Lesson in Romance. Harmony Evans

cracked his knuckles. “Piece of cake.”

      He arranged the letters from A to Z, humming “The Alphabet Song” as he went along. He ended the tune in fake falsetto, holding the last note like an opera diva.

      Although she was glad he knew his letters, playtime was over. She had a literacy center to keep open and he had a reputation to maintain. It was as if he’d forgotten the reason they were doing this in the first place.

      “Are you always like this?”

      “I warned you.” He laughed. “I haven’t even pulled out my best material yet.”

      She fought to keep impatience out of her voice. “Let’s try to stay focused, okay?”

      “I’m sorry.” He folded his hands in his lap like a choirboy. “You have my complete attention.”

      “Next, I’d like you to point to each letter, say it aloud and see if you can think of a word that begins with that sound. I’ll write the word on the whiteboard as you say it. I’ll go first.”

      “C. Cup.” She printed the word neatly. “C-U-P.” She put her finger under each letter. “Cup begins with the ‘kuh’ sound.” She put the next letter on the board. “Your turn.”

      Alex glanced at the board, then at her. “This all seems so elementary. Are you sure we just can’t—”

      “English is a sound-based language,” she interrupted. “You’ll learn faster if you can hear the sounds at the same time you read them.”

      She pointed at the letter. “Just take your time.”

      His brow furrowed in concentration as he looked at the board.

      “It looks like the letter B.”

      “That’s right, and what sound does the letter B make?”

      He moved his lips, and she felt bad as he struggled to figure out the sound. But she had to test him a little, to see how much he knew.

      He blew out a harsh breath. “I’m sorry. I can’t do this.”

      She put her hand on his knee. “It’s okay,” she said soothingly. “The sound of the letter B is ‘buh.’”

      “B-Buh.” He repeated the sound after her, then several more times. “Beautiful.” He turned to face her.

      His eyes held hers, and her cheeks flared hot.

      “Wh-what?”

      “You asked me for a word that started with the sound ‘buh,’ and I’m giving you one. Beautiful.”

      She stared into his eyes, dumbstruck for a moment, wondering why he would pick that particular word, knowing he couldn’t be referring to her, hating herself for wishing that he was.

      Alex waved his hand near her face. “Earth to Cara.” She jumped and the dry-erase pen rolled onto the floor. “And I thought I was supposed to be the one falling asleep in class.”

      She ignored his comment and brought out another letter.

      “F. Hmm…” He rubbed his fingers under his chin as if pondering a theory.

      “Keep it clean!” she warned, her insides fluttering.

      “I was going to say Fudge.” An innocent smile played on his lips. “What did you think I was going to say?”

      “Never mind,” she murmured, her face warm. “Great job.”

      “Do I get a gold star?”

      She grabbed her magnetic letters. “Perhaps, but there’s a lot more to do.”

      “Wait a minute.” He took the letters from her hands and set them on the table.

      She looked up at him, a little stunned by the heat that flowed from his fingers as he placed her hand in his.

      He paused, like he was trying to find the right words. “I want to apologize for giving you a hard time back in Harlem.”

      His eyes searched hers, and the sensual feel of his thumb as he rubbed it back and forth over the ridge of her knuckles made it difficult for her to concentrate. She was sure he could hear her heart pounding.

      “It’s okay,” she stammered. “It must have been difficult coming back and finding all that stuff out.”

      He nodded, not taking his eyes off hers, sucking her in and surprising her with the desire she saw there, making her want to drown in it.

      “It was, but I had no right to take it out on you and I want to apologize.”

      She watched his full lips as he spoke to her, and when her mouth began to water she slipped her hand from his.

      “You already have. The thing you have to do is to keep at this. I know it’s hard, but I’ll help you. No matter how long it takes.

      “And—” she winked “—if you promise to stay on task, I promise…” She quickly racked her mind for ideas and blurted out the first one that popped into her head. “I’ll make dinner tonight!”

      He leaned back against the pillows with a grin that could light up a city block. “Now that’s one offer I can’t refuse.”

      * * *

      Two hours later, Alex braced his palms against the tile and gritted his teeth as cold water streamed over his body. Arching his back, he shivered more from disbelief than discomfort even though he felt like he was going to explode.

      He never would have guessed learning the ABC’s would be such an incredible turn-on.

      He didn’t know what it was about Cara, but he was so attracted to her he could barely concentrate on what he was supposed to be doing. Instead, all he could think about was making love to her.

      For him, the afternoon had been a lesson in restraint.

      He had to stop himself from tugging on the bun in her hair to release her unruly curls, from caressing her neck and stroking the outside of her thighs when they brushed against his. Her full lips had his complete attention when she spoke, even if the subject matter didn’t.

      He smiled and wondered whether if he kissed her her caramel skin would glow like it did when he teased her. How would it respond if he were to taste her?

      Thinking of her in his arms, he didn’t need to look down to know his erection was still at the ready, with no means of release other than by his own hand, and he knew doing that would be wholly unsatisfying. It would just make him want her even more.

      His teeth chattered as he sucked in his breath and wished he could make the water colder, even though it was like ice right now.

      Alex grabbed the soap and thought about how much he enjoyed flirting with her. Still, it unnerved him that his initial fear of talking to her was starting to disappear. He didn’t like the fact he let down his guard a little too easily around her, often without realizing it until it was too late.

      First, he’d told her the story of the man who humiliated him on the subway. She didn’t have too much of a reaction to that one, or at least one that he noticed. Being an adult literacy teacher, she’d probably heard all sorts of horror stories.