The Good Student (4 page)

“Sir. You wanted to see me?” The room was now completely empty. Kaya stood in front of his desk with her bag over her shoulder. He kept himself so busy with paperwork, he hadn’t heard her approach.

“Oh. Right.
Kaya
.” He shuffled through his files and pulled out an attendance slip. “I’m sure things will get sorted out in the office. New students sometimes take a while to get on the class registry. Do you mind filling out your personal information for me?”

Great. Just paperwork. She hoped he would ask her out on a date. Tell her he was secretly interested in her. He was the real deal. A man his age, in his position, wouldn’t be out looking for cheap thrills, but serious commitment. He represented security and stability at a time when she craved it most.

Kaya bent over the desk and started filling out the sheet. Almost immediately, Mr. Taylor stood up and gave her his chair. As she sat down, he perched on the desk beside her. He smelled of musky cologne, and she breathed him in deeply, capturing his scent to memory.

Her boldness grew and morphed into flirting. She wasn't sure where the inner strength suddenly came from, but was thankful for it. “I’m not interested in
kids
.”

He narrowed his eyes and plucked the paper away from her fingers and observed it. “That’s right. You’re older than most of my students. You took some time off?”

“Missionary work in Africa. With my parents.”

“Very interesting, Kaya. I’d love to hear about your adventures.” His eyes held genuine interest.

“Any time.” She twirled a blonde curl around her finger. He may be a teacher, but he was also a man. Surely he'd recognize her interest sooner or later.

He returned the sheet of paper for her to continue. She wrote with one hand and played with the collar of her shirt with the other, offering him a peek if he took the opportunity. An innocent seduction. One he didn’t fall for.

She set the pen aside when she finished and peered up at him. He looked comfortable with one knee bent up as he sat sideways on the desk. Dressed in casual cargo pants and a black T-shirt, she wanted a piece of him. His blond hair was thick, cropped short. She wanted to run her hands over it. In fact, she wanted physical contact in the worst way. Anything. The slightest touch would suffice for now, but having him so close and doing nothing was killing her. Recalling the fantasies she'd just had about him and the desk he sat on didn't help her uncomfortable situation.

“Thanks, Kaya. I’m sure the office will have things straightened out next week.” His hand landed on her shoulder as he slipped off the desk. A platonic and friendly touch that seared her skin through her shirt. Did he notice her body jolt or hear her low gasp at the contact?

She rose from her seat and adjusted her bag. “Guess I’ll see you tomorrow,” she said. Kaya continued to stand in front of him. He had to be about five foot, ten inches. Not an overly tall man, but fit and masculine to a fault. With her only being five foot, three, he’d do just fine. She held her breath, praying he’d make a move or say something inappropriate, something he wouldn’t say to any other female student. But when he bent over to clear his desk she released her breath and turned to leave.

Chapter Four

Hayden didn’t know what to think. His new student was a temptation from either heaven or hell. He wasn’t so sure. She certainly looked like an angel with her mass of thick, blonde curls framing her sweet, heart shaped face. The girl was uncommonly quiet and shy. But there was a maturity and old soul feeling surrounding her. The fact that she was twenty-six as opposed to twenty didn’t help curb his physical attraction. It only forced him to rationalize his thoughts when he shouldn’t be having any thoughts about the girl at all. His desire to claim her, dominate her, made him lust drunk. During class he stole peeks in her direction, but the danger of making his obsession public forced him to hide his attraction to Kaya.

Nothing good could come from his craving for this student. He held a position of authority over her and any relationship would be wrong. He’d likely lose his job if it became public. The university forced the teachers it hired to sign an agreement to keep all relations with students and teachers strictly professional. After the fiasco with his divorce a couple years back, he didn’t need any more heat directed his way. At forty-two he couldn’t afford to start over in his career.

Hayden rationalized that the best move would be to ignore the girl and do his job like any other semester. Those seductive black eyes of hers could be his undoing. He’d have to ignore the hard-on he got whenever she lifted her eyes to meet his. Not so easy when he hadn’t been laid in years. Even before his divorce, he lived like a roommate with his ex-wife. There was no passion then and never really was. Kaya would no doubt be bursting with passion, so young and ripe. He could imagine spanking her tight ass, holding a fistful of her hair as he fucked her deep and hard. He took a breath, forcing his intimate thoughts away.

“Shhh. This is a good movie.” All the lights were off, only the soft glow from the television illuminating the room. Cynthia’s eyes were fixated on the screen. By the sound of the background music, it was a thriller at an intense scene.

Kaya dropped her bags on the floor in the foyer and slipped off her jacket. Her shoulders ached from standing up, kneading donut dough for the past eight hours. The only thing she wanted to do was jump in the shower and then dive into bed for the night. As she made her way up the wooden staircase, Cynthia called for her.

“I’m hitting the shower.”

“Come sit with me. I hate being all alone.”

“Where’s everyone else?” Two other roommates lived in Cynthia’s home. She'd transformed it into a rooming house when her uncle died a few years back. He'd raised her from childhood and left everything to her in his will. The man had been stinking rich. One good thing about Cynthia, you’d never know she owned a penny more than you. A down to earth friend that Kaya wouldn’t trade for anything.

