Bedded by the Headmaster

Ch43: Blood Magic ❤️‍🩹

Arken

It was the middle of the night as Arken led Susie through the black door into his main office. They were still holding hands after he'd helped her out of bed. He was ready to release her hand if she gave any indication that she wanted him to let go, but she did not. He was careful not to squeeze too tight, and especially careful not to let his hand go limp in case she needed to lean on him. The moment felt delicate, and he was careful about everything, as if it might all come crashing down at the slightest misstep.

For the time being, Susie's soft palm remained pressed lightly against his, and that was enough.

"This is my office," Arken said, gesturing around. The room was dominated by mahogany furniture and bookshelves with thick tomes that managed to look uninviting. He sensed they held little appeal to Susie as well because she only glanced at them briefly.

"I know," she replied. "I've been here before. Once. To drop off a roll sheet."

"I'm sorry, I'm afraid I don't recall."

"Don't be sorry," she shrugged. "You weren't in your office when I came by."

Arken nodded but dropped his gaze. It still bothered him greatly that he couldn't recall meeting Susie last year at the Student Council meeting. He'd purposefully liquored up beforehand to help him endure what he'd assumed would be futile attempts by the students to assert influence. He wished he could go back and listen to her speech with the attention it deserved.

It had been a pivotal moment, and he'd missed it.

I was a complete twat.

As Arken led Susie across the room to the broken wardrobe, a spell of dizziness overcame him. He grabbed the desk with his free hand to steady himself.

Susie looked at him with concern. "Are you all right?"

"Absolutely," he lied.

In truth, he was sapped of energy, and it took effort not to sway where he stood. This state had become a regular, nightly occurrence, one he'd tried to mask from Susie as much as possible.

"Is it because you're not sleeping properly? Because I can move out. So that you can have your bed back. Or I can sleep on the chaise, or..." She cut off when he laughed. "What's funny?"

"Forgive me. It's nothing."

"What?" she pressed, something in her expression encouraged him to elaborate—it helped that she was standing close, still holding his hand.

"You sleeping in my bed is one of the only present joys in my life." Susie's eyes widened, but she didn't pull away. "Besides, my quality of sleep has been more than satisfactory." Just sensing her presence nearby had helped him sleep better than he normally did—even if his muscles felt cramped when he woke. "You are most welcome to stay with me for as long as you please."

Stay with me.

He hadn't meant it like that, but he suspected from the subtle lift of Susie's eyes that her mind had jumped there as well.

Would she stay if he asked her to? It wasn't fair of him to ask.

Arken gestured for them to continue walking, but Susie didn't budge.

"You don't look well. Like that first night, when we...when you came to my room the first time. And then you collapsed on the stairs."

He cringed. "Not one of my finer moments, admittedly. But rest assured, I am not about to collapse. I'm in a far better state than I was then. My condition is only temporary—I'm managing it."