Page 77 of His to Teach
I focus on her for the first time since he appeared and the expression on her face makes my stomach drop. She looksterrified. Terrified and guilty as all hell.
“Mason.” She doesn’t say anything else, just his name. He watches her for a long moment, chest rising and falling in rapid succession. Finally, he turns back to me, fire in his eyes. “Harper, go to your room.”
“Mason,” Emma says, her voice conciliatory. “You can’t just tell her to go to her room. She’s a grown?—”
“You leave too,” he snaps. “I want both of you out of this kitchen. Now.”
“Why?” Harper asks, her voice small and scared.
Mason never takes his eyes off of me as he answers her. “Because I don’t want you in here when I kick his ass.”
“No.” There’s finally some strength in Harper’s voice and I feel a stab of pride for her, that she can be strong like this when I know she’s so scared of her brother’s reaction. “You’re not touching him.”
He turns back to her. “Do you have any idea what you’re doing? Howstupidit is?”
“Mason,” I snap. He can be pissed at me all he wants, but I’m not letting him talk to her like that.
But Harper stands her ground. “I know exactly what I’m doing.”
He throws up his hands. “He’s going to ruin you, Harper!”
“He’s not! He cares?—”
“There are already rumors about you,” he yells, and everything seems to still in that kitchen.
“What rumors?” she asks, her voice shaking.
Mason jabs a finger over his shoulder at me. “I had lunch with a few guys from the alumni association yesterday,” he snaps. “Apparently there’s been some talk about this asshole hooking up with a student.” He casts me a glare and I don’tthink I’ve ever seen him so angry. “I was going to call you this afternoon to warn you. Because that’s what you do for a friend.”
The word sounds like poison in his mouth. Afriend. I’m supposed to be his friend.
I can barely wrap my mind around this news. People are talking about me? Who? Who could have found out? Did someone hear us in the library? My stomach drops. I was supposed to be careful with her. How did I fuck it up so badly?
There had been a moment, yesterday, after her adviser nearly caught us, when I told myself that I needed to put distance between us. But I had completely ignored that instinct the moment I next saw her. And I can tell myself my actions yesterday had been for her, that I had merely wanted to help her when I knew she was so sad, but that’s bullshit. Everything I did yesterday comes down to one simple fact—I love this girl, and I wanted to be with her.
And look at where that’s gotten us.
I run a hand roughly through my hair. I have to figure out a way to fix this. For her. I can’t let her get dragged down into a scandal that could screw up her education.
But then Harper does something that takes the breath from my lungs. “I don’t care,” she says calmly. “I don’t care if people find out. School doesn’t matter as much as he does. I’m in love with him.”
No.
No. She can’t talk like that. She can’t be willing to give up her academic career for me. I can’t let her.
Mason seems to be on the same page. He turns back to me and his fist comes flying into my face, knocking me back against the counter. Harper screams and from the corner of my eye, I see Emma grabbing her around the shoulders, keeping her from running into the middle of the violence.
“You fucking prick,” Mason growls, pushing me as soon as I straighten. “What the fuck did you do to her?”
I rub a hand over my lip, my fingers coming away bloody.
“He didn’t do anything,” Harper yells, but Mason keeps his eyes on me.
“School meanseverythingto her,” he snarls. “What have you been putting in her head? How fucking dare you ruin this for her!”
“I wouldn’t,” I tell him. “That’s the last thing I?—”
“You just heard her!” he roars. “She’s talking like it doesn’t matter!”
