Taking Care Of Leah Read Online Free

she’s had a couple…” He turned to look at her. “You haven’t heard the rumors, have you?”
    “Rumors?” Leah pressed, although it was obvious he was about to divulge in every detail. And he did. Miss Lorraine Smith, it turned out, was as dirty as they come, having slept her way around the teaching staff, including Phillip Rendell, who was also screwing Mrs. Davis.
    “Not sure I believe you,” Leah said when he’d finished telling her who was sleeping with whom. “It all sounds very…”
    “Sordid? It is. But it’s also only gossip and hearsay.”
    “How do you get to hear all of this?”
    “Caretakers and handymen are invisible. We’re useful, but people forget we’re there and happily talk. I’m a bit like a wall with ears. For instance, who do you think was in the room last week when you were telling Janice Lewiston how much you’d like to bite the new biology teacher’s arse?”
    Her cheeks flushed, as she remembered that she’d also said the same about his. She frowned, though, trying to remember a time that she hadn’t noticed him around. Ty let out a laugh.
    The car rolled to a stop. Ty’s home was in the Bristolian suburbs, situated on the main road, but set back by a short driveway and garden. Even in the dark of night, Leah could tell that the lawn and shrubs were well kept.
    “Looks like we have the place to ourselves,” Ty said, helping Leah out of the car. He passed some notes to the taxi driver before walking them both up the path.
    “You have a housemate?”
    “Yeah…” Ty slipped the key into the lock, opening the door. “You could say that. More of an old friend who is homeless and needs somewhere to crash for a bit. Only a few weeks has turned into a year, and he comes with a friend of his own.”
    “I know the feeling.” She stepped into the house. It was warm and cozy, and not at all what she’d expected. For some reason she’d thought his home would be unfinished with a smell of grease. But it wasn’t.
    Magnolia-colored walls ran throughout, broken up every now and then with a splash of color. The living room had a deep red feature wall, with a fireplace and a mirror above the mantel. No TV, she noted, but a record player in the far corner, and a huge box that she suspected was full of old vinyls.
    She sat on the sofa, almost afraid that she would put a crease in the smooth seat. It swept around in almost a semicircle and was padded with oversize cushions, some fabric, some leather, but all in either cream or the same red as the wall. Ty left her alone for a few moments before returning with two short tumblers.
    “Double vodka, splash of Coke, no ice.”
    It slipped down, the sugar of the Coke and heat of the vodka mixing with perfection.
    “I should probably apologize,” Leah said, interrupting the unwanted silence. “I don’t usually… I’m not normally so…”
    “Forward?” he offered.
    Leah nodded and finished the rest of her drink. Ty laughed, leaning into the sofa and stretching his arm across the back, his fingers dangling over the edge so that they tickled her neck.
    Leah wrinkled her nose as the faint smell of beer made its way to her nostrils. She’d almost forgotten about the spillage down her front. Leaning closer to her, Ty took the tumbler from her grip. “The shower is upstairs,” he said.
    She raised an eyebrow, sure of his hidden meaning.
    “I promise not to look,” he said, and she thought he meant it.
     
    * * * *
     
    The sound of water being forced into the glass cubicle seeped from under the door. It was tempting to take a peek, although he already knew what she looked like without any clothes on.
    Shoving his hands into the pockets of his trousers, he brushed his knuckles against the soft fabric of her knickers. He’d told her they were his now, and with any other woman, he would have kept that promise, waiting for the right time before giving them back to their true owner. With Leah Beauchamp, though… She wore those big