The Professor's Beautiful Secret

Eliana's POV

"We're here, miss," the driver said as the cab rolled to a stop.

His voice broke into my thoughts and I looked out the window to see a collection of exquisite buildings laid out before me. From where I was, I could only see a handful of buildings, but I knew there were numerous more. I'd taken my time to survey the map of the campus.

Grabbing my bag, I produced a handful of dollar notes and handed it to the expectant driver. A smile appeared on his face as the notes entered his palm and he even waved at me after I climbed out of the car and shut the door.

Emerald University. A fresh start. Hopefully.

Glancing at the watch on my wrist, I realized I was already running late. As fast as I could, I made my way over to the only class I had for the day. I got a lot of stares as I breezed down the corridor but I couldn't be bothered to pay attention to any of them.

When I got to the door of the auditorium, I paused to take a deep breath then I pushed the door open.

Stares. More stares.

My mind went blank as I stared back at the sea of faces before me. I hadn't been expecting to be in a class with this many people.

"Can I help you?" A voice asked and I glanced sideways to see a handsome man with partially grey looking at me.

His bright blue eyes were curious and staring at them was strangely comforting. He had on a black shirt and the folded arms afforded me a clear view of his muscular forearms. Everything about him seemed so perfect. His cheekbones, his jaw, his face... everything was perfect.

He raised an eyebrow at me and I felt something flutter in my stomach.

"I– I'm taking this class," I replied, finally getting my thoughts in order.

He took one muscular arm away from the podium and gestured towards an unoccupied row of seats. "Then take a seat. You're late."

"Thank you," I said, admiring his face one last time before I made my way to the seats. I almost smiled at him but I caught myself before I could do that.

"As I was saying, before I was interrupted," the man started, staring directly at me, "my ways of teaching are quite different from anything you're used to. I tend to get.. intense, at times. For those who just joined us, my name is Professor Matthews and I would be taking you Advanced Literature. Brace yourselves, guys, because there is no room for slackers in any class of mine."

All through his teaching, I was unable to take my eyes off of him. He had a way of capturing people's attention and he could have had mine all day without any interruption.

"And that is the end of today's class," he said several minutes later. "For our next class, I