“Block party.”

“You didn’t go?”

She stretched her arms over her head. “Nope. Didn’t feel like it tonight. Maybe on a Friday, not a Tuesday. I’d be dead on my feet in the morning.”

“Hey. Can I talk to you for a minute?” Kaya couldn’t keep her feelings bottled up forever. Even if Cynthia thought she was a sick puppy for desiring her teacher in an unholy way, she had to let it all out.

“Of course. Come sit with me. Popcorn?” Cynthia held out the blue plastic bowl, but Kaya shook her head and sat down on top the mess of flannel throws.

“I know he’s older, and I know he’s my teacher, so you don’t have to remind me.” She took a deep breath. “I like him, but I need to know if he’s married before I take anything further.”

“He’s not married. Happy?”

“I thought you didn’t know.”

“I didn’t think you were serious. Mr. Taylor divorced about two years ago. It was all over the university. I think they even wanted to fire him for bringing an unwholesome image to the school.”

“So what happened?”

“The hype died down and things carried on as normal. His ex-wife is a professor at another university.” How could Kaya compete with a woman that had the brains and degrees to match Mr. Taylor? Kaya was just his student. He probably thought of her as inferior or just some stupid kid passing through one of his many classes.

Kaya stared at the television absently. Her mind raced with possibilities. If Mr. Taylor didn’t have a wife, then all bets were off. She could turn up the heat starting tomorrow and not feel any guilt about it. On the other hand, for a single man, he sure didn’t show any interest in her whatsoever.

“Are you blind? The guy’s hot as hell. Besides, I’ve had it with men my age. None of them can commit, and they have nothing in their heads besides sex. Mr. Taylor actually has a brain. In fact, his intelligence turns me on as much as his looks.”
“La la la.” Cynthia plugged her ears.

Hayden.
She silently repeated the name, tasting in on her tongue. “Really? You sure about that?”

“Ladies and gentlemen, I hope you’ve put some thought into your assignment because I’m going to be interviewing each and every one of you to discuss your choice. I’ll be taking groups of five into my office at a time. While I’m gone, it will give the rest of you time to work. Use your time wisely.”

He read five names off a list and disappeared out his private doorway, followed by the students he called. Kaya missed him already. He was the reason she wanted to come to class. She loved to watch him think, read, and mark assignments. When his face tensed up in concentration, he looked so damn sexy. How could she be the only one to see it? Maybe the other young women in his classes hadn’t been hurt like she had. After being ruined by a boy younger than her, she was ready for a man.

Just before the class ended, Mr. Taylor and the last group of five students reentered the classroom. She was disappointed she’d have to wait another day or longer to have her chance near him again. Kaya needed her fix now. If she went home without at least trying something, she’d be up all night regretting it and replaying the things she should have done. She really needed a good night sleep.

Time to be bold.
Kaya dashed down the steps to the teacher’s desk as the students cleared out of the room.

“Kaya.”

“Mr. Taylor.” She smiled her most seductive smile. In the morning she had prepared herself with mascara and shiny pink lip gloss. Her matching pink sweater was low cut, revealing the upper mounds of her breasts. Add fuck me tight jeans and she hoped he noticed something about her. Eric would be shocked to see her now. She resembled one of his cheer leader groupies, not the shy, good girl he recently dumped.

“Did you need help with something?”

Oh, God.
What was she doing? Who was she kidding? The man was impenetrable and she had no clue what to say at this point. His eyes were blank. Not a hint of desire whirling within and no inappropriate glances at her womanly parts.

“I finished my assignment,” she blurted out, feeling like an idiot.

“Already? That’s great. You’ll do well if you keep on top of your work.”

Or on top of him
, she thought. If he were an animal, he’d be able to scent her desire, her desperate need to be touched and tasted. Who cared is they were teacher and student? They were also man and woman. Adults. That had to take precedence.

“What’s your take, Mr. Taylor? On sex before marriage?” She emphasized his name and the word sex.

“My take?” He shook his head in a friendly, but dismissive way. “My take isn’t important.” She could feel the energy in the room shift as Mr. Taylor’s discomfort shone through. Kaya had successfully breached his tough outer shell and hit a weak spot.

“I’m just curious.” She wet her lips as he watched her. “There’s nothing wrong with a man and a woman having consensual sex, is there? They don’t need a piece of paper or society telling them what’s acceptable for them, do they?”

“That’s for you to argue in your assignment. If you’re against it, your writing will have to hold the passion of a woman against the idea of sex before marriage.”

“So I won’t get an opinion out of you?” She teased him, tilting her head and smiling. “Nothing I can do to change your mind?” If only he knew the things she was willing to do. She dreamed about riding him on his desk since she started his class. And much more. Sometimes her filthy imagination surprised even her.

His face grew paler and all signs of friendliness slipped away. “Maybe we can discuss this in your group session tomorrow. You don’t want you to miss out on your next class.”

What a brush off. “Okay. Thank you for your time, Mr. Taylor.” She made her way back up the stairs to the exit, making sure to sway her ass and flip her curls. At least she started something, and hopefully the seed took root. Tomorrow she’d put him to the test.