Page 8 of Star Pupil

Chapter 4

Griffin

Helping Avery into the passenger seat of my Mercedes, I couldn’t help but wonder how the hell she’d turned out so sweet when she had a mother like that. I’d dealt with my fair share of bitchy women over the years, but her mom took it to a whole new level. My mom could be a diva at times, but she’d still managed to overcome her fear of me teaching to find a compromise that worked for us both so I could have my dream.

It sounded like Avery’s mom couldn’t care less what her daughter wanted to do. If she had, then she’d know how her eyes lit up every time she talked about going to school. Hell, it was one of the first things Mrs. Stanton had shared with me about Avery when I’d asked for a progress report on her. Two days after meeting her, she’d known my girl wanted to go to college. But her own mother couldn’t be bothered to give a damn.

“Greedy bitch,” I muttered to myself, rounding the car. I had no doubt my assistant could handle Avery’s mom for the short-term, but I was going to have to do something about her to make sure she couldn’t interfere in our life together for the long-term. There was no way in hell I was going to let that woman take anything else away from my girl. Whatever she wanted, she was going to get and I’d be the one giving it to her. Avery was going to have the life she deserved, whether her mother got on board with it or not.

“Where are we going?” she asked when I pulled out of the parking lot and headed west.

“How about a little boat ride?”

“Like a sightseeing cruise or something?”

“No, I want to take you out on my boat, bright eyes.”

“Bright eyes?”

Shit,the nickname had slipped out when I hadn’t planned on using it out loud yet. “It fits since I’ve never seen blue eyes quite so bright as yours. They’re stunning.”

“Wow,” she whispered, eyes wide while she stared at me. “So I guess that means maybe you’re not interested in my mom? She made it super clear she wouldn’t kick you out of her bed if she found you there.”

Her nose was crinkled up like she’d smelled something foul, as though the thought of her mom and me together offended her. “I have no interest in your mom.”

“Good,” she sighed, nodding in satisfaction.

Seeing the relief in her eyes prodded me to go further, admitting to my feelings. It seemed like a good enough time since she was stuck in the car with me. I wasn’t about to let her out on the side of the road. At the very least, she was forced to hear me out. “There’s only one woman I want, Avery. You.”

“Me?” she gulped.

“From the first time I saw you. And nothing I’ve seen since then has changed my mind.”

“It’s only been two weeks, Griffin.”

I let her comment slide since I wasn’t ready to go down that path with her yet. It needed to wait until she was settled into my bed and my life. I wasn’t going to risk the progress I’d made by letting her know the lengths to which I’d gone to get us to this point.

“Two weeks, two months, two years. It doesn’t matter how long, bright eyes. What I feel for you isn’t going away.”

“I’m not really sure what to say to that,” she sighed. “I don’t have a lot of experience dealing with situations like this.”

More like no experience, if the report I’d gotten from the private investigator I’d hired was true. The news had made me want to beat my chest in triumph, and hearing her confirm it made me want to roar in victory. Avery was mine. All mine. Every single part of her, from head to toe.

“As long as you’re good with it, I don’t need a response.” I reached over and grabbed her hand, moving it over to my thigh and holding it there.

“I’m more than good with it,” she replied, giving my leg a squeeze.

“Then that makes two of us because I’m fucking thrilled that you don’t have experience dealing with situations like this.”

I took a hard right turn into the parking lot of the marina where I kept my boat and swerved into the spot in front of my slip. As soon as I threw the car into park, I pressed the button to release Avery’s seat belt and hauled her onto my lap.

“I never thought I’d say this, but I’m kind of glad your mom is such a bitch. If she wasn’t, who knows how long it would have taken for us to have this conversation.”

“You’re insane,” she giggled. “You know that, right?”

“If being crazy for you makes me insane, then so be it,” I growled, lowering my head to capture her lips with mine. My tongue glided across her lips, sweeping inside when they parted. Fuuuck. I’d been wondering what she’d taste like, and now that I knew, I was addicted. “Strawberries and cream.”

“Lip balm,” she murmured, her breath warm against my mouth.

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