AllFreeNovel
Share Us
His brow lifted. “Do what?”
“This. Us. We’re going to have to work together at the school.”
“We’re going to do just what we’re doing now.” He covered her hand with his. “But it’s going to be hard to keep my hands to myself,” he added with a look that communicated exactly what he meant.
She snatched her hand back. “Damian, I’m serious.”
“And I’m not? Karen, I don’t intend to hide our relationship. I’ll make sure not to compromise you in front of the students, but I need to be able to touch you, hold your hand or kiss you. I don’t work for the school, so there’s no reason why we can’t see each other openly.”
He was right, but she still felt a little uncomfortable and told him so.
“Fine,” he said with a sigh. “If I’m going to be on lockdown, I need to have at least one little bitty kiss every day, Ms. Morris. So you need to figure out how to make it happen.”
She laughed. “Damian Bradshaw, are you pouting?”
He frowned. “Men don’t pout.”
She shook her head. “Speaking of jobs, how long have you been doing safety training?”
“Only about three years.”
“I would have thought it was much longer. You’re a natural. What made you choose this line of work?”
A shadow crossed his face. “I wanted to keep kids safe. I used to be a high school chemistry teacher and also coached the boys’ varsity basketball team.”
“You were a teacher?” she asked with surprise. No wonder he thought teachers were dedicated.
He smiled and nodded. “I had this student, a senior named Torian Williams. He was brilliant—wanted to become a biochemist and was a star point guard on our team. Torian had been offered both academic and athletic scholarships from at least three schools. And he had a great sense of humor.” Damian chuckled and shook his head. Then his smile faded. “I noticed him acting strange for a couple of days—not his normal upbeat self—and tried to find out if anything was wrong. I’d heard rumors about him being bullied, but I didn’t know how bad things were. I told him I’d be around if he wanted to talk about anything. He made an appointment to come see me after school but never showed.”
Karen was almost afraid to ask. “What happened?”
“An hour later, I got a call saying he had committed suicide—hung himself.”
She gasped softly. “Oh, Damian. I’m so sorry.”
“Kyle was one of the detectives on the case. They found Torian’s cell phone, and someone had sent five hundred texts over two days telling Torian that he was worthless and that nobody wanted him, not even his parents.”
“The text bombing you talked about at the training?”
“Yes. His mother was a drug user and, unless she needed something, couldn’t be bothered with her son. Father was never in the picture. I just wish he had come to talk to me,” he said emotionally.
His eyes reflected pain, and she squeezed his hand. “I’m sure Torian knew you cared about him. But why leave teaching? You obviously have a passion for it.”
“I wanted to be able to do something on a larger scale. Hopefully we’re making a difference.”
“Well, you’re already making a difference in my life,” Karen said, changing the subject and wanting to erase the sadness in his face.
He brought her hand to his lips. “As you have in mine, sweet lady.”
The passion in his eyes and seriousness in his voice made her breathing go short. Oh, Lord. He’s going to make me fall in love with him. “You coached basketball? With your height, I’m surprised you didn’t pursue that as a career.”
“I tore my ACL as a junior in college. Even though my knee healed and I played my senior year, I didn’t want to take a chance of a repeat injury. I still play for recreation and occasionally coach in a community league.”
She was finding more and more to like about this man.
“Do you want to get dessert?” Damian asked, holding up the menu.
“No, thanks. But if you want something, feel free.”
He tossed the menu on the table and signaled the waiter. “What I want for dessert isn’t on the menu. Since you’re going to be rationing out kisses when I get back, I have to stock up before I leave tomorrow.”
Heat pooled between her legs, and she clamped them together to stem the rush of sensations. He paid the bill and escorted her out of the restaurant. On the drive back to her place, she pondered what else he might stock up on. Whatever he had in store, she was ready, and planned to do a little stocking up herself.
