Page 10 of Star Pupil

Chapter 5

Avery

Griffin and I had managed to avoid another confrontation with my mom for a full week. Griffin’s boss’s assistant must have been a magician or something because my mom hadn’t even given me a hassle about the time I spent in my lessons each day. Then again, it wasn’t like she knew what I was actually doing during part of that time, or else she would have done more than hassle me—she would have screamed like a banshee while threatening me with all kinds of punishments if she found out what was happening with Griffin and me.

She’d always been strict about dating, but she’d turned into a jail warden once a movie producer had expressed interest in me. She watched what I ate, what I drank, how much I exercised and warned me to stay away from boys or else I’d run the risk of ruining my chances to become a star. The only reason she hadn’t jumped down my throat about Griffin was because it had never dawned on her that a man like him would be interested in me—especially since he’d been more than clear about his indifference to her. It had pissed her off enough that she’d made herself scarce every time he was around, lest she be reminded that there was an attractive man in the world who was immune to her charms.

We’d put her inattention to good use, too. Not that I didn’t get plenty of studying done, Griffin insisted on it. But we celebrated each of my successes with a make-out session. For a girl who’d barely made herself orgasm before, I’d certainly made up for lost time. I’d also quickly become addicted to the feel of his fingers and mouth on me. It was more than enough incentive for me to make sure I aced my classes before graduation.

“I want to take you out to dinner tonight.” Griffin’s comment drew my attention away from the computer screen where I was finishing a Calculus assignment.

“Pardon me?”

“I want to take you to dinner,” he repeated. “A date night. Our first one.”

My heart melted at his sweetness, but I had to find a way to talk him out of this idea. “You took me to your boat. Wasn’t that a date?”

“As much fun as I had with you on my boat”—he replied with a wolfish grin—“our first date should be nicer than a spur-of-the-moment ride out that barely lasted an hour.”

“Can we have dinner catered on your boat?”

Please, please, please let him love my suggestion.

“I could.” I was ready to heave a sigh of relief until he continued. “But I want to give you a reason to dress up so I can show you off.”

He paused for a moment, his gaze sweeping up and down my body, and a possessive gleam filled his eyes. “Although, not in anything too revealing or else I might end up killing someone.”

“I’m just not sure it’s the best idea.”

His eyes narrowed as he stalked towards me. “Why do I get the feeling you aren’t talking about me killing someone because he looks at you?”

“You know how much I love spending time with you,” I answered softly. “But if we go out, the odds are good that someone will snap our picture and then it will be splashed all over the internet five seconds later and in the papers by tomorrow morning. You know how it is, Griffin. Your mom has had to deal with it all your life.”

“I know exactly how it is,” he growled. “And I couldn’t give a fuck. As my woman, I expect you not to give any either. If people want to talk shit about us being together, let them. The two of us are the only ones who matter when it comes to our relationship.”

“I really wish that was true, but it’s not.”

He gripped the sides of my face in his palms and tipped it upwards. There was a flash of hurt in his gaze, and it killed me. I never wanted to cause him any pain. “Who the fuck else do you think gets to weigh in on what we do together?”

“My mom.”

He looked relieved at my answer, but he didn’t know her the way I did. “Don’t worry about your mother, bright eyes. Leave her to me.”

“She’s not that easy to handle.” I had to make him understand. It wasn’t as simple as he seemed to think it would be. “You’re my teacher, ten years older than me, and I’m barely legal. If she finds out about us, she’ll try to get you fired. She’ll make a big deal about your position of authority over me, and she’ll push your boss to get you out of here faster than you can blink. If she can’t get you fired, she’ll insist you can’t teach me anymore. There’s no way she’ll let this slide.”

“Your mom can’t get me fired.” He said it with such certainty, as though he knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that his job wasn’t in jeopardy because of our relationship.

“You don’t know that,” I cried out in frustration. “And I don’t want to be the reason you lose something you love so much.”

“Shit,” he mumbled. “This isn’t the way I wanted to tell you this.”

“Tell me what?”

His hands slid from my jawline, around my neck and down my back until he was gripping my hips tightly. “I own the company, Avery. Your mom can’t get me fired because I’m not going to fire myself. She can’t get me removed from this contract, either, because it’s ironclad. She can bitch as much as she wants, but I’m not going anywhere.”

I jerked back, shocked at his answer, but he held me in place. “You’re not a teacher?”

“I am, but I’m not. I spent my first couple of years teaching full-time for another company, but the way they ran their business frustrated the hell out of me. I was complaining about it to my mom one day, and she suggested I start my own,” he explained. “It made sense. I already had plenty of connections in the industry, and I used some of the money my mom put in a trust for me to get it off the ground.”

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