Learning the Hard Way Read online

  A waiter handed him a cup of coffee sitting on top of a saucer.

  “I have to say, I’m surprised to see you here.” The dean flashed a pleasant smile at Troy, then returned his attention to Ava. “For one thing, this party is for the department heads. And I’ve never seen you at any university function before, not even when you were invited.” The dean’s smile broadened. “I was beginning to think you thought our functions weren’t ethical.”

  Ava coupled her phony smile with an even bigger bogus laugh. So his ideal woman was a nervous, insecure liar with a penchant for male escorts. No wonder Troy had struck out in the dating world. If all women were like Ava, he would get his heart broken daily and his perceptions shattered by the minute. And this woman taught ethics?

  Ava brought her hand up to her face and simulated like she wanted to push her glasses up her nose. After not finding them there, she instead swept her hair behind her ear.

  “It’s time for me to start getting more involved with East Coast’s functions.” Ava had kept her gaze on the floor, the ceiling, anywhere but on Dr. Vartinucci. “I guess Dr. Wunderlund recognized that when he encouraged me to come here in his place.”

  “And who is this accompanying the hardest working professor this institution has had in a long time?” The dean moved over to Troy.

  Hardest working? Yes, maybe at being a lying ice queen. He stole a peek at Ava.

  Although Troy started envisioning her as this manipulative being, she slowly looked like she wanted to implode. Her shoulders slumped down. Except for rare occasions, she kept her gaze on the floor. If this was an act, Troy fell for it. Against his better judgment, he felt the need to save her.

  Troy extended his hand. “Hi, I’m—”

  “He’s just a friend doing me a favor.” Ava patted him on his shoulder and laughed, complete with snorts. She covered her mouth and nose with her hand as soon as the offending sound trumpeted through her nostrils.

  “Troy,” he managed to say while Ava’s snorts had rendered her incapacitated. “Nice to meet you.”

  “Good to meet you, too.” Ava’s boss turned to her. “What happened to the gentleman you paraded around a few months ago?”

  “I didn’t parade him around. Just dinners.” Ava rubbed the back of her neck.

  “Come on.” He crossed his arms over his chest. “I’m sure it was more than that, right?”

  “It didn’t work out.” She shrugged. “He couldn’t commit, either.” Then she glared at him.

  That honest look started to make Troy a believer.

  When the dean shook his head, a stone dropped in Troy’s stomach. The gesture reminded him of a disappointed father admonishing a child.

  Dr. Vartinucci turned to Troy again. “As her friend, make sure you look out for her. Great at her job but so unlucky in love.”

  In that moment, Troy’s whole perception changed. He stared at Ava, not with sympathy, but with adoration.

  “I think she’s doing fine.” Troy wrapped his arm around her waist to emphasize his point. “Who needs love when you have a wonderful career?”

  Vartinucci laughed. “I suppose so.” He snagged a glass of champagne from a passing waiter’s tray. “To your career. May it keep you warm at night.”

  As soon as the dean walked away, Troy removed his arm. Although they were playing a role, he knew not to cross the line.

  “You ready for your coffee?” He held up the cup.

  “No, I’m ready to go.” She tucked her purse under her arm.

  “Wait. You said dinner then we would go.” He held her hand to keep her in her position.

  She stared at him with a mixture of anger and regret filling her gaze.

  “Don’t let them win.” Troy kept his voice low.

  “They’ve already won. I’m here.” She shook her head. “I hate myself like this. Lying. It’s not me. None of it is. And you.” She swiped her hand under her nose. “You pity me.”

  “No, I don’t.” He swallowed hard.

  “You wrapped your arm around my waist like I needed saving, and I let you.” She pounded the heel of her hand against her forehead. “What is wrong with me?” Ava shook her head. “You probably think I’m some sort of phony bitch, don’t you?”

  Damn. Now she read him like a book.

  “Um, no. I don’t.” Troy squeezed her hand, but she pulled out of his grip.

