Lessons in Love (8 page)

With a dexterity she wouldn’t have believed possible, Nicholas undid the buttons which held her dress closed, while she fumbled with the buttons on his shirt, desperate to see all of him at long last, but when she reached down to his belt buckle he smiled and moved her hands away.

‘You first,’ he whispered, moving over her as he trailed a hand down her body, pausing as it moved over the curve of her breast. She drew in a shuddering breath as it brushed lightly over her stomach and down to her panties, pausing a moment, before caressing the most intimate part of her femininity. She opened her legs wider, wantonly pushing up against him. He moaned and his lips followed the intimate path his hand had trailed.

‘Nicholas! Please,’ she begged as his mouth kissed her through the light cotton fabric.

‘Oh yes,’ he murmured, moving back up her body. ‘But first, I want to see you in all your splendour. He pulled the dress from her, and unclasped her bra like a seasoned professional, until all that stood between him and her naked body were her moist panties, which he savoured in the removal of, as her hands reached for his belt again, needing him to be as exposed to her as she was to him. Desperate to see every inch of him, to touch and to love every part of Nicholas Cavanaugh.

He groaned as she pulled his trousers down, and her eyes widened at the size of his erection beneath his boxer shorts. ‘Oh, Nicholas,’ she uttered, transfixed by the manhood before her. She was naked now, and his eyes roamed her feverishly. She took a deep shuddering breath as she grasped the waistband of his shorts and removed them. Quite unconscious of what she was doing to him, she moved down and brought her lips to touch the head of his penis. His body shuddered with need and desire.

‘Not yet, Emily my precious, not yet. Let me pleasure you first.’ And her protests ended before she’d even given voice to them, as his mouth found first one nipple and then the other, teasing, licking and pulling, as she writhed beneath him, desperate for him to quench the thirst he’d aroused in her. But he persisted, hands roaming every intimate crevice of her body, caressing softly, stroking unbearably gently, as she panted for him.

‘Please Nicholas!’ she begged, as his mouth began a slow route down her stomach and down to the most sensitive part of her body. She raised her hips, pushing herself more firmly against his questing mouth as he licked and suckled, bringing her so close to the fulfilment of her desire that she cried out. ‘Now Nicholas! Now! I want you inside me!’

‘Do you have any protection?’ he murmured, trailing a length of kisses along her body. Emily fumbled in her bedside drawer, barely able to stand the wait. An unopened packet of condoms her best friend Sonya had given her before going overseas were suddenly more welcome than ever. She managed to get one out, and Nicholas fumbled with it for a moment, as anxious as she was to consummate their lovemaking.

With one last groan of his own suppressed desire, he lifted himself up over her, and positioned himself above her, as she reached her hands to his buttocks, pulling him down until he was deep inside her. She gasped as she felt him enter, and then all thought was lost, as she was swept away by sensation, rocking in response to his own rhythm, until she could bear it no more, and feeling such intense pleasure it seemed as though her whole life had been leading up to this point. She almost screamed in release as the orgasm rocketed through her body. An instant later Nicholas groaned loudly as his body shuddered in its own final release, and he collapsed upon her kissing her neck, her ear and finally her mouth, as she lay satiated beneath him, every fantasy fulfilled in this one intense moment of purest passion.

Much later Nicholas rose from the bed, his lips swollen from their kisses, and his hair tousled boyishly. He looked down at Emily, his eyes tender with a depth of feeling she had never seen before, and she felt like the most cherished woman in the world. She sat up, watching him as he dressed.

‘I wish I didn’t have to leave.’ The regret in his voice was genuine. They each wished it could be otherwise, but she couldn’t let Nicholas be here when Veronica and Steven arrived home.

‘Me too,’ she murmured, smiling at him. ‘Oh Nicholas, what are we going to do?’ she asked, shaking her head slowly, half unable to believe the events that had just transpired.

