Page 32 of Before He Was Her Headmaster

What is this, a teacher version of a striptease?

“Just so you know, we've planned his visit for some time. I didn’t tell you about it Saturday night because I honestly forgot.” His voice, already low and private, drops another note. “I was consumed with wanting you.”

“Oh.” I scuff my toe on the ground. “Well, that’s nice.”

He finishes rolling up one shirt sleeve and starts on the other side. “Did you know that seniors over the age of eighteen can sign themselves out for the weekend with the headmaster's permission?”

Shock rolls through me. “No.”

“Put in a request, Lily.” He slings his jacket over his shoulder and takes a step in the direction of the forest. “And then we’ll go away this weekend. Just the two of us.”

Chapter 12

Sebastian

Lily is waiting for me next to a silver Lexus at the carpool lot next to the truck stop where we first met. When I pull in beside her, she grabs a bag from the back seat.

For the first time in a month and a half, she’s dressed as she was when I first met her. Bright red lipstick, slicked straight hair, and that same mini skirt that short-circuited my brain. The woman I fell for at first sight.

I’m glad it’s a nice day. Perfect for her bare little legs. Maybe the last nice week we get before the weather cools more.

My blood thickens in my veins, a heady need for her consuming me all over again. As soon as she’s in the passenger seat of my Jeep, I slide my hands into her hair, holding her close so I can kiss her. When I pull back, she rubs a thumb over my lips.

“Did you mark me?” I ask huskily, not caring at all if she did.

She grins. “Just a tiny smudge. It’s the good stuff.” She glances around the car. “You drive more than a motorcycle.”

“This is my winter set of wheels.”

“Do I have to wait until the spring to ride on the back of your bike?”

I grin. “You sure do. I like that you’re thinking about the spring, and me, though. That’s nice.”

She rolls her eyes. But she blushes, too.

“Where are we going?” she asks as I navigate the car onto the highway.

“I promised you brunch.”

She looks at me with a mix of suspicion and delight. I’m going to spend the rest of my life delivering experiences that build the latter and doing my damnedest to get rid of her fear. “We can’t go out in public.”

“Not yet.” Not here. “But we can have brunch in private.”

She twists in the passenger seat, folding her leg beneath her as she turns to face me. Her skirt rides up in her lap, distracting me.

I reach across and tug it back down, letting my fingers graze her inner thigh.

She shivers. “How private?”

“Very.”

“And… how far away is it?”

“Not far.”

“You’re just full of information,” she snaps with no heat. Her eyes are sparkling.

I take her hand and squeeze her fingers. “Is it okay if it’s a surprise?”

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