  “Liar. Doesn’t matter. I’m going home.”

  Before Troy could talk her out of it, she headed to the door. He sat the saucer on the closest table and ran after her, a feat in the tux and slippery dress shoes.

  When he caught up to her, he spun her around to face him. “You mind telling me what just happened back there?”

  Ava said nothing as she searched for their limousine. Once she located it, she stomped to it. Watching her, Troy waited to see if a heel on her pumps would snap off at any moment. He also simply enjoyed watching her tight frame sway back and forth.

  She pounded on the driver side window, waking up the poor driver and probably giving the man the start of a heart attack. The driver powered down the window.

  As soon as he got it low enough, Ava said, “I’m ready to go.”

  “No, she isn’t.” Troy held her arm and turned her around.

  As hard as he tried not to let his inner Dominant come out, she forced his hand. As soon as he saw her storming away from him, a switch turned on in his head. He needed to take control of this situation. The way Ava looked, she wanted him to manage her, steer her in the right direction.

  “Listen to me.” He crouched down and got in her face. “The way you show strength is by not backing down when a challenge hits you. Fight back.” He turned to the slow-blinking driver who looked like he wanted to go back to sleep. “We’ll be back later tonight.” He took Ava’s hand. “We’re going back into that party.”

  “Why? I don’t need to—”

  “Yes, you do.” It didn’t matter what Ava said at the end of her sentence. Troy knew she needed to be strong. He squeezed her hand. “Are you right or left-handed?”

  “Right.”

  As soon as she answered, he released her hand. “Come around to this side.”

  Ava paused before moving to his right side. When she did, he held her left hand.

  “I’ll hold your hand throughout dinner. When you need to talk, I’ll make circles in your palm like this.” He swirled the tip of his index finger over her smooth hand. “When it’s appropriate for you to remain silent, I’ll give you a slight squeeze like this.” He compressed her hand. “I say when we leave, understood?”

  She stared at him. He thought for sure that she would have run away from him, from the situation again. It shouldn’t have surprised him when she nodded. His instincts in spotting someone with accommodating tendencies hadn’t been off.

  He headed back to the building. When he noticed Ava slowing her stride, he stopped. “No.” Troy shook his head. “You always walk next to me. Never behind me.”

  “Yes, um, yes.” She nodded again.

  Like in any new relationship, vanilla or otherwise, names had to be established. “Call me Troy. I want you to use my name at least five times tonight, understand?”

  “I know your name.” Even in the hot summer night, Ava trembled.

  Whether her reaction had stemmed from fear or excitement, he didn’t care. She reacted.

  “I know you know it. I want you to say it.” He held up his hand and splayed his fingers. “Five times.”

  “If I don’t?” She swallowed hard.

  Good. She wanted to play. She wanted to test boundaries. Always a good sign of a willing submissive.

  “I will give you the deepest, hottest, wettest kiss you’ve ever had.” He wanted to do that regardless of his forced restrictions on her.

  He knew her uptight nature wouldn’t allow for her to be that brazen.

  “Understood. Let’s go.” She marched toward the event hall.

  Chapter Five

  What had
Ava done? Sitting next to Troy felt like she’d made a deal with the devil.

  As promised, he held her hand throughout dinner. At first, it seemed awkward. She caught some strange looks from some of her colleagues, which made her want to break the connection. She couldn’t. Not physically. She liked the security of holding his strong hand, like he supported her, comforted her, protected her. Thankfully she’d gotten the fish and the meat had been flaky enough that she didn’t need to use her other hand to cut into it.

  The warmth of his large hand calmed her almost as much as his restrictions. Troy telling her what to do and how to do it had her stunned. She’d never been with a man who made specific demands on her. She’d done that to the men she dated. She found the restrictions freeing. As long as she knew the rules, she didn’t mind playing.

  “Enjoying your meal?” a colleague asked before taking a drink.