‘We’ll play it by ear. It’s all we can do. There is nothing…
nothing
…that’s wrong about what we’ve got. Remember that. Forget about student/lecturer ethics. What we have hasn’t got a place in that. We’ll work this out each day as it comes.’

After he’d left, Emily took a brief shower, needing to hide all traces of what she’d done from her siblings. She wasn’t ashamed by any means, but knew they weren’t yet ready to understand. Maybe one day they would be, but not so soon. Not when it was still so new for Emily. Not when she was still so confused by her own emotions and feelings.

Emily stepped into the lecture theatre Monday afternoon with barely a minute to spare. Something struck her as awry, and she frowned. As she found a seat, it occurred to her that she’d never known Nicholas to arrive so late.

She unpacked her books and doodled on the corner of a fresh page of her notebook, only half aware when a man dressed in a suit walked to the front of the room. Heart pounding, she looked up, and felt an immediate sense of loss and disappointment as she realised he was most definitely not Nicholas Cavanaugh.

‘Hello everyone. I’m Professor Ian Richardson. I will be taking over your class for two weeks while Mr Cavanaugh is overseas on business. He has set an assignment for you to do, and I’ll be passing out copies of that shortly. Should you need any assistance at all, I will be only too pleased to help,’ he announced.

What was he talking about? Nicholas was away, for two weeks, and he hadn’t even bothered to tell her? She felt hot tears welling up behind her eyelids, and fought to repress them. Had everything she’d felt from him been in her imagination only? Had it been only lust that had driven him on Saturday? No! She couldn’t…wouldn’t believe it. But how could she believe otherwise, when he’d leave – to go overseas no less – without even giving her a phone call? A sick, angry feeling welled up inside her, and she fought to hold it down, unwilling to show any emotion in front of her fellow classmates.

When the student sitting next to her finally passed a pile of assignments her way, Emily took one half-heartedly, no longer caring anything about the damn assignment when she felt so bereft inside. She passed the pile to the next student, and almost groaned when she realised they had to write a five thousand word paper. What was this? Some sort of bizarre punishment for allowing him to make love to her? Or maybe nothing to do with her at all. She probably hadn’t even crossed his mind. She ground her teeth together and took hold of herself sharply, forcing her mind back on track, and far, far away from all thoughts of Nicholas.

The first thing she’d have to do after class would be to visit the library and get some books out before there were none left. She stood up and approached the Professor.

‘May I help you?’ he asked, looking up at her with a friendly smile. At least he was going to be far easier to approach than Nicholas was, she thought bitterly.

‘I was wondering if you’d allow us to go to the library to look up some books. There’s not much work I can do until I have some references.’

‘I don’t see why not. Just make sure you use the time wisely,’ he replied. She returned to her desk and picked up her books just as he announced that everyone was free to do some research in the library. The entire class moved like a tidal wave and Emily hurried out the door, glad she’d been the first to stand.

Emily worked hard on her business economics assignment for the next two weeks. Forget free time! With the amount of work Nicholas had set for them to do, she was spending every spare moment of her evenings working. Not that it bothered her. It kept her from dwelling on less pleasant subjects. But when she least expected it, memories of the passionate afternoon they’d shared washed over her, bringing tears of longing and regret to her eyes, as she wondered where Nicholas was, and what he was thinking and feeling now. And why he’d left her without even calling!

Finally, however, the work was done and she had a neatly presented five thousand word document, ready to hand in Monday afternoon when Nicholas arrived back from wherever he’d been. But having done that, nothing could fill the void in her heart that he’d left.

Monday morning was cold and overcast, foreshadowing the winter to come. It depressed her. Angrily, she sat up in bed and stretched, frowning as she began to get the uncomfortable feeling that, along with the grey, rainy day, something was not altogether right. Could it be the beginnings of a sore throat she was feeling? No. She was most definitely not going to get sick now. She got out of bed and showered, ignoring her body’s signals that all was not right in the person of Emily Peterson.

Emily usually ate a big breakfast of cereal, yoghurt and a cup of coffee, but she barely had the appetite to make it through her cereal. She tried to tell herself she was just down in the dumps, but she had the nasty suspicion it was more than that.

