Learning the Hard Way (7 page)

From her actions, he knew this would be one hell of a night. Each time Troy tried to get near her, Ava would move away. When she couldn’t get away from him fast enough, she sent him on errands to get him away from her, like fetching her champagne, which he noticed she never drank. She would put the glass to her lips, see someone she knew, and then start talking for a while.

At the fourth glass, Troy decided he wouldn’t be ignored. “You’ve talked to a lot of people tonight, and you never introduced me to any of them.”

She lifted the amber drink like she would really down it this time. Troy took it from her hand and placed the full glass on a table. In the light, she appeared more gorgeous than he remembered. He’d dated African-American women before. None this stunning or intelligent.

“Dinner should be soon.” She crossed her arms over her chest. “Thanks.”

Troy put his hand to the small of her back and tried guiding her to a secluded area in the ballroom. “Why don’t we talk a little?  I have a feeling you’re just a big bundle of nerves.”

Ava glanced around him. “I just feel a little foolish and powerless right now.”

Good. She was talking instead of drinking or ignoring him.

“I don’t know. You seem to have a strange power over me.” He cocked a smile at the corner of his mouth.

This time when she smiled, it lit up the room.

“You’re being very kind.” The way she said it sounded like an apology.

“Why shouldn’t I be? I’m with a gorgeous, smart woman who I’m sure is completely repulsed by me.” Troy wouldn’t sugarcoat the situation.

He caught her tone each time she attempted to call him an escort. He wasn’t. He shouldn’t have even had to explain that to her. He was a person and he wanted her to understand that first. Regardless of his perceived profession, he was a human. On another level, she was a woman and he was a man. It should have been that basic.

“I’m not repulsed by you.” She scanned the area around them. “Not completely.”

“Let me get you some coffee so that you can stop pretending that you’re drinking champagne.” He needed some separation from her.

As soon as Troy turned to retrieve a steaming cup he felt a vise-like grip on his arm. He glanced down and had to blink when he saw that the hard hold came from Ava’s delicate hand.

“Wait.” The fear in Ava’s eyes didn’t match the tough-as-nails woman he’d met a couple of weeks ago in her office and the one who ran his class like a five-star general.

Troy returned to her side. “Okay, let me in on where the scary monster is,” he whispered.

Ava nodded. “Anson Vartinucci.
Doctor
Anson Vartinucci. He’s the—”

“University dean,” Troy said, cutting her off.

Ava stared at him with wide eyes.

“What? When I do anything, I like to know everything about it. So I researched the school.” He’d also done a search on the woman in front of him.

He found out that she went to Princeton to get her degree. She’d even gotten an award for a paper she’d written for a psychology journal magazine.

“Is that why you came to my office before class started?” She wrung her hands around her purse.

“Yes. I like to get a feel for my professors.” Saying that conjured images of him with his hands roaming Ava’s perfect body. It was a bad time to think about sex right now. “So why does this guy make you nervous?”

“Dr. Wunderlund, the head of my department, will be retiring soon.”

Troy nodded. Getting nervous about a boss’s decision propelled Troy to start his own business so that he wouldn’t have to answer to anyone. He didn’t understand why Ava would be nervous. From what he could tell of her, she epitomized competent, organized, and take charge.

Her breathing increased. “If I can get through this party, I can show them that I’m a team player.”

“Really? I would think that other traits would make you a frontrunner.” He stopped a waiter and requested some coffee for Ava anyway.

“Like what?” She stopped wringing the purse in her hands.

“Being an excellent educator. Organizing educational events.” He would leave out the part about having a great ass and nice round tits. If those were the criteria, she would be a shoo-in.

“There’s something else, too.” She shifted back and forth. “Oh, God, why did I think I could do this?”

Before Troy could ask her why this man worried her so much, he approached them.

“Dr. Kushnell, good to see you.” The distinguished, mature gentleman, who stood a good foot taller than Ava, extended his hand.

“Nice to see you, too. This is a nice turnout.” Ava smiled.

Troy didn’t know Ava that well, but he recognized a fake smile when he saw it. From the way she jerked her hand back and kept from looking at this man in his eyes, he also recognized a woman scorned. Christ, did she date this guy at one time?

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.

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.