Randi felt electricity zapping along every nerve she possessed, her awareness condensed to this moment with this man—the feel of the desk, Nolan’s hard body behind her, his fingers curling into her hips, the sound of the papers rustling and their heavy breathing, the sexy, sweet words he uttered, the hoarseness in his voice, her own gasps and moans.

He slid a hand forward to cup her breast and tug on a nipple, and she felt the ripples of pleasure deep where she clenched around him.

“Fuck yes,” was his answer.

Then he slid the hand lower, stroking over her clit. She gasped and pressed back harder against him. He did it again and again, his touch winding her perfectly until he leaned in, his chest to her shoulder blades, and said gruffly, “Come for me, Ladybug.”

She felt the shudder of pleasure go through her and on his next thrust, she came apart. He thrust twice more, then tensed and groaned her name as he came, buried deep.

They stood, panting together for a few minutes. Randi was pretty sure she could stay draped over that desk for the next few weeks and her legs would still feel like jelly. Eventually Nolan stood and pulled out. She turned her head, watching him deal with the condom and pull up his pants.

“I think this newspaper has become a part of me,” she said.

He looked over with a grin. “Let’s see.” He tugged her to standing and sure enough, the newspaper came too. He peeled it off of her skin carefully. She had ink smeared on both breasts and her stomach. “I didn’t even know I had fantasies about you covered in newsprint, but damn.”

She laughed and nudged him back so she could reach for her clothes. “You’re such a nerd.”

He caught her hand against his chest and brought her in for a kiss. “Yes. The nerd who just made the head cheerleader scream in ecstasy.”

Well, she couldn’t argue with that.

They both dressed and Randi opened her mouth to invite him to her house for the night—when they heard voices on the other side of the door and getting louder.

Their gazes collided and Nolan lifted a finger to his lips. He reached over and shut the light off. The room plunged into total dark and Randi felt disoriented for a moment. Then she felt Nolan move in close and wrap his arms around her. She hugged him back, grateful for the anchor as they waited.

There was a quick flicker of light under the door, clearly from a flashlight, a moment before the outside office light came on.

“You didn’t go out the back door though, right?”

It was Carter Shaw’s voice. One of the local cops. Randi cuddled in closer to Nolan. Not because she was afraid of Carter’s badge. More because she could already see Carter’s shit-eating grin if he caught them. And she knew the story would beat her to work in the morning.

One thing about being the only girl in a garage full of guys who treated her like a sister—they treated her like a sister. Teasing and all.

“Of course not. Went out the front.”

And that was Jackson Brady’s voice. The outer guidance counselor’s office was his.

Randi dropped her forehead to Nolan’s chest. Great.

Nolan chuckled softly and stroked his hand up and down her back. She loved when he did that. She felt so cared for. Nolan had a way of making her feel like she was the most precious thing in the world. She could really get used to that.

She could also really miss that when he was gone.

She tamped down that thought. Yes, he lived in San Antonio. But it wasn’t France. Or Mars. And he loved her. There had to be a way to work things out. They’d get to that.

“Well, we looked all over the building. Nobody’s here. Maybe the back door blew open,” Carter said.

“Yep, guess so. Just thought it was worth checking out when I saw the door open.” There was the sound of a chair scraping on the floor, then a creak.

Was Jackson sitting down at his desk?

“Thanks for coming right over,” Jackson said. “Wanted to get some work done tonight.”

“No problem,” Carter said. “Slow night.”

Randi heard Jackson laugh. “It’s Quinn. Slow night is a typical night, right?”

“You got it.”