Seamus realized Yua could feel his erection, was pressed against it. Damn, he thought, meaning that several things, some of them contradictory, were regrettable. He put his hands on her shoulders and pushed her back, until the contact was gone and he could think again.

“Yes, you’re a very pretty girl, Yua. You know it, a little too well, I think. And I know it too. But I’m …” He tried to remember the Japanese word. “Taken. You know that. But I’m going to pay attention to you and your schoolwork from now on. You’re going to work hard for me, Yua, or I’ll punish you so hard that you really do cry. Yes?”

“Hai, sensei.” The same as Asuka called him, since he’d started to discipline her. He wondered if Asuka and Yua had talked. They were friends.

By a superhuman effort he managed not to smack her bottom with his hand, before he sent her skipping to her next class.

After school he brought Amida back his cane. Amida had offered him red wine while Seamus told the story of Yua’s punishment, with some details missing. But Amida said, “Did she take you in her mouth?”

“No.”

“Oh! You fucked her?”

“Actually no. I’m trying to stay, well, impersonal.”

“Then you’re going to have more trouble with that girl. That’s a certainty. You must be the only one of the young male teachers she hasn’t fucked yet.” Amida grinned. “Yes, that means I’ve had the pleasure. It is a pleasure; Yua’s a very luscious fuck. And she knows her way around a cock. It’s as if she has her own kind of sexual magic. But believe me, Seamus, if she wants you, she’s not going to give up.”

“Well, she’s sexy, no question. In body and mind. But I think I’m going to hold out.”

“Ah. There’s Asuka. She’s even more beautiful. But she’d let you, you know. You’re a man, and women know that men have their needs.”

Seamus frowned at that, but said something man-of-the-worldish, and they parted.