Veronica and Steven entered the kitchen looking bright and chirpy. ‘Uh, Em. You don’t look so good,’ said her brother, looking at her with a frown.

‘And what’s wrong with the way I look?’ she snapped, irritated. She was not getting sick! Hopefully if she ignored it, it would just go away. She was too busy now to deal with this.

‘Pale, dopey. That sort of thing. Didn’t you sleep well last night?’

‘As a matter of fact, I slept just fine last night. I suppose I overworked the last couple of weeks.’ And all because of Nicholas Cavanaugh, she thought bitterly. If only he’d left well enough alone! It would have been better if he’d remained cold and distant, at least then he couldn’t have snapped her heart in two the way he had.

Before leaving for work she grabbed a packet of Codral from her medicine cabinet, and some Strepsils in case her condition worsened.

Even Mark commented on her wan appearance as she entered the office.

‘I’m afraid I might be coming down with a cold,’ she confessed. ‘I just feel a bit funny, really.’ Mark frowned at her.

‘You’ve been working too hard, Em,’ he said firmly. ‘Last week you barely spoke at all, you were so focussed on that assignment. I don’t want you getting sick. You’ve been working too hard lately and I know you need time off. If you need to go home, just give me a yell. I’m sure I can make do without your presence for a day or so.’

‘Oh, don’t tell me that I’m not completely indispensable around here?’ she said, pouting.

‘You know that we couldn’t do without you, Em. But there are always others who can put in extra work in the meantime if you’re unwell. You know that, so don’t push yourself too hard. OK?’

‘Got it boss,’ she said, giving him a half-hearted salute.

‘Good. I’ll bring you in a couple of letters I’ve drafted, and there’s a bit of filing to do,’ he said, and left Emily sitting at her desk feeling the beginnings of a headache approaching.

‘Great,’ she murmured and wished she’d brought along some analgesics as well. Instead she popped a Codral into her mouth and washed it down with some of the water she kept in a bottle by her desk. It helped a little, and she was able to work relatively efficiently for the rest of the morning, completing all the tasks Mark wanted her to get through, and a bit more besides. It was the afternoon which weighed heavily on her mind, but no matter how much she wished it wouldn’t arrive, she couldn’t prevent the inevitable.

Nicholas was already in the lecture theatre when she entered, and she walked in self-consciously, keeping her eyes diverted from his magnetic form. Fortunately, he didn’t even look her way, keeping his eyes focussed on everyone but her.

‘I must start this class by apologising for my absenteeism over the last two weeks,’ Nicholas began. ‘Unfortunately, I was called on business out of the country, but I trust you didn’t miss me too much. You were probably all too busy working on the set assignment to even notice that I wasn’t here. I’m hoping that each and every one of you is ready to hand it in. I needn’t remind you that it’s worth thirty percent of your final grade, so I expect you’ve put a good deal of work into it. Now, if you wouldn’t mind, please pass your work to the front of the room. If anyone has any excuses for me, I’ll hear them now, not later.’ He looked around the room at the students, who were hurriedly passing their assignments to the front of the room. A number of students had also walked up to speak to Nicholas privately, obviously those who had had some trouble getting finished.

‘All right. I see that no small number of you have excuses for me. I don’t have time to hear all this now, I have a class to teach. Just letting you know, as I have done before, that I don’t allow late assignments without a medical certificate or an equivalently good excuse. There will be a five percent reduction in your mark for every day you’re late to hand it in. All those with legitimate excuses may see me after class, those of you without, I don’t want to hear it.’ He looked around sternly, obviously annoyed at the large number of people who hadn’t completed the assignment. Emily was grateful that she’d finished her own work on time, but it hadn’t been easy for her, and she was sure that many students did have legitimate excuses besides illness. It wasn’t just Emily who had part time work and university studies to juggle, and many of those students were studying full time and worked out of hours’ jobs, like waitressing and bartending.