  Ava started to answer, but stopped. Troy hadn’t given her the signal. Until he did, she simply smiled until she felt him moving his skilled digit over the palm of her hand. The motion had her thinking about his tongue down in intimate areas of her body.

  “Um, yes. Very, very nice.” She turned to Troy.

  He acted like he didn’t notice her. He continued eating his food without looking in her direction. The difference in his reaction to her from in the car to now had her mesmerized.

  “Have I introduced you to my date? This is Troy.” Ava held her free hand up to him.

  She used his name one time. Just four more times and she would be out of the doghouse. Then she thought about the implications of not using his name for that fifth and crucial time. Would he kiss her with his full lips? What would he do with his hands? She trembled and hoped her date hadn’t caught it.

  “Troy,” she continued, “this is Dr. Allenton. She heads up our psychology department.”

  The woman with bright curly hair leaned forward. “Nice to meet you.”

  “Likewise.” He gave her one solid head nod before resuming eating his meal.

  “Troy is being very kind by joining me tonight for this academic event.” Her heart pounded the third time she’d used his name.

  It shouldn’t have gotten her this excited. She’d used his name the third time on purpose.

  “I didn’t mind.” He stared at her. “No offense to the ladies here, but she’s the best-looking woman in the room.”

  Even Dr. Allenton sighed. “I think you may have the best date in the room.” She nudged Ava with her elbow.

  “Yes, it’s about time you got out of your stuffy clothes and let your hair down,” Anson said from across the circular table.

  Ava could barely look at the man. She turned to Troy. “Troy, would you like your tea refilled?”

  “Troy, Troy, Troy.” Anson laughed. “I think we all get who he is.”

  “Do you?” Troy glared at Anson, who quickly silenced his laughter and dropped his gaze down to his plate.

  “I’m sorry.” Ava had taken this game too far. “I shouldn’t have—” She stopped as soon as she felt him squeezing her hand.

  The control this man had overwhelmed her. She brushed her leg against his. Even though he sat still, touching him excited her.

  “What does he do?” another colleague sitting across from her next to Anson asked.

  “Who?” Ava had to get out of her head. She sat there imagining her date doing unspeakable things to her body.

  “Your friend.” He nodded his head toward Troy.

  “Oh.” She turned to him. “You want to share that?”

  “Why can’t you?” Her coworker furrowed his eyebrows.

  Ava rubbed her free hand behind her neck. “I can. I—”

  “The last time she saw me, I was a bit lost and needed guidance.” Troy stared at her. “I’ve found myself. I think she’s learning who I am again.”

  The connection they shared forced her to stop breathing for a moment. Who was this man? How did he get into her life? How could she keep him there?

  “The quick answer is that I’m a builder.” Troy glanced at her. “I’m good with my hands.”

  Ava thought for sure Dr. Allenton grunted at Troy’s response. Ava shared that same feeling. She removed her hand from Troy’s and placed her napkin on the table.

  “It’s been lovely. I think I’m going to head home.” She stood.

  “You sure you want to leave now?” Troy had enough implications in his statement for Ava to weigh her options.

  Instead of answering, she bolted to the door. She heard Troy behind her excusing himself before she heard his heavy footfalls.

  Ava circled the car. Before the driver could get out, Troy had caught up to her and opened the door for her. He followed her inside and slammed it closed. Once the car started moving, Troy activated the glass partition that separated the back area from the driver.

  “Can you talk now?” he asked again.

  “I’d rather not. I think I’ve done enough foolish things this evening to kill my career and the little bit of self-worth that I had.” She covered her eyes with her hand.

  “I didn’t see that at all.”

  As soon as Ava uncovered her eyes and glared at him, she spoke. “I’m sure you’ve figured out that the dean and I had, well, a past.”

  * * * *

  Ava stared at Troy as though waiting for him to say something, either acknowledge that he knew, or lie and say he didn’t deduce that from their short exchange.

