“What are you doing here?” I ask as I get out of my car.
His arms are crossed over his impressive chest, and his blue eyes are pinned on me, not giving anything away. “So, you’re a high school teacher,” he finally says in that deep, growly tone of his.
“So you’re a student’s father,” I fire back, scowling at him. “How did you even know where I live?”
“I had one of my men do a search on you, Mackenzie Masters. Twenty-three. Just moved here from Melbourne. What’s a city girl like you doing in rural Western Australia?”
“None of your business,” I reply, narrowing my eyes. “You were an asshole today, you know that?”
A muscle works in his jaw.
Turning my back on him, I open my trunk and start to pull out the bags of groceries. He’s there before I can grab the second one, carrying them all and walking beside me to my front door. I hate that his delicious cologne lingers behind him, and that all I can do now is follow him.
“You don’t have to do that,” I grumble, trying to ignore the draw I feel toward him, even now. Why did this have to become so complicated? I haven’t felt this chemistry with a man ever. It was never like this with my ex, Jesse, which makes me feel I did the right thing by breaking up with him.
“Unlock the door, Siren,” Chance gently commands.
“Siren?” I ask, frowning as I slide past his large body and fumble with my keys to unlock the door. I hesitate before stepping aside for him to enter.
“You’re safe with me,” he vows, and for some reason, I know I am, physically at least. Sighing, I hold the door open for him, and he follows me to my kitchen and puts the bags down on the counter. “Want me to help you unload?”
“No, thank you.” I ask again, “Siren?”
“I didn’t know your name, so that’s what I was calling you in my head.” He smirks, running his thumb across the stubble on his jaw. “Mackenzie suits you.”
I cross my arms over my chest and study him, my gaze dropping to his leather cut that says ‘President.’ Was he wearing it the night I met him? I don’t even remember. That’s how wild I was for him. “I wouldn’t have touched you if I knew you were the parent of one of my students. I didn’t think you were that old.”
“Old enough to handle you right and give you what you need,” he replies, blue eyes dancing with amusement and heat.
“And how old is that?” I press.
“Thirty-six.”
Twelve years older than me. I thought he was about twenty-eight. Fuck, he looks good for his age, especially that muscular body of his. He must work out… a lot.
Thirty-six. That means he must have had Cash when he was around eighteen or nineteen.
“Got any other kids?”
“No,” he replies instantly.
“His mother?”
“Not in the picture.”
My eyes narrow. “And what are you doing here?”
His throat works as he swallows. “I wanted to apologize for this morning. It wasn’t your fault, and I shouldn’t have spoken to you like that. I just wasn’t expecting to see the woman I fucked in our bar’s office at my son’s school.”
My eyebrows rise. I wasn’t expecting an apology, but then my gaze drops to his neck, to the hickies that look real-fucking-fresh, and I decide how to handle this. “Thank you for the apology. I appreciate it. But you shouldn’t have come here, it’s very unprofessional, and?—”
“We’re long past that, don’t you think?” He closes the space between us, pushing me back against the counter. “I just wanted to make sure everything was okay between us. I don’t want you taking it out on Cash because I was a dick.”
My jaw drops. “I would never do that.”
“Good to know,” he rasps, blue eyes roaming over my face.
“It’s bad enough I had a one-night stand with a student’s father,” I mutter, closing my eyes and taking a breath. “It was very unlike me. I knew it was a bad idea, and now it’s come back to bite me in the ass.”