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the doctored images of the man himself, she had a small collection of videos she definitely didn’t want him to see. She should never have brought her personal computer to work.
    Even if he did seem to share her mutual attraction, once Ryder browsed the contents of the folder, he would probably fire her anyway. If he reported her to the board, she’d be forced to stand before a committee and talk about her porn problem. The potential consequences made her skin crawl with shame.
    Liese spent the rest of the day in a haze of restlessness , petrified of the meeting to come. Yet while she worried about her impending termination, a small part of her fixated on what had almost transpired between them. Unless she was mistaken, Ryder had almost kissed her. Knowing she affected him that way lent her a dangerous sense of power. If the opportunity arose again she wouldn’t have the restraint to deny him. The evidence of his arousal pressed against her stomach had felt like a victory.
    Level-headed and driven, Liese had always given her career precedence over her sex drive. In college she’d refused a serious relationship for fear it might interfere with her academic standing. As a result, her father hadn’t worried about her future profession. But, her mother’s concerns during her undergraduate years had centered on her love life.
    She cringed to think how they’d react if she lost her job over porn. As a sex therapist, her mother had always encouraged Liese to try what “felt natural.” But Liese doubted her mom meant she should entertain a taboo relationship with her principal and allow Marissa to create photoshopped fetish porn to spur on the infatuation. She couldn’t know for sure, though, because her parents had gone on a backpacking expedition in Europe. They’d left in early September and wouldn’t be back for several more weeks. Communication had been limited to brief emails and attempted Skypings with poor reception.
    Liese dropped into her chair and gave her school-issued computer a malignant glare. In need of a diversion, she perused the Internet for new library resources, all the while pondering whether this would be her last day at FAHL. If so, she would at least ensure the library was well stocked with acceptable literature.
    A romance novel flashed on the screen: a cut male body, chopped off at the head and below the navel, took up most of the cover. Her brain immediately pasted Ryder’s head onto the body and filled in the missing pieces below the waist. Flustered, she tapped the back button until the image disappeared.
    “Get a grip,” she told herself.
    “Liese?” Blake startled her out of her self-flagellation.
    “Hey! Hi. Hello.” She greeted him with a little too much enthusiasm.
    He leaned on the counter and adjusted her Post-it notes so they were stacked perfectly on top of each other—a square rainbow. “You all right? You look a little flushed.”
    “Hmm, what? Oh . . . I’m fine.” Liese touched her cheek to find the skin warm beneath her fingers.
    “You sure about that? You really don’t look well.” Blake reached out and brushed her bangs out of the way, pressing his wrist against her forehead.
    She swatted his hand away. “Blake! There are students present.”
    “And? I’m checking for a temperature, not trying to feel up your forehead.”
    “Shh!” Liese hissed and shot him an irritated scowl.
    Blake raised his hands in what would have been an act of contrition had he not looked annoyingly amused. “Don’t get all testy with me. I’m just a concerned friend, who apparently has a better sense of humor than you.”
    Liese settled back in her chair, assuming a relaxed position she didn’t feel. “Sorry, I don’t mean to be witchy. It’s been a rough day, and before you ask, no, I don’t want to talk about it.”
    That wasn’t entirely true. She did want to talk to someone, desperately. But no matter how good a friend he’d become, Liese couldn’t risk confiding in