read online

  “One of my middle school teachers passed away my first year of college,” he began. “I’d kept in contact with him since his retirement. It always amazed me how he’d made some of the kids in my class who hated science love his class. When he died, I still had no clue what I wanted to do, but I suddenly realized I wanted to inspire kids like he had and help those kids who were struggling with science. What about you, Chels? Why are you taking pictures?”

  I shrugged. “At first, I was more like an employee in Jason’s business. Even though we’d built it together, photography was his passion, and I was mostly an assistant. That’s why I took a bunch of small business management and accounting classes in college. Since I had some longer breaks in my class schedule, I figured, I’d take a few classes on photography and photo editing, just so I’d better understand the business and maybe be able to help out with the photo editing,” I explained. While I didn’t have a degree, I’d taken a lot of classes, and I felt confident running my own business with very little outside help.

  “Let me guess, you liked taking pictures and started taking on some shoots after that?” Luke prompted me.

  “Not exactly,” I admitted with a sigh. “Jason isn’t always a drunk. In fact, he quit drinking when we got married, and that’s part of the reason he was able to start his business in the first place. Those sober times are why he hasn’t lost the business yet. Anyway, he started drinking heavily again, and I needed to cover some of the jobs when he was too drunk. As it turned out, I enjoy it. I get to be part of people’s weddings, parties, and even help them record the early days of a new addition to their family. It’s a fantastic feeling, and I quickly discovered I’m good at it. People even started requesting me for events and studio shoots.”

  “How did Jason react?” Luke asked, and by his tone, I got the impression he already knew Jason hadn’t liked me becoming more involved.

  “Jason is a child,” I replied, because what more could I really say?

  “Meaning he was jealous about you getting attention from his clients,” Luke deduced. “From what Ty said, you’re not just good, you’re better than Jason, and I can’t imagine the little prick took that very well.”

  “I am better than him, and he didn’t take it well,” I agreed, not feeling any need to be modest when it came to my talent. “Don’t get me wrong, Jason has a lot of talent, but he’ll never go very far with it unless he stops drinking.”

  “Has he been harassing you?” There was no missing the tension in Luke’s voice.

  “Not since Tyler broke his nose,” I replied. “I’m not sure if it’s the threat of Tyler hitting him again, or the night he spent in jail that’s keeping him away. Either way, he’s been keeping his distance.”

  Luke’s only response was a grunt, which I assumed meant he approved of my brother breaking Jason’s nose.

  “You’re not going to remind me that you warned me about Jason?” I asked, only half-joking.

  We were stopped at an intersection when Luke looked at me. His fingers flexed on the steering wheel. “You think I’m that big of an asshole?” he asked quietly.

  I couldn’t help it. I laughed at Luke’s attitude, which really seemed to relieve some of my tension. “Don’t be such an ass, Lucas,” I told him. “We’ve known each other for years, and you were always the type to gloat when you were right. When it comes to Jason, you were definitely right.”

  He relaxed his hold on the steering wheel and pulled through the intersection. “First, I’ve never been such an asshole that I’d gloat about being right about you getting hurt. I would have done anything to prevent Jason from hurting you, Chels. When I heard he got off with just a slap on the wrist after he choked you, I wanted to hunt him down and break his hands for daring to put them on you.”

  “Lucas-,” I began, but he immediately interrupted.

  “Second, if you call me Lucas again in some bullshit attempt to relegate me to the role of a kid from your past, I’m going to prove to you I’m a man,” he warned, and there was no denying I desperately wanted to push him to do just that. I wanted him to prove he was a man, even though I had no clue what he meant by proving he was a man.

  Luke waited for my reply, a smirk on his face. “Go ahead and push me, Chels,” he taunted, his voice slightly rough.

  “Don’t threaten me,” I told him.

  “I’m not threatening you,” he stated, his gaze landing briefly on my mouth before returning to the road. “I’m flirting with you.”

