Page 64 of The MC's Little Brother

“Alright, this is your homeroom class,” the VP said brightly before waving at the woman at the desk in the corner to join us. “Your homeroom teacher, Mrs. Blair, is one of our most prestigious teachers. She’s been teaching for over twenty years. You’re in good hands with her.”

This lady was more of what I expected from a teacher. She had a strict look to her and deep frown lines. I felt Xander tense under her scrutiny, but she softened just enough to put him at ease.

“Nice to meet you, Mr. Ruiz. I hope you’re ready to learn something today.”

He winced and ducked his head, which didn’t escape the woman’s notice. When she looked at me questioningly, I tipped my head to lead her away.

“Mr. Sawyer, could you please show Mr. Ruiz to his desk? I’ll be right with you,” she said as a student edged past us into the room. The kid looked familiar, though I couldn’t place where I knew him. He nodded slowly and beckoned Xander, introducing himself as they wandered away.

“Is there something I should know?” she asked once the boys were out of earshot.

I didn't feel like it was necessary to share all of Xander’s business with some random ass teacher, but she needed to know enough to support him, so I kept to the basics. “Xander had issues with school thanks to a rough home life before he moved in with me. He doesn’t think he’s good at school.”

She hummed thoughtfully, her lips pursed. “I see. I might have him do some testing and see where he’s at. Is there anything else?”

I thought about it and I was going to say no, but I considered Xander’s reaction whenever someone used our last name.

“Don’t call him Mr. Ruiz. It’s a trigger.”

Her eyes widened slightly and some of that strict persona slipped away as she nodded seriously. “I understand. Does he have a preference?”

“Just Xander works for now.” He hadn’t told me anything else hewanted to go by so far. Some of the guys called him little Wraith, and that didn’t seem to bother him, but I doubted his teachers would call him that. Pulling a doctor’s note out of my pocket, I offered it to the vice president, who still stood nearby. “I also brought this. He’s still recovering from malnourishment. If he gets hungry, he needs to eat, at least for the next few weeks. There are healthy snacks in his backpack, and I’m only a few minutes away if he needs something.”

They both seemed to understand from context what kind of background Xander came from. Hopefully, it was enough to treat him with care. He was a tough kid, but he didn’t need to be anymore. Addison said it more clearly than I could’ve come up with. He needed support, not a strong hand.

Xander glanced at me from his desk as I moved to walk away. I waved to him, hoping like hell I was doing the right thing by sending him to school so soon. I didn't want him to fall any further behind than he already was, but I knew he still had a long way to go when it came to recovering mentally and emotionally. It took both Xander and Addison to convince me he was ready.

I headed back home with a heavy dose of worry clouding my head. Aside from my crew, I never had anyone but myself to think about. It felt weird knowing there was someone who was depending on me like Xander was. Weird, but not bad. I cared about him and I wanted him to do well in life. Someone stepped in for me when I needed it. I was more than happy to do the same thing for him. I just hoped I didn't fuck it all up.

The house was quiet when I got home, and I found Melissa curled up in bed with Thor. He didn’t even move when I got home, the little traitor. I left them alone and crept to my office, closing but not locking the door behind me. Melissa already knew what I did for a living. She wasn’t going to tell anyone. And the more I thought about it, the more I realized I should’ve told Wyatt, too. He wasn’t just anyone. He was my family, and I should’ve kept him in the loop. My reasoning was sound when I was just starting out, because I didn't know what to expect, but I didn’t worry about it anymore. Maybe it was time to stop hiding from the people I valued the most.

I didn’t have an open case, so I mostly focused on minor tasks. My schedule was a little unbalanced, I never really knew when things would get busy and when they wouldn’t, so some of the less important things piled up occasionally. I lost track of time as I worked and barely noticed Mel coming into the room until she pushed my chair away from my desk and climbedinto my lap. It still stunned the hell out of me that we could do this. I kept expecting to wake up and realize it was all a dream.

“How’d you sleep?”

She hummed, leaning to brush her lips over mine. “I can’t decide who’s better at cuddling, you or Thor.”

I huffed out a laugh, drawing her in closer. I wasn’t in any hurry to stop kissing her whenever we found a stolen moment together, and I wasn’t interested in stopping now. As long as I got my work done, Salinger didn’t give a shit when I did it. I could get more shit done later when there wasn’t a gorgeous woman in my lap.

The kiss started out sweet, but quickly shifted to something more steamy. I stroked her tongue with mine, mimicking other fun things we could be doing if she was up for it. She seemed to understand my silent question because she shifted around until she was straddling my lap, her arms looped around my neck.

Without looking, I reached behind her to the computer, shutting it down with a few quick keystrokes and shoving the keyboard out of the way. A smile spread across Mel’s lips when I sat her on the newly vacated spot. It still felt like I was tasting sunshine whenever she did that.

I would’ve been happy to keep up what we were doing, but she started making these little needy sounds, tugging at my t-shirt in an attempt to hurry me along. Pushing to my feet, I grabbed the monitor and set it on the floor to give us more room, capturing her lips again as I tipped her back onto the desk surface.

She hummed and tilted her head, giving me better access when I started kissing down her neck. “Why do I get the feeling that kissing is your favorite part of all this?”

Lifting up to look at her, I murmured, “I have to make up for all the years I should have been kissing you.”

Her eyes widened, and that bright smile overtook her face. I was quick to capture it, tangling my tongue with hers. If she didn’t want me kissing her constantly, she needed to not have a mouth that was so goddamn perfect.

Eventually though, I couldn’t resist the needy noises she was making. I lifted off of her long enough to strip the t-shirt she stole from me off her body. I did a double take, stunned to find her bare underneath. I huffed, raising an eyebrow at her. “You came in here on amission, didn’t you?”

She grinned mischievously at me. “Maybe.”

She was such a brat. I fucking loved it.

I dipped my head, lazily dragging kisses down her neck to her chest. I drew her nipple into my mouth, sucking gently. She arched into the sensation, a soft moan escaping her lips. When I switched sides, she took the opportunity to drag my shirt over my head, tossing it out of her way. She cupped the back of my head, one leg curled around my back in an attempt to get me closer. That wasn’t going to happen, though. I had her laid out like a feast on my desk, and I wanted to enjoy it.

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