Page 344 of Hell Hath No Fury

Annoyance quickly turned into trepidation as I walked down the now quiet halls, wondering what was happening and why he’d be asking for me. So he was a part of Nightingale. I didn’t think that meant we needed to have a heart-to-heart about what’d happened.

I almost snorted at the very idea. He’d fucked my ass like he owned it, kissed me, and murmured deliciously dirty words to my mouth.

Yeah, a heart-to-heart was the last thing I needed with a predator such as him.

Inside the administration office, I continued past the receptionist when she waved me on and came to a stop when I rounded the corner.

Cooper was there, pacing the dead-end hallway.

“Hey,” I said, halting a short distance from him.

He eyed that distance and stopped too. “Hi. I, um…”

The door behind him opened, and Taurin stood in the doorway. “In. I’ve only got thirty minutes so don’t dawdle.”

Cooper’s eyes widened, then narrowed. He was about to say something stupid, I could tell, so I walked ahead of him, giving him no choice but to follow.

There was no way he’d leave me alone with Taurin now that he knew it was him.

I’d been in the headmaster’s office only once during my time at Peridot Academy, but that was before Taurin had taken over. It’d been for a mishap I’d had in the science lab. I’d maybe gotten a little too carried away during an experiment, and three Bunsen burners had exploded. No one had been hurt, thankfully, but I’d still been slapped on the wrist for it and sent home.

Taurin hadn’t made many changes to the classroom-sized space since I’d last visited. The drapes were still an ugly shade of red plaid, and they’d been pulled closed. A fire snapped and jumped in the hearth between two ginormous bookshelves housing tomes and various certifications in slim black frames, awards, and trophies awarded to our sporting teams.

His desk was a rich brown wooden ensemble, chipped in the corners and weathered in the middle near a closed laptop. Behind it, he stood, leaning against the high-backed chair he’d tucked in. “Lock the door,” he said to Cooper. “Then take a seat.”

I reversed over the gold and red patterned rug, parking myself in one of the two black armchairs perched on either side of the fire.

Cooper was glaring at Taurin when I looked over, and then with a glance at me, it softened, and he locked the door before taking the other seat.

Taurin’s large hands gripped the back of his chair. “I won’t pretend to know you both well, but I do know that you’ve been practically inseparable since I started working here.”

Cooper and I said nothing, knowing he wasn’t finished.

I couldn’t meet Taurin’s eyes. Instead, I stared at his thick neck.

“Nightingale’s mission, believe it or not, is not to terrorize but to strengthen and ensure the strong grow stronger.” He paused, then untucked his chair and took a seat. His black high-collared blazer opened, revealing a crisp white dress shirt beneath. “To keep those in power who not only want to be there but also deserve to be. Are some of their activities a little uncouth?” He shrugged. “Yeah, absolutely. But only for those of us who aren’t into that sort of thing.”

Silence descended, the fire beside me suddenly sweltering.

“I know, and I know you do as well, that you two are, indeed, into that sort of thing.”

Cooper shifted. “I fail to see how—”

Taurin continued talking as if he hadn’t uttered a word. “Your issue is one I’ve seen a time or two before, and one I’ve even struggled with myself in the past. Acceptance.”

I met his eyes then and found them on Cooper, who said nothing. His jaw was tight, though, and he sat as though he were ready to launch to his feet and drag me out of here at any given moment.

Even though I wasn’t entirely sure why, I prayed and hoped he stayed put.

“Some couples don’t survive it,” Taurin said. “The desire for more, the lifestyle they want and try to obtain. The reason for this could be due to many factors, but it’s usually always due to a lack of communication, trust, and mutual desire.”

“With all due respect,” Cooper said, tone hard. “I don’t see why you had to haul us in here to tell us this.”

“Because,” Taurin said, his gaze flicking to me with a twinkle that made my stomach leap. “You have it. You’re just struggling to see it, and I fear if you struggle too much longer, you’ll waste precious time that is far better spent, or you could lose something not many are lucky enough to find.”

“What?” I asked.

“Mutual desire. Stand,” he told me, and then proceeded to clear a space by moving some things from his desk to the floor. “Hop onto the desk.”