  “You are?” I gasped, my mouth dropping open in shock.

  Chapter Six

  Luke

  I almost laughed at Chelsea’s shocked expression. Realizing how determined she was to avoid seeing me as more than Ty’s friend and some kid from her past, convinced me I needed to change my plan. Simply being around Chelsea wasn’t going to convince her I was the right guy for her when she was this determined to keep a wall between us. I needed to break down the barrier more forcefully, and I was looking forward to it. Back in high school, I hadn’t exactly been popular with the girls, but my college years had been a much different story. Girls had come to me, and I’d had an easy time finding someone to date. That had been nice. Honestly, I’d figured it was better that way and never expected to want anything different. I’d been mistaken, because I was looking forward to pursuing Chelsea. Not nearly as much as I was looking forward to claiming Chelsea, but I had a feeling the effort I put into getting to that point would make it even sweeter when she gave in, something I no longer doubted would happen.

  “I am definitely flirting with you,” I confirmed. “Now, what do you think I should do if you call me Lucas after agreeing to call me Luke?”

  “Spank me,” she suggested in a sweet voice that caused me to let out a startled bark of laughter. Of all the things I’d expected to come out of her sexy as sin mouth, that had not been on the list. I’d half-expected her to tell me off for suggesting I had any right to tell her what to do. The other half of me had expected her to lecture me on the reasons flirting with her would not be appropriate. Suggesting I spank her was nearly enough to make me come in my pants.

  “Fuck me, Chels,” I said around something that was a cross between a laugh and a groan. “Are you trying to kill me?”

  “Just making a suggestion,” she replied with a wicked twinkle in her eyes.

  “It sounded more like an offer,” I taunted.

  “Maybe it is,” she shot back, turning the tables on me.

  “I will definitely take you up on that offer later. For now, I think we should get that drink and talk,” I suggested as I parked the car. Meeting her at the curb, I took her hand, surprised when she didn’t pull away.

  “I’ve never been to this bar before,” Chelsea remarked, clearly trying to get our conversation back on safer ground.

  “It’s a great place, even if it does get annoyingly busy on the weekend. I like it because they serve good food, too,” I explained. We’d gone to a small bar another teacher had told me about. I was surprised I was able to find parking so close on a Saturday and took it as another sign things were going well. If I believed in fate, I might have insisted the stars were aligned, but I’d never been into that sort of thing.

  “That’s good because I’ll be drunk after one cocktail if I don’t get something into my stomach,” she told me. “We all know how stupid I act when I’m drunk. I’d probably end up climbing all over you and calling you Jake.”

  I studied Chelsea for a moment, trying to figure her out before deciding to just ask. “Are you fucking with me?”

  She regarded me as if I were an idiot, which almost made me laugh. “I’m not sure I understand your question.”

  “You’ve been doing your best to keep your distance from me most of the time since I picked you up,” I began. “The rest of the time, it’s like you’re flirting with me. Now, you’re letting me hold your hand. I know you’re joking about getting drunk and climbing all over me—something that would be hot if you were sobe
r. Intoxicated women don’t do anything for me.”

  We sat at a table further from the bar, and Chelsea ran her fingers along the menu. It seemed she was considering her answer carefully. “That night you drove me home, I thought you were some guy named Jake. That’s what I meant just now about calling you Jake.”

  “Yeah, I heard about that,” I grumbled. “I carried you from the car. The least you could have done was remembered it was me making sure you got home safely.”

  “You also looked through my panties,” she reminded me.

  “Just the bag on the coffee table. It’s not like I gave in to the temptation to look at the ones in your drawers.” I argued before realizing how bad that sounded. “I’m not really helping my case, am I?”

  “Not in the least,” she replied. “So, Brook told you I didn’t recognize you that night?”

  “She mentioned it,” I replied.

  “Did she also tell you the first thing I asked about when we talked the next day was Jake?” she asked. “I referred to him as the hot guy, and I told her I definitely needed to see him again when I was sober.”

