Page 89 of The Headmaster’s Rule

We pass a couple of students making out against the lockers, and it makes me smile. I’m forty-seven, but Eleanor makes me feel sixteen again. How I wish I could push her up against the lockers and kiss her like that.

“Hey, guys.” Danny’s voice has me looking back. He’s stopped beside the teens, shaking his head. “You should be in assembly. Come on.”

The kids grumble, making excuses as Danny shoos them along the hall. When he joins me again, his forehead is lined with disbelief.

“Are you okay, man?”

“Fine.” I shrug, the image of kissing Eleanor against the lockers still floating through my mind.

Danny’s eyes move over my face, expression morphing into one of understanding. We continue in silence and I pause at the stairs, knowing I’ll be heading straight to Eleanor’s classroom, despite myself.

“Actually, I’ve got something I need to do,” I say, foot already on the top step. “You go on without me.”

“Theo,” Danny says, and I glance at him. “I’ve got your back, okay? I want you to be happy.”

I blink, wondering what the hell he’s talking about. He lowers his voice, leaning in close, even though we’re alone.

“Just… be careful, man. Don’t give the board another reason to go after you.” He claps me gently on the shoulder, then continues along the corridor before I can respond.

I stare after him, pulse pounding in my temple.

He knows. Don’t ask me how, but he’s figured it out.

Shit.

I curl my hands into fists in the pockets of my slacks, glancing around as if everyone has somehow heard. But it’s only me, alone in the corridor, and the realization that Danny won’t report me. Hell, he’s going to support me.

Don’t give the board another reason to go after you.

I force an exhale, replaying his words. Danny might not report me, but anyone else could. I’m not sure how far I can push this. How much I’ll get away with before it blows up in my face. In Eleanor’s face.

But my feet propel me down the steps anyway.

I’ll just talk to her, I tell myself, but I know I’m a dead man walking. My blood burns hot and urgent through my veins as I look for her, knowing we still have at least an hour before the assembly wraps up. The things I could do to her in an hour…

But as I round the corner and nudge open her door, my shoulders sag to find her classroom empty.

I pop my head into the supply closet at the back of her classroom, remembering the last time we were in here, but that’s empty too.

Where is she?

I check reception, the guidance counselor’s office, but nothing. Picking up my pace, I take the stairs two at a time, glancing into the faculty lounge again. Nothing. I’m about to give up when I hear the whir of the photocopier from the copy room two doors down.

And there she is, at the photocopier on the far side of the room, her back to me as she makes copies. I stand in the doorway for a moment, breathless as I absorb her beauty. The curve where her neck meets her shoulder. The wisps of hair that fall loose from her barrette and curl at her nape. The dip of her waist and flair of her hips in the skirt she chose today, bright with a bold geometric print. Everything Eleanor, so perfect.

I breathe out slowly, easing in her presence. She hears, glancing over her shoulder, a surprised smile curving that pretty mouth.

“Hi.”

Stepping into the room, I kick the door shut behind me.

“Eleanor,” I murmur, closing the distance between us. She turns back to her copies, as if she’s got better things to do, but when I lower my mouth to the soft skin of her neck, she shivers.

“Headmaster Wright,” she teases. “You know this is how rumors start, don’t you?”

I give a dark chuckle, hands coming to her waist. That should stop me, especially after Danny’s warning, but it doesn’t. At this point, I don’t think anything could.

“I’m so proud of you, sweetheart. The way you led that meeting… you nailed it.”