Free Mr Blackwell: Teacher Student Romance by S K Quinn Page A

dark, but at the college gates I see shadows looming.
    Paparazzi.
    Christ.
    I message my security manager, instructing that my team be put in place immediately. The gates are locked, but it won’t take long before those press parasites find other ways in.
    I glance at the bed. Sophia’s eyes are tight shut.
    I wish she didn’t have to face all this when she wakes.
    She has no idea what she’s getting herself into.
    Why did she have to fall for me? If there had just been feelings on my side, I could have walked away. But we love each other and that’s just how it is.
    Light and dark. Never apart.
    I’m the one for Sophia. And she’s the one for me.
    Sophia’s breathing is gentle. Delicate. She makes a little murmuring sound, and my heart melts.
    I’ve never known love like this. I wish Sophia had been the first woman I slept with. But there’s nothing I can do about my past now. She has freed me from it, anyway.
    I thought myself incapable of love. I thought myself a monster. If it weren’t for Sophia, I still would.
    My beautiful, beautiful Sophia. Untouched by fame. Money. Power.
    Will it change her – the overnight fame?
    No.
    She’s so different to any other woman I’ve ever met. So innocent and trusting. She doesn’t care about who I am. Only what I am.
    I would die for this girl. Without hesitation.
    I watch her, wondering what she’s dreaming about. Is she still remembering when we first met?
    Or all those other times … the times I fought to resist her?
    I wonder if she guessed, when we had our first one-on-one, what I was feeling?
    Perhaps.
    I smile, thinking of our second one-on-one in Queen’s Theatre, and our first kiss.
    She certainly knew then that my feelings weren’t entirely proper …
     

38
    As I head towards Queen’s Theatre, I am a vision of self-control. My walk is purposeful. Upright. Rigid. No one would ever guess the turmoil I’m feeling inside.
    I am tutoring Sophia Rose again. One-on-one. Alone in the theatre. And I can barely stand the thought of it.
    But I have to do this. I have to prove to myself that, no matter what the temptation, I can resist this girl. For her sake, as well as mine. She has no idea what she could be getting herself into. No idea who I really am. What I really am.
    I have spent years perfecting my self-control. Refining it. I will not give into this. I will not.
    I turn a corner and see Queen’s Theatre up ahead.
    Sophia is outside, shivering in the cold.
    Christ.
    What is she doing without a coat? She’ll catch her death.
    I feel angry. With her, and with myself for caring. I don’t want to care about this girl. And yet there’s something so vulnerable and pure about her that I can’t help wanting to protect her.
    The worse of it is, I sense she feels something for me too. But not because I’m famous. I sense she sees me. Like no one else does. That thought scares me to death.
    I stride towards her, fighting the impulse to pull her into my arms and warm her body against mine.
    ‘Miss Rose,’ I tell her. ‘Nice and punctual I see. Very good.’
    She nods in response, looking awkward.
    I want to tell her it’s okay. That she can relax. That she’ll be safe with me. But as I stand beside her, smelling her beautiful skin, I begin to doubt if she really is safe.
    Take control, Marc Blackwell. Take control.
    I reach past Sophia and unlock the theatre doors. Then I step past her, flicking on the lights.
    ‘Let’s go inside,’ I tell her. And of course, ever the gentleman, I add, ‘After you.’
    As Sophia heads into the theatre, I feel myself breathing deep. Breathing her in. This is torture.
    I follow her into the theatre, feeling like a wolf stalking a deer.
    Sophia tells me she’s ready to play Jennifer Jones again, so we go up on stage.
    I decide on a scene that will really stretch her as an actress. Something that will bring out her seductive side.
    I tell her I’ll play Antonio. The male ballerina. Sometimes I wonder if I delight in