  “You did?” I asked, trying not to preen, which was hard since it felt really good hearing Chelsea thought I was hot and had wanted to see me again after that night. It would have felt better if she hadn’t been too drunk to remember my name, but I’d take what I could get.

  “Yes,” she replied. “I had drunken sex dreams about Jake. Even worse, I can’t seem to get past that insane fantasy. I’m assuming you’re also dealing with some strange attraction to me, and that’s why you’re flirting with me.”

  “Strange attraction? You’re the hottest woman I’ve ever seen, Chels. I thought you were hot when we were younger, but that was nothing compared to now. When I saw your online profile picture for that dating site, I nearly swallowed my tongue. There is nothing strange about my attraction to you. But yes, I am attracted to you. Since blunt seems to be working for me tonight, I’m going to admit that I get hard just thinking about you. When you suggested I spank you, I was tempted to pull you across my lap in the car and take you up on that offer. I would love to have you squirming around on my lap as I spank your perfect ass.”

  Chelsea’s mouth parted and her tongue darted out to moisten her full lips, making me even harder.

  “What can I get you?” the waitress asked us.

  I almost cursed at the interruption, but I took comfort in the fact that Chelsea didn’t seem any happier about it.

  “I’ll have a Guinness. Are you getting a margarita?” I asked Chelsea.

  “With the direction this conversation is taking, I think I should just go for the tequila,” she admitted. “I need something stronger.”

  “We’ve got a great selection,” the waitress told her, turning the drink menu over so Chelsea could see the tequila selection.

  “I’m not really sure what to order,” Chelsea admitted. “My friend, Delaney, usually picks out the tequila.”

  “Can I make a suggestion,” I asked, and when she nodded, I took the menu. “She’ll have the Riazul Anejo,” I told the waitress, figuring Chelsea would like that one since it had a smooth, sweeter taste. “Can you also bring us an appetizer sampler?” I asked. “Don’t bring the drinks until the food is ready.”

  “Sure thing,” the waitress replied before taking off to fill our orders.

  “Thanks for thinking to wait until the food arrives for me to start drinking,” Chelsea said. “I skipped lunch today, and I never do well when I drink on an empty stomach.”

  “I definitely don’t want you drunk,” I added.

  “You drink a lot of tequila?” she asked. “I’ve never even heard of that brand.”

  “One of my friends loves tequila, and I learned a lot from him.” I definitely sounded distracted when I responded to her, but I couldn’t help it. My mind was still focused on spanking Chelsea, or touching her in any way. Even though I was probably going to regret torturing myself later, we were talking honestly about wanting each other, and I intended to stay on that subject. “Should we get back to talking about me spanking you?” I asked.

  Chelsea let out a little gasp and squirmed in her seat. I’d bet my left nut her panties were wet, a thought that had my dick throbbing in time with my pulse.

  My phone buzzed, and I was tempted to ignore it, but I was waiting for a call about getting a sub to cover my classes next week while I went to court with Brook. I’d had the time arranged, but a huge flu outbreak was making it hard to get a sub that day.

  “Sorry,” I said, looking down at my phone. “This is about my time off to go to court with Brook, so I need to take it,” I told her, hating that I had to derail our conversation at this point.

  “Go right ahead,” she insisted.

  I watched her for a moment, struggling with the desire to ignore the call, but I couldn’t. The call had already gone to voicemail, but the message would only tell me to call back. The instructor who was helping me get my classes covered was terrified the NSA listened to all voicemails and read all emails. He also apparently thought they cared about some really boring crap. What really surprised me was he wasn’t afraid of them listening in on his phone calls. I’d considered asking him about that but ended up deciding it would just result in him never taking another call.

  “Don’t lose that train of thought,” I told her. “We are definitely talking more about this when I get back.”

  Chelsea nodded, and I walked away from the table to return my paranoid coworker’s call.

