Page 45 of Shuttered Hearts

“No way. Nicknames aren’t something you get to choose. They happen naturally, and you’re stuck with them for life.” He walks toward me, and when he reaches me, he places his hands on my hips, pulling me into him.

I place my hands against his chest, tilting my head up to look at him. “It’s a nickname you gave me. You can change it if you want.”

“Well …” He lowers his voice. “I don’t want to change it.” He leans down, his lips a hair’s breadth away from mine. “I think it suits you.” His lips brush mine as they move, but he doesn’t kiss me.

“I changed my mind. I don’t care anymore. Shut up and kiss me.” I fist his shirt in my hands and pull him closer, pressing my lips against his.

Declan doesn’t disappoint. He takes charge of the kiss as soon as our lips touch. One of his hands travels up my back, cradling me to him—like I’m something precious. While his other hand moves down to my ass, grabbing it with a possessiveness that has me gasping. Which Declan takes full advantage of, his tongue flicking out to meet mine. I moan, pushing myself even closer to him.

“We should stop,” Declan says as he pulls his lips from mine, ghosting them over my cheek and down my neck. “We’re at work.” He changes direction and trails his lips up to the space under my ear and sucking lightly—my thighs clench.

“Yeah, we should definitely stop,” I say while my hands release his shirt, moving to his shoulder, one veering down his back and the other into his hair at the base of his skull. His lips move back to mine, kissing me deeply for another minute before finally pulling away.

“Okay, we really need to stop now.” He presses into me, making sure I can feel his hard length behind the zipper of his slacks. “I’m going to need a minute to calm down.”

“If it makes you feel any better, that kiss got me pretty worked up too,” I say, rocking against him.

He hisses, his hands going back to my hips, pushing them away from him. “Yes, but you can hide the evidence of your arousal. I cannot.” He releases me and adjusts himself, causing my eyes to follow his movement.

My eyes widen slightly. I know I just felt him pressed against me, but looking at him now, those pants leave little to the imagination. “Are those pants allowed at school? We don’t need you getting arrested for indecent exposure.”

“Ha ha, very funny.”

“I’m not joking. That thing is huge,” I say, pointing toward his dick.

“Thank you, but if you could stop looking at it or talking about it, that would be great,” he says with a slight grimace to his face.

“Sorry.” I go to move toward him, but he shakes his head.

“You coming near me is not going to help this situation.”

“Okay. I’ll stay over here,” I say, linking my hands in front of me.

“I need to go.”

“What? I didn’t do anything!” I can’t help but laugh at the ridiculousness of this situation.

“I know, but looking at you standing there is not helping, so I’m going to remove myself from the situation.” He moves to me, pressing a quick kiss to my lips before turning to leave. “I’ll see you at lunch,” he says over his shoulder, and I can’t help but laugh more.

“Hey!”I look up to find Ava standing in my doorway right before lunch.

She’s dressed comfortably in black leggings and an oversized pullover sweater, highlighting her short stature and slender frame. Ava’s hair hangs loose down her back in beautiful waves, framing her small, heart-shaped face. She’s gorgeous, which shouldn’t be surprising, knowing who her brother is. However, the similarities end with their hair color and eyes.

“Hey, your brother’s classroom is one more door down, but he’s got a class right now.”

She steps into the room, “Oh, I know. I got here a little early, but thought I could bug you for a little.” She pauses as if realizing something. “Unless you’re busy.”

“No, I’m not busy. Come on in.” I wave her further into the classroom.

“Are you enjoying teaching so far?” Ava asks as she looks around the room, taking in the student work hanging around us.

“You know what? Surprisingly, I am.” I hop onto the edge of my desk, taking a seat. “It’s not what I expected, but I love watching when a technique or concept clicks in their brains. It’s fun.”

Ava glances at me and smiles. “You sound like my brother.”

“I’m going to take that as a good thing.”

“Oh, absolutely. I love my brother. Like you said yesterday, he’s a good man.” She turns back to the photos she was looking at. “Better than most.”

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