  “Look, your dating past is your business.” He said what he knew she wanted to hear. The man inside him that desperately wanted to date her wanted to hear more.

  “We saw each other for a couple of years and he never asked me to marry him. He didn’t want me. So I come to this party with you knowing he would be here.”

  “You wanted to make him jealous?” Troy’s heart sank.

  Ava shook her head. “No. I wanted him to see that I’m okay without him.”

  “You’re right, and I don’t think you needed me to prove that.”

  “That’s nice to hear. But here I am. I ran away. I let him get to me. He sees me as a coward.” She covered her face with her hands.

  “He also called you hard working. If he asks you about your early departure, tell him you had some work to do.”

  She laughed with a snort. “Right. That’ll work. He also commented on my failed love life.”

  “Your personal life is none of his business and should have no bearing on your job.” He moved closer to her. “Besides, you’re a vital, sexy, single woman. You’re allowed to date.”

  The expression on Ava’s face softened. “Ten years. In that time, I’ve gone out with two men.” She glanced at him. “Three.” She curved her body around to give him her full attention. “I brought an escort to a work function.”

  “No one knows that but you.” He wished she wouldn’t allow that thought to enter her mind.

  “And you.” Ava pointed at him.

  “I told you I’m not going to say a word. I won’t even hold it against you if I flunk out of your class.”

  She laughed without a snort this time. “What you must think of me right now.”

  “You want to know what I think?” He rested his hand on her knee. Troy decided to keep talking before she smacked his hand away. “I think of you now what I thought about you the first time I saw you dancing in your office.”

  She covered her eyes again. Troy held her hand and brought it down so that she could see the sincerity in his eyes.

  “I think you’re sexy, smart, and a woman who knows what she wants.” His thumb brushed over her thigh. “By the way, counting this date, I’ve been with three women in the last ten years, too.” That wasn’t a lie. Troy didn’t do the love-em-and-leave-em routine that Gross loved so much. He thrived on commitment.

  She shook her head. “I find that hard to believe with what you do.”

  He had to think about her statement for a moment before it hit him about his situation for the night. “Oh, this is my first n
ight doing this.”

  “So I’m your first.” Ava nodded and smiled. “You seem so in control.” She ran one hand over the other. “I like what you did.” To illustrate what she meant, she circled the tip of her finger over her palm.

  Troy’s felt his cock throb as he watched her simulate his move. “It’s unfortunate that you didn’t follow the rules.”

  “I didn’t say your names five times during dinner.” She screwed up her lips like she tried not smiling. She placed her purse on the seat behind her. “So you see kissing me as a punishment?”

  Troy shook his head. “I thought you would see it that way.” He sat still and let her come to him. “You don’t?”

  Ava shook her head.

  Damn. Now Troy wished he had had the coffee. He needed something to pour into his lap right now. As much as he wanted this woman, could he really cross the line? Could he have sex with his professor and remain in her class?

  Troy framed her small face in his hands. He stared at her for a while before he did anything. At this point, he still remained in control. His next move could shift that power.

  Beyond his will, he pressed his lips against hers. The softness of them enamored him before he discovered how sweet her mouth tasted.

  He couldn’t remember if he slid his tongue in her mouth first or if Ava was the emboldened one. He couldn’t taste any of the fish she’d eaten for dinner.

  Out of instinct and need, he cupped her breast through her dress. At that moment, Ava broke from the kiss. She looked down at his hand, then up at him.

  When she held his hand in hers, his heart pounded harder and faster than before. This would be the moment she would slap him in the face and call him a filthy bastard.

  To his surprise, she held his hand away from her body long enough to pull down the top of her dress with the other hand. Then she replaced his hand on top of her naked breast.

  Troy had no time to savor the feeling of her firm orb in his hand with her hardened nipple brushing his palm before she arrested his lips again with hers. This all had to be a dream. No way in the world could he have the incredible luck of kissing and fondling this sexy woman.