  Chapter Seven

  Chelsea

  As soon as Luke walked away from the table, I grabbed my phone from my purse to text Delaney. Since Delaney was writing today, I decided to make sure I sent a message guaranteed to grab her attention. Anything too tame, and she was sure to ignore me.

  ME: Luke wants to spank me.

  Sure enough, her response came back right away.

  DELANEY: Luke? Are you talking about Brook’s Luke?

  ME: Yes.

  DELANEY: Really? Brook’s stepson, Luke? As in the Luke who is also your brother’s best friend? The one who stole your panties when he was a kid. Are you saying that Luke wants to spank you?

  ME: Is there any reason you need to describe who Luke is several ways before you believe my answer?

  DELANEY: Luke is right.

  ME: What is he right about?

  DELANEY: You’re a brat who needs a spanking. I think you should let him do it. Luke is really hot, and he has a sexy nerd vibe at times. Let the sexy nerd spank you.

  ME: You were drunk when you met Luke. How would you know about his sexy nerd vibe?

  DELANEY: Drunk. Not dead. Any woman with a heartbeat would pick up on the sexy nerd vibe.

  ME: Do you think Tyler would mind if I sleep with Luke?

  DELANEY: So, now it’s a spanking and sex? I don’t think Ty would mind you dating Luke.

  ME: I’m just talking about sleeping with him once to get these crazy thoughts out of my head. Maybe I don’t need to tell Tyler since it will only be that one time.

  DELANEY: LMFAO!

  ME: What is so funny?

  “She’s laughing because it’s not going to be just one time.”

  I nearly jumped out of my skin at the sound of Luke’s voice right behind me. My first thought was that maybe this was one of those dreams where something truly embarrassing happens. Usually, I just dream about realizing I’m naked while photographing a wedding for a very religious family. I don’t know why, but my naked school dreams have all changed to naked religious wedding dreams.

  So, I did the only logical thing and pinched my own arm, but much like I’d feared, I didn’t wake up.

  “Did you just pinch yourself?” Luke asked.

  “It’s rude to read other people’s text messages,” I accused, annoyed that I was blushing from being caught talking about sleeping with Luke. Now, Luke knew I wanted to sleep with him, and he probably also knew I thought he had a sexy nerd vibe—which he totally did.
Delaney had definitely hit the nail on the head with that description. Then, I realized how ridiculous it was for me to be embarrassed. I’d told Luke about my attraction to him. Clearly, he knew I found him attractive even without reading my text.

  “Sorry,” he said with a sheepish grin. “That wasn’t actually my intention, but it seems that after only a few months of teaching, I’m constantly looking over people’s shoulders to read their messages when they’re texting.”

  “I’m not following you on this,” I admitted.

  “The kids all have phones, and even though they aren’t supposed to have them out in class, I catch them texting all the time. They even text with the other kids sitting in the class with them. I find that after I’ve read a few out loud, the kids stop for a few days,” he explained.

  “I hope you don’t share anything too embarrassing. It could be really traumatizing,” I told him. “I had a crush on a boy in one of my classes when I was in seventh grade, and my teacher read the note I was sending to my friend to tell her I liked that boy. I was so embarrassed, I thought I’d die. The boy wasn’t in the class that day, but as I’m sure you know, it was spread all over the school by the end of the day.”

  “I’d never share anything like that,” he assured me, sitting across from me and picking up the beer the waitress had dropped off while I was texting Delaney. “I just read the less embarrassing messages, figuring the kids sending embarrassing texts will be afraid I’ll read theirs. Tell Delaney you have to go because I’m going to put you over my knee in the bar.”

  “You wouldn’t dare!” I nearly screeched.

  Luke grinned at my reaction. “You’re right about me not spanking you in public. I’m not really into exhibitionism, but from what I’ve heard, this will make Delaney’s day.”

  I giggled at the image of Delaney reading my text. My friend had recently developed a fascination with spanking, and with her being an erotica writer, she had a great imagination.