Everything about Nicholas’s demeanour grated on her, and finally, unable to stand it, she put up her hand to speak.

‘Yes Miss Peterson? What seems to be the problem?’ Miss Peterson? He hadn’t been that formal with her the last time they’d met, that was for sure. A hitch caught in the back of her throat, and horrified, she forced herself to speak, allowing her anger to the fore, and pushing away any feelings of hurt she had.

‘I don’t have a problem, except with you,’ she blurted, instantly wishing she could retract the words. The look on his face, though, was priceless, and she heard titters coming from other members of the class. Boldly, she continued, ‘First of all you gave us no warning that you were going away, and to top it off you gave us a long and difficult assignment that had to be done in two weeks. No other lecturer expects so much.’

Murmurs of agreement could be heard from other members of the class, and Nicholas looked furious. He paused for at least ten seconds and took several deep breaths before responding, sparks of blue fire radiating from his eyes.

‘You have a point,’ he said from between clenched teeth. ‘Did you have any problem getting out library books?’

‘No, as a matter of fact, I didn’t, but I couldn’t help but be aware that there are a great deal more students in the class than there are references on the shelves.’

‘There is a lesson to be learned from this. Next time, please cooperate with each other and share the resources. I can accept that this time, as new students, many of you may not have considered this. So for this time only, I am granting a limited extension. You have until Friday at the latest.’

Emily was glad she’d spoken up. Of course, it wouldn’t help her current situation with Nicholas, but as far as she was concerned, he deserved it.

The lecture finally finished, and with head held high, Emily walked out of the lecture theatre without deigning to look at him.

‘Miss Peterson! I’d like to speak to you.’ Something in his voice almost drew her back, but she hardened her heart and kept walking. Miss Peterson indeed! Her name was Emily, and he knew it. If he wanted a response from her, he’d call her by her first name, they were at least well acquainted enough for that!

There was no way she could forgive him for what he’d done. He couldn’t have been out of phone range for the entire two weeks of his trip! The very least he could have done was to call her. She had to harden her heart to the hurt he’d caused her and get on with her life. She needed to get through this semester, and then, perhaps, she’d see no more of Nicholas Cavanaugh.

Nicholas watched in agony as Emily strode away from him. He pleaded silently for her to at least turn towards him, but she rushed out of the room as if the hounds of hell were on her heels, and he shook his head in irritation and disappointment.

‘Mr Cavanaugh? Is that all right?’ came a voice from beside him, and he turned to the anxious student standing beside the desk at the front of the room. He guiltily realised he hadn’t heard a single word the young woman had said.

‘Sorry, what was that you said again?’

‘Is it all right if I hand the assignment in next week. Most of it’s done, but I’ve got a really important singing competition on, and I’ve got so much practice still to do.’ Nicholas sighed. Priorities, he thought to himself. Some students just didn’t know how to make them.

‘You’ve got until Friday like everyone else,’ he said unsympathetically. ‘If your singing is more of a priority to you than this class, then quit. If not, get the work done on time.’ The student’s face fell, but she agreed and walked out of the room muttering under her breath.

OK, perhaps he’d been a little bit harsh, but the whole lecture session had annoyed him no end, not the least because of Emily’s little spiel.

While away he’d had time to think and re-consider his position. What he’d said to Emily about student/lecturer relationships had been wrong. Of course, love transcended any morals that society could put on it, but that didn’t mean that these regulations could be abused willy-nilly. It was one thing for a lecturer and a student to fall in love, it was quite another for them to consummate their relationship while in that delicate position. It was wrong and it was unprofessional. But it had been nearly impossible with Emily so close to him, and with her so ready and eager to follow his lead! He should have stopped it. He should have told her how he felt, and then suggested they put their relationship on hold.

But he’d taken the opportunity to run away from it all. It hadn’t been a lie that he’d had to travel overseas, but at the very least he should have seen her first. Now she’d let him know in no uncertain terms how she felt, and he couldn’t blame her one little bit.