Page 36 of Asher's Assignment
One side of his mouth lifted in a shy smile. “Sorry. Sometimes my filter doesn’t work.” He dropped his hand and started to lean back, but Esther grabbed a handful of his t-shirt.
“No.” She shifted closer. “No, I wouldn’t stop you.”
The smile on his face slowly died, and an intensity darkened his eyes, turning them into midnight pools.
He brought his hand back up and wove it into her hair, bowing his head. Esther held his gaze until his face blurred, then closed her eyes. A breath later, his lips brushed hers. Just a touch. But it was enough to send a torrent of heat rushing through her. As it radiated down her spine, he pressed his lips to hers again, harder this time. The electric burn picked up speed, rushing down to her toes, only to fly back up to pool in her belly.
A soft whimper escaped her. She wrapped her arms around his shoulders and sidled closer. The hand in her hair held her head steady as he deepened the kiss. He slipped his other arm around her back, engulfing her in his embrace.
For long moments, he nipped, then soothed her mouth, tasting her. She returned the favor, learning he liked it when she sucked on his bottom lip as much as she liked it when he did it to her. And that his dark hair was as silky as it looked. The cool strands curled around her fingers.
Distantly, a chime broke through the spell they’d woven. Esther’s eyelids fluttered as her mind registered that the sound wasn’t going away.
In a blink, the source of the noise clicked. She sat back abruptly, staring at him with wide eyes. “My cake,” she whispered.
“Cake?” His brows dipped, then smoothed out. “Right. The cake.” His hands fell away.
During their kiss, the photo box had slid to the side. Esther righted it and set it on the bed. “I better go check on it.”
He gave her a jerky nod and ran a hand through his hair. “Yeah.” He cleared his throat. “Go ahead. I’ll put the pictures away.”
Esther pressed her swollen lips together and nodded once. Thoughts bounced around her brain, refusing to form into words. He’d addled her brain, and she needed a moment to gather herself. She knew it was a chicken move, but she did the only thing she could.
She fled.
Thirteen
“Okay, kids. Let’s quiet down.” Asher waited a moment for the group of kindergartners to look at him. They’d been working on an alphabet activity for the last twenty minutes, and he could tell that most of them were done. The noise level had increased dramatically. “Your teacher left a list of videos for us to watch on learning sight words. Do you want to watch from your seats or sit on the carpet?”
A chorus of “Carpet!” rang through the room, making him grin.
“Sounds good. Come have a seat.”
The group converged on him, settling into spots on the eight-by-ten rug at the front of the room. Asher picked up the remote from the desk and aimed it at the projector to turn it on.
The screen stayed blank, and he frowned. “Is there another way your teacher turns the projector on?” he asked the kids.
“No,” one said.
“She uses the remote,” said another.
He tried again, but got the same result. Heaving a sigh, he let his arm fall to his side, then walked to the projector hanging from the ceiling. Tipping his head back, he looked for a power button. Finding it, he flipped it on. The lights lit up, but nothing appeared on the screen. “Well, fudge.”
Giggles echoed off the classroom’s painted cinderblock walls.
“I’m going to run next door and ask Miss Campbell for help.” He edged toward the door. “Stay seated. I’ll be right back.” Turning, he dashed out the door to Esther’s classroom next door. He didn’t know how he got so lucky to be right next to her on his first day, but he was glad fate was on their side.
He rapped his knuckles on her door, then poked his head in. Twenty-some sets of eyes swung his way, but he was only interested in one. He caught Esther’s gaze at the front of the classroom, where she stood pointing at the screen and talking to her students. “Hey. Sorry to bother you. I need a hand.” He offered her a quick smile.
“Of course.” She looked at her class. “I’m going to let the video play. I want you to pay close attention and tell me which sight words you see when I come back.” She lifted the remote in her hand and pushed a button. The video started up.
Asher frowned. What the heck did he do wrong that his wouldn’t work?
She met him at the door. “What’s up?”
“How did you do that?”
“Do what?”
