The Student — Ava Claire

Still reeling from the loss of her father, twenty-two year old Cassandra Woods thought her biggest hurdle would be facing friends and professors she'd been avoiding all summer...until she finds out her new British Lit professor is her ex-boyfriend.

It's been three years since Chance Crawford broke her heart when she refused to submit to him. Cassandra decides to show him how it feels to be hurt by the person you love--but once she feels his lips on her skin, revenge is the last thing on her mind...

The Student is part one of the His Dark Lessons series.

Excerpt from The Student:

"I looked over the syllabus and saw that you take off a certain number of points for every day of class missed so I wanted to begin an extra credit research assignment." I held out my typed proposal for his approval.
He took it and skimmed the paper before bringing his eyes back to mine. “An interesting topic, Cassandra.” He paused. “That's all you wanted to talk to me about?”
I gave him a quick nod of the head.
He twisted his lips to one side, not convinced. "You didn't come here to talk about something else?"
"Don't flatter yourself. Last night was the result of one too many shots, nothing more." I ignored his warm, flirtatious smile, turning toward the door. "I just came here to turn this in and now I'm leaving."
"I don't buy it." His deep voice lassoed me back in. He was doing the ‘thing' -- the low, gravelly emphasis that turned every square inch of me into raw nerve endings. The thing that reduced me to a trembling, throbbing mess. "You could have emailed me the word document. It would have taken less than five minutes and if just being around me brings you such physical pain, it would have been the logical course of action."
I didn't turn back to face him. I couldn't let him think he had a point.
"Instead, you decided to come to my office and hand it to me in person." His chair creaked and I had a sinking feeling he was moving toward me. "You came here because you wanted to see me. Because of last night."
He was closing in. Close enough that my body betrayed my true motives. I could hear every husky breath rippling over my skin. My heart boom boomed in my chest and my voice trembled. "I don't know what you're talking about."
"Uh huh." He let out a low chuckle. "You can't even look at me, Cass."
"Shut up," I hissed weakly. "I'm not going to stand here and do this." I moved closer to the door, twisting the knob and pulling it open, but my escape was short lived because he was a step ahead of me. He reached around me and pushed it closed with a firm hand.
"You can't keep me here." I finally spun to face him. "I want to leave, Chance."
I expected some sarcastic retort but instead, the hand pressed against the door slackened and his face was awash with emotion. Regret. Guilt. Sadness. "Say it again."
I felt like a balloon caught in the breeze, untethered and bopping about. Just when I got used to things and knew what to expect the wind changed. "S-say what again?"
The emotions hardened as did his arm. He stepped closer, essentially pinning me in place. "Say my name."
****