SEDUCING MY BIKER PROFESSOR

CHAPTER 19: Restraint

Nirvana's POV

Ronan crossed the room in three strides. He did not ask what was going on. He lunged directly at Adrian with force.

I choked on a gasp, stumbling backward as the sudden violence erupted right in front of me.

Adrian managed to dodge the initial fist, but my brother's hand grabbed the collar of his dark shirt.

Ronan shoved Adrian backward roughly and Adrian's broad back slammed against the wall. The thud shook the room and rattled the artworks on the wall.

My eyes widened with fear and panic. I watched as Adrian's own hand balled into a tight fist, fully prepared to swing a punch into Ronan's jaw.

The ruthless fighter hiding beneath the professor facade was awakened. The sight terrified me so much that a gasp erupted from my mouth before I could stop it.

The sharp sound cut through the chaos instantly. Adrian's fist stopped dead in mid-air. He looked away from Ronan's face and looked at me.

My trembling hand was already covering my mouth. I knew he could see the fear shining in my wide eyes.

He knew I was terrified watching the two men I trusted most in the prepared to beat each other bloody over me.

The violence immediately drained out of Adrian's posture. He slowly lowered his right arm and unclenched his fist, letting his long fingers fall open by his side.

He turned his dark gaze back to Ronan, communicating silently to let him know he was standing down. He would not fight his best friend in front of me. He would rather take the beating than watch me cry in fear.

Ronan breathed heavily, his broad chest heaving with adrenaline. His grip on Adrian's shirt collar remained tight for some seconds as he searched his friend's face for any sign of resistance or a counter attack.

When Ronan finally realized Adrian was not going to strike back, he slowly uncurled his fingers. He took a step backward and placed himself before me, acting as a shield to block my view of Adrian.

"I told you to keep your distance," Ronan said. His voice was a quiet growl meant only for Adrian's ears, but the room was so quiet I could hear every single threatening syllable.

Adrian however, ignored the threat. He calmly adjusted the wrinkled collar of his shirt and stepped away from the wall, regaining his imposing, rigid posture.

"Take her home, Ronan," Adrian told him. His voice was suddenly flat. The passionate, desperate man who had just pinned me to a table was totally gone. "Take her out the back exit and take her home immediately. Do not stop for anything."

Ronan frowned. He seemed to recognize the specific tone in Adrian's voice. It was as if they were talking in hidden codes. As if there was a threat to our safety lurking right outside the door. The anger in Ronan's eyes shifted back into awareness.

Adrian did not look at me again. He turned his back to us both and walked out room.

Ronan drove me back home in silence. He did not say a single word about what had just happened at the restaurant. He did not even demand any explanation for why my face was so flushed.

Of course I didn't want him to. The last thing I wanted was my brother asking me what was going on between his friend and I. But the silence was uncomfortable.

He seemed oblivious to the gold plaque hanging on the wall. He did not know the painting belonged to me. He only cared that Adrian was standing way too close to me.

He parked and escorted me inside the house. The tension from the car ride followed us inside. In fact, I was feeling way more uncomfortable than I could manage.

"Ronan," I started, my voice barely a shaky whisper.

"Go to your room, Nirvana. Get some rest," he cut me off. He didn't even turn his head to look at me.

His tone was devoid of its usual brotherly warmth. Without another word, he turned his back and walked away.

I spent the next three hours pacing my room. The rug muffled my footsteps but my mind was loud and reeling. I was sick of being treated like a piece of luggage, handed back and forth between these men as if I had no brain of my own.

The revelation of my painting hanging in that room pushed me right over the edge of my patience.

I knew Adrian was lying straight to my face when he called my work an investment. Nevertheless, it hurt to hear him insult the canvas but I saw the look in his eyes right before Ronan interrupted us.

He had insulted my art to push me away and protect me from whatever threat had him so on edge at the restaurant.

I also realized he walked away from the fight to protect his long friendship with my brother. He swallowed his own immense pride just for me.

But I needed actual answers. I refused to sit in my room and wait for them to decide what information I was allowed to know. I waited until the house went quiet.

I grabbed my jacket from the closet and slipped out of my bedroom. I crept down the back staircase in the dark.

I didn't even take my own car. I used my phone to order a car. I paid the driver in cash and stepped out onto the street outside Adrian's garage.

I walked up to the side entrance and pushed the door open. A strong smell of motor oil, gasoline, and metal engulfed me the second I stepped inside. It meant Adrian was near.

He was standing by a wooden workbench at the back of the garage. He had stripped his dark dress shirt off, leaving his broad chest and tattooed arms bare. It was a sight to behold.

The dark ink snaked up his muscular biceps, telling stories of a life I still knew nothing about. He was wiping grease from his hands with a dirty shop towel. He stiffen the moment he heard my footsteps. But he didn't turn to me.

I walked toward him, refusing to give him time to put his indifferent facade back up.

"You lied to me," I said, my voice loud and steady. "You expect me to believe you bought the one piece of art my mother stole from me just to flip it for profit?"

Adrian tossed the dirty towel onto the workbench and turned fully to face me. "You should not be here, Nirvana. It is late. Ronan will lose his mind if he checks and finds your room empty."

"I do not care about Ronan right now," I snapped, closing the remaining distance until I was just a few feet away from his bare chest.

I could feel the intense body heat radiating off his skin. "Stop treating me like a piece of luggage you can just hand off to my brother when things get complicated. Tell me the truth."

My confrontation stripped away his cold indifference. The walls he tried so hard to build crumbled right in front of me. His broad shoulders dropped and he let out a ragged breath. The vulnerability on his handsome face caught me off guard.

"I bought it," Adrian confessed, his voice a low, rough rasp that vibrated through me. "I bought it the very same week Katerina sold it to the dealer. I paid triple his asking price just to make sure no one else could take it away."

I stared at him, my mind spinning as I tried to process the impossible timeline.

"You bought it before I ever came to New York? While we were just chat on the phone?"

He nodded. "I needed to own the one thing that meant everything to you, because I knew I could never actually have you."

The painful admission hung in the cold garage air, leaving my heart pounding against my ribs.

"Why did you think you could never have me?" I asked quietly.