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“Fun?” He scoffs, a smirk playing at the edge of his lips, despite his attempt to contain it. “I’m too busy for fun.”
I wrap my hair around my fingers, focusing on the beautiful man sitting next to me. “That’s a shame. Life is too short to be dull.” I swallow hard, thinking about my late brother. His life had barely begun when those bikers took him too early. It’s cruel, and although we were so different, we’d been close since childhood.
“I have little free time, considering my duties at the academy.” His voice is softer, and when I glance at him, the tension has eased.
“Life will flash by faster than you know,” I say, shaking my head. “You should always carve time for yourself.”
His eyes meet mine, blazing with an emotion I can’t identify. “That’s true.” He smiles a real smile for the first time, and the sight beats the oxygen from my lungs. It is breathtaking. “Perhaps I’ll do that. What do you do for fun? And you can’t say study, as that doesn’t count.”
I sigh, glancing out of the window. “I love to read.”
He smiles. “What’s your favorite novel of all time?”
I scrunch my brow, struggling to pick. “That’s a tough question. I love Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte.”
I see him roll his eyes at that.
“But I enjoy all genres, not just romance.” I shrug. “What is it you enjoy?” I ask, interested in learning about the enigma of a man.
The tension returns as he clears his throat. “I like to paint.”
Paint.
I wasn’t expecting him to say that, as he’s so serious.
“Really? What do you paint?” I ask as he pulls through the enormous wrought-iron gates onto the long, winding driveway of the academy.
He runs his large hand across the back of his neck. “I’ve not painted for years, but I used to love painting people.”
“Wow, you must be talented. Did you paint portraits?”
His eyes move from the drive to me. “Nudes mostly.”
“Oh, I see,” I mutter, heat flaring through my veins and lighting me on fire. “I was about to suggest you paint me, but that wouldn’t be appropriate.” I don’t know where that came from, but I regret it instantly.
He gives me a heated glare. “Definitely not,” He grits out before pulling into a parking space in front of the gothic building. He exits the car and walks around, opening my door.
He slides an arm around my back and the other under my knees, lifting me as if I weigh nothing.
I hook my arm around his neck to support myself, enjoying the warmth of his body against mine.
I sense him turn rigid against me as he carries me in through the front entrance to the school, but instead of turning right, he turns left.
“Shouldn’t I try to walk?” I ask.
A muscle in his jaw ticks. “No, your chart said you need to stay off your feet until the stitches heal, other than briefly washing and using the bathroom.”
He carries me up a few flights of stairs until he comes to a grand double oak door with the word ‘infirmary’ carved into a wooden sign.
Principal Byrne turns around and backs through the doors, which swing inwards before turning back around.
The infirmary looks like a plush private clinic with rooms lining either side of a grand waiting room at the front filled with overly expensive furnishing.
He carries me to the third room on the right. “This is you,” he says, setting me down gently on the bed. “Nurse Jasper will be by in a minute to help you settle in.”
“Oh, okay.” I smile at him, feeling uncomfortable as he lingers next to me, his aquamarine eyes fixed on me intensely. When he says nothing else, I break the silence. “Thank you for everything, sir.”
He clenches his fists by his side and